Conversing as they walked, the two unknowingly arrived before a humble cottage.

  It was a quaint structure of weather-beaten timber, cloaked in a velvet layer of verdant moss. From the exterior, it appeared cramped—scarce sixty square meters in area—simple to the point of being dilapidated. Yet, to the discerning eye, this was clearly a facade maintained by Spatial Folding Enchantments. For a senior Official Wizard, a residence could never truly be so confined.

  They halted before the wooden door.

  Yuna stepped forward, her fingertips tapping lightly against the grain of the wood in a specific rhythmic cadence.

  Creak.

  With a groan of protesting hinges, the door swung inward of its own accord. Behind it lay no cozy interior, but an abyssal darkness that seemed to devour all light.

  Yuna glanced back at Pierce, signaling him to keep close, before stepping boldly into the void.

  As Pierce had anticipated, the moment they passed through the spatial membrane, a breathtakingly vast independent Demi-Plane unfurled before his eyes.

  The first thing to arrest his gaze was a colossal greenhouse courtyard. The medicinal beds lining the path were teeming with rare botanical wonders, flora so scarce they were virtually myths in the outside world.

  Emerald Grass swayed in a windless breeze, emitting a soft, rhythmic fluorescence; Dew-Condensing Blooms bore eternal, crystal-clear droplets upon their petals; Serpent-Bone Grass writhed slowly in the soil like living vipers; Howling Vines occasionally emitted low, guttural growls; and the crimson-hued Red-Note Bamboo played a haunting melody as the air moved through its hollow stems.

  Pierce recognized thirty or forty distinct species of extremely precious alchemical materials at a glance. Any single stalk here would fetch a price of at least a hundred Magic Stones on the black market.

  He could not help but feel a pang of intense envy.

  For an Arcanist dedicated to the pursuit of Truth, possessing such a private herb garden was nothing short of the ultimate dream.

  Passing through the courtyard and a corridor draped in cascading wisteria, a vast plain revealed itself to Pierce.

  The immense open space was meticulously divided into hundreds of square plots, each cultivated with magical plants of varying attributes and growth cycles. Tending to these delicate organisms were handsome Elves, their long, pointed ears twitching as they worked.

  It was Pierce's first time beholding a true Elf. He could not resist stealing a few extra glances.

  It had to be said, this race possessed a unique advantage in aesthetics. Even the most common Elven gardener possessed a beauty that would be considered peerless in human society.

  However, in stark contrast to their stunning exteriors, these Elves lacked potent magical fluctuations.

  In this cruel multiverse, beauty without the strength to defend itself was often little more than a prelude to tragedy.

  As Pierce and Yuna passed, the Elves merely glanced up, their eyes holding a trace of indifference and alienation, before bowing their heads to resume their toil.

  Conversely, a swarm of colorful Fey fluttered over, dancing around the duo with curious gazes.

  Perhaps sensing the contractual aura of Little Yi upon Pierce, these diminutive spirits were particularly affectionate toward him. A few of the bolder ones even leaned in to brush against his cheek, drawing a surprised glance from Yuna.

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  Crossing the plain, a majestic grey stone castle loomed ahead.

  Led by Yuna, who knew the path by heart, they soon arrived before a chamber on the castle’s second floor.

  The door stood open.

  The air inside was thick with the acrid tang of mineral salts mingling with the bitterness of herbs. A long alchemy table dominated the room, cluttered with a dense array of apparatus: retorts, condensers, crucibles, and separatory funnels.

  An old man clad in a grey linen robe stood with his back to the door, seemingly engaged in a precise alchemical operation. The rhythmic bubbling of boiling liquid echoed in the silence.

  "Come in."

  Morven spoke without turning his head, his voice hoarse and resonant, like grinding stones.

  Yuna and Pierce entered as bid, standing quietly to the side, daring not to make a sound that might disturb the delicate experiment.

  Five minutes later.

  As a puff of pale blue smoke rose from the vessel, Morven completed the final extraction. He casually sealed the freshly brewed potion into a crystal vial before slowly turning around.

  It was a face withered by time yet burning with vitality. Within his deeply sunken sockets, a pair of grey-brown eyes shone with a light capable of penetrating the soul.

  He glanced at Pierce indifferently, his question direct and sharp.

  "How many potions have you mastered?"

  Pierce answered respectfully, "Three."

  "Which three?"

  "Elixir of Brute Force, Antidote, and Potion of Vitality."

  Yuna looked at Pierce in surprise.

  She remembered clearly that Pierce had only been studying Alchemy for a month and a half at most.

  In such a short span, he had already mastered three basic potions?

  One had to understand that in the rigorous definition of Alchemy, "mastering" did not mean succeeding occasionally by luck. It implied a stable success rate of over thirty percent. Only then did one dare use such a word.

  Morven's expression remained immovable, his rock-hard face betraying no emotion. He gestured to the apparatus on the table and spoke lightly.

  "The equipment here is for your use. You may retrieve whatever materials you require from the shelves yonder."

  "I want you to brew one vial of each of these three potions. Here. Now."

  "Any problems?"

  Pierce was momentarily stunned, then nodded slightly.

  "No problem."

  With that, he turned and walked toward the shelves in the corner, which were laden with various reagents.

  Yuna’s eyes widened in shock. She could not fathom why her mentor, usually so fastidious, would suddenly wish to test Pierce’s practical skills.

  But as she recovered her senses, a frown creased her brow.

  The mentor detested dishonesty and exaggeration above all else. Pierce had spoken with such confidence; if he failed to brew the three potions, or if his success rate was abysmal, he would undoubtedly earn the mentor's disdain—perhaps even be expelled from the garden entirely.

  Unaware of Yuna’s internal panic, Pierce walked calmly to the shelves.

  The materials were numerous, yet arranged with meticulous order, categorized by property, with scientific nomenclatures and origins clearly labeled.

  In a short while, he had selected the necessary ingredients for all three potions.

  However, he took only two portions of materials for each recipe.

  Seeing the meager quantity Pierce selected, Morven raised an eyebrow slightly, a trace of surprise flashing in his deep eyes.

  Yuna smiled bitterly in secret.

  Why is this Junior Brother so arrogant?! Why not take a few extra portions as a safeguard? Does he believe he can succeed within two attempts? If he fails both, his standing with the mentor will be ruined.

  The equipment on the table was comprehensive, even including an expensive Magic Stone Thermostat Lamp.

  However, brewing these unranked basic potions required no such high-end apparatus. Pierce selected only the fundamental tools: a mortar, a beaker, and a stirring rod.

  After arranging them according to his habits, Pierce took a deep breath and began.

  He chose the Elixir of Brute Force—the one he was most familiar with—as his first demonstration.

  With the aid of the Eye of Omniscience, he had simulated this brewing process countless times in his mind and practiced it physically over a hundred times. Every step, every critical inflection point of thermal control, was already ingrained in his heart.

  Furthermore, with the Eye of Omniscience precisely monitoring the molecular changes in the components and the liquid's temperature in real-time... the entire process proceeded with exceptional smoothness.

  Trituration. Extraction. Fusion. Purification.

  Pierce's movements were fluid and seamless, without a single superfluous pause.

  Yuna, who had been worried initially, watched with widening eyes, her expression gradually shifting to one of utter shock.

  She was intimately familiar with the Elixir of Brute Force, having brewed it no less than a thousand times herself, achieving a success rate of forty percent.

  But in this moment, she was stunned to find that Pierce's operation was even more fluent and refined than her own. It possessed a coherent beauty, as if he were performing a work of art rather than a chemical procedure.

  That control of rhythm... it did not resemble the fumbling of a novice, but rather the dexterity of a veteran immersed in this path for decades.

  Morven's expression also shifted, shedding its previous indifference. A light glowed in his deep eyes—the joy of discovering an unpolished gem.

  Ten minutes later.

  With the final stir completed, Pierce carefully decanted the viscous fluid—which resembled liquid ruby—into a test tube and sealed it with a cork.

  A vial of Elixir of Brute Force was complete.

  Pierce placed the potion on the rack beside him, preparing to clean the vessel for the next brew.

  However, in the next second, the vial vanished, reappearing instantly in Morven's hand.

  Mage Hand.

  Morven first held the potion against the light, observing its pure, transparent hue. Then, he removed the cork and leaned in to take a light sniff.

  His eyes narrowed slightly.

  "There is still some rigidity in the transitions, and the coordination of spiritual resonance has slight flaws, causing a minor waste in the volatilization of the medicinal properties..."

  Although Morven's voice remained stern, his tone had visibly softened.

  "But overall, it is excellent."

  "This level of completion is fully up to the standard of Perfect Quality."

  He placed the potion back on the table and nodded slightly to Pierce. Finally, a trace of approval broke through his stoic mask.

  "Pierce."

  "Your talent in Alchemy... is very good."

  Yuna listened, dazed. She looked at Pierce, her heart pounding with shock.

  He succeeded in brewing the Elixir of Brute Force in a single attempt?

  And it is of Perfect Quality?!

  It turns out this seemingly ordinary Junior Brother of mine... is actually a deeply hidden alchemy genius?!