JSCMU-Chapter 70: The Real Secret

“Eight times eight is sixty-four!”

“Nine times nine is eighty-one!”

Gun Gun shouted while completing the one hundred repetitions Yun Jin assigned.

Gu Jinghong sighed. Alright, practicing like this definitely wouldn’t lead to any real results. This brat was probably going to get frustrated and take it out on him again.

He mentally prepared himself.

And then.

A glow radiated from Gun Gun’s body. It froze for a second, then suddenly charged forward with heavy force

That hundred-year-old spiritual tree cracked and shattered!

Tree: What did I do wrong?

The glow flickered once more, then completely merged into Gun Gun’s body!

Gu Jinghong’s mouth slowly fell open.

This was…

The skill leveled up?

Gun Gun’s charging power had clearly jumped to the next tier.

Combined with that light, it was most likely a skill upgrade.

But why?

Skill advancement for spirit beasts is extremely difficult. Most Qi Refining spirit beasts are stuck at level one skills.

Why would an ordinary mid-grade spirit beast advance to level two so easily?

Just because of that weird chant?

How was that even scientific?

“One times one is one… one times two is two…” Gu Jinghong couldn’t help but try muttering the so-called chant himself, hoping to sense if there were any mysterious power hidden within it.

But no matter how he chanted, there wasn’t the slightest reaction.

Gun Gun immediately started mocking him, “This chant was specially prepared by my master for me. You’re too dumb. How could you possibly learn it?”

Gu Jinghong didn’t understand what Gun Gun was saying, but he could definitely feel that mocking tone!

Gu Jinghong’s face darkened instantly.

“Still dared to give Lord Gun Gun an attitude?” Gun Gun immediately leapt onto Gu Jinghong’s back, grabbed his hair, and started yanking.

Gu Jinghong sucked in several breaths from the pain, but didn’t dare resist and didn’t even dare feel a trace of resentment.

Spirit beasts and their masters were spiritually connected. If he had any negative feelings toward Gun Gun, Yun Jin would immediately sense it.

Through the master-servant contract, even separated by thousands of mountains and rivers, she could still take his life.

After plucking a small bald spot on Gu Jinghong’s head, Gun Gun got bored and went back to crashing into trees again.

Hehe, his master only told him to train a hundred times…

But what if he did two hundred? Three hundred?

Wouldn’t he get even stronger?

As an Iron-Eating Beast, he was going to secretly grind hard and out-train everyone until they all cried.

While Yun Jin was drinking tea in Baicao Pavilion, she received a notification that the Iron-Eating Beast’s skill advanced.

She couldn’t help but nod in satisfaction.

Gun Gun is young, but very motivated.

With that, Yun Jin no longer felt the slightest sting when spending simplification attempts on it.

After all, that investment was bound to yield returns.

However, with an Iron-Eating Beast added to her team, she now has a huge new source of simplification-attempt consumption. So showing off in public couldn’t stop. She needs to keep pushing!

“Little sister, do you like this tea?” Lan Cen asked softly when she saw Yun Jin smiling as she drank.

Yun Jin instantly gave a sweet smile. “The tea is simply too delicious. Thank you, Sister Lan Cen!”

A gentle smile also appeared on Lan Cen’s face.

She felt grateful toward Yun Jin.

In the beginning, although she had some standing in Baicao Pavilion, it wasn’t anything significant.

After all, she was just a herbalist. Whether she will ever become a proper alchemist was still uncertain.

But.

Just because Yun Jin casually said she would take her to ascend that day, Chen Changrong who wanted to collaborate long-term with Yun Jin, immediately got on board.

Not only was she freed from working the front counter, but she was also provided with resources that allowed her to focus entirely on becoming an alchemist.

All those changes were brought about by Yun Jin.

Thinking back to how her initial attitude toward Yun Jin hadn’t been great, Lan Cen was filled with regret and silently resolved that in the future, even the Pavilion Master would have to make way if Yun Jin showed up.

“If you like it, I’ll pack some of this tea for you to take home,” Lan Cen said.

This wasn’t something worth declining, so Yun Jin casually accepted.

Lan Cen looked at her, still a little worried. “Little sister, are you truly confident in breaking through to a second-rank alchemist this time? The Pavilion Master personally helped publicize it. This time, I fear the entire market will come to watch. If you were to fail…”

She wasn’t worried about anything else but Yun Jin’s mental state.

After all, young prodigies like her typically hadn’t suffered many setbacks. If she failed even once, she might never get back up.

Yun Jin immediately lifted her head and chin. “Failure? Those characters do not exist in my life!”

The reason she could live so freely and unrestrained in this life was simple.

She traded for it with countless failures during endless years in the past.

When she first quick-transmigrated to those worlds, her strength was close to nothing. Every mission was completed with great difficulty.

As for failures, there were too many to count.

There were many instances where she teetered on the edge of death.

Having endured so many failures, she now deserves a smooth path in this life.

This life belongs to her. The nonsense with Ye Danxia was merely background noise.

What truly mattered was that she lived out her own life.

In this lifetime, everything would be smooth. No one could block her way.

Yun Jin’s voice radiated with fierce confidence.

Lan Cen, for a brief moment, couldn’t help but believe her.

Believe that this girl could do anything she set out to do.

Believe that she would, step by step, reach the very peak. And when that day came, no one in the world would be worthy to stand beside her.

Startled by her own thoughts, Lan Cen couldn’t help but laugh.

She felt like Yun Jin was contagious… making her suddenly have some very delusional thoughts.

Pill Pavilion.

It was already in full preparation mode.

Yue Zhao came early that morning to inform them that Yun Jin would soon arrive to take the second-rank alchemist examination.

Ming Heng thought about it.

How many days had passed since her first-rank alchemist certification?

Oh, it has been four days!

A whole four days!

It was indeed time to break through to the second-rank alchemist.

This is totally normal!

Ming Heng gritted his teeth.

Normal my ass!

Yun Jin had once said: A mature furnace should learn to refine pills on its own.

Even now, the disciples in Pill pavilion still murmured that sentence daily, hoping their furnaces would become reliable!

Even Ming Heng himself had secretly tested it many times!

But the result?

Not a single success!

And now she is coming to take the second-rank alchemist test.

If she pulled another outrageous move…

Should they copy her or not?

If they copied her, they would waste resources and time.

If they didn’t, what if it turned out to be a groundbreaking alchemy technique?

Yue Zhao even came this time to suggest holding the exam on the large central platform in the marketplace, so everyone could watch more easily!

Ming Heng’s mental state collapsed.

So, the audience last time was too small and it affected her performance?

And this time she wants to gather the entire marketplace?

But for some reason, when Yue Zhao made the suggestion, Ming Heng numbly agreed, even promising to promote the event using Pill Pavilion’s own channels.

After Yue Zhao left happily.

A disciple couldn’t help but ask, “Master Ming, we’ve used the exact same method to refine pills but still haven’t succeeded. Could it be… because not enough people were watching?”

Ming Heng: “…How could there be such a ridiculous reason?!”

That’s what he said…

But he pondered about it.

Yeah.

They had replicated every step.

Even cracked sunflower seeds while doing it.

Could the real secret be having an audience?

He didn’t understand the underlying logic, but that girl loved to show off for a reason, right?

Surely it wasn’t just because she was that flashy?

Ming Heng’s spirits lifted!

This time, he might have found the true secret!