23: Short of money

Jiang Donghua let out a long breath and slowly withdrew his fighting energy.

The flames in the Medicine Cauldron subsequently extinguished, leaving only a wisp of blue smoke curling upwards.

Mo Xuan stood with his hands behind his back, showing a rare hint of approval.

"Not bad. To maintain the flame for a quarter of an hour on your first time controlling fire, your soul control is indeed much stronger than those mediocre talents."

With a flick of his sleeve, three yellowed Pill Formulas appeared out of thin air, lining up and floating in front of Jiang Donghua.

"Since you have passed the basic flame control, now choose the simplest type of healing medicine to start practicing," Mo Xuan said lightly.

"Which of these three do you want to learn?"

Jiang Donghua looked closely and saw the three Pill Formulas listed:

"Blood-Stopping Powder" — Can heal superficial skin and flesh wounds; takes effect slowly but steadily.

"Muscle-Regeneration Paste" — Can treat moderately deep trauma; the medicinal effect is burning and requires endurance.

"bone-mending pill" — Although it is the lowest-grade elixir, it can reconnect fractured tendons and bones, making the refining difficulty extremely high.

"What are the differences between these three?" Jiang Donghua asked cautiously.

Mo Xuan scoffed.

"What differences could there be?"

"They are all merely the lowest-grade healing medicines. It's just that the treatment effects vary."

He raised his hand and pointed.

"The first kind is for mercenaries, treating scrapes and scratches. The second kind is commonly carried by students of the Outer Academy of Jia Nan Academy, capable of treating knife and sword wounds. The third kind—"

He paused meaningfully.

"Although it is the lowest grade, it already touches the scope of elixirs. Its refining difficulty is several times that of the previous two."

"Of course, the effect is also the best."

A trace of amusement flashed in Mo Xuan's eyes.

"Connecting broken bones and nourishing meridians—it is a genuine first-grade elixir."

Jiang Donghua's gaze shifted between the three Pill Formulas.

Logic told him he should choose the easiest one, the "Blood-Stopping Powder," but a voice deep inside kept clamoring.

Since he was going to learn, why not challenge the most difficult one?

He had the cheat of AFK leveling; what was there to be afraid of?

After thinking it over, Jiang Donghua chose the bone-mending pill directly.

"I choose the bone-mending pill."

Mo Xuan raised an eyebrow.

"Oh?"

He sized up Jiang Donghua, then suddenly burst into laughter.

"Interesting!"

"A little guy from the Yellow Rank Class dares to challenge making an elixir right off the bat?"

Mo Xuan remained silent for a moment, then suddenly turned and walked towards the medicine cabinet.

His rough fingers moved across the compartments, retrieving ten neatly stacked sets of medicinal herbs, each carefully wrapped in oiled paper.

"Take these."

Mo Xuan piled the herbs in front of Jiang Donghua. The greenish-brown oiled paper packets emitted a faint medicinal fragrance.

"Materials for ten batches of bone-mending pill."

Just as Jiang Donghua was about to thank him, he heard Mo Xuan continue.

"If you fail all of them, subsequent materials will have to be purchased with your own money."

His voice was as calm as if he were discussing the weather.

"Since you chose this path, I won't say anything more."

Mo Xuan turned and walked toward the alchemy room, his graying hair reflecting a cold light under the candlelight.

"But remember, if by this time next year—a full year—you still haven't refined a successful elixir..."

He paused, then pushed open the heavy stone door.

"Don't blame me for personally kicking you out of the Alchemy Department."

The sound of the stone door opening startled several apprentices nearby who were sorting medicinal herbs.

They whispered to each other, occasionally casting glances of pity or ridicule.

"Did you hear that? Another stubborn fool choosing the bone-mending pill."

"That Senior Brother Liu last year wasted hundreds of sets of materials before he succeeded..."

"Shh, keep it down!"

"But this kid probably doesn't know how many people get stuck on first-grade elixir for two or three years. Being an alchemy apprentice for a few years is sometimes not enough!"

Jiang Donghua slowly injected his soul perception into the Pill Formula jade slip.

Instantly, a marvelous stream of information surged into his mind like a tide.

"This feeling."

He couldn't help but hold his breath.

The complex ratios of the medicinal materials, the precision control of the heat down to the smallest degree, and the mutually reinforcing and restraining relationships between the various herbs—all appeared so clearly in the depths of his consciousness, as if someone had unreservedly branded a lifetime of alchemy experience into his memory.

"A first-grade Pill Formula holds such profound mystery. No wonder Alchemists are so rare and precious."

Jiang Donghua opened his eyes, his gaze sweeping over the mottled walls of the alchemy room.

In the corner, several shifty-eyed apprentices were pretending to sort herbs, but their eyes occasionally darted over.

One tall, skinny apprentice deliberately knocked a medicinal jar, causing it to clang, while another occasionally let out a sarcastic sneer.

"Heh, it seems that refining elixirs here requires guarding against sabotage."

He subtly gathered the medicinal materials closer to him.

Although these guys wouldn't dare to openly cause trouble, what if they accidentally knocked over one or two main ingredients, or inadvertently swapped the order of the herbs...

"I need to figure something out..."

Jiang Donghua suddenly remembered Instructor Yan Feng's booming, rough voice.

As the only student from Yellow Rank Class 266 to enter the Alchemy Department, Old Yan should surely value him, his sole promising student, right?

"It's an investment in the future."

Just as Jiang Donghua stepped out of the Alchemy Department's large door, someone suddenly grabbed his arm.

"Donghua!" Lin Xiuyuan's eyes were bloodshot, and his voice was trembling slightly.

"You... you weren't eliminated, were you?"

Before Jiang Donghua could react, Lin Xiuyuan thoroughly examined him from head to toe.

The blood vessels in his eyes were clearly visible; he had obviously been waiting outside for a long time.

"Look at this."

Jiang Donghua shook the packet of medicinal materials in his hand, the oiled paper rustling.

Lin Xiuyuan was startled at first, then stared intently at the herbs, his Adam's apple bobbing a few times.

Suddenly, he fiercely punched the stone pillar beside him.

"Damn it! Why am I so unlucky?!"

His voice held a hint of a sob.

"I'm so damn envious of you!"

"Xiuyuan..."

"Don't comfort me!" Lin Xiuyuan suddenly turned away, his shoulders trembling slightly.

"I just... I just can't accept it..."

His voice grew softer and softer.

"We entered the Academy together."

Jiang Donghua stood silently behind him, watching this guy who was usually always grinning and joking, whose very silhouette now radiated loneliness.

Among those hundreds of New Students, aside from losing to Jiang Donghua, whom had Lin Xiuyuan ever feared?

But now, he was destined to be left far behind.

The shadow cast by the large door of the Alchemy Department perfectly enveloped Lin Xiuyuan.

After a long while, Lin Xiuyuan suddenly turned around and threw an arm over Jiang Donghua's shoulder, the force making it hurt.

"Let's go!"

He forced out a smile, though his voice was still nasal.

"You absolutely have to treat me today! I'm going to eat the most expensive Magical Beast meat!"

Jiang Donghua stumbled from the pull, but he also laughed.

"Fine, but you have to wipe your tears clean first."

"Get lost! Who was crying!" Lin Xiuyuan fiercely wiped his face.

"It was the wind!"

At the Jia Nan Academy cafeteria, Lin Xiuyuan fiercely bit into a piece of golden-roasted Ice Serpent meat.

He didn't bother wiping the grease dripping down the corner of his mouth.

Suddenly, he put down his chopsticks and started counting on his fingers.

"first-grade elixir, the bone-mending pill, right?"

"I heard that the cost of just failing one batch is over a thousand gold coins!"

He bent down his first finger.

"Look, check out the stuff in that oiled paper packet."

"Water-type Magical Core, market price starts at four hundred gold coins."

He pressed down the second finger.

"Moonlight Grass, must be picked at night, eighty gold coins per stalk."

The third finger.

"Azure Spirit Bone Powder? That stuff has to be calcined from the vertebrae of a First-tier Magical Beast, and a pinch is two hundred gold coins!"

The fourth finger jabbed hard onto the table.

The snake meat Jiang Donghua had just picked up clattered back into his bowl.

Staring at Lin Xiuyuan's greasy five fingers, he suddenly felt that the meat in his bowl was no longer appealing.

"The most fatal thing is the Medicine Cauldron!"

Lin Xiuyuan swallowed the last bite of snake meat whole and lowered his voice.

"Even the cheapest First-tier Medicine Cauldron costs one hundred thousand gold coins!"

"You can't just use the Alchemy Department's public Medicine Cauldron for practice, can you?"

"If those senior brothers mess with it even a little, it won't be a pleasant experience."