Chapter Eighteen: The Devil's Eyes (Please Vote)

Little Black begs for recommendation votes! Please, I earnestly ask for your support to help me grow stronger.

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The room fell silent once more. Xu Wen closed the door again, his face finally shedding the varied expressions he’d worn for the three different groups of people. He returned to the edge of his bed, lost in thought over the information about Azure Cloud Academy that Senior Sister Mi Xue had revealed, his face touched with anticipation.

Azure Cloud Academy...

When he first arrived in this strange world, he’d only known that the Hortonklin family was the most powerful clan within a thousand miles of Blackwater City, and that aligning himself with them would help him quickly grow stronger.

But now...

Now that he’d learned of the existence of such a convenient institution of higher learning as Azure Cloud Academy, how could he be willing to let the opportunity pass by?

Entering Azure Cloud Academy would not only allow him to gain a more comprehensive understanding of this world, but also to search for a shortcut to power—a path far broader than remaining trapped within the narrow perspective of the Hortonklin family.

Moreover...

What had happened a month ago was still a significant factor weighing on him!

Back in the games he’d once played, Xu Wen had delved most deeply into necromancy and alchemy. He was unwilling to abandon the knowledge that had always served him best, nor did he wish to start anew as a novice on the path of fire magic. That was why he had chosen to enter the Blackwater Mountains, summoning undead skeletons in secret, away from prying eyes.

Unfortunately, the danger that followed forced him to halt his necromancy practice. For a long time, he’d even planned to quietly train for two years within the Hortonklin family, reach the level of a four-star or advanced fire mage, and only then strike out on his own, seeking a secluded place to resume his necromantic studies.

He’d thought this the safest course, but it would cost him more than two years—and really, what place could truly be called secluded?

Azure Cloud Academy was different.

With a hundred thousand students, a mix of all sorts, and an education system that promised a high degree of autonomy and freedom, he could not only escape the constraints of the Hortonklin family and broaden his horizons, but maybe even find a chance to continue his research into necromancy.

“Second star, seventh tier!”

Xu Wen’s eyes flashed with determination. He made up his mind, but then remembered Senior Sister Mi Xue’s words before she left: “No, it’s not enough. You need to reach at least the level of a three-star fire mage.”

Thinking of this, Xu Wen took off the storage pouch from his belt and fished out two magic cores he’d acquired from the Blackwater Mountains: one black, one gray. The black one was barely the size of half a pinky, while the gray one was twice as large—a magic core from the Windfox, said to have been left behind before Ding Yushan was expelled.

There was something else he’d kept: a note. It said that next time they met, the writer would personally reclaim the jade pendant from Xu Wen’s neck. But for Xu Wen, that was as good as declaring the purple jade pendant’s ownership as his!

The two magic cores lay on the bed. Xu Wen sat upright at the headboard, silent for a moment, then quietly left the room and slipped into Wan’er’s empty quarters—since the stone targets often broke, it was common for people to use Wan’er’s room, and the other registered disciples were used to it.

He closed the door.

He set out his cauldron, then one by one drew a dozen kinds of medicinal herbs from his storage pouch, arranging them on the floor alongside the two magic cores.

Over the past month, even though he’d focused almost entirely on fire magic, Xu Wen had still managed to collect some high-grade herbs during his visits to the Alchemy Peak, just in case he needed them later.

The herbs before him were mostly three-star and four-star materials, all for a pill Xu Wen had been planning to make for a long time. Unlike the “Drunken Breeze,” this pill had a common recipe known to any proficient alchemist, and its grade depended solely on the level of the magic core used.

Its greatest use was to restore mental power and temporarily boost the user’s strength and elemental concentration. The lower the user’s own abilities, the greater the boost provided by the pill; the side effect was that, after the effect wore off, the user’s mental recovery rate would drop by at least eighty percent for two hours.

Xu Wen had never intended to make this “Devil’s Eye” before—the herbs were rare, and the effects of low-grade magic cores were limited. He’d never tried making it with one- or two-star magic cores, and had no idea if it would have the effect he hoped for.

And besides, with his current second-star, third-tier fire magic, it would be very difficult to successfully refine a near-four-star pill.

Still, in the end, he decided to try.

After all, the herbs belonged to the Hortonklin family—they were free. Low-grade magic cores were precious, but useless to him at present.

Naturally, he lit the fire and opened the cauldron, following the techniques he’d learned from games: ignite, add ingredients. His face was more solemn than it had even been when facing the Windfox.

In no time, eight of the herbs were gone, and the temperature inside the cauldron rose dramatically under Xu Wen’s control, making the vessel glow red-hot.

Swiftly, Xu Wen spun off the lid and dropped the fetid magic core vertically into the cauldron, which now exuded a thick medicinal aroma.

Time seemed to pass unnoticed. Xu Wen soon found himself exhausted, his mind clearly overtaxed. Even with the purple jade pendant slowly restoring his mental power, the intense heat at the cauldron’s base devoured what little magic he had left.

Pop!

He uncorked a porcelain bottle and quickly tossed a stimulant pill into his mouth, chewing and swallowing it.

A surge of heat blossomed in his belly.

Almost at once, a thread of fire infused every limb and bone, and his nearly depleted mental power seemed to stir with new life. With the jade pendant’s help, his flagging mind found a second wind; while his recovery couldn’t quite match the magic he was expending, at least he staved off total collapse.

Minutes slipped by...

Xu Wen’s face was pale as he finally added the last herb to the cauldron, sweat streaming down his brow. As expected, trying to refine a near-four-star pill with just second-star, third-tier fire magic was almost beyond him, even with the purple jade pendant and the stimulant pill.

He couldn’t help but regret it a little...

To test his limits, he’d risked a magic core worth dozens of gold coins on the brink of destruction—wasn’t that too reckless? There were so many safer ways to test himself.

But when a faint, fragrant scent wafted from the cauldron, Xu Wen’s pale lips finally curved into a smile.

“It’s done!”

He stopped channeling magic, extinguished the fire, and let the cauldron cool. A round, lustrous pill, clear as an “eye,” rolled out and into a porcelain bottle.

Success! The essence of the magic core had been completely extracted and sealed inside the pill, like a black pupil radiating a subtle, mysterious luster—justifying its name, the Devil’s Eye.

He sealed the bottle and, utterly spent, chewed down several pills in a row before he finally recovered a little, collapsing by the bed and falling fast asleep.

No wonder it was a near-four-star pill—the mental energy required was staggering. If Xu Wen had miscalculated or waited any longer to take the stimulant, he might not have merely slept, but fallen into a coma.

When Xu Wen awoke from his stupor, it was already deep into the night. While he silently mourned the loss of a whole day’s cultivation, he suddenly noticed that his mental energy was unusually full—more abundant than at his morning peak, as if something inside him had grown!

“No way...”

Xu Wen sat upright in disbelief.

After a moment’s thought, he conjured a blazing fireball over thirty centimeters wide, which lit up the room. The dazzling red flame swirled steadily, like water, yet burned with intensity.

It lasted for more than a minute before exhaustion finally crept in, and the fireball dissipated into the air as his magic ran out.

Second-star, intermediate level!

Xu Wen raised his hands in delight. What should have taken at least three days to convert a gaseous second-star spell into a stable, liquid form had, while he slept, advanced silently to the fourth tier.

What on earth had happened?

Could this be the result of refining a high-level pill?

Impossible! The Drunken Breeze was a three-star potion, and he’d made plenty when he was only first-star, eighth tier—never once had he felt anything like this.

So, could it be that the unexpected surge in mental power was linked only to the Devil’s Eye?

When it came to alchemy, Xu Wen was an authority. Calming down, he began to analyze.

Magic cores were condensed from the bodies of high-level magical beasts. Besides elemental energy, they also contained traces of the beast’s own mental power. So, they could be used not only as rare materials for forging weapons, but also for special pills like the Devil’s Eye, to rapidly replenish a mage’s mental energy.

But why, in all the records he’d read, was there never any mention of an alchemist’s mental power being permanently increased in this way? If it were truly possible, surely even the most oblivious alchemist would have noticed!

After a long time pondering, Xu Wen could find no answer.

Left with no other choice, he decided to experiment himself.

He opened the storage pouch and quickly took out more herbs—along with the Windfox’s magic core.