Section 24: The Academy Trembles, the Fiery Heart of the White Browed Pill Master!
By: Gu Zhenren
Posted: 2013-02-09
“The finished Pills today are far fewer than usual,” the White Browed Pill Master said with a sigh, looking at the Blood Qi Pills before him.
Many scholars lowered their heads in shame. Although they complained about Chu Yun, they knew deep down that it was entirely due to their own poor fundamentals and inability to resist distractions. They couldn’t blame anyone else.
The White Browed Pill Master began to examine the Pills, first checking their appearance and then their scent. His experience was profound; his very title, “Pill Master,” indicated his unfathomable skill in Pill Refining.
In a short while, he had finished examining all the Pills. His eyes flickered as he glanced at Chu Yun, whose expression was calm. A complex emotion surfaced in the Pill Master’s gaze.
“Among these Pills, Chu Yun’s are the best. He is awarded 4 merit points today as encouragement.” The White Browed Pill Master suddenly announced.
Chu Yun’s face lit up. He had spent 2 merit points to attend this class and earned 4, meaning he profited 2 merit points. It was a significant gain.
The surrounding scholars, however, erupted in an uproar. They stared in disbelief, unable to trust their own ears.
“How is this possible?”
“A novice who doesn’t even know the basic hand seals for Pill Refining, and he coincidentally made a Blood Qi Pill. And yet, it’s better than the Pills made by us veteran experts?!”
“I don’t believe it!” Ma Youcai exclaimed, nearly losing his eyeballs. He jumped up, his voice filled with doubt.
“Do you think I’m showing favoritism?” the White Browed Pill Master asked, his tone chilling.
Ma Youcai trembled and quickly bowed, “This student wouldn’t dare, it’s just… it’s just…”
The White Browed Pill Master leaned back slightly and instructed the Academy staff, “Distribute these Pills to every scholar so they can examine them.”
“Unbelievable, the Pills Chu Yun made are full and round, with a fragrance that assaults the senses. It’s as if they’ve been refined a thousand times.”
“Incredible, how can one refine such excellent Pills with this method?”
“Truly the strongest freshman in history, he’s unstoppable even in Pill Refining. What a monster!”
…
After verifying the Pills themselves, the scholars looked at Chu Yun with completely different eyes. Their doubts vanished, replaced by shock, reverence, and curiosity.
Ma Youcai’s face cycled through green and red. He seethed inwardly, knowing his Pill’s quality was only a hair’s breadth away from Chu Yun’s. If he hadn’t been affected by Chu Yun during the refinement process and had maintained a calm state of mind, he would have been the one to win.
The classroom buzzed with noise.
The scholars were shaken, their emotions difficult to articulate. They had always considered Pill Refining a serious endeavor, but Chu Yun’s performance today showed them a different approach.
If Pills could be refined so casually, what was the point of their own diligent and cautious efforts?
The established beliefs held by the scholars for so long were severely shaken, threatening to collapse.
Someone suddenly called out, “Please enlighten us, sir.”
Immediately, the classroom echoed with agreement: “Please enlighten us,” “Please enlighten us”…
“Experiencing confusion during learning is an excellent thing. I am happy for you all,” the White Browed Pill Master’s voice calmed the classroom instantly.
“Pill Refining is a rigorous process that follows the Dao of Heaven and Earth. The proportions of Medicinal Ingredients and the intensity of the flame significantly impact the outcome. Don’t be fooled by Chu Yun’s casual handling of materials and haphazard tossing of ingredients. In reality, he was meticulously controlling the Medicinal Ingredients and the flame,” he explained.
He paused, then turned to Chu Yun, “Your technique, you learned it from a Wanderer, didn’t you?”
Chu Yun nodded in agreement.
The White Browed Pill Master continued, “Wanderers have it tough. Many of them haven’t attended an Academy, some can’t even recognize a single character, and they don’t understand the basic hand seals for Pill Refining. Yet, after hundreds of trials and failures, through persistent experimentation, they manage to refine Pills.”
“This method has significant drawbacks. The success rate of Pill Refining relies entirely on familiarity. When refining a new Pill, even an experienced refiner must start from scratch and re-familiarize themselves…”
As the White Browed Pill Master explained in detail, the scholars listened intently, nodding their heads. Their beliefs, once shattered, were reconstructed, becoming even more robust than before.
After the White Browed Pill Master finished his explanation, another scholar asked, “Sir, I still have a question. Did Junior Chu Yun also experience hundreds of failures to refine Blood Qi Pills so skillfully?””
“Naturally,” Chu Yun answered inwardly. In truth, he had failed hundreds of times, nearly a thousand. In his past life, he suffered greatly to improve his success rate in refining Blood Qi Pills. He had been rejected countless times when seeking knowledge from old Wanderers. Finally, through his own exploration and secret observation, he reached his current level.
It was nothing like these scholars in the Academy, who could refine so many high-quality Blood Qi Pills with just one look and the use of Pill Refining hand seals.
Frankly, Chu Yun felt a pang of jealousy. The learning environment here was too good. These scholars would likely never know the struggles of many outside, who were barely making ends meet. Many had to humble themselves and flatter old Wanderers just to learn the experience of refining Blood Qi Pills. Many would celebrate for one to two months over a slight improvement in their Pill Refining success rate.
If the students admitted to the Academy were considered gifted or born with a silver spoon, then Wanderers were ordinary people. They were numerous, surviving like weeds, striving merely to fill their stomachs.
Chu Yun was now a disciple of the Academy, but in his past life, he was a true Wanderer. This Pill Refining class left him with a flood of emotions.
“I, for one, wouldn’t believe that Chu Yun failed hundreds of times when refining Blood Qi Pills. People can only possess Demonic Beasts, Demon Soldiers, or Demonic Plants from the age of 13. I am quite curious about this. Chu Yun, tell me honestly, how many times did you fail?” the White Browed Pill Master suddenly asked from the platform.
“Uh… after I accidentally learned a trick from an old Wanderer, I practiced several, dozens of times…” Chu Yun replied hesitantly, caught off guard. His mind raced as he tried to answer as truthfully as possible without arousing suspicion.
“Dozens of times…” The White Browed Pill Master gave Chu Yun a deep look. He knew a bit about Chu Yun’s background and understood that Chu Yun didn’t have the means to practice that much normally. “Dozens of times” could actually mean just over ten, or even just a few.
Chu Yun’s statement was likely an attempt to hold back.
“What a prodigy!” the White Browed Pill Master mused, deeply moved. Chu Yun’s talent in swordsmanship had already amazed him. Now, his talent in Pill Refining left him overjoyed.
He would never know Chu Yun’s greatest secret, believing instead that Chu Yun possessed an innate, sharp intuition for Pill Refining and profound talent, making him a genius among geniuses!
In that instant, the White Browed Pill Master made a decision – he had to cultivate this young man! Having taught for so many years, he had never encountered anyone as exceptionally talented in Pill Refining! If he didn’t nurture Chu Yun into a pillar of the Pill Refining world, he would be letting down his own fiery heart as a Pill Master!
(ps: Give me those ‘chrysanthemums’, right in front of me. Recommendation tickets, only those ‘spears’ forged from recommendation tickets, are the most potent ‘spears’ for explosion! Summon the recommendation tickets, hold up your ‘spears’, and let’s go!)
