Bringing Nie Kong to a room on the top floor of the Pill Refining Hall, Nie Fengyan had already departed downstairs. Nie Kong sat quietly for half an incense stick’s time before a figure suddenly appeared at the doorway: clad in hempen robes, hair the fiery red of flame, and standing barefoot despite the biting cold—it was Lian Tianxin, the Nie family’s chief Spirit Alchemist.

“Master Tianxin,” Nie Kong rose, bowing respectfully.

Lian Tianxin nodded once, his gaze flicking over the jade token Nie Kong had placed on the desk before him. A flicker of surprise crossed his eyes, quickly replaced by his former stern demeanor. “Little fellow, Fengyan told me an old man instructed you to bring this token to the Pill Refining Hall to find him today?”

Seeing Nie Kong nod, Lian Tianxin continued, “If you don’t mind, could you recount for me the circumstances under which that old man gave you the token?”

There was nothing to conceal, so Nie Kong recounted the events that had transpired at the Spirit Medicine Hall the previous evening. Across from him, Lian Tianxin listened silently, his face unreadable, yet the astonishment in his eyes deepened until it became almost impossible to hide.

After finishing, Nie Kong asked, “Master Tianxin, do you know who he is?”

“Ahem, that old man? He is merely a Fourth-Grade Spirit Alchemist in our Pill Refining Hall. His pill refinement level is quite common, nothing worth noting,” Lian Tianxin said lightly, his eyes shifting subtly. “Little fellow, that old man judged the ‘Spring Rejuvenation Dew’ you refined as having a ninety-five percent fusion rate?”

“That’s right. I refined four more bottles of ‘Spring Rejuvenation Dew’ after returning home; the medicinal fusion rate is estimated to be slightly lower.” Nie Kong smiled.

“Oh? Quickly bring them out for this old master to see?”

Lian Tianxin suddenly grew agitated. Seeing Nie Kong’s look of astonishment, he hastily suppressed the excitement in his chest, clearing his throat with a slight awkwardness. “Ah, well, little fellow, don’t worry. This old master simply wants to confirm the degree of medicinal fusion for you.”

“Very well.”

Nie Kong had already intended to trade those four bottles of ‘Spring Rejuvenation Dew’ for medicinal herbs, so there was no need to hide them. His shock stemmed only from the rapidity of Lian Tianxin’s change in demeanor. Thus, as his hand dipped into his robes, he retrieved them from his pet satchel.

Lian Tianxin snatched the four bottles of ‘Spring Rejuvenation Dew’ from Nie Kong almost aggressively. He uncorked them one by one, inhaling the aroma, and exclaimed repeatedly, “This bottle has ninety percent fusion, excellent… Hmm, this one is ninety-one percent, very good… Ninety-two percent, superb… Huh? Ninety-four percent, top grade, truly top grade…”

Hearing his incrementally progressive commentary, Nie Kong suddenly felt the urge to laugh. If ninety-four percent fusion was top grade, what would ninety-five percent be—ultra-top grade? And what about ninety-six, ninety-seven… or even a perfect one hundred percent?

“I presume your refining methods were self-discovered?”

Without waiting for an answer, Lian Tianxin smiled gently. “To continuously refine five bottles of ‘Spring Rejuvenation Dew’ with fusion rates exceeding ninety percent purely through self-study—while considering the influence of your variant spiritual power—your innate talent for alchemy is truly the rarest this old master has ever witnessed in his lifetime…”

“Little fellow, are you willing to become this old master’s disciple?”

Lian Tianxin spoke these words with extreme calm, yet the slight clenching of his right hand betrayed the urgency hidden within his heart. Especially when he uttered the final sentence, his eyes were fixed solely on Nie Kong, brimming with anticipation, as if wishing he could physically compel Nie Kong to nod and accept.

Nie Kong paused, then a surge of delight welled up in his heart. Knowledge dissemination on the Tianling Continent was not as advanced as in his previous life. Matters concerning medicine and alchemy were primarily passed down through oral instruction and personal mentorship. Spirit medicine formulas, in particular, were jealously guarded secrets; apart from First-Grade spirits like ‘Spring Rejuvenation Dew,’ formulas for Second-Grade or higher elixirs were virtually inaccessible to the common person.

If Nie Kong wished to advance further on the path of alchemy, relying solely on Xiangxiang was clearly insufficient. Now, the opportunity to become the disciple of a Fifth-Grade Spirit Alchemist was one he eagerly desired. As for the old man from yesterday evening, his instruction for Nie Kong to come to the Pill Refining Hall suggested he also harbored such intentions, though he hadn't stated it explicitly. If Nie Kong agreed to Lian Tianxin now, it wouldn't constitute a breach of any promise.

Nie Kong did not immediately consent, and Lian Tianxin could no longer feign composure, his anxiety manifesting clearly on his face. “Little fellow, this old master has never taken a disciple; such opportunities are rare. Do not worry about that old man; he is only a Fourth-Grade Spirit Alchemist. His skill is truly poor; nearly all the spirit medicines he refines barely scrape a sixty percent fusion rate, just barely passing the threshold. If you studied under him, it would truly waste your magnificent talent.”

Seeing Lian Tianxin somewhat misunderstanding, Nie Kong, suppressing a laugh, quickly nodded. “I…”

“Hold it right there!”

A shout, like a clap of thunder erupting from a clear sky, suddenly echoed, completely drowning out Nie Kong’s nearly spoken word, “Willing.” Immediately following, a figure shot into the room like a whirlwind—it was the bald old man who had summoned Nie Kong to the Pill Refining Hall the previous evening!

The old man’s narrow, elongated eyes were wide open, glaring fiercely at Lian Tianxin, and he began cursing without restraint: “You red-haired devil, you are truly going too far! I was only a little late, and you start slandering me behind my back and poaching my prospective disciple! Hey, Fourth-Grade Spirit Alchemist? I, the esteemed Elder of the Nie Family Pill Refining Hall, am merely a Fourth-Grade Spirit Alchemist? If you don’t explain this clearly, old man, I am not done with you!”

“Fifth Elder?”

Looking at the enraged, spittle-flying bald man, Nie Kong’s heart skipped a beat. He finally realized that this old man wasn't some subpar Fourth-Grade Alchemist; he was clearly Elder Nie Xingyun, the one in charge of the Nie Family Pill Refining Hall, a Fifth-Grade Spirit Alchemist just like Lian Tianxin.

Lian Tianxin was in high spirits and tried to placate him. “Old Fifth, calm down, calm down. What I did was merely a temporary measure. Besides, what I said earlier wasn't wrong—how many times have you barely scraped sixty percent fusion when refining medicines? Moreover, you can’t blame me for this. It’s your fault for playing mysterious every day. If you had been upfront with young Nie Kong from the start, even if I wanted to poach him, I wouldn't have had an opening. Just accept your fate.”

Nie Xingyun’s face contorted in anger. “Accept my fate? I noticed this kid the moment he first entered the Spirit Medicine Hall back in September. Yesterday, I finally made up my mind to take him as a disciple—and you tell me to accept fate? Heh heh, would I ever hand over my disciple to you, you red-haired rogue?”

What Nie Xingyun said was not entirely untrue. The first time Nie Kong entered the Spirit Medicine Hall, Nie Xingyun was wrestling with an unresolved dilemma concerning pill refinement. He was sitting there trying to clear his mind and vent his frustration when he encountered Nie Kong, whose precision in fetching herbs was unparalleled. At that moment, he was deeply impressed by the frail-looking Nie Kong.

The second time Nie Kong entered the Spirit Medicine Hall, his appearance had drastically changed, startling Nie Xingyun. Coincidentally, the problem that had long vexed him was solved just then, leaving him in high spirits. Seeing that Nie Kong was selecting materials specifically for refining ‘Spring Rejuvenation Dew,’ he impulsively gifted Nie Kong half a gourd of Ice Plate Water.

That very night, Nie Xingyun even took out the herbs Nie Kong had selected previously and experimented, eventually concluding that Sky-Heart Seed, Xu Butterfly Grass, and Crystal Jade Lotus Seed could neutralize the toxicity of Red Demon Flower, and that these four herbs, when combined, possessed potent muscle-strengthening and bone-fortifying effects. He unintentionally disclosed this result to Lian Tianxin. From then on, he paid even closer attention to Nie Kong, even secretly lamenting that Nie Kong wasn't a Fire Spirit Master.

The third time was yesterday evening. Upon witnessing Nie Kong’s variant Wood Spiritual Power, Nie Xingyun had already made his decision: he absolutely could not let such a disciple slip away. However, because playing secretive had become second nature to him, he simply gave his jade token to Nie Kong and told him to seek him out at the Pill Refining Hall.

This morning, he had been delayed by a moment studying Nie Kong’s bottle of ‘Spring Rejuvenation Dew,’ causing him to arrive at the Pill Refining Hall a fraction late—only to find that the disciple he had chosen had been preempted by Lian Tianxin!