The next morning, Su Bai stretched his arms with a profound sense of satisfaction.

The entire woven basket of pill dregs had been completely digested overnight. It was an absolute feast of chaotic, toxic EXP. Accompanied by his final stock of Shattered-Soul Oblivion Pills, the massive influx of energy finally pushed his Dantian back up to the 9th Stage of Qi Refining.

He was just a hair away from reaching the absolute peak of the realm. Once he hit that bottleneck, he would be ready to take his "Promotion" (the Dao-Severing Execution Pill) and step into Foundation Establishment.

But his supply chain was completely dry. If he wanted more Oblivion Pills to act as his CPU Overclock, he had to manufacture them himself. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

After a quick preparation, Su Bai made his way down the mountain and headed straight for the pharmaceutical department (Verdant Peak).

The guarding disciples at the base of the peak greeted him. They immediately unsealed the defensive array and sent a glowing talisman up the mountain to announce his arrival.

By the time Su Bai reached the main courtyards, Elder Qin was already waiting for him with a warm, welcoming smile.

"Martial Nephew Su!" Elder Qin laughed. "Meng’er already notified me that you would come. Come, let me give you a tour."

Su Bai bowed respectfully. "Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule, Elder Qin."

As they walked deeper into Verdant Peak, Su Bai was genuinely impressed by the department’s infrastructure. It was beautiful and highly optimized.

Disciples in pale green robes were practicing healing arts in open pavilions, tending to meticulously organized grids of spiritual crops, or rushing between massive, fiery buildings clutching clipboards and baskets of herbs.

"Alchemy is often misunderstood by the public," Elder Qin explained. "Most juniors assume that a pure Fire Root makes the best alchemist. But that is fundamentally incorrect."

Elder Qin raised a finger. "The absolute gold standard for an alchemist is a Dual Fire and Wood Root. Just like my disciple, Liu Meng."

Elder Qin stressed her name specifically. His chest puffed out with obvious pride. He sounded exactly like a manager bragging about his star intern.

"Fire is required to heat the cauldron," Elder Qin continued. "But Wood Qi is the energy of nature and life. A Wood Root allows the alchemist to perfectly ’feel’ the life force of the herbs, soothing them so they don’t violently explode under the extreme heat. It is why Meng’er is a prodigy. Her control is flawless. She has literally never failed a single batch."

"Impressive," Su Bai nodded in genuine appreciation.

"However, even without the perfect roots, one can still practice the art," Elder Qin reassured him, glancing sympathetically at Su Bai. He knew about Su Bai’s "cursed" Wood root.

"Our Alchemy Hall is built directly above natural Earth Fire veins. You can simply sit on a designated array and channel the mountain’s natural heat into your cauldron," Elder Qin explained. "Other alchemists hunt down Fire-type Demonic Beasts and harvest their ’Beast Fire.’ And then... there is Heavenly Fire."

A look of deep reverence crossed Elder Qin’s face.

"Heavenly Fires are natural, heaven-defying treasures ranked from 1 to 100. Even the 100th ranked fire is rare. Possessing one allows a cultivator absolute mastery over flames, regardless of their spiritual root."

Elder Qin smiled warmly at Su Bai.

"Wood is wood, Martial Nephew. You may not have Fire, but your Wood root might still allow you to feel the life force of the plants. I believe you can succeed here."

"Thank you for the comprehensive onboarding, Elder Qin," Su Bai replied.

Just as they approached the grand, sweeping doors of the Alchemy Hall, a deafening sound violently interrupted the tour.

BOOM!

An explosion of black smoke blasted out of the hall’s windows. It rattled the stone pillars.

Elder Qin’s face instantly paled. He sprinted into the hall, with Su Bai calmly following behind.

When they stepped through the smoke, Elder Qin froze in sheer horror. Standing in the center of the room, completely covered in black soot, was Liu Meng.

Her entire batch of precious medicinal pills had been reduced to a bubbling, highly toxic sludge.

Elder Qin’s jaw dropped. He had just finished bragging to Su Bai that his star pupil had never failed a single batch of alchemy in her life! This was a direct, humiliating slap to his pride!

When Liu Meng wiped the soot from her eyes and saw Su Bai standing in the doorway, her face instantly lit up with a brilliant, beaming smile.

She reached into the cauldron, grabbed a handful of the bubbling, toxic black pill dregs, and practically skipped over to him.

"Senior Brother Su! You’re here!" she cheered happily. She held up the lump of absolute garbage like it was a gold medal. "Look! I failed! Hehe!"

To Su Bai, looking at that lump of highly concentrated, chaotic poison made him gulp with genuine hunger.

To Elder Qin, looking at his star pupil proudly presenting her failure to a guest was the ultimate act of insolent rebellion.

Elder Qin’s face turned bright purple. First, she didn’t even greet him! Second, she was actually bragging about failing!

Just as the Elder opened his mouth to unleash a terrifying scolding, Su Bai moved.

He reached out and gently ruffled Liu Meng’s soot-covered hair.

"Thank you, Junior Sister," Su Bai said softly. "But you don’t have to purposefully ruin your perfect record just for my sake. Elder Qin was just praising your flawless technique. I will still have to rely on your guidance later."

At those words, Liu Meng’s breath hitched. She stared up at him with wide eyes. She looked exactly like a kid who had just been caught trying to rig a game.

Behind them, the terrifying anger instantly vanished from Elder Qin’s face. It was replaced by a sudden, profound dawn of understanding.

’Ah...’ Elder Qin thought. His eyes softened as he looked at the two disciples.

Suddenly, it all made sense. Su Bai was a crippled genius about to attempt a difficult art. Liu Meng didn’t want him to feel insecure about his inevitable failures. So, she deliberately blew up her own cauldron to show him that "even geniuses fail," ruining her own perfect record just to protect his pride!

That’s what the elder thought.

’Ha. Young people,’ Elder Qin sighed internally. He wiped an, imaginary tear from his eye. ’What a sweet, considerate child my disciple is...’

With his pride completely restored, Elder Qin stepped forward and cleared his throat gently.

He pulled a jade token from his sleeve and handed it to Su Bai. "Martial Nephew Su. With this token, you may access the Alchemy Hall at any time. No need for formalities."

Then, he turned to Liu Meng. "Meng’er, you are officially assigned to guide your Senior Brother through his training from now on."

Liu Meng beamed so brightly she practically glowed through the soot. "Yes, Master!"

Both of them bowed deeply as Elder Qin tactfully excused himself.

Now officially cleared for work, Liu Meng happily grabbed Su Bai’s sleeve to guide him toward his assigned workstation. But as she pulled him along, Su Bai mentally opened his interface.

It was time to reap his onboarding bonus.

"System," Su Bai thought. "Sign in."

[Ding! Signed in at Verdant Peak (Alchemy Hall).]

[Reward: Heavenly Fire Rank 99 - The ’Verdant-Ember Origin Flame’]

Su Bai completely stopped walking. His eyes widened in sheer disbelief.