Chapter 360: The Pill Formula Wall

"What the hell is going on?"

Mo Hongyi was about to lose his mind.

Teacher Liu, Master Zhang... aren't they the same person?

Their students are fighting? What's happening?

"You really take it seriously..."

Seeing that he was completely unaware, the teacher couldn't help but fill him in: "One of Master Zhang's students, a girl named Zhao Ya, and Teacher Liu's student Mu Xueqing got into an argument for some reason. They've already fought once, and today was the second round..."

He quickly recounted what he knew.

After understanding the situation, Mo Hongyi's face twisted with a strange expression, wanting to laugh but not daring to.

The student in disguise fighting his own student, and with such ferocity, as if it were a life-or-death struggle... At this moment, Zhang Xuan was probably inwardly collapsing too.

"What does the dean mean by summoning me?"

He couldn't help asking.

"The dean's intention is simple: he wants to bring Master Zhang and Teacher Liu together to meet, bury the hatchet with a smile. Since you're familiar with Teacher Liu, he wants you to act as a mediator!" the teacher said.

"Me as a mediator? To persuade Teacher Liu and Teacher Zhang... to sit down and have a meal together?" Mo Hongyi found it even more bizarre.

Are you kidding me?

These two are the same person. When Master Zhang appears, Teacher Liu can't show up. How can they sit together?

"Alright, go back and tell the dean that I'll discuss this with Teacher Liu. You all don't worry about it..." Suppressing his laughter, Mo Hongyi said.

Aren't you supposed to be a genius who knows everything?

I want to see how you handle this...

After chatting a bit longer, Mo Hongyi headed toward Zhang Xuan's classroom.

...

"Yuan Tao, where are you going? Why didn't you call me?"

Just as he stepped out of the room, Yuan Tao heard a low voice. He quickly turned around and saw Zheng Yang standing not far away, smiling.

"I..." Yuan Tao hesitated.

"Alright, I know you're going to cause trouble for that Teacher Liu. Let's go together!"

Zheng Yang's eyes darted.

"I'm afraid the teacher will blame us..." Yuan Tao said.

If he went alone, even if Master Zhang found out later, he'd just get a beating. He was thick-skinned and not too afraid, but dragging Zheng Yang into it would be bad.

"It's fine. We're good brothers. How can I let you take the blame alone!"

Knowing his thoughts, Zheng Yang smiled: "But honestly, even the two of us might not be enough."

"What do you mean?"

"Simple. To drug that Teacher Liu, we need to sneak into his classroom, find his drinking vessel, and put the drug in. You're invincible in defense, but too slow. I'm good with the spear, but my movement isn't great either..."

Zheng Yang laughed: "Unless..."

"Wang Ying?" Yuan Tao understood his meaning.

"Right. If we bring her along, with her movement skills, she can definitely slip the drug into that Teacher Liu's teapot without anyone noticing!" Zheng Yang said.

"Alright..."

After thinking it over and finding no problem with his suggestion, Yuan Tao nodded.

Wang Ying was easy to convince. Although she was a bit soft and indecisive, if you knew her weak spot, she was easy to sway.

And that weak spot was avenging Master Zhang!

That Teacher Liu was shamelessly biased and utterly despicable. Wang Ying hadn't said much, but she was also furious inside. When she heard they wanted her help to drug him, she hesitated only briefly before happily agreeing.

After their discussion, the three slipped out of the residence under cover of night and headed back to Tianwu Academy.

The night was quiet, with few students moving around campus. After a bit of asking, they found Teacher Liu's classroom.

"Looks like no one's here!"

Pushing the door open and seeing no one, their eyes lit up.

They had expected to find students or that Teacher Liu, but the classroom was empty.

Zhang Xuan and Mu Xueqing had gone to the Alchemist Guild, and the other students had left after finishing their training.

Lu Chong, who had been training here all along, had already dragged his exhausted body back to his quarters.

At this moment, the classroom was indeed completely empty.

They pushed the door open and went in. After searching a bit, they found the teacher's designated kettle and teacup.

"This is it. Put the drug in!"

The three nodded. Yuan Tao took out a jade bottle and poured all the powder inside.

Just as they were thrilled at how smoothly things had gone and were about to leave, they heard the classroom door creak open.

Startled, they knew it was too late to flee, so they quickly turned around.

"Is your Teacher Liu here?"

A voice asked.

"Reporting to the teacher, Teacher Liu is not here..." Hearing that it wasn't Liu Cheng, the three breathed a sigh of relief. Zheng Yang bowed his head and turned around.

"Not here? When he returns, tell him that Teacher Sun Cheng came to visit!" the person outside said.

"Yes..."

Zheng Yang quickly nodded.

"Hmm." The visitor turned and left. After walking a short distance, he suddenly paused. That young man just now looked familiar, as if he'd seen him somewhere before.

"Forget it..." After thinking for a while and not remembering, he figured it wasn't anyone important, so he didn't linger and left directly.

"Let's go!"

Seeing that they hadn't been suspected, Zheng Yang and the others didn't dare stay any longer. They hurried out of the room and dashed straight back to the residence.

...

Whoosh!

Zhang Xuan let out a breath and stretched.

After a whole afternoon of effort, he had finally absorbed all the books in the Alchemist Guild into his mind.

The consumption was immense, leaving him utterly exhausted.

"Pure Yin Body!"

With a thought, dozens of books appeared before him.

He casually flipped one open.

After reading for a while, his eyes lit up.

There was indeed a record about the Pure Yin Constitution.

"Fourth-grade Cold Yin Pill, highly effective for activating the Pure Yin Constitution..."

"Cold Yin Pill?"

After reading all the books on the Pure Yin Constitution, he found only two that mentioned methods to activate it, and both referred to the Cold Yin Pill.

"Cold Yin Pill, a fourth-grade pill, refined from extremely yin and cold herbs, extremely precious..."

Using the Library of Heaven's Path to verify, he confirmed that the pill was indeed effective for the Pure Yin Constitution, but then he started worrying.

The Tianwu Kingdom had no fourth-grade alchemist, so naturally there were no fourth-grade pills. He would have to order from the headquarters, which, like last time in the Tianxuan Kingdom, would take at least several days.

In three days, Zhao Ya and Mu Xueqing were to have their duel. There was no time.

Moreover, the most critical issue was that third-grade pills had nearly bankrupted him; fourth-grade would certainly be more expensive, and he probably couldn't afford them.

"If I had the pill formula, I could instruct someone to refine it..."

A thought struck him.

He couldn't refine pills himself, but he could guide others. However, the prerequisite was having the formula; otherwise, with countless herbs in the world, groping blindly would exhaust anyone to death...

"Cold Yin Pill formula!"

With a thought, he searched through all the books in the library. Soon, his face fell.

The Tianwu Kingdom Alchemist Guild, with all its collections, didn't have the formula for this pill.

After a moment of confusion, he understood.

This was a fourth-grade pill. The strongest alchemist in this guild was only third-grade. How could they have it?

"Without the formula, I can't refine the pill... What do I do?"

Zhang Xuan rubbed his temples.

He couldn't just help Mu Xueqing improve and leave Zhao Ya out, could he?

That wouldn't be a competition; it would be a slaughter.

"Let's go out first."

He pushed open the door and left the library. Outside, it was already pitch dark.

"Teacher Liu!"

Master Mu greeted him.

The man was grateful that Zhang Xuan was working tirelessly to improve his daughter's strength.

"Master Mu, does our guild have any fourth-grade pill formulas?"

Zhang Xuan asked.

The books didn't contain fourth-grade formulas, but perhaps these alchemists had private collections.

"Fourth-grade pill formulas?" Master Mu shook his head: "Our guild doesn't have formulas of that level. However, if you want, we could apply to the headquarters."

"Apply to the headquarters?"

Zhang Xuan smiled bitterly: "Wouldn't that take half a month round trip?"

He knew the headquarters must have the formula, but the nearest branch, the Xuan Yuan Kingdom, was at least half a month away by flying beast. Even if he applied now, the formula would arrive half a month later, far too late.

"Half a month? No need! Pills are physical objects that must be delivered in person, taking at least half a month... But formulas can appear directly on the Pill Formula Wall!" Master Mu laughed.

"Pill Formula Wall?" Zhang Xuan was taken aback.

"Yes, it's similar to the Physician Guild's Difficult Questions Wall, connected to the headquarters. Alchemists of a certain level can pay a price to request the headquarters to grant formulas or knowledge not too far above their level."

Master Mu explained.

"Oh."

Knowing the name, Zhang Xuan quickly found relevant records in the books.

The Pill Formula Wall, as described, was similar to the Physician Guild's Difficult Questions Wall, connected to the main guild. By paying a price, one could request the headquarters to transmit formulas or knowledge.

However, to use it, one needed to be at least a third-grade alchemist.

Even Master Mu, a peak second-grade alchemist, wasn't qualified.

"Do I have to take the third-grade alchemist exam?"

Zhang Xuan hesitated.

He wasn't worried about taking the exam, but everyone knew Master Zhang was skilled in alchemy. If he took the exam now, it would easily expose him and arouse suspicion.

"How many third-grade alchemists are in our guild?"

He couldn't help asking.

"Originally, there was only the guild leader. But recently, Master Hong Yun broke through and also reached that level. The rest are like me, peak second-grade, still a step away from third-grade. So only those two are qualified to apply to the Pill Formula Wall."

At this point, Master Mu looked at him curiously: "Does Teacher Liu need a fourth-grade formula? But... even if you know the formula, you can't refine it, so it's useless!"

"Master Hong Yun? Where is he? Take me to him!"

Without answering his question, Zhang Xuan's eyes lit up at the mention of Hong Yun.

That guy was the arrogant one who had given him the Po Yin Pill back then. He had also seen him during the master teacher exam recently.

He hadn't expected Hong Yun to have already broken through to third-grade alchemist.

Since he could apply, Zhang Xuan could ask him for help, saving himself the trouble of taking the third-grade alchemist exam and avoiding unnecessary complications.