Lin Xiaowan placed the needle box on the counter and opened a small projection from her phone.
A recipe diagram appeared.
"I'm practicing the Soft Meridian Recovery Powder. My instructor said my purification is clean, but the powder always loses effect after settling. I can't figure out why."
Qin Yuan looked at the diagram.
Medicinal Pattern Recognition Activated.
Failure Diagnosis Talent Activated.
Pill Mastery Talent Activated.
He studied it for three breaths.
Then pointed to the third step.
"You're grinding the Dewshell Root too finely."
Lin Xiaowan froze.
"What?"
"The recipe says fine powder, but that's misleading. It should be soft grain, not dust. If you grind it too much, its moisture-retaining property breaks down during the second heat exposure."
Lin Xiaowan stared at the projection.
Then at him.
"My instructor said my grinding was excellent."
"It probably is. That's the problem."
"Being excellent is the problem?"
"For this recipe, yes."
She opened her mouth.
Closed it.
Then opened it again.
"That is extremely annoying."
"Yes."
"And you saw that in three seconds?"
"About four."
"Qin Yuan."
"Yes?"
"That does not make it better."
He tapped another part of the diagram.
"Also, lower the heat slightly after adding Mist Pearl Powder. Not much. Maybe five percent. Your Spirit Qi control is clean, but too direct. Let the medicinal force settle before pushing it."
Lin Xiaowan listened carefully.
Her expression changed from shock to concentration.
"How do I let it settle without losing structure?"
"Use your Spirit Sense like a cup, not a hand."
She frowned.
"A cup?"
"If you hold water with your hand, it leaks. If you shape something around it, it stays without being squeezed."
Lin Xiaowan's eyes widened slightly.
"Oh."
She lifted her hand unconsciously, as if imagining the movement.
"Like containing instead of gripping."
"Yes."
"That… actually makes sense."
"It should help."
"Help? Qin Yuan, that might fix the whole issue."
"Good."
Lin Xiaowan looked at him for a long moment.
Then she smiled.
"You know, for someone who talks like a training manual with a pulse, you're actually pretty nice."
Qin Yuan considered that.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome."
She closed the projection.
Then her expression shifted.
A little more serious.
"Have you heard the beast-gathering rumors?"
Qin Yuan looked at her.
"Some."
"They're getting worse."
"In what way?"
Lin Xiaowan lowered her voice.
"My family has scouts near the eastern outer zones. They said the beasts aren't just moving randomly anymore. They're gathering around several old valleys past the first collection zone. Not normal migration. Not a simple Dreadmyr disturbance either."
Qin Yuan's eyes sharpened slightly.
"Cause?"
"No one knows. But people are saying there might be an inheritance site opening."
"Rumors."
"Yes, but not empty rumors." Lin Xiaowan glanced around, then continued. "There are traces of old formation stones. Beast bones with refined marks. Spirit Qi density keeps rising and falling like something underground is breathing. And the weird part is, the energy readings aren't only martial."
Qin Yuan understood.
"Wizard and Warrior traces too."
Lin Xiaowan nodded.
"That's why everyone is getting interested. Spirit Opening, Spirit Master, even some Origin Core experts. Body Path experts too. Wizards from Pale Moon and Moonveil merchant groups are already sniffing around."
Qin Yuan was silent.
An inheritance or treasure helpful to all three paths.
That could be opportunity.
It could also be a grave.
Lin Xiaowan watched him.
"You're thinking of going."
"I'm thinking."
"That means yes, doesn't it?"
"No. It means thinking."
"Right. Very convincing."
Qin Yuan's gaze moved toward the exchange counters.
Foundation pills.
Combat pills.
Healing pills.
Antidotes.
Fire-control talismans.
Emergency movement charms.
Beast repellent.
Spirit sense stabilizers.
If he went, he would need preparation.
Not excitement.
Preparation.
Lin Xiaowan said softly, "My family is sending a team. Not immediately. They're still gathering information."
Qin Yuan nodded.
"Be careful."
She smiled faintly.
"You too. Though honestly, I'm starting to think saying that to you is kind of pointless."
"It isn't."
"Oh?"
"I'm not invincible."
Lin Xiaowan looked at him.
For the first time, she felt the difference between Qin Yuan's calm and arrogance.
He did not think he could not die.
He simply did not waste movement fearing death.
That was more frightening in its own way.
"I'll remember that," she said.
Qin Yuan nodded and left.
Lin Xiaowan watched him disappear into the crowd.
Then she looked down at her recipe projection.
Soft grain, not dust.
Spirit Sense like a cup.
She muttered, "Seventh-star monster, huh?"
Then she smiled.
"No. That's not right."
Her eyes brightened.
"He's worse."
While Qin Yuan continued his routine, Han Ziyue was not calm at all.
Inside the Han Family's private training villa, a blue-white flame exploded inside a pill furnace.
The furnace rattled.
The lid shot upward.
A wave of smoke burst out.
Han Ziyue stepped back, face dark.
One of his attendants quickly rushed forward and activated the room's cleaning array.
"Young Master, are you hurt?"
Han Ziyue slapped the table.
"I'm fine."
The attendant shut up immediately.
Across the room, two older Han Family disciples watched with uncomfortable expressions.
Han Ziyue's fifth-star badge rested on the table nearby.
To most people, it was a symbol of success.
To Han Ziyue, it looked like an insult.
Fifth-star.
He had entered the association.
He had passed.
He should have been praised.
But now, every time people discussed this year's exam, his name came after Qin Yuan.
Qin Yuan.
A nobody.
A 1st layer Spirit Opening weakling from a mediocre branch of the Qin Family.
A person Han Ziyue had dismissed the moment he saw him.
Now that nobody had become the association's new rising talent.
Han Ziyue's jaw tightened.
"Find out everything about him."
The older disciple on the left sighed.
"Ziyue, we already told you. Drop it."
Han Ziyue's eyes turned cold.
"Drop it?"
"Yes. Drop it."
"Senior Brother Han Luo, are you seriously telling me our Han Family can't investigate a random Qin Family side branch child?"
Han Luo rubbed his forehead.
"He isn't random anymore."
"He was random a week ago!"
"A week ago, he didn't have Elder Mu's attention. A week ago, Elder Su wasn't personally teaching him. A week ago, the Three-Path Pill Association hadn't posted his name on an official rising talent notice."
Han Ziyue sneered.
"So what? He's still weak."
The other senior, Han Bei, looked at him sharply.
"That is exactly the kind of sentence that gets young masters beaten to death in alleys."
Han Ziyue glared at him.
Han Bei did not back down.
"You think cultivation realm is everything? Fine. Go touch him. See what happens. The association has Sky Body pill guards, Origin Core alchemists, Arcane Sky medicinal wizards, and enough political protection to make our family elders suddenly remember they love peace."
Han Luo nodded.
"And Qin Yuan's value isn't combat. It's potential. Potential is more expensive than strength when an organization believes it can mature."
Han Ziyue clenched his fists.
"He made me look like a joke."
Han Bei crossed his arms.
"No. You made yourself look like a joke by caring this much."
The room went silent.
Han Ziyue's face flushed.
Han Luo shot Han Bei a look.
Han Bei shrugged.
"What? Somebody had to say it."
Han Ziyue's voice became low.
"I want to know how he did it."
"So does everyone," Han Luo said. "But smart people are waiting."
"I'm not everyone."
"No, you're a Han Family junior with good talent and bad temper."
Han Ziyue almost exploded.
Han Luo raised a hand.
"Listen. There's something more important."
Han Ziyue breathed heavily.
"What?"
"The beast-gathering rumors."
At that, Han Ziyue's anger paused.
Han Luo tapped his bracelet.
A hologram appeared above the table.
It showed a map of the eastern wilderness outside Jadefall City.
Several red zones pulsed.
"The Mission Bureau tried to suppress it, but too many independent scouts have seen movement. Low Common beasts, Mid Common beasts, even a few High Common traces. They're gathering near old underground valleys."
Han Ziyue frowned.
"Beast tide?"
"Maybe. But the energy readings don't match a simple tide."
Han Bei leaned forward.
"There are inheritance signs."
Han Ziyue's eyes changed.
"Inheritance?"
"Possibly. Or treasure. Or a sealed ruin. No one knows yet."
Han Luo expanded the map.
Three colors appeared.
Green.
Blue.
Red.
"Spirit Qi fluctuations. Mana residue. Vital Force pressure. All three."
Han Ziyue's expression shifted from anger to hunger.
"Three-path inheritance?"
"That's the rumor."
"If it's real…"
"If it's real," Han Luo interrupted, "it will attract every ambitious idiot within three provinces."
Han Bei added, "Spirit Opening juniors will go because they think they're chosen. Spirit Masters will go because they think they're strong. Origin Core experts will go because they think everyone else is prey. Body Path experts will smash through anything that looks like a door. Wizards will stand far away and curse people while pretending they're scholars."
Han Ziyue's lips twitched despite himself.
Han Luo continued seriously.
"That means careful preparation. We don't rush. We gather talismans, antidotes, scouting tools, emergency escape charms, and legal cover. If this becomes an official exploration zone, we enter through the proper channel. If it stays unofficial, we move with family guards."
Han Ziyue looked at the pulsing red zones.
Qin Yuan's face flashed in his mind again.
His fists tightened.
Then slowly loosened.
"Fine."
Han Luo looked relieved.
"For once, good."
Han Ziyue's eyes burned.
"I'll focus on the ruin."
Han Bei muttered, "That sounded almost mature."
Han Ziyue ignored him.
But inside, his thoughts were not calm.
If there was an inheritance, he would seize it.
If Qin Yuan was protected inside the city, fine.
Then Han Ziyue would grow stronger outside it.
A seventh-star apprentice badge meant nothing if Qin Yuan died before becoming a real alchemist.
And if the ruin gave Han Ziyue enough fortune, then one day, everyone would remember who the true genius was.
A few days later, the Qin Family Manor also held a meeting.
The Qin Family Manor was not the strongest estate in Jadefall City, but it was still impressive.
It stood in the eastern noble district, surrounded by formation walls, water gardens, floating stone bridges, and old pine trees shaped by decades of Spirit Qi pruning. White buildings with dark green roofs stretched across layered courtyards. Suppression law prevented high-level experts from freely releasing aura, but the estate still carried the quiet pressure of a family with Origin Sky parents, Spirit Master heirs, and enough history to stand proudly among local clans.
A small meeting had gathered inside the eastern strategy hall.
Elders sat along both sides.
Talented youths stood or sat behind them.
Qin Tianze was there.
He wore a dark blue wizard coat stitched with pale wind-runes. A silver spell tablet hovered lazily beside his shoulder. His hair was neat, his posture relaxed, and his expression carried the casual arrogance of someone used to being called talented.
Beside him sat his close friend, Qin Rui, a sharp-eyed young man with a lazy smile.
Qin Tianze glanced toward the empty seat marked for Qin Yuelan.
Instead of Qin Yuelan, a quiet young woman stood there holding a jade message tablet.