The Tagor Desert.
In the Snake-People Holy City, at the very heart of the Snake-People Tribe, the energy of heaven and earth gathered, forming a modest heavenly phenomenon.
Though the phenomenon was not particularly intense, it was undoubtedly a heavenly phenomenon.
Queen Medusa and Yun Shan stared at the scene before them in disbelief, unable to speak for a long time.
There, a pill was taking shape. It did not look particularly good; there was not the slightest trace of a pill pattern to speak of.
In fact, a careful examination would reveal a few impurities in it. Forget perfection-it barely qualified, meeting only the minimum standard for a pill.
It was undoubtedly a fifth-grade pill that had drawn forth a heavenly phenomenon, but more important was the alchemist refining it.
Normally, an alchemist in the Jia Ma Empire who reached the fifth grade at fifty would be considered young. Yet the person before them was not even fifteen, let alone fifty.
His name was Su Yun, and he was only eleven years old.
"Becoming a fifth-grade alchemist really isn't easy."
Su Yun glanced at the seventeen piles of medicinal dregs beside him and silently shook his head.
The rule for alchemists was three sets of ingredients for one pill, and their assessment followed the same standard: producing one pill from three sets of ingredients. Anyone who failed to meet that standard could not be considered an alchemist of that grade.
Yet Su Yun had used a full eighteen sets of ingredients to refine a single Dragon Strength Pill of the poorest quality, which was enough to prove that he was still a considerable distance from becoming a fifth-grade alchemist.
"You jest, sir. At your age, never mind successfully refining a fifth-grade pill-even someone who could successfully refine a third-grade pill couldn't be found in the dozens of surrounding empires."
Looking at the Dragon Strength Pill Su Yun had refined, Yun Shan spoke very courteously.
When he first met Su Yun over two years ago, Su Yun had been less than nine years old and already a first-grade alchemist. Back then, he had felt that Su Yun had a promising future and was far beyond any ordinary genius, so he had boldly invested in him.
Back then, he had thought Su Yun had a promising future. Looking at him now, it was hardly just his future that held promise-his present already did.
The fifth-grade pill Su Yun had refined indeed could not compare to one made by a proper fifth-grade alchemist, but his age spoke for itself.
An eleven-year-old fourth-grade alchemist who could just barely refine a fifth-grade pill would be a monster anywhere, let alone in this remote northwestern region!
Yun Shan was already curious about what expression Jia Xingtian would wear upon learning of this, how much harder Gu He would grind away at alchemy after hearing about it, and how hard he would make his disciple Liu Ling grind.
"If I can't count as a fifth-grade alchemist, then I can't count as one. I'm still falling a little short."
Su Yun shook his head, not particularly satisfied with the result.
After settling the Su Clan and ensuring it could defend itself, he had spent nearly all his time over the past two years cultivating and refining pills on the Dou Qi Continent.
Yet the results were somewhat limited.
In the original story, Xiao Yan had become a fifth-grade alchemist while he was a Da Dou Shi. Su Yun was now also a Da Dou Shi, yet he was only a fourth-grade alchemist.
Granted, Su Yun lacked the wood attribute, which meant his flames could not be strengthened and were not particularly docile, requiring more soul strength to support them under the same conditions. But compared to Xiao Yan, Su Yun also possessed a far stronger soul!
With his own soul as his Martial Soul, the thousand-year soul ring he had already obtained, and the fact that both of them were transmigrators, Su Yun's soul strength was definitely far greater than Xiao Yan's had been as a Da Dou Shi.
As for Yao Lao's guidance, Su Yun did indeed fall short in that respect, but refining pills was his main focus.
He was not like Xiao Yan, who spent most of his time searching for heavenly flames and fighting others.
Thanks to the Snake-People Tribe's uninterrupted supply of medicinal ingredients and the Misty Cloud Sect's support, Su Yun had been able to spend most of those two years refining pills, without having to worry about running short of ingredients at all.
When it came to practicing alchemy, Su Yun had spent far more than several times as long on it as Xiao Yan.
Moreover, Su Yun's cultivation method was Earth Class, rather than the Flame Mantra, which started at a mere Yellow Tier. Yao Lao's Burning Blood was not anything especially precious either, and Ye Fan, who came from the Central Plains, had a similar pill formula. In terms of cultivation speed, Su Yun was faster than Xiao Yan, not slower-and not by just a little.
Thus, Su Yun could devote more time to refining pills, leaving him only at the level of a three-star Da Dou Shi even now, in the same realm as a certain clan leader among the Ancient Eight Clans.
Of course, Su Yun did not particularly care about his Dou Qi realm. Jia Nan Academy's Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower could not only consolidate Dou Qi but had also allowed Xiao Yan to rise two stars in just over twenty days. That was the place to cultivate as a Da Dou Shi; progressing a little slowly here for now was fine.
What Su Yun needed was the status of a fifth-grade alchemist. Even if Jia Nan Academy gave him no special treatment, being a fifth-grade alchemist would be enough for him to thrive there like a fish in water.
Before going to Jia Nan Academy, however, Su Yun still had a few other things to do.
After briefly giving Yun Shan and Queen Medusa some instructions, Su Yun returned to the Su Clan on the Douluo Continent.
Soon after Su Yun returned, the first elder came to his room.
"Young clan leader, while you were away, our clan gained another two Soul Douluos. We now have thirteen in total. They have all learned Ring Detonation and can fight ordinary Titled Douluos, with a very good chance of defeating or even killing them."
"However, our clan is still somewhat lacking at the Titled Douluo level. I'm still the only one, but the second elder is getting close now. In about another half year, he should be ready to become a Titled Douluo. The others will need a little more time. Within two years, our clan will gain no fewer than five Titled Douluos."
With the help of medicine and cultivation methods, the Su Clan's members were advancing rapidly, progressing very quickly from Soul Saint to Soul Douluo.
However, in advancing from Soul Douluo to Titled Douluo, there was no sudden influx of additional energy. They could only rely on their own cultivation and some medicinal assistance. Even with cultivation methods, it was not that fast.
"Five more in two years. In about five years, pretty much all our clan's current Soul Douluos should be Titled Douluos, then."
"More or less. But young clan leader, Soul Douluos are one thing. For Titled Douluos, should we hunt soul beasts or use those magic cores?"
"Our clan doesn't have many magic cores left, especially ones that can produce hundred thousand year soul rings. The only one we had was used when the clan leader broke through to Level 80."
"All we have now are magic cores that can produce seventy- or eighty-thousand-year soul rings. Since those cores can also be used when breaking through to Soul Saint at Level 70, we don't have many of those left either."
Su Yun frowned slightly as he listened. Since Dou Emperors were already considered top experts in the Jia Ma Empire, sixth-tier magic cores were extremely rare, and even fifth-tier magic cores were scarce.
Su Yun had bought as many as he could, but even after buying every available magic core in the Jia Ma Empire, he had only found one sixth-tier magic core.
"I'll find a way to deal with the magic cores. Have the elders who reach Level 90 wait for now. I'll find a way to get them magic cores at the hundred thousand year soul ring level. Also, first elder, your cultivation should have reached Level 95 by now, right?"
At that, the first elder smiled. "Indeed. Thanks to the power of the hundred thousand year soul ring, my cultivation over these past two years has yielded twice the results with half the effort. Half a month ago, I successfully reached Level 95 and became a Super Douluo. Our clan's current strength is no weaker even than the empire's imperial family, the Xu Clan."