Having been suddenly asked a question, Yi Lin took a moment to recover and put on a thoughtful look.

“You mean like Qi stones and crystals?”

Li Lang shook his head.

“Yes, but they aren’t rechargeable and require a cultivator to extract their energy, right? I’m looking for something that could power an artifact by itself.”

“In that case, you may have more luck asking an artificer.”

“Hmm, don’t you know how they are able to form fully functioning artifacts throughout all the partnerships you had with them?”

“Not in detail. I only know it involves processing the cores found in powerful Qi beasts, but that’ll be quite expensive for you. The core only forms when they reach the equivalent of the Foundation Establishment realm of us humans. Not all Qi beasts have them either, only in some of them.”

“I see.”

“Anyway, back to my question. Will you become my student again? I don’t mind if it’s only a few times a week. It’s better than getting no help at all.”

“No luck finding a replacement?”

Yi Lin shook his head wistfully. No words needed to be said as to why. All prospective students were likely scared off by how messy Yi Lin was.

“I haven’t finalized a decision yet,” Li Lang continued. “But if I do, it won’t be on a consistent basis. I may have to travel soon.”

“That’s fine. Are you free now?”

“You’re working this early in the morning?”

“Well, I’m already awake. Why not?”

After five long years, Li Lang once again collaborated with Yi Lin. Having improved in brushweaving tremendously over the years, Li Lang was able to absorb much more than before. Many little things Yi Lin did had escaped his notice before or he hadn’t understood its purpose. Now he knew exactly how skilled Yi Lin was. He easily completed four or five rune talismans with precision and speed.

This experience allowed Li Lang to fill in the many gaps in his understanding of the profession. This is especially so in the enchanting department. He had been forced to brute force a way to enchant through trial and error. It was a far cry from established techniques that were honed through the generations.

“I’ll have to take my leave now. Thank you for having me.”

“Come back anytime. I’ll be here for the foreseeable future.”

Li Lang didn’t stay until the sunset like he used to. That was because he had another obligation to complete. Back when he met his alchemy mentor, he had made a promise. A promise to Zhao Longwei that entailed sharing alchemy techniques he earned from the pocket realm. A binding contract was even signed, so he had to make good on his promise.

Li Lang found distances seemed to be shorter than before. He quickly arrived at the Alchemist Guild. It could have been due to his having grown or even his improved cultivation of an eighth-stage Energy Gatherer. Either way, he was quickly guided to a reception room where a middle-aged man with a full beard awaited.

“A triumphant return, I would say.”

“You flatter me, Senior Zhao. Luck seemed to be on my side. I hope the results will satisfy you.”

“Yes, I can’t wait. I’m eager to learn the difference between the techniques used today and those of the olden days.”

Both parties knew what they were here for, so they got right into it. Li Lang spotted paper and brush had already been prepared, so he began transcribing the alchemy techniques down.

He wouldn’t transcribe them word for word, though. He refused to reveal the fact he had the complete copy down. That was why he only summarized the key points of the technique as he knew it.

In a way, it was a loophole in the contract they signed. It only indicated he would share the knowledge and said nothing about having to share the complete texts. No one had expected Li Lang to have memorized every detail of the technique. He didn’t even include anything to do with the Primordial Star Fire, as the contract pertained to techniques and not heavenly fires.

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“Interesting…”

Once the Elder began to read what Li Lang wrote down, he swiftly fell into deep thought.

----------------------------------------

“How’d it go?” Li Lang asked upon reuniting with his friends during the evening.

“Umm, fine. I let them know I likely won’t stick around in a few months as I focus on my breakthrough.”

Long Yi had reached the ninth stage of Energy Gathering by the time he exited from the pocket realm. With his grade-three aptitude combined with the Cleansing Drug, he reached the point that many considered to be the end of their cultivation. It was the large wall that had left many people hopeless.

“Did you tell them I’d be dropping by tomorrow?”

“...”

“I take that as a no, then.”

“You should be fine. As long as you pass the test, they’ll teach you. You’re better at the studying stuff, right?”

“Hopefully better than you. I can’t believe you still haven’t managed to craft a single artifact after all these years.”

“Hey! I only learned the basics before we left.”

While Long Yi had shown talent in his martial prowess, his ability to study was another matter. The further one got into any crafting profession, the more knowledge one would need. It caused Long Yi’s progress in the art of artificing to slow down. Thankfully, his martial ability made up for it during his stay in the pocket realm.

“Hey, at l-least Long Yi can go find Senior Crucible to m-make up for it later,” Wei Ping interjected.

The three had agreed to refer to The Great Trial of Water Crest as Crucible from henceforth. They didn’t want to leak information by carelessly calling out its name, and it saved them from the mouthful of a name.

“I doubt he would make good use of that opportunity,” Li Lang quipped. “Whatever, it’s fine. We accomplished our goals one way or the other. It’s time I tried my hands at artificing. It’ll be better to design our own artifacts rather than outright buying them.”

Wei Ping and Long Yi exchanged a brief glance but remained silent. Li Lang accomplished incredible things from time to time. First with the Cleansing Drug, then with the pocket realm. They didn’t bother voicing their doubts about whether he could learn about artificing in a short time.

No one spoke, so Li Lang continued.

“As we previously discussed. We’re going to be working on creating our own organization in the long term now. We’ll start laying the groundwork as soon as I finish that errand for Liang Po.”

“Shouldn’t w-we wait until we’ve b-broken through to Foundation Establishment first?” Wei Ping questioned.

“Hmm, that is the common sense, yes. It’s rare for Energy Gatherers to take in their own disciples when they’re still fledglings themselves. But we have different advantages that could entice people to join us.”

“You m-mean the Cleansing Drug.”

“Yes. We’ll make use of binding contracts to keep news from spreading.”

“We’ll h-have to quit The Orchid Covenant b-by then, though.”

“That’s fine. Haven’t you noticed already? Our position is no longer the same?”

“What are you guys talking about?” Long Yi cut in. “I don’t understand any of this. Not the reason why we have to create our own organization or anything that’s changed. It’s just that we got stronger, right? We’re still far away from being able to establish any organization.”

“I told you this already. In a way, when we’re under someone else’s organization, we’ll be working for them. We’ll be able to gather vastly more resources and have others work for us instead if we form our own group.”

What Li Lang had left unsaid was the fact he could observe his disciples over a long period of time. He could assign them their cultivation techniques, effectively making it one giant experiment for him. From those data, he could formulate his own solutions and techniques.

“Aren’t you already rich? You have enough resources to last well into Foundation Establishment.”

“Long Yi, you forget I have grade one aptitude. My progress will slow down to the appropriate rate as soon as I reach the peak of Energy Gathering. My advantage with the Cleansing Drug will probably be diminished if not gone entirely. The resources required to search for ways to progress faster would be tremendous.”

“Sorry, didn’t mean to put you down.”

“No problem. I know.”

Li Lang cleared his throat and directed the conversation back on track.

“As I was saying. Our position is no longer the same. Have you guys noticed how your mentor has treated you compared to before?”

Wei Ping thoughtfully nodded, while Long Yi urged for an explanation with his look.

“Your mentor should be acting a little more reserved towards you now, right?”

“Hmm, now that I think about it. They were nicer than before. Or that may be because I hadn’t messed anything up yet.”

Li Lang acted as if he hadn’t heard him and continued.

“News has spread that we were among the last to remain in the pocket realm. Combined with the gossip of our good relationship with Nightmoon Valley, Eternal Wave Sect, and Myriad Bones Pavilion, people should be treating us more seriously. They can’t verify the authenticity of it, which is why they act carefully lest they piss off those colossal organizations. This means we should be fine even if we leave The Orchid Covenant.”

“As long as we don’t find conflict with others, they won’t find trouble with us. Is what you’re saying, right?”

Li Lang nodded in response, glad that his giant friend was finally caught up to speed. Unfortunately, he would soon be lost again as they discussed the details of their upcoming plans.