Chapter 19

Lan Xuan's face turned red, and then he burst into a boisterous laugh, "If you're afraid, just say so. To have a woman fight your battles, is this the grandson of Duke Jingguo, the son of the Flying Dragon General? Haha!~"

"Ha, you sister, spit!" Li Yunxiao spat a mouthful of phlegm directly at Lan Xuan's face with such force that it almost made a whistling sound.

Lan Xuan's face turned furious, but seeing the phlegm flying towards him, he couldn't block it and could only step aside. To the onlookers, it seemed as if he was making way for Li Yunxiao.

Li Yunxiao walked past with a mocking smile, raising his middle finger, "Even though you're despicable, I accept your challenge! In three days, at the training ground, I'll make you kneel and lick my shoes!"

The entire hall of students was stunned, and Han Bo and Chen Zhen were so frightened that their faces turned pale. They hurriedly ran over to stand behind Li Yunxiao, urging him not to be impulsive.

Qin Ruxue also urgently said, "No, Li Yunxiao, don't be rash..."

Li Yunxiao felt a warmth in his heart. Although he had been aimless and accomplished nothing in the past fifteen years, he had a few true friends. Compared to his previous life, where he stood at the peak of the continent alone, this was much better.

He smiled slightly at the three of them, and that sunny smile immediately infected Chen Zhen, Han Bo, and Qin Ruxue, calming their anxious hearts. It was as if they were completely confident that Li Yunxiao would win.

The three of them were stunned, standing there in shock, unable to understand why they had such a strange, impossible feeling...

Lan Xuan was also stunned, his face turning ashen with anger. But he never expected Li Yunxiao to agree so readily. Afraid that Li Yunxiao might change his mind, he hurriedly said, "This is what you said. If you don't show up in three days, you'll have no place to stand in Jialan Academy!"

Li Yunxiao didn't even turn his head, only his faint laughter could be heard, "Don't worry, I won't wash my feet for these three days."

"You!" Lan Xuan's face turned ashen with anger, looking at Li Yunxiao's departing back with a cold, hateful gaze, "If I don't completely cripple you in three days, I won't be a Lan!"

Li Yunxiao's smile gradually faded, and a hint of killing intent flashed in his eyes.

The grudge between the Li and Lan families had lasted for decades. He would start with these little brats and then uproot the entire Lan family!

He left the academy and headed towards the Alchemist Guild.

The first-floor hall was still bustling. Li Yunxiao looked around and saw an alchemy apprentice fully focused on preparing a potion. A faint medicinal smell wafted over, and he knew it was a powerful potion, something that could temporarily boost a warrior's strength.

It was the annual exam at Jialan Academy, and such potions were in high demand.

The apprentice was fully concentrating, infusing soul power into the potion vessel, balancing the conflicting properties of the ingredients, and occasionally adding more.

Li Yunxiao smiled slightly and couldn't help but remind him, "You've added too much Cross-Training Grass. Add a Dust Flower to neutralize the properties, or it will explode in five breaths."

The apprentice looked up, saw someone he didn't recognize, and said irritably, "What do you know? Don't disturb me!"

"Three breaths."

"Two breaths."

Li Yunxiao counted softly, and when he said "one breath," the apprentice's face changed drastically. The potion, which had been calm, suddenly boiled and exploded with a "bang."

"This..." The apprentice was completely stunned.

The explosion wasn't large, just splashing him with potion. Such incidents happened dozens of times a day in the first-floor hall, so no one paid much attention.

"You... How did you know I added too much Cross-Training Grass?" the apprentice finally asked in surprise.

Li Yunxiao smiled, "Nothing, I just smelled it. I'm looking for Jia Rong. Can you inform him for me?"

"Smelled it?" The apprentice clearly didn't believe him. "Master Jia Rong is in seclusion, and I don't have the qualifications to see him."

A beautiful figure walked over, concerned, "Brother, did you fail again? Did you get hurt?"

The apprentice shook his head, "No, just wet. It's a pity about the materials. Sigh, I'm really useless!"

Li Yunxiao looked at the beauty and smiled, "Miss Lu Yao."

Lu Yao turned around, surprised, "Ah! It's you?"

Li Yunxiao put on a gentlemanly demeanor, "It's an honor that you remember me."

Lu Yao giggled, "After Master Liang Wenyu saw the formula you gave, he praised it highly."

"Master Liang praised it highly?" Lu Yu, the apprentice, asked in surprise, "Are you an alchemist too?"

Li Yunxiao smiled, "I used to be, but not currently. I'm looking for Jia Rong. Can you help me inform him?"

Lu Yao was stunned, "Master Jia Rong? He just came out of seclusion. Follow me." She then said to Lu Yu, "Brother, don't be discouraged. Try a few more times, you'll succeed eventually."

Lu Yu said bitterly, "Maybe I don't have the talent to become an alchemist. I've tried over ten times with a simple powerful potion and still can't succeed. The materials are very expensive, and I can't afford to waste them anymore. I'm also not young, and I plan to find a family to join soon."

Lu Yao was shocked, "Brother, don't do that. Believe in yourself. In Lu Yao's eyes, you're always the best!"

A glint of light flashed in Lu Yu's eyes but quickly faded, "You've been earning money for me to study all these years. I don't want to be a burden to you anymore. If I can't make the powerful potion after using up these materials, I'll give up."

Li Yunxiao suddenly smiled, "Remember to use three fewer Cross-Training Grass. If the color is too light, add a Sky-Piercing Mushroom. Trust me, you can do it!"

Lu Yu was surprised, "You... You're an alchemist?"

Li Yunxiao said, "I already said, I used to be, but not currently."

Lu Yu: "..."

Lu Yao encouraged, "Brother, try it as he said. The formula he gave last time was highly praised by Master Liang Wenyu."

Lu Yu thought for a moment and said, "Alright, I'll try!"

Li Yunxiao smiled and followed Lu Yao to the second floor.

This was Li Yunxiao's first time on the second floor of the Alchemist Guild, but the structure of the alchemist towers was consistent across the continent. He felt like he was on familiar ground.

They soon arrived at a room, and Lu Yao knocked gently on the door. Inside, Jia Rong's impatient voice sounded, as if he had been disturbed during his cultivation.

Lu Yao was startled and said nervously, "A young man named Yun Shao is looking for you."

"Yun Shao?!"

A shocked voice came from inside, followed by a series of "clattering" sounds, as if many things had been knocked over. The door then burst open.

"Yun Shao!" Jia Rong's face was filled with reverence, and he quickly stepped aside to make way.

Lu Yao was stunned, her face full of disbelief. The usually proud Master Jia Rong was being so courteous to a young man? No, it wasn't just courteous, it was respectful, more respectful than even to the guild president!

Li Yunxiao smiled slightly and said to the stunned Lu Yao, "You can go down now."

Lu Yao hurriedly left, and Li Yunxiao walked in. The room was spacious, filled with various alchemy equipment and arrays. In a small corner was a rest area with a few exquisite animal skin sofas and a small bed.

The glorious status of an alchemist was earned through endless cultivation. Behind every alchemist, there was not only luck but also relentless hard work.

"Yun Shao, I not only fully recovered my soul power but also broke through, truly broke through!" Jia Rong said excitedly, having had no one to share his breakthrough with, he was almost suffocating with excitement.

"Hmm, you're so excited about such a small matter?" Li Yunxiao rolled his eyes, "I don't have time to listen to these trivial things. Come talk to me when you break through to the Sixth Rank Master Alchemist."

Becoming a true alchemist was a great joy for the entire kingdom, but to Li Yunxiao, it was just a trivial matter. Jia Rong's face turned green, and his eyes widened in shock when he heard the last sentence, "Sixth Rank, Master Alchemist? How is that possible? I don't have that kind of talent!"

Li Yunxiao said coolly, "Of course you don't, but with the soul cultivation technique I taught you, reaching the Sixth Rank is possible."

Jia Rong went completely crazy, muttering, "Sixth Rank, Sixth Rank, I can really reach the Sixth Rank, you're not lying to me?"

Li Yunxiao frowned and said coldly, "Don't forget your place. What makes you think I would lie? Sixth Rank is just the beginning in my eyes. I came to ask you to help me refine a few pills."

"Yes, yes!" Jia Rong's forehead was covered in cold sweat. Sixth Rank was just the beginning, this Yun Shao was mysterious, but wasn't he exaggerating too much?

Li Yunxiao nodded, "One is the Essence Boosting Pill, and the other is the Essence Bursting Pill."

"Essence Boosting Pill, Essence Bursting Pill!" Jia Rong was shocked, "These pills are almost at the Second Rank. I just became a First Rank Alchemist, I'm afraid I can't refine them."

Li Yunxiao sneered, "With me here, what are you afraid of? Start preparing the materials, I don't have much time."

Jia Rong was stunned. Did Yun Shao want to guide him in refining the pills? Could he also be an alchemist? How was that possible?

Although he had many doubts, he still obediently followed Li Yunxiao's instructions. Soon, he had the materials for both pills prepared in three sets.

Li Yunxiao said, "One of each is enough, why do you need three sets of materials?"

Jia Rong couldn't help but laugh bitterly. This Yun Shao clearly wasn't an alchemist, not even knowing about success rates. He explained, "A First Rank Alchemist has a success rate of over 60% for refining First Rank pills, but it's not 100%. For pills like the Essence Boosting Pill and the Essence Bursting Pill, which are almost at the Second Rank, the success rate is very low. Three sets of materials might not be enough. But we only have three sets in stock, and I've already asked them to gather more."

Li Yunxiao hummed, didn't say anything, and walked straight to the refining equipment, scanning it once, "Start, you refine, just follow my instructions."

Jia Rong was somewhat incredulous but suppressed his doubts and began refining under Li Yunxiao's guidance.

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