Why did you provoke that old man? He's a reincarnation of a deity!

Xiao Nian took Qian Yukun back to her dormitory at the Martial Arts Academy.

It was a small room with a bed, a table, and a chair; nothing else.

Qian Yukun placed several wooden boxes on the table.

"That's too easy. The academy is going too far. I'll make them move my godfather to a different place." Qian Yukun thought of his luxurious mansion and was filled with righteous indignation.

"It's alright, cultivators don't need to care about the location."

Xiao Nian examined the medicinal herbs one by one from the box. The roots of the Spirit-Nourishing Grass were intact, the color of the Morning Dew Ganoderma was pure, and not a single petal of the Jade Heart Flower was damaged.

He nodded and casually spread the medicinal herbs out on the table.

Qian Yukun watched for a long time before finally asking, "Godfather, I've always wanted to ask, what level of alchemist are you?"

"Which level?" Xiao Nian thought for a moment, "I don't know."

Qian Yukun was taken aback: "You don't know?"

"Alchemist, stages? These stages are utterly inadequate to evaluate me. In other words, the one who would evaluate me hasn't even been born yet."

Qian Yukun's lips twitched, and he muttered to himself:

"Then you're practicing medicine without a license. According to the laws of the Great Xia Dynasty, anyone who concocts pills for people to take without certification from the Pill Refining Guild will face legal consequences."

Xiao Nian glanced at him: "Then are you going to report me now? Call people to arrest me?"

Qian Yukun immediately shrank back: "No, no, I was just saying it casually."

"By the way, Godfather, what about the solution you mentioned?"

Qian Yukun rubbed his hands awkwardly, remembering that Xiao Nian had said she would tell him the specific solutions to his health problems.

Xiao Nian's gaze fell on Qian Yukun.

That gaze made Qian Yukun's back tense inexplicably, and he thought: He won't slap me, will he?

"Come here."

Qian Yukun's heart tightened, and he slowly moved closer.

Xiao Nian extended two fingers and touched Qian Yukun's brow.

A tiny wisp of spiritual energy flowed into Qian Yukun's fingertips, and he felt a cool sensation between his brows as a surge of information flooded into his mind.

"This is?"

"You forcibly boosted your spiritual power by taking the Fire Marrow Pill before because your soul power was naturally weak." Xiao Nian withdrew her finger.

"Alchemists rely on their mental power to control fire, identify herbs, and condense pills. Your mental power is inherently insufficient, and you have no cultivation methods, so you can only take the wrong path."

"What I just gave you is the introductory chapter of the [Concentration Technique], specifically for training mental strength. Practice it once each morning and evening, and after three months your soul power will increase by 30%. After six months, you'll be able to refine pills normally without Fire Marrow Pills."

Qian Yukun listened with wide eyes and trembling fingers. He was truly an old sage! Others would write it on paper or carve it on rubbings.

This person, on the other hand, directly imprinted the method into their mind, without needing to memorize it at all.

Qian Yukun took the paper with both hands, his fingers trembling.

Having worked as an alchemist for ten years, he knew better than anyone how precious the methods of cultivating spiritual power were.

Throughout the Great Xia Kingdom, there are countless methods for cultivating physical strength; one can learn a set of fist techniques at a martial arts school for a few thousand taels of silver.

The cultivation techniques for spiritual power are core secrets of major sects, families, and guilds, and are never passed on to outsiders.

Back then, in order to pass the Level 2 Alchemist exam, he secretly saved up money for three whole years to buy a beginner's guide to spiritual power, but he was scammed by those swindlers and didn't even get close to the door.

Now those words are imprinted in his mind; this is a truly superior method of cultivating soul power, a priceless treasure.

Qian Yukun's knees buckled, and he was about to kneel down again, but Xiao Nian stopped him with her cane.

"I'm not dead yet, I don't need to kneel every day."

Qian Yukun sniffed and nodded vigorously:

"Godfather, tell me, how do I refine it? What kind of furnace and cauldron? What kind of fire? Even tell me who you want to kill, and I'll go and kill them for you."

Xiao Nian shook her head, rearranged the pile of herbs into a small circle on the table, and then extended her right hand.

"No need for a furnace today. You just need to remember my heat control and steps. Later, you'll help me refine pills, which will also be a good opportunity to train your mental strength."

"No stove? Then what will we use?"

"Use the heavens, use the earth."

The midday sun shone through the window and fell on his withered palms.

"Watch closely."

In a daze, Qian Yukun saw sunlight gather into a small dot in Xiao Nian's palm.

The light visibly condensed in Xiao Nian's palm, the light spot grew brighter and hotter, and the air began to distort.

Qian Yukun could feel that the fire could instantly burn him to ashes.

"The true fire of the sun is a bit weak, but it's more than enough for refining pills," Xiao Nian said casually.

Xiao Nian opened his palm, and the condensed solar fire hung in mid-air.

Xiao Nian used her spiritual power to slowly rotate all the medicinal herbs around the true fire of the sun.

As Xiao Nian explained, he melted, purified, and separated the medicinal herbs.

"The earth is the furnace wall, and the sky is the cauldron lid."

The entire process of alchemy was laid bare in the air.

Qian Yukun's mouth was so wide open it could fit a soccer ball.

The medicinal liquid is melted and purified from the herbs, and condenses into crystal-clear drops of liquid under the sunlight.

"You need to pay attention to the temperature during these processes," Xiao Nian explained patiently.

Different medicinal materials are combined together in different orders.

The aroma of several medicinal herbs permeated Qian Yukun's heart and soul.

The integration process requires speed, accuracy, and decisiveness; the entire process takes no more than half a minute.

Xiao Nian withdrew his hand, and the True Fire of the Sun dissipated. Ten round Spirit-Nourishing Pills fell from mid-air, each one filled with colorful luster.

Ten Spirit-Nourishing Pills lay quietly in the wrinkled palm of his hand.

"Have you learned it?" Xiao Nian asked.

Qian Yukun swallowed hard, his mind nearly breaking: Even the guild leader couldn't do Old Man Meng's method of refining medicine. You're asking me if I've learned it? Isn't this like forcing a duck onto a shelf?

He mechanically shook his head: "My eyes learned it, but my brain didn't."

Xiao Nian put the pill into his pocket: "You don't need to use unconventional methods like I do. Just use the fire and furnace you're familiar with. Go back and practice the [Concentration Technique] well; we'll need your help later. Collect these materials these next few days."

"Godfather, I have a question."

"explain."

"The True Fire of the Sun you just used, if I master the [Concentration Technique] to its peak, can I learn it?" Qian Yukun was still daydreaming. If he had such a method, wouldn't he be able to throw the flames directly when fighting?

The other party would definitely be so scared that they would poop and pee.

Xiao Nian glanced at him: "Reach the peak? You should train your mental strength to the point where you can light a candle first."

"Then how can we obtain the true fire of the sun?"

"You should focus on mastering the [Concentration Technique] first. The worst thing you can do in cultivation is to be overly ambitious."

Xiao Nian waved his hand, indicating that the guest should see him out.

The alchemy process had been too mentally taxing, and Xiao Nian needed to rest and recover his mental strength. He was determined to find a helper to refine pills and improve his strength.

Qian Yukun chuckled twice, not feeling discouraged at all, but rather quite happy, and turned to leave cheerfully.

Just as Xiao Nian was about to rest for a while, a series of heart-wrenching screams erupted outside the dormitory.