Refining the Mountains and Rivers

Hu -

After just barely succeeding with the act, Qin Yu finally sighed inwardly. He reached out and patted the dark star ice serpent. "Be a good child and don't cause trouble." He moved to the side, "You may begin the inspection. After you've come to a conclusion, bring me your treatment plans."

In areas that he didn't understand, he needed to do as little as possible and say as little as possible. In order to maintain his good image, a certain degree of strategy was required.

Yun Die was the first to step forward. She had experienced something similar in the past, so she accepted this impossible reality much faster than the others. It was when the Wonder beast was subdued previously. Still, the disparity between the dark star ice serpent and Wonder beast was far too large, leading to her momentary panic.

Seeing Yun Die safely walk to the side of the dark star ice serpent and inspect it, Rong Wei and the others flushed red. They quickly walked over.

"Ziyue, you can work by yourself this time. There is no need to work together with me." As they neared the beast, Rong Wei turned and gave his disciple an order.

Xiang Ziyue knew that his teacher was purposefully giving him a chance. He bowed excitedly and said, "Thank you for the help, teacher!"

This was the evaluation of a Grand Expert. Even if he only learned a little, it was enough for him to profit for the rest of his life.

Si Jia glanced at Rong Wei and walked past him. Following this, the four people used various methods and tools to obtain the most data they could from the dark star ice serpent. This was the basis of formulating a treatment plan.

Qin Yu found a chair near the testing platform and sat down. He didn't care much about the inspection process. In any case, the one he chose wouldn't necessarily be the best treatment plan. It would be fine as long as it could help him and also had a certain effectiveness.

Qin Yu closed his eyes as his thoughts began to float through his mind. He became increasingly puzzled by how the Ancient race's bloodline could suppress the spirit beasts of this world.

From the skylark, to the Wonder beast, and now to the dark star ice serpent, regardless of how strong or weak a spirit beast was, none of them could resist the strength of the Ancient race's bloodline…just what secret was hidden here?

Could there be some connection between this world and the Ancient race? But he had sifted through many ancient texts and hadn't found any clues regarding the Ancient race. Could he be overthinking things, or were there other reasons behind all of this?

As he was deep in thought, time passed without him noticing. Although it only seemed to be the blink of an eye, an hour quickly passed. Rong Wei, Xiang Ziyue, and Si Jia stopped their work one after another. Only Yun Die continued hesitating. She thought for a moment and placed a hand on the dark star ice serpent. No one noticed its massive body suddenly shivering.

Several breaths of time later, Yun Die drew her hand back, weariness in her eyes. She let out a gentle breath. As she thought, her suspicions were correct.

Qin Yu opened his eyes. "Has your examination finished?"

"Yes, teacher."

"Yes, mister."

"If you believe you are prepared, please state your respective treatment plans and explain your reasoning." Qin Yu looked around. "Let's start with Miss Si Jia."

Si Jia respectfully bowed. "Mister, my examination result is that during the dark star ice serpent's breakthrough process, it hasn't been able to gather sufficient energy to maintain and complete the evolution, leading to a backlash and today's situation. So, my treatment plan is to use heavenword flowers, elderforest wood, and spirit spring essence water. Using these three spiritual goods as the primary materials, they can be coordinated together…in summary, I merely have some shallow thoughts. If there is any way in which I am wrong, I ask Mister Ning Qin to please correct me."

Qin Yu nodded, not expressing approval or disapproval. He looked at Xiang Ziyue, "State your treatment plan."

Xiang Ziyue revealed a bitter expression. "Mister, my treatment plan is similar to Miss Si Jia's. But, the specifics aren't complete, so I won't waste your time."

He never thought that his luck would be this poor. He had such a good opportunity and yet his treatment plan 'collided' with Si Jia's. In particular, if his plan was contrasted with Si Jia's, then whether it was in logic or nuance, there was no comparing them. To explain his treatment plan would have been nothing but shaming himself.

Rong Wei patted his shoulder and pointed out, "You did well. There might be more chances in the future." He looked at Qin Yu and said, "Mister, please allow me to offer my humble opinion and let Miss Yun Die come out last."

Seeing Qin Yu nod, Rong Wei stepped forward. "Mister, the angle from which I approached my treatment plan is somewhat different to Miss Si Jia's. I believe that the reason the dark star ice serpent failed to advance is not because it lacked sufficient energy, but because an unknown variable occurred during the absorption process. So, to treat its injuries, the key point needs to be found. I have adjusted the treatment plan. Using buddha fingers as the main ingredient, it can be supplemented with extermination black vines, enchanting spirit grass, and other similar materials in order to get rid of some of the strength within the dark star ice serpent's body…"

Si Jia furrowed her eyebrows. This was because she discovered that in essence, the basis of Rong Wei's treatment plan was the polar opposite of her own. One was to supplement with more energy to restart the advancement process; once it finished evolving, it would naturally recover. The other plan was to remove any unnecessary strength and then find out the reason why the dark star ice serpent failed to evolve. After fixing that cause and making the necessary adjustments, it could be treated again.

Qin Yu felt a headache coming. This was a dilemma. The two people's treatment methods went in completely different directions; they were unexpectedly different. How could he choose? If he made the wrong choice, even if the little blue lamp helped him, wouldn't that only mean the dark star ice serpent would die that much faster?

He furrowed his eyebrows. His eyes fell on Yun Die. When this disciple had initially treated the Wonder beast, although her plan wasn't perfect, the final effect was great and had also given him a tremendous advantage.

Right now as he was at a loss for what to do, he looked at her and a glimmer of expectation unconsciously appeared.

Yun Die sensed Qin Yu's anticipation. It seemed teacher had very high expectations of her…all of her hesitation disappeared at this moment. How could she allow her teacher to be disappointed in her?

She stepped forward. Yun Die had a calm expression as she spoke in a soft voice, "Teacher, in my opinion, whether it is Miss Si Jia or Mister Rong Wei, as long as both are handled correctly, the desired treatment effect can be achieved."

Si Jia and Rong Wei furrowed their eyebrows. These were completely opposite treatment plans, so how could they achieve a similar effect? They looked at Yun Die, waiting for her to give her explanation.

Sensing their gazes on her, Yun Die didn't feel any intimidation. If she dared to speak such words in the past, she might have been mocked and ridiculed by others; they wouldn't even give her a chance to explain. But right now she was her teacher's disciple and she had the qualifications to explain her viewpoint.

"There is one point that Miss Si Jia and Mister Rong Wei might not have discovered yet, and that is the most basic reason for why the dark star ice serpent failed to advance. It isn't because it had too much or too little energy, nor is it because an unexpected and uncontrollable factor appeared during the advancement process."

Speaking to here, Yun Die hesitated for a bit. Then, she took a deep breath and continued, "The true reason is because as the dark star ice serpent was beginning its advancement, someone fed it something called nebula wood."

Rong Wei shouted out, "That's impossible! When the dark star ice serpent was trying to evolve, I was present the entire time! No one was able to do anything. As for what the dark star ice serpent ate, all of it was personally selected by me!"

Yun Die had a tranquil expression. "Even if Mister Rong Wei chose the feeding materials, could they have been replaced or added to during the transportation process? And even if there was nothing wrong during transportation, with Mister Rong Wei's status, could you personally feed the dark star ice serpent every one of its meals?"

Rong Wei's lips moved but he couldn't refute her words. This was because he truly wasn't able to pay attention to everything. But if what she said was true, could it be…his complexion paled but his eyes brightened. He said, "Miss Yun Die, you should know that you need evidence to prove your words!"

Facing his questioning, Yun Die nodded. "Since I said this, I naturally have confidence in myself. Nebula wood is tasteless and colorless; it can be mixed with almost any spiritual material. Unless someone is purposefully looking for it, it is hard to discover. And even after being digested, unless the fluctuations of strength are too fierce and surpass a certain threshold, the nebula wood simply won't be triggered. But once it is activated, it will act as a catalyst and cause a spirit beast's strength to run out of control.

"During the dark star ice serpent's advancement process, its bloodline was transforming, causing its blood energy to seethe and roil. This was enough to satisfy the necessary trigger conditions. Of course, I wouldn't make this judgment based on feeling alone. After the nebula wood is digested, a spirit beast requires at least one month to completely expel it. And, I just happen to know of a method to confirm the presence of nebula wood."

Yun Die looked up, "Teacher, please help me take a drop of the dark star ice serpent's blood."

Qin Yu nodded. He flicked his finger and strength erupted. With a loud crack, a scale shattered and a drop of dark red blood seeped out.

Yun Die bowed in gratitude. She took a crystal tube and placed the drop of blood within. Then, she walked to the testing platform. Next she extracted the juice from several common materials.

"This is a compound reagent I named Star Reveal. Once it touches nebula wood components, it will be stimulated. Everyone, please watch carefully." As she spoke she poured the reagent into the crystal tube with the blood. Immediately, motes of light appeared, like a nebula in the night sky.

Xiang Ziyue's eyes widened. "Te…teacher…"

Si Jia's face turned icy cold.

This, was the strongest possible evidence.