Top-Grade Potion

He practically roared the words, then strode quickly toward the source of the explosion—Lottie's table.

A pungent smell filled the air. Her cauldron had been blasted into pieces, and Lottie stood frozen as if petrified. Thick black liquid, like smoky oil, splattered her face and robes. Her eyes were wide with terror, confusion, and helplessness. Tears spun wildly in her eyes, yet she was too frightened to let them fall.

"Polk!" Edwin's voice carried undisguised fury. "Lottie Polk, look at what you've done!"

His finger nearly poked Lottie in the nose:

"Night Owl Potion, one of the most basic potions there is. Even if it fails completely, at most it clumps together or comes out the wrong color. An explosion? I've only ever seen that when idiots who don't even know what mental power is stir things around blindly."

His gaze was sharp as an eagle's, fixed firmly on Lottie's pale little face. "What were you doing just now? Huh? Where was your mental power? The Polk Lineage is, at the very least, a proper wizarding lineage. The [Giant's Strength] Potion your grandfather brewed back then was even praised by the Head of the School. And you?"

Edwin's chest rose and fell slightly. The anger in his voice grew even stronger, mixed with a trace of heartache that could not be ignored:

"What exactly were you doing just now? Did you fall asleep? Or did you think you could succeed by tossing the materials in and boiling them however you pleased? You are insulting potion-making, and even more so, the blood of the Polk Lineage flowing through your veins. You have simply... simply disgraced your grandfather!"

Those final words struck Lottie's heart like a heavy hammer.

She shuddered violently, and the tears she had held back finally burst through the dam, rolling down in large, silent drops. The immense shame and fear, along with the shock of hearing Edwin mention her grandfather, nearly broke her. Yet she stubbornly held herself back from making a sound.

Li Ang felt a little sorry seeing Lottie like this, but Wizard Edwin was right. This truly was not a mistake that should have happened. He sighed inwardly, hoping she would take it as a warning and be more serious next time.

Edwin looked at her miserable state and snorted heavily. Though his anger had not faded, he did not continue berating her harshly.

He swept his gaze around the classroom at the other apprentices, who still had lingering fear on their faces, and said coldly:

"All those who failed their brewing, come to me after class to receive your punishment assignments. Verdant Whisper Herbs has received a new batch of potions and needs people to copy promotional flyers. Five hundred copies each! You may return to class only after you have copied enough to make up for the waste you caused."

With that, he no longer looked at the dazed Lottie and turned to leave the small classroom. The lesson ended amid an atmosphere of oppression and chaos.

The apprentices who had failed wore mournful expressions as they silently cleaned the filth from their tables. Li Ang saw Rufus calmly put away his cauldron, as though the explosion just now had been an insignificant interlude, before leaving the classroom directly.

Li Ang had wanted to go over and say something to Lottie, but when he saw her still biting her lip tightly, desperately wiping the table while forcing herself not to cry aloud, he ultimately stopped.

At this moment, any words would only be a burden to her. She needed to learn from this lesson and overcome it herself.

He silently helped her clean up some of the potion residue that had splashed into the surrounding area, then left the classroom with the others once they had finished cleaning.

Li Ang returned alone to his dormitory on the third floor and shut the door, blocking out the noise outside.

He sat cross-legged on the bed but did not begin meditating immediately. Edwin's praise for Rufus and his harsh rebuke of Lottie had stirred him somewhat.

This world placed far more importance on bloodlines and inheritance than he had imagined. Li Ang patted his face with both hands, shaking off his distracting thoughts...

Meditation made one lose track of time. When he opened his eyes again, the clock had already pointed to noon, and waves of hunger rose from his stomach. He got up and headed for the dining hall.

The dining hall was packed with people. Li Ang habitually swept his gaze toward the corner, but did not see that familiar figure.

Lottie had not come. He sighed inwardly, hoping Mentor Edwin would not criticize her too harshly.

Lunch was still a selected set meal, yet it somehow seemed to have lost some of its flavor.

After hurriedly finishing lunch, Li Ang did not return to his dormitory. Instead, he went directly to Mentor Eve's workshop.

Looking at the empty workshop, Li Ang took a deep breath and stared intensely at the enormous cauldron in its center. It was time.

[High-Quality Crystal Cauldron: lv0]

[Status: Can Be Bound]

[Binding Cost: 10 Mental Power]

"Bind." Li Ang silently spoke in his heart without hesitation.

[Binding Successful]

[High-Quality Crystal Cauldron: Current Level lv0]

[Current Effect: Moderately increases stability while brewing potions]

[Lv1 Effect: Increases stability while brewing potions by 10%, increases mental power guidance effectiveness by 10%, increases the success rate of brewing multiple potions simultaneously by 10%]

[Upgrade Requirement: Mental World Magic Starlet count reaches 2, consume 10 Mental Power]

It actually had three enhancement attributes. Li Ang forcefully suppressed the excitement in his heart and did not begin brewing immediately.

Sharpening the knife did not delay the chopping of firewood. The cauldron's third attribute after upgrading—increasing the success rate of brewing multiple potions at once—made his heart itch.

He immediately sat cross-legged on the workshop's cold, smooth floor and entered meditation once more, doing his utmost to restore his mental power.

With the [Acceleration Pocket Watch] and the denser magical environment within the workshop, his mental power recovered extremely quickly.

About an hour later, his mental power was fully restored. He immediately directed his consciousness toward the crystal cauldron that had become closely linked to him.

"Upgrade."

[Upgrade Successful]

Feeling the cauldron's new effects clearly feed back into his mind, Li Ang felt confidence rise in his heart. It was time to challenge himself.

He walked to the potion cabinet and opened it with his badge. This time, he directly took out materials for six portions of Calming Potion.

His goal was to brew two potions simultaneously in a single batch, attempting to reach greater potion-brewing efficiency.

Processing the materials, condensing pure water, igniting the [Magic Heat Furnace] beneath the cauldron...

He performed every step with meticulous care, his mind highly focused as he perfectly controlled every change within the cauldron through his invisible connection to it.

When he added two portions of Tranquility Flower Stamen at the same time, Li Ang's focus split into two as well, precisely guiding the two streams of purple potion...

The fragrance of the potion gradually spread. Two streams of golden liquid swirled within the cauldron, merging together while remaining undisturbed by one another.

In the end, when Li Ang added Pure Crystal Sand to complete the final purification, two bottles of excellent-quality potion were brewed.

He had not expected his first attempt at brewing two potions simultaneously to succeed, and to produce two excellent-quality potions at that. Li Ang did not stop, continuing to brew in the same fashion.

As another two bottles of excellent-quality potion emerged, Li Ang's understanding of the Calming Potion deepened further, and his movements became increasingly skilled.

When the final two bottles of Calming Potion came out of the cauldron, even Li Ang was stunned. Those two bottles of potion had turned a deep gold, thick and viscous like honey, and the magical power contained within them was incomparably abundant.

Simply smelling the fragrance they gave off accelerated Li Ang's mental power recovery by several degrees.

Th-this... could these be... top-grade Calming Potions?