Chapter 1370 The Well-deserved No.1
Zi Yan and the others, including Zhang Han, were also paying attention to Mengmeng.
“Hmm. Not bad, not bad.”
“What high talent.”
Zhang Han’s eyes were full of smiles.
He was observing the situation in Mengmeng’s furnace all the time.
The first half of her refining went very smoothly.
When she was halfway through it, the energy inside the furnace suddenly became violent.
” She added the Parasol Freezing Gra.s.s 0.5 seconds early.”
Zhang Han’s face turned a bit serious.
“If this continues, when the Flamewing Lotus is put in, it will cause an energy explosion and the probability of the furnace exploding will increase to 70%.”
Zhang Han thought for a while.
Under his gaze, Mengmeng raised her eyebrows slightly as if she had found something wrong. Her hand, which was holding the Flamewing Lotus, paused for two seconds, and then she put it into the furnace.
Clatter!
Energy surged rapidly.
Similarly, Mengmeng’s eyes were s.h.i.+ning with white lights.
The Dark Cold Fire covered the flame that emerged from the Fire Stone below and surrounded the whole pellet furnace.
“Huh?”
Zhang Han’s eyes lit up as he sensed the situation inside the pellet furnace. He couldn’t help laughing while he felt proud of his daughter.
“Marvelous! She curbed violence with violence by using the more violent fire energy to suppress the energy in the furnace.
“It solved the crisis of the furnace explosion.
“My daughter is amazing.”
Refining pills was not a constant process. It was ever-changing. Even the same pellet formula had different effects and success rates when different methods were used.
Some nutritious medicinal pellets could even be made into poison by a rookie.
After understanding and comprehending the Dao of plants and vegetation, Mengmeng now knew how to deal with the situation in the furnace in an instant according to Zhang Han’s guidance.
“This kind of refining state is great. When I lectured her, her success rate in refining this pellet was only about 5%. Now the success rate is at least 65%.”
Zhang Han knew how the situation was.
More than 200 trainees began to refine pellets one after another.
“Xing Feng is doing it extremely fast. Looks like he has gained some understanding of the Vast Magical Pellet. Not bad. He might be the first amongst the trainees of the Dragnet Academy’s Pellet-refining Branch.”
Some tutors commented.
“He is powerful, but Lorry is not bad either. Up to now, she has been skilled. Many of the trainees can take charge of the situation in the furnace while most of the others are in a panic. It’s easy for them to fall into chaos.”
“Not bad. They’re all not bad, but it’s not so easy to refine a sixth-tier medium-grade Vast Magical Pellet. I suspect that none of them can make it while they’ve only been given five hours.”
“…”
Everyone expressed their views.
Especially when it got to the end of the compet.i.tion.
Four and a half hours later.
No one had succeeded, and even many trainees’ progress was just a bit more than 50%.
“I’m doomed!”
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Some people got distracted, which caused their furnaces to explode.
When the sound of the furnace exploding was heard, the surrounding nervous trainees were shocked. As a result, their control over their furnaces decreased a lot. In an instant, the energy surged wildly. No matter how hard they tried to remedy the situation, eventually, they failed and got their furnaces to explode.
Rumble!
All of a sudden, amidst the dull sounds, a violent fluctuation rang out.
Crack!
One of the trainees glanced around numbly. There was nothing in front of him, and his furnace had been destroyed.
Fortunately, the fragments were controlled by the tutors and did not fly randomly. Otherwise, it would have affected more people.
“Is this how you refine pellets?”
A tutor asked, “You put in six kinds of spiritual herbs all at once. What were you thinking? Are you trying to make soup?”
The trainee wanted to cry. “I was in too much of a hurry.”
Four hours and forty minutes later, most of the trainees were still refining pellets.
Four hours and fifty minutes later.
Buzz!
A streak of pure white light suddenly appeared and disappeared in an instant.
Immediately, it attracted the attention of many tutors and trainees.
“It’s Xing Feng!”
“He succeeded!”
“Heavens, how stunning! He actually succeeded!”
“A sixth-tier medicinal pellet! That’s a sixth-tier medicinal pellet!”
Many people couldn’t believe it, but they were looking at the fact.
“I made it!”
Xing Feng held his hands up high, and in his right palm was a medicinal pellet.
“How formidable.”
Headmaster Shan and many tutors nodded approvingly.
“You’re celebrating it a bit early.”
Zhang Han laughed lightly.
“His potential is indeed not bad, but in actuality, the quality of his pellet is still greatly lacking.”
“What? I just got a sixth-tier low-grade pellet?”
Xing Feng had just pacified his excitement. When he took a closer look at his pellet, he knew that he didn’t meet the requirements and was stunned.
Finally, his helplessness turned into sadness. “That’s too hard.”
“It’s already very powerful of you to refine a sixth-tier low-grade pellet.”
Many people approved of his achievement.
It would require great strength to do it, and very few people could make it.
Boom!
Lorry’s furnace also exploded. Refining pellets wasn’t that easy.
Lorry’s pellet refining skills were OK, but she couldn’t avoid getting her furnace to explode.
Everyone knew that Xing Feng’s success was also due to luck. He was in a good state and his strength was high enough.
It might not be the same for the others.
There came dozens of loud bangs.
All kinds of furnace explosions could be heard. At the last moment, too many people had failed.
Amidst the explosion sounds…
Swoos.h.!.+
Another streak of white light flashed.
“Another one has succeeded!”
Everyone’s eyes were fixed on the one who had succeeded, and even Xing Feng looked over.
He was very nervous.
According to what Mr. Treasure said – if no one succeeded but only he, then he would be the champion. He would be able to obtain a seventh-tier spirit treasure. The pellet furnace was a treasure that even the tutors had never possessed.
Even Lorry and several other excellent disciples failed one after another.
But at this moment, someone still managed to succeed.
What was it?
Was it a low-grade pellet?
“I got a medium-grade pellet.”
Mengmeng blinked her big clear eyes as she raised her head slightly. She lifted her cap, looked at the arena, and raised the medicinal pellet in her hand.
“A sixth-tier medium-grade pellet!”
“Oh my!”
“How did she make it?”
“Oh my G.o.d.” Headmaster Shan exclaimed, “Zhang Hanyang, your daughter’s pellet refining…”
“It’s too stunning!”
An uproar sounded.
“Aha.”
Zhang Han smiled proudly.
He felt great and was all smiles.
As for other trainees, they got dejected.
“d.a.m.n!
“That’s such a blow to me.
“Someone succeeded, so I no longer have the chance to take first place.”
However, in the end, only three people succeeded.
Mengmeng got a medium-grade medicinal pellet while Xing Feng and another powerful trainee refined low-grade medicinal pellets.
“Time’s up. Stop now.”
Several tutors ordered one after another.
Right then, Zhang Han said, “The rankings of the top 100 of this event haven’t been decided yet, but we now have the rankings of the top three. First place goes to Zhang Yumeng in Cla.s.s One of the Incantation Department. Second place goes to…”
As he spoke, he paused.
He didn’t know the ones who got second place and third place.
Fortunately, some tutors reacted quickly.
The dean of the Pellet-refining Branch smiled and said, “In terms of speed according to the finished product time, Xing Feng is ranked second, and Ao Teduo is ranked third.”
After that, he looked at Zhang Han and waited for the specific rules.
“The top three are now announced. As for the other contestants, you’ll continue with your pellet refining here. Whoever refines a Vast Magical Pellet would be considered succeeded. A sixth-tier low-grade one would be the lowest standard. The rankings of the top 100 will be settled according to the order you get your pellet.”
Zhang Han continued, “The rewards for the top three will be distributed on the spot.”
Swoos.h.!.+ Swoos.h.!.+ Swoos.h.!.+
After that, he raised his hand slightly.
The seventh-tier Fairy Furnace appeared and floated to Mengmeng.
All eyes were on it, and they were envious.
After all, it was a seventh-tier spirit treasure.
The eyes of the Pellet-refining Branch’s dean were fixed on it.
“I want it so much!”
The rewards for the second and third place also floated to Xing Feng and the other trainee respectively.
They were in a good mood after getting the rewards. Although they didn’t get first place, they admired the strength of the girl behind them at this time.
Whether she got first place out of luck or strength, she did refine a sixth-tier medium-grade medicinal pellet.
It was simply terrifying.
As the champion, Mengmeng ran to the stand where Zi Yan was sitting after the compet.i.tion.
Yue Xiaonao, Nina, Felina, and Chen Chuan were all sitting on it.
“Sister Mengmeng, you’re amazing!” Chen Chuan gave her a thumbs-up. “You got first place in pellet refining.”
“I guess it’s not bad.” Mengmeng snorted and sat down.
Swoos.h.!.+
Little Hei ran from Zi Yan’s feet to Mengmeng’s side.
“What a big head you have.”
Mengmeng reached out to stroke Little Hei’s head a bit before she chatted with the ones around her.
“How was it? Did you have fun?” asked Nina.
“It’s nice.” Mengmeng said, “Refining pellets is just alright. When I succeeded, I felt very proud.”
“I’ll also learn pellet-refining in the future.” Chen Chuan said, “I’ll make pellets for Sister Nina.”
“Alas!”
Felina was unable to stand it. She sighed heavily and turned her gaze elsewhere.
“Why would this little punk keep pulling at Nina’s hand and talking intimately?
“And Nina has her problems as well. Why doesn’t she turn him down? While Mengmeng is so straightforward with her feelings.”
“Lorry is refining pellets again. I wonder if she can make it this time,” Yue Xiaonao said.
“Of course, she will. There is no time limit now,” Mengmeng said.
Zhang Li, who was not far away, said with a smile, “None of them is as good as you. You succeeded on your first try.”
Mengmeng blinked her beautiful eyes and said nothing.
She had practiced this set of medicinal pellets with her father secretly at home many times, but she decided not to mention it.
“Fourth place goes to Lorry.”
“Fifth place goes to Miracco.”
“Sixth place goes to….”
The rankings of the top 100 were announced successively.
When it was midnight, the list of the top 100 was finalized.
Except for Mengmeng, the others all made low-grade sixth-tier medicinal pellets.
Even so, they were still very excited.
They had truly succeeded in refining sixth-tier medicinal pellets, and it was a miracle for them to make it within a day.
They didn’t even dare to think about making that happen before.
This was the first time many people had refined a sixth-tier medicinal pellet.
What they didn’t know was that the technique to refine a Vast Magical Pellet was complicated. It was a sixth-tier medicinal pellet, but in fact, compared with the other sixth-tier medicinal pellets, it was relatively easy to make a Vast Magical Pellet.
It was the entry-level of the sixth-tier pellets.
“Pellet-refining Branch’s event has ended.”
Headmaster Shan said with a smile, “I didn’t expect that so many of you can refine sixth-tier medicinal pellets. Congratulations. Everyone else has been watching the whole process. You also have to work hard to learn the knowledge of medicinal pellets. All the rewards for this event are privately offered by Mr. Treasure. All of us should thank him for his support, especially since he has even offered a few pellet formulas. Every medicinal pellet is very valuable and useful.
“Of course, the academy would also give out proper rewards.”
What he just said shocked many people present.
“I’ve already told the tutors to record the top 3,000 trainees according to their performance. Each trainee will get some cultivation resources. The ones who are ranked behind 3,000 will be rewarded with three points each as a partic.i.p.ation reward,” said Headmaster Shan.
“Wow!”
“Headmaster is awesome!”
“Great!”
The next second, a jealous voice came from the side.
The president of the Senior Martial Arts Branch said, “Sir, you really are biased! Why didn’t my branch’s disciples get such rewards?”
“He’s right. No matter what, we must be treated equally.”
Headmaster Shan showed an inexplicable expression. “What are you talking about? I have something else to do, so I’m leaving now.”
Swoos.h.!.+
He left quickly.
Zhang Han chuckled and watched the fun. He nodded slightly and then left the main stone platform. He went to the stand on the side and left with the others.
Lorry also joined them.
She wore an unusual look on her face as she looked at Mengmeng and said, “How did you become so powerful with your pellet refining?”
“I’m just average,” Mengmeng said.
“If you’re just average, then I guess the rest of us wouldn’t be good enough.” Lorry smiled bitterly and said, “I remember that the last time you left, you didn’t know how to refine pellets.”
“Yeah. I just learned it from my dad in the past half a year. As you know, he is good at pellet refining, and he is an excellent teacher. I learned quite a lot from him,” Mengmeng replied matter-of-factly.
“You learned quite a lot from him…” Lorry looked envious.
Zhang Han looked at her and smiled faintly. “If you have time, you can come to me and learn with Mengmeng in the near future. I won’t take the initiative to teach you much, but how much you can learn depends on your own understanding and comprehension.”
Hiss!
Hearing that, Lorry gasped.
She was surprised at first and then happy.
“Thank you so much, Uncle Zhang,” Lorry said surprisedly.
“You’re welcome.”
Zhang Han shook his head slightly.
He owed the Lo family a big favor.
Loshanwu was a nice person. Zhang Han had a good relations.h.i.+p with him and would repay his favor and respect by teaching Lorry some knowledge about pellet refining.
“I need to tell my father about this good news.”
Lorry was a little excited. She took a few steps back and communicated with Loshanwu.
After a while, Loshanwu called Zhang Han and expressed his grat.i.tude for a few minutes.
After he ended the communication, the crowd returned to Zhang Han’s manor.
They had a barbecue outdoors.
When the smell of meat drifted away, Dahei, who was sleeping under a tree, sat up.
“Woof?”
It scratched its head and looked in the direction of the barbecue, drooling.
“Woof! Woof! Woof!”
“I’m coming.”
Dahei ran over excitedly.
The atmosphere at dinner was harmonious.
Zhang Han didn’t plan to give Mengmeng lessons today. It was already past midnight.
The crowd returned to their respective residences.
Zhang Han taught Mengmeng the skills of pellet refining the next morning.
Lorry listened from the side obediently.
She was sometimes shocked, sometimes suspicious, and sometimes dull.
“What pellet refining level is that?
“Can medicinal pellets be refined in this way?
“My understanding from before was wrong.
“So those below the third tier are at entry level, those from the third to the sixth tier are at medium level, and those starting from the seventh tier are true medicinal pellet masters.
“Uncle Zhang just described a pellet formula so casually. Should I listen to it or not?”
Lorry was a little confused.
Uncle Zhang described several pellet formulas one after another.
It gave Lorry a fright.
The value of the pellet formulas was too high, and basically all the ones Zhang Han listed were at least at the fourth tier.
The fifth and sixth-tier ones seemed inexhaustible.
Therefore, Lorry gradually became nervous.
She was a little anxious.
Zhang Han noticed that and smiled slightly.
“Do you not understand or what?”
“I do understand the things you said, Uncle Zhang. They’re very detailed. It’s just, it’s just that the pellet formulas…”
“What’s wrong with the pellet formulas?” Zhang Han was stunned and then knew what she was thinking. He said, “It’s fine for me to teach them to you. How can I not let you know about them since I’ve invited you to my lesson? You just need to remember all the pellet formulas I described and try to practice them later. As for whether you will teach them to outsiders or not, it is up to you.”
That didn’t matter to him. It would take a few years for Zhang Han to describe all the pellet formulas he knew.
After all, pellet refining was the first category he had mastered.
That evening, Lorry called Loshanwu again.
“Today I’ve learned 7 sixth-tier pellet formulas, 31 fifth-tier ones, and 84 fourth-tier formulas. They’re all very valuable.”
Loshanwu was speechless.
In the end, he sighed and said, “We owe him too much. Zhang Hanyang is really a strange man.”
Loshanwu was convinced from the bottom of his heart.
In his eyes, Zhang Han was originally violent and tough, but he gradually became a loyal good man who was easy-going and cared a lot about his relations.h.i.+ps.
If Zi Yan knew what Loshanwu was thinking, she would probably say, “Why do I find it strange that someone is praising my husband as a good man?”
Just like that, two months pa.s.sed in the Dragnet Academy.
During this period, something interesting also happened in Xiangjiang’s No. 1 High School.
Yang Xiaolin, the lead teacher, had also heard from the vice princ.i.p.al that Zhang Yumeng and a few other cla.s.smates would take a long leave and it was hard to say when they would come.
Therefore, Yang Xiaolin waited for a week.
They hadn’t arrived yet by the next week, and she couldn’t get in touch with them.
She actually got angry and ran to the princ.i.p.al’s office.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
She banged on the door several times.
“Come in.”
She pushed the door open and entered.
Seeing this, the princ.i.p.al was a little stunned. “Xiaolin, what’s going on? Did you have a bad time with someone?”
“I need to report the vice princ.i.p.al!” Yang Xiaolin’s face was cold.
“Why?” The princ.i.p.al was even more confused.
“He used his authority to ask for a long leave for my cla.s.smates!” Yang Xiaolin said, “Zhang Yumeng, Nina, Felina, Yue Xiaonao. Those students have good grades and are geniuses. They will become the future of our nation! They can’t ask for a long leave. They need to come back to study.”
“Oh, you’re talking about them.” The princ.i.p.al stood up, laughed a few times, and said, “It has nothing to do with the vice princ.i.p.al. Those students did the same thing in junior high school. They have their own things to do and have always scored high.”
“…”
After talking for a long time, he finally persuaded Yang Xiaolin to leave.
The princ.i.p.al sat helplessly on the sofa and muttered, “My niece is so stubborn.”
In the cla.s.sroom, the students had been suspicious recently.
“Where did Zhang Yumeng and the other girls go?”
“It’s not clear whether they have transferred to another school or have dropped out of school.”
“The key is that I can’t even get in touch with them. Alas, I was used to seeing them every day, but now that I can’t see them. It makes me so sad,” Yang Guang sighed.
In the end, Yang Xiaolin returned to the cla.s.sroom and explained, “Because of special circ.u.mstances, they will come to school sometimes in the future.”
She didn’t say anything else.
What did she mean that they would come to school sometimes?
She didn’t name a specific time, nor did she know it.
As for Zhang Han and the others, they had no specific idea about it.
The girls stayed in Dragnet Academy for three months.
Zhang Han seemed to have become a real teacher and gave daily lessons.
He taught Mengmeng how to refine pellets, some knowledge of the array of formations, and all kinds of general knowledge as well as mysterious stories.
Mengmeng listened with great interest.
Lorry’s attainments in pellet refining had also improved a lot.
The others practiced Zhang Han’s occult arts and cultivation methods as usual.
Zhang Guangyou, Zhang Mu, Mu Xue, Jiang Yanlan, Zhao Feng, Ah Hu, and many others had already broken through to the Last Stage of the Yuan Ying Realm and officially reached the Peak-Stage level before entering the Cultivation World.
They were not far from the G.o.d Transformation Realm.
As for Zhang Han, with the disappearance of his soul sense sea, he was no longer in the G.o.d Transformation Realm.
His current cultivation level was unclear.
The G.o.d Transformation Realm was to refine Qi into G.o.d Transformation, and the Shadow Refining was to refine spirit into the void. These two realms were dominated by the soul sense and a.s.sisted by the spiritual force.
In the G.o.d Transformation Realm, after the soul sense was transformed into the divine sense, one would completely understand the process. The Void-refining Realm was a stage in which the supernatural power and occult arts of the divine sense would erupt.
At this stage, according to a cultivator’s own situation, the supernatural power and occult arts he mastered would merge with his body and become even more powerful.
But Zhang Han had lost his soul sense.
All of this would become empty talk.
There was a way. After the Thunder Body was formed, Zhang Han could still turn it into his soul sense sea to protect his body.
Of course, this was Zhang Han’s opinion.
He was unsure of the exact situation.
“What if the Great Demon’s Nascent Soul and Thunderbolt Mark clash again by then? I’m not sure about what the exact outcome will be.”
This afternoon, Chen Changqing ran to Zhang Han’s side and shouted, “Brother Han, shall we exchange a few moves?”
“Okay. You can start. I’ll sit here and give you a chance to hit me,” Zhang Han said indifferently.
Chen Changqing was speechless.
He sat down after thinking for a while.
“Well, Brother Han, I’m at the Peak Stage of the Yuan Ying Realm now. Can I make you hurt?” Chen Changqing asked.
“It’s possible.” Zhang Han nodded.
“I don’t want to hang out with you any longer.” Chen Changqing covered his face and said, “Back then, I was Emperor Qing, and we rose to fame together. Yet now I’m wondering whether I can make you hurt. It makes me so sad.”
“Huh.”
“I have fantasized countless times about when we could explore together. But we only did it once, and it only last for a few days. You led me all the way during that.” Chen Changqing thought of the past and became serious. He sighed softly, “At that time, the boat of curse crashed into the secret place. I thought you couldn’t come out, and the atmosphere around was very sad. My sister-in-law was so sad that she fell ill and couldn’t get up for a long time. Unexpectedly, as soon as you came out, she got much better.”
“Alas!”
Zhang Han sighed and shook his head slightly, “It’s true that at that time, anyone else might think that I died in the secret place.”
“I haven’t gone out to explore for a long time. I can’t stand it anymore. I plan to get some tasks a.s.signed by the branches to do recently,” Chen Changqing said.
“You don’t need to do any tasks,” Zhang Han said.
“What do you mean?” Chen Changqing’s eyes suddenly lit up.
“We’ll go to the Domain of Seven Desolations.”
Zhang Han gave a positive answer.
“Are we going to the Domain of Seven Desolations, the terrifying place where the clansmen of the Demon Clan run wild?”
“When are we leaving?” Chen Changqing immediately stood up and looked energetic.
“Inform the others that we’ll set off as soon as we gather.” Zhang Han laughed.
They could not just cultivate blindly. They still needed to go out and gain experience.
The Domain of Seven Desolations was still rather difficult for them to deal with.
However, only challenges and difficulties could stimulate one’s potential.
At least Zhang Han had done what he should do.
Everyone on the team was equipped with spiritual treasures. They had many sixth-tier defensive spirit treasures and many offensive spirit treasures that could be used.
Also, they had recently learned many occult arts. They needed actual combat to improve their combat ability.
Strength was the only standard. It was not a cultivator’s realm but his combat ability that showed his strength.