An Alchemy Accident? A Carefully Orchestrated "Accident"

Night lay black as ink, and the Inner Academy's silence was broken only by the occasional nocturnal animal darting past. Xiao Yan stood before the window, his Emperor Realm Soul spreading like a soundless tide over every inch of the Inner Academy before finally settling on the forbidden valley in its northwest corner.

Han Feng's aura lurked at the valley's edge like a wounded lone wolf as he circulated his Dou Qi to suppress the deadly poison within him. But Xiao Yan's perception was keener—he could sense an extremely faint fluctuation unique to the Soul Hall emanating from Han Feng's Storage Ring, seemingly resonating with something.

"Contacting someone from the Soul Hall..." A cold curve lifted the corner of Xiao Yan's mouth. Han Feng's first move after being poisoned had not been to seek an antidote, but to rush toward the forbidden grounds. Clearly, he intended to ask the Soul Hall for help. This gave Xiao Yan exactly the opening he needed.

He did not rush into action, but waited patiently. The core of the [Absolute Concealment System] was "perfection." Even the slightest oversight could expose him, so he had to wait for the ideal moment.

Early the next morning, the Inner Academy's pill-refining quarter grew lively. Today was the Inner Academy's monthly "alchemy exchange gathering," where many alchemists gathered to share their insights or bid on rare medicinal ingredients. As one of the Inner Academy's leading alchemists, Han Feng naturally would not miss it—this was an important occasion for him to build his reputation and cultivate alliances.

Xiao Yan mingled with the crowd, dressed in an ordinary student uniform and wearing a "curious" expression, as though he were merely a freshman hoping to broaden his horizons. His gaze swept seemingly casually across the pill-refining chamber before finally landing on Han Feng.

After a night, much of the bluish tint had faded from Han Feng's face. Clearly, the poison had been suppressed, though a trace of weariness and malice still lingered between his brows. He sat before a jade alchemy table, surrounded by fawning students, toying with a rare stalk of "ice crystal grass." Evidently, he planned to refine a high-grade pill to demonstrate his prowess.

Xiao Yan's soul power probed silently outward, instantly laying bare Han Feng's condition—the poison within him had been suppressed but not eradicated. Instead, it had combined with that eerie fluctuation from the Soul Hall, forming an unstable balance within his meridians. A powerful surge of energy would shatter that balance in an instant.

Now.

Xiao Yan already had a plan. He walked slowly to an ordinary alchemy table not far from Han Feng and pretended to select ingredients, while actually locking his soul power onto Han Feng's Medicine Cauldron. It was a high-quality cauldron of dark iron, but a tiny crack ran along its inner wall—old damage left by one of Han Feng's previous fights. He usually concealed it with Dou Qi, making it impossible to notice without close inspection.

The gathering began, and Han Feng indeed acted first. He placed the ice crystal grass into his Medicine Cauldron, kindled pale blue flames at his fingertips, and began refining an "Ice Spirit Evil-Breaking Pill." This high-grade pill demanded extremely precise heat control, making it the perfect way to showcase his skill.

Blue flames rose within the Medicine Cauldron, and the ice crystal grass gradually melted into crystalline droplets. The surrounding students exclaimed in admiration.

"As expected of Senior Han Feng! His fire control has truly reached the pinnacle of mastery!"

"I hear the Ice Spirit Evil-Breaking Pill can cure a hundred poisons. If only I could get one..."

A smug expression appeared on Han Feng's face, and his fire-control movements became increasingly elaborate. He never noticed the nearly imperceptible strand of soul power slipping silently into the Medicine Cauldron through its crack.

Meanwhile, Xiao Yan was "clumsily" handling the ingredients before him, seemingly attempting to refine the lowest-grade healing medicine. His slow, unpracticed movements stood in stark contrast to Han Feng's flowing grace, drawing snickers from several nearby students.

Yet beneath this "clumsy" disguise, the soul power that had infiltrated Han Feng's Medicine Cauldron began to work. It did not interfere with the pill's refinement. Instead, like a catalyst, it quietly accelerated the circulation of energy within the cauldron while subtly linking the unstable fluctuations of the poison inside Han Feng to the flames' energy.

Time ticked by, and Han Feng's pill reached its crucial stage. A cloud of pale blue pill mist gathered above the Medicine Cauldron, its fragrance spreading in every direction. Clearly, the pill was about to take shape.

Han Feng drew a deep breath and increased his Dou Qi output, preparing for the final condensation.

Just then, Xiao Yan's "hand trembled," and a "blazing flame flower" accidentally slipped from his grasp, falling to the floor and rolling beside Han Feng's alchemy table. He gave a "startled cry" and hurriedly bent to retrieve it, only to "accidentally" bump Han Feng's Medicine Cauldron as he straightened.

Thump!

The soft collision was almost drowned out by the surrounding conversation.

Yet Han Feng's expression abruptly changed.

That seemingly insignificant bump had ignited the "fuse" Xiao Yan had planted—the accelerated energy within the Medicine Cauldron instantly fell into chaos, resonating violently with the poison's fluctuations inside Han Feng. The once-stable blue flames abruptly surged, raging through the cauldron like ignited explosives.

"This is bad!" Shocked and furious, Han Feng hurried to suppress the flames, only to discover that his Dou Qi had begun flowing backward uncontrollably, clashing with the fire inside the Medicine Cauldron.

Boom!

With a thunderous blast, the dark-iron Medicine Cauldron exploded!

Shattered cauldron fragments mixed with scalding medicinal liquid flew in every direction. Han Feng bore the brunt of the explosion, its shock wave hurling him away. Burning liquid splattered his face and arms, and he let out an agonized scream.

The surrounding students recoiled in terror, their startled cries rising one after another.

"The pill cauldron exploded!"

"Quick, save him!"

Amid the chaos, Xiao Yan had already retreated to the edge of the crowd, wearing just the right measure of "terror" and "guilt." "I... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to..."

No one paid attention to his apology. Every gaze was fixed on Han Feng.

Han Feng lay on the ground, covered in injuries. His face in particular had been burned by the scalding medicinal liquid, leaving his once reasonably handsome features horribly pitted. Worse still, the explosion's impact had sent his Dou Qi completely out of control. The poison and the Soul Hall's fluctuations intertwined wildly, making him curl into a ball in agony as his aura rapidly weakened.

Several Inner Academy instructors arrived after hearing the news, their expressions turning grave at the sight. The lead instructor examined Han Feng's injuries, then looked at the shattered Medicine Cauldron and the blazing flame flower on the floor. Frowning, he said, "The explosion was caused by a clash between ice and fire energies. While refining the Ice Spirit Evil-Breaking Pill, Han Feng mistakenly used a vessel carrying traces of blazing flame flower. An external collision then disrupted the process, resulting in this."

The conclusion was perfectly reasonable—the Ice Spirit Evil-Breaking Pill was a pill of utmost yin, and its greatest taboo was the utmost-yang blazing flame flower. The flower Xiao Yan had dropped happened to provide the best possible "evidence."

No one suspected that the accident had been deliberately engineered. After all, Xiao Yan was merely an unremarkable freshman, while Han Feng was a long-established alchemist. Who would believe a freshman could orchestrate such a "precise" cauldron explosion?

"Take Han Feng for treatment. Also..." The instructor looked at Xiao Yan, his tone carrying a measure of reproach. "Although it was an accident, you still must be punished for bumping into an alchemy table. You will spend three days in the Detention Room."

"Yes. I willingly accept my punishment." Xiao Yan lowered his head, his face full of "remorse," while his heart remained utterly calm.

A carefully orchestrated "accident" had reached its perfect conclusion.

Han Feng had not only suffered grievous injuries and been disfigured. More importantly, the poison and the Soul Hall's fluctuations within him had been fully exposed—the Inner Academy's instructors would surely discover his connection to the Soul Hall while treating him. And all of it would be attributed to "energy backlash caused by an alchemy accident."

On his way to the Detention Room, escorted by two disciplinary students, Xiao Yan passed beside Han Feng. Han Feng lay on a stretcher with his face wrapped in bandages, leaving only a pair of eyes filled with venom and resentment exposed. He stared fixedly at Xiao Yan, as though trying to discern something from his face.

But all he saw was pure "guilt" and "fear."

Xiao Yan lowered his head slightly, avoiding Han Feng's gaze. Yet at an angle no one could see, a cold curve lifted the corner of his mouth.

This was only the beginning. From today onward, Han Feng would lose every shred of his reputation in the Inner Academy and become a "disfigured cripple" everyone shunned. And during his treatment, the Inner Academy's higher-ups would discover his connection to the Soul Hall.

Two birds with one stone.

The Detention Room was a cramped stone chamber that cut off Dou Qi and contact with the outside world. But to Xiao Yan, those restrictions were no more than an empty gesture.

He sat cross-legged on the stone bed, his Emperor Realm Soul passing through the walls as he turned his attention once more toward the forbidden valley in the northwest corner.

Word of Han Feng's misfortune had surely reached the Soul Hall by now. Those spies lurking in the shadows would no longer be able to sit still.

All he had to do was wait quietly under the "cover" of this Detention Room, waiting for the next "accident" to arrive.

Outside the stone chamber, the sunshine was bright, filtering through the narrow window to cast a small patch of light on the floor. No one knew that within this chamber imprisoning a freshman who had "made a mistake," a storm was brewing—one powerful enough to shake the Inner Academy's entire balance of power.