The next day, Xiao Xue slept until late morning before finally waking up on the large bed and stretching.
Xun'er was not in the room; she had probably gone off to cultivate or do something else, but Xiao Xue didn't pay it much mind.
At the Jia Nan Academy, there was no need to worry about Xun'er's safety at all.
"Tsk, Xun'er's bed is really great. I feel like my sleep quality has improved here."
After getting up and quickly washing her face, Xiao Xue put on a white robe and walked outside.
She planned to call Ziyan and the Little Doctor Immortal and head to the back mountains of the Jia Nan Academy to look for some medicinal ingredients.
With Ziyan acting as a medicinal ingredient radar, finding herbs would be much easier.
The most urgent task for her now was, first, to elevate and stabilize her alchemy skills at the Tier 7 level.
Although Xiao Xue's soul power was already sufficient, having reached the peak of Tier 7.
If she were to refine a Tier 7 medicinal pill now, even a low-grade Tier 7 one, the failure rate would likely be quite high.
And the most direct way to improve alchemy skills was, naturally, through extensive practice.
However, the ingredients required for refining Tier 7 pills were considered high-grade goods, even in the Black Corner Region.
Even though she had gathered some poisonous ingredients from the underground world for experimental use.
Furthermore, most of these experimental ingredients were Tier 6 herbs, only sufficient for practicing up to the peak of Tier 6.
A single stalk or even a few Tier 7 ingredients would certainly not be enough for her to practice refining Tier 7 pills.
If she wanted to reach the peak of Tier 7, she would need massive amounts of practice.
—Poverty limits my alchemy skills.
Therefore, Xiao Xue thought about taking Ziyan to see if they could find a few Tier 7 ingredients in the back mountains.
Secondly, she wanted to use this opportunity to build a good relationship with Ziyan, paving the way for taking her as a disciple later on.
Ziyan was still a relatively innocent child right now, making it easier to coax her into becoming a disciple.
After all, Ziyan couldn't become an alchemist, and in terms of cultivation, there wasn't much she could teach Ziyan anyway.
If she waited until Ziyan grew up and then eagerly ran over to ask her to become a disciple, the chances of success would be slim.
Taking her as a disciple at that time would be far less simple than it was now.
Therefore, seizing the opportunity while Ziyan was still young and innocent to quickly take her as a disciple was the most appropriate course of action.
Of course, to take Ziyan as a disciple, Xiao Xue needed to reach the Dou Huang level before Ziyan broke through to Tier 6.
Otherwise, once Ziyan broke through to Tier 6, it would be difficult for Xiao Xue to surpass her by an entire major rank in a short period.
Moreover, she would also lose a huge chunk of experience points.
It should be noted that magical beasts do not have clear star-level classifications.
Whether their strength is that of a one-star Dou Huang or the peak of Dou Huang, they are both considered Tier 6.
Therefore, if she took a magical beast as a disciple, the master-disciple reward mechanism would differ from that for humans.
If she took Ziyan as a disciple, the moment Ziyan broke through to Tier 6, Xiao Xue would receive 50% of the total experience points required for levels 61 through 70 as a reward.
This figure was extremely exaggerated, reaching nearly ten million.
The same principle applied to the Dou Zong and Dou Venerate levels.
As soon as Ziyan reached Tier 7 and Tier 8, 50% of the total experience points required for levels 71 through 80 and 81 through 90, respectively, would be credited immediately.
However, at the Dou Sheng level, the bloodline would begin to transform.
It was only then that magical beasts received clear level divisions within the system.
Starting from the Dou Sheng level, Ziyan's rank would increase star by star, and the experience points would also be granted in batches, star by star.
Therefore, if she failed to successfully take Ziyan as a disciple before Ziyan broke through to Tier 6, the loss would undoubtedly be enormous.
However, Ziyan required a massive accumulation of energy to break through to Dou Huang.
Thus, Xiao Xue was quite confident in breaking through to Dou Huang before Ziyan did.
After leaving her dorm, Xiao Xue went to the medical hall to find the Little Doctor Immortal and Ziyan, then invited them to go to the back mountains to gather herbs together.
Qing Lin, on the other hand, had gone to cultivate in the Blazing Sky Refining Tower early in the morning, hoping to break through to Dou Wang sooner.
When the Little Doctor Immortal heard that Xiao Xue was going to gather herbs, she didn't react strongly and simply nodded in agreement.
She was also an alchemist, and after refining the Heavenly Flame, her control over fire would surely be different from what it was now.
It would be excellent to take the opportunity to find a few Tier 4 ingredients in the back mountains for practice later on.
But when Ziyan heard the words "gather herbs," her two purple pigtails practically stood up in excitement.
Although Ziyan could generally go wherever she wanted within the Inner Academy, the back mountains were still off-limits for casual visits.
Although called the back mountains, the entire Inner Academy was situated within the mountains, and the scope of the back mountains was not much smaller than the Magical Beast Mountain Range itself.
Inside, there were many ingredients that could be used to refine Tier 5 and Tier 6 medicinal pills, and naturally, they were guarded by magical beasts.
Although Ziyan's strength was not weak and she didn't fear ordinary magical beasts, being encircled by them would inevitably lead to trouble.
In the original novel, even Ziyan and Medusa together were chased all over the place by the beast tide of the Magical Beast Mountain Range.
When a group of enraged Tier 5 and Tier 6 magical beasts charged out, even a Dou Zong would have to temporarily avoid their edge.
Ziyan, moreover, had a restless personality. If she were allowed into the back mountains, there was no telling what trouble she might stir up.
Therefore, many years ago, after Ziyan triggered a small beast tide by snatching too many ingredients guarded by magical beasts,
the Great Elder of the Inner Academy and the others forbade Ziyan from entering the back mountains to cause trouble.
Ziyan was still young and at the age where she loved mischief.
Although there were many people in the Inner Academy, most of them actively avoided her.
Over time, Ziyan had become bored stiff, so hearing that Xiao Xue was taking her to the back mountains naturally filled her with overwhelming joy.
Now, she could not only go out with a friend but also have things to eat, so how could Ziyan not be excited?
"Let's go."
Xiao Xue used a soul communication jade slip to inform Su Qian, the Great Elder of the Inner Academy, that she was taking Ziyan to the back mountains.
After receiving an affirmative reply, she took the Little Doctor Immortal and Ziyan and headed straight for the back mountains.
As soon as she had entered the Inner Academy, Xiao Xue had given Great Elder Su Qian a communication jade slip for contact purposes.
A young Tier 6 alchemist was someone Su Qian would take seriously, even as a Dou Zong.
Therefore, Su Qian agreed to her taking Ziyan to the back mountains, provided they didn't cause any trouble.
The speed of three Dou Wangs was astonishingly fast. The students who came to seek the Little Doctor Immortal for detoxification, as well as those who were staking out the medical hall hoping to see their teacher, all found nothing.
They only saw a few blurred shadows flash by before the people vanished, leaving behind only the sign on the medical hall door: [Temporarily Closed].
Xiao Xue naturally knew that there were people in the Inner Academy who wanted to meet her, and some of them were young masters and ladies from certain factions in the Central Plains.
However, the more these people wanted to meet her, the less she would let them have their way easily.
After all, an air of mystery was crucial.
Based on her understanding of these major powers, the colder she acted, the more they would fawn over her.
In fact, it wasn't that these people were inherently servile.
It was because true big shots never met people casually.
Furthermore, if you lacked genuine ability, you wouldn't dare to casually give others the cold shoulder.
—Lest you get beaten up.
Therefore, those who could be easily flattered and satisfied were certainly ordinary people.
Only those who couldn't be reached no matter how much you fawned over them were likely the truly impressive individuals!
This was precisely the psychology Xiao Xue intended to exploit.
Compare a genius bumpkin who emerged from the poor, remote regions of the Northwest Continent with a disciple backed by a major power.
Between the two, the latter was certainly easier to deal with.
Geniuses from small places were often sought for recruitment.
If recruitment failed, they would be suppressed, ensuring that if they couldn't be used by oneself, they couldn't be used by an enemy either.
However, a genius with a powerful background was completely different.
Since few people in the Inner Academy knew about her "background" right now, Xiao Xue decided to create the momentum herself.
Don't forget, in her previous life, Xiao Xue had also been a young miss from a wealthy family.
Therefore, she understood how to manipulate people better than her cheap older brother Xiao Yan, or even her cheap father Xiao Zhan.
Geniuses from major powers naturally possessed pride; they weren't people anyone could meet just because they wanted to.
First, she would let her legends spread. Once they reached a certain level, she would appear, show off a wave of skill, and display her true strength.
By then, she wouldn't need to prove anything herself; they would already be convinced of her "background."
Then, with such high talent, immense strength, and solid backing, why wouldn't you follow me?
This would make her push into the Central Plains much simpler.
While a large number of people in the Inner Academy were frustrated because they couldn't meet Xiao Xue, she was already searching for medicinal ingredients in the back mountains.
To her slight disappointment, even with Ziyan acting as a human radar, they still failed to find any ingredients suitable for refining Tier 7 pills.
In the end, Xiao Xue gathered a few Tier 6 ingredients, casually refined two of them into medicinal pellets, and tossed them to Ziyan.
Then, she found a relatively safe spot, asked Ziyan and the Little Doctor Immortal to guard her, and prepared to refine two Tier 6 pills for practice.
At this moment, on a cliff hundreds of miles away from the trio.
Xun'er was standing there, fiddling with her fingers.
She had left the dorm very early today, not for cultivation, but seemingly waiting for someone here.
In the distance, over a dozen Four-Winged Unicorns with silver horns flew into the Inner Academy together, heading toward the back mountains.
And standing on the back of every unicorn was a Dou Wang expert.
"Heh heh, Miss Xun'er, we finally found you."
The leading Four-Winged Unicorn slowly descended, and a man smiled as he addressed Xun'er.
"I am Ling Quan, the newly promoted Deputy Commander of the Black Annihilation Army. I have been ordered by the Clan Elder to escort the young miss back!"
The man who introduced himself as Ling Quan, standing atop the Four-Winged Unicorn, respectfully cupped his fist toward Xun'er and spoke courteously.
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