Diligent Cultivation and Hard Training

In a single day, he blew up three cauldrons in a row. Since the Alchemist Guild was founded in Black Rock City, Su Heng was the only person to accomplish such a "feat."

"You idiot, you fool! How did you blow up the cauldron again? You useless trash, get out!"

The "cheerful" laughter filling the entire Alchemy Hall exploded beside Lin Fei's ears. It was like steel blades stabbing into her heart. This junior brother of hers had utterly disgraced her.

Furious, Lin Fei rushed into the still-churning black smoke and viciously kicked Su Heng, who was lying on the ground. Even after the kick, she wasn't satisfied and immediately started cursing him out.

Poor Su Heng had exhausted all his battle qi and couldn't resist at all. When Lin Fei's kick landed, he felt as if a steel blade had pierced his body. The piercing pain made him scream.

"Enough! Enough! Stop fooling around!"

Seeing that Lin Fei had vented enough, Master Frank stepped forward at the right moment to stop the farce.

A melodious bell rang at just the right time, officially ending today's alchemy practice. Of the eight apprentices, one and only one had handed in a blank result.

After leaving the Alchemy Hall, Su Heng didn't feel discouraged at all. If he had wanted to submit medicinal ingredients, he would have ranked first among the eight. The value of today's three failures far exceeded the other students' five successes.

"Stop right there!"

Su Heng deliberately waited until everyone else had left before becoming the last to exit the Alchemy Hall. Yet after crossing only one corridor, someone blocked his path.

"Senior Sister Lin Fei, you haven't gone back yet..."

Seeing Lin Fei's livid face and the killing intent rising around her, Su Heng felt a little embarrassed. He deliberately lowered his head and put on a surprised expression, intending to hurry past her.

Both he and Lin Fei were Master Otto's disciples. Now that he had blown up three cauldrons in one day, he had thoroughly disgraced Master Otto.

As Master Otto's precious darling, Lin Fei would definitely come looking for trouble. Besides, he had even caused her to blow up a cauldron once. It would be better to avoid her for now.

Su Heng was a grown man. He couldn't exactly fall out with a young girl and start fighting her.

"You disgraced both me and Master today. What face do I have left to go back and see him?"

Lin Fei raised her pretty face. Her puffed-up cheeks were unexpectedly adorable, though there was nothing adorable about her tone.

"Senior Sister, it was my first practical lesson. A few small accidents are normal, and I did my best."

Su Heng gave an honest chuckle. Under the current circumstances, he couldn't explain everything to Lin Fei in detail, so he could only try to muddle through first. Everyone had been a beginner once. A few accidents were perfectly normal.

"Take this!"

Lin Fei flicked her jade-like hand, and something suddenly flew out of her Storage Ring, smashing heavily toward Su Heng.

Seeing the huge thing flying toward his chest, Su Heng quickly stepped back and simultaneously circulated the battle qi he had only partially recovered, catching it with all his strength.

The tremendous impact from the flying object forced Su Heng back several steps before he barely steadied himself. Looking closely, he found a massive red medicinal cauldron in his arms.

"This is the medicinal cauldron I used before. Starting today, I'm lending it to you. Go back and practice twice as hard! If I see you blow up another cauldron during the next practice lesson, I'll stuff you into this cauldron and refine you into medicinal dregs!"

Lin Fei ran up to Su Heng, gritting her teeth as she spoke angrily.

"And take these too!"

Before her words had even faded, Lin Fei had stuffed more than a dozen Blood-Stanching Grass stalks into Su Heng's arms. Their quality was even better than the Blood-Stanching Grass used in today's alchemy session. They were clearly Lin Fei's personal collection.

"These are the ingredients I normally use for practice. I'm lending them to you for now! Go back and study them properly. Don't embarrass yourself like you did today, understand?"

Looking at the stern little senior sister before him, Su Heng suddenly felt a little touched. Lin Fei might be temperamental and sharp-tongued, but she had a kind heart.

Su Heng had originally thought Lin Fei had blocked him here to give him a severe beating. He hadn't expected that she was waiting for him, much less that she would "lend" him her medicinal cauldron and ingredients.

The slight reluctance in Lin Fei's gaze showed that she had apparently already decided Su Heng would blow up her cauldron and ruin her ingredients. Yet for the sake of her own and Master's reputation, she had still made the greatest sacrifice she could.

"Don't worry, Senior Sister Lin Fei. I will cultivate diligently and train hard. I definitely won't disappoint you."

He meant every word. This "Senior Sister" was no longer mere polite formality; Su Heng had truly acknowledged this young girl.

Whatever her reasons, they had only met by chance, yet she was willing to help him so much. That was enough to prove her character and showed that she was worth befriending.

There were still five days until the next Alchemy Hall practice session. Su Heng had originally planned to visit the Black Rock City auction house and buy some ingredients to practice with, but Lin Fei's initiative had saved him quite a bit of trouble.

Alchemy consumed enormous amounts of battle qi. The more complex the practical exercise, the longer the required rest period.

Su Heng had no plans to rest over the next few days. He had a small supply of Qi-Replenishing Pills obtained from Mo Ran's Storage Ring, enough to support uninterrupted practice.

Inside the small courtyard's cultivation room, bright flames had danced and flickered continuously for three full days. During that time, their owner had not left the room even once.

Other than eating and taking brief rests, Su Heng had spent three days refining Blood-Stanching Grass.

As the setting sun sank and night descended, the flames that had burned for three days finally died out along with the sunset.

In the dim yellow light, a streak of clear white slowly rose from the pitch-black medicinal cauldron. It was as flawless as fresh snow, and its fine texture seemed like the finest silk beneath one's fingers.

"Did I succeed?"

Su Heng couldn't believe his eyes. He rubbed his bloodshot, painfully sore eyes and checked his result again and again.

Seeing was deceiving. Only practice could reveal the truth.

Su Heng gritted his teeth and slashed his right palm across his left arm. A two-inch wound immediately began pouring bright red blood. Ignoring the injury, Su Heng lightly sprinkled the refined white powder over the bleeding wound.

The moment the medicinal powder touched the wound, bone-piercing pain surged through him. His already exhausted body convulsed under the violent stimulation. Su Heng collapsed to the ground and curled into a ball in agony.

Even amid such heart-rending pain, his gaze remained locked on the wound on his left arm without shifting in the slightest.

After the intense pain passed, the wound on his left arm visibly stopped bleeding. Moments later, a scab formed over it, and there was no longer any cause for concern.

"Looks like I really succeeded this time. That's wonderful... Ha..."

Endless darkness surged in from every direction. Su Heng had exhausted all his battle qi and physical strength, relying solely on his will to support himself. Once that will was finally released, he fell into a deep sleep.

After an unknown amount of time, brilliant light stung Su Heng's eyelids. A cool liquid flowed into his mouth, and his body, like drought-stricken land receiving rain, gradually regained sensation.

Awakening from his deep sleep, Su Heng slowly opened his eyes. A youthful yet delicate oval face entered his view. Qing Lin looked at the awakened Su Heng with excitement and threw her arms around him.

"Brother Su Heng, you're finally awake!"

Qing Lin trembled slightly in his arms. Su Heng knew she must have stayed up again to care for him without resting properly.

"I'm fine. I was just too tired. How long did I sleep?"

Su Heng propped himself up and tried moving his arms. Perhaps because he had slept too long, his body felt somewhat stiff.

"You've been asleep for two days..."

A trace of worry appeared on Qing Lin's gentle, beautiful face as she answered softly.

No matter how tired an ordinary person was, they would usually wake after sleeping for a day. Only injured people slept longer because they had fallen unconscious. Clearly, Su Heng hadn't merely been exhausted; he had been injured. Qing Lin simply didn't know where he was hurt.

Su Heng didn't feel any discomfort. He got up and walked a few steps, then drained the hot tea Qing Lin handed him. He immediately felt much more alert.

Just as Su Heng was about to wash up and change clothes, the familiar sound of bells rang out. Out of habit, he looked toward the clock on the wall.

"The eighteenth, eleven in the morning?!"

The moment he saw the time, Su Heng's mind buzzed. Today was the day of a new Alchemy Hall practical session, and practice had begun at nine in the morning. Two hours had already passed, meaning he was a full two hours late.

Being late for class ordinarily wasn't such a big deal, but he had made a complete fool of himself in the first lesson and then vanished without a trace in the second.

That changed everything. In the eyes of those apprentices, Su Heng would be a coward so humiliated that he didn't even dare attend class.

If Su Heng really skipped class for the entire day, not only would those apprentices mock him for a whole year, but even Lin Fei, who had given him ingredients to practice with, would be furious enough to come to his door and beat him herself.

The other apprentices didn't matter, but when he thought of Lin Fei, Su Heng truly didn't want to disappoint her again.

Moments later, a red figure burst through the door and sprinted toward the Alchemy Hall.

Inside the Alchemy Hall, Master Otto sat with furrowed brows and a dark expression as he stared at the empty seat in the back row.

"Was I really wrong about him?"

Otto couldn't calm his thoughts. Su Heng had blown up three cauldrons in one day, his "fame" shaking the entire Alchemist Guild. Over the past few days, the other Alchemists in the guild had given Otto strange looks, making him feel miserable.

Two days ago, he had gone to see Su Heng, only to find him immersed in alchemy with no time to be distracted. Seeing how diligent Su Heng was, Otto hadn't disturbed him further.

But Su Heng hadn't appeared for today's practical lesson. It was nearly noon, yet there was still no sign of him.

The apprentices below the platform were whispering among themselves. Lin Fei was so angry that she gritted her teeth, veins bulging on her forehead and her eyes red. Beside her, Xue Mei wore a wicked smile and tossed out sarcastic remarks at Lin Fei from time to time.

"It's already noon. Why hasn't your dear junior brother arrived? Did he blow up so many cauldrons that he doesn't dare come anymore? Sigh... I understand. If I had such a useless junior brother, I wouldn't have the face to come to class either."

"I heard you lent him your medicinal cauldron. Don't tell me he blew that up too and is too ashamed to face you?"

Lin Fei forcefully suppressed her anger and tried to focus as much as possible on refining the medicinal ingredients before her. She knew Xue Mei was deliberately provoking her, hoping to make her lose control. If she blew up another cauldron from losing her temper like last time, she would truly be walking right into Xue Mei's trap.

Even so, Lin Fei couldn't help glancing toward the teacher on the platform and the entrance to the Alchemy Hall.

"Su Heng, you bastard, what are you doing? Why aren't you here yet?"

Just as Lin Fei's anxiety and fury swelled to the point where she was about to erupt, hurried footsteps approached from afar. Under everyone's astonished gazes, a figure in red robes appeared in the Alchemy Hall.

"Huff... Senior Sister, I'm here! I heard everything. You must've missed me, right?"

Su Heng, who had rushed here at full speed, tilted his head and smiled at Lin Fei. She pouted, huffed, and turned her head away.

Su Heng gently shook his head, then slowly walked before Otto and bowed deeply in apology.

"Master, I'm sorry I'm late."

"It's fine. You're here now. There are still five hours left, so take your seat quickly."

Seeing Su Heng's unsteady steps and sweat-covered face from his frantic run, Otto roughly understood what had happened. He nodded slightly and gestured for Su Heng to take his seat.

"I didn't expect him to actually come. I thought he was too ashamed to show his face again!"

"Stop talking tough. Five stalks of Blood-Stanching Grass. Pay up, a bet's a bet."

Su Heng had never imagined that these two apprentices would bet on him. They really thought he would shrink back from failure and not dare show his face? What childish temperaments.

Returning to his own bluestone table, he found the same standard bronze medicinal cauldron and five familiar stalks of Blood-Stanching Grass.

"Last time, I wanted to refine the ingredients, so I gave you all a tiny chance. Today, I won't hold back!"

If he only needed to refine the ingredients to a usable state, one mere stalk of Blood-Stanching Grass was child's play for Su Heng.

He skillfully sent crimson fire-attribute battle qi into the medicinal cauldron, then guided a wisp of Wood Qi into it.

Boom!

The instant the Wood Qi entered, the medicinal cauldron exploded violently again. Pale yellow flames shot more than half a meter into the air, while the massive impact drove the cauldron lid straight into the bluestone ceiling overhead.

"No way... He really blew up a cauldron the moment he walked in..."

One apprentice stared blankly at Su Heng as two streams of tears ran down from his eyes. The medicinal cauldron before him, just like his uncontrolled emotions, emitted a cloud of black smoke with a muffled bang.

"Hahahaha!!! You lost! Ten stalks of Blood-Stanching Grass, a bet's a bet! Ahahaha!"

The apprentice beside him laughed so hard he nearly lost his breath. Happiness had come so suddenly that even though all the ingredients in his cauldron had burned to ash, he didn't care in the slightest.

"Sigh... This kid really is a peerless genius. You gave him a cauldron and ingredients, and I thought he might improve by leaps and bounds. Looks like your judgment is just as terrible as your technique..."

Xue Mei feigned sorrow, wearing a resentful expression as she furrowed her brows and gazed at Lin Fei gloomily.

At that moment, Lin Fei rolled her eyes, stopped caring about anyone or anything, and nearly fainted from not being able to catch her breath.

Even Master Otto on the platform was sweating profusely, one hand pressed to his forehead with a completely lifeless expression.

Hearing was one thing, but seeing was believing. This time, his reputation was utterly ruined. He truly had no face left to show anyone.