Chapter 47
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Chapter 47: middle first-level Pill Master
Lin Zhi Shou’s words truly astonished Zhou Luo.
He had never imagined that the Third Young Lady would actually become an apprentice under the other party and even turn into his Junior Sister.
But wasn’t she from the main family?
Although Lin Zhi Shou was currently the strongest Pill Master of the family, she shouldn’t have become his apprentice; at most, it could be said that she was learning from him.
After all, given her status, it should only be normal for her to join the Qingyuan Sect.
Unless there was some hidden story behind this.
Unconsciously, Zhou Luo thought of what Lin De had said to him earlier.
Immediately afterwards, he realized something.
Apparently, the main family didn’t want him to inherit Lin Zhi Shou’s mantle, so they had inserted Third Young Lady Lin Xin to prevent him from losing his influence.
Figuring this out, Zhou Luo felt more at ease inside.
As for inheriting Lin Zhi Shou’s mantle, he truly did not mind it at all.
After all, his own skill level was higher than his master’s, so whether he inherited or not made little difference.
As for the power behind it, that was even less something he sought to pursue.
In the eyes of Zhou Luo, who possessed a long life, he much preferred to simply be a person valued by the family rather than have power.
After all, behind power, there was always various deceit and dangers.
He disliked that.
The best was just like now: not lacking family attention, and not being viewed as a potential rival.
Seeing that Zhou Luo was distracted, Lin Zhi Shou coughed several times.
Only then did Zhou Luo snap back to focus; he stood up and cupped his hands: "Congratulations, master, for taking in another fine disciple."
Lin Zhi Shou nodded with satisfaction, gestured for him to sit down, and continued: "From now on, you both Senior Brother and Junior Sister need to work hard."
"Yes."
The two spoke in unison.
"Alright, since you’ve met now, come along with me," Lin Zhi Shou said, standing up and heading towards the alchemy room.
Lin Xin followed him standing up and glanced sideways at Zhou Luo.
Zhou Luo made a motion to invite her forward.
However, the other party indifferently said: "Senior Brother should go first."
"Junior Sister should go first," Zhou Luo deferred.
Upon hearing this, Lin Xin gave him a deep look, didn’t say another word, and walked forward.
Inside the alchemy room,
Lin Zhi Shou stood before the furnace, first looked at Zhou Luo and asked: "Disciple, how skilled are you now?"
"Reporting to master, I feel I can try to refine a middle first-level potion," Zhou Luo replied.
"Oh?" A flash of surprise crossed Lin Zhi Shou’s face.
A trace of shock flickered in Lin Xin’s eyes beside him.
She remembered this guy had only just started learning about two years ago, how had he broken through so quickly?
Or was he lying?
Unlike Lin Xin’s doubt, Lin Zhi Shou appeared very pleased. He pointed towards the furnace and said, "Come, let this master see your skill."
Zhou Luo nodded, walked to the storage cabinet nearby, and began selecting medicinal ingredients.
After a short while, he returned to the furnace holding the ingredients.
This time, he was attempting to refine the Spirit Raising Pill, a very basic middle first-level potion that could provide the user with a portion of spiritual energy.
Often, the ability to refine even one Spirit Raising Pill signified becoming a middle first-level Pill Master.
Lin Zhi Shou watched him with full expectation.
Lin Xin, however, gazed into the furnace with a scrutinizing look.
To be honest, she didn’t believe he had truly reached middle first-level proficiency.
After all, even after studying pill refinement for three years, she had only barely touched the threshold of middle first-level herself.
In her view, Zhou Luo was highly likely to fail.
Zhou Luo placed the ingredients into the furnace and began the refinement.
His movements before the furnace appeared extremely clumsy and inexperienced; he was drenched in sweat right from the start.
This sight only solidified Lin Xin’s opinion.
She sneered coldly inwardly.
He was seriously overestimating himself. Did he really think just knowing potion recipes meant he could refine the Spirit Raising Pill?
Seeing this, the expectation on Lin Zhi Shou’s face also noticeably diminished.
His mental energy expenditure was this severe?
It seemed he would struggle even with the first step.
However, both of them were taken by surprise.
Although Zhou Luo struggled intensely, he persevered and completed the first step: melting the medicinal ingredients.
He’s just an arrow at the end of its flight.
Looking at Zhou Luo’s pale face, Lin Xin thought to herself.
But as time passed, Zhou Luo not only persisted, but the medicinal liquid within the furnace began to coalesce together under his pill formula manipulations.
Lin Xin knitted her brows slightly.
How was he not on the verge of collapse yet? Was his willpower this strong?
Although puzzled, she remained convinced Zhou Luo would fail.
Because willpower alone was useless. The final pill formation step demanded massive mental energy expenditure.
In his current state, it was impossible for him to last until the completion of the pill formation.
Lin Zhi Shou also thought so.
So, even though Zhou Luo was still continuing, he was not very optimistic.
Time passed bit by bit, and the medicinal liquid inside the furnace, under Zhou Luo’s conscious control, had already gathered into a spherical shape.
Next was the pill forming.
Seeing that he had actually persisted to the last step, a hint of admiration involuntarily arose in Lin Xin’s heart.
This guy’s perseverance was quite good.
It was just too bad, it meant nothing.
In front of the furnace, Zhou Luo’s face grew paler, and he even bit his lip until it bled.
Even so, he still continued, starting to release his mental energy to fuse the substances in the medicinal liquid together.
Boom—
As the flames vanished, a lightly fragrant scent suddenly floated out.
That was the signal of a successfully refined potion.
Lin Zhi Shou widened his eyes, quickly strode forward, and appeared at the front of the furnace.
Inside lay a dark green pill resting quietly.
He directly took it out and stared intently at this Spirit Raising Pill, revealing surprise.
"Success."
At the same time, over on the other side, Lin Xin was stunned, her famously beautiful face filled with disbelief.
How was it possible?
How could he succeed?
She looked toward Zhou Luo, exhausted on the ground, watching this guy who had come from behind and surpassed her, her mind trembling uncontrollably for a moment.
"Good apprentice, your performance made me, your master, very happy," Lin Zhi Shou said, holding the slightly flawed Spirit Raising Pill, exhilarated.
"Thanks to the master’s guidance," Zhou Luo showed a pale smile.
But in his heart, he was murmuring.
Damn it, I used my acting skills from all these years in this performance.
"Very good, very good," Lin Zhi Shou took out a mental replenishing potion and handed it to him, unable to stop praising.
After Zhou Luo finished refining the potion, it naturally became Lin Xin’s turn.
Only, affected by Zhou Luo and unsteady, she actually failed even at refining a low first-level potion.
Lin Zhi Shou encouraged her with a few words, then began to lecture and instruct both of them.
Of course, most of it was focused on teaching Zhou Luo.
After all, he was now a veritable middle first-level Pill Master.
Even in the family, he was like a dependable mainstay.
This made Lin Xin feel the pressure increase sharply.
She had come here to replace Zhou Luo, but he had already far surpassed her by an unknown distance.
This greatly boosted her competitive drive and solidified her resolve to exceed him.
The day of teaching passed in a flash.
Lin Zhi Shou demanded that Zhou Luo come to study here every day starting tomorrow.
Zhou Luo had no choice but to accept.
When he and Lin Xin walked out of the Shouchun Garden gate together, she suddenly said: "Zhou Luo, I will surpass you."
Zhou Luo paused in surprise, then smiled and said: "Third Young Lady has extraordinary inborn talent, she will surely go much farther than I."
