Lan Yu’er remained as cold as ice and said disdainfully, "I’m not clear about your strength, but to say you have accomplished everything Elder Master Yang ntioned is pure nonsense. Don’t think just because you’ve discovered so things that even I don’t know, you can get ahead of yourself. You still have a long way to go in terms of foundation."
"Hehe, Sister Lan, it’s not fun if you say that. How about this, you can test , and if I really have completed the tasks, you must let go. Otherwise, I can’t afford to lose that face. Besides, my wager is a Thousand-year Golden Snow Lotus—it would be such a waste to just give it away to soone else for nothing," Ling Xiao said with a chuckle.
Ling Xiao laughed.
After spending less than two days together, Ling Xiao had already basically figured out Sister Lan’s temperant.
She really was cold on the outside but warm on the inside.
So there was no harm in joking with her.
"A Thousand-year Golden Snow Lotus! You’re really willing to part with that!" Lan Yu’er looked at Ling Xiao as if she was frustrated with his stubbornness.
After a mont of silence, she finally said, "Alright, since you’re so confident, I’ll test you. If you pass my assessnt, not only will I stop caring if you challenge the Outer Disciples, even if you challenge the Inner Sect Disciples, I won’t bother anymore."
"I wouldn’t dare challenge the Inner Sect Disciples, and Sister Lan, you can’t ask questions outside of those few books, or I might as well admit defeat right now," Ling Xiao said.
"Don’t worry, it’s all content from those few books," Lan Yu’er assured, then turned to Dai Yuling and added, "Yuling can be a witness."
"I naturally trust Sister Lan, please pose the questions," Ling Xiao said.
Looking out at the early day’s sky, Ling Xiao noted there was still plenty of ti. As long as he got there before noon, it wouldn’t count as an automatic forfeit.
In truth, even without a witness, Lan Yu’er wouldn’t ask about anything outside those few books. It was widely known that most Alchemists have to study hard for three to five years just to reach the Beginner Stage in understanding these books. And to fully grasp their contents requires at least a decade or even many decades of study.
And that’s just to achieve Small Success.
Lan Yu’er, with her innate brilliance and profound comprehension, was a true genius in both martial arts and Alchemy.
Even for her, it took several years to reach Small Success, and nearly a decade to reach her current level; she had been studying Alchemy since she was nine.
This Ling Xiao, while indeed sharp-eyed and quite insightful, was far too impatient. She had to teach him a lesson he would rember, to curb his arrogance and focus on learning. Perhaps then he might just beco the good Alchemist that Elder Master Yang was hoping for.
In any case, she didn’t believe for a second that Ling Xiao had mastered those books. Barely two days had passed—it would be impressive if he had even finished reading them.
Master them?
Was that even humanly possible?
"The first question, and the most basic one, what is a ’pill’?" Lan Yu’er asked.
Indeed, this question was the most basic and simple one, yet laypeople might not necessarily know the answer.
"To trace the origins and developnt of Alchemy and pills: Pills originated from the Alchemy Technique of Ancient Warriors and represent the continuation and developnt of the Alchemy Technique from the Ancient Era.
Alchemy Technique and pills are an inseparable entity; without the Human Clan Martial Artists of ancient tis, today’s pill culture wouldn’t exist.
Pills were created by the Alchemists among the Ancient Warriors. In the Ancient Era, the term ’pill’ had two anings: one was Immortal Pill, and the other was ordinary dicinal preparations.
The pills concocted by Ancient Alchemists were professionally referred to as External Pills, which involved using a Furnace Cauldron to slt tals and stones into dicinal concoctions, creating the Golden Elixir of immortality.
Alchemy began on the Heavenly Dragon Continent very early, estimated to have erged around one hundred thousand years ago. Back then, the Alchemist Li Shaojun turned ’sand into gold’ for making eating utensils, essentially slting Golden Elixir.
Wei Baronstone, an Alchemist from fifty thousand years ago, authored the Yin Yang Fusion Scripture, discussing Golden Elixir with the theory of Yin and Yang and was honored as the ’eternal king of Pill Scriptures.’
A thousand years ago, Alchemist Ge Huang summarized the then prevalent External Pills and wrote the Ancient Elixir Scripture, categorizing External Pills into Divine Pill, Golden Liquid, and Gold, stating that the Golden Elixir was dicinal. The more it was slted, the more marvelous the transformation; a hundred refinents wouldn’t deplete it, and it defied ti, granting immortality to those who consud it."
...
Ling Xiao spoke eloquently, starting from the appearance of the Alchemy Technique a hundred thousand years ago and continuing up to modern tis, providing not only very clear answers to Lan Yu’er’s questions but also more detailed explanations.
Even so of the secrets he ntioned were things that Lan Yu’er usually did not pay much attention to.
"Alright, you’ve passed the first question, but it was a relatively simple one. The second question will not be so easy to answer,"
Though surprised in her mind, Lan Yu’er remained composed on the surface.
"Hold on a mont, Sister. Before you ask your questions, you should clarify how many there will be. Otherwise, there’s no point if we go beyond the challenge ti,"
Ling Xiao said.
"Don’t worry, there are only four questions in total."
"Alright then, ask away."
"The second question, explain the relationship between the ’Fire Control Technique’ and dicinal herbs."
This question might seem simple, but it was actually very complicated. Many alchemists had not completely understood it even by the ti they died.
Failures in Alchemy often occur precisely because of a lack of mastery in this area.
However, Ling Xiao was no ordinary person.
He smiled and said, "The Fire Control Technique ultimately cos down to the mastery of heat and the use of flas.
Understanding heat is easy: high heat, low heat, dium heat, slow heat, and so on. Pills have different properties, and the flas required also vary. Moreover, during the Alchemy process, flas must be adjusted promptly.
Moreover, flas are categorized into mundane fire, civil and martial fire, Samadhi True Fire..."
Ling Xiao’s answer was not only ticulous but also spot on, leaving even Lan Yu’er unable to find fault.
"The third question involves practical application, but it’s still the most basic application. Listen well. If you were given an ordinary Golden Snow Lotus plus all the necessary auxiliary dicinal ingredients, what would be the best Alchemy formula? How would you go about it?"
By this question, matters mostly involved the professional knowledge of an alchemist.
Dai Yuling was visibly tensed up on the side.
Conceptual questions could be rembered if one had a good mory, but professional questions required understanding, and these were definitely not sothing that could be resolved by simply having a good mory.
Outside the door, Elder Master Yang, unbeknownst to anyone, had returned and was standing there, listening to the conversation inside while stroking his beard and wearing a serious expression.
He was very satisfied with Ling Xiao’s responses to the first two questions.
But he felt that Lan Yu’er was being a bit too hastily with this question. Even if Ling Xiao had great comprehension abilities, it wasn’t likely that he could also answer such a specialized question, was it?
"What’s the matter, worried?"
The little dog on his shoulder telepathically communicated with Elder Master Yang.
"A bit, yes. The boy is indeed a genius, but it hasn’t even been two days. He’s just been self-learning, with no one to teach him Alchemy techniques. How could he possibly understand all this?"
Elder Master Yang replied with a wry smile through telepathy.
Inside, Dai Yuling also reminded Lan Yu’er: "Master, isn’t this going a bit too far?"
"Too far? He’s so smart, how could he possibly not be able to answer?"
In truth, Lan Yu’er was a bit agitated. She had found that Ling Xiao’s comprehension abilities were much better than hers, which unsettled her for a mont, and so she wanted to see just how capable Ling Xiao truly was.
"I would, of course, choose the ’Golden Snow Lotus Rejuvenation Pill’ first,"
Ling Xiao answered calmly.
Actually, this question wasn’t really anything difficult for him.
"Continue!" Lan Yu’er showed a look of surprise and said.
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