Qin Manor.

Main Hall.

Fresh from his morning sword practice, Qin Lu had just settled into his chair, a steaming cup of spirit tea halfway to his lips, when Feng Xi burst into the room.

“Master, look!” In a panic, she thrust a small, pale green pill under his nose.

Qin Lu took it, his expression mild. “What is this?”

Feng Xi stood before him, practically vibrating with excitement. “Master, I just refined this! Can you check if it’s safe to eat?”

“Hmm?” Qin Lu froze. He set the teacup down with a sharp clink. “What? You refined this? Where?”

“In the backyard alchemy room. About two hours ago.”

“Hold on…” Qin Lu stared at her, dumbfounded. “You successfully performed alchemy? What is this supposed to be?”

Feng Xi flipped open the dog-eared book in her hand, pointed to a page, and shoved it toward him. “It’s this recipe here.”

Qin Lu took the manual.

The text described a substance called [Hundred Tempering Powder], a medicinal liquid designed for mortals. It promised to cleanse the marrow, strengthen the constitution, and deepen internal energy.

He glanced at the cover: Record of Worldly Experiences.

It was a common miscellaneous text, likely penned by some low-level alchemist wandering the mortal realms.

Qin Lu shook the book at her. “This recipe clearly states the result is a liquid. How did you turn it into a solid pill?”

“I don’t know!” Feng Xi looked innocent, her eyes wide. “I just did it without really knowing what I was doing, and… well, it turned out like this. So, Master… is it poisonous? I want to give it to Xiao Yi.”

“Let me see.” Qin Lu extended his spiritual sense into the pill.

His brows shot up. The pill was structurally sound—pure, nearly flawless, and humming with a faint trace of spiritual power. There were minor impurities, but for a mortal physique, it was perfectly safe. In fact, it was potent.

“It’s edible,” Qin Lu confirmed. He looked at her with new eyes. “But I need to see you do it again. Refine another batch of [Hundred Tempering Powder] for me.”

“Sure!” Feng Xi agreed readily, then hesitated. “But… I spent all my saved Spirit Stones on that one set of herbs. I’m out.”

“Not a problem. I’ll have Steward Chen restock. Go meditate and recover your spiritual energy. I’ll come for you shortly.”

“Okay!” Feng Xi took back her pill and skipped out of the hall, beaming.

Qin Lu immediately summoned his steward.

“Immortal Master,” Chen Ming bowed as he entered.

Qin Lu handed him a hastily scribbled list. “Go to the apothecary. Buy two sets of these herbs.”

“Yes, Master.”

“Wait.”

As Chen Ming turned to leave, Qin Lu stopped him. He pulled a handful of Spirit Stones from his [Storage Bag] and floated them over to the steward.

“Also, buy three sets of materials for the [Fasting Pill].”

“Understood!” Chen Ming bowed again and hurried out.

Qin Lu sat alone in the quiet hall, his mind racing.

The [Fasting Pill] was a Grade 1 Low-Tier pill. It was the “Hello World” of alchemy—the simplest, most forgiving recipe in existence. Its ingredients were mundane: spirit rice, black soybeans, hemp seeds, lotus meat, ginseng, and licorice.

Years ago, Qin Lu had tried to learn alchemy using this very recipe.

He had burned through thousands of Spirit Stones. He had ruined cauldron after cauldron. In the end, he hadn’t produced a single usable pill—only toxic sludge.

“That little girl…” Qin Lu rubbed his chin. “First try. She turned a liquid recipe into a solid pill. What kind of freakish talent is that?”

“She’s Level 1 Qi Refining. She can barely cast the [Ignition Technique]. How is this possible?”

He stared at his own hands. “Is the gap between geniuses and mortals really this wide?”

Time slipped away as Qin Lu wrestled with his existential crisis.

Soon enough, Steward Chen returned with the goods. Qin Lu grabbed the herbs and marched to Feng Xi’s room, dragging her to the backyard alchemy shed.

He handed her a set of ingredients. “Do exactly what you did before. I want to see every step.”

“Okay!”

Feng Xi showed no nerves. She approached the dusty furnace with the confidence of a veteran.

She activated the fire array. She controlled the heat. She added the herbs.

Qin Lu watched like a hawk, searching for some secret technique, some deviation in her method.

There was nothing.

Her movements were clumsy. Her timing was average. Her control over the spiritual fire was shaky at best—far inferior to his own.

And yet.

Moments later, Feng Xi wiped sweat from her brow and presented him with another perfect, pale green pill.

Success. Again.

Qin Lu took the pill, turning it over in his fingers. It was real.

“Move aside,” he muttered. “Let me try.”

Refusing to believe in magic, Qin Lu took the second set of ingredients. He stood before the furnace.

He was a Level 9 Qi Refining cultivator. His spiritual control was precise, his Qi abundant. Refining this mortal-grade trash should be a breeze.

He executed the process flawlessly.

But when he opened the furnace, he stared into the bottom, dumbfounded.

Inside was a pool of medicinal liquid.

It was exactly what the book described. But when he probed it, he found the liquid riddled with impurities. Compared to Feng Xi’s pill, his product was garbage.

“Unbelievable.”

Qin Lu stood up and looked at the confused girl. The reality hit him like a physical blow.

Feng Xi was a natural. A one-in-ten-thousand alchemical prodigy. Her clumsy movements didn’t matter; her intuition for the essence of the herbs was instinctual, bypassing technique entirely.

A surge of euphoria rushed through Qin Lu’s chest.

He pulled out the materials for the [Fasting Pill]—the actual cultivation resource—and shoved them toward her. His voice trembled slightly.

“Xiao Xi. Try refining this.”

“Oh… okay.” Feng Xi took the herbs, then held up her empty hands. “But Master, I’m out of Qi. I need to recharge.”

Qin Lu grinned, a shark-like smile spreading across his face. “No rush. Meditate. Take your time.”

Feng Xi sat down cross-legged and closed her eyes.

Qin Lu watched her, his heart pounding. He didn’t just see a servant anymore. He saw a gold mine. He saw a promising new star rising in his backyard, trailing an endless river of Spirit Stones.

I… am going to be rich.