The Potion Competition

"Now? Mentor Eve wanted to see me?" Li Ang was somewhat surprised. This was the first time Eve had taken the initiative to summon him.

"Yes, please follow me." Ginny bowed and gestured for him to proceed.

As they walked down the path toward Eve's living quarters, Li Ang recalled a question that had been lingering in his mind and could not help asking Ginny softly beside him:

"Ms. Ginny, there's something I wanted to ask... I've heard several mentors call Mentor Eve the 'Reclusive Princess'? What does that title mean...?"

Ginny's face instantly showed a complicated expression, a mixture of helplessness and You seriously don't know?

She cautiously glanced ahead and behind them before lowering her voice to answer:

"Reclusive, well... naturally, it's because Lady Eve never teaches in public classrooms, and she almost never leaves the workshop and living quarters. Let alone visiting other Wizard Towers now and then, like the other mentors do, to exchange academic knowledge."

"As for taking disciples, you are also Lady Eve's first personal disciple... As for the title 'Princess'..."

Ginny lowered her voice even further, with a hint of warning. "You absolutely must not mention it in front of Lady Eve. She dislikes that title very much. As for why..."

She paused, amusement flickering in her eyes as she looked at Li Ang. "Lady Eve's full name is Eve Chloe. And our faction head, Lord Carlos's full name is Carlos Chloe. Do you understand now?"

Li Ang abruptly halted, his pupils contracting slightly.

Chloe!

So that was it. Mentor Eve was actually the daughter of Carlos of All Spirits, the faction head.

No wonder she could hole herself up as she pleased and possess such a large-scale workshop. He had accidentally latched onto a thick thigh.

Seeing Li Ang's enlightened yet shocked expression, Ginny smiled in satisfaction and said no more.

The two soon arrived outside Eve's living quarters. Ginny knocked on the door and said respectfully:

"Lady Eve, Apprentice Li Ang has arrived." The door soon opened without a sound. Ginny made a welcoming gesture to Li Ang, while she herself remained outside.

Li Ang drew a deep breath, straightened his gray robe, and stepped inside.

Eve was still seated on that comfortable velvet sofa. Today, she wore a formal black wizard robe, but it still could not conceal her astonishing curves.

She was idly playing with a small crystal bottle. Inside was a familiar potion, flowing with pale moon-white radiance.

When she saw Li Ang enter, she lifted those aqua-blue eyes and directly held out the crystal bottle to him, her tone as calm as ever.

"Take it. A Beginner Lung-Healing Potion. Since you have become my disciple, I will not be stingy over something like this. If you have questions in the future, you may ask directly."

Li Ang froze where he stood. Looking at the potion, which was clearly far superior in quality to the one he had brewed last night, an intense look of embarrassment immediately appeared on his face.

He rubbed his nose and spoke somewhat sheepishly. "Uh... thank you for your concern, Mentor. But... my lung disease... I already brewed a dose myself last night and drank it... I've fully recovered now."

"Hm?" Eve's hand, which was offering the potion, stopped in midair. For the first time, a clear trace of surprise flashed through her eyes.

She carefully examined Li Ang and indeed found that his complexion was much rosier, his breathing deep and steady. That faint, barely perceptible sickly air had truly vanished.

An extremely complicated expression passed over her face—surprise, appreciation, and even a trace... a trace of frustration?

Eve silently withdrew the potion, her tone betraying neither pleasure nor anger. "You... succeeded in brewing it yourself?"

She set the potion on the tea table and looked back at Li Ang. For the first time, she regarded this disciple she had taken in by chance with such seriousness.

"Your talent and diligence are even better than I expected."

After a pause, she continued, "Although the Lung-Healing Potion is only a beginner potion, its requirements for heat control and spiritual-force guidance are already close to the entry level of some intermediate potions. Honestly, I did not expect you to succeed in brewing it."

Her voice remained calm, yet it carried a faint undertone of disappointment and appreciation.

"The fact that you succeeded in brewing it independently proves that your actual ability has already exceeded the scope of an ordinary apprentice."

Li Ang's heart stirred, but he maintained a respectful expression. "It was because of your proper guidance, Mentor."

Eve seemed not to care about his modest words. She lightly pointed a finger at the empty spot on the sofa beside her, signaling for him to sit.

After Li Ang sat beside her, she continued:

"Every year, the faction holds the 'Silver Crucible' Potion Competition, open to all Apprentice Wizards. The rewards for the winners... are fairly generous."

She paused, her gaze sweeping over the badge on Li Ang's chest that belonged to her.

"The faction's monetary rewards will naturally be considerable. Several major merchant guilds that have long cooperated with the Tower will also provide sponsorship, and the winners can receive an additional reward from them. Besides..."

Her tone grew imperceptibly heavier. "Being able to leave an impression on several faction heads—the invisible benefits of that are vital to one's future development."

Li Ang's heart gave a fierce thump. Everything Mentor Eve had mentioned was a resource he desperately needed.

"Although the competition is open to Apprentice Wizards," Eve said in the same even tone, as though she were merely stating something insignificant.

"If you are interested, I can help you obtain a spot in the competition."

Her gaze rested on Li Ang, a hint of inquiry in her eyes as she silently awaited his reply.

Li Ang did not hesitate in the slightest. He immediately bowed.

"Thank you, Mentor, for giving me this opportunity. Of course I am willing to participate."

Upon hearing her disciple's reply, the iceberg-like expression Eve had always worn finally revealed a faint smile.

She softly hummed in acknowledgment, then seemed to realize something and swiftly withdrew the smile from her face before continuing:

"The competition will be held in one month. Ginny will tell you the specific rules afterward. Over this month, you may freely use the materials in the workshop for practice, but do not waste them."

"I understand. I will never waste your resources, Mentor," Li Ang replied solemnly.

"Go." Eve waved her hand.

Suppressing the excitement in his heart, Li Ang respectfully withdrew from Eve's living quarters.

After leaving Mentor Eve's residence, Li Ang went to the workshop, intending to take on a few commissions and continue with what he had originally planned to do that day.

Only then did Li Ang belatedly realize that Mentor Eve seemed to have been deliberately lowering her voice throughout the day.

Only when he agreed to enter the competition, when she let out that brief "Hm," had her voice returned to its previous childish quality—before immediately sinking again.

Moreover, she was wearing a formal wizard robe today, and she had not been reading novels either. Could it be that his glance during their last meeting had made Mentor Eve feel that he had looked down on her?

So she had kept her voice lowered the entire time today in order to seem more dignified as a mentor?

It seemed he would have to find a way to draw closer to this mentor in the future.