Chapter 13: Ning Yue, I will remember you

Ning Yue’s control over the heat was masterful.

After all, even with the same dish, two people following the same steps couldn’t achieve exactly the same result.  It all comes down to each person’s grasp of the heat and their skill in applying it.

Ning Yue tested the temperature, then condensed the flames in her palm into a small ball. She tossed it under the pot, letting it burn on its own.  She then picked up a book and settled into a corner to read.

It was a “Beginner’s Guide to Low-Grade Pill Making.”  She was currently making a low-grade Rejuvenation Pill.  But the book also contained many strange and unusual pills.

Ning Yue’s hands itched; she decided to refine a few more pills.  She had the herbs, might as well use them!

She found a few pills in the book that sounded interesting and selected the ingredients: Truth Serum Pills (which made you only speak the truth), Spring Rebirth Pills (which healed internal and external injuries), and Abstinence Pills (which allowed one to go without food).

Ning Yue reluctantly looked up from her book. Unfortunately, she only had two pots; refining too many pills at once would cause the flavors and possibly the effects to mix. She would refine the three she was most interested in first.

Ning Yue opened the lid of the alchemy pot; a wave of steam rushed up.  In the center of the pot sat a perfectly formed, pure white pill. A refreshing fragrance wafted out.

“Wow” Ning Yue exclaimed, “These are truly different, using the herbs of the cultivation world.”

She marveled at it, taking a small jar from the shelf to store the refined pill.  No rush.  She had no intention of becoming the top alchemist of this generation.  So she leisurely began researching the remaining pills.

She adjusted the heat of the two pots and added the ingredients according to the recipe.  She worked for hours, breaking a sweat.

The man in green had already sensed the aura of the refined pills emanating from Ning Yue’s cubicle. He stood silently outside, waiting for Ning Yue to bring out the pills for his appraisal before opening the door to let her out.

He waited for a long time, but Ning Yue didn’t come out. Afraid of disturbing her, he didn’t call out. He decided to wait a little longer.

“Boom!”

A loud bang came from Ning Yue’s cubicle!  Then flames shot up at incredible speed!

The man in green’s eyes narrowed.  With incredible speed, he lifted the curtain.  He reached out, precisely grabbing Ning Yue and pulling her out!

“Cough cough”

Ning Yue covered her mouth, soot-covered and looking dejected, reluctantly gazing at her burning cubicle.

“Oh nomy pills!”

“What did you do?” The man in green frowned.

A large vat of water appeared in mid-air, quickly extinguishing the fire in the cubicle.

Ning Yue, with a bitter face, couldn’t understand what she had done wrong to cause a fire.

“…They were almost ready, just waiting to be uncovered. I don’t know why the pot suddenly exploded.”

Hearing this, the man in green stepped into Ning Yue’s cubicle and retrieved the two charred pots from the rubble.  He lifted the lids, and an incredibly rich, refreshing fragrance filled the air!

Ning Yue leaned in to look.

She froze…

“Impossible, didn’t it fail? Why does it look even better than the one I just refined!?”

The three pills in the pot were intact, nestled together beautifully.  They had a more translucent color than the previous pill, appearing to be of superior quality.

The man in green picked up the three pills and placed them in a bottle, smiling slightly.  It was a stark contrast to his usual cold expression, making him seem quite frightening.

Ning Yue shivered: “…”

“Um… you’re not going to make me pay for that, are you?”

“Of course not,” the man in green said, his brow relaxing. “It’s a minor thing. Do you know why the pot exploded?”

Ning Yue shook her head obediently.

Looking at the girl, who was no older than twelve or thirteen, the man felt a surge of relief. He placed the bottle of pills in Ning Yue’s hand.

“That’s because you refined high-grade pills. The impromptu concoction couldn’t handle it, so it exploded. Thankfully, the pills are fine.”

Ning Yue was shocked. She shook the small bottle in her hand. “…These are high-grade pills!?”

“Yes,” the man in green said. “At your age, being able to refine high-grade pills, your future in alchemy is immeasurable.”

He casually asked, “How long have you been studying alchemy?”

Ning Yue, still marveling at the bottle, casually replied, “Oh, this is my first time refining pills.”

The air suddenly fell silent…

Ning Yue came to her senses and, after a moment’s hesitation, looked at the man in green’s face.

His expression couldn’t be described as mere shock; it was incredibly complex, beyond Ning Yue’s ability to articulate.  It was similar to the reaction of the girl at the Sword Cultivator’s second trial.

He stood there frozen, his eyes constantly following Ning Yue.

Normally, even for a cultivator who had joined a sect and studied for several years, refining a single high-grade pill was a significant achievement.

Yet she… had refined three high-grade pills on her very first attempt!

Calling her a genius wouldn’t be an exaggeration.

Ning Yue inwardly sighed at her own carelessness. She should have said she had refined pills a few times before.  She had scared the senior cultivator half to death.

“You…” the man in green said with difficulty, “Show me your assignment.”

Ning Yue blinked and obediently retrieved the low-grade Rejuvenation Pill.

The man in green examined it for a moment, then said wordlessly, “…This isn’t a low-grade pill either. It looks like at least a mid-grade pill.”

Ning Yue scratched her head sheepishly. “…Haha, so I should have passed, right?”

“Mm.” He nodded, giving Ning Yue a deep look, then waved his sleeve, opening the door.

“…Ning Yue, is it? I remember you.”

Ning Yue awkwardly waved at him.

What was with that “I will definitely find you again” tone!

She no longer cared about finding Jiang Yishen; she quickly opened the door and escaped!

…

Several elders watching through the mirror stone fell into contemplation.

“This… is this Ning Yue?”

“She refined three high-grade pills on her first attempt! Is she really from the lower realms!?”

The usually taciturn alchemy elder was now beaming. “Such a promising talent!”

Suddenly remembering something, he turned sharply. “Law Enforcement Elder, Ning Yue is my disciple, let’s have a fair competition!”

After saying that, he quickly flew away on his sword to spar with the Law Enforcement Elder.

The remaining elders nervously watched the mirror stone.

Ning Yue had come out and returned to that place.  The alchemy door had disappeared.

The Ning Yue in the mirror stone didn’t seem to be leaving; she was examining the remaining doors.  It seemed she wanted to try them out.

The Talisman Elder murmured, “…Go to the Talisman door, go to the Talisman door.”

The Formation Elder stared intently at the mirror stone. “Pfft, pfft, a sound to ward off bad luck), go to the Formation door!”

The Talisman Elder’s temples throbbed, and he punched the Formation Elder. “Pfft, pfft, go to the Talisman door!!!”

Their eyes never left Ning Yue.  They saw Ning Yue step forward and reach out to push…

The Formation door “Hahahaha! Ning Yue chose the Formation door! I can also compete fairly with the Law Enforcement and Alchemy Elders!”

The Talisman Elder sighed, no longer wanting to watch the mirror stone.