C10 Supreme Grade Stellar Pill

As Su Yan was about to proceed to the second step, Lee Mo suddenly spoke up, "Increase the heat by another 30%, no need to hurry to the next part."

"What did you say?"

Su Yan gave him a cold, sideways glance, clearly annoyed by his unsolicited input.

Lee Mo knew she might not listen to him, so he casually sat down by the furnace and placed one hand on its side, casting the Seven Stars Incantation.

Suddenly, an additional flame surged from the bottom of the furnace.

"You know the Seven Stars Incantation?"

Su Yan asked, her eyes wide with astonishment.

"It's not a particularly difficult technique to master," Lee Mo replied with a small smile. Although he primarily practiced the Celestial Flame Embodiment Spell, he was also familiar with a variety of other Fire Refining Spells.

To him, this elementary spell was nothing more than a flick of the wrist. Were it not for his injury, producing five separate flames would be a breeze.

"You're awfully arrogant!" Su Yan snapped, her eyes widening. Even with her extraordinary talent, mastering the Seven Stars Incantation had been a struggle, and she would never describe it as easy.

She quickly snapped back to reality, her face flushed with anger as she scolded, "Since you're an Alchemist as well, you should know not to interfere with someone else's pill refining!"

"Miss Su, please don't be angry. If the pill doesn't turn out to be top grade, I won't blame you," Lee Mo said evenly. Then, with a wave of his hand, the flame extinguished, and he added, "You can start the layering now."

"Hmph!"

Su Yan was visibly upset, this being the first time she had encountered such meddling during pill refining. She was tempted to smash the cauldron lid over his head.

Still, she upheld the professional ethics of an Alchemist and wouldn't give up until the pill was complete.

Biting back her anger, she continued with the refining process.

She had thought Lee Mo's interruption would be a one-off, but as she was about to finish the second step, he once again produced a flame, interfering with her work.

Su Yan's face was a picture of frustration. Despite her usual poise, dealing with someone like him was infuriating.

Three hours later, Lee Mo had interjected at every critical moment. By the time the pill was finished, Su Yan's expression had grown significantly darker.

Su Yan's pretty face was clouded with annoyance. Despite her usually impeccable composure, encountering such a person could make her blood boil. After three hours, at every critical moment, Lee Mo would interfere, and by the time the pills were finally formed, Su Yan's expression had turned utterly dark.

In her ten years of practicing alchemy, she had never once had her pill concoction process interrupted. It was only because of her extraordinary abilities that she managed to succeed in making the pills. Anyone else would have seen their efforts ruined halfway through.

Such disrespectful behavior from the young man was completely intolerable! She glared at Lee Mo and said in a frosty tone, "I don't care who you are or what your status is, never step foot in my courtyard again!"

Lee Mo wasn't angered. Instead, he chuckled to himself, thinking how well-mannered the young lady was, managing to scold someone so gently. Smiling, he lifted the lid off the cauldron and nodded in satisfaction.

Su Yan, glancing unintentionally into the cauldron, was shocked. "What's going on? This..." Inside the cauldron were six perfectly formed pills!

Lee Mo continued, "When the temperature reaches a certain threshold, that is, when the process transitions from liquefaction to layering, the residue will naturally clump together, forming a mass that absorbs the medicinal liquid. If you separate the liquid from the residue too hastily, you'll be left with insufficient liquid as much of it will have been absorbed by the residue. At that point, you should increase the flame by thirty percent and use the heat to disperse the clumped residue."

While Su Yan was refining pills, Lee Mo did indeed intervene. She hadn't expected that in such a short time, Lee Mo could help her produce two additional pills.

What was most astonishing was that among the two pills, one was of top grade and the other was of supreme grade!

Su Yan stared at the furnace, utterly shocked and struggling to believe what she was seeing.

Dual alchemy requires a strong rapport between two individuals and is generally not attempted by the average person.

Yet this stranger, with his casual interference, not only did not disrupt the process but also managed to create a supreme grade pill that even she had not dared to dream of. The outcome left her deeply shaken.

Lee Mo smiled slightly and said at a leisurely pace, "Miss Su, although you are exceptionally talented, you have not yet fully mastered the Seven Stars Incantation. The Water Spirit Grass and Black Essence Gem, two ingredients necessary for the Stellar Pill, exhibit a unique 'reversion aggregation' phenomenon during the refining process."

"Reversion aggregation?" Su Yan mused, recalling a rare phenomenon mentioned in the alchemy book.

Lee Mo continued, "When the temperature reaches a certain level, that is, during the transition from liquefaction to stratification, the residue will naturally coalesce, absorbing the medicinal liquid. If you prematurely separate the liquid from the residue, there won't be enough liquid left. A significant amount will have merged with the residue. At this point, you need to increase the flame by a third and use the heat to break apart the residue that has formed into a ball."

Su Yan's eyes lit up as if she had an epiphany. She had attempted to refine the Stellar Pill multiple times, and after each liquefaction of ingredients, she had indeed felt an incongruous sensation. Now, with Lee Mo's guidance, she suddenly understood.

The discord she had sensed was due to the imperfect quantity of the medicinal liquid.

Lee Mo added in a measured tone, "At the end of the stratification phase, to achieve a perfect medicinal liquid, you need to create two isolation layers above the residue, but you've only managed one."

"When separating the pill, your technique in controlling the flame's temperature also needs improvement. You must reduce the heat earlier if you wish to produce a supreme grade pill."

"As the liquid is about to solidify into the pill, remember to time the disappearance of the medicinal fragrance precisely. Being too early or too late will result in a downgrade of the supreme grade pill."

Lee Mo's advice was succinct, yet each sentence enlightened Su Yan.

As she absorbed his explanation, Su Yan was profoundly moved.

Curiosity got the better of her, and she asked, "What is your name? To which family do you belong? Why have I never heard of you?"

Lee Mo replied with a smile, "I am Lee Mo, from the collateral branch of the Lee family, and I have just enrolled in the Martial Academy."

"You're from a collateral branch and possess such talent?" Su Yan was surprised, not expecting someone of Lee Mo's caliber to be studying martial arts.

Furthermore, despite his obvious talent, his unsolicited advice during her pill refining felt impertinent.

Lee Mo offered a faint smile and didn't bother to explain.

He took the pill and left three silver coins, saying, "Miss Su, if you encounter any issues with your alchemy in the future, feel free to seek me out. I will surely guide you."

With that, he departed.

His words caused Su Yan's expression to change once again. Proud by nature and gifted in alchemy, she was a once-in-centuries prodigy of the Su family. She had never before been looked down upon in such a way.

Although Lee Mo had produced a supreme grade Stellar Pill, it could have been due to luck or perhaps guidance from others. Yet, he flaunted it before her.

Furthermore, even if he possessed exceptional talent, his interference in her alchemy was quite impolite.

Now, he had the audacity to assume a mentor's stance before her, reigniting the anger she had just managed to quell.

Despite her composure, she couldn't help but stamp her foot and huff indignantly, "What an insolent man! He's just from a collateral branch, and yet he acts so arrogantly. I certainly won't be asking him for help."

What she didn't realize was how fortunate she was to have the chance to be guided by the foremost Alchemist of the Vruthurenth Empire.

Lee Mo had stepped in partly to help this young woman grow and partly because he didn't want to waste the Inner Core he had worked hard to obtain. The effects of a supreme grade pill were, of course, much stronger.

In the following days, Lee Mo focused on refining pills and healing his injuries, which were steadily improving. With the support of the Stellar Pill, his cultivation surged, and he was nearing a breakthrough into the Late Period.

On the practice field, Lee Mo unleashed a flurry of eight rapid sword strikes.

Since his fight with the Fire Bull leader, he had felt his strength was lacking. Recently, he had been training rigorously, and he could now execute eight consecutive strikes.

Wielding his Ironwood Sword, which shimmered with a faint red light, Lee Mo infused the blade with his Vital Energy.

Unlike an ordinary Martial Apprentice who merely practiced spells, Lee Mo's approach was different. Each of his strikes was accompanied by a new understanding.

After several days of continuous training, Lee Mo was finally able to perform ten successive strikes, bringing his Bloodthirsty Sword to the stage of Great Completion.

At that point, he began to practice the Bloodthirsty Sword's special technique, Blood Flowing.

Lee Mo's swordsmanship exuded the force of a raging river. With a single swing of his blade, he could generate double or even triple layers of force. Although this power was more difficult to master, its destructive capability was significantly enhanced.

Lee Mo possessed exceptional insight. After just a few days of training on the field, he quickly grasped the technique, consistently unleashing the second layer of force. However, he was not satisfied, as the chance of achieving the third layer was still exceedingly rare, necessitating further practice.

After making some progress, Lee Mo began to train in the Lightning Steps. This skill had been crucial in his battle with the Fire Bull leader; without it, he certainly wouldn't have been able to leap onto the creature's back. His goal now was to increase his speed and cover greater distances with his movements.

In a corner of the Lightness Technique Area, Lee Mo moved tirelessly. He had been practicing non-stop for half a day, showing no signs of fatigue. His silhouette became faster, and both the distance and speed of his movements improved dramatically. But this was just the beginning.

Lee Mo aimed to make each step faster and farther than the one before. For several days, he worked diligently on the Lightning Steps until he finally reached the stage of Great Completion. It was then that he discovered a new lethal technique written on the last page of the spellbook: the Lightning Slash!

This move, which he could only master after achieving Great Completion with the Lightning Steps, involved using the high-speed approach to deliver three swift slashes in an instant.

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