Battle Through the Heavens: Harmony of Flame and Shadow

Jiang Yun didn't know what kind of pill this was, but there was no shortage of smart people around who easily identified its function and ingredients.

Wind-moving Pill: Can increase a fighter's speed significantly, lasting for the duration of one incense stick.

It seemed Elder Liu intended to give all the present alchemists a lesson, starting from the basics of pill refining!

Given Elder Liu's status as a four-star alchemist, refining a first-tier pill was naturally a breeze. Nonetheless, to better demonstrate the art of alchemy and ensure the alchemist students gained something from it, Elder Liu deliberately slowed down. However, observing his actions still gave an effortless and fluid feeling.

Although Elder Liu was not of a high grade, his alchemical skills were extremely solid. It was certainly worthy of recognition that he was an elder in the alchemy department of the Jia Nan Academy, possessing a unique level of teaching.

Elder Liu threw one herb after another into the cauldron. With the flames rising, these herbs were almost instantly burned down to small lumps of green liquid.

Next, everyone saw Elder Liu take out a first-tier green magic core. After an hour, the hard magic crystal had been refined into a mass of pale green liquid. The violent energy contained within the magic crystal was also washed away using Elder Liu's magical properties.

Seeing the alchemist students around them in a trance, Jiang Yun knew they had gained some understanding. This made most of the onlookers envious because they were not alchemists and could only know the phenomenon without understanding the principles, which was quite painful.

It was somewhat akin to knowing a great treasure was right in front of you but being unable to reach it—such heartache!

But this did not include Jiang Yun. Relying on his outstanding soul power and abnormal comprehension, he had firmly ingrained Elder Liu's actions into his mind, just waiting to get back and try his own hypotheses with some herbs.

"Congeal!" 

At this moment, accompanied by a loud shout from Elder Liu, a strong soul power burst forth and rushed into the cauldron.

In a corner, Jiang Yun's eyes narrowed, suppressing the urge of the soul power within him. He had always wondered just how strong his soul power was, and by comparing it to Elder Liu's, he roughly understood now.

The other party wasn't stronger than him!

At least at this moment, he didn't feel any soul pressure imposed by the other.

While Jiang Yun was secretly comparing himself outside the arena, in the center of the stage, under Elder Liu's control of the soul power, masses of different colors of medicinal liquid slowly approached each other.

Even though there was some resistance at first, it was deftly resolved by Elder Liu. Eventually, the liquid fused and slowly condensed into an irregular green ball.

By this time, Jiang Yun knew the pill was successfully refined. The next step was to wait for the pill to be nourished by the flames to obtain a high-quality Wind-moving Pill.

As time passed, Elder Liu refined the first-tier Wind-moving Pill, then a second-tier Green Wood Pill, a third-tier Tranquil Heart Pill, and a fourth-tier Jade Bone Powder. The quality of the pills steadily increased, causing the onlookers to drool—after all, these were fourth-tier pills!

After putting the Jade Bone Powder into a jade bottle, Elder Liu took a long breath. By now, the sky had darkened. Even though Elder Liu was a Dou Wang, he felt a bit fatigued.

"Alright, today's demonstration of alchemy ends here. I hope all the students can gain something from it, and make fewer detours on the road of alchemy in the future. Produce a few more alchemy masters to make our Jia Nan Academy's alchemy department proud."

Elder Liu put away the cauldron and glanced at each alchemy student with hope in his eyes.

As the hegemonic force in the Black-Corner Region, the Jia Nan Academy stood in stark opposition to the lawless elements of the Black-Corner Region. If there was one area where the Jia Nan Academy fell short compared to the Black-Corner Region, it was in the realm of high-level alchemists!

Concerning the quantity of alchemists in both the inner and outer academy, the Jia Nan Academy could be called the foremost 'group' in the Black-Corner Region. However, in terms of superior alchemy masters, the Jia Nan Academy lacked the power they could proudly showcase.

The leading alchemist in the Jia Nan Academy's alchemy department was Elder Huo within the inner academy, a peak fifth-tier alchemist. In contrast, the leading alchemist in the Black-Corner Region was Han Feng, the Medicine Emperor. Officially, his alchemical prowess was at the peak of the sixth tier. Still, as the cherished disciple of Medicine Dust, he had likely reached the seventh tier.

However, due to limitations in his cultivation, he couldn't fully engage in refining seventh-tier pills.

For lower-tier pills, the requirements for strength and Dou Qi were not as stringent, and refining beyond one's tier was standard practice—much like a Dou Shi refining a fourth-tier pill.

However, refining higher-tier pills often required a balanced combination of the alchemist's soul power, Dou Qi strength, and alchemical skills. None could be lacking.

Reaching the seventh-tier level of pills would invite heavenly tribulations, which even Dou Zongs handled cautiously, let alone Han Feng, who was merely at the peak Dou Huang stage.

One could say he was just a hair away from being a genuine seventh-tier alchemist.

From this, it was clear how vast the difference in alchemical prowess was between the Jia Nan Academy and the Black-Corner Region.

The gap between the seventh and the fifth tier was astronomically vast, nearly becoming a chronic problem for the Jia Nan Academy's alchemy department.

At this moment, Elder Liu earnestly scanned the current batch of alchemy students, who were the seeds of hope.

"Thank you, Elder!"

Seeing Elder Liu's expectations as a mentor, the students were moved and respectfully bowed to him.

Even Jiang Yun wasn't an exception!

When Jiang Yun got back to his dormitory, he sat cross-legged on his bed and mentally reviewed all the details Elder Liu had demonstrated that day. Ensuring he hadn't missed anything, he then began his daily cultivation.

The next day, Jiang Yun didn't sense Zi Yan's presence in the dormitory. She was probably still out playing in that magical beast den!

Jiang Yun left his dormitory and arrived at a place called the Library Pavilion.

Walking in, Jiang Yun felt a moment of nostalgia seeing the room filled with books, as if he had returned to his days with the Evil Spirit Clan when he would spend his days quietly browsing books in the clan's library.

Setting aside his thoughts, Jiang Yun noticed the students quietly reading around him and didn't disturb them. He quietly grabbed a few books and went to an inconspicuous corner to read.

The books were titled "Introduction to Alchemy", "Potion Identification Handbook", "Initial Analysis of Herbal Properties", and "Control of Pill Fire".

These were foundational texts on alchemy. There weren't any pill formulas here since precious ones were closely guarded secrets of alchemists and rarely shared casually. Even common formulations could only be viewed by formally joining the alchemy department.

Fortunately, Jiang Yun didn't need those for now. His immediate goal was to thoroughly understand the basics of alchemy before moving on to more advanced matters.

After closing "Herbal Compendium" with a long breath, it was his seventh day in the Library Pavilion. In that time, he had read all the books related to alchemy he could find here. Thanks to his exceptional soul power, he had transitioned from an alchemy novice to a 'theoretical master'.

Now, everything was ready; only practice remained!

"Young fellow, interested in alchemy?" 

Just as Jiang Yun was about to leave, a faint voice came from behind.

This indicated the old man's age!

Clearly, this was a 'big shot' hidden in the Library Pavilion.

"Elder!"

"Who on this continent is not interested in alchemy?"

Judging the speaker as a hidden elder, Jiang Yun respectfully bowed and asked with a wistful smile.

"Hehe!"

"Indeed, who wouldn't be interested in alchemy?" The old man chuckled, a look of nostalgia showing on his wrinkled face. Gazing at Jiang Yun's youthful visage, his expression was full of reminiscences, as if recalling his own younger days.

Wasn't he once the same way?

Back then, he was also filled with ambitions, dreaming of becoming a high-ranking, revered alchemist. But life often dealt harsh blows, teaching him that it wasn't up to him to decide his fate.

The old man, shaking off these thoughts, looked at Jiang Yun and asked, "Are you a new student this year?"

"Yes!" Though unsure of the elder's intentions, Jiang Yun answered. He and Zi Yan were specially recruited by Su Qian, making them new students this year.

While Zi Yan had been in seclusion for half a year, Jiang Yun had already reported to their class: Yellow Tier Class Three. Their instructor was a male four-star Dou Scholar named Wu En. Upon first meeting him, Wu En wasn't surprised, indicating some prior instruction from Elder Hu Qian.

Thus, Jiang Yun was now a officially recognized new student!

"For someone your age to have such abilities, it's rare indeed," the elder said, nodding approvingly. He was happy that the academy had recruited such a talent.

However, he then casually picked up "Introduction to Alchemy" from Jiang Yun's pile of books and flipped through it before saying, "I see that you have a strong fire attribute, but lack that bit of vitality. You clearly don't possess the wood attribute. Although alchemy is good, it should not be forced."

Listening to the old man's faintly admonishing words, Jiang Yun finally understood his intentions. The elder had noticed Jiang Yun was deeply immersed in alchemy studies and, realizing Jiang Yun didn't have the potential to become an alchemist, couldn't bear to see a talent waste his cultivation, and thus came to warn him.

The elder had good intentions, so Jiang Yun couldn't reveal the truth to him. Respectfully, he replied, "I'm just here to broaden my knowledge. After all, it would be a pity to stumble upon treasures in the future without recognizing them!"

"You have a good mindset!" The elder nodded in satisfaction. Teachers always appreciated diligent and inquisitive students. He then added, "In the Combat Technique area, third column, third row, there's something you might find interesting. You should take a look."

With that, the elder gathered Jiang Yun's stack of books and walked away.

Jiang Yun stared, confused, at the elder's departing figure. Had he encountered a hidden opportunity? Was this some kind of protagonist's treatment, being recognized by a hidden big shot and granted a fortuitous encounter?

Curious, Jiang Yun slowly made his way to the Combat Technique section, a significant area within the Library Pavilion, given that combat techniques were fundamental to Dou Qi cultivation on the continent.

Reaching the populated section, he saw numerous bookshelves, each labeled with large characters representing various attributes.

Shelves were filled with techniques of different attributes—Fire, Wood, Wind, and even the rare Darkness attribute. The Jia Nan Academy, established by people of the Lei Clan, didn't flaunt its capabilities but had a foundation comparable to the Four Pavilions in Zhongzhou.

Jiang Yun proceeded to the spot the elder had mentioned, sifting through combat techniques.

Yellow Tier Intermediate Technique: Flaming Cloud.

Yellow Tier Advanced Technique: Mountain-Crushing Fist.

Yellow Tier Advanced Technique: Stone-Splitting Palm.

Most techniques and skills here were of the Yellow Tier. Jiang Yun didn't spot any of the Xuan Tier, as even the Jia Nan Academy wouldn't openly offer Xuan Tier techniques to all students.

Nonetheless, even Yellow Tier techniques were treasures in the eyes of most new students, who were generally fighters or at the initial stages of Dou Qi cultivation.

After some time, Jiang Yun reached the spot the elder had indicated and pulled out a fiery red scroll.

The back of the scroll read: Yellow Tier Advanced Technique: Fiery Palm.

Somewhat disappointed, Jiang Yun hadn't anticipated it to be a Yellow Tier technique. To him, only Xuan Tier techniques suited daily use, and Di Tier techniques were his trump cards.

Yellow Tier techniques weren't necessary for him.

Nonetheless, he slowly opened the scroll.

'Fiery Palm: Yellow Tier Advanced Technique, suitable for both close and ranged combat. When mastered, its power can rival a Xuan Tier low-level technique. If practiced by someone with pure Dou Qi and special flames, its power can match a Xuan Tier intermediate-level technique.'

The description explained why the elder had recommended this technique. Given Jiang Yun's dense fire attribute, practicing this technique might allow him to unleash power comparable to a Xuan Tier Intermediate-level technique, making it a minor fortuitous encounter.

However...

As the owner of the Saint Heaven Demon Flame, which boosted the efficacy of all fire techniques, this technique seemed somewhat redundant.

After memorizing the cultivation method, Jiang Yun returned the scroll, waiting for the next person destined to find it.

When Jiang Yun returned to his dormitory, he saw Zi Yan, dressed in purple, sitting casually in the living room's chair, swinging her legs idly.

She lay listless on the table, toying with some fragrant fruits.

Hearing the door open, Zi Yan seemed to 'come alive,' looking joyfully at Jiang Yun.

"Xiao Yun, you're finally back," she exclaimed excitedly, her eyes shining.

Jiang Yun felt a shiver run down his spine just as Zi Yan's voice sounded again.

"Hurry up and make pills for me. I'm starving!"