Simultaneous Transmigration: From Douluo Continent to the Pinnacle

Back in the courtyard, Lin Yao walked back to his private quarters in the afterglow of the setting sun. His fingertips unconsciously caressed the jade box containing medicinal herbs in his sleeve, a subtle calculation hidden in his eyes. Unlike his usual composed demeanor when returning to the courtyard, today his steps were deliberately slowed and unhurried, even the way he pushed open the door was somewhat nonchalant—this "dragon-luring" act had to be properly executed from the very first step.

The alchemy table in the center of the courtyard had already been wiped clean, but the bluish-gray stone surface still bore traces of medicinal stains from the alchemy sessions of the past few days. Lin Yao, however, did not clean it meticulously as usual. He walked straight to the table and opened the jade boxes one by one, revealing neatly arranged medicinal herbs: dark brown "Dragon Blood Vine" entwined with golden threads, emerald green "Dewdrop Grass" still glistening with morning dew, and even the most common "Flame Flower" was of superior quality with golden edges on its petals. These were all fifth-grade medicinal herbs specially supplied by the Canaan Academy's inner courtyard pharmacy, each exuding a rich spiritual energy. An ordinary alchemist would have carefully stored them in their storage ring, but Lin Yao deliberately left the jade boxes open, allowing the aroma of the herbs to slowly diffuse throughout the courtyard.

"There's no need to worry about safety." Lin Yao raised his hand to brush away the medicinal stains on the edge of the alchemy table, a faint smile playing on his lips. With a Dou Huang level expert overseeing the inner courtyard, ordinary disciples even need to report their presence when approaching this teachers' residential area. Even if the energy fluctuations of the pills spread, aside from Elder Su Qian, probably only those with extremely sensitive energy could detect them. What he was waiting for was that one "exception."

With a slight flick of his fingertips, an ancient bronze medicine cauldron flew out of his storage ring and landed steadily on the alchemy platform. The cauldron was engraved with intricate flame patterns, which glowed with a faint red light as Lin Yao infused his battle qi, like dormant flames about to awaken. This was the "Burning Heaven Cauldron," a fifth-grade medicine cauldron he had specially brought from the outer courtyard. While not top-tier, its superior heat conduction made it ideal for refining pills like the Battle Spirit Pill, which required extremely high control over the flames.

Lin Yao took a deep breath, and instead of using his spiritual power to envelop the entire courtyard and conceal his aura as usual, he allowed his spiritual power to spread out like a thin mist, intertwining with the spiritual energy of the medicinal herbs. He flicked his finger, and a ball of silver flame suddenly leaped from his fingertip. The outer layer of the flame was wrapped with a faint starlight halo, while the inner layer shimmered with colorful light reflecting the five elements. This was the "Starry Sky-Burning Flame" that he had fused with the power of otherworldly stars, ultimate fire, and the origin of the five elements, and then supplemented with a sixth-order beast fire. Although it had not reached the level of a strange fire, it was already a top-tier beast fire, enough to easily handle the refining of fifth-grade pills.

Silver flames fell into the Burning Heaven Cauldron, instantly rising half a foot high. The flame patterns on the cauldron's walls seemed to activate, resonating with the flames and emitting a subtle hum. Lin Yao's eyes narrowed, and his spiritual power effortlessly gathered dozens of medicinal herbs before him. Following the refining order of the Fighting Spirit Pill, he first placed the "Dragon Blood Vine" and "Dewdrop Grass" into the cauldron. The flames instantly enveloped the herbs. Under the high temperature, the blood-red sap from the Dragon Blood Vine slowly seeped out, while the Dewdrop Grass transformed into a cloud of emerald green liquid mist. The two gradually fused under the scorching heat of the flames, emitting a faint fragrance.

"The temperature of the Starry Sky-Burning Flame is indeed more controllable." Lin Yao nodded to himself as he sensed the changes in the flames within the cauldron. In the past, when refining with ordinary beast fire, it would take half an hour just to extract the juice from the Dragon Blood Vine. Now, with the power of the stars to regulate the flame temperature, the two herbs had been refined into a pure medicinal liquid in just a quarter of an hour. He flicked his fingertips, sending the "Flame Flower," "Mysterious Ice Soul," and other herbs into the cauldron one by one. The silver flames, like docile elves, automatically adjusted their temperature according to the characteristics of the different herbs, sometimes as fierce as a volcanic eruption, and sometimes as gentle as the warm spring sun.

The medicinal liquid gradually gathered in the cauldron, slowly merging from its initial multicolored hues into a pale green liquid, with fine bubbles rising to the surface. Lin Yao concentrated his mental energy intensely, carefully observing the changes in the medicinal liquid, fine beads of sweat appearing on his forehead. As a top-tier fifth-grade pill, the Douling Pill not only required precise control of the flame but also a keen grasp of the timing of the medicinal liquid's fusion; the slightest mistake would render the pill unusable.

"Now!" As the foam on the surface of the medicinal liquid gradually dissipated, revealing a glass-like luster, Lin Yao shouted in a low voice, his hands quickly forming hand seals. The silver flames suddenly contracted, tightly enveloping the medicinal liquid. Under high temperature and pressure, the liquid began to slowly condense into pills. A slight crackling sound came from the cauldron, and the prototypes of three pills, each the size of a longan, gradually appeared, their surfaces still shrouded in a faint mist of pill vapor.

As the final hand seal was applied, Lin Yao abruptly slammed his hand onto the cauldron. "Buzz—" The Burning Heaven Cauldron emitted a deep, rumbling sound. An invisible force ripped open the lid, and three emerald-green Spirit-Boosting Pills, carrying a rich fragrance, shot into the sky, swirling and radiating gentle energy fluctuations. The fragrance spread like a tangible entity, filling not only the entire courtyard but also crossing the walls and drifting towards the dense forest deep within the inner courtyard.

Lin Yao lightly waved his right hand, and a gentle aura of battle qi caught the pill. It was cool to the touch, and the pill's surface patterns were clearly visible, faintly glowing. "A high-grade Battle Spirit Pill, not bad." He nodded in satisfaction, putting two of them into a jade bottle, leaving one in his hand to examine it carefully. The energy emitted by the pill was pure and immense, exactly what Zi Yan needed—for the young Ancient Void Dragon, pure energy was far more attractive than complex medicinal effects.

For the next two days, Lin Yao worked almost non-stop, refining Spirit-Conquering Pills day and night. The fragrance of the pills in the courtyard grew stronger and stronger, even attracting a few passing spirit birds to land on the courtyard wall, only to leave reluctantly after sensing the oppressive power of the Starry Sky-Burning Flame. Lin Yao's pill-refining skills also continued to improve, gradually increasing from refining three pills at a time to refining five at a time, and even beginning to try refining two batches of pills simultaneously.

"It's still a bit of a stretch." Lin Yao frowned slightly as he looked at the cracked pills in one of the batches during the third simultaneous refining. Although refining two batches at the same time greatly increased efficiency, the consumption of mental energy also increased exponentially, causing the quality of one batch of pills to drop to mid-grade. He placed the mid-grade pill into a separate jade bottle, but he wasn't discouraged—this attempt was meant to perfect the method, and successfully refining a mid-grade pill had already exceeded his expectations.

On the evening of the third day, Lin Yao had just taken out a batch of newly refined Dou Ling Pills and was about to close his eyes to recover his spiritual power when he suddenly sensed an extremely concealed aura approaching. This aura was like a gentle breeze in the forest, almost imperceptible, yet it carried a trace of energy fluctuation belonging to a Dou Wang powerhouse. However, this fluctuation was concealed by some special power, and if his spiritual power had not been tempered by the power of the stars, far surpassing that of his peers, he probably wouldn't have been able to detect it at all.

"Finally here." A barely perceptible smile appeared on Lin Yao's lips. He maintained his posture of resting with his eyes closed, but out of the corner of his eye, he secretly glanced towards the direction outside the courtyard wall. There stood a lush old locust tree there, its trunk thick and its branches dense, providing an excellent hiding place.

A moment later, a petite figure slid slowly down from the locust tree, landing as lightly as a feather. Long, purple hair cascaded down her shoulders like a waterfall, a few leaves still clinging to the ends; her pink dress was embroidered with adorable animal patterns, and several obvious patches marked the hem, clearly signs of frequent wandering through the woods. The girl appeared to be about nine or ten years old, with fair, jade-like skin. Her exquisitely sculpted face was framed by large, purple eyes, which were now fixed intently on a jade vase in the courtyard. Her eyes gleamed with undisguised longing, and a trickle of saliva even escaped her lips, which she quickly wiped away with the back of her hand.

It was none other than Zi Yan, the famous "Little Ancestor" of the Canaan Academy's inner court.

Zi Yan's footsteps were light, each step landing precisely on the cracks in the stone path, trying not to make a sound. She cautiously approached the courtyard wall, reaching out her small hand to grip the edge, and peeked inside to observe the courtyard. When she saw Lin Yao sitting with his eyes closed in front of the alchemy platform, and the stone table in front of him filled with jade bottles containing Spirit-Conquering Pills, Zi Yan's breathing quickened noticeably, and her purple eyes seemed to sparkle like stars.

"So many..." she muttered softly, her voice barely audible, yet Lin Yao still caught it clearly. Zi Yan's fingers unconsciously dug into the cracks in the wall, a internal struggle raging within her: Normally, she would have rushed in and snatched them already, but the aura emanating from this young man made her wary—it was a seemingly gentle power, but one that concealed a sharp edge, even more dangerous than the Dou Wang powerhouses guarding the herb garden in the back mountains.

Just as Zi Yan hesitated, Lin Yao slowly opened his eyes, his gaze falling directly on her small hands gripping the wall. Zi Yan froze in fright, like a thief caught red-handed. Instinctively, she wanted to pull her hands back, but couldn't bear to part with the alluringly fragrant Spirit-Boosting Pills in the courtyard. She bit her lower lip, then straightened up, hands on her hips, trying to look fierce: "Hey! You saw me!"

Lin Yao suppressed a laugh, deliberately feigning surprise, and pointed to the jade bottle on the stone table: "Little sister, are you looking at these pills?"

Zi Yan's gaze was instantly drawn to the jade bottle, and her previous fierce demeanor vanished without a trace. She nodded, then shook her head, her cheeks slightly flushed. "I... I was just passing by and smelled the fragrance." Her voice grew softer and softer until it was almost inaudible, clearly indicating that she herself felt her reason was somewhat far-fetched.

Lin Yao stood up, picked up a jade bottle, and walked to the courtyard wall, deliberately leaving the bottle slightly ajar. A rich, fragrant aroma of medicinal pills instantly wafted out, making Zi Yan's eyes light up. She couldn't help but sniff, and a trickle of saliva appeared at the corner of her mouth again. Lin Yao smiled and handed her the jade bottle: "Since you smelled it, it must be fate. Consider this bottle of Spirit-Conquering Pills a small gift."

Zi Yan took the jade bottle in a daze, the cool touch making her somewhat bewildered. She looked down at the emerald green pills inside, then looked up at Lin Yao's gentle smile, her heart filled with doubt: In the past, if she wanted these good things, she either had to fight or secretly steal them; this was the first time someone had voluntarily given her such precious pills.

Lin Yao crouched down to be at eye level with Zi Yan, his smile sincere: "Because I want to be your friend." He paused, then pointed to the jade bottle on the stone table, "I still have many of these Spirit-Refining Pills. If you like, you can come here often in the future, and we can study pill refining together."

Zi Yan's eyes lit up instantly. She raised her head abruptly, her purple eyes sparkling with anticipation: "Really? You're willing to teach me alchemy?" Since childhood, she had been curious about those pills that could emit an alluring fragrance, but Elder Su Qian always said that she was too impatient and not suitable for alchemy. Now that someone was finally willing to teach her, how could she not be excited?

Lin Yao nodded, then picked up a jade bottle and handed it to her: "Of course it's real. However, alchemy requires patience and mental strength, so you may need to start by learning the basics."

Zi Yan took the jade bottle and hugged it tightly to her chest, as if it were a priceless treasure. She looked up, revealing a bright smile, two small dimples appearing on her cheeks: "My name is Zi Yan! What's yours?"

"Lin Yao," Lin Yao replied with a smile, "I'm a teacher who was recently transferred from the outer academy to the inner academy."

"Teacher?" Zi Yan opened her mouth wide in surprise, looking Lin Yao up and down. "You don't look much older than me!" In her mind, teachers were all elderly people with gray hair like Elder Su Qian. It was hard for her to accept that the teacher in front of her was a young man.

Lin Yao couldn't help but laugh: "Age and strength aren't necessarily related. You're so young, yet you're already a Dou Wang level expert, aren't you?"

Zi Yan proudly raised her chin, as if showing off her strength: "Of course! I'm very capable!" But soon, she lowered her head in disappointment, "But Grandpa Su Qian said I'm too young and won't let me be a teacher, saying it's better for me to be a student."

Lin Yao chuckled inwardly. Elder Su Qian was indeed wise; if Zi Yan were to become a teacher, the inner courtyard disciples would likely be driven mad by her. He patted Zi Yan's shoulder, comforting her, "It's alright. Elder Su Qian will definitely agree when you're a bit older. For now, we can start by learning alchemy. When you become a powerful alchemist, you might even become an alchemy teacher."

Zi Yan's eyes lit up instantly, and she nodded vigorously, "Okay! I want to learn alchemy! I want to be the best alchemy teacher in the future!" She carefully put the two jade bottles into her bosom, then looked up at Lin Yao earnestly, "Lin Yao, don't worry, I will definitely study hard! I will also take you treasure hunting in the future; I know many places where good things are hidden!"

Lin Yao smiled and nodded, secretly relieved: it seemed that the "dragon-luring" plan had succeeded. Looking at Zi Yan's excited appearance, he knew that his fate with this young Primordial Dragon had only just begun.