Chapter 370: Laughably Ignorant

The Holy Pill Hall is an Overlord Power, home to a great number of formidable experts. However, the vast majority of these experts are not, in fact, Alchemists.

The reason the Holy Pill Hall is known as a sacred ground for Alchemists is that it houses the Holy Pill Academy. Nearly every Alchemy Master in the Great Yu’s Eight Desolates graduated from this very institution.

After leaving the Red Butterfly Saint Witch, Yi Xiaoyao followed a steward to the Holy Pill Academy.

Just then, the steward called out to a young woman skipping ahead of them. “Lan Yue, come over here.”

The young woman, who looked to be about eighteen or nineteen, was startled when the steward called her name and quickly hurried over.

“Steward, I won’t walk like that anymore! I know I was wrong!” Lan Yue said timidly.

The steward looked exasperated. “Who said you did anything wrong? Where are you headed?”

“I’m on my way to hear the Red Elemental Honored Guest Elder’s lecture on the Alchemy Dao,” Lan Yue replied.

The steward nodded, then gestured toward Yi Xiaoyao. “Perfect. Take him with you, and tell him a bit about the academy along the way.”

With that, the steward turned and left.

Lan Yue was quite pretty and spirited. She looked Yi Xiaoyao over with curiosity, and when she saw how handsome the young man was, a faint blush crept onto her cheeks. “Are you new here?”

“You could say that. I appreciate you showing me the way.”

Yi Xiaoyao nodded. Over the next month, he had to remain at the Holy Pill Academy and raise his Alchemy Mastery to the point where he could refine a Six-Stripe Elixir.

The two began to chat as they walked.

“You mentioned an ‘Honored Guest Elder’ earlier. What’s that?” Yi Xiaoyao asked.

“An Honored Guest Elder isn’t a specific person. It’s a title at the Holy Pill Academy.”

Lan Yue answered patiently, “At the Holy Pill Academy, anyone who can refine a sixth-grade Six-Stripe Elixir can become an Honored Guest Elder. Those who can refine a seventh-grade Six-Stripe Elixir can become an Elder. You don’t even know that?”

“I’m from a faraway place, so I’m not very familiar with how things work here. Thank you for explaining,” Yi Xiaoyao said.

Lan Yue asked Yi Xiaoyao, “So, what’s your Alchemy Mastery like?”

Ever since Yi Xiaoyao learned that five patterns were not the pinnacle for an Elixir, he’d felt his own Alchemy Mastery was lacking. He shook his head and smiled. “Just average, I suppose.”

Lan Yue nodded, not seeming surprised. ‘After all, how could the alchemy standards elsewhere possibly compare to the Red Wilderness, the sacred land of Alchemists?’

While they were talking, they arrived at the base of a high platform where a crowd had gathered, apparently discussing something.

Yi Xiaoyao followed Lan Yue closer and saw that there was a hidden compartment in the platform’s stone wall. Inside was a jade box holding an Elixir.

“Di Shen took first place in the elixir evaluation again!”

“This Elixir Di Shen refined has already reached the peak of a sixth-grade, Five-Stripe Elixir. It looks like he’s about to become the next Honored Guest Elder.”

“That’s right. Di Shen’s Alchemy Mastery truly makes him a standout among the younger generation.”

As the crowd buzzed with discussion, Lan Yue turned to Yi Xiaoyao with a proud smile. “That’s the Elixir my boyfriend, Di Shen, refined. Amazing, isn’t it?”

Yi Xiaoyao raised an eyebrow. ‘So the person everyone is talking about is Lan Yue’s boyfriend.’

“If it were a little more refined and the Pill Patterns a bit clearer, it would be perfect. It’s a bit of a shame.”

Yi Xiaoyao murmured to himself as he looked at the Elixir in the jade box.

Just as he’d thought, while this sixth-grade Five-Stripe Elixir was quite exquisitely refined, it was still a bit inferior to the elixirs he himself had created.

Yi Xiaoyao instantly understood. ‘So my Alchemy Mastery is already considered extremely high among this group.’

‘On second thought, it makes sense. These people are all here to study Alchemy. Those who can already refine Six-Stripe Elixirs have become Honored Guest Elders or Elders.’

But when Lan Yue, who was standing beside him, heard his comment, her brow furrowed slightly. ‘This Elixir has already reached the pinnacle of Five Patterns! At least, I could never refine something like this.’ Yet Yi Xiaoyao’s tone was incredibly nitpicky, and his expression suggested his criticism was only natural.

‘This guy… a moment ago he said his Alchemy Mastery was just average, but now he’s arrogantly belittling someone else’s work. He might be handsome, but his heart is rotten!’ Lan Yue thought, exasperated.

Instantly, Lan Yue’s favorable first impression of Yi Xiaoyao began to sour.

“What arrogance!” A mocking snort rang out. Yi Xiaoyao looked toward the sound and saw a haughty young man standing behind Lan Yue, sneering at him.

“The Elixir I refined is at the absolute peak for a Five-Stripe Elixir, completely flawless. And yet, you have the audacity to call it ‘a shame’?”

The young man’s voice was quite loud, as if he intentionally wanted to draw the crowd’s attention. His identity was obvious: it was none other than Di Shen.

“Only with humility can one improve.”

Yi Xiaoyao glanced at the man and replied calmly.

Di Shen scoffed. “Ridiculous! What gives you the right to say something like that to me?”

The rest of the crowd also burst into laughter, pointing and jeering at Yi Xiaoyao.

At that moment, the Honored Guest Elder who was to lecture on the Alchemy Dao appeared on the high platform, seemingly out of nowhere, and barked at the crowd below.

Everyone fell silent. Yi Xiaoyao paid Di Shen’s words no mind. ‘This person isn’t even worth my attention.’

But Di Shen still muttered to Lan Yue, “Yue’Er, don’t associate with people like that in the future.”

Lan Yue gave a helpless smile. “Alright, alright. Let’s listen to the Honored Guest Elder’s lecture on the Alchemy Dao.”

The Honored Guest Elder then began his lecture on the Alchemy Dao, and the several hundred people below all listened intently.

But as Yi Xiaoyao listened, his brow furrowed. The Honored Guest Elder began by discussing Three-Stripe Elixirs, then focused heavily on Five-Stripe Elixirs, but when he finally reached Six-Stripe Elixirs, he mentioned them only in passing.

An hour later, the Honored Guest Elder concluded his lecture on the Alchemy Dao and announced to the crowd, “For the previous elixir evaluation, the first-place winner is awarded a first-grade Creation Spiritual Skill.”

All eyes immediately turned to Di Shen, filled with envy. With a look of immense pride, Di Shen walked onto the high platform to receive his reward.

Yi Xiaoyao’s eyes flickered. ‘Creation Spiritual Skills are powerful techniques above the Celestial Tier that can only be practiced by those at the Void-Entering realm.’

‘Creation Spiritual Skills are divided into nine grades, with first-grade being the lowest, but even that is incredibly precious.’

‘To use a Creation Spiritual Skill as a prize for a simple evaluation… it truly shows the Holy Pill Hall’s immense wealth and profound heritage.’

With this in mind, Yi Xiaoyao walked over to Lan Yue. “Miss Lan Yue, is there a Pill Record Pavilion at the Holy Pill Academy?”

Lan Yue stared at him for a moment, a little surprised, before pointing in a certain direction.

Yi Xiaoyao thanked her and headed toward the Pill Record Pavilion.

‘The audience for the Honored Guest Elder’s lecture are all below Five-Stripe Mastery, so of course he wouldn’t bother explaining Six-Stripe Elixirs. My only option is to go to the Pill Record Pavilion and study the Pill Records to learn how to refine them.’

Just then, Di Shen returned to Lan Yue’s side, prize in hand, and asked with a frown, “What did that annoying brat want from you just now?”

“He asked me where the Pill Record Pavilion is,” Lan Yue said. “I saw him frowning the whole time the Honored Guest Elder was lecturing. He probably didn’t understand any of it and wants to study in the pavilion.”

Di Shen sneered. “How ignorant. He can’t even understand the Honored Guest Elder’s lecture, yet he thinks he can decipher the profound and esoteric Pill Records? What’s even more ridiculous is that this guy had the gall to criticize the Elixir I refined.”