"So fast!"

Huang Yun’s face was a bit stunned.

He Feng was the same, he could barely hold his pill-refining tools steady in his hands.

With a new pill formula, before you can produce actual pills, you have to get familiar with how all the materials are matched—and then practice refining repeatedly.

Only once you’ve gotten the entry down can you hope to succeed in the actual refining.

But Lu Chang’sheng had just come out of the first lecture hall, and he’d refined the Grass Returning Pill less than five times.

How could he already have gotten the hang of it?

Seeming to sense the two staring at him, Lu Chang’sheng just smiled and nodded toward them.

Huang Yun glanced at He Feng, eyebrows knitting slightly. He Feng’s eyes showed a hint of collapse; probably the scene was a bit too much for him.

With Lu Chang’sheng joining in, their progress along the Refining Pill Dao sped up quite a bit, though not to the point of earth-shattering speed.

After all, Lu Chang’sheng was also just starting out.

But Huang Yun could already foresee: as time went on, their progress in clearing the Refining Pill Dao would only get faster and faster.

Sure enough, in the following half month, Lu Chang’sheng’s pill-refining skills grew more and more refined. Practically every four or five sets of materials, he’d succeed in producing a furnace of pills.

The whole Refining Pill Dao pathway kept lighting up, step by step.

After another month, as the final blue stone lit up, the pill furnaces before the three vanished, leaving only a small path edged in cyan spiritual light leading to the second classroom.

"Let’s go!"

Huang Yun’s face broke into a smile, and he headed onto the path first. Yet, just as he was about to step onto it, he turned to Lu Chang’sheng and said: "Fellow Daoist Lu, after you."

"Dean Huang Yun, you’re too polite."

Lu Chang’sheng didn’t say more, keeping close behind.

He Feng hurried after as well, though his eyes carried a bit of gloom.

"Teacher didn’t call on me—does that mean my alchemy skill isn’t as strong as his?"

He felt lost, gazing at Lu Chang’sheng’s back, unable to fully accept it.

If he had reached a hundred years old, how could he possibly lose to Lu Chang’sheng?

The three made their way along the Refining Pill Dao, soon arriving at the second classroom.

Lu Chang’sheng didn’t rush ahead of Huang Yun for the lead; he purposefully lagged half a step behind.

"When we open the door, everyone will see us. My limelight’s already shining; there’s no need to steal any more spotlight now."

So thought Lu Chang’sheng.

And this move, in Huang Yun’s eyes, brought a hint of approval to his face.

"Don’t dawdle out there. Come in and listen to the lecture." At this moment, the teacher’s voice sounded from within.

Huang Yun took a deep breath, reaching out to push open the classroom doors.

In that moment, the three figures appeared before dozens of pairs of eyes.

Those were other immortal sect alchemists who hadn’t cleared the Refining Pill Dao yet.

"Those three, are they alchemists from Good Beast Sect?"

"Judging by their clothes, they are for sure."

"That’s right—I met Huang Yun once, and after a hundred years, I didn’t expect his alchemy to have reached such heights."

All the alchemists from the immortal sects watched as the trio entered the second classroom, their expressions tinged with emotion—especially those who’d crossed paths with Huang Yun before.

To become a second-rank alchemist, your talent must be outstanding. Naturally, they’re somewhat confident about their own gift for the Alchemy Dao.

Maybe they couldn’t compare to Central Domain sects, but as for the neighboring smaller domains, they didn’t think themselves lacking.

Yet now, seeing the barely-famous Huang Yun leading his Good Beast Sect squad into the second classroom, while their best would need several more days—

"How good Huang Yun is, outsiders don’t know, but we do, don’t we?"

Master Kong of the Supreme Profound Sect, his hair white as snow, watched the three and spoke slowly.

As one of the Three Immortals of Guangnan Domain, he certainly understood Huang Yun’s capabilities—so naturally, he felt a bit uneasy.

"If it’s not because of Alchemist Huang Yun, then it’s probably the other two."

A handsome young man beside him spoke in a low voice.

Master Kong nodded, clearly pleased with the reply.

"You’re right—it likely comes down to one of those two."

"Or, maybe just one of them specifically."

"Yes, Master—but who could that be, to have such impressive ability?"

The handsome man was Master Kong’s disciple, Xiao Yan, now himself a second-rank alchemist.

He looked to Master Kong again. "If Master wasn’t so old, how could we fall behind them?"

Master Kong wasn’t one for false modesty—he was nearly in his grave, his body falling into the Five Declines of the Celestial Human, so his mid-second-rank alchemy skills couldn’t be fully used.

Still, his group was only a few days from breaking through the Refining Pill Dao.

The reason he said ’just one,’ not ’both,’ was that everyone knew He Feng, who was behind Huang Yun.

But—

"The other guy looks kind of familiar to me." Another alchemist hesitated, then spoke up.

He was talking about Lu Chang’sheng.

"Oh? What’s his story?" Master Kong asked with keen interest.

The other alchemist paused, then replied: "To be honest, he has some ties to our Supreme Profound Sect."

He slowly laid out what he knew.

Master Kong was getting on in years, his body weathered by the Five Declines, so he rarely traveled out. If it weren’t for the Profound Turtle Alchemist’s inheritance this time, he wouldn’t have bothered coming.

Xiao Yan had joined Master Kong’s tutelage in recent years, spending all his time shut away refining pills, so he didn’t know much about the now-famous Lu Chang’sheng.

"You mean, he tried to join our Supreme Profound Sect several times, but was denied?" Master Kong frowned tightly after hearing the story.

"Yes. When it happened, it sparked some debate within the sect," the alchemist said with a bitter laugh.

Lu Chang’sheng first came to Supreme Profound Sect hoping to use Wang Futian’s connection to get in, but failed because of the Zhu Qing affair.

Later, even after being recognized by Heaven-Burning Valley and growing in fame, the sect worried about pride and wouldn’t accept him.

Master Kong shook his head, sighed, and said: "Just not fated to join us, I suppose, especially since Zhu Qing was involved—it makes some sense."

A C-grade spirit root ranks among the best even in Guangnan Domain; in the future, she’ll surely become the backbone of the sect, perhaps even succeed Zhang Qing and the others at her level.

To secure Zhu Qing, passing up a second-rank alchemist seed was understandable.

"This Red Bull Alchemist’s talent is first-rate, too bad his Immortal Dao Spirit Root isn’t good enough. He’ll struggle with Foundation Establishment. At best, he might reach Huang Yun’s current level."

Master Kong’s face smoothed out, and he passed judgment on Lu Chang’sheng.

"Average talent. But for Good Beast Sect, he’d be a fine choice to hold steady."

······

"Seat yourselves and listen well to the lesson." the teacher’s voice came.

Looking down at the seats, Huang Yun was truly glad he hadn’t stopped Lu Chang’sheng from coming to Purple Ice Lake.

Because there were less than ten seats left open below.

At most, three more sect teams could squeeze in.

Sure enough, on the third day, two squads pushed through the door, filling the last available seats. From the distance, a bell suddenly sounded.

Peeking out through the doors and windows, the first classroom was already shrouded in mist; the Refining Pill Dao paths had all vanished without a trace.

The sects who hadn’t made it in were now eliminated.

"Once we’re back, we need to have a serious talk about this."

Lu Chang’sheng suddenly heard Huang Yun speaking, the latter bowing his head in reminder.

Lu Chang’sheng nodded.

He Feng glanced over, clearly confused.

Huang Yun sighed: "This round, at least ten sects got kicked out, which means they’re cut off from inheriting the legacy. How do you think they’ll feel about that?"

He Feng instantly caught on, his face showing a trace of shock.

"These last days, the Celestial Gate has been reinforcing the Mountain Guardian Spirit Array, so I think things should be fine," Lu Chang’sheng comforted him.

"Let’s hope so."

Lu Chang’sheng didn’t say more—such matters were for the Sect Leader to handle. He just needed to secure as many benefits as he could.

"Just a bit more, and I’ll be able to level up the Cyan Spirit Pill and Foundation Establishment Pill formulas."

Lu Chang’sheng was full of anticipation; both formulas marked important milestones.

Once he achieved Great Success with the Cyan Spirit Pill formula, he’d be able to refine supreme-grade pills, and with those, cultivate a Cyan Spirit Body at a speed ordinary pills couldn’t match.

And reaching entry level with the Foundation Establishment Pill would let him make pills from scratch.

It’s an excellent start.