"Head Elder Yan!"


    The other elders, seeing this man, bowed.


    "We wee you!"


    As one, each elder in fear and respect greeted the great alchemist who was already over a thousand years old.


    He grimly nodded, looking at the inn where the heavenly lightning was striking. The old gentleman felt fear.


    "The energy of these lightning bolts is terrifying. There must be a terrifying talent hidden in the inn, for the Heavens want to test him," the old man thought, and his already wrinkled face wrinkled in pain.


    Yan Zui was the name of the Head Elder. In his youth, he was a genius of alchemy, invented modern medicine, and gave the world recipes for miraculous pills that could heal even the most severe wounds.


    His nickname was "Master of Medicines." Everyone in the Nine Pills Sect revered this old man no less than the sect leader.


    "Head Elder, what should we do with this person? He vited the sect''sws..." began an elder with a concerned look.


    "Do not worry. Sometimes the Heavenly Triales too suddenly, so a cultivator does not always have time to choose the right time," said the elder and narrowed his eyes: "Besides, it seems that this is his first time. Youth makes all mistakes forgivable..."


    "H-hmm..."


    Although some elders did not agree with Yan Zui''s decision, who would dare to contradict the famous master? They could only swallow their dissatisfaction and watch the Heavenly Trial closely.


    An hourter, the hail of lightning ended. The gray clouds were swept away by the wind, and the bright sun illuminated the Nine Pills Sect.


    The disciples, frightened by this spectacle, finally managed to catch their breath, and the elders began to enter the inn and check the rooms to find the one who had made the breakthrough.


    Soon they came across thest unexplored room. Head Elder Yan knocked on the door.


    "Come in," a deep and beautiful female voice sounded.


    Yan Zui pushed the door and entered the room. To his surprise, he found a beautiful woman with ck hair and a young man who surpassed her in beauty.


    "Oh... my Heavens..." muttered Yan Zui, feeling weakness in his knees.


    He felt apletely new, slightly scorching Qi of the Nascent Soul. This meant that the young man had just made a breakthrough.


    Yan Zui''s eyes widened in disbelief. As a healer, he could determine the age of his patients by their bones and blood, and what he discovered amazed him.


    "He''s no more than twenty years old! How young!"


    Time seemed to stand still, and in his memory, Yan Zui had never heard of anyone under twenty bing a Nascent Soul cultivator.


    Even the legendary Sword Princess paled inparison to this man!


    "Y-young man... w-what''s your name?" asked Yan Zui in a trembling voice.


    "S-sir?"


    Ignoring the surprised elders, Yan Zui looked only at Xie Qing, who by this time had opened his eyes.


    "Oh..."


    Yan Zui felt his heart stop for a whole second. Looking into the bottomless golden eyes, the old man felt the pressure of a superior being.


    A predator. A feeling as if he had returned to his youth and once again found himself before a terrifying monster that surpassed him in level.


    And when Xie Qing blinked, his eyes returned to their usual appearance - ck bottomless eyes, like the night sky.


    Standing up from the bed, the young man showed himself in full. His hair flowed down his back, his aura was majestic, and because of his tall stature, he looked imposing.


    "My name is Xie Qing, sir," the young man answered the old man''s question and smiled friendly: "I am a guest in the sect, the Heavenly Trial came too quickly, and I put the sect''s safety at risk. For which I repent and apologize."


    "Oh... yes, indeed..."


    Yan Zui came to his senses as soon as Xie Qing spoke. The old man felt ashamed for losing his bnce of mind in front of the young man and the other elders.


    Clearing his throat, although it was fake, the old man looked at the young man and began the dialogue.


    "I am the Head elder of the Nine Pills Sect, Yan Zui. You should have heard the name of this humble servant at least once," said Yan Zui, and his eyes sparkled as he looked at Xie Qing: "Young man, allow an old man to ask one more question, do you belong to any sect? Or perhaps to a great family?"


    "Of course, I have heard of it. This junior admires your achievements. Moreover, the elder has a keen eye," said Xie Qing, nodding: "I am from the Heavenly Sword Sect, and my family is not worth mentioning yet."


    "Heavenly Sword, yes... it seems it''s time for the sect to rise again!"


    In the eyes of the Head elder, one could see amazement and admiration. For many years, the progress of the Heavenly Sword Sect had stagnated, and many had begun to forget about its former greatness.


    Fortunately, now among their disciples, there appeared one who would lead a new generation!


    "Genius! Surpasses even Celestial Healer Lu! Amazing!"


    Head Elder Yan Zui breathed in admiration. Geniuses always aroused admiration in people, especially if they were swordsmen.


    Yan Zui was a genius in alchemy, but in cultivation. He had been stuck at the fourth stage of Soul Integration for more than five hundred years. Due to internal injuries, Yan Zui could no longer maintain a youthful appearance and age.


    The elders standing behind Yan Zui fell silent, looking at each other. They saw for the first time that their famous Head elder praised someone else besides Celestial Healer Lu and sect leader Zhang Mei.


    Many of those who wanted to use the young man of viting the rules fell silent and said nothing more. If Yan Zui remained silent, who would dare to raise this issue?


    For some time, Yan Zui talked with Xie Qing and was pleasantly surprised. Despite his young age and genius status, the young manmunicated very politely and calmly.


    There was no arrogance or anything else that was inherent in geniuses. Even Yan Zui felt ashamed, for in his youth, he was very proud and arrogant, did not respect adults and more experienced people, and considered himself the top of the world.


    "What a noble young man! Are you also talented in alchemy? The Heavens have rewarded this mortal world with a genius who defies allws!" said Yan Zui with a loudugh and smiled, looking at the young man: "Have you registered for our sses?"


    "Yes, just recently..."


    Xie Qing talked about his experience, still having the same calm and friendly appearance as a junior. Although he was proud, he had heard about the reputation of the old man in front of him - he was a genius whoid the foundation for modern medicine! A hero!


    No matter how proud he was, no matter how much arrogance there was, Xie Qing respected pioneers.


    ***


    The next day, the lessons resumed. Xie Qing was already awake at dawn and was in the lecture hall by five o''clock in the morning.


    One might think that he was one of the first, but four students were already sitting there and did not even deign to look at him.


    No one spoke, only silently meditated, waiting for Lu Yin''s arrival. The officially appointed time for the lesson was six o''clock in the morning, but each of them arrived earlier to prepare their workbench.


    In advanced alchemy, you have to set up your workbench yourself, so arranging herbs and the like is your task.


    This is not done out ofziness, but simply to teach future alchemists how to properly allocate their time in any situation.


    Xie Qing, as a beginner, did not have a particr style, so he just repeated what he had in his basic alchemy sses.


    Of the four students, only one of them deigned to look at him, and there was open mockery in his gaze.


    "What are you staring at, freak?" Xie Qing conveyed with his gaze and cheekily smiled, releasing his aura for a split second and focusing it on the student.


    "Hii!"


    The student let out a strange cry and turned away in fear. Xie Qing slightly scared him and did it so covertly that no one understood.


    "Tsk..." a clicking sound of the tongue was heard.


    The students looked at the student who cried out with obvious annoyance. He hid from shame.


    Twenty minutester, Lu Yin arrived. She was dressed in a ssic green hanfu, and her hands were adorned with white gloves.


    "Good morning," the woman greeted with a gentle smile.


    "Good morning, Celestial Healer Lu!"


    A moment earlier, the arrogant students hid their pride and stood up, bowing. Lu Yin nodded and turned her gaze to Xie Qing, who was also sitting as usual.


    "Hello," she conveyed her voice to his mind: "How have you been spending your days?"


    "Normally," Xie Qing replied in the same way and smiled: "I missed you very much. How was the meeting?"


    "Eh? The meeting went... unusually. I''ll tell youter."


    Lu Yin smiled shyly and then looked away. She always found it difficult with this young man who seemed to know no shame.


    After all the preparations werepleted, the lesson began.


    Xie Qing noticeably felt theplexity increase in the material. They were already discussing much more advanced alchemy techniques, and if it weren''t for the fact that he had crammed basic alchemy and other subjects, it would have been much harder to grasp the new knowledge.


    "So, the alchemical me can be used in different ways, but in most cases, many highly qualified alchemists use this technique..." Lu Yin said and waved her hand.


    Immediately, a new technique appeared on the tokens of all five, and they eagerly began to study it. The technique was called "Advanced Alchemical me Control."


    "Could it be that I finally met a technique that has a normal and practical name?" Xie Qing thought in disbelief, and his eyebrows twitched.


    However, time was running out. He narrowed his eyes and was able to master this technique in one second and apply it in five seconds, causing surprised gasps from his ssmates.


    "N-no way..." someone eximed.


    "He knew about this technique before, right? Otherwise, how could he learn it so quickly? It''s impossible!" someone denied.


    "Heavens..."


    And only Lu Yin understood the whole truth. Xie Qing had been showing his talents since the first day, unashamed of anyone or anything. This was the first time he saw this technique.


    "Terrifying talent..." she thought and remembered the recent meeting. Her face smoothed into its usual gentle smile: "So the world will indeed get its beacon. What a blessing..."