Since becoming a disciple under Su Qingxue, Li Mengze’s life at the academy gained a new major subject—alchemy.

The Pill Hall was nestled deep within the Orchid Garden, inside an elegant courtyard, where the soothing scent of medicinal herbs lingered year-round.

Su Qingxue’s teaching style was just like her personality—gentle and meticulous, like spring rain nurturing everything quietly.

“Mengze, the way of alchemy begins with knowing herbs. All things under heaven have their nature—some cold, some hot;

some warm, some dry. Today, I will teach you to distinguish the two most basic herbs.”

On the stone table lay two plants that looked remarkably similar. One had leaves like dragon whiskers, swaying lightly with the breeze;

the other had leaves divided into five branches, resembling tiger claws.

“These two are called ‘Dragon Whisker Grass’ and ‘Tiger Claw Fern.’ The former has a gentle nature and calms the mind;

the latter is domineering and activates blood circulation. Their appearances are alike and easy to confuse. Take a careful look and tell me their differences,” Su Qingxue said softly.

Li Mengze leaned in, sniffing first. Dragon Whisker Grass carried a fresh scent like grass after rain, while Tiger Claw Fern mixed in a faint, almost imperceptible earthy fishy odor.

“Teacher, their smells are different.”

“Correct.” Su Qingxue nodded with approval. “Eyes, ears, nose, tongue, touch, and mind—all are methods to identify herbs. Now touch them with your hands.”

Li Mengze stretched out his small hand and gently touched the leaves. Dragon Whisker Grass felt warm and smooth, while Tiger Claw Fern’s edges had a slight trace of fine prickles.

“This one pricks the hand.”

As a descendant of Druids with an innate affinity for nature and possessing a high-grade Wood Spirit Root, when his fingertips touched the herbs, a faint life energy flowed between them.

He could “feel” that Dragon Whisker Grass’s vitality was calm and soothing, whereas Tiger Claw Fern radiated a bold liveliness.

“Well said.” Su Qingxue’s eyes shone with satisfaction. “Mengze, you truly have extraordinary talent in the way of herbs. Ordinary disciples take repeated memorization over several days to tell the two apart, but you grasped the key at first sight.”

Hearing this, Li Mengze quickly lowered his head, his cheeks slightly flushed, wearing a humble expression of “I just got lucky,” while inwardly thinking: ‘Dad was right. Concealing talent is truly an art. If you don’t handle it just right, you’ll easily expose yourself.’

He remembered his father’s advice well and perfectly played the role of a “disciple with good spirit root talent but slightly poor comprehension, needing diligence to make up for it.”

He left early and returned late, neatly copying down every herbology principle Su Qingxue taught, reciting them repeatedly.

Whenever he encountered something unclear, he asked humbly. This earnestness made Su Qingxue grow increasingly fond of him.

Yet his “low profile” appeared differently to some.

Wang Teng, Liu Kai, and Zhao Yi—also alchemy disciples with some influence among the common students—loved to flatter the powerful and belittle others.

Seeing Su Qingxue favor Li Mengze so much, they only thought the boy was lucky, and their jealousy and hatred grew.

“Yo, isn’t this our Big Young Master Li? Why are you still memorizing herb charts?”

Li Mengze was reviewing in the corridor when Wang Teng’s sarcastic voice sounded. “They say you have a high-grade spirit root, but it’s almost been a month and you still haven’t memorized the basic hundred herbs chart? Seeing is believing, huh!”

“Wang Teng, watch your mouth!” Zhang Ao frowned and scolded.

Since being ambushed by Lin Feng last time, Zhang Ao had restrained his temper and surprisingly became friends with the taciturn Li Mengze.

“Am I wrong?” Liu Kai sneered. “If he wasn’t sucking up to Teacher Su, she wouldn’t even glance at him!”

“Exactly!” Wang Teng chimed in. “Following Teacher Su around all day, sweet-talking like he’s smeared in honey, but in reality, he’s a paper tiger, a disgrace to the academy!”

The eight joined in with harsh words.

Li Pingcan just looked up sharply, glanced at them fiercely, said nothing, then returned to his book as if hearing nothing special.

My appearance of indifference made the eight seem like their insults landed on cotton, and it felt so suffocating it was infuriating.

“Enough! Shut up!”

Zhang Ao couldn’t stand it anymore and stood in front of Li Mengze. “Mengze is just low-key and dislikes fighting. If you’ve got the guts, prove it at the end-of-month alchemy contest. Talking big here means nothing.”

Wang Teng and the others turned pale and flushed repeatedly at his words, snorted coldly, and left.

“Mengze, don’t take it to heart.” Zhang Ao comforted.

“I’m fine.” Li Mengze shook his head, his face still calm, but deep in his clear eyes flashed a subtle doubt no one noticed.

He had been so low-key, yet why did some people still resent him?

Did being low-key mean being bullied?

That night, he lay in bed with this confusion and fell into a deep sleep.

His consciousness returned to the familiar Emerald Dream, where the usually lively green lights were unusually dim today.

In the center of the lake, on the white jade lotus platform.

Li Pingcan’s expression tightened, sensing the ripple-like confusion spreading in his son’s soul. He immediately understood what had happened during the day.

He smiled slightly, thinking about the troubles of growing up.

He sent a warm spiritual energy, like moonlight, gently falling onto Li Mengze’s spiritual light orb.

The dream constructed by his mind quietly enveloped him.

In Li Mengze’s dream, a peerless divine sword lay quietly sheathed in a plain scabbard.

The scabbard was not to show dullness, but to conceal its sharpness when not drawn, keeping it safe.

Yet when careless mosquitoes tried to provoke, the sword would flash forth its brilliance, instantly cutting down all evildoers beneath its blade.

Concealing sharpness is not dullness.

Low profile is not weakness.

An epiphany like clear spring water surged into Li Mengze’s heart.

When Li Mengze woke again, dawn was breaking outside the window. He felt well-rested and refreshed;

his confusion had been resolved.

“Thank you, Senior Dream…” he said silently.

He sat up, his clear eyes losing some childish bewilderment and gaining sharpness.

He knew what he must do.

...........

The academy’s end-of-month alchemy contest arrived on schedule.

This contest’s theme was alchemy.

The task was simple: refine the academy’s most basic first-grade low-tier pill—the Qi Gathering Pill.

Though low in grade, this pill was the best standard to test a novice alchemist’s fundamentals.

The quality of the pill was judged mainly by the pattern on its surface—the pill pattern—ranging from one to nine lines, with nine being the ultimate. Ordinary students barely managed to produce pills with a pattern.

The contest was divided into two stages: herb identification and pill refinement.

In the herb identification stage, dozens of herbs were mixed together, including many counterfeit ones with very similar shapes and smells. The students had to separate them all within one incense time.

Li Mengze approached steadily. Unlike others who picked up each herb to examine carefully, he closed his eyes and gently brushed his hands over the herbs.

The life energy of every herb was clearly presented in his perception.

Within half an incense time, he had sorted all the herbs with a 100% accuracy rate!

This move amazed the masters and students present.

Next came the pill refinement stage.

Li Mengze went to the pill furnace.

He did not rush but carefully processed every ingredient before igniting the fire to refine.

His movements were not flashy but steady like an old ox grazing grass.

One alchemist shook his head slightly: “Though he made no mistakes in herb identification, his ingredient processing is too slow. He might not finish refining on time.”

Master Chen shook his head. “His temperament is dull, not suited for alchemy.”

“Master Chen is right.” Another teacher agreed. “I watched his practice a few times;

his control of spiritual energy is awkward. It’s a pity for Teacher Su’s efforts.”

Su Qingxue smiled faintly at their words.

“You are mistaken,” she said softly. “The way of alchemy values focus and sincerity, not momentary skill. Mengze’s steady temperament and diligence are the most precious qualities for an alchemist. His current ‘slowness’ lays the firmest foundation for future speed. I believe his achievements will be extraordinary.”

The two teachers, seeing her insistence, said no more but shook their heads secretly, thinking Su Qingxue was deceived by the boy’s obedient appearance.

Li Mengze was unaware of their evaluations and focused solely on refining.

Finally, just before the contest ended, a faint, refreshing herbal fragrance wafted from the furnace.

“Open the furnace!”

With his soft command, the furnace lid opened.

At the bottom lay three round, plump pills emitting a faint cyan glow.

The judging master stepped forward, his expression full of surprise. “Qi Gathering Pill, three pills formed, all with pill patterns! Two have three lines, and one… actually has four lines!”

“Oh my! Four lines on a pill pattern! Am I seeing this right?”

“Wasn’t Li Mengze said to have trouble gathering energy before? How come…”

“This is a true alchemy genius!”

It was known that academy disciples rarely produced even one pill with a pattern;

making one with three lines earned the title of genius;

four lines proved the alchemist’s exquisite control of fire timing and herb properties!

Master Chen and others turned pale, embarrassed by how slowly their “honest” advice backfired. They had been the ones blind to true talent.

Zhao Yi and the other eight looked at Li Pingcan’s pills, their minds already in chaos, faces pale and flushed.

“How is this possible? Am I useless? Seven lines on my pills!”

The huge gap unsettled his heart;

when igniting the fire, his hand trembled, causing a fierce flame that burned the main ingredient to charcoal. The spreading blaze singed them all, curling even their eyebrows.

With a muffled bang, black smoke rose from the furnace, signaling failure.

The teacher recording the contest results glanced over and said coldly: “Wang Teng, Wang Teng, Liu Kai, Zhao Yi—three destroyed their pills, contest disqualified.”

Wang Teng’s face turned deathly pale. Another disqualification would mean expulsion from the Pill Hall for the fourteen-year-old!

“Haha!” Zhang Ao saw their “dead faces” and felt refreshed. Smiling, he walked to Li Mengze’s side. “Good kid, I knew you could do it! Let’s see if those guys still dare to gossip!”

“Hehe.” Li Mengze smiled and looked at the three.

Using his Insight into Good and Evil, the dense blackness in their aura was tinged with complex gray—the emotion called “cowardly avoidance.” They clearly remembered today’s lesson.

Feeling the surrounding respect and envy, he remained calm.

Showing some sharpness and winning third place in alchemy was indeed more effective than a hundred excuses.

...........

News of his nephew’s alchemy talent quickly spread back to Yunshui County.

Li Ping’an was handling official business when he suddenly paused, clapped his hands with laughter, feeling immensely happy.

“Good! Good! Good! The Li family has a successor!”

He put down the files, feeling all his recent fatigue swept away.

At that moment, a trusted aide hurried in holding a sealed letter stamped with the Mu family’s red wax seal.

“My lord, a letter from the Mu family.”

Li Ping’an took the letter and opened it, his smile shining brightly.

“Heaven helps me!”

The letter said that due to his outstanding achievements in Yunshui County over the years—both in taxation and public security—the prefecture officials praised him highly. With the Mu family’s backing, he had been officially promoted to Songling Prefecture.

Although only appointed as an official in the Prefecture’s Civil Affairs Department, a modest rank, it was a real step from the county level into the prefecture’s core circle!

The official he would assist was Chen Wangdao, the prefecture’s Civil Affairs Department’s senior official.

Chen was known for being practical and upright, highly valuing talented young people, an ally of the Mu family, and Li Ping’an’s greatest support in the prefectural political arena.

“Wanqiu, pack your bags. We… are going to the prefecture!”

Li Ping’an hurried home to share the good news with his wife.

“Really? Then we’ll be closer to Dad and the others!” Mu Wanqiu was overjoyed.

“Mom, we’re not living here anymore?” Li Nianhe heard the noise and ran over, tugging at her mother’s sleeve, her little face full of reluctance. “I still want to play with Brother Yuanhu.”

“Yeah, Mom, I don’t want to leave,” quietly said Li Nianjun, her eyes red.

Seeing the children’s reluctance, Mu Wanqiu’s joy was somewhat diluted, replaced by a mother’s tender helplessness.

She crouched down, embracing both children and soothing them softly.

The old Li family residence in Peach Blossom Village soon learned of Li Ping’an’s “promotion.”

Lady Qin busily prepared clothes and daily items for Li Ping’an’s family, from seasonal robes to everyday bowls and chopsticks—no detail overlooked.

Li Pingcan pulled his Second Brother into his study.

“Second Brother, going to the prefecture, politics is a battlefield;

people’s hearts are treacherous. You must have some protective treasures.” He said as he took out several items.

First were some talisman papers.

Divine Movement Talisman, Golden Blade Talisman, Protective Talisman—all finely adjusted so even mortals without spiritual energy could use them through the testing site’s destiny blessing.

Li Ping’an looked at the valuable talismans. “Where did you get so many treasures?”

Li Pingcan only smiled without answering, then took out a heart-protecting mirror made from Army Specter armor plates. “Don’t judge it by its looks. Ordinary swords and even treasured weapons can’t harm it in the slightest. Wear it close to your body;

it could save your life.”

He then stuffed a white jade porcelain bottle into Li Ping’an’s hands. “Inside are ‘Clear Heart Pills’ and ‘Body Strengthening Pills.’ The Clear Heart Pills cure all poisons—better safe than sorry.”

It was a pity that Divine Berries would lose effectiveness after twelve hours, or else he would have prepared some for Second Brother too.

Li Ping’an felt moved looking at the pile in his hands.

“You… take care as well.” He carefully stored the items.

“Don’t worry, Second Brother.” Li Pingcan smiled. “Your younger brother values his life!”

.............

While the adults worried about future safety, the children’s parting sorrows were purer.

In the backyard training ground,

Li Mengjin reluctantly handed his most treasured wooden sword, personally crafted by his father, to Sister Nianhe.

“This sword is powerful. Dad said it wards off evil.”

Li Nianhe’s eyes were red. She knew this wooden sword was Li Mengjin’s most beloved treasure, and he hardly ever let her touch it.

She took the sword and hugged it tightly, then pulled out a safety knot carefully woven with colorful threads from her little pouch.

“This is for you.” Her voice was choked with tears. “I prayed for your safety.”

Li Yuanhu, the little tough guy, also had red eyes. “If anyone bullies you, tell them your big brother is Li Yuanhu of Yunshui County! Anyone who bullies my sister won’t be spared anywhere in the world!”

Nearby, Li Yuanxi and Li Nianjun shyly exchanged gifts.

Li Yuanxi gave Li Nianjun the last vivid little sugar figurine he had kept for half a month and hadn’t dared to eat.

Li Nianjun gave Yuanxi her favorite illustrated storybook.

“Big Brother Yuanxi, if you miss me, just look at this book.”

“Mm!” Li Yuanxi nodded heavily, tears rolling uncontrollably in his eyes.

Five figures hugged tightly, crying as one.

Watching them, Jiang Ling’er and Mu Wanqiu couldn’t help but tear up.

The day of parting had finally come.

The entire Li family, old and young, came out to see them off.

“Ping’an, once at the prefecture, think carefully about everything;

don’t act rashly.” Li Rongzhou patted his son’s shoulder, eyes reluctant.

Lady Qin held Mu Wanqiu’s hand, tears streaming uncontrollably, stuffing a bulging package into her palm. “Inside are clothes and shoes your mother made, plus some local specialties—don’t dislike them…”

“Dad, Mom, take care.” Li Ping’an and Mu Wanqiu knelt down, respectfully kowtowing three times.

The carriage started slowly;

wheels rolled over the bluestone, making a “shalu gulu” sound.

“Second Uncle, goodbye!”

“Nianhe, sister, remember to write me letters!”

The children chased the carriage far until the luxurious vehicle disappeared beyond the old locust tree at the village entrance.

Li Pingcan stood still, watching the carriage fade away, sighing softly in his heart.

Today’s farewell—when will we meet again?