Myriad Dragon Divine Sovereign

Wen Qingye quickly looked toward the Pill Furnace and saw the Wood Leaf Essence inside begin to boil. He hurriedly tossed in the Crescent Fruit. The moment it entered, the fruit slowly melted into a pool of liquid and fused with the essence.

The fusion process seemed normal, without any major errors.

Seeing this, Wen Qingye breathed a sigh of relief. He quickly covered the Pill Furnace and turned his eyes to Xiaxia.

”Master, I...” Xiaxia said with a pitiful look on her face, ”I’ve never had a Crescent Fruit before. I just wanted to see what it tasted like.”

”Alright, alright,” Wen Qingye said, waving his hand. In the end, he couldn’t bring himself to scold her.

Xiaxia grinned. ”Master, I definitely won’t do it again. Even if I do eat one, I’ll tell you beforehand.”

Wen Qingye tapped Xiaxia on the head. ”You’re still thinking about a ’next time’? I’m never letting you watch over the ingredients again, lest you steal what you’re supposed to be guarding.”

”Master, I won’t do it again! No, there won’t be a next time!” Xiaxia said hurriedly.

Wen Qingye stared at the Pill Furnace before him. A torrent of Primordial Qi surged from his hands, roaring into the furnace. Flames engulfed the vessel, turning the entire thing red-hot.

Xiaxia felt a wave of heat wash over her, and she couldn’t help but take several steps back.

”Rise!”

A sharp glint flashed in Wen Qingye’s eyes. With a lift of his hands, the Pill Furnace flew open. Three cyan pills, smooth and lustrous as jade, shot out. With a swift motion, he caught them in his palm.

Wen Qingye opened his palm, revealing three plump, lustrous pills shimmering in his hand.

Xiaxia looked at Wen Qingye in surprise. ”Master, so this is a Fourth-Grade Pill?”

Wen Qingye glanced at them and said slowly, ”A Fourth-Grade Pill, the Crescent Pill. It’s used to advance one’s cultivation.”

It was only then that Xiaxia truly understood how incredible her master was. Among the Outer Courtyard students, there was practically no one who could refine a Fourth-Grade Pill. Yet, with just a casual attempt, Wen Qingye had produced exactly that. With this level of alchemy skill alone, he could easily make a name for himself throughout the entire Qig Mountain Academy.

”Catch.”

Wen Qingye tossed a pill to Xiaxia, who scrambled to catch it.

”Master, this is for me?” Xiaxia asked, pleasantly surprised.

Wen Qingye said faintly, ”Taking too many of the same type of pill yields diminishing returns. Besides, constantly relying on pills to advance your cultivation isn’t good for you.”

”Master, you’re the best!” Xiaxia said, beaming as she put the pill away.

Wen Qingye rolled his eyes. ”Just make sure you remember that. And don’t steal any more ingredients.”

The two of them walked out of the Alchemy Room. Just as they were about to leave, several figures hurried past.

”Mr. Luo? What happened?” Wen Qingye asked, puzzled.

The one in the lead was none other than Luo Tang. However, his face was currently bruised, and there were traces of blood around his mouth and nose.

When Luo Tang saw Wen Qingye, he forced a smile. ”Oh, it’s Brother Wen. It’s nothing, just a few superficial wounds from sparring with fellow students.”

Xiaxia’s eyes widened in confusion. ”That can’t be right. Those injuries don’t look light at all. Whoever did this was way too heavy-handed.”

Luo Tang gave a dry laugh and said no more. But a West Mountain student beside him couldn’t hold back. ”What are you talking about? This was obviously Guu Xiong making an example of him to assert his dominance!”

Xiaxia asked, ”Guu Xiong? Isn’t he the top expert among the new students from West Mountain?”

”That’s him. He wants all of us from West Mountain to fall in line, but Brother Luo refused. So, Guu Xiong challenged him to a ’match,’ but everyone knew it was just an excuse to make a show of force.”

Luo Tang frowned and snapped, ”Zhou Guang!”

The West Mountain student immediately shut his mouth and stood back, not saying another word.

Wen Qingye looked at Luo Tang. ’This man seems decent,’ he thought. ’Upright and honorable. And seeing how these people are standing by him, he must be loyal and value his friends. He’s worth befriending.’ Thinking this, Wen Qingye took out a Crescent Pill. ”I just refined this Crescent Pill. Please, take it, Mr. Luo.”

Luo Tang instinctively caught the Crescent Pill. The moment it landed in his hand, he exclaimed, ”A Fourth-Grade Pill! Brother Wen, are you sure you just refined this?”

The other West Mountain students stared in astonishment at the pill in Luo Tang’s hand. A cyan Fourth-Grade Pill! The fact that Wen Qingye had apparently just refined it was staggering. Besides a few dedicated specialists in the Inner Courtyard’s Alchemy Dao, what student at Qig Mountain Academy could refine a Fourth-Grade Pill?

Before Wen Qingye could speak, Xiaxia chimed in from the side, ”That’s right! My master just refined it a moment ago. Can’t you feel that the pill is still warm?”

Luo Tang held it, feeling the warmth spread from his palm through his entire body. He quickly said, ”No, this Fourth-Grade Pill is too precious. I can’t accept it.”

Wen Qingye smiled. ”It’s fine, just take it. I was only able to refine this Crescent Pill because I used your White Phoenix Leaf. Otherwise, it would have been a Third-Grade Pill at best.”

Luo Tang hesitated for a moment. After a long pause, he gritted his teeth and said to Wen Qingye, ”In that case, thank you, Brother Wen. If you ever need anything in the future, I, Luo Tang, will not hesitate to help, no matter the cost.”

Xiaxia said proudly, ”Let me tell you, you’ve hit the jackpot by acknowledging my master as your big brother. His Alchemy Dao is...”

”Xiaxia,” Wen Qingye said, shooting her a warning glare.

”She’s right. From now on, Wen Qingye will be my big brother,” Luo Tang said quickly.

’He can refine a Fourth-Grade Pill, and he’s so young. Just based on that alone, he’s more than qualified to be my, Luo Tang’s, big brother.’

Wen Qingye waved his hand. ”My apprentice likes to joke around; don’t listen to her nonsense. If there’s nothing else, I’ll be on my way.”

After saying this with a smile, Wen Qingye turned and left.

Luo Tang watched Wen Qingye’s departing figure for a long time, then suddenly made a decision.

........

Xiaxia looked at Wen Qingye and whined, ”Master, don’t you know? That’s Luo Tang of the Luo Family from Dong’an County! He’s the Young Clan Leader! They’re considered a major family in the Celestial Martial Country. Why wouldn’t you want to accept?”

Wen Qingye frowned. ”That’s enough out of you. Go and memorize your herbology charts.”

Seeing his expression, Xiaxia stuck out her tongue and ran back to her thatched hut.

Wen Qingye returned to his room, sat cross-legged on his bed, and consumed one of the Crescent Pills.

The moment the Crescent Pill entered his stomach, Wen Qingye felt his entire body grow scorching hot. A warm current began to spread through his limbs and meridians, slowly seeping into his very bones.

The flow of energy gradually grew stronger, gathering into a raging torrent that crashed relentlessly against the barrier inside Wen Qingye’s body.

BOOM!

In that instant, Wen Qingye’s mind went fuzzy, then completely blank. He didn’t know how much time had passed before a sliver of clarity returned to his eyes. He then looked down at himself.

Qi Cultivation Ninth Layer Heaven!