After bidding farewell to Xue Qinghe, Lin Mu returned to his residence and immediately began refining pills. With the aid of his Qilin Fire, the alchemy process was twice as efficient as before. After a full night of intensive refinement, Lin Mu emerged from his room looking slightly haggard but successful. He took the finished medicinal results directly to the Education Committee.
"Teacher Lin Mu, are there any side effects to these pills?"
Meng Shenji examined the pill Lin Mu had handed him. It was emerald green, crystal clear, and emitted a faint, refreshing fragrance. The other two members of the Education Committee watched closely. As Soul Douluo powerhouses, they could sense the substantial, condensed energy contained within the small orb.
"Rest assured," Lin Mu replied calmly. "I extracted these from premium medicinal herbs myself. These pills are designed solely to accelerate cultivation speed; they will not place any undue burden on the body."
The Qilin Fire possessed a miraculous ability to purify impurities and fuse medicinal properties with near-perfection, even enhancing the base quality of the herbs. With Lin Mu's assurance, Meng Shenji felt a wave of relief.
"Since there are no side effects, please distribute them to the members of the Royal Fighting Team, Teacher Lin Mu. As for the material expenses, the academy will provide full reimbursement."
"Then I shall take my leave," Lin Mu said, turning toward the door.
Once he was gone, Meng Shenji carefully tucked the pills away. In his mind, Lin Mu's own rapid cultivation was likely due to these extraordinary medicines. In reality, Lin Mu had previously only been proficient enough to refine healing and detoxifying pills. It was only with the recent mastery of the Qilin Fire that he felt confident enough to attempt cultivation-grade alchemy.
At The Training Ground.
Lin Mu sought out Qin Ming and instructed him to gather the team at the training ground. Soon, Tang San, Yu Tianheng, and the others arrived, looks of confusion on their faces.
A month of high-intensity spirit battles had stripped away their initial resentment. Though the training was brutal and injuries were common, Ye Lingling's specialized treatment ensured they recovered quickly. The results were undeniable: not only was their Spirit Power rising faster than ever, but their actual combat prowess had improved by leaps and bounds.
Lin Mu pulled several jade bottles from his storage bracelet.
"I have refined these pills specifically for your development," he announced. "The white jade bottles contain Spirit Power Pills, which accelerate cultivation speed when taken daily. Their effect is mild and stable. The cyan jade bottles contain Body Tempering Pills, which should be taken during physical training to enhance your raw attributes."
He paused, adding a warning: "These are merely supplements. Their effectiveness depends entirely on your effort. The harder you train, the better your body will absorb the medicinal power."
Lin Mu had hoped to refine a specific pill to enhance the Black Turtle essence for the Shi brothers to aid their martial soul fusion, but the necessary rare materials were currently unavailable.
"Pills?" Yu Tianheng and the others were stunned. They knew Lin Mu was a combat powerhouse, but they hadn't expected him to be a master of alchemy as well. Most Spirit Masters went their entire lives without seeing a pill that could directly aid cultivation.
Lin Mu began the distribution. He gave Yu Tianheng and the others one bottle of each, but when he reached Tang San, he handed him two of each type. He kept his public duties and private loyalties separate. While the academy paid for the materials, the effort of refinement was his own, and as his direct student, Tang San naturally received preferential treatment.
"Thank you, Master!" Tang San said respectfully.
The others felt a twinge of envy seeing Tang San receive a double portion, but no one dared to complain. Receiving such rare treasures at all was an unexpected windfall, and no one wanted to risk offending a teacher as formidable as Lin Mu.
After the session, the group was dismissed. Dugu Yan began walking back to her dormitory, opting to skip the Soul Arena for the day so she could begin absorbing the pills.
Suddenly, a figure in emerald green appeared like a ghost, materializing in front of her in the blink of an eye. The man was tall and slender, dressed in dark green robes with matching hair, it was the Poison Douluo, Dugu Bo.
"Grandpa!" Dugu Yan cried out, her initial fright turning into joy as she rushed into his arms.
Dugu Bo's usually cold, stony expression softened instantly. He laughed, embracing his granddaughter. "Yanyan, let Grandpa look at you... Hmm, your Spirit Power has improved significantly. Not bad at all."
Normally, such praise would have made Dugu Yan beam with pride, but a month under Lin Mu's tutelage had humbled her completely. Sensing her hesitation, Dugu Bo's brow furrowed.
"Yanyan, I heard you have a new team leader. Has he been bullying you?"
"Grandpa, he's much stricter than Teacher Qin Ming," she admitted. "The training volume is insane... and he even hit me."
"He hit you?!" Dugu Bo's aura exploded, a chilling, dangerous light flashing in his eyes. "A mere academy teacher dares to lay a hand on my granddaughter? I'll see just how capable this Teacher Lin really is!"
"Grandpa, wait!" Dugu Yan hurriedly pulled on his sleeve. "While Teacher Lin Mu is harsh, he is incredibly talented. Our progress this month is all thanks to his plan. He even just gave us pills to help our cultivation."
"Pills?" Dugu Bo's anger cooled slightly, replaced by suspicion. As a poison master, he was intimately familiar with medicinal properties. "What kind of pills? Could they be some cheap trash that drains your future potential? Give them to me."
Dugu Yan obediently handed over the two jade bottles. Dugu Bo uncorked a bottle and took a light sniff. His expression shifted from suspicion to absolute gravity. He poured a Spirit Power Pill into his palm, examining it closely before crushing a tiny fragment between his fingers to feel the energy.
"This pill..." Dugu Bo's eyes widened in shock. "The ingredients aren't even high-grade, yet the refinement is nearly perfect. The medicinal properties are flawlessly integrated with virtually zero impurities."
His heart hammered against his ribs. To take such common herbs and turn them into a pill of this purity required an alchemical control he had never witnessed before.