In the spacious study, Hu Qian watched the slowly closing walls of the room and turned to Lin Yuan, who was standing inside, smiling as he said, "Alright, you've received your reward. Take a good rest, and report to the inner courtyard tomorrow. How has the old man Huo arranged things?"
Lin Yuan replied, "In the past two days, Master Huo has already given me some alchemy formulas and tasks. Once I get to the inner courtyard, I can start refining pills anytime as long as I have the materials!"
"That's good. Your arrangements in the inner courtyard are also set. The Grand Elder has decided to let you enter the inner courtyard directly as an elder. After all, it doesn't make much sense for a Dou Wang to be a student. However, you won't be assigned any other duties; you just need to focus on your cultivation and alchemy," Hu Qian conveyed the academy's specific arrangements for Lin Yuan.
"Thank you, Dean!"
"Go back and prepare. Tomorrow, I'll take you to the inner courtyard."
"Yes."
After bidding farewell to the vice dean, Lin Yuan visited the Alchemy Department to observe Elder Huo refining a mid-level fifth-grade pill, the Recovery Pill. With his now comparable soul perception to Elder Huo, he was able to easily and clearly understand aspects he had previously found confusing, which greatly boosted Lin Yuan's confidence in refining fifth-grade pills.
Once the Recovery Pill was completed, Elder Huo immediately handed it to Lin Yuan. Under Elder Huo's watchful eye, Lin Yuan consumed the pill, successfully replenishing two years of his lifespan, and the urgency in his heart eased slightly.
The next day.
Lin Yuan followed Hu Qian through the vast forest of magical beasts on the back mountain. Upon reaching a clearing, Hu Qian waved his hand, and a beam of energy shot out, striking the empty space in front of them. Immediately, the energy created ripples like water waves, and a large silver door, about seven or eight meters tall, appeared out of thin air!
"Follow me." With a wave of his hand, Hu Qian stepped through the silver door first.
After passing through the door, an old man in a black robe stood with his hands behind his back. He turned around, his white beard and hair contrasting with his cold, sharp gaze that seemed to cut through Lin Yuan.
Seeing this, Hu Qian was slightly surprised and said, "Grand Elder, what are you doing here?"
The old man before them was none other than the Grand Elder of the inner courtyard, Su Qian.
After staring at Lin Yuan for a few seconds, the Grand Elder looked at Hu Qian and then revealed a satisfied expression, smiling as he said, "I was nearby and sensed your aura, so I came over. This must be our little genius Lin Yuan from the Jia Nan Academy!"
Hearing this, Lin Yuan stepped forward, clasped his fists, and respectfully said, "Student Lin Yuan, greetings to the Grand Elder!"
Hu Qian smiled slightly beside them and said to the Grand Elder, "Grand Elder, since you are here, I will leave Lin Yuan in your care. I have a lot of matters to attend to, so I will take my leave."
The Grand Elder nodded, "You go ahead!"
Hu Qian turned to Lin Yuan and said, "Little Lin, do well in the inner courtyard!" Without waiting for Lin Yuan's response, he turned and flew away.
The Grand Elder patted Lin Yuan's shoulder and said, "Let's go, little Lin. I've heard about you from Hu Qian and the others. It seems they weren't exaggerating. It looks like their work in the outer courtyard has gone smoothly, which pleases me greatly."
Saying this, he led Lin Yuan towards the student area of the inner courtyard.
Upon arriving at the inner courtyard, the Grand Elder explained the specific arrangements for Lin Yuan. He arranged a courtyard for Lin Yuan in the elder area, gave him an elder's token, and handed him a purple fire crystal card filled with abundant fire energy. His task was to complete the alchemy assignments given by Elder Huo while cultivating. The materials for alchemy could be registered and taken from the material storage, and the Grand Elder had already informed Elder Hao, who managed the materials.
After leaving the Grand Elder's office, Lin Yuan followed the map to the "Sky Burning Refining Tower," eager to experience the unique features of Jia Nan Academy.
Upon reaching the "Sky Burning Refining Tower," Lin Yuan entered. The moment his feet touched the ground inside the tower, a cluster of strange, formless flames appeared within him. As this formless flame emerged, the high temperature it radiated caused a slight stinging sensation in Lin Yuan's meridians, bones, muscles, and other organs.
Immediately, Lin Yuan closed his eyes, using his powerful soul force to stabilize the formless flame within him. He then curiously controlled his Dou Qi to interact with the formless flame. The Dou Qi that had been burned by the formless flame was indeed more refined, and as Lin Yuan's Dou Qi washed over it, the flame quickly extinguished.
"This flame is too weak; it won't be of much use to a Dou Wang. I should go down to the lower levels," Lin Yuan thought, and then he stepped downwards.
Ultimately, Lin Yuan chose an empty single cultivation room on the lowest level. He sat cross-legged on the cultivation stone platform, inserted the fire crystal card, and smiled with satisfaction at the heart fire flame that had appeared within him, which was much stronger than before.
"This is good; the intensity of the heart fire has increased significantly, enough to refine my Dou Qi and solidify my foundation."
Then, he closed his eyes, formed hand seals, and began his cultivation.
One month later.
In a cultivation room on the lower level of the Sky Burning Refining Tower, Lin Yuan, who had been meditating, slowly moved his hand seals. After completing the final seal, he gradually opened his eyes.
After getting up, Lin Yuan focused his thoughts and quickly condensed a solid fire cone using his alchemical fire technique. He used his soul perception to examine the fire cone and smiled slightly, "It's much more refined than a month ago. It seems the improvement in Dou Qi quality has a greater impact on the enhancement of the alchemical fire technique than I imagined."
Dismissing the fire cone, Lin Yuan assessed his own state, "Spending a month refining my Dou Qi has indeed not been a waste of time. The quality of my Dou Qi has improved significantly, and my cultivation level has also risen a bit, getting closer to the Three Star Dou Wang. Unfortunately, I'm still a bit short; the level-up after Dou Wang is indeed much slower than before."
After organizing his thoughts, Lin Yuan retrieved his fire crystal card and opened the door to the cultivation room to walk outside.
As he left, several students noticed the young Lin Yuan, who looked unfamiliar and was clearly not very old, coming from below, and they couldn't help but feel puzzled.
A two-star Dou Ling raised his hand to grab Lin Yuan's shoulder from behind while asking, "This classmate looks quite unfamiliar. May I ask who you are?" As he spoke, his hand passed through "Lin Yuan," and his expression changed, "A residual shadow?"
It was indeed the residual shadow created by Lin Yuan's combination of the Dragon Step and Instant Step.
To further hone his skills and refine his combat techniques, Lin Yuan often applied various techniques in different practical activities, enhancing his control over combat skills, Dou Qi, and soul power. Therefore, he was quite adept at combining multiple techniques.
The student turned to look, and Lin Yuan's true self had already flickered ten meters away, leaving a residual shadow before disappearing from that level in an instant.
In the distance, a silver-haired girl murmured with slight confusion, "Lin Yuan?"
**(End of Chapter)**