He backed up for a moment. As Yang Ying controlled the mixing of the two solutions with his mental power in the old crucible, he felt a sensation he had never experienced before.

The two droplets before his eyes seemed to grow larger and larger, as if he himself were shrinking while the droplets gradually occupied his entire field of vision.

At the same time, the details of the two droplets appeared so clear that Yang Ying’s gaze penetrated their surfaces, allowing him to see the dark currents flowing inside. As he poured more mental power into the process, even finer elements gradually came into view. In the end, he could even vaguely discern the molecules that made up the droplets!

Yang Ying understood in his heart that this was a phenomenon of 'microscopic vision.'

As a peak Third-Level expert, he already possessed the ability for microscopic sight, much like the saying in Buddhist scriptures: "The Buddha observes a bowl of water and sees eighty-four thousand insects." This meant that Shakyamuni could look into a bowl of water and see the bacteria within!

Yang Ying’s current cultivation was equivalent to that of Shakyamuni before entering Anavashesa Nirvāṇa (Unending Nirvana); with his mental power fully engaged, his eyes could indeed see bacteria in a glass of clear water.

Bacteria have diameters ranging from a few micrometers to one micrometer, and a micrometer is one-thousandth of a millimeter, visible under a standard microscope. This suggested that Yang Ying’s eyesight was already comparable to a microscope, certainly several hundred times sharper than an ordinary person’s, yet even so, it was still a great distance from seeing molecules.

At first glance, Yang Ying thought his cultivation had leaped forward to the Fourth Level, but in an instant, he realized this was not the case. Instead, it was the effect of a certain component within the solution. Tissia had mentioned this when demonstrating potion preparation.

The reason this phenomenon occurred was that during the preparation of the three solutions and one powder, a strangely potent mineral crystal powder had been added to all of them. Under the influence of mental power, this crystal powder could refract light, creating the effect of magnifying a specific localized view thousands of times. Relatively speaking, it increased the pharmacist’s microscopic vision by thousands of times.

This crystal powder was called 'Mirror Powder' (Jing Fen) and was one of the most commonly used auxiliary materials for pharmacists. Without it, the success rate of spiritual refinement would drop by an entire order of magnitude.

When Tissia explained, he only mentioned that Mirror Powder increased eyesight, not to this extreme degree, which startled Yang Ying.

Suppressing his astonishment, Yang Ying fully immersed himself in the marvelous sight. To his eyes, these molecules were incredibly small; the largest appeared no bigger than the tip of a pin. The specific molecular structures were faint, indistinct, but that was enough.

As the two droplets touched, the molecules on both sides began to move violently, like dry kindling meeting a fierce fire. A reaction that was difficult to describe began to spread rapidly outward.

As the provider of mental power, Yang Ying keenly noticed that after the two substances reacted, many new components formed. This was because both solutions were mixtures; even after purification, they contained numerous functional components that could not be separated. Forcing separation would inevitably cause the medicinal effect to decrease significantly or even vanish entirely.

Even the final product, the Primary Longevity Potion, was a mixture; missing even one component rendered it substandard, and missing several made it waste. The kaleidoscopic light emanating from it demonstrated that a pure substance could never be so colorful!

Complex components led to complex reactions, and the resulting variety of products was not surprising. However, only a limited few components were required. The ability to locate the necessary components amidst the myriad products, catalyze the desired reaction using mental power, and suppress ineffective reactions depended entirely on the pharmacist's foundational skill.

Yang Ying was still a novice, but the Primary Longevity Potion was the most basic potion requiring spiritual refinement, not very difficult, perfectly suited for beginners to practice with.

Furthermore, Yang Ying was no ordinary beginner; he was a novice at the peak of the Third Level.

Among all the beginners who had applied to the Central Glacier Academy’s Medical School, Potion Division, those with Yang Ying’s level of mental power were exceedingly rare. He had cultivated to a level just shy of the Fourth Level. In fact, in this very laboratory, Yang Ying possessed the highest cultivation level, surpassing even Tissia.

The surrounding students were far below that level; most were only Second Level. Even with the aid of Mirror Powder, they could not achieve vision fine enough to perceive molecules. Yang Ying’s innate aptitude was truly exceptional, making him stand out like a crane among chickens.

Spiritual refinement, when taken to its extreme, was theoretically synonymous with martial arts techniques: mental power formed the root, while refinement techniques were the branches and leaves. The thicker the root, the more luxuriant the foliage. With his profound mental power as a foundation, Yang Ying found mixing the Primary Longevity Potion smooth sailing, like a hot knife through butter.

After the droplets of Solution One and Solution Two merged, Yang Ying immediately added the corresponding powder and the droplet of Solution Three, guiding the directed reaction with his mental power. The final product was suffused with life force. In Yang Ying’s estimation, it was potent enough to bring withered wood back to spring or revitalize a dying person—clearly, the Primary Longevity Potion was successfully brewed.

The tiny droplet was only the size of a little fingernail tip...

...However, the seven-colored light was undeniably real. Yang Ying had previously tasted the demonstration potion Tissia had prepared, and he felt that the vitality contained in the drop he had brewed was more concentrated than Tissia’s.

A moment of thought revealed the answer: Tissia, for the sake of explanation, had prepared the four pathways separately, taking too long. This caused some active components in the solutions prepared first to degrade and become ineffective. Consequently, he had some excess of both Solution Two and Solution Three. This was partly due to the differing physical properties of the drugs, but also because Solution One had a lower concentration of active ingredients, failing to completely react with all of Solutions Two and Three.

In other words, the potion Yang Ying brewed was superior to Tissia's demonstration potion—it was an authentic, high-quality Primary Longevity Potion.

Having received Tissia’s acknowledgment, Yang Ying did not stop just because he had passed. He had developed considerable interest in pharmacology, and he had used only a small amount of the solutions and powder, meaning he could continue mixing with the remainder. And he intended to keep going.

Yang Ying used his telekinesis to lift the remaining solutions and powder into the air and began the fusion process again.

Having qualified, he had already become the focus of everyone’s attention. When the others saw him start again, their faces showed expressions ranging from envy and jealousy to defiance. This spurred them to redouble their efforts and commit fully.

The second person to finish was the girl in the front row. She also successfully brewed a drop of the seven-colored finished product, though its color was slightly duller than Yang Ying's, suggesting lower quality. Nevertheless, after Tissia tested her potion, he announced, "Experiment Table Number Three, student Lai Ya, qualified!"

Lai Ya’s face lit up upon hearing the news of her passing, but she glanced back toward Yang Ying, her eyes holding an unreadable meaning. She lowered her head and also began preparing the rest of her reagents.

Just then, the man who had submitted his work first also brewed a drop of the shimmering, colorful finished product. He clearly possessed a solid theoretical foundation, but his practical execution was inferior to that of Yang Ying and the girl, Lai Ya. Of course, he didn't know that in terms of theory, he was also inferior to Yang Ying; Yang Ying had merely allowed him to submit first so as not to be too shockingly brilliant.

After testing the potion, Tissia nodded. "Experiment Table Number Seventy-One, student Dimas, qualified."

As the words fell, a dense burst of seven-colored light shot out. Tissia turned to see a mass of about two hundred milliliters of the seven-hued liquid hovering before Yang Ying, changing shape as if in zero gravity, appearing bizarre and magnificent. Yang Ying took a small vial and transferred the potion into it.

Tissia nodded in satisfaction, thinking inwardly that the quality of this year's students was truly excellent. This student, Igor (Dimas), carried a high-level Third-Tier optical brain, but his mental power likely reached the peak of the Third Level. This was a genuine find. After enrolling, he should be able to brew Level Eight potions soon.

Dimas, who had just qualified, glanced toward Yang Ying, his expression wooden, as if the event had nothing to do with him. He had no intention of finishing the rest of his solution. The girl, Lai Ya, however, showed a determined, unconquered expression and continued her work, finally completing a full bottle of the Primary Longevity Potion after another half a minute. Although the seven-colored glow was not as intense as Yang Ying’s, it was hardly inferior to Tissia’s demonstration potion.

Time ticked by. By the time the fourth qualified student appeared, the exam time was already more than halfway over. This person’s skill level was clearly far below the first three. When Tissia tested his potion, his expression returned to the stern blankness of the beginning, and he coolly announced that the student had passed.

After him, others began successfully brewing potions one after another, until, as the deadline approached, the twentieth qualified student finally appeared.

Yang Ying noticed that Tissia’s attitude toward this last person was clearly extraordinary. In fact, nearly half the laboratory staff exhibited unusual behavior toward this individual—shifting from ignoring, slighting, and looking down on him, to surprise, respect, and admiration. When this person finally succeeded, the entire laboratory was moved, the reaction no less intense than when Yang Ying succeeded.

This was because this final qualifier was not an Awakened individual, but an ordinary subhuman male in his thirties.

Yang Ying could understand this situation. For an ordinary person to even be present here meant he was a genius of the highest order. Merely mastering all fifty courses was difficult, and mastering spiritual refinement without being Awakened was nearly impossible. Yet, this man had succeeded.

Although he had endured numerous failures, consuming almost all his precise processing solution and powder, he had ultimately succeeded at the last moment.

Whatever this ordinary man had done before, whatever his history, it was irrelevant now. This was the day he emerged from obscurity with a resounding success. He had defeated dozens of Awakened individuals as an un-Awakened person to gain entry into the Central Glacier Academy. If this did not prove his talent, then the concept of talent simply did not exist in the world.

The Top-Tier Gene Activation Potion was prepared for people like him. Yang Ying also made a mental note of his name: Dannan.