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Lu Li stared at the calm and composed little girl before him, falling into deep thought once again.

Had he just heard correctly? Refining pills? Logically speaking, as Lingxu Zhenren's disciple, it was perfectly normal for her to be able to refine pills.

But after knowing that she was both a sword cultivator *and* a body cultivator, why did it feel so shocking?

"You can refine pills?" Lu Li asked.

Seeing the doubt on his face, Qin Shu looked even more puzzled than he did. "Is it strange for a disciple of the Dan Sect to refine pills?"

Lu Li didn't answer directly. Instead, he spoke seriously, "Little Shu'er, you may still be young and unaware, but a person's energy is limited. Learning too many things without mastering one is unwise. You're practicing swordsmanship, refining pills, and cultivating your body—when do you even have time to truly cultivate?"

Qin Shu furrowed her brows and replied confidently, "At night."

Her progress during daytime cultivation was too slow, so using that time for meditation would be a waste.

"Only cultivating at night is far from enough. You—"

Lu Li had been ready to lecture her, but then he suddenly paused and checked her cultivation level. "Qi Condensation... fourth layer?"

The words stuck in his throat.

If he remembered correctly, Xuantian Sect had only accepted a new batch of disciples last year, which meant this little girl had only been cultivating for about a year?

Thinking back, he had once boldly declared that this child was merely a triple-spirit-root cultivator. If he had said that out loud to others, he might have wanted to dig a hole and bury himself in embarrassment.

She had progressed this far with *three* spirit roots? If she had a single spirit root, wouldn't she be heaven-defying?

"Indeed," Qin Shu replied, unfazed by his ability to discern her cultivation level. After all, as a Nascent Soul cultivator from the Celestial Secrets Pavilion, his abilities had to be profound.

Lu Li felt like he should say something, but if he truly voiced his thoughts, he would only make himself look ignorant.

He fell silent.

Qin Shu, on the other hand, asked, "Lu Li Zhenren, is there something else?"

Lu Li fidgeted with his feathered fan before finally pressing down his complex emotions and saying, "Why are you calling me 'Zhenren'? Call me Senior Brother."

Qin Shu: "?"

"You and my master are both elders. According to custom, I should call you Martial Uncle."

Lu Li shook his head. "You're mistaken. I'm five hundred years younger than your master! I can't bear being called 'Martial Uncle.'"

Qin Shu was momentarily stunned. She hadn't expected her master to be *that* old, and she couldn't quite figure out how seniority in the cultivation world was even calculated.

"Lu Li... Senior Brother?" She hesitated but still cupped her fists in greeting. "Senior Brother, I'm heading to the alchemy chamber now. Please make yourself at home."

Then, without hesitation, she activated *Shrinking the Ground Into an Inch*—taking a single step and instantly moving eight zhang (about 80 feet) forward.

Lu Li quickly followed after her. "Wait, Junior Sister! I'll come along. I've never actually *watched* someone refine pills before..."

Qin Shu was helpless against his persistence. She couldn't stop him from following, so she simply ignored him.

Alchemy was a repetitive and dull process. As long as she paid him no attention, there was no way he'd want to stay for long.

Two days passed, and Lingxu Zhenren realized he hadn't seen Lu Li at all. He summoned a disciple to inquire, "Where is Lu Li Zhenren now?"

The disciple answered, "He's watching Junior Sister Qin Shu refine pills."

Lingxu Zhenren frowned. Why did he suddenly have a feeling that someone was trying to steal his beloved disciple?

This wouldn't do. He had to check it out himself.

Coincidentally, Qin Shu had just finished refining her first batch of pills.

The process of refining Qi-replenishing pills was something she had done countless times before. Without even looking, she casually summoned a jade bottle, expertly collecting the finished pills.

At that moment, Lu Li's nose twitched slightly. "Wait!"

Qin Shu paused, stopping right before sealing the bottle, and turned to look at him.

"Senior Brother, do you have any advice?"

Lu Li's gaze was fixed on the jade bottle in her hand as if trying to see through it. He asked in disbelief, "Superior-grade Qi-replenishing pills?"

Qin Shu nodded. "Mm."

"You can already refine them perfectly?"

"Basic technique," Qin Shu said humbly, pursing her lips into a straight line and lowering her chin slightly.

Lu Li: "???"

He had never thought of himself as *old*, yet why did he suddenly feel like he couldn't understand what these young people were saying?

"What does that even mean?" Fortunately, he was only playing the role of a senior brother, so asking wouldn't be too embarrassing.

"It's just basic skill. Every disciple on Lingxiao Peak can do it," Qin Shu said with a humble expression.

But somehow, why did it sound *so* arrogant?

Lu Li's emotions were indescribable. He stared at the little girl before him, opened his mouth, hesitated, and then finally asked,

"Little Shu'er, do you... have any interest in divination?"

What nonsense about 'focusing on one path'—that was advice for mediocre people! True geniuses could excel in *everything*!

Qin Shu: "..."

How could she *not* be interested? Back in her school days, she and her classmates always checked their daily horoscopes before an exam!

But...

She looked at Lu Li, then hesitantly asked, "Senior Brother, I *do* want to learn... but... aren't you... inaccurate?"

If Lu Li had heard this in the past, it would have completely shaken his Dao Heart. But after being repeatedly battered by Qin Shu's bluntness, he had become resilient.

As long as he accepted his own failure, no one else could use it to hurt him!

Calmly, he sat cross-legged on the cushion. His feathered fan, which had disappeared at some point, was now back in his hand. He shook his head, smiling at Qin Shu.

"I may be inaccurate now, but I still know the methods of divination. I can teach you—then *you* can be the one doing the calculations!"

Qin Shu waved her hand, closing the lid of her alchemy furnace, then turned to Lu Li. Without hesitation, she cupped her fists.

"Please instruct me, Senior Brother!"

While the core techniques of the Celestial Secrets Pavilion couldn't be casually passed down, traditional divination methods—like the *Six Yao Hexagram* and *Eight Trigrams*—could be shared freely.

Furthermore, Qin Shu's current cultivation method focused on avoiding disaster and seeking fortune, so learning divination wouldn't conflict with her existing practice.

"The Great Expansion Calculation follows the number fifty, but only forty-nine are used. Divided into two, representing yin and yang, with one set aside as a representation of the trinity. The remaining sticks are counted in groups of four, symbolizing the four seasons..."

Qin Shu listened attentively.

Wait a minute—wasn't this just *Probability Theory*?

Based on his calculations, the probability of *Taiyang* (Great Yang) was 3/16, *Taiyin* (Great Yin) was 1/16, *Shaoyang* (Lesser Yang) was 5/16, and *Shaoyin* (Lesser Yin) was 7/16.

So... wasn't the chance of good or bad fortune just fifty-fifty?!

Lu Li had been explaining for quite a while when he suddenly noticed that the little girl in front of him had started zoning out.

He sighed helplessly. "Forget it, I suppose this method *is* a bit complex for someone your age. Where did you get confused? I'll explain it again in detail."