Chapter 113: Aldric’s Influence

Rhain stepped through the grand doors of the Mirravele Alchemy Guild.

Because he was wearing the Faceless Emperor Mask, appearing as the same middle-aged man who had caused an total uproar days prior, the guild attendants recognized him instantly.

No one dared to stop him.

A senior attendant immediately rushed forward, bowing so deeply his forehead nearly touched the floor, and respectfully guided Rhain to the Guild Master’s private hall.

The moment the heavy doors clicked shut behind him, Aldric, who had been pacing anxiously, immediately dropped to one knee.

"Disciple greets Master!" Aldric said, his voice brimming with reverence.

"Rise," Rhain instructed calmly, walking over to take the seat in the hall. "I assume from your message that my requests have been fulfilled?"

"Yes, Master!"

Aldric quickly stood up. He retrieved a dark silver spatial ring from his robes and offered it to Rhain with both hands. "I have utilized every connection and resource the Mirravele branch possesses. All the herbs you requested are inside."

Rhain took the ring and sent a wisp of his Spiritual Sense into it.

Inside the spatial dimension, mountains of meticulously organized wooden boxes and containers floated quietly.

He quickly scanned the contents.

’Perfect.’

Not only had Aldric procured every single Rare-Grade and Epic-Grade herb on the list, but the quality of the ingredients was absolutely pristine.

The roots were perfectly preserved, and the spiritual energy within them was incredibly dense.

Furthermore, the quantity was nearly twenty percent more than what Rhain had originally demanded.

"You have done well, Aldric," Rhain nodded, genuinely satisfied with Aldric’s efficiency. "Your work exceeds my expectations."

With his supply of herbs secured, his soul power, and cultivation would experience a monumental leap.

Hearing his Master’s praise, Aldric’s face brimmed with deep pride. "To serve Master is my greatest honor! I had personally inspected every single stalk."

Rhain set the ring aside and shifted his attention to the second matter. "And what of your own progress? I gave you fifteen days to comprehend the five Epic-Grade pill formulas. How far have you reached?"

At the mention of his alchemical progress, the bright smile on Aldric’s face instantly collapsed.

His shoulders slumped, and a look of deep shame and disappointment washed over his aged features.

He lowered his head like a scolded child.

"Master... this disciple is truly dull," Aldric sighed bitterly. "Even after shutting myself in the refining chamber and trying day and night without a single wink of sleep since you left... I have only been able to successfully refine one of the five Epic-Grade pills you gave me."

He clenched his fists, thoroughly ashamed of his own incompetence. "The theoretical annotations you provided were so divine and flawless, yet my hands simply failed to keep up. I have disappointed you."

For an ordinary Master Rank Alchemist, successfully comprehending and refining a brand-new Epic-Grade pill in just a few days would be a miracle worth celebrating with a grand banquet.

But in front of Rhain, Aldric felt entirely useless.

Rhain merely shook his head.

To be completely honest, he was actually quite surprised that Aldric had managed to successfully refine even one Epic-Grade pill in such a short amount of time.

But playing the role of a strict, unfathomable Emperor Alchemist, Rhain did not offer any empty comfort.

Instead, he demanded Aldric explain the failures he had encountered during his refinement attempts.

Rhain spent the next twenty minutes explaining each of the four remaining formulas, identifying the precise obstacles Aldric was encountering, and providing targeted solutions for each.

Once Aldric finally recovered from his profound epiphanies, he wiped a tear of gratitude from his eye and respectfully transitioned to the second task.

"Master, regarding the Core Formation Realm experts you requested... I have reached out to my old acquaintances from the Inner Province," Aldric reported, his tone turning serious. "Many were occupied with their own reasons, but seven Core Formation experts have agreed to come."

Rhain’s eyes narrowed slightly, a ripple of genuine surprise passing through his mind.

Seven Core Formation Realm experts? 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

That was a frightening lineup.

Ashvele Clan and Solari Clan combined barely possessed six such experts.

Seven Core Formation powerhouses were more than enough force to effortlessly wipe any of the Three Great Clans off the map in a single afternoon.

"They arrived earlier this morning," Aldric continued respectfully. "To avoid drawing the attention of City Lord Cassian, I housed them at a secluded mountain peak just outside the city borders. They are eagerly waiting to meet you."

"Good. I will meet them right now," Rhain stood up. "But first, I need to do something else."

Rhain turned his head toward the heavy dark-gold cauldron sitting in the corner of the private hall.

"I will borrow your cauldron for a moment. I need to prepare a few gifts for them."

Aldric’s eyes lit up with sheer ecstasy. "Please, Master!"

Rhain sat cross-legged before the Epic-Grade cauldron.

With a flick of his wrist, a dazzling array of Epic-Grade herbs flew out of his newly acquired spatial ring.

For the next hour, Aldric held his breath, watching with unblinking reverence.

Heavenly Flame effortlessly purified the Epic-Grade herbs in seconds, stripping away every microscopic impurity.

Inside the cauldron, the raging medicinal essence was perfectly tamed under Rhain’s control.

He was pushing his soul power to its current limit to refine a batch of Epic-Grade pills.

Rumble!

A deafening roar of thunder came from above.

Boom!

A blinding pillar of lightning tore through the sky, smashing harmlessly against the massive defensive arrays Aldric had preemptively activated around the pagoda.

Clang!

The heavy dark-gold lid flew open.

Seven dazzling streaks of light shot out, landing perfectly into Rhain’s palm.

Aldric practically stopped breathing.

They were Epic-Grade pills.

Flawless, one-hundred-percent purity.

And etched perfectly across the surface of each pill was the legendary, leaf-like swirl of a Pill Vein.

Rhain simply stored the pills into small jade bottles and stood up.

"Let’s go."

_______________

Thirty miles outside Mirravele City.

A secluded, jagged mountain peak pierced through the thick sea of grey clouds.

The wind howled fiercely at this altitude, yet the atmosphere atop the peak was stiflingly heavy.

Atop the rocky summit, six figures stood, with their cultivation bases ranging from the third to the sixth level of the Core Formation Realm.

None of them intentionally released their auras, yet the sheer, passive pressure rolling off their bodies was enough to make the surrounding space heavy.

Any single one of them possessed enough destructive power to heavily cripple a Great Clan.

Yet, at this moment, none of them carried the arrogance of an overlord.

They stood quietly, occasionally speaking to exchange a few words.

"To think Old Aldric would cash in his life-favors all at once," a scholarly-looking man at the fourth level of the Core Formation Realm murmured, stroking his chin. "In the urgent message, he didn’t specify the reason. Did he mention what the important task was to any of you?"

’No," an elderly woman holding a wooden staff replied, her Level 6 Core Formation aura keeping the freezing wind miles away from her body. "He simply stated that it was a matter of utmost gravity. An opportunity to assist a supreme figure."

"A supreme figure?" A burly man carrying a broadsword snorted lightly. "Aldric is already a Master Rank Alchemist. For him to use the word ’supreme’... could it be that a Grandmaster has graced this desolate Outer Frontier?"

None of them knew what kind of monumental crisis had occurred in the Outer Frontier to warrant such a gathering.

But suddenly, the eldery woman’s eyes sharpened.

"They are here."

The six experts ceased their conversation, turning their gazes toward the mountain path.

Rhain and Aldric touched down on the edge of the peak.

"Brother Aldric!" they greeted in unison, their tones carrying the deep respect owed to a Master Rank Alchemist.

But their eyes quickly shifted to the middle-aged man standing casually beside him.

Aldric had actually taken a half-step behind this stranger, adopting the evident, subservient posture of a junior!

Rhain’s disguised dark grey eyes calmly swept over the six gathered powerhouses.

’Two at the third level... three at the fourth level... and that man holding the broadsword at the sixth level of the Core Formation Realm.’

"No wonder no one in their right mind dares to make an enemy of an Alchemist,’ Rhain thought inwardly. ’Just a single Master Rank Alchemist can casually summon a force capable of obliterating any of Mirravele City’s Three Great Clans. If an Emperor Alchemist truly wished it, they could probably summon an army to flatten an entire dynasty.’

Just as Aldric was about to speak, a sharp, ear-piercing cry suddenly tore through the sky.

SCREECH—!

The sound was so deafening that the surrounding clouds were forcefully blown away.

The six Core Formation experts, Rhain, and Aldric, all looked up.

Descending rapidly from the heavens was a colossal blue eagle, its massive wings casting a dark shadow over the entire mountain peak.

The oppressive beast aura rolling off its body was staggering—a fifth level Core Formation Realm Spirit Beast!

And standing proudly on the back of this beast was a towering, heavily muscular man.

He wore a sleeveless martial robe that left his thick, bulging arms looking like literal tree trunks corded with veins.

But it was the oppressive, suffocating aura rolling off his body that made the other six experts subconsciously take a step back.

Seventh level of the Core Formation Realm!