Chapter 10: Days with Ziyan
Half a month later.
On the mountain where Lin Yuan practiced alchemy, after a flurry of movements, the calm Lin Yuan flicked Ziyan's forehead, who was panting heavily, and chuckled, "Ziyan, this is the seventh time, right?"
Hearing this, Ziyan lay down on the grass, feeling a bit deflated. She looked at Lin Yuan and mumbled, "How come you're so strong? And you're getting stronger and stronger. Clearly, my cultivation level should be a bit higher than yours."
"Strength isn't the only factor that determines the outcome of a battle. Environment and tactics are also important. Your fighting style is too straightforward; you rely solely on your cultivation and physical strength. It's fine when facing someone with lower cultivation, but it becomes dangerous when facing someone with higher cultivation or someone who is equally matched but very skilled in combat," Lin Yuan commented.
During this half month, Lin Yuan spent his time refining pills, helping Ziyan concoct elixirs and snacks, and sparring with her.
Ziyan was somewhat unconvinced after losing to Lin Yuan in their first match. She felt that Lin Yuan's cultivation wasn't higher than hers and believed she lost due to carelessness. Wanting to win back her pride, she continuously challenged Lin Yuan. They had fought several times over the past half month, and each time, Ziyan was easily defeated by Lin Yuan. This was already the seventh time.
"What should I do then?" Ziyan asked, a bit confused.
"Two methods: First, improve your cultivation level to overpower your opponent with absolute strength. If the gap in strength is significant, you won't have to worry about these things. Second, learn a few combat techniques that suit you to refine your fighting style. For you, focusing on improving your cultivation level is the priority right now!"
"So, it means I should eat more pills and level up quickly, right? I understand! Brother Lin Yuan, I've run out of pills. Please help me refine some more. I want to eat more and level up faster," Ziyan said, suddenly enlightened, as she got up and looked at Lin Yuan with a mischievous smile.
"Usually, you call me Lin Yuan, but when you want something, it's Brother Lin or Brother Lin Yuan. You little girl! I really can't do anything with you," Lin Yuan said, helplessly rubbing his forehead. However, despite his complaints, his body was honest and headed towards the alchemy cauldron to prepare pills for Ziyan.
Ziyan watched Lin Yuan's back as he refined pills, her eyes narrowing slightly, and a beautiful smile crept onto her face.
Ten days later.
"Done!" With the last batch of pills completed, Lin Yuan let out a sigh of relief under the starlight. He had finished all the fourth-grade and below pills assigned by Elder Huo, and he had even produced more than the required amount for the academy. Additionally, due to Lin Yuan's high success rate in alchemy, there were still plenty of leftover materials, which naturally belonged to him.
Originally, Lin Yuan had planned to take 2-3 months to complete this alchemy task, as the quantity was indeed considerable. However, thanks to his optimized techniques and increased experience (Lin Yuan could now directly use the Qingling Flame to refine dozens of herbs simultaneously), his efficiency in alchemy skyrocketed, allowing him to complete the task ahead of schedule.
After putting away the pills, Lin Yuan pondered, "Once I submit this batch of pills, the higher-ups will surely believe in my alchemy skills. After all, the success rate is so high, and the quality is excellent. It will be reasonable for me to request materials for fifth-grade pills next."
Suddenly, Lin Yuan's expression changed as he felt a loosening of the bottleneck within him. He immediately sat cross-legged and began to channel his energy to break through the bottleneck.
The next day, just as the sun rose, a powerful fighting spirit erupted from Lin Yuan's body. He opened his eyes while sitting cross-legged, revealing a satisfied look in his eyes.
"Three-Star Dou Wang, I've made it."
Ziyan, who had been awakened by Lin Yuan's breakthrough, yawned and sleepily looked at him, "So early, what are you doing?"
"Get ready, Ziyan. We're heading back to the academy!" Lin Yuan turned to Ziyan and said.
Upon hearing this, Ziyan became fully alert and hurriedly asked, "Why do we have to go back? Isn't it nice here?"
She had been enjoying her recent days, with Lin Yuan refining various delicious pills for her. After eating, she could just lie down and digest without having to sneak around looking for herbs. When she finished eating, she could just sweet-talk Lin Yuan, and when bored, she could spar with him. Lin Yuan spoiled her quite a bit.
"It's not that it's not nice here, but rather that you enjoy your daily routine of eating and sleeping too much! If this continues, I'll become a poor man and won't be able to support you," Lin Yuan said, pinching Ziyan's little face, annoyed. A small portion of the surplus from helping the academy with alchemy had turned into Ziyan's snacks.
Ziyan, hearing this, touched the back of her head and smiled sheepishly.
Over these days, their relationship had progressed significantly, and their interactions resembled that of very close siblings.
"Let's go!" After Lin Yuan finished speaking, he spread his azure fire wings and soared into the sky, flying towards the inner academy. Ziyan followed suit, spreading her purple wings to keep up.
Upon returning to the inner academy, Lin Yuan headed straight for the Grand Elder's office. Just as he reached outside the building, Ziyan, who had been closely following him, suddenly reacted, her expression changing as she turned to run away.
Suddenly, a figure appeared in front of Ziyan, blocking her path. It was the Grand Elder Su Qian, who looked exasperated. "You little girl, after being wild outside for so long, you want to run away as soon as you come back? Are you trying to drive me crazy?"
Seeing that she was blocked by the Grand Elder, Ziyan jumped and hid behind Lin Yuan, then stuck out her tongue at Su Qian, saying, "I knew you would scold me when you saw me, so I wanted to run! Hmph."
The Grand Elder seemed to be choked by Ziyan's words, his face turning red. He took a few deep breaths to calm himself down. Lin Yuan watched with interest, finding their interaction quite amusing. They resembled a mischievous granddaughter and a lecturing grandfather. Although their exchange was fiery, the underlying affection was genuine. Perhaps only Ziyan could make the usually composed Grand Elder show such expressions!
Once he calmed down, Su Qian looked at Lin Yuan and asked, "Lin Yuan, did you come here for something? Also, how did you two end up together?"
Lin Yuan replied, "I came here because Elder Huo assigned me the task of refining pills, and I've completed all the pills below the fifth grade. I'm here to submit them to the Grand Elder. The pills are in this spatial ring." He then handed a spatial ring to Su Qian.
Su Qian took the ring and checked it, finding a large quantity of high-quality third and fourth-grade pills. Even without being an alchemist, he could tell the quality was excellent. He couldn't help but praise, "Although I've heard from Elder Huo about your talent in alchemy, I didn't expect you to produce so many high-quality pills in just two months. It seems that fifth-grade pills won't be a problem for you now. The younger generation is truly formidable!"
"Thank you for the compliment, Grand Elder. It's all thanks to the academy's support!" Lin Yuan humbly nodded, then continued, "As for Ziyan and me, here's the situation..."
Lin Yuan then recounted the events of the past few days to Su Qian, mainly expressing that he really liked Ziyan and had always wanted a little sister like her.
Su Qian listened without suspicion. After all, Lin Yuan had only recently arrived at the inner academy, so there was no possibility or motive for him to scheme against Ziyan. Moreover, the fact that he liked Ziyan resonated with Su Qian, who often teased her but actually cared for the quirky little girl.
Looking at Ziyan, who was bored and kicking the ground, Su Qian couldn't help but scold her, "You troublesome girl, didn't I teach you not to take other people's things without permission? Luckily, it was Lin Yuan this time. What if it were someone else with a worse temper who was stronger than you?"
As he spoke, he couldn't help but worry. He knew Ziyan's ability to get into trouble. While he could generally manage things within the inner academy, what would happen outside? After thinking for a moment, he looked at Lin Yuan and, recalling Ziyan's obsession with the pills he refined, suddenly had an idea. He took out a scroll from his spatial ring and handed it to Lin Yuan.
Lin Yuan took the scroll, puzzled, and Su Qian cleared his throat, explaining, "I have a favor to ask. I've heard that you're quite skilled in researching combat techniques, and this is a scroll of a movement technique that I've collected. I hope you can teach this technique to Ziyan. Since she loves the pills you refine, if she doesn't practice seriously, you shouldn't help her refine pills. Let's see if she takes it seriously."
"Old man, don't meddle in my affairs! I don't want to learn any combat techniques; it's such a hassle. Lin Yuan, don't listen to him," Ziyan said, a bit anxious, her beautiful eyes glaring at Su Qian, the old man who wanted to take away her food.
"You cause so much trouble; if you don't learn combat techniques, what will you do if you get into trouble in the future? You get impatient when asked to practice combat techniques; let's see how you handle it this time," Su Qian shot back, glaring at Ziyan. He then turned to Lin Yuan and said earnestly, "Lin Yuan, you're very sensible and understand Ziyan well. You should know what is best for her!"
"Don't worry, Grand Elder. I'll take on this task," Lin Yuan nodded and agreed to Su Qian's request. Upon hearing Lin Yuan agree, Ziyan immediately showed a look of despair.
"Great, thank you! Is there anything you need help with?" Seeing Ziyan's dejected expression, Su Qian knew he had successfully gotten through to her, and he felt quite pleased as he asked Lin Yuan.
Lin Yuan thought for a moment and then cupped his hands, asking Su Qian, "Could the Grand Elder help keep an eye out for any secret techniques that can temporarily boost strength and high-level body refinement combat techniques?"
"Oh? Secret techniques for temporarily boosting strength and high-level body refinement combat techniques? I'll help keep an eye out for that," Su Qian stroked his beard, thought for a moment, and agreed to Lin Yuan. He then looked at Ziyan, "Ziyan, study hard. You'll understand that this is all for your own good! I have to go busy myself now." With that, he vanished without waiting for Ziyan to respond.
"Dou Zong?" Lin Yuan looked at the disappearing figure, pondering. He glanced at the scroll in his hand and used his spiritual perception to investigate it. "High-level movement technique of the Xuan rank, 'Cloud Dragon Dance.'"
Looking at Ziyan, who appeared gloomy beside him, Lin Yuan patted her head, "Let's go, Ziyan."
"I don't want to go anywhere!" Ziyan replied sulkily, kicking the ground with her foot.
Seeing Ziyan acting like a spoiled child, Lin Yuan couldn't help but chuckle to himself, thinking, "She really is just a kid." He then teased, "Don't you want to eat something even more delicious and nutritious? If not, I'll just leave."
"I want to eat!" Ziyan replied instantly, her expression changing to one of anticipation. Watching Ziyan's quick change of mood, Lin Yuan realized he had been outsmarted by this little girl.
"Let's go! We're heading to the beast habitat in the back mountain," Lin Yuan said to Ziyan as he spread his fire wings.
"What are we going there for? Didn't you say you were going to make me food?" Ziyan asked, puzzled, as she also spread her fighting spirit wings.
"Of course, we're going to 'borrow' some ingredients from the beasts in the back mountain. After all, to make you something delicious, I need some high-quality ingredients," Lin Yuan chuckled, flapping his fire wings and shooting out, with Ziyan following closely behind.
Two streaks of light, one blue and one purple, cut through the sky, flying towards the beast area in the back mountain of the inner academy.
**(End of Chapter)**