Seeing the presence of disciples from all the halls of Lingyu City within the Alchemist Hall, Nie Kong’s expression remained unchanged. The moment he caught their gazes, he knew they were all there to watch him test the medicine.

He was not surprised by this.

His main objective for continuously testing medicines in the Alchemist Hall was certainly to accumulate a thousand points as quickly as possible, but it was not entirely without the intention of making a name for himself.

To establish a firm foothold in Lingyu City, being high-profile in the area he excelled at was naturally the safest approach.

If he possessed sufficient fame, even the introductory professor named Luo Ren would likely not dare to make things difficult for him later on.

At the window stood the same four beautiful female disciples from the Medicine Heart Hall as yesterday, and next to them was still that woman in black, brimming with mature charm.

“Nie Kong, we’re waiting for you now.”

The big-eyed girl pointed to the neatly stacked jade boxes inside the room, pursed her small lips, and chuckled, “So far, a hundred and six new Rank One missions for medicine testing have appeared. Are you going to take them all on, just like yesterday?”

“So many?”

Nie Kong showed a slight surprise, glanced behind him, and saw that quite a few Lingyu City disciples greeted his gaze with enthusiastic and kind smiles. Nie Kong immediately understood: these people must have rushed to post their missions here after hearing about his actions, bringing forth herbs with unknown properties.

If he had returned a few days later, perhaps the extra Rank One testing missions wouldn't be one hundred and six, but one thousand six hundred.

Do they really think I'm a trash mission containment station! Nie Kong shook his head and smiled, looking at the big-eyed girl and saying, “Senior Sister Mo Ling, please prepare the first forty-one for me first. I won't take the remaining sixty-odd for now; we can discuss them when I have time later!”

“Ahhh! As expected!”

“What’s this? Didn't they say he’s a medicine testing fanatic? Why is he only taking a small batch today?”

“I rushed back from Zhaoyang Town overnight as soon as I heard the news, and now I’ve come here to post a mission, and you’re saying you won’t take the rest? A person can’t be this shameless!”

“Phew, that’s a relief. My mission number is near the front, haha…”

“……”

As soon as Nie Kong finished speaking, a chaotic murmur rose within the Alchemist Hall. Those whose testing missions ranked within the first forty-one grinned widely, feeling secretly fortunate.

Those ranked after forty-one, however, couldn't help but cry out in despair; they had hoped to get a testing result today, but now it seemed that hope was dashed.

Mo Ling smiled sweetly, “Nie Kong, everyone is expecting you to take all one hundred and six testing missions. Aren’t you going to reconsider?”

“No need,” Nie Kong shook his head and handed over his token.

“Very well, please wait a moment.”

“……”

The Alchemist Hall was bustling with figures today, so Nie Kong didn't need to pick a secluded corner; he simply settled down to meditate by the window. Before long, Mo Ling and the other three girls walked out of the room carrying jade boxes, followed by the black-clad woman holding brush, ink, paper, and inkstone.

Nie Kong had just opened the first medicine box when two slender, beautiful legs suddenly entered his line of sight.

Following those beautiful legs upward, past the upturned curves of her hips and her slender waist, over her small but firm breasts. Nie Kong’s gaze finally settled on that exquisite, beautiful face—eyes smiling, complexion radiant, with a tiny mole at the corner of her lip that was extremely captivating.

Miao Ge stood before Nie Kong with such grace, slender and charming, poised and elegant.

Her soft, alluring gaze swept over Nie Kong’s face. Miao Ge’s lips curved slightly, and she chuckled charmingly, “Junior Brother Nie Kong, do you need Senior Sister to take notes for you again today?”

“I couldn't ask for more!”

Nie Kong smiled upon hearing this, not bothering with pleasantries.

The moment his voice dropped, the two black petals inside the medicine box entered his mouth, and Nie Kong gently closed his eyes. Miao Ge shifted her stance and sat cross-legged right beside Nie Kong, holding a brush dipped in ink in one hand and spreading paper on the ground with the other, waiting silently with a smile.

Seeing the two sitting side-by-side, quite a few onlookers showed envious looks in their eyes. They had heard rumors yesterday that the great beauty Miao Ge from the Medicine Heart Hall had spent half the day taking notes for Nie Kong’s test results, and some hadn't believed it, but now seeing this confirmed the rumors were not false.

“Am I seeing things, or has this world turned upside down? Among the beauties of the Medicine Heart Hall, Miss Miao Ge has always had the mildest temperament, but she usually gives cold shoulder to any man trying to get close to her. Now she’s actually offering to help that fellow?”

“That kid is so lucky with women! Could Junior Sister Miao Ge have taken a liking to him?”

“Dream on. Junior Sister Miao Ge has long been a Third-Rank Spirit Alchemist, rumored to have even successfully refined Fourth-Rank Spirit Medicine. Why would she fancy a mere Second-Rank Spirit Alchemist? At most, she’s just a little curious. If I were testing medicines that frantically, Senior Sister Miao Ge would surely help me too.”

“Ha! That would be when helping scatter paper money at your burial!”

“Go! Shoo…”

“……”

Amidst a chorus of sour murmurs, Nie Kong began fluently reporting the properties of the medicine he tasted, while Miao Ge’s pale wrist moved lightly, and elegant, delicate script flowed from the tip of her brush onto the paper below. The speed at which Nie Kong spoke perfectly matched Miao Ge’s writing speed; after the unconscious synchronization from yesterday afternoon, their coordination today had actually become quite tacit.

The testing result was neither too long nor too short, filling exactly one sheet of paper. As Miao Ge finished the last character, Nie Kong opened the second medicine box and placed the contents into his mouth.

“Such incredible speed!”

“The news was true. This guy actually confirmed so many properties in just tens of seconds. If he hadn't spent that little time reciting the test results, forget one hundred and fifty-nine tests in a day, even one thousand tests in a day wouldn't have been impossible.”

“Exactly. If it were me testing, I’d have to divide the medicine into at least three doses, and even then, I might not get any findings.”

“……”

Those who had been to the Alchemist Hall yesterday were already accustomed to Nie Kong’s rapid testing methods. It was the Lingyu City disciples who arrived today who felt their horizons broadened, especially the young Spirit Alchemists from the Medicine Heart Hall, who were deeply astonished.

Nie Kong continued without pause, medicine after medicine entering his mouth. Unconsciously, more than twenty empty spirit-patterned jade boxes had accumulated beside him.

Crack!

With a crisp sound, the moment the jade box opened, a dazzling radiance leaked out from the crack. When the box was fully opened, gasps rose from all around; lying inside was a sea-blue medicinal herb, with eight stalks growing from the root, each stalk bearing numerous conch-shaped leaves.

As the box opened, the stalks and leaves swayed, emitting a dazzling blue ethereal light. Viewed from a distance, the herb seemed enveloped in a hazy color, beautifully dreamlike. Simultaneously, a intoxicating, rich fragrance wafted out from the herb inside the box, rapidly spreading in all directions.

“Ah-yah-yah!”

The little creature, busy providing venom for the ‘Fire Tree Silver Flower’ and clearing away the red liquid it secreted, paused its movements, then instantly stirred its stems, leaves, and roots with excitement, letting out a sweet cheer. Clearly, the beautiful herb in the box had piqued its interest.

Nie Kong twitched his nose and realized that the fragrance inhaled into his body showed a tendency to convert into Wood Spirit Power. He couldn't help but show joy; he hadn't expected to encounter such a precious herb here. He wondered if this herb was poisonous or not; for the little creature right now, both precious poisonous herbs and spirit herbs would make it cheer.

“What a beautiful herb, and what a wonderful scent! I wonder what it’s called?”

“If we knew what it was called, it wouldn’t be here in the Alchemist Hall. Such a beautiful herb shouldn't contain poison, right?”

“You’re naive saying that. The prettier the herb, the higher the chance it contains poison! Isn't the ‘Floating Cloud Flower’ gorgeous? Even a drop of its crushed juice can poison a Fifth-Rank Spirit Beast.”

“……”

Sounds of amazed praise filled the Alchemist Hall, while in the slightly dim shadows near the hall door, several figures huddled furtively—it was Lü Jian and the other four.

Peering through gaps in the crowd at Nie Kong sitting on the ground ahead, Lü Jian frowned and looked at the horse-faced man beside him, lowering his voice, “Luo Teng, are you absolutely sure?”

Luo Teng patted his chest and chuckled smugly, “Don't worry in the slightest, it’s absolutely fine. It’s actually lucky today; I was ranked fifty or sixty in line, but I managed to swap places with the guy ahead of me. Otherwise, this brat would have gotten away today.”

“Look, look! That guy is picking up the medicine!”

Hearing his companion’s reminder, Lü Jian and Luo Teng quickly looked over and indeed saw Nie Kong carefully lifting the herb out of the box, holding it in his palm. The few of them watched Nie Kong’s every move ahead with eager eyes, their faces involuntarily revealing sinister smiles…

…

Nie Kong didn't consume the herb immediately. After observing it carefully for a moment, he looked at Mo Ling and asked, “Senior Sister Mo Ling, after the testing, how should this herb be handled?”

Mo Ling smiled faintly, “According to the rules of the Alchemist Hall, once you accept this mission, you have complete discretion over the medicine in the box.”

“That’s good then!”

Nie Kong’s delight was evident.

Seeing this, a hint of suspicion flashed in Miao Ge’s beautiful eyes. She leaned close to Nie Kong’s ear, “Hey, Junior Brother Nie Kong, seeing you so happy, could this be a precious spirit grass?”

As her red lips parted, Miao Ge exhaled a breath like orchid fragrance, the warm, soft air brushing against Nie Kong’s ear, making his skin tingle slightly. He couldn't help but turn his head, their lips almost touching Miao Ge’s rosy petals, and he chuckled low, “Whether it’s a spirit grass or a poisonous one, we’ll know after testing.”

Miao Ge drew her head back slightly, her beautiful eyes throwing him a look of bashful anger. A vibrant blush bloomed across her delicate cheeks, making her exceptionally charming.

“Shameless, utterly shameless! In plain sight of everyone, acting so intimately, flirting like that—do you two have any sense of shame?”

“What a perfect pair of scoundrels!”

“……”

Taking in the subtle actions between Nie Kong and Miao Ge, many others around them felt a surge of jealousy, especially seeing Miao Ge’s “shy” expression. They cursed inwardly with envy, wishing they could shove Nie Kong aside and sit next to Miao Ge themselves.

Hiss!

A jade-green ethereal light flickered, spirit power like a blade. Nie Kong sliced off a sea-conch shaped leaf and gently placed it in his mouth. Instantly, the aroma filled his mouth.

After only a moment of chewing, the skin on Nie Kong’s face turned black as ink, and the dense black aura spread to his neck. Immediately afterward, Nie Kong’s hands also blackened like charcoal. Other parts hidden beneath his clothes were invisible, but it was presumed they were also covered by the black aura.

Nie Kong continued to chew, and his entire body began to swell and inflate at a speed visible to the naked eye. Sizzling sounds erupted continuously, and his clothes burst open, revealing his pitch-black body underneath.

“Deadly poison!”

“That herb is highly poisonous!”

“……”

The surrounding people’s faces changed drastically in horror, shouting out in alarm. It took only the blink of an eye for Nie Kong to go from consuming the herb to becoming this black, bloated mass. Most of the onlookers, who had been waiting for this testing to conclude with a relaxed state of mind, couldn't react for a moment, all standing there like wooden statues.

“Nie Kong!”

Miao Ge’s delicate face also lost its color, and she stared at Nie Kong in shock. In an instant, Nie Kong’s body had doubled in size, and the expansion showed no sign of stopping.

“Get back!”

A low, stern shout suddenly echoed through the Alchemist Hall. With a flash of black shadow, the black-clad woman who had been observing the testing results appeared in front of Nie Kong.

The surrounding crowd woke up as if from a dream and retreated rapidly.

In mere seconds, except for a few daring individuals who remained, most had backed up ten meters or more, watching the tragically transformed Nie Kong with dread. If the swelling didn't stop, it was likely his body would completely explode soon. If that toxic blood splashed onto anyone, they would probably not survive. Thinking of this, many more Lingyu City disciples retreated further, stopping only at a distance of thirty to forty meters.

“Master Xinyun, what should we do?”

Miao Ge sprang up and stood beside the black-clad woman, her eyebrows tightly furrowed as she stared intently at Nie Kong’s face.

The black-clad woman managed a wry smile and spoke with extreme speed, “The poison Nie Kong consumed is abnormally fierce. Ordinary detoxification spiritual medicine will hardly be effective. If we use extraordinary measures, we don't know the nature of this poison, and acting rashly might just backfire.”

“Then we just watch?” Miao Ge was extremely anxious. Nie Kong’s body was swelling larger and larger; the situation was becoming more perilous. If they delayed any longer, the consequences would be unimaginable.

“Let me think, let me think…”

“……”

In the shadows beside the hall door, Luo Teng clapped his hands together and chuckled softly with great satisfaction, “Brothers, did you all see that? How potent this poisonous herb is? I told you, how could an herb that can poison a Sixth-Rank Spirit Beast possibly fail against a mere Second-Rank Spirit Alchemist?”

Seeing Nie Kong’s miserable state, Lü Jian felt an extreme euphoria, as if drinking fine wine. His handsome face was contorted into a grin, “Not bad, not bad. What about being immune to all poisons? Faced with true deadly poison, he still ends up finished. Heh heh, this brat is done for.”

“Soon, we’ll hear a bang, and this brat will be blown into pieces, his flesh and blood completely dissolved, leaving only the bones!”

“Hey, let me count how much longer this brat can last. One, two, three… five, six, seven… nine, ten…”

“……”