A small ball swirled around her, lightly illuminating her dark room. May had been playing with it for a few days, but as Daren Wu had said, it didn't have many functions. However, it provided quite good lighting for the room, certainly better than a regular candle. Sadly, it consumed enormous amounts of Qi.

  She read a few chapters from various books on summoning spirits and learned that if she fed it regularly, it might eventually evolve.

  “It could happen in a second, or in a hundred years...” she said with a sigh.

  “It's better if it doesn't evolve now,” Minnie interjected. “Have you already forgotten what that guy said? Your soul couldn't handle anything stronger...”

  “You're right too,” she nodded in agreement. “But it's definitely annoying that it's wasting my Qi.”

  “Come on! You have plenty of it, not to mention your absurd regeneration rate!”

  Minnie was quite correct in this case. Thanks to the thousand-year-old ginseng pill she got from Scar, her Qi regeneration rate was intimidating. When a normal cultivator uses up all their Qi, it usually takes about twenty-four hours to fully regenerate, but May had her full Qi reserves back in just a few hours. Such was the magic of Pseudo-Legendary items.

  “Anyway, it's already past midnight... Why aren't you asleep yet?” Minnie finally asked, surprised by the girl's unusual behavior. Usually, she was fast asleep at this time of night.

  “I don't have much time during the day,” she replied briefly. “Besides, you know what happened recently...”

  “You mean the twins...?”

  May nodded quietly. Just a day ago, shocking news had spread throughout the academy. The brilliant siblings had reached the seventh stage of Qi Refinement.

  In the Eastern Court, they could even be teachers at the local academy.

  Many people did not reach this stage even after graduating from Cloud Academy, which made it even more absurd that they had achieved it in their first year.

  “I've neglected my cultivation. I won't reach the seventh stage today... But I want to at least reach the peak of the sixth stage. I should be close.” She said quietly, feeling a slight regret that she had spent so little time on cultivation lately.

  However, it also had its advantages... The first money from the sale of penicillin began to slowly flow in, and it seemed that a craze for it would soon begin.

  “Thanks to this cash injection, I can afford to do a little shopping... Even if I don't have time for self-cultivation, so what? I can make up for it by spending the money I've earned! Praise the system!”

  May opened the store and started shopping! She was extremely keen to ensure that the gap between her and her twins did not widen any further.

  It was the first item she had purchased. It had the best price-quality ratio and was reliable. She felt that its effectiveness should be sufficient. Then she bought a second item that would help her today.

  According to Minnie's explanation, this should improve her cultivation rate almost tenfold... This was due to the strength of her soul, which exceeded the norm. There was nothing else that could produce such enormous results for such a (relatively) small price!

  The amount she spent on today's cultivation session was large, especially the price of the second item, but she was willing to pay it. Money was meant to be spent, and power was something indispensable in this world.

  Knowing that she didn't have much time, May took the pill, swallowing it with a bitter and astringent elixir. She felt a strange reaction in her stomach, as if acid had risen to her throat. She struggled to keep from vomiting.

  She breathed deeply and felt dizzy. Only after a few minutes did the side effects subside and she felt relief.

  She felt a change in her body. It must have been the effect of the potion. She felt enlightened, and her body held no secrets from her. She knew exactly which parts of her body were too weak and which were too strong. Which meridians were contaminated and which were fine.

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  She sat on the floor, leaning against the bed. She began to cultivate and immediately noticed the difference. The effect of combining these two items was certainly too amazing.

  It was a bit like switching the camera from first-person to third-person mode. Cultivation was always a foggy process, but now it was going smoothly. It was still physically demanding, but her progress was enormous.

  Before she knew it, the first hour had passed. She had completely lost track of time. Her impression was that she had only just begun. However, even in such a short time, she had achieved more than she had in the last month.

  She didn't care about her fatigue at the moment. Her body was still capable of enduring a lot more. At least, that's what she believed.

  After many hours of cultivation, she finally opened her eyes, knowing that she had successfully entered the final minor stage before the seventh stage of Qi Refinement.

  She threw herself onto the bed, looking at her new status. She had the day off tomorrow, so she could indulge herself. Even though her responsibilities at Fleming's Company still weighed on her, as she was at a crucial moment.

  Despite her fatigue, she couldn't help but smile. Even though the twins had overtaken her, she wasn't far from the seventh stage. Not to mention that she had managed to acquire her first C-class skill! The alchemist's hard work had paid off, causing her ability to evolve. May also felt that this meant she was close to obtaining her first Path...

  Having a path was extremely important. It was a significant indicator of how developed you were in a given path. However, it was not an empty title, but a real achievement that strengthened your understanding and mastery of the techniques of a given path. It was a significant difference that distinguished novices from true cultivators.

  She was already close to the ordinary level in the Alchemy Path. She felt that she would reach it soon.

  Normally, the Ordinary stage of the path was reached around the age of twenty, assuming that it was the only path that a person was pursuing. If someone had been exclusively involved in blacksmithing since childhood, they should have reached the first stage after twenty years.

  The next stage, becoming a Quasi-Master, was rarer. It required passion and complete dedication. Sometimes even a whole lifetime.

  The stage of the path to the Master level was extremely rare. Basically, only people at the Foundation Establishment stage could achieve it, as only they could live long enough. That's why her master, Hua Tang, was amazing; he reached the Master level in alchemy.

  However, I am also close to the Ordinary level... It will certainly cause quite a sensation.

  What exactly did the Paths mastery tiers mean?

  It was about understanding and overall power.

  Comparing it to mathematics, someone without any path could understand a given mathematical problem in, say, ten hours, but a master of a given path, even if previously unfamiliar with that field of mathematics, could understand it in just an hour!

  That was what mastery of a path was all about. Understanding the meaning of a given field and the ease of learning its subsequent stages. That's why May was so keen on it.

  ───── ??☆?? ─────

  “May Shang, please follow me,” said an unknown man with broad shoulders and a shaved head. He was definitely not one of her professors, nor anyone she had met before.

  “We're on our way to a lecture on basic formation construction... I'm afraid Professor Huea would not be pleased with her absence,” Peng Chen, who was walking right next to her, replied calmly on her behalf. “She is quite well known for not liking latecomers, so I'm afraid that...”

  Before he could finish, the man interrupted him with a cold and commanding voice. May felt a chill run down her spine.

  “That was not a request.”

  May and Peng were on their way to class. May had no idea what this was about. After all, she hadn't done much in the last few days...

  “Can I at least ask what this is about?”

  The man clearly didn't want to answer her, but seeing that many other students were watching them, even someone who looked so menacing succumbed to the pressure of their gazes. He had no intention of making a scene here, so he replied calmly.

  “Someone wants to see you. We're going to the principal's office,” he replied. “As for Professor Huea, you don't have to worry about her, the matter will be taken care of.”

  May was surprised by his words. She had no idea what he was talking about. The only thing on her mind was that she had been skipping classes a lot lately. Could it be that the principal finally had a problem with it, even with her support in the form of Master Hua Tang?

  The principal of Cloud Academy is, after all, High Elder Shen Baoxu... I've never met him on the academy grounds, but from what I know, he is not fond of the descendants of mages. He only accepts them into the academy from time to time because that was a requirement from above. And now he has finally found a reason to mistreat me?

  “Interesting theory,” Minnie suddenly interjected, interrupting her thoughts as she followed the mysterious man to the principal’s office. “But consider his words. He only said that you would meet a person in the principal's office. Don't you think that's a strange way to phrase it if you were just going to meet the principal?”

  After a moment's thought, May had to admit she was right. If she were only meeting Elder Shen Baoxu, he would have simply said that the principal was summoning her. However, he didn't do that and used a more specific term.

  Well, it doesn't matter, I'll find out what's going on in a moment anyway…

  Following the man, she entered the room and crossed the threshold of the massive oak doors. She had never been here before, but it was very different from the rest of the academy. It was luxurious and opulent.

  They walked through a hallway lined with stuffed heads and furs of animals ranging from common deer to griffins and wyverns. May looked around and saw various types of skulls and bones. It wasn't hard to guess this room owner's hobby.

  Finally, the man stood by the door at the end of the hallway and said, “Come in.”

  May walked past him and opened the door. The sun's rays hit her eyes and blocked her view of the people in the room. She raised her hand slightly and narrowed her eyes, trying to block the sun's rays. Soon after, she was able to see who was in the room.

  She quickly and nervously bowed respectfully. “Humble cultivator May Shang greets the esteemed leader of the sect.”

  Standing right in front of her was Xinsu Yun, the sect leader. She knew what he looked like because she had already seen him during the Cloud Academy admission celebration. Next to him was the school principal, while her master, Hua Tang, was standing by the window.

  “May Shang, I want you to answer truthfully,” said the sect leader solemnly. His gaze was piercing and terrifying. “Do you understand?

  “Of course, Honorable Leader,” May replied calmly. She would not dare to lie in his presence. After all, he might have some ability to detect lies. “I will only tell the truth.”

  “Very well, then. Now tell me, do you know what this is?” he asked, suddenly holding something out in his hand. May looked at it closely with anxiety.

  May finally saw what he was holding in his hand. It was a small pill containing penicillin. She frowned.