Ning Xuan devoted herself to the intensive training, her focus unwavering. During her weekend break, Hei Yan brought his younger sister to seek medical treatment.

After a general examination, Ning Xuan found that the girl’s physical constitution was indeed very poor. Her body was simply too weak to withstand the process of Body Refinement.

During this time, Ning Xuan had learned about the interstellar cultivation system. The growth of one’s spiritual power depended entirely on Bloodline Talent, Spiritual Enhancement Potions, and slowly absorbing the spiritual power of Exotic Beasts in battle. As for improving physical constitution, innate talent was crucial. However, some Ancient Martial Arts cultivation systems had also been passed down. It was just that in a world where everyone had integrated Mutant Beast Genes and possessed formidable physiques, these Ancient Martial Arts systems were largely ignored.

After all, the level of physical strength and defense that took over ten years to achieve through cultivation could be obtained without any training at all after gene fusion—one merely had to reach a certain age.

"You’ve been trying to improve your sister’s physical constitution. Have you ever tried any Ancient Martial Arts cultivation?" Ning Xuan asked.

"We had her try, but..." Hei Yan’s fingertips unconsciously traced the energy patterns on his tactical wristguard. "Most of the Ancient Martial Arts systems that have been passed down require the use of a Breathing Technique. But since gene fusion, the human body’s meridians have changed, making cultivation much more difficult. Yu Yu couldn’t stick with it."

"I’ll give her two acupuncture treatments, then have her try this Cultivation Method." Ning Xuan pulled up a technique called the "Seven Star Lock Vein" on her Light Computer. After using Golden Needle Pulse Exploration on the girl moments ago, Ning Xuan had concluded that this particular Cultivation Technique was suitable for her.

"Actually, Xinyue has tried cultivating the Seven Star Lock Vein technique before," Hei Yan said hesitantly. "She struggled with it for a long time but could never get the hang of it. To try again now..." He trailed off, afraid it would just be a waste of time.

"Suit yourself. If you want to try, I’ll perform the needle treatment today. If not, then please leave." Ning Xuan didn’t waste any more words.

"I want to try," the pale-faced girl said with determination, tugging on Ning Xuan’s sleeve.

"Alright," Ning Xuan agreed. She used the Golden Needle Crossing Spirit technique to open the main acupoints required for Introducing Spirit into the Body. The rest of the cultivation would be up to Huangfu Xinyue herself.

Ning Xuan had taken time out of her training to treat a patient. Little did she know what a sensation this case would cause in Light City, and even the entire Federation. After the treatment, she threw herself back into her intense training.

「A month later.」

Xi Ruhui’s rapid-fire lecture series on fundamental theory, covering all the material for intermediate and advanced students, had concluded. Before the final class, he specifically sought out Ning Xuan. He taught this same content every year for the Alchemist competition training camp. The material was vast and complex, but time was limited, forcing him to lecture at an incredible speed. Since it was just a review of fundamentals, most found it exceedingly dull. Consequently, very few students ever managed to sit through the entire series. In his memory, over the past three years, Ning Xuan was the only one who had attended every single lecture from beginning to end.

"Young student, I noticed you were listening very attentively. Have you grasped it all? Feel free to ask if you have any questions!" Xi Ruhui asked, forcing a kind and approachable smile.

"Teacher Xi, in the Chapter on derivatives, it says adding Lantern Grass to Seven-leaf Heart-piercing Lotus during alchemy produces Bone-Eroding Substance. I tried it yesterday, but as soon as I added the Lantern Grass, it exploded. The original medicinal liquid evaporated instantly in the intense heat. In that case, how is it possible to extract the Bone-Eroding Substance?" Ning Xuan had already attempted the experiment multiple times without success.

Her control over her spiritual power and the heat was extremely precise, and she rarely failed during alchemy. Because of this, she suspected the instructional material was wrong.

"I don’t recall teaching that particular point." This topic had been skipped precisely because the experiment was extremely dangerous and extracting the Bone-Eroding Substance was incredibly difficult.

"It was in the lecture notes you displayed," Ning Xuan said. She had happened to refine Seven-leaf Heart-piercing Lotus before and was very interested in its properties.

"You didn’t feel any discomfort after the explosion?" Xi Ruhui asked. In truth, it was difficult to even get the experiment to the point of explosion. The Seven-leaf Heart-piercing Lotus was so toxic that most Alchemists gave up during the initial refining process.

"I wear a protective suit during my experiments, so I didn’t feel any discomfort," Ning Xuan explained. Seven-leaf Heart-piercing Lotus was highly toxic, so she always took strict precautions when working with poisonous ingredients.

"No wonder. You actually succeeded but didn’t realize it because your precautions were too thorough," Teacher Xi said, pushing the glasses up the bridge of his nose. "The reason you couldn’t collect any Bone-Eroding Substance is that it all evaporated. To this day, no one has ever successfully extracted it."

"Then how was it discovered?" Ning Xuan asked, confused.

"It was extracted from the bones of dead Alchemists," Teacher Xi said, his voice suddenly low.

"Ah... uh..." A wave of retroactive fear washed over Ning Xuan. ’Thank goodness I wore a protective suit.’ Suddenly, her expression changed. "Teacher Xi," she asked nervously, "I’ve had that experiment explode four times. Could the evaporated toxins have settled somewhere in my lab?" After she finished her experiments, Chen Nan, Lin Mo, or Yan Fuzhen would always help her tidy up.

"No. If the toxins don’t attach to a living organism during evaporation, they immediately become inert. They only attach to the bones and remain preserved when they encounter a living thing. Therefore, the ’correct’ method for extracting Bone-Eroding Substance is to place a living organism in the lab beforehand. You let the evaporated substance attach to it during the explosion, and then you extract it from the dead organism’s bones." As Teacher Xi spoke, his tone became strange.

"Oh, so that’s how it works. Thank you for clearing that up for me, Teacher." Ning Xuan’s expression was composed as she met Xi Ruhui’s probing gaze without flinching.

"You’ve studied very diligently this month," Xi Ruhui said, looking at Ning Xuan with complicated emotions. "I originally thought that a student still poring over the basics would be lacking in practical application. I never imagined your hands-on skills would be so advanced." He had approached her because he was impressed by her serious attitude and had considered taking her on as a disciple. But her question made him instantly realize the truth: her practical abilities were already so strong that he feared he had nothing left to teach her. ’What a pity,’ he thought. ’Such a promising talent, but it seems I’m not fated to be her master.’

"I hope you achieve a good result in the Alchemist competition," Xi Ruhui said.

"Thank you, Teacher Xi." This month of study had benefited Ning Xuan immensely. What she had lacked most was a systematic, coherent understanding of fundamental theory. In the past, her knowledge had been acquired piecemeal through practical alchemy. Now, she had finally connected all the dots and gained a thorough understanding.