In the depths of Ranyu Fort, the air was filled with a gentle medicinal fragrance.
Pale yellow flames flickered silently beneath a black cauldron, their rhythm steady and elegant—like a heartbeat.
Xiao Ranyu sat cross-legged in front of the cauldron, his expression calm, fingers dancing in the air as Dou Qi and soul force weaved together in perfect harmony.
From a stone shelf nearby, Huolian watched, tail wrapped around her paws.
> "Again… he's refining pills again," she thought, ears twitching. "Didn't he just refine a batch last week?"
But something was different this time.
The temperature was higher.
The medicinal aroma… stronger.
And the materials—
Her crimson eyes widened.
> "Is he… trying to refine a 5th tier Pill?!"
A Tier 5 pill—refined only by true 5th-tier alchemists.
Such a feat required deep soul power, flame control, and absolute focus.
Yet this 13-year-old human was casually preparing the ingredients like he was cooking dinner.
---
The Mysterious Yellow Flame surged under his command, licking the cauldron's belly like a trained beast.
One after another, the ingredients melted down, purifying as Xiao Ranyu manipulated the temperature with perfect nuance.
He narrowed his eyes.
> "Phase One… melting, successful."
Then came the trickiest part—fusion and condensation.
Each melted essence began to swirl inside the cauldron like a tiny storm, resisting each other violently.
A lesser alchemist would've failed here.
But Ranyu's soul force plunged inward—precise and domineering. The Mysterious Yellow Flame obeyed instantly, wrapping around the storm of essences like a guiding rope.
A low hum echoed.
> Clink!
The first pill took shape, glowing faintly within.
Huolian's pupils shrank.
> "One pill... it formed?"
Then—
Boom.
Another pulse of soul force surged.
Second pill formed.
Third one—more unstable—wobbled violently inside.
Sweat dripped from Ranyu's brow. His soul force fluctuated slightly.
The cauldron rattled.
Huolian instinctively tensed, preparing to jump in—
But then, Ranyu let out a calm exhale.
His left hand struck a precise seal.
> "Form!"
The final pill solidified in a flash of yellow light.
Ding! Ding! Ding!
Three high-grade Dou Spirit Pills fell neatly into the jade bottle beside him, their surfaces glowing like polished gems.
---
Silence.
Then, the system prompt blinked in his mind.
> [Ding! Congratulations. You have refined a Tier 5 pill. Alchemy Rank upgraded to: Tier 5 Alchemist.]
>[Reward= 100000 points]
>[Points= 420000]
---
Xiao Ranyu leaned back, wiping his forehead.
> "Finally broke through."
He glanced over at Huolian, who hadn't moved an inch.
She stared at the pills, expression stiff, tail frozen mid-flick.
> "Did she break?" he murmured.
---
Inside, Huolian was reeling.
> "He just… refined THREE 5th tier Pills. In one go." "No explosions. No failures. Not even a cracked cauldron."
> "At his age… that's not just talent. That's… that's monstrous."
If he were in the Great Thousand World, senior alchemist would be fighting to take him as their successor.
And yet, he was here.
In a sealed realm.
Practicing like it was all casual.
Huolian squinted at him, visibly disturbed.
---
Within the quiet shade of Ranyu Fort, a glow flickered softly from within the palm of Xiao Ranyu's hand. In it, three freshly refined pills shimmered faintly like stars caught in a crystal—each one radiating a gentle, yet potent medicinal fragrance.
> [Dou Spirit Pill]
This was no ordinary tier-5 pill. It was a renowned treasure in both the Dou Qi Continent and among secret ancient clans—one capable of permanently boosting cultivation, if not transforming fate itself.
Xiao Ranyu smiled faintly and glanced at the white-furred fox stll motionless beside him. "Alright, come here," he said casually, holding out one of the pills.
Huolian, coming back to sense,lazily stretching her slender limbs, padded over with her usual nonchalance ( like it wasn't her who stood motionless from shock). She sniffed the pill suspiciously, then flicked her tail once in thought.
> "Just another pill from the crazy human," she mused.
Then—she ate it.
---
Boom!
Her pupils shrank.
A burst of fiery Dou Qi erupted within her beast core like a slumbering star suddenly awakening. Her body stiffened, fur glowing faintly with radiant silver light.
The ground beneath her paws cracked.
And then—SWISH!
A new tail burst forth behind her with flickering silver light, joining the previous four.
> "W-What?! A tail!?" her mind reeled. "This is a true breakthrough…!"
She had stepped beyond the limit of Level 4 beasts and entered Level 5.
Xiao Ranyu only chuckled at her flabbergasted stare.
> "That's called a Dou Spirit Pill," he explained like it was nothing. "You're lucky. If a Dou Spirit takes one, they jump a full star. And a 9 star Dou Spirit has a chance to become Dou king if lucky. Even more explosive results. No side effects, no backlash—pure cultivation boost."
>"It's s looks like you are a lucky one."
Huolian's jaw metaphorically dropped.
> "This... this guy just fed me a such a rare pill like it was a snack?!"(Dou Spirit pill is Dou continents speciality since it's cultivation system is different from great thousand world)
"And... didn't even explain?!"
But before she could mentally recover—
> "Here, catch."
He tossed her another pill.
Too dazed to resist, she swallowed it on reflex.
---
RUMBLE!
The mountain trembled.
A second surge of spiritual energy tore through her like a tidal wave. The energy poured into her limbs and beast core violently—but in perfect harmony.
With a soft shimmer, her aura skyrocketed.
From early stage of early level 5th Stage beast... to mid stage of early level 5th Stage beast!
> "Two breakthroughs… in one day…"
She staggered slightly, blinking at her own paws, then behind her.
Her fifth tail swayed.
> "How… how is this even happening?" she thought, mind nearly blank with shock.
She turned to him in a mix of awe and accusation.
But Xiao Ranyu just popped a pill of his own into his mouth and grinned.
> "Dou King, two-star. Not bad."
She nearly fell over.
> "You WHAT?!"
---
From that day on, Huolian's perception of Xiao Ranyu began to subtly change.
No longer just a weirdo who called her cute, or the punching bag she once bullied...
> He was becoming someone she couldn't predict.
Someone who moved like an indiot—but talented like a monster.
And worst of all?
> He was still using her tail as a pillow every night.
She buried her red face under her paw.
> "This is... getting dangerous."