Dual Cultivation

It’s been 12 hours since Zhu Mengyi started her second day of trying to achieve a flawless-quality pill, and she’d just finished her third Earth Advancement Pill for the day.

"Barely a high-quality pill, huh..." Zhu Mengyi looked at the pill in her hands with a dejected look.

There was only half a day left for her to create a flawless-quality pill, but alas, at this rate, due to her fatigue, she wouldn’t be able to create another high-quality pill, much less a flawless.

Zhu Mengyi sat there for the next few minutes staring at the cauldron with a dazed look, almost like she’d given up.

"This is hopeless..." Tears began forming in her eyes.

She felt frustrated, dispirited, and most of all, disappointed in herself for not being able to uphold Su Yang’s expectations.

"You must be done, since you have the time to sit there and cry," Su Yang’s voice suddenly resounded behind her.

Zhu Mengyi turned around to see him, who’d appeared out of the blue, and quickly wiped her eyes dry.

"I’m sorry, but I can’t do it... I know you expected me to concoct a flawless-quality pill, but I have betrayed your expectations..." she said in a mumbling in a sobbing voice, one filled with sadness.

"Hahaha!" Su Yang suddenly burst out laughing, dumbfounding her.

He then wiped the tears in his eyes and said to her, "Who expected you to concoct a flawless-quality pill? I said that only as a means to make you more serious!"

"W-W-Wha—?"

Zhu Mengyi looked at him with a baffled expression, stunned speechless by his words.

"Do you think you are concocting an Elementary-grade pill or something? Forget about a Heaven-grade pill such as the Earth Advancement Pill, you won’t be able to concoct even an Earth-grade flawlessly!"

Forget about this world, even in the Four Divine Heavens, there are only a few individuals who could concoct a flawless-grade pill with the majority of the Alchemy Masters being able to manage 95% to 99% pure!

As for Su Yang, it had taken him dozens of years of training for him to be able to concoct flawless-quality pills! And he even had one of the best Alchemy Masters in the universe, the one and only God of Alchemy, as his teacher!

If Zhu Mengyi actually managed to concoct a flawless-quality pill within two mere days after learning a new technique, then she might as well be the next God of Alchemy!

That being said, Su Yang is by no means talented in the Dao of Alchemy and only achieved what he currently has because of the God of Alchemy.

"D-Does this mean that you won’t be kicking me out?" she asked him the core of her worries.

"I won’t be here forever, but until then, I will try to guide you to the best of my abilities," he said, relieving her of her worries.

Zhu Mengyi should be happy after hearing such words, but instead of smiling, her eyes showed sadness.

"Right... he won’t be here forever..." she sighed inwardly.

"That being said, stop wasting time and get back to concocting," Su Yang’s voice awoke her from her thoughts.

"R-Right!"

Zhu Mengyi quickly went back to concocting pills, and under Su Yang’s guidance, increasing became more understanding and proficient towards her new technique.

Time passed, and within the blink of an eye, another three days went by their heads.

It’s been almost a week since Su Yang arrived at the Four Seasons Academy, and with his help, Zhu Mengyi could finally concoct high-quality pills at a decently consistent rate.

"How’s your progress?" Matriarch Zhu asked Zhu Mengyi when she returned.

"Look at this and you will understand," she responded with her nose pointed at the sky, her face screaming pride, and retrieved many pill bottles from her storage ring.

When Matriarch Zhu first saw the pill bottles, her eyes widened with surprise. "So many Earth Advancement Pills!"

However, once she noticed their qualities, her jaw dropped to the ground from shock.

"And they are all high-quality pills!"

"D-Did you make all of these? I-Impossible!"

"I sure did!" Zhu Mengyi said, her head held as high as ever.

Matriarch Zhu looked at her with a serious expression and thought to herself, "In a mere week, not only did she managed to overcome her troubles with the Earth Advancement Pill but also grow so much that she could concoct them at high-quality!"

Matriarch Zhu recognized Su Yang to be someone profound and mysterious and held him at a high standard, but alas, she didn’t think that she was actually still underestimating his abilities!

"Good girl!" She couldn’t help but praise her. "At this rate, you’ll even surpass me within a few more weeks!"

However, Zhu Mengyi did not express joy after hearing her compliments.

"Unfortunately, he will be leaving soon. Forget about a few weeks, I will be overjoyed if he stays for even a few more days!"

"You..." Matriarch Zhu looked at her in the eyes and noticed something different about her besides her new profound strength in concocting pills.

"This girl is not saying that because she wants to improve her techniques but because she wants to stay with that young man!"

Although she was not too shocked that someone like Zhu Mengyi found love in someone with such profound skills in the Dao of Alchemy, she still found her maiden attitude towards such feelings quite baffling!

"While I cannot do anything about that, I can at least prolong his departure for just a few more days..." Matriarch Zhu suddenly said.

"Really?!" The sadness in Zhu Mengyi’s eyes instantly disappeared.

"Un." Matriarch Zhu nodded, keeping the fact that she’d already been delaying Su Yang’s departure by slowing down the speed they collected the ingredients for the Soul Divination Pill a secret from her.

"His departure may be inevitable, but you can still use whatever time you have left to spend it with him," she continued.

"Then I will do that right away! Thank you, mother!"

After saying that, Zhu Mengyi left the place with swiftness.