Chirp! Chirp!

The morning cicadas’ cacophonous chirps echoed across Green Hollow City. The collective murmurs of the people in the street echoed across the city. The academy refinement chamber was already filled with heat before the disciples even entered the hall. Crimson flame stones embedded into the walls radiated waves of scorching temperature throughout the surroundings while faint medicinal fragrance withered in the thin air. Not like the previous trials, the atmosphere today felt far more oppressive and suffocating. The disciples themselves understood why. Today’s trial involved dual-essence refinement, and everyone who attended Dan Zhenren’s classes knew one terrifying fact: opposing essences were unstable by nature.

Lin Yuan calmly entered the chamber alongside Chen Ming while observing the surroundings silently. Lin Yuan’s aperture nurtured into the Spirit Beast Realm, the disciples noticed it slightly. The bronze cauldrons placed around the hall today were much larger than before, and the flame formations beneath them released stronger heat than before.

Some disciples already sat near their assigned refinement stations — Gu Shiyan, Yun He, Lian Nichang, Fenglian, Huo Ren, and the remaining academy students. The atmosphere remained strangely quiet. Even Huo Ren, who usually mocked others loudly, appeared unusually serious today.

Chen Ming slowly leaned toward Lin Yuan.

"Lin Yuan..." Chen Ming stuttered, his voice low as whisper. "Why do I feel like today somebody will actually explode?"

"Hahaha... Most likely," Lin Yuan cooped, calmly glancing toward the bronze cauldrons.

Chen Ming instantly looked horrified.

THUD!

Before Chen Ming could continue speaking, a heavy sound echoed across the chamber. Dan Zhenren had arrived. The old apothecary slowly walked toward the center platform wearing dark-red robes while the immense aura of the Flame Panther silently followed behind him. The surrounding temperature immediately increased more. Dan Zhenren calmly swept his gaze across the disciples.

"Today..." Dan Zhenren boasted, darting his eyes across the room. "...you begin learning real stabilization."

The chamber instantly became quieter. Dan Zhenren waved his sleeve once, then instantly several ingredients hovered toward each disciple carefully. Lin Yuan quietly observed the materials: Frost Dew Leaf, Crimson Heat Flower, Green Spirit Grass, Rank 2 Beast Core powder, and a small bottle of transparent liquid.

"The transparent liquid is Essence Stabilization Water." Dan Zhenren calmly scrutinized, shuddering his eyes slightly. "Its purpose is maintaining temporary harmony between conflicting essence attributes."

He slowly picked up the Frost Dew Leaf. Cold mist drifted faintly from its surface.

"Frost Dew Leaf possesses a cold essence." Dan Zhenren grinned, and then he raised the Crimson Heat Flower. The surrounding air itself became warmer. "Crimson Heat Flower possesses fire essence."

Dan Zhenren’s eyes deliberately narrowed. "Naturally these two reject each other!"

The disciples quietly listened, even Lin Yuan focused on Dan Zhenren’s words.

"Most beginner alchemists believe stabilization means suppressing conflict," Dan Zhenren continued, nodding his head sluggishly. "But it is wrong."

He crushed both ingredients simultaneously before dropping them into the cauldron. The moment the two essences touched each other.

HISSSSS!!

A thick cloud of steam exploded upward instantly. The fire and frost essence collided rigidly inside the cauldron. Dan Zhenren calmly ignited the flames beneath it.

"Alchemy is not suppression." Dan Zhenren murmured, his beast essence slowly flowing into the furnace. "It is direction."

The unstable essences gradually began rotating inside the cauldron instead of colliding directly. Lin Yuan’s eyes slightly widened in anxiety. ’Swirling movement again?’

Dan Zhenren slowly adjusted the flame intensity carefully. The opposing essences began synchronizing naturally through swirling instead of force.

"When opposite forces collide, force never dominates immediately." The liquid within the cauldron slowly stabilized. A pale-red mist rose upward from the furnace.

"Guide them," Dan Zhenren whispered, his gaze slowly swept across the disciples. "The moment you try controlling everything, the structure collapses."

Lin Yuan silently processed every word of Dan Zhenren. Noir’s memories continuously analyzed the process. This world’s alchemy was terrifyingly similar to mana structure. The more Lin Yuan learned, the more he realized: Cultivation itself was a form of structural manipulation but it has greater dao compared to mana in his previous world.

Dan Zhenren slowly extinguished the flames. Then turned toward the disciples.

"Today’s task is simple," Dan Zhenren’s voice beamed across the hall. Several disciples immediately became nervous hearing that word from him again. "Refine a Dual Essence Stabilization Pill."

The room immediately became heavier.

"It has three rewards. The reward for first place..." Dan Zhenren boasted, waving his hand once. A glowing blue fruit floated above his palm. "Blue Essence Fruit."

Blue Essence Fruit again. The disciples unconsciously inhaled deeply. The fruit emitted calm waves of beast essence into the surroundings.

"Begin."

WHOOSH!!

Flames ignited beneath the cauldrons throughout the chamber instantly. The room immediately filled with heat and essence fragments.

Lin Yuan calmly began crushing the Green Spirit Grass first. But he was careful now, he did not rush. Beside him, Chen Ming already looked like he was struggling mentally.

"Why does every trial become more terrifying..." Chen Ming muttered, clicking his tongue.

Meanwhile, Fenglian aggressively ignited his flames immediately, and his furnace temperature rose sharply within seconds.

’Pathetic... It’s too aggressive,’ Lin Yuan merely glanced once at Fenglian’s furnace.

Lian Nichang remained calm and precise, his movements were elegant and stable. Gu Shiyan was cold, silent and mysterious, his refinement speed was slightly faster than the others.

Dan Zhenren quietly observed the chamber while folding his arms. The phantom Flame Panther behind him released faint waves of pressure continuously.

Lin Yuan painstakingly placed the Frost Dew Leaf into the furnace first, the cold essence spreading slowly throughout the liquid. Then, he added the Crimson Heat Flower.

HISSSSS!!

The opposing essences collided instantly. A thick cloud of steam burst out. The liquid became unstable immediately. Chen Ming panicked beside him.

"AHH—!"

"My furnace is shaking already!"

"Reduce direct flame pressure," Lin Yuan calmly answered without looking away from his own cauldron.

Chen Ming hurriedly adjusted the fire, and the shaking gradually reduced. On the other side, Fenglian attempted suppressing the frost essence aggressively using flame output.

Dan Zhenren’s expression instantly darkened.

BOOOOM!!

Fenglian’s furnace exploded with a loud sound, a thick smoke burst throughout his surroundings instantly. All the disciples nearly laughed again.

"Fuck! Dammit! Fuck you, furnace," Fenglian cursed loudly.

"Still forcing dominance," Dan Zhenren sneered, "Stupidity."

Fenglian’s face became ugly instantly, but he remained silent. Lin Yuan ignored the surroundings completely, his focus slowly focusing on his refinement. The frost and fire essence inside his furnace continued resisting each other. Lin Yuan’s previous world instincts immediately recognized the pattern. The essences’ interaction was unstable, it needed balancing.

Lin Yuan sluggishly swirled his beast essence through the furnace instead of suppressing either side. The conflicting essences gradually began orbiting each other.

Dan Zhenren’s eyes paused briefly on Lin Yuan once again. "Interesting!" His voice low as whisper.

Meanwhile, Yun He’s furnace began trembling, sweat sprawling down from her temples. But unlike Fenglian, she carefully reduced interference. The unstable reaction slowly calmed afterward. A few minutes slowly passed, and the chamber became hotter and hotter.

Some of the disciples already looked exhausted. Lin Yuan slowly flicked the Rank 2 Beast Core powder into the furnace. Instantly, the furnace shook expeditiously. The additional beast essence disrupted the balance immediately.

HISSSSS!!

Flame and frost essence collided harder than before. Chen Ming widened his eyes beside him.

"How are we supposed to stabilize THIS?!" Chen Ming stammered, his eyes widening with disdain.

Lin Yuan calmly observed the refinement. Then, instead of increasing pressure, he slightly reduced both flame and beast essence output simultaneously. The refinement gradually stabilized again.

Dan Zhenren quietly narrowed his eyes. The students attempted stronger control when instability appeared, but Lin Yuan did the opposite. He reduced interference. The old apothecary silently observed him for several seconds longer.

Meanwhile, Gu Shiyan had already entered the compression phase once again, his movements remaining smooth and terrifyingly efficient. The surrounding disciples quietly noticed it.

"He’s ahead again..."

"His control is ridiculous..."

Lian Nichang also reached the compression phase shortly afterward, but his furnace trembled continuously during the process.

Chen Ming finally stabilized his own furnace barely, then immediately sighed frantically.

"I survived..."

BOOM!!

Another explosion erupted nearby. It was Huo Ren; he failed again. Dan Zhenren did not even bother reacting anymore. Lin Yuan’s furnace slowly entered the final synchronization stage. The frost and fire essence gradually merged into a spiral pattern. Tiny pale-blue and crimson streaks whirled around each other naturally. His memories suddenly recalled something. Opposing mana pathways from his previous world. The stabilization principle was nearly identical.

’If beast essence truly followed these principles...’ Lin Yuan thought, his eyes lingered frenziedly. ’Then perhaps, multiple beast pathways could also coexist.’

The thought itself was dangerous, but it was possible. Meanwhile, Gu Shiyan suddenly completed compression. A pale-red medicinal pill slowly floated upward from his furnace. It was stable and well-refined. The surrounding disciples immediately became quiet again.

Dan Zhenren calmly observed the pill briefly.

"Ninety percent purity." Dan Zhenren nodded once in approval.

Every disciple in the hall instantly widened their eyes. Even Lian Nichang looked shocked.

’Ninety percent.’

That level was monstrous for beginner disciples. Dan Zhenren waved his sleeve calmly. The Blue Essence Fruit floated toward Gu Shiyan immediately.

"The reward belongs to Gu Shiyan."

Gu Shiyan calmly accepted the fruit without changing expression. It was the second Mid-Tier food he gained, which will help his cultivation to grow more compared to others. But the disciples looked visibly envious. Especially Fenglian, he lost both his friends because of Lin Yuan’s wrath. He was all alone, yet he was trying to survive in the competition of the academy.

Lin Yuan quietly stared at his own furnace. The pill inside was still stabilizing slowly, but he already understood something clearly: He lost. Not because of talent or understanding, but because Gu Shiyan trusted the natural essence faster than him.

Lin Yuan still carried habits from his previous world. ’Alchemy in this world requires guidance, but not domination.’

The rotating dual-essence pill inside Lin Yuan’s furnace slowly stabilized further. The pale-red and icy-blue patterns across its surface became increasingly smooth.

Dan Zhenren silently observed him once again. Then, for the first time, a faint smile appeared across the old apothecary’s face. Because Lin Yuan had finally begun understanding the true foundation of refinement.