Suddenly, an exclamation was heard, pulling the dean out of his thoughts. “Dean, quickly look at this!”

With a frown, the dean glared at Song Ran who appeared in shock and said, “Why do you need to shout? Can"t you speak normally?”

“No… It can"t be…” Song Ran raised his astonished eyes. The shock in them hadn"t yet faded as he replied, “Dean, the Silver Leaf seemed to have grown a fold.”

“…”

The dean was stunned before he hastily lowered his head to look at the Silver Leaf. Once he looked, he was shocked. He then forcefully suppressed his amazement before instructing strictly, “Song Ran, you are forbidden to say of anything you saw today. If I hear from others about this, you should clearly know how ruthless I can get!”

Song Ran bowed slightly and replied, “Dean, you do not need to worry about that. I did not see anything.”

“Good, very good!” The dean nodded. With a slight narrowing of his eyes, a glimmer flashed in them before he said, “I will need to make a trip to meet with the ancestor masters now.”

The technique of using energy to grow medicine was extremely rare, but there were still some alchemy experts in the past that had obtained this method. However, there was only one person in the past that could simultaneously save a medicinal plant and increase its age.

That person was the peerless expert from thousand of years ago, Senior Yue!

“No! Song Ran, you are to come with me to meet the ancestor masters.”

“What?” Song Ran was startled as he looked flabbergasted at the dean.

Lights flickered in the dean"s eyes as he said, “I remembered you told me that she also possessed the Phoenix Furnace. This matter should be told to the ancestor masters. I don"t know how to explain it clearly so you should do it. Quick, come with me to meet the ancestor masters now!”

The dean walked out the room, pulling a dazed Song Ran with him.

Song Ran was still lost in his thoughts. Who didn"t know that the back mountain was the forbidden place of the academy? n.o.body had ever entered that place, excluding the dean. Who knew he would go there now?

Song Ran instantly felt as though his body was floating. He was highly spirited. With a complacent smile on his elderly face, he obviously looked different than usual.

✶

Ancestor Master Hui Ying was sitting on a yellow mat, his eyes closed inside a cliff cave. Suddenly, when he heard footsteps from outside, he abruptly opened his eyes and shot a sharp gaze over.

“Why have you come here?”

The dean immediately pulled Song Ran with him in and bowed as he reported, “Ancestor Master Hui Ying, this junior has something to report.”

“Oh? Has the owner of the Alchemy Book come?”

“No, she hasn"t.” The dean shook his head. When he glanced at the ancestor master"s displeased expression, he quickly explained, “It is just that the girl knows how to grow medicine with energy.”

Hui Ying said with an indifferent expression, “So what?”

“She managed to increase the life of the medicinal plant. An originally thousand-year Silver Leaf became two thousand years old instantly. If you don"t believe, quickly look at this. I had brought Silver Leaf with me.”

The dean took out his precious treasure as he said that.

Hui Ying knew about this Silver Leaf. The dean had requested tutelage from him on how to take care of it before. It had indeed been a thousand-year-old Silver Leaf, but now it had become two thousand years old today…

Boom!

Hui Ying stood up and moved in a flash before the dean. When his deep gray eyes looked at the Silver Leaf, he subconsciously became stirred up. Tears welled out from within his elderly eyes.

Ancestor Master Hui Ying, who had always been emotionless to the dean, was unexpectedly shaking with excitement now. Tears even flowed from his eyes…