The process of refining pills was to blend the properties of various herbs with soul power, and the most important and difficult step was to balance the medicinal strength.
"Purify the herbs first." Jia Rong sent out his soul power. A set of ingredients were sorted immediately, and then placed into different vessels according to Yunxiao's request. With that, the purification process began.
As time went by, Yunxiao scolded with uncountable uses of the terms 'fool' and 'idiot', and Jia Rong lumped them with clenched jaws. He was in a complete muddle throughout the entire refining process. At first, he was memorizing the steps and methods, but at the later stage, all he could do was follow the instructions mechanically, almost completely exhausted.
"That's enough…Retrieve the pills!" Yunxiao's order was like an amnesty granted to Jia Rong, because he could not hold on any longer. Hurriedly, he withdrew his soul power and shot out a stream of Primordial Qi from his hand. With that, two pills spun a few times in the air before falling into his grip.
"An origin impacting pill and an origin blasting pill...I did it? I really did it!" Jia Rong was trembling all over, and he did not feel tired at all even though his soul power was exhausted. "And I refined both at the same time! Oh heavens! What have I done just now? How's this even possible?" he exclaimed excitedly.
The resentment he had from being scolded during the refining process was gone as well, and he actually wished he could be scolded 'idiot' and 'fool' by this Young Master Yun every day, as long as he could receive his guidance.
Yunxiao took the pills from him. After glancing at them, he frowned and said, "Why is the purity so low? You've refined such trash, and yet you still have the nerve to shout?"
Jia Rong's eyeballs almost popped out, and he was about to say 'You're not an alchemist, how would you know the meaning of being able to refine these two pills?' when he suddenly remembered that all his refinement was carried out under Yunxiao's instructions. He would not believe that this Young Master Yun was not an alchemist even if he were beaten to death.
Now, Yunxiao was not only an alchemist in his heart, but also an existence that went beyond his knowledge. He instantly shut his mouth at the thought, and when he recalled what Yunxiao had said previously about him advancing to a sixth-tier alchemist, he could not help but begin to believe in it, and his body was shivering with excitement.
"By the look of you, you're almost totally exhausted. It looks like I've to purify them myself. So troublesome!" Yunxiao grumbled. "But, if it is only purification, my soul power of an advance apprentice level is more than enough."
He wrapped the pills with his soul power and moved them over the array, performing an incantation gesture with both hands. With that, tendrils of Yin flame shot out of the array and began burning at the pills.
"Pur-purification!" Jia Rong was struck dumb instantly. "Finished pills can be further purified? I thought only ingredients can be purified!"
Yunxiao was too lazy to explain to him. Instead, his hands flashed in incantation gestures as he carefully controlled the burning over the array.
Jia Rong widened his eyes and dared not blink at all. He had never seen any of Yunxiao's refining hand seals, but each of them gave him a familiar feeling as if they contained something deep. He felt that it was something very important, but he could not grasp it no matter how hard he tried, which made him scratch his head in panic!
"Done. Phew..."
Yunxiao placed both purified pills in his palm and gave them a look. As if he was still not satisfied, he sighed, "This is the best I can do now...My soul power is too weak."
With the origin impacting pill, he was confident that he could break through into the Origin realm in three days, so that he could defeat Lan Xuan, who was a nine-stars warrior. And to be on the safe side, he also prepared himself an origin blasting pill for later use!
"A total of seventy-two hand seals..." Jia Rong murmured under his breath. He was working hard to memorize the hand seals when he casually glanced at the purified pills in Yunxiao's palm, and what he saw blanked his mind. "Flawless pills!" he blurted out.
In addition to the classification by grade, medicinal pills could also be classified by purity. Generally, when a pill's purity was over ninety percent, it was called a flawless pill. However, besides the alchemist's skill, the formation of a flawless pill depended on some luck as well.
Not only could Yunxiao purify finished pills, but he could also turn them into flawless pills. The shocking fact froze Jia Rong's brain instantly, making him forget to memorize the seventy-two hand seals. He stood dumbfounded in the room. Things that surpassed his common sense had happened one after another on this day, leaving him utterly bewildered.
By the time he finally came back to his senses, he found that Yunxiao had left, leaving him extremely regretful. He hurriedly took pieces of paper and a pen, writing down all his doubts and questions.
As Yunxiao passed the lobby on the first floor, he heard Lu Yu's excited shout, "It worked! I finally did it!" Lu Yao's face bloomed into a happy smile when she saw Yunxiao, giving him a grateful look.
Yunxiao stuck out his thumb and gave her an encouraging look as he left the Alchemist Association, returning to the campus and beginning to cultivate in seclusion.
With his current strength as a peak-level apprentice warrior, he had no fear of Lan Xuan. But, if he had to defeat him, he would have to condense Primordial Qi and step into the Origin realm. Punching above one's weight was not something unusual; however, if the gap between their ranks was too large, no skill or technique could overcome that. The Primordial Qi of a nine-stars level warrior was too strong for an apprentice warrior to defend against.
Over the next few days, both Han Bai and Chen Zhen had looked for him several times, but all in vain. No one expected him to be in the gravity chamber for three days without leaving.
…
In the dean's office of Jialan Academy...
Zhong Lishan's old face bloomed into a smile as he listened to Yunshang's recent performance. "I can't believe you've become an alchemist. Haha! In hundreds of years, you can be considered as the strongest after Yang Di! But..."
He put on a straight face and growled, "Why didn't you inform me right away about something so important? I knew nothing about it until the invitation to His Majesty's feast arrived. Do you still take me as the dean of Jialan Academy?"
Yunshang smiled embarrassingly. "I didn't expect His Majesty's invitation to come so soon. As I've just made the breakthrough, my soul power is still not stable, so I was stabilizing it in seclusion over the past few days. I had planned to inform you once I came out."
Zhong Lishan waved a hand and said, "Leave it at that. Among all the younger generation, you are my favorite. You are twenty-one this year, and yet, you have achieved three-stars of the Four Quadrants realm, as well as become a first-tier alchemist. You have a limitless future! I plan to inform everyone during the feast that I will promote you as the vice-dean of Jialan Academy."
"Vice-dean!" Yunshang said shockingly. "How can that be? I..."
The dean interrupted her, "If not you, I can't think of anyone else. There are indeed some old freaks in the academy whose cultivation base is higher than yours, but they are old, and you are cultivating soul alongside. Moreover, you are one of the five commanders of the State Guardians. Only when you take up this position would the others be convinced."
Yunshang was silent, fearing that Zhong Lishan would be offended if she kept on rejecting. As a result, there was a sudden hush in the office.
Suddenly, a burst of noise came through the window, and she saw many students heading toward the martial arts arena. "What's happening? Why are the students heading to the arena?" she asked in surprise.
"It's a little bit funny," Zhong Lishan said with a smile. "One of the students from your distinguished class, Li Yunxiao, has accepted the challenge of a graduating student, Lan Xuan, who is also the leader of the Xuan Gang. They will be fighting each other in the martial arts arena over Lan Fei's incident."
"Li Yunxiao has accepted Lan Xuan's challenge? Lan Fei's incident?" Yunshang cried out. "What happened during my absence?"
Zhong Lishan gave her a brief account of what happened, and once he had finished, he snorted and said, "These distinguished children are getting out of hand in the academy. It may not be a bad idea to let them fight each other."
"I can't believe Lan Fei was expelled..."
Yunshang was stumped for a moment, and then she hurriedly said, "No, I have to stop them! Li Yunxiao is a loser who couldn't even open his chakra. He can never defeat Lan Xuan. He's looking for abuse!"
Zhong Lishan's eyes flashed with surprise. "A loser who couldn't even open his chakra? Yunshang, both you and I were deceived by this Young Master Yun. Three days ago, he had opened seven chakras and thrown out a punch with a force of over one thousand catties during the assessment in the martial arts arena! Hehe! I didn't expect this brat to have such a scheming mind, hiding his strength so deep. I reckon he must have broken through into the Origin realm by now!"
"Li Yunxiao can throw out a punch with a force of over one thousand catties and may have broken through into the Origin realm?" Yunshang was utterly dumbfounded now. "How's that possible! He couldn't have hidden his strength from me. Could it be that he had made the breakthrough over the last few days? No, it can't be! That would be even more absurd!"
She turned abruptly and went for the door. "I won't allow it to happen!" she said in a deep voice. "Even if he did break through into the Origin realm, he is still no match for Lan Xuan! Lan Xuan ranks third on the Minor Power Chart, and I fear he's only one step away from becoming a martial master!"
Yunxiao's figure in class that day flashed through her mind. She always had a feeling that he was very different from the past, and his bright eyes even made her feel ill at ease. It was because of his guidance that she was able to smoothly become a first-tier alchemist, and for that, she could not let him be crippled by anyone!
Zhong Lishan was a little surprised. "I'll come with you and see what is the level of the students nowadays. Rank third on the Minor Power Chart? Hehe…Interesting!"
…
In the ten-fold gravity chamber, Yu Hezheng could not help saying, "Landuo, that piece of trash is going to fight Lan Xuan today. Are we really not going to watch it?"
Landuo's eyes flashed with disgust. She was getting less and less fond of Yu Hezheng. "You go then! I'm not free. Lan Xuan is only one notch below brother Lin on the Minor Power Chart, so that clown is only making a fool of himself. But, Lan Xuan is no better, for he only picks on the weak. Only brother Lin and Bai Chengfeng are the true experts in my heart!"
Yu Hezheng felt a bad taste in his mouth when he saw the beaming look on her face as she mentioned Lin Yu. "Since you're not going, I'll go myself. I've always wanted to see how that piece of sh*t dies!"
Looking at Yu Hezheng's back as he left, Landuo said disdainfully, "He cannot defeat Li Yunxiao, so he enjoys when someone else is beating him... I can't believe this Yu Hezheng is such a wimp!"
Just as Yu Hezheng was being teleported away from the gravity chamber, her eyes caught a familiar figure who dragged his tired body into the teleportation array as well and vanished.
The figure, in addition to his weariness, gave her a sense of loneliness and pride which startled her. Unable to contain her shock, she murmured, "Li Yunxiao?"