"Yes. Thank you for the opportunity, Master Floriana."

Rant Valo bowed to her respectfully. As always, she was doing things for him.

"Floriana, what about your sect? They are already looking everywhere for you. They should've already received news about your reappearance."

Xian Bao suddenly asked her.

"Hmph! Let them come! I'm much stronger than before."

Floriana Sabina snorted arrogantly.

"What did you say!?"

Xian Bao looked at Floriana Sabina in disbelief.

"Let them come?"

Floriana Sabina repeated in confusion.

"No! After that."

Xian Bao shook his head.

"I'm much stronger than before?"

Floriana Sabina repeated.

"Yes! That! What do you mean you're stronger than before?"

Xian Bao asked her with disbelief on his face. He couldn't believe that this monster in front of him got even stronger than before.

"Huh? It's exactly as I said. I got stronger."

Floriana Sabina looked at Xian Bao like she was looking at an idiot.

"A monster."

Xian Bao looked at her in disbelief. He couldn't believe that she got stronger again. It had only been 2 months since she disappeared.

"Hehehe. Who do you think I am?"

Floriana Sabina giggled seeing the look on Xian Bao's face.

"So that's why you ran away from your sect?"

Xian Bao looked at her intently and asked.

"I hate them all!"

Floriana Sabina replied with anger in her voice.

"Sigh. Aside from this kid? What do you want?"

Xian Bao sighed and asked her. He doesn't want to get involved with her feud with her sect.

"We're just exploring."

Floriana Sabina replied to him.

"If those old geezers heard you, they would surely lock you up again in annoyance. Here you are leisurely exploring when they are looking for you."

Xian Bao said to her with a wry smile on his face.

"Let them do whatever they want. They won't be able to catch me anyway."

Floriana Sabina shrugged her shoulders freely.

"What did he mean, Master Floriana?"

Rant Valo asked her curiously. It seems like his master is actually a runaway from her sect.

"Don't bother with it, Disciple. I'll tell you after you reach the Mana Dominion stage."

Floriana Sabina winked at him at the end of her words.

"Okay..?"

Rant Valo furrowed his eyebrows and nodded his head reluctantly.

"Anyways, can you test my disciple's talent for alchemy now?"

Floriana Sabina asked Xian Bao impatiently.

"Here."

Xian Bao passed a ring towards Rant Valo. He caught it with both of his hands with a puzzled look on his face.

"That's a Storage Ring, Disciple."

Floriana Sabina explained to him.

"Oh!"

Rant Valo looked at it with interest after hearing her explanation. He examined it carefully, but there doesn't seem to be anything different about it from a normal ring. It was a metal ring with a red crystal center stone.

"Do you know how to use it?"

Xian Bao asked Rant Valo.

"How do I use it?"

Rant Valo asked in return.

"Pour your mana into it. Then it should create a mental image inside your head of what's inside. After that, you can pick any item, and it will appear in your hand."

Xian Bao explained to him.

"I see."

Rant Valo nodded in understanding. He closed his eyes and poured his mana into the ring.

An image of a dark space appeared inside his mind. It was a little disorienting as the image was in a three-dimensional format. Rant Valo looked inside it and saw different kinds of medicinal plants.

"What are these?"

Rant Valo opened his eyes and asked.

"Do you know how to concoct pills?"

Xian Bao asked him.

"Uhh… I still don't know how to."

Rant Valo replied awkwardly. The only thing he knew was to heat up a pill furnace. He wasn't even capable of keeping it at a constant temperature.

"Sigh. Then do you know how to extract the essence of a medicinal plant?"

Xian Bao asked him with a sigh.

"..."

Rant Valo didn't respond. His eyes slowly moved away and avoided Xian Bao's eyes.

"..."

Even Xian Bao was speechless. He thought that Floriana Sabina came here because she was confident that Rant Valo was good at alchemy. Yet he doesn't even know how to extract the essence of a medicinal plant.

"Stop doubting my disciple, Xian Bao!"

Floriana Sabina couldn't help but speak up. She feared that Xian Bao would give up on her disciple just like that.

"Alright. What can you do?"

Xian Bao asked Rant Valo with a tired gaze.

"I-I can heat up a pill furnace."

Rant Valo replied with an awkward stutter. He wasn't the least bit proud about it.

"A good start, I guess. Then, how well can you keep the temperature constant."

Xian Bao praised impassively. He already gave up on Rant Valo. If it weren't for Floriana Sabina, he would have kicked him out long ago.

"..seconds."

Rant Valo replied so softly that even Xian Bao's great hearing couldn't hear it.

"What?"

Xian Bao asked Rant Valo in confusion.

"A few s-seconds…"

Rant Valo replied with a stutter and looked away.

"Did you actually come here to waste my time? Come on, tell me."

Xian Bao turned to Floriana Sabina and asked her in annoyance.

"My disciple only started learning 4 days ago."

Floriana Sabina explained to him.

"4 days?"

Xian Bao raised his eyebrow when he heard her words.

"How long was he cultivating for?"

Xian Bao asked her in curiosity.

"3 weeks."

Floriana Sabina replied.

"Wha—?"

Xian Bao turned his head and examined Rant Valo from head to toe.

"...Was he cultivating every day?"

Xian Bao suddenly thought of something and asked her.

"No. From what I can remember, he had only been cultivating for 5 days in total."

Floriana Sabina replied to him. Xian Bao's eyes opened wide in shock. He looked at Floriana Sabina and Rant Valo alternately.

"What? Are you surprised? It's natural! He's my disciple, after all! Fufufufu."

Floriana Sabina grinned smugly seeing the shock and disbelief etched on Xian Bao's face. In the end, she couldn't hold back her laughter.