“Aaron, don’t get angry,” Lucas says apologetically. “I’m not trying to sully your sincere kindness with money or anything dirty like that. I just don’t have much to offer, so this is the only way I can show my gratitude.”

  Aaron is slightly taken aback.

  From the sound of it, Lucas is actually quite well off?

  Aaron’s expression softens a bit. “Could it be you come from a wealthy family?”

  “I’m not worthy to say, but my father is an herbalist merchant. Rich Commercial Firm is our family business.”

  “Oh.” Aaron raises his eyes slightly, a gleam fshing in them.

  Rich Commercial Firm is the biggest herbalist merchant in Bert City. They hoard the herbs for the Force Potion and then resell them at a markup during Imperial Academy admissions. It’s their usual yearly tactic.

  “No wonder you throw money around so casually.”

  Aaron snorts coldly, as if Lucas is trying to insult him with money.

  Hearing this, Lucas looks a bit embarrassed.

  After the party, the young generation at Bert City’s Potion Hall gradually reaches a consensus about Aaron:

  Gifted beyond compare, strong-willed, and sincere at heart.

  His talent speaks for itself, his assessment scores outshine everyone else.

  His strong-willed nature comes from the incident where Alex, as senior apprentice, bullied Aaron, which was ter cleared up by Bruce.

  His sincerity is something Lucas witnesses again today.

  When they first met, Aaron remembered Lucas’s compint about mental fatigue and specially brewed a Calm Potion as a gift.

  If that’s not sincerity, then what is?

  “Trading with money feels cheap. Better to trade herbs instead. Luckily, my family has plenty of them,” Lucas thinks to himself.

  “Aaron, have you brewed any other potions recently?”

  Aaron responses with a bit “irritated”, “I’ve been focusing on the Force Potion tely, but progress is slow. It’s just wasting herbs.”

  “The Force Potion? That’s not an easy one,” Lucas says, surprised but then gradually understanding.

  Aaron chose Calm Potion for his first brew, so naturally, his second wouldn’t be some ordinary potion.

  “Better not talk about it,” Aaron puts on the act of someone who’s failed many times and doesn’t want to dwell on sad memories. “Lucas, feel free to come by often. I’ll save some Calm Potion for you to help with your brewing. But don’t ever bring up money again, or don’t bme me if I get upset.”

  “All right, all right.”

  Lucas smiles brightly.

  Calm Potion itself is hard to brew. Level 1 pharmacists have a low success rate, and even if they do succeed, they usually keep it for themselves.

  Level 2 pharmacists look down on it, since they have access to more expensive potions.

  That’s why Calm Potion remains rare and hard to come by in Bert City.

  Lucas thinks to himself, “Next time, I won’t bother with gold coins. I’ll just give Aaron some Force Potion herbs directly. I’m sure he won’t refuse then.”

  After a brief exchange of pleasantries, the two part ways.

  Aaron watches Lucas’s retreating figure, his thoughts growing a little heavy.

  “He should have caught the implied meaning by now.”

  Back at home, Aaron pulls out his Poison Technique manual and starts studying the potions he needs to take for cultivation.

  He can’t keep taking toxic potions for a while.

  Releasing bodily gases (farting) in public is rather embarrassing.

  His progress with the force cultivation is slow anyway, so pausing potion intake for now isn’t a big deal.

  “It’s just that I don’t know how to improve it.”

  Aaron holds three potions in his hands.

  Every time the force completes a major cycle, after condensing the force values, he needs to take a toxic potion to fuse the poison with the force.

  For the first three major force cycles, he must take potions made primarily from three highly poisonous herbs—Sea Spicy Grass, Gray Thorn Vine, and Sky Sunflower Grass—blended with other herbs.

  He hasn’t finished the first major cycle yet, so there’s no rush to take the Sea Spicy Grass potion. He can wait until after the pharmacists’ conference to continue cultivation.

  “I wonder if I can improve the Sea Spicy Grass potion formu. It would be great if I could eliminate the side effects.”

  Aaron takes out the formu and begins breaking down its components.

  A silent night passes.

  In the early hours of the next day, Aaron arrives at the meeting point, dark circles under his eyes and carrying his luggage.

  Outside the Potion Hall, Kaviz is already gathered with Lucas and a short-haired girl.

  “Sorry, Hall Master Kaviz, I’m te,” Aaron apologizes.

  “Heh, no worries. I just got here too,” Kaviz replies, his gaze toward Aaron burning with enthusiasm.

  “It seems like you has been facing some tough problems in potion-making tely.”

  Unaware that his master knows Aaron, Lucas tries to build a connection. “Aaron, my master has deep expertise in brewing the Force Potion. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.”

  “Oh? Aaron’s actually researching the Force Potion? Impressive for someone so young!” Kaviz admires.

  “Well then, I’ll be bothering you with some questions,” Aaron says, as he happens to have doubts.

  “Ask away.”

  Kaviz folds his arms confidently, exuding the aura of a true master.

  Kaviz thinks to himself, “One day you’ll understand, Aaron. Learning from Scott is just a mistake. The real master is me, Kaviz! Scott doesn’t know a thing about potion-making.”

  Facing the chilly March breeze, Kaviz patiently answers each of Aaron’s questions with ease, often going beyond and offering multiple expnations.

  Aaron is a bit surprised. Honestly, Kaviz’s mastery of potion-making is impressive, at least better than Scott’s.

  As Aaron’s questions get harder, Kaviz’s responses slow down a bit, but he still manages to answer every one.

  In the blink of an eye, half an hour passes. Aaron stops asking questions, lowering his head, deep in thought about the answers Kaviz gave him.

  Kaviz looks at Aaron in disbelief.

  At first, the potion formus Aaron applied surprise him, he hadn’t expected such depth from him. But the initial astonishment doesn’t faze Kaviz too much.

  However, when it comes to the extensions, transformations, and substitutions of the potion formus, Kaviz starts feeling genuinely unsettled.

  These abstract concepts are far beyond what a teenager apprentice in potion-making should be dabbling in.

  It’s like a three-year-old asking, “To be or not to be.”

  Most people would instinctively think the child must have heard the phrase somewhere and is just repeating it.

  Kaviz thinks the same, assuming Aaron must have heard these theories somewhere instead of figuring them out himself.

  But Scott, that zy pharmacist, capable of coming up with such theories?

  “Thank you, Hall Master Kaviz, for your expnations,” Aaron says after a moment of reflection, bowing respectfully.

  Kaviz’s answers have sparked many new ideas for him, though how effective they’ll be depends on actual practice in potion brewing.

  “Aaron, if you’re short on funds tely, feel free to come to me,” Kaviz says after a brief hesitation, hinting at his offer.

  He genuinely admires Aaron’s talent.

  “Thank you for your kindness, Hall Master Kaviz,” Aaron replies with a calm expression and a slightly cool tone.

  Hearing this, Lucas sighs inwardly.

  His master is so clueless!

  Aaron is definitely not the kind to be greedy for money.

  In the distance, two graceful figures approach.

  It’s Ava and Emily.

  “This time, I’ll be counting on Hall Master Kaviz to look after my friend,” Ava says politely to Kaviz.

  “No need to be so formal,” Kaviz replies, looking at Ava and Emily with a meaningful gaze.

  These two young dies come from notable backgrounds and shouldn’t be underestimated.

  Ava is a junior of the leader of the Potion Hall. Recently, this leader is away from Bert City, and he’s been brewing certain potions on behalf of Ava’s family.

  The other girl has an even more impressive background, seemingly connected to the Divine Judgment Hall.

  After everyone meets, they board a car and head to the airfield.

  Over an hour ter, a ft, small airship slowly lifts off. As the force shield activates, a jet of thrust shoots from the rear, and the ship quickly dives into the clouds.

  About twenty people are on airship, including the pilot, a chef, a cleaner, and operators for the force cannons.

  They are all there to serve Aaron and his group.

  Outside the window, clouds look like huge white cotton candy floating in the sky.

  After a moment of gazing out, Aaron pulls the curtain and starts reading a potion-making book.

  The airship moves steadily, with no bumps inside the cabin.

  The Linta Region boasts 112 fortress cities, with a popution in the hundreds of billions and covering 2.7 billion square kilometers.

  The fortress cities are spread far apart. Even with the airship, reaching Zan City will take several days.

  A short while ter, there’s a knock at the door.

  Aaron opens it to find a short-haired girl around eighteen or nineteen standing outside, looking a bit nervous.

  “Aar... Aaron...”

  “Just call me junior brother,” Aaron says, noticing Lucy’s unease and trying to ease her.

  At seventeen, he’s the youngest among the senior apprentices in the Potion Hall.

  Among apprentices, it’s common to address each other as senior or junior brothers to show closeness.

  “Senior sister, do you need something?”

  “Junior brother, do you still have any Calm Potion? I want to buy some...”

  Calm Potion is already scarce, and since Lucy and Aaron aren’t close, her coming to buy one feels a bit timid.

  “No problem,” Aaron replies without hesitation.

  A pharmacist is a businessman after all, turning down a walk-in sale would be foolish.

  “How much for one Calm Potion?”

  “Usually four thousand, but since you’re my senior sister, I can do three thousand five. I just need to break even,” Aaron says casually.

  “I only have less than three thousand gold coins right now... Can I owe you some?” Lucy asks, her face flushing red as she speaks.

  “Sure, no problem,” Aaron agrees immediately.

  In Bert City’s Potion Hall, Aaron feels a certain fondness for Lucy—not romantic, but a respect for someone struggling hard at the bottom.

  The brewing room for pharmacists is in the same building. Every day, the earliest to arrive and the test to leave is Lucy.

  She’s average in height and looks, dressed simply and a bit messy, but there’s a stubborn spirit about her.

  Like wild grass in a harsh winter, crawling through the soil to draw nutrients, waiting for its own spring.

  She’s an A+ talent prodigy, gifted and incredibly hardworking. People like her are hard for Aaron not to admire.

  Aaron turns and grabs a half-finished Calm Potion from his bedroom luggage, handing it to Lucy.

  A moment ter, Aaron’s phone pings with a transfer notification.

  “Account ending ****, received 2,927 gold coins, bance 41,927 gold coins.”

  “Thank you, junior brother... I’ll repay you as soon as I can,” Lucy says softly, her voice growing quieter as if unused to talking with the opposite sex.

  Aaron looks at the bloodshot eyes and heavy dark circles under Lucy’s eyes and smiles. “No need to thank me. If you ever need Calm Potion, just let me know in advance. I can extend credit.”

  “Mm, thank you.”

  Lucy lowers her head, clutching the potion tightly in her hands.

  Just as Lucy is about to say something more, a tall girl with a perfectly curved figure and a cool, indifferent aura walks by.

  Lucy catches a quick gnce with her peripheral vision and is instantly stunned.

  Such beautiful eyes.

  Such an impressive presence.

  Feeling ashamed of herself, she avoids eye contact and quickly steps aside.

  Aaron’s room is at the end of the hallway, so the girl is definitely here to see him.

  Seeing Lucy lower her head and hurriedly leave, Emily finds it strange but doesn’t pay it much mind and walks straight into Aaron’s room.

  “Hey, don’t you think coming into my room like this will spark some rumors?” Aaron says casually when he sees Emily. “I’m a pure little virgin, you know.”

  “Pfft!” With no one else around, Emily rexes and plops down on the sofa. “When I first saw you, I thought you were shameless. Now I realize I was wrong.”

  “Really? I’m at least a decent guy.”

  “You don’t have a ‘face’ at all,” Emily snaps back.

  “So you came here just to mock me?” Aaron pouts.

  Their retionship is a bit strange.

  They haven’t known each other long, but it feels like they’ve been friends for years.

  They get along easily, never digging into each other’s past or family, just exchanging pyful insults.

  “You’re overthinking it. I’m not that bored. Just a heads-up, don’t blindly sign any contracts at this exchange meeting.”

  “What do you mean? Sign what contracts?”

  “The pharmacist exchange meeting is essentially where various consortiums scout talented pharmacists from different pces. Those Imperial Academy mentors, while they’re supposed to be teachers, are actually consortium agents. They lure talents with all kinds of benefits to sign contracts. In these contracts, the consortium provides herbal resources, but the pharmacist must join the consortium after graduation.”

  “What are the pros and cons of signing?”

  “The good part is you won’t ck resources while studying. The downside is you’ll be working for the consortium your whole life. Plus, the official mentors at the Imperial Academy really dislike pharmacists tied to consortiums. If you sign, those mentors basically won’t teach you anymore,” Emily warns.

  “Don’t worry! I treat money like dirt.”

  “Or do you see yourself as a cesspit?” Emily snickers.

  “By the way, did you make the Calm Potion yourself?” she asks curiously.

  The Calm Potion Aaron gave her is much stronger than any she’s ever taken.

  “Don’t pry too much into worldly matters.”

  “You should focus on cultivating the force!”

  “Why are you suddenly bringing up the force?”

  “If you master the force, next time I want to hit you, I won’t have to worry about accidentally killing you with a little too much strength,” Emily says with a smile.

  “Are you even being reasonable now?”

  “Ha, why being reasonable? Just be true to yourself and leave the rest to karma,” Emily says confidently, crossing her legs.

  Aaron is momentarily stunned, then gives a thumbs-up. “Life truth learned.”

  “No, don’t learn that,” Emily quickly says. “You can’t become like that. I hate rude people the most. Aaron, you can’t become someone I dislike.”

  After saying this, Emily’s expression turns serious, her bright eyes filled with light and hope, as if afraid of losing something precious.

  “Is this some kind of flirtation?” Aaron touches his chin. “With your looks, trying to flirt with me seems a bit tough.”

  “Alright, alright, calling me ugly now?”

  “I didn’t say you’re ugly, just that your beauty isn’t obvious.”

  “Aaron, how is our retionship now?”

  “Not bad, I guess.”

  “Can I hit you now?” Emily rolls up her sleeves, revealing pale arms, then says seriously, “It won’t hurt much. Just hang on, I’ll be gentle.”

  After saying this, Emily seems to realize something, her face flushing red. She quickly pretends nothing happened and leaves the room.