The Taste of Envy, Jealousy, and Hatred

Jiang Donghua keenly sensed the subtle atmosphere in the dormitory—an emotion called envy, jealousy, and hatred.

Zhou Mang's hand paused slightly as he wiped his gauntlets. A trace of awkwardness flashed across his rough face before he snorted.

"Hmph, Formation Masters are all flash and no substance."

Yet his gaze kept drifting toward the parchment scroll covered in dense runes by Wen Ziyu's bedside, his fists unconsciously clenching and relaxing.

Shi Lei was even more direct. Tossing back his fiery red short hair, he draped his towel over his shoulder and leaned over Wen Ziyu's bed, clicking his tongue in amazement at the complicated runes.

"Old Wen, if you could carve this stuff onto gauntlets, wouldn't it blow a Dou Shi straight into the air?"

Wen Ziyu adjusted his crystal lenses and sighed helplessly.

"In your dreams. Formations need specific mediums to operate stably. Ordinary refined iron simply can't withstand the power of runes."

He casually dragged a wooden chest out from beneath the bed and opened it, revealing a heap of scrapped formation plates and shattered crystals.

"See? These failed products alone cost me over a hundred thousand gold coins."

"Over a hundred thousand?!"

Shi Lei's eyes widened, and he nearly sprang off the bed.

"I couldn't earn that much even if I risked my life taking escort jobs for three years!"

Wen Ziyu shrugged.

"And that's only for the most basic Fire Spirit Array. If I wanted to carve a Spirit Gathering Array or a Defense Formation, the material costs would be more than double."

With a light tap of his fingertip, the parchment scroll by the bed unfurled on its own, revealing a complicated half-finished formation diagram.

"See this?"

"Just this draft of the Mysterious Fire Array is worth five hundred Contribution Points. It's my assignment for this year. If I can't hand it to my instructor by the end of the year, I'll be in trouble."

As though remembering something, Shi Lei suddenly widened his eyes and asked in disbelief.

"The Mysterious Fire Array? Unless someone is at peak Fighter, they'd probably be easily shredded to death inside that formation."

Jiang Donghua clicked his tongue inwardly.

No wonder Wen Ziyu said Formation Masters burned money. This was practically using gold coins to pile up one's cultivation!

Shi Lei scratched his head, looking frustrated.

"Damn it, if I'd known, I would've studied formations too. Tossing out a formation plate during a fight would've been way cooler than swinging my fists around, wouldn't it?"

Zhou Mang snorted.

"With that brain of yours, do you think you could learn it?"

Though he said that, his eyes were fixed firmly on Wen Ziyu's formation diagram, and his Adam's apple bobbed unconsciously.

The atmosphere in the dormitory became somewhat stifling. Aside from Wen Ziyu, who remained focused on studying his formation diagram, the other three fell into brief silence.

Shi Lei scratched his fiery red short hair and plopped down onto his bed, his voice carrying a hint of resentment.

"Damn it, come to think of it, if any of us had shown even a bit of Soul Force talent back then, we might be Alchemists now. Why would we need to risk our lives taking jobs every day?"

Zhou Mang snorted, his fists creaking as he clenched them.

"Alchemists?"

"Those bastards walk around like they're looking at everyone through their nostrils. I'd rather take a few more punches than beg them for a single pill."

Jiang Donghua smiled thoughtfully.

"Alchemists are indeed arrogant, but they have the right to be."

"Even the most ordinary First-grade Pill can sell for over a thousand gold coins, let alone pills that can help people break through bottlenecks."

"Tch, don't bring it up!"

Shi Lei waved his hand irritably.

"Last time, I went to the Alchemy Department to ask for a healing pill. That apprentice wouldn't even look me in the eye and just said he was busy. I was so pissed I nearly flipped the table on the spot!"

Hearing that, Wen Ziyu finally raised his head from the formation diagram. He adjusted his crystal lenses and said mildly,

"Alchemists rely on talent even more than Formation Masters. If their Soul Force is even slightly lacking, they can't even perform the most basic fire control."

"Besides, they have to memorize the properties of all kinds of Medicinal Herbs from childhood. Just getting started takes several years."

"So what?"

Zhou Mang's tone was dark.

"Didn't we train our fists from childhood until our bones cracked? Why do they get to stand so high above everyone else?"

Jiang Donghua shook his head, a trace of helplessness flashing in his eyes.

"Because pills are a necessity. Cultivation, healing, breakthroughs—which of those can do without them?"

"No matter how strong we are, if we're seriously injured, we still have to beg them to save our lives."

Shi Lei slammed his palm against the bedboard and gritted his teeth.

"Damn it, in the end, it's just that we don't have that fate!"

"If we'd passed the Soul Force test back then, would we still have to put up with those people's attitudes now?"

Everyone's gaze landed on Jiang Donghua at once, carrying both expectation and a touch of helplessness.

Shi Lei grinned and reached out to pat Jiang Donghua on the shoulder, hitting him hard enough to nearly make him stagger.

"Donghua, you're the only fresh blood in our dorm. Go test yourself at the Alchemy Department and Formation Department tomorrow. What if you really get lucky?"

Zhou Mang folded his arms, and a rare look of encouragement appeared on his rough face.

"Yeah. There's no harm in trying. New students have to undergo talent testing anyway."

Wen Ziyu adjusted his crystal lenses. His tone was calm, yet earnest.

"Soul perception is the foundation, but Alchemists also need Fire attribute with Wood attribute, and the two must be balanced. Otherwise, it's easy to burn the Medicinal Herbs while controlling fire."

Under their stares, Jiang Donghua felt a little uneasy and gave an awkward laugh.

"The way you're looking at me... why does it feel like you're sending me to a gambling house to try my luck?"

"Hahaha!"

Shi Lei burst out laughing.

"Isn't that exactly what it is?"

"After our tests back then, none of us even met the minimum Soul Force standard, let alone that damned Wood within Fire."

Zhou Mang snorted and clenched his fists.

"My Fire attribute is plenty strong, but Wood attribute?"

"Heh, not a trace of it. I was born to fight."

Wen Ziyu shrugged.

"My Soul Force barely met the standard, but I don't have Wood attribute. Instead, I have a trace of Earth attribute, so I could only settle for studying formations."

Jiang Donghua scratched his head, feeling somewhat nervous as well.

Alchemists and Formation Masters were both professions that relied heavily on talent. Once one succeeded, their status and resources would be completely different.

But even if he failed, it seemed he would not lose anything.

"Don't overthink it."

Seeing his hesitation, Shi Lei waved his hand carelessly.

"Just treat it as going through the motions. If you make it, our whole dorm rises with you. If not, don't feel burdened. An ordinary Dou Zhe can still make something of himself!"

Zhou Mang rarely chimed in.

"Right. At worst, the rest of us will have your back."

Wen Ziyu said nothing. He merely fished out a dim crystal from beneath his bed and tossed it to Jiang Donghua.

"Take it. Grip it tightly during the Soul Force test. It can steady your mind."

Jiang Donghua caught the crystal. It felt slightly cool, and he could vaguely sense a faint flow of energy within it.

After taking a deep breath, he nodded.

"Alright. I'll give it a try tomorrow."

The dormitory fell quiet for a time, each of them lost in his own thoughts.

Shi Lei suddenly grinned, a cunning gleam flashing in his eyes.

"Donghua, if you really become an Alchemist, then when we get hurt in the future..."

"Get lost!"

Jiang Donghua laughed and cursed.

"You're already thinking about my pills before I've even taken the test?"

Everyone burst into laughter, and the atmosphere eased considerably.

But after the laughter faded, Jiang Donghua lowered his head to look at the crystal in his hand, and his heart inexplicably felt heavy.

Do I have talent?

If Jiang Donghua possessed the ability to hear others' thoughts, he would know that more than one elder at Jia Nan Academy had already sensed the pure Wood within Fire in him.

Why worry about failing to become an Alchemist?