“Uncle Gu Ni,” Ya Fei called out softly.
The old man’s movements paused, but he didn’t turn around.
His voice carried a hint of displeasure at being interrupted:
“Young Miss, didn’t I say not to let anyone in to disturb me while I’m refining medicine?
Fortunately, I haven’t started yet, otherwise this entire morning’s work would have been for nothing.”
“I know you work hard, Uncle Gu Ni.”
Ya Fei smiled as she walked in, her tone familiar.
“However, I brought Younger Brother Lu Heng today to see the world, and incidentally, to borrow your precious place for a bit.”
Only then did Gu Ni turn around, his aged face carrying the arrogance of someone who had long held a high position.
He glanced at Lu Heng, who was following behind Ya Fei, and his brow furrowed slightly.
“This kid?”
Gu Ni sized Lu Heng up and gave a light snort.
“Young Miss, the refining room is a restricted area.
How can you just bring anyone in?
The fire energy here is hot and dry; it wouldn’t be good if Lu Heng got hurt.”
Gu Ni didn’t have any ill will toward Lu Heng; he simply felt that Ya Fei was being reckless.
In this place, even a minor cauldron explosion could be fatal.
Why bring a child who wasn’t even ten years old?
Lu Heng took a step forward and bowed slightly with perfect etiquette.
“Junior Lu Heng greets Great Master Gu Ni.”
“Mm.”
Gu Ni responded lukewarmly and turned back to Ya Fei.
“Young Miss, what are you borrowing this place for?”
The corners of Ya Fei’s mouth curled up as she spoke startling words.
“Younger Brother Lu Heng wants to try refining medicine.”
Gu Ni’s hand jerked violently, nearly dropping the medicinal herbs.
He looked up in bewilderment, as if he had heard some grand joke.
“Refining medicine?
Him?”
Gu Ni pointed at Lu Heng, his beard bristling.
“Young Miss, this joke isn’t funny.
Can anyone just become an Alchemist if they want to?
That depends on talent!
Dou Qi requires dual fire and wood attributes, and one must have extraordinary Soul perception.
These are conditions found in only one in ten thousand!
Not to mention, one needs guidance from a famous master.
Just learning to identify medicinal herbs takes three to five years…”
Once Gu Ni touched upon his professional field, he couldn’t stop talking.
His tone was full of the superiority of an Alchemist and disdain for laymen.
Ya Fei didn’t argue, but simply looked at Lu Heng with a half-smile.
Lu Heng didn’t respond.
Words were useless; it was better to show him directly.
Lu Heng spread his right hand and flipped his palm upward.
The vortex inside his body trembled violently, and red Dou Qi surged out along his Meridians.
Puff—a soft sound echoed.
A cluster of crimson Dou Qi surged up out of thin air in the youth’s fair palm.
The heat in the air instantly spiked.
The words “you still have a long way to go” that were on the tip of Gu Ni’s tongue got stuck in his throat.
He stared fixedly at the cluster of Dou Qi in Lu Heng’s palm, his neck craning forward like an old goose being choked.
“This…
this color…”
Gu Ni took two steps forward, not even caring about his dignity as an Alchemist.
He leaned his face close to Lu Heng’s hand, his nostrils flaring as he took a deep breath.
Amidst the scorching heat was a hint of wood-attribute vitality.
There was no mistake.
“Fire and wood attributes!
It’s fire and wood attributes!”
Gu Ni muttered to himself, suddenly looking up.
His gaze swept back and forth between Lu Heng’s youthful face and the Dou Qi in his hand.
“Wait!
How can Dou Qi at the Dou Zhi Qi Stage have a color?”
Gu Ni’s voice suddenly rose several octaves: “Could you already be a Dou Zhe?!”
Dou Qi at the Dou Zhi Qi Stage is always milky white.
Only at the Dou Zhe stage, after condensing a Dou Qi Vortex, can one determine their attributes and Cultivate the corresponding Cultivation Technique.
But how old was the Lu Heng before him?
Gu Ni turned his stiff neck toward Ya Fei, his finger trembling as he pointed at Lu Heng:
“Young Miss, this kid…
Lu Heng…
he looks like he’s not even ten years old yet, right?”
Even among the direct descendants of the great families in the Imperial Capital who were piled with Medicinal Pills, he had never heard of anyone breaking through to the Dou Zhe level before age ten.
Ya Fei held a silk handkerchief, gently covering her red lips, but the pride overflowing from her peach-blossom eyes couldn’t be hidden.
Looking at the panicked Uncle Gu Ni, she felt like she was looking at her own undignified self from yesterday.
This feeling of shocking others was truly refreshing.
“Uncle Gu Ni, look at what you’re saying.
Younger Brother Lu Heng won’t be ten until next month.”
Ya Fei walked slowly to Lu Heng’s side and reached out to help the youth straighten his collar, her tone carrying a hint of casual boasting.
“He just had a Breakthrough yesterday.
Since he felt his fire and wood attributes were suitable for refining medicine, he thought he’d come to your place to try his hand.
What do you think, is it possible?”
Gu Ni felt like his decades of life had been wasted on a dog.
Nine years old.
Dou Zhe.
Dual fire and wood attributes.
When these three phrases were combined, it simply defied logic.
“Passable?
With this kind of talent, how could it be just passable…”
Gu Ni took a deep breath, trying to suppress the stormy waves in his heart.
The way he looked at Lu Heng had completely changed.
He went from seeing a “troublemaking brat” to seeing a “rare treasure.”
No wonder.
No wonder three years ago the Young Miss had endured such pressure from the Family, even being pointed at by others, just to keep this orphan by her side.
Gu Ni had originally thought Ya Fei had a momentary lapse of soft-heartedness or some other motive.
Now it seemed she had clearly picked up a true Dragon from the shallows!
This foresight was terrifyingly sharp.
“Ahem.”
Gu Ni cleared his throat, attempting to regain some of his dignity as a Second-Grade Alchemist, but his voice was still a bit airy.
“Good cultivation talent doesn’t necessarily mean good refining talent.
Refining medicine emphasizes the fine control of Soul Power.
Many experts can’t even refine a single medicinal herb to purity…”
Despite his words, Gu Ni’s feet were very honest.
He turned and walked to a wall, pressing a mechanism to reveal a more private quiet room.
“Since we’ve reached this point, let’s give it a try.
I also want to see if a nine-year-old Dou Zhe is truly all-powerful.”
His words sounded a bit sour, but they also held a hint of anticipation.
After all, if he could truly witness the birth of a Prodigy Alchemist, it would be quite a topic of conversation for an old man like him who had been stuck at the second grade for many years.
The quiet room wasn’t large.
The four walls were embedded with Sound-Absorbing Stones, and a stone platform stood in the center.
Lu Heng didn’t hesitate.
He took out the dark-red, double-mouthed Medicine Cauldron he had just bought from his storage ring and placed it on the stone platform with a thud.
Gu Ni stood to the side with his hands tucked in his sleeves.
Although he didn’t say anything discouraging, his expression remained serious.
“Lu Heng, do you know how to refine medicine?
I mean, do you know how to control the heat and how to distinguish the degree of refining of the medicinal liquid?”
“I’ve read a few books and know a thing or two,” Lu Heng answered modestly.
In fact, when he opened the Dou Zhe chapter last night, the contents of Volume One of the Myriad Realms Pharmacopoeia had already been etched into his mind.
The habits of medicinal herbs, flame temperature control, and refining techniques were now like innate instincts to him.
But, after all, he hadn’t practiced yet!
Ya Fei didn’t speak, quietly retreating to a corner to avoid interfering with Lu Heng as much as possible.
But her beautiful eyes remained tightly locked on the youth, and the silk handkerchief in her hand was crumpled from her grip.