From a country cook to a master chef

Lin Jue lay on the bed, recalling all his experiences since obtaining the Spirit Gourd Seal.

Even now, he still feels completely unfamiliar with the precious gourd seal inside his body.

A wave of drowsiness washed over him, and Lin Jue fell into a deep sleep, thinking that he would soon be able to collect enough medicinal herbs to refine the Yellow Dragon Pill.

The next morning, just as dawn was breaking, he hurriedly went out.

A few days ago, he made a deal with a fellow student from Baicaoyuan, spending a large sum of money to order several medicinal herbs. Today is the agreed-upon date for the transaction.

After successfully completing the transaction at the Hundred Herbs Garden, Lin Jue hurriedly returned to his residence, took all the medicinal herbs he had hidden, and went to the alchemy workshop on Tianwu Mountain to learn and observe how to refine pills using earth fire.

As a sacred place for martial arts in the Great Wu Kingdom, Tianwu Academy has specialized alchemists responsible for refining various pills needed for martial arts training. They also teach alchemy methods and the way of alchemy to disciples who are interested in alchemy at noon every day.

To Lin Jue's surprise, the alchemist in charge of teaching today was actually a girl who was not even sixteen years old.

Dressed in a lilac-colored silk dress with a blue Hangzhou-style brocade jacket, she knelt on the lecture floor and eloquently explained the methods of alchemy, displaying remarkable poise.

After the lesson ended and everyone had dispersed, Lin Jue caught up with the girl who was about to leave.

"Senior Sister Ding, I am a newly recruited disciple of Tianwu Mountain. My name is Lin Jue. Could you please help me refine some pills?"

"I never concoct medicine for others lightly. Please find another pharmacist to do it for you, junior brother."

The girl looked Lin Jue up and down, said nothing, and left.

After a moment of silence, Lin Jue asked in a loud voice, "Senior Sister Ding, have you ever heard of the Qi and Blood Powder?"

"Of course, but the prescription for this medicine has long been lost. What use is knowing it now?"

"If I could produce a prescription for Qi and Blood Powder, would you be willing to concoct the medicine for me, Senior Sister?"

Upon hearing this, the girl paused, turned around, and looked at Lin Jue in disbelief: "If you can produce the formula for the Qi and Blood Powder, not only can I refine the medicine for you, but any alchemist on Tianwu Mountain can also refine it for you."

Lin Jue smiled slightly upon hearing this and tossed the Qi and Blood Powder prescription he had already written to the girl.

Tianwu Mountain is very large, and it is a sacred place for martial arts specially built by the imperial court. Lin Jue is not worried at all that exposing his Qi and Blood Dispersion will bring him trouble.

On the contrary, by indirectly contributing the Qi and Blood Powder, he not only gained the assistance of a pharmacist but also received some rewards from the academy.

With the help of the young female pharmacist, Lin Jue successfully obtained five Yellow Dragon Pills.

After leaving the alchemy room, he quickly returned to his residence and, using the Golden Lotus of Earth as a guide, swallowed the Breakthrough Pill and five Yellow Dragon Pills in one go.

One Yellow Dragon Pill can increase a martial artist's strength by ten levels.

Lin Jue estimated that with the combined effects of the Breakthrough Pill and the precious herb Earth-Emerging Golden Lotus, he should be able to successfully break through to the Divine Power Realm.

……

The next day, Lin Jue stood in the courtyard, still maintaining the posture of standing on one leg like a golden rooster.

Before long, a figure rushed into the courtyard anxiously, looking worried.

The newcomer was dressed in plain clothes and had a pale face. It was Yuan Rou, who had gone to help Zhang Kuang forge a spiritual weapon.

Upon seeing Lin Jue, she patted her chest and gasped for breath, saying, "Brother Lin, something terrible has happened! Zhang Kuang... he's in trouble!"

Call ~

Lin Jue exhaled a heavy breath, slowly opened his eyes, pondered for a moment, and then said softly:

"lead the way!"

"Um."

Yuan Rou nodded and quickly led Lin Jue to Zhang Kuang's location, explaining the whole story along the way.

With her help, Zhang Kuang indeed forged a spiritual longsword, but unexpectedly, the sword caught the eye of a powerful elite disciple from the inner court.

The inner court disciple, relying on his uncle being an inner court elder, attempted to forcibly seize the spirit sword.

Zhang Kuang naturally refused, and the two sides started fighting as soon as they disagreed.

The two were evenly matched, but the other man, lacking any sense of martial ethics, called on two other martial artists to gang up on Zhang Kuang.

Tianwu Mountain stipulates that disciples of the academy cannot use weapons when sparring; they can only fight with their fists and feet. Zhang Kuang, with his two fists, was no match for four hands and quickly fell into a disadvantageous position, getting beaten black and blue.

Yuan Rou and Lin Jue arrived quickly and were about to enter the foundry when they suddenly heard a cursing voice coming from inside.

"I'll fucking kill you three beasts!"

Lin Jue was startled and, without thinking, quickly pushed open the door and rushed in.

"Stop! You arrogant fool!"

He shouted loudly, lunged forward, grabbed him by the head, and raised his long sword, ready to fight desperately.

Zhang Kuang was in the middle of a fit of rage when he was suddenly blocked and his hands were held. He looked at the person who came in with a face full of anger, and when he saw that it was Lin Jue, he was stunned.

After a long while, Zhang Kuang, realizing what had happened, was overjoyed and quickly patted Lin Jue on the shoulder, saying with a happy expression:

"You've come at the perfect time! Let's take down these three bastards together. If you'd come any later, I might... wait! No, wait, you...!"

Before he could say more than a few words, Zhang Kuang's eyes widened in disbelief as he slapped Lin Jue on the shoulder. He looked as if he had seen a ghost, swallowed hard, and stammered, his tongue trembling, unable to utter a word.

"What's wrong? Are you unhappy to see me?" Lin Jue asked with a smile.

"You... how come you've already reached the Divine Power Realm in just a few days?"

Zhang Kuang snapped out of his daze and stammered, "Oh...it's been several days since I last saw you. Could it be...you fell off a cliff?"

Zhang Kuang's face was full of disbelief, and he raised his hand to pat Lin Jue on the shoulder.

It felt like patting a tough, thick old cowhide, and you could feel the powerful energy rebounding from your palm.

His body was brimming with energy, like a ferocious beast in the mountains. He channeled his power throughout his body, protecting himself with his inner strength. He was truly a martial artist at the Divine Realm.

After a moment of silence, Zhang Kuang looked Lin Jue over carefully, a surge of resentment welling up inside him. He pointed at the three people opposite him and began to curse:

"Mai Dali, listen to me properly. This is my brother, a martial artist at the Divine Power Realm. If you've got the guts, don't run away. Let's keep fighting. Whoever backs down is a coward."

"..."

The courtyard of the foundry was silent for a moment.

"Senior brother, my name is Mai Dali, and Elder Mai Xiong of the Inner Court is my uncle." Realizing that something was wrong, Mai Dali hesitated for a moment, then cupped his hands to Lin Jue and said, "Senior brother, you may not know this, but Zhang Kuang obtained 50% of the materials he used to forge this sword by tricking my junior sister."

"Mai Dali, you're talking nonsense! Ling'er gave me all of these things herself, so how can you say I'm lying?" Zhang Kuang chuckled and raised his long sword: "If you want my sword, just say so."

Just as Lin Jue was about to speak, two people walked out of the foundry.

Leading the way was a man in a blue robe, with sharp eyebrows and bright eyes, exuding an aura of power and authority.

Lin Jue's heart sank, and his face turned somewhat grim. Judging from this, the two who had come were both martial artists at the Divine Power Realm.