Chapter Nineteen: Venturing Alone into the Mountains (Please Vote)

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“The Devil’s Eye” is an unusually special kind of elixir, its rank fluctuates unpredictably. In his past games, Xu Wen had crafted it countless times to handle various challenges, but it had never produced any positive effects on his spiritual power. So, his second attempt at opening the cauldron was a complete replica of the first—his intuition told him that the unexpected increase in spiritual strength must be related to his refining process and current level.

In the past, due to the rarity of the ingredients and the elixir’s rank, alchemists would only dare attempt high-grade elixirs once their magical power reached a certain threshold, to avoid unnecessary high failure rates. “The Devil’s Eye,” a quasi-four-star elixir, typically uses a magic core from at least a three-star high-level magical beast as a catalyst, making it quite valuable. An alchemist would only open the cauldron if their own strength was formidable and they were absolutely confident.

But Xu Wen, with only beginner-level two-star fire magic, had opened the cauldron to craft a quasi-four-star elixir. Apart from confidence in his alchemical skills, he relied entirely on the Hortonklin family’s free ingredients and two unused magic cores.

Any other alchemist would be supplementing their knowledge of two- or three-star alchemy, or training their magical realm at this point. But for someone as intimately familiar with the alchemical process as Xu Wen, a low-level fire mage, it would be hard to find a second like him across the continent!

And so...

Xu Wen followed the steps precisely and produced a second “Devil’s Eye,” once again falling into a gradual slumber as his magical power was depleted.

He had no idea how much time had passed.

Sunlight streamed in beneath the door, piercing his tightly shut eyelids and rousing him from sleep. He moved his eyes away from the glaring light and slowly opened them.

Twice he had fallen unconscious, and twice he had awakened automatically from deep sleep. Not only was all fatigue gone, but his mind was clear and refreshed, every breath felt exceptionally comfortable.

Leaning against the bedside, Xu Wen stretched his arms and savored the beauty of the moment.

No spell was needed, no closed eyes—he could feel the surging spiritual power coursing through him, invisibly attracting nearby fire elements that gently gathered on his skin, faint and elusive.

Heavens!

Xu Wen immediately realized this was the prelude to stepping into the high-level two-star tier!

Achieving two-star high-level meant his spiritual power had reached a certain fullness—a stable elemental vortex would form within, which would accelerate his spiritual recovery and attract the elements he needed, thus enhancing spellcasting speed. Mages who entered this stage would shed the title of apprentice and truly step into the threshold of the mage’s path!

He had succeeded!

The increase in spiritual power was truly related to the “Devil’s Eye,” and this time the improvement was even more pronounced. A single two-star, eighth-rank gale fox magic core had propelled him from two-star, fourth-rank to the peak of two-star, sixth-rank—an entire two levels!

What usually required a month of steadfast effort to achieve was surpassed in a single night thanks to this unexpected refinement...

“This is troublesome!”

Excitement aside, Xu Wen couldn’t help but curse his luck. Just yesterday, when he met Senior Sister Michelle and the others, he had only been at two-star, third-rank; now, in just a day, he had advanced three ranks and was about to break into the high-level two-star tier... Ah, joy brings endless complications—how would he explain this?

Honest confession was out of the question; there were too many inexplicable points in crafting the “Devil’s Eye,” and once exposed, he could forget about cultivating in peace in the future.

“I can’t let them find out.”

Xu Wen threw himself into the thick bedding, fretting over how to avoid Michelle and the others, his thoughts drifting to another matter—if a single two-star advanced magic core could have such an effect, would continuing to refine “Devil’s Eye” by the same method rapidly enhance his spiritual power?

The answer was clear. Since he could absorb the spiritual power released by a one-star advanced magic core at two-star, third-rank, now, with intermediate two-star strength, he should theoretically be able to use two-star advanced magic cores to further boost his spiritual limits. But once his spiritual power exceeded three stars, he wouldn’t experience depletion as before; refining “Devil’s Eye” would no longer exhaust a three-star alchemist’s spiritual power.

Another concern troubled Xu Wen...

Blindly increasing spiritual power without consolidation is a grave mistake for any cultivator! No matter how high the tier rises, the true strength would still only be slightly above the original, making him vulnerable to defeat by peers.

Thus, Xu Wen quickly clarified his primary goal.

Consolidate his strength!

He had to fully master his two-star, sixth-rank spiritual power in a short time and make it his own.

The rest of the time would be spent striving for three stars. As long as he avoided contact with Michelle and the others for a while, by the time training ended, even if they were surprised, it wouldn’t be as shocking as seeing him leap three ranks in a single day!

Over the next half month, Xu Wen’s days were reminiscent of those under Ding Yushan’s scrutiny—rising early to gather herbs in the mountains, returning before most registered disciples left their quarters.

By day, he refined elixirs, stockpiling stimulating pills and “Drunken Breeze,” and, from noon onward, practiced and meditated on intermediate and advanced two-star fire magic...

Advancing each tier beyond two-star intermediate required lengthy, arduous cultivation for breakthroughs; ten days passed and he still hadn’t pierced the window to two-star, seventh-rank.

Yet, his harvest was considerable!

Not only did he fully master his two-star, sixth-rank power, but he also became highly proficient in support attack magic like “Flame Wall,” single-target spells such as “Flame Lance” and “Flame Arrow,” and linear group attacks like “Flame Burst.” Moreover, he could consecutively cast seven “Giant Fireball” spells without the aid of his purple jade pendant, despite their heavy spiritual consumption.

He still couldn’t solo a two-star advanced magical beast, but in a direct duel with the strongest former registered disciple, Ding Yushan, Xu Wen was confident he’d not be at a disadvantage.

Additionally!

He still had two “Devil’s Eye” elixirs in his storage pouch.

Originally intended for the coveted spots in the Azure Cloud Academy, he now had no need for them.

His top priority was to continue collecting magic cores and refining more Devil’s Eyes!

Early morning at the entrance to the Blackwater Mountains—before any registered disciples had arrived—Xu Wen received a round shield, shortsword, and specially made clothing from his senior, then changed into them.

“...Kid, be extremely careful entering the Blackwater Mountains alone! Don’t wander too far, like last time... Six disciples from the seventh alchemy peak died in there, we couldn’t save them in time, tsk...”

A young fire mage of three-star, seventh-rank leaned against the doorway, endlessly reciting safety instructions.

“I understand, thank you for your concern, Senior Brother.”

Xu Wen calmly replied while straightening his clothes. This senior clearly wasn’t among those who encountered Xie Zhan before; he had no idea Xu Wen belonged to the seventh alchemy peak.

“It’s best not to keep the rescue rocket at your waist, and...”

He was about to continue when a handsome young fire mage walked up behind him. “Enough, Karl. Do you have to nag every time a disciple comes by?”

Without giving Karl a chance to retort, he turned to glance at Xu Wen, who was just exiting the house. “Be careful this time, and don’t spill ‘Fire Phosphor Powder’ everywhere again.”

Xu Wen was momentarily surprised—he didn’t know this man, but the other clearly recognized him.

Right, he must have been part of the rescue team; Xu Wen had been unconscious at the time. He smiled and nodded, “Understood, Senior Brother,” then strode confidently into the Blackwater Mountains.

The two watched Xu Wen’s figure vanish into the woods, then the talkative senior slowly turned, staring at his companion in puzzlement. “Sang Long, you know him?”

Sang Long rolled his eyes helplessly. “Forget it, you were kept behind during the gale fox incident.”

“Yes.” Karl nodded. He’d been assigned to clean up the fire phosphor powder along the path and missed the most dramatic scene, never even seeing the three disciples who vanquished the gale fox.

“Yeah.” Sang Long nodded toward the direction Xu Wen had disappeared. “Huh?!”

Karl jumped up, incredulously peering into the Blackwater Mountains, then turned back, suspicious yet calm. “Sang Long, are you messing with me? We all know Xie Zhan, and Ding Yushan was expelled from the registered disciples—he couldn’t show up here. Don’t tell me that kid’s name is Xu Wen.”

“If you don’t believe me, there’s nothing I can do.”

Sang Long took out a pill from his storage pouch, chewed it indifferently, not even bothering to glance at Karl, brushing the dust off as he walked away.

“Wait.”

Karl called after Sang Long, now somewhat convinced. That was just his temperament—when doubted, he’d ignore everyone.

“I remember you said that kid only had one-star advanced strength at the time. But just now... you saw it too, he had elemental aura outside his body, and an internal elemental vortex ready to form! His strength clearly borders on two-star, seventh-rank! Even for a genius, it’s impossible to level up eight ranks in forty days of solitary training, right?”

Sang Long, walking ahead, paused at these words.

“I heard Elder Xu of the seventh alchemy peak personally brought him in from outside. If he’s got Elder Xu’s secret help, then nothing’s impossible.”

“You mean Elder Xu...” Karl was struck, swallowing his words.

After the internal disciple selection, every peak elder would pick their best inner disciples for a small competition to determine who would enter Azure Cloud Academy a month later. Naturally, the elders also compared their candidates behind the scenes.

If Xu Wen truly was Elder Xu’s prized disciple and had received special elixirs in secret, it wouldn’t be surprising.

It was the only plausible explanation for Xu Wen’s rapid ascent in such a short time!