84: Chapter 84 Lu Youyou Under Pressure

"Good morning, Little Junior Brother!"

Lu Youyou saw Qin Yan.

She immediately stood on her tiptoes and waved at him playfully.

She greeted him in a low voice, fearing she might disturb Xiao Huo, who was fully focused on refining pills.

"Good morning, Little Senior Sister."

Qin Yan also lightened his footsteps, walked over to Lu Youyou's side, and responded in a low voice.

The two of them tacitly stopped talking and looked together at Xiao Huo in the center of the Alchemy Room.

They saw Xiao Huo with a solemn expression, his entire body surrounded by a powerful aura.

With his fingers held like a sword, he controlled six lifelike and extraordinarily agile fire dragons that wound and spiraled through the air.

One by one, precious medicinal herbs emitting majestic energy fluctuations were thrown into the fire dragons.

In almost the blink of an eye, the impurities within were burned into nothingness.

Drops of crystal-clear spiritual liquid of various colors, containing pure medicinal power, were refined.

Wrapped in flames, these spiritual liquids...

...flew and merged on their own as if they possessed life.

The process was filled with an indescribable beauty and mystery.

Qin Yan was no longer the ignorant person he once was; relying on the rich alchemy knowledge in his mind,

he could roughly judge that what his teacher was refining at this moment was a high-level pill of at least the fourth grade or higher!

Its complexity and the required control were far beyond what he experienced when refining first grade pills.

He could learn a lot just by watching.

Beside him, Lu Youyou was also mesmerized, her eyes sparkling with wonder.

She had likely learned some things as well.

After a while, the dense medicinal fragrance in the Alchemy Room suddenly retracted.

The six fire dragons let out a low roar and suddenly merged into the center of the Pill Furnace.

Xiao Huo formed an alchemy seal with his hands and gave a soft shout, "Congeal!"

The furnace lid slammed shut, and when it opened again a moment later,

ten longan-sized pills emitting startling energy fluctuations flew out.

They landed in a purple jade pill bottle that Xiao Huo had prepared beforehand.

Only then did Xiao Huo slowly exhale a mouthful of turbid air.

He withdrew his powerful aura, a hint of satisfaction appearing on his face.

He turned around and looked at his two quietly waiting disciples, a gentle smile appearing on his face.

"Youyou, Qin Yan, you're both here."

"Teacher." The two of them quickly stepped forward and bowed respectfully.

"Xiao Yan, your spirit seems quite good today."

Xiao Huo's gaze first fell on Qin Yan, sizing him up carefully.

He nodded and said, "I heard from Youyou before that your face was pale and your spirit was listless."

"I was worried if you had taken too many nourishing spirit pills and suffered side effects."

"It seems you've recovered well; it's not a big problem."

Qin Yan quickly replied respectfully, "Thank you for your concern, Teacher."

"I have kept your teachings in mind and did not rely excessively on the nourishing spirit pills."

"These past few days, I've mainly relied on rest and moderate training to recover slowly, so my condition has improved a bit."

After several days of rest and the continuous nourishment of the spirit nurturing pills, although Qin Yan's complexion was still slightly pale compared to his peak,

compared to his appearance a few days ago, looking as if he were just recovering from a serious illness,

it was much better; at least he looked somewhat like a normal person.

Hearing this, Xiao Huo nodded with relief.

Then, he advised earnestly, "Good, as long as you know your limits.

However, you must hurry and improve your martial arts cultivation.

You've only completed three rounds of Skin Tempering; this progress is already quite far behind the top geniuses of your year.

Last month, you were busy laying the foundation for alchemy and delayed your martial arts progress, which is understandable.

But this month, alchemy can temporarily take a back seat.

The primary task is to seize every moment to improve your martial arts strength!

Strive to break into the top thirty of your grade in the upcoming Monthly Exam to ensure you can enter the 'Key Class'.

The resources and connections gathered there are crucial for your future development."

"Yes, I understand. I will definitely work hard!" Qin Yan solemnly promised.

After patiently advising Qin Yan, Xiao Huo turned his gaze toward Lu Youyou.

Unconcealed admiration and a faint smile appeared in his eyes. "Youyou, you are also very good.

Your cultivation has stabilized at the peak of the first grade, your blood and qi are abundant, and your foundation is solid.

This month, you can start preparing and try to break through to the 'Silver Skin' realm."

Xiao Huo highly approved of Lu Youyou's talent and progress.

Unlike Qin Yan, whose talent performance fluctuated and was hard to predict,

she had been moving forward steadily, solid and reliable.

"Teacher, I'm under a lot of pressure too!"

Lu Youyou didn't show much joy upon hearing her teacher's praise; instead, she pouted.

With a pitiful expression, she complained, "That monster Wangshu already successfully broke through to the Silver Skin Realm a few days ago!

If I don't hurry and work hard, I'm afraid I won't even be able to see her back soon!

With such a powerful best friend, I'm under so much pressure every day!"

Who could understand Lu Youyou, being best friends with a peerless monster every day?

That complex feeling of being both proud and feeling immense pressure?

"Well, it's normal for that girl Wangshu to break through so quickly."

Xiao Huo didn't seem surprised and analyzed calmly, "That child's talent is already extremely outstanding.

Plus, with her grandfather, the Dean, teaching her personally and supporting her with all kinds of top-tier resources without hesitation..."

...it would be hard for her strength to progress slowly.

You don't need to compare yourself too much with her. Just follow your own pace and proceed steadily."

"Grandfather Dean?"

Hearing this, Qin Yan's heart stirred.

He couldn't help but recall the scene on the opening day of school, when that elderly Dean personally came to the school gate to welcome Xiao Wangshu.

Hearing his teacher confirm it now, he finally understood Xiao Wangshu's background completely.

Having a grandfather at the Dean level, the resources and support were indeed beyond what ordinary students could compare to.

However, Qin Yan suddenly thought of something else.

He remembered that he seemed to have seen in Xiao Wangshu's cold eyes...

...a very faint silver moon-shaped mark flash by!

At the time, he thought it was an illusion and didn't think much of it afterward.

It wasn't until now, hearing Teacher Xiao Huo emphasize Xiao Wangshu's extraordinary talent again, that he suddenly recalled this detail.

"silver moon mark... this should be considered some kind of innate phenomenon, right?"

Qin Yan thought to himself.

"Sigh, Wangshu's background is indeed very strong."

Lu Youyou said, blinking her agile large eyes.

Hearing Lu Youyou's sigh, Xiao Huo gave her a somewhat speechless look.

Your best friend has a deep background, but is your background, Lu Youyou, shallow?

The power of your family is not small at all!

He wanted to say this, but his gaze caught Qin Yan, who was standing silently nearby and came from an ordinary background.

In the end, he swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue.

It was better not to discourage this little disciple at a time like this.

After all, among the top ten New Students of this year,

it was likely that only Qin Yan was a 'triple-none' person in the true sense—no prominent family background, no parents to rely on, and no family resource tilting.

Thinking this, Xiao Huo's gaze toward Qin Yan couldn't help but contain a bit more imperceptible pity.

This child, being able to get to this point on his own, has truly not been easy.