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Soon, the servant returned with what Zhao Xiuying had requested: five Pureroot, one Lightbloom, and three Tranquil Water drops. They were the materials needed to make a Cleansing Pill, a Mid-Grade pill that did exactly what its name implied: cleanse all status ailments on whoever consumes the pill.

But in order for that to succeed, the raw power of the Cleansing Pill had to be greater than that of the debuffing pill. In this case, not only was the Berserker Pill a whole rank higher (which usually would still be possible to cleanse), but it was also a Golden Pill crafted by me, amplifying its effects by tenfold.

Therefore, if Zhao Xiuying wanted to make this Cleansing Pill work... she too had to be a Golden Alchemist.

She blinked several times at the materials laid out in front of her, then sat down behind her low-laying desk and got to work. I watched intently as she closed her eyes, elegantly ignoring all other sounds and distractions, and focused solely on the refinement of this pill and this pill alone.

My eyes widened as a silver aura appeared around her body, similar to the one that surrounded me when I was refining Golden Pills, except mine was—well—golden.

Don't tell me... she really is similar to me in the Alchemic Way...?

I narrowed my eyes as the aura intensified, and the materials floated up from the tray and begin rapidly spinning in a circle between her two tender, nimble hands, one above and one below.

After several seconds, when the materials began to spin so fast I couldn't even make out their individuality anymore, the aura around Zhao Xiuying finally faded away, and in her hand was a beautiful, glimmering silver pill that rivaled my Golden ones.

Slowly, she opened her eyes, then stood up and turned to me, who could do nothing but stare at her, slack-jawed. Her movements in alchemy were practiced,  refined, and clearly just 'better' than mine. She was definitely a lot more experienced in the Alchemic Way than I was.

Well... looks like I found the answer to my question from earlier. Was this girl holding back just like I was? Of course she was...

After meeting my gaze for several seconds and staring into each other's souls, she blinked and bent down, then fed the pill into the old man's thrashing mouth. I wanted to warn her to be careful, but before the words even left my mouth, the old man's writhing suddenly stopped.

He swallowed the pill given to him, and his body froze up once more as it prepared for another transformation—this time, for the better. Then, after several seconds, he shook his body a bit, then realized he was bound to the ground... by me.

Turning his eyes up at me and narrowing them into a glare, I really couldn't be sure if the Cleansing Pill worked or not.

"... What is the meaning of this?" He demanded, voice dark and menacing.

Welp, he talked. Looks like it worked.

I sighed and undid the Vines of Binding, and the old man stood up from the ground before patting the dust that had gotten onto his long purple robes that radiated an air of royalty and dignity. Then, he turned to the girl standing beside me—Zhao Xiuying.

"... Young Lady Zhao, I apologize for troubling you. That was... unbecoming of me. I overestimated my abilities."

Zhao Xiuying blinked, then ignored the poor guy's apology and turned to me with that same blank expression.

But I knew what that look meant. She was saying, 'see?', in response to me doubting her abilities earlier. I took a deep breath.

"Yes, yes... I underestimated you. I never expected someone to be able to counteract my Golden Pills, though..."

"I, too, never, expected, someone, to be able to, refine pills, as strong, as I, can," she replied, eyes never once leaving mine.

Well, this is awkward.

Luckily, Mr. Old-Geezer-Who-Was-Just-A-Bloodthirsty-Beast-Moments-Ago was there to easen the atmosphere with his professional input.

"The Young Lady and only child of the Zhao Family, one of the Eight Great Families of Fragment, is also known as the 'Silver Queen' in honor of her exceptional alchemy skills and her strange silver pills," he explained. "This year, she just turned 18, making her eligible to enter the AAA as an alchemist. But to think there is another just as talented as she is..."

Hm... so from what I can tell, her silver pills aren't quite as strong as my Golden ones, though they do come close. However, her raw skill and experience in alchemy make up for that, granting her the ability to refine pills on par with my Golden ones.

"So, uh," I said, changing the topic. "Are we going to continue with the examination, or what...?"

"Yes," the old man replied, glancing around at the other contestants. "However... not you two."

Both Zhao Xiuying and I blinked at the same time, confused. But the old man merely smiled mysteriously.

"... Follow me. There is someone who I would like you to meet."

*****

After having the other contestants wait, the old man led us deeper inside the Ascended Alchemist Association Headquarters. The boy who had been on the other side of Zhao Xiuying was not happy to see his crush being led away with another man, but he couldn't do anything against the AAA. That was how big of a corporation it was, able to stand up even against the Great Families.

Zhao Xiuying and I walked side by side as we followed behind the old man silently. But... it was somewhat disturbing.

Why?

... Because she kept her gaze fixated on me the whole time, blinking at a calm, perfectly even pace.

I snuck glances at her just to see if she was still staring at me, and sure enough, every time I did that, she was there, looking at my face. She carried no hostility, only curiosity and interest.

Oh, this sucks... why don't you go do this to that guy who likes you? I'm sure he would enjoy this a lot, y'know?

But of course, I couldn't say this out loud. Thankfully, the walking trip was soon over as the old man came to a sudden stop, and I had to hurriedly grab Zhao Xiuying's hand to pull her back before she crashed into his back.

"Here we are," the man said, then knocked on the door in front of him. "Grandmaster Qian? I have brought two... especially interesting young alchemists."

Meanwhile, Zhao Xiuying was busy staring at her own hand in mine, and I self-consciously let go. She then shifted her gaze to my face, blinked several times, then finally turned away to observe her own hand that I had just grabbed.

This girl... she pays attention to the weirdest things. But I guess... that's kind of cute.

Not wanting to admit that though, I turned my attention away from her and on the grandiose double-doors that slowly opened up. No voice welcomed us in, but the old man in front of us didn't seem concerned. Instead, he turned around to face us, then stepped to one side, making way.

"Go on. Grandmaster Qian is waiting for you inside. He is... somewhat unorthodox, so mind what you say and do around him, but he  is  the top alchemist in the world."

In the Living Realm, you mean,  I corrected him inside my head, but didn't say it out loud.

With a nod, Zhao Xiuying and I entered the room through the open entrance, which was just wide enough to fit two people. The old man shut the door behind us, which I didn't like. On the contrary, Xiuying seemed perfectly unconcerned, which made me feel somewhat awkward.

Inside the room, there were no windows. The walls were shelves, filled with herbs and materials used for alchemy, and a pill furnace sat in the center of the room, with a good dozen of spares in the corner.

Ling Xin's godfather had told me about these pill furnaces before. They make batch-producing pills easier, if that's what you want to go for, but at the same time, they also allow fine-tuning and detailed pill refining that would otherwise be impossible with just your hands. This is because the furnace captures the energy of the materials and heats then stores them, and... uh, I stopped listening there.

Anyway, behind the pill furnace in the center of the room, an aged old man sat, stroking his long white beard. His eyes were closed, but he seemed to have noticed us coming.

"Hm... a boy and a girl, yes? Both quite young... how interesting. The girl, I'm guessing, is the young lady of the Zhao Family. But the boy...?"

I narrowed my eyes. "... How did you know it was a boy and a girl?"

"Hmph. I'm blind, kiddo," the old geezer chuckled. "But in return for that, my other senses have sharpened! Just based on your footsteps, I can tell you are a boy!"

He's... blind? Huh...

"Hm... do you have any connection with a girl named Qian Hua, perhaps?" I asked, taking my chances.

But in an instant, the old man teleported from where he was sitting and reappeared right in front of me, leaving behind nothing but an afterimage and waves of wind.

"... What have you done to my granddaughter?"

"Relax," I said, backing away with a gulp. "I attend the school she's student council president at, that's all."

Zhao Xiuying blinked at me. "I, go there, too."

Uh... great? I've never even seen her before, though... well, I guess she does like to blend in and tends to be alone.

"Hm... you have the smell of many girls on you, boy!" The old geezer suddenly declared, scaring the crap out of me.

"H-Huh? The hell?!"

"I'll have you know, kiddo, if you even  think about touchin' my granddaughter with those stained hands of yours, I will make sure you can never touch another woman again!"

"Like I said, relax!" I yelled, backing away. "She doesn't interest me romantically at al-"

"Huh?! What was that?! Are you saying my granddaughter ain't attractive?!"

"No, dammit!" I yelled, ducking out of the way as the old geezer suddenly threw a pill furnace at my head. "H-Hey! Stop, that's dangero- tch!"

"I'll teach you a lesson today, boy!"