Then, Master Mo sent someone to deliver the relevant materials, placing them on a table by a furnace not far from Mo Ruyan. Turning to Lin Xuan, he said kindly, “Young friend Lin, go ahead and inspect them.” “Mm.” Lin Xuan nodded and walked over. He examined the furnace, the pill formula, and the herbs separately. Spirit-grade pill refining was far more challenging, so the assessment criteria were somewhat relaxed. As per standard practice, there were five sets of materials here. Before long, Lin Xuan finished his inspection. “No issues.” “Then let’s begin. Each of you has five sets of Nourishing Spirit Pill materials. You only need to succeed with one set, producing five pills, regardless of quality, to pass the assessment. As for the competition results, they’ll be judged based on the final number and quality of pills produced,” Master Ren Yuan announced.
As his words fell, Mo Ruyan lowered her head and began refining, her expression focused. Roasting the herbs, extracting the essence, removing impurities, condensing into form... Step by step, she proceeded. It was quite smooth, clearly indicating that Mo Ruyan had practiced many times before. But Lin Xuan didn’t move. Instead, he stood calmly in place, quietly observing Mo Ruyan’s refining process. A faint glimmer flickered in his eyes as he instantly memorized, comprehended, absorbed, and familiarized himself with her technique. “Why isn’t he starting?” “Could it be he’s never refined before and is learning from Yan’er’s process?” From a distance, Master Ren Yuan, Master Mo, and the other staff watched with puzzled expressions. Still, they didn’t interrupt.
Soon, Mo Ruyan’s first set of materials neared completion. She divided the condensed solid essence into five parts, wrapping each in pill fire, roasting and polishing them into pills. Lin Xuan, however, shook his head slightly. A spirit-grade alchemist could refine pills from tier four to six. But unlike mortal-grade, a spirit-grade set of materials typically yielded ten pills. This was because spirit-grade materials were more abundant and of higher quality. The essence extracted from one set was far richer in potency than mortal-grade, incomparable. Producing ten pills ensured full utilization of the potency while maintaining balance. Mo Ruyan, by only refining five pills from one set, reduced the difficulty but wasted much of the potency. It also broke the original balance. Sure enough. Before long, With a bang, one of the five pills burst into ash. Mo Ruyan could only continue roasting and polishing the remaining four pills. Seeing this, Lin Xuan stopped paying attention. He lowered his head and began refining. Having observed and studied the pill formula, coupled with his exceptional alchemy talent, he was already as familiar with refining the Nourishing Spirit Pill as if he’d done it thousands of times. He could even guarantee a hundred percent success rate. Of course, achieving all pills with three marks was unlikely. After all, his alchemy talent was only at the spirit-grade, not yet high enough.
Not far away, Master Mo and Master Ren Yuan perked up, their gazes converging on him. They wanted to witness Lin Xuan’s alchemy skill firsthand. They saw him performing the same routine steps—roasting herbs, extracting essence, removing impurities—but with a fluid, effortless grace. Smooth and seamless, without a single pause, as if the refining process was ingrained in his very bones, mastered to perfection. It was a sight to behold. “Is this really alchemy?” “Is it this simple?” “Such a smooth process!” “...” Everyone present was stunned. They had never seen alchemy executed with such elegance, as if it were crafting a work of art rather than refining pills. Master Mo and Master Ren Yuan exchanged glances. Both saw the barely concealed shock in each other’s eyes. Even if they, as earth-grade alchemists, were to refine the Nourishing Spirit Pill, could they match Lin Xuan? And Lin Xuan was only sixteen, having dabbled in alchemy for no more than a short time. Yet he possessed such skill. It showed just how terrifying his alchemy talent was! Master Mo and Master Ren Yuan were both deeply shaken by Lin Xuan’s talent. But Lin Xuan remained unfazed, focused on his work.
Before long, his process also neared completion. With a thought, Lin Xuan divided the solid essence into ten parts, each wrapped in a ball of pill fire, roasting and polishing them into pills. His alchemy talent, combining four spirit-grade traits, was at the peak of spirit-grade. The power and effect of his pill fire far surpassed Mo Ruyan’s. In just a few breaths, he completed the final step. With a slight tremor of the pill fire, he sent the ten successfully refined Nourishing Spirit Pills flying out. They landed precisely on the jade plate on the nearby table, producing a crisp, clear clatter like pearls colliding. A faint fragrance spread through the air. Only then did everyone snap back to reality, staring at the ten pills on Lin Xuan’s jade plate in renewed shock. “He succeeded that fast?” “This is damn fast! I bet I’d only be on the second step!” “Is this the terror of a top-tier alchemy prodigy?” “...” The staff exclaimed in amazement. Master Mo and Master Ren Yuan were equally astonished. Lin Xuan’s refining speed had once again exceeded their expectations.
Meanwhile, a crisp sound came from the other side—Mo Ruyan. She had just succeeded with her first set of materials. Looking at the four Nourishing Spirit Pills rolling on her jade plate, Mo Ruyan smiled. Though she had tried many times before, she had always failed. This was the first time she had produced four pills in one go. Perhaps the competition had spurred her potential. Mo Ruyan nodded slightly, a look of satisfaction in her eyes. Then, regaining her cool, proud demeanor, she turned to look at Lin Xuan. She wanted to see how far behind she was compared to him. But when her gaze landed on Lin Xuan, especially on the jade plate in his hand, she froze, standing rooted to the spot. “How is this possible? This... how can it be?” Mo Ruyan stammered, her voice barely a whisper. She felt as if she were hallucinating, her mind playing tricks on her. There stood Lin Xuan, calm and composed, with ten round Nourishing Spirit Pills on his jade plate. Though the distance made it hard to discern their quality, their luster clearly indicated they were finished products—successfully refined. She had just broken her own record, achieving an unprecedented result: four tier-six, low-grade Nourishing Spirit Pills from one set of materials. And Lin Xuan, a youth several years her junior, had succeeded in such a short time. Not just four pills like her, but a full ten— the maximum number from one set of materials. This sight was something she, who prided herself as an alchemy prodigy, could hardly believe! It made her question her very existence!