“The reason I chose the Golden Snow Lotus Essence-Dispersing Pill is that golden snow lotus contains a unique component, snow lotus essence, which can alleviate physical discomfort caused by excessive true essence expansion…”
In his response, Ling Xiao not only explained why he selected the Golden Snow Lotus Essence-Dispersing Pill but also cited extensively from the books he’d read, quoting classic passages and referencing practical cases.
His answer spanned over a thousand words, demonstrating a profound understanding of the foundational texts, pharmacology, and medicinal ingredients that left everyone in awe.
Outside the door, Master Yang was both shocked and delighted. He even wondered if Ling Xiao had seen those books before.
But that was impossible. While other texts might be accessible, *Pharmacological Foundations* and *Beast Materia Medica* were not something people in the secular world could encounter.
And even if he had seen them, Ling Xiao was only fourteen. Could he have been studying since the womb?
That was clearly absurd, leaving only one conclusion: this kid was a freak of nature!
Lan Yu’er’s face showed astonishment. She could no longer comprehend this boy, younger than her.
From their initial conversation, she knew Ling Xiao was a complete novice in alchemy and herbology. Yet now, his performance resembled that of a seasoned herbologist who’d studied for years.
This was beyond belief.
“You really never studied alchemy or herbology before?” Lan Yu’er couldn’t help asking.
“Never!” Ling Xiao shook his head, his eyes clear. There was no need to lie about this.
Dai Yuling, standing nearby, was beaming with joy.
She knew Ling Xiao well. Back at the Hidden Dragon Camp, he definitely didn’t understand pharmacology; otherwise, he could’ve healed Leng Mei’s injury.
But now, Ling Xiao’s foundation seemed even stronger than hers. He was truly a prodigy in alchemy and herbology.
The things Ling Xiao mentioned—some of which even Lan Yu’er still hadn’t fully grasped—were astonishing.
“Good, final question!” Lan Yu’er took a deep breath, deciding to ramp up the difficulty.
“Go ahead, Senior Sister.”
“Right now, we have the materials for alchemy, and an ordinary Golden Snow Lotus Essence-Dispersing Pill can be made with these common ingredients. Go ahead—refine one.”
*Creak!*
The door swung open, and Master Yang walked in, chuckling, “Lan girl, don’t make it too hard for him. In less than two days, it’s impressive enough that he understands the theory of alchemy. But theory and practice are worlds apart. Even you took a month to successfully refine an ordinary spiritual pill, didn’t you?”
Lan Yu’er knew her question was indeed too much for Ling Xiao.
This was a highly complex, practical task.
It required knowledge of pharmacology, ingredients, fire control, and basic alchemy, plus familiarity with the tools and process of pill refining.
A single mistake could lead to failure.
She’d asked this to probe Ling Xiao’s limits, not to deliberately sabotage him.
Master Yang’s words snapped her back to reality. To others, this might look like intentional bullying.
Truthfully, Lan Yu’er didn’t want to offend such a genius.
She was about to use Master Yang’s comment as an excuse to back off.
“You’re right. The books cover the practical process, but you haven’t studied it formally, and I haven’t taught you. This is out of scope. Let me ask something else—”
“No need to change the question, Senior Sister. Refining an ordinary Golden Snow Lotus Essence-Dispersing Pill won’t take long. I’ll give it a try,” Ling Xiao interrupted.
Though he’d never done it in reality, his martial soul clone had practiced countless times in the Mountain River World.
He was confident he could do it.
“What? You’re sure about this?” Master Yang was stunned.
Pill refining was something only true herbologists could accomplish. While the Golden Snow Lotus Essence-Dispersing Pill was relatively simple with an uncomplicated formula, it still required over a dozen ingredients.
Each ingredient’s properties, characteristics, and contraindications had to be perfectly understood. A single error could ruin the process.
And then there was fire control—a nightmare for beginners.
A newbie who’d studied pharmacology for less than two days probably hadn’t even memorised the names of the ingredients, let alone their properties or contraindications. Asking him to refine a pill?
Wasn’t that a joke?
Yet Ling Xiao agreed.
Was he actually capable, just unwilling to back down, or simply arrogant?
Ling Xiao didn’t know their thoughts. He was in a hurry to deal with Li Anle and Yang Cheng, so he got to work.
Master Yang and Lan Yu’er exchanged a glance, both seeing disbelief in each other’s eyes.
What followed was even more unbelievable.
Ling Xiao’s process—selecting ingredients, preparing them, igniting the fire, controlling the flame, and refining the pill—was seamless, without a single pause.
He could identify some ingredients with just a glance.
Golden snow lotus was easy to recognise, but the dozen or so auxiliary ingredients were trickier, often inconspicuous. Only veteran herbologists could identify them instantly.
Yet Ling Xiao was even more terrifying.
He didn’t even need to weigh the ingredients; his hand seemed like the most precise measuring tool.
Watching this, Master Yang was dumbfounded.
Lan Yu’er’s heart raced. She could hardly believe this fourteen-year-old boy was outshining her.
For years, she’d been hailed as one of the inner sect’s top geniuses, unrivalled in pharmacology.
But now, that top spot had clearly been surpassed.
She should’ve been angry, furious even, but strangely, she felt something else.
She couldn’t quite name it, but watching Ling Xiao focus on refining the pill, his otherwise ordinary appearance suddenly seemed… dashing.
“Time’s up!”
Ling Xiao suddenly reached to open the alchemy furnace.
At this, Master Yang and Lan Yu’er both sighed in relief.
They thought Ling Xiao was opening the furnace too early—surely he wasn’t *that* freakishly talented.
The standard time for refining a Golden Snow Lotus Essence-Dispersing Pill was fifteen minutes, but Ling Xiao was opening the furnace well before that.
His timing was a full six or seven tenths faster than the standard.
