Water Dragon in the Sky, Ten Thousand Flames in Reverence

Evan Lin sat cross-legged inside the Pill Pavilion. Earlier, he’d told Warren Wu to take whatever pills he wanted, which made Warren beam with joy as he hauled away a good pile of medicine.

Now, Evan was left alone in the Pill Pavilion, staring at the Blue-Flame Blood Python’s gallbladder and the two fist-sized Fire Crystal Stones laid out before him. He took a deep breath.

"Refining a magic artifact takes a ton of focus—and honestly, I’m only at early Foundation Establishment, so it’s a pain and way more complicated than it should be."

"But hey, at least it’s quiet here—no one to bother me. Plus, the artifact isn’t super high-grade, so I might as well give it a shot."

With that, Evan had the three Maiden Spirits from the Soul-Locking Scroll guard the area, completely sealing off the Pill Pavilion.

Warren Wu had actually planned to stick around and watch Evan refine the artifact, but Evan kicked him out in the end.

After all, you can’t afford the slightest distraction when you’re refining a magic artifact.

Once everything was set, Evan reached out and tapped one of the Fire Crystal Stones with his finger.

With that tap, the fist-sized Fire Crystal Stone cracked open, and countless flames surged out. Evan then pointed at the python gallbladder, and with a touch, it too spat out a string of fire.

The two streams of fire were blazing hot and wild. The instant they met, it was like two long-lost rivals clashing—each one fighting for dominance.

Evan sat in the midst of the flames, completely unfazed by the chaos around him. He traced his fingers through the air, slowly drawing strange runes in midair.

......

Three weeks later.

A pillar of fire shot up, engulfing the entire Pill Pavilion and streaking straight into the sky. From the base of the mountain, anyone looking toward the Pavilion saw a blazing column of flame.

Down at the foot of the peak, the Medicine King Valley disciples stared in shock and fear at the spectacle.

Up on the mountain, a young man stepped calmly out of the flames. Evan stood there, gazing into the distance. In his hand, the python gallbladder and Fire Crystal Stones had been completely fused into a half-palm-sized token, its whole body translucent, with a giant python engraved in the center.

The python was shown roaring at the sky, its serpent eyes burning with fire.

All around the token, countless tiny runic lines were faintly visible, each one glinting with fiery light under the sun.

"Finally done. I’ll call this fire token the 'Scarlet Flame Command.'"

Evan’s thoughts grew focused and calm.

Most of those weeks, he’d spent all his effort fusing the Fire Crystal Stone and the Blue-Flame Blood Python’s gallbladder. Even so, he’d only managed to complete the initial refinement of the Scarlet Flame Command—he hadn’t carved any complex formations into it yet.

"With this Scarlet Flame Command, alchemy’s going to be a breeze from now on."

Thinking that, Evan took out Crimson Blood Astragalus and Azureleaf Violet Lotus, his eyes flashing. "Since I’m here, might as well refine a batch of pills."

Evan activated the Scarlet Flame Command, and flames burst out, instantly wrapping around the Crimson Blood Astragalus and Azureleaf Violet Lotus—both ninth-grade spiritual herbs.

Under the intense heat, the two spiritual herbs quickly melted. Then, under Evan’s precise control, they began to condense at an incredible speed.

Other people would need a furnace and a cauldron, carefully balancing the heat and ingredients, slowly refining everything before pills could form.

But with Evan’s powerful flame and mystical technique, refining lower-grade pills was as simple as directly fusing the spiritual herbs together.

In no time, the flames faded.

A moment later, more than twenty green Nourishing Spirit Pills appeared in Evan’s palm. Each one was translucent like a gemstone, and only about the size of a grain of rice.

"Still not enough spiritual herbs."

Evan shook his head slightly, popped a Nourishing Spirit Pill into his mouth, and instantly felt a surge of spiritual energy spreading through his body. As it passed through his left hand, the dragon there swallowed and released it, eventually guiding the energy into the spiritual well of his dantian.

"These pills are better than nothing, I guess."

Evan sighed. He could sense his cultivation improving, but the progress was painfully slow. Still, the path of cultivation was always hard—thinking this, he calmed his mind once more.

For Evan, refining an artifact and making pills had drained him, but the Nourishing Spirit Pill helped restore some of his energy.

"Master Lin!"

Not far away, Warren Wu was climbing up from the base of the mountain.

During Evan’s closed-door refinement, Warren Wu had taken care of everything in Medicine King Valley.

Once cast out as a Medicine King Valley outcast, Warren Wu was finally able to hold his head high.

Now, Warren Wu reached the top, gazing at the Pill Pavilion that had been completely consumed by flames, his eyes full of surprise. Then he turned to Evan and respectfully said, "Master Lin, Medicine King Valley now has fifty-five disciples, twenty-one medicinal fields, and three medicine mountains. The elders and valley master are all dead, but the surviving guardians are willing to follow you. What do you think?"

At that, Warren Wu hesitated.

With Medicine King Valley leaderless, if Evan just left, the whole place would soon be taken over by outsiders. Thinking that, Warren Wu couldn’t help but feel a spark of hope.

"Medicine King Valley’s not much in my eyes. You can have it—manage it well. Who knows, it might come in handy someday."

Evan spoke coolly.

Medicine King Valley couldn’t offer Evan any real benefits for now, but the territory itself was pretty decent.

If he got his hands on some spiritual herb seeds in the future, the place could be useful. Plus, Medicine King Valley was famous in Haizhou—if trouble came knocking, the name might be handy.

"Yes, Master Lin!"

Warren Wu’s face lit up. Evan’s words had just made him the new valley master! In this world where strength ruled, no one in Medicine King Valley dared stand against Evan Lin—and Warren Wu could finally rise to the top.

Evan paused for a moment, then handed Warren Wu a Nourishing Spirit Pill. "I won’t be staying here long. Take this pill, and I’ll teach you a simple cultivation technique. You’ll be in charge of Medicine King Valley."

"If I need anything in the future, I’ll come find you."

Seeing Evan hand him the Nourishing Spirit Pill, Warren Wu’s hands trembled as he took it. Hearing that Evan would teach him a cultivation technique, Warren Wu dropped to his knees, face full of excitement. "I’ll obey Master Lin’s teachings! My life is yours!"

Evan’s gaze grew distant as he looked beyond the valley. He nodded calmly, then stepped out into the void.

The next second—

In midair, water vapor condensed into a dragon.

Suddenly, flames erupted across the heavens and earth!

The water dragon soared to the sky, and all the flames bowed in respect!