‘Hmm, should be fine,’ Jin convinced himself after inspecting the array formation.

The rank 3 barrier that he had set up was meant to prevent Yuri from accidentally blowing up the inn during the test. Just a precautionary measure he explained to her, though she didn’t seem to buy it entirely. He sat on the ground, cross-legged facing the girl, and began unwrapping the newly arrived packages from the Alchemist Association.

“So, are we going to talk about it before we start?” she asked, her feet tucked under her legs in a relaxing meditative pose.

“Talk about..?”

She raised an eyebrow.

“About why a dozen heavenly monarch butterflies targeted me for no reason yesterday? Or why the mysterious ‘Lord of the Silver Manor’ invited us to his upcoming party? I’m guessing they’re connected.”

Jin shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine. But one thing is for sure, we need to be extra cautious. Men in power, such as the Lord of the Silver Manor, never befriend people who can’t benefit them in one way or another.”

He pulled out a white marble cauldron marked with strange symbols and placed it between them. If he had a choice, he would have preferred not to use the Forbidden World Cauldron. It inevitably reminded him of the many late nights concocting outlandish pills with Tian Long to prank their tutors. Heavenly Scholar Lao had borne the brunt of their jokes.

“You’re doing that again,” sighed Yuri.

“Doing what again?”

Realizing that he had stalled, Jin went back to filling the cauldron with the unpacked ingredients.

“Sometimes I see you staring at nothing, like you’re lost in a world of your own. I can tell you really miss someone. Family or friend?”

“More than you know,” Jin replied without realizing what he had said. “Let’s focus on the matter at hand. We still have much to do, including returning that bracelet of yours tonight.”

Seeing as he wanted to change the topic so badly, Yuri decided to let the matter drop. She could understand his unwillingness to talk; she felt the same about her situation. She dreaded nighttime when the tears inevitably came.

“Why is your spiritual flame black?” she asked as Jin began the refining process.

Pill-making was a highly guarded skill and a notoriously difficult profession to enter. Even for someone like Yuri, a former heiress of a wealthy clan, she had little knowledge about alchemists, what they did or how they did.

“It’s no ordinary spiritual flame. I was rewarded with the for my contributions to a place called the PonPon Market. Why are you laughing?”

His response made Yuri lose her composure. The girl rolled on the floor, chest heaving, in uncontrollable mirth.

“PonPon Market...sounds like a candy store.”

Noticing Jin didn’t crack a smile, she sat back up and untangled her hair.

“Okay, Mister Serious, I guess there’s only one person here with a sense of humor.”

“It may sound innocent, like something from a children’s story, but I assure you it’s far from that. It’s a place devoid of all that is good…”

His gaze wandered, recalling a past no one knew but himself. Although Jin’s physical age was fourteen, he was mentally much older. At the tender age of six, Jin had accidentally slipped through a crack in space-time and ended up trapped in the PonPon Market. There he met beings beyond his wildest imagination - cosmic immortals who could destroy realms with no more than a mere thought. To survive, he did many unspeakable things, in the process learning a lifetime’s worth of knowledge.

By the time he returned to the High Realms, a hundred years had passed. Yet, Jin hadn’t aged a single day - still in a child’s body. It turned out that time flowed very differently in the market, which itself was a tiny part of a larger space the inhabitants called the Eternal Void. His parents, both ordinary farmers, were long gone, destined to die in grief for their lost son. Utterly alone, it was a twelve-year-old Tian Long who reached out and reintroduced him to human society.

“Are the people living there also cultivators?” Yuri asked innocently.

“Many of the inhabitants in the PonPon Market are entities that cannot be measured by simple cultivation ranks. A Divine Sovereign wouldn’t even register as an ant in their eyes. If you ever miraculously travel there, you’ll see things, inexplicable and impossible things,” Jin answered.

Yuri returned an inquisitive look. “What’s a Divine Sovereign? I thought the highest cultivation rank was a Celestial Monarch.”

Jin shook his head. “It’s not, but I will explain it to you when it’s time. Just know that my allows me to create pills that would normally require a higher cultivation and more precious materials. This,” Jin said, finishing the refining process and holding a multi-colored pill, “is the rank 3 Seven Elements Lotus Pill.”

Yuri examined the round pellet with interest, engrossed at how the combination of a spiritual flame and a cauldron could transform scrappy-looking ingredients into such a coveted item. She knew that a rank 3 pill was a kingly gift. By now, Yuri was beginning to truly appreciate just how amazing and talented the boy sitting across from her was.

“What happens when I consume it?”

“As the name implies, you’ll be surrounded by a spiritual lotus flower. The number of elements you have an affinity for will determine the number of lotus petals that open. There are a total of seven base elements and seven corresponding petals.

She hesitated as she held the pill to her mouth. “I understand you’ve been hesitant to tell me about my innate talent, and it’s okay if I don’t have any. I’ve been told that my entire life, so I know how to handle disappointment.

Nodding, Jin gestured for her to consume the pill. He planned to tell her the truth once he confirmed her elemental affinities. The girl swallowed the pill whole, making an gulping motion.

“Now, close your eyes and concentrate. Don’t fight the sensation,” instructed Jin.

“What sensat…,” the girl was about to ask before a burning feeling spread inside her body. To say it was painful would be a lie, but it sure didn’t feel comfortable. Yuri felt like her innards had been doused in hot sesame oil.

Jin watched as the translucent lotus took form. The air around them vibrated rapidly, ruffling his hair and clothes. Then, the lotus flower began blossoming, causing Jin’s stomach to lurch in anticipation.

First, the red petal - symbolizing the base element of fire and its sub-element, lightning.

Second, the orange petal - symbolizing the base element of life and its sub-element, spirit.

Third, the yellow petal - symbolizing the base element of light and its sub-element, darkness.

Fourth, the green petal - symbolizing the base element of earth and its sub-element, wood.

Fifth, the blue petal - symbolizing the base element of water and its sub-element, ice.

At this point, the turbulence inside the array matched a mini-typhoon. Howling wind threatened to throw Jin off balance. Already the barrier showed signs of strain as the first cracks began to appear after the fifth petal opened. Since Yuri’s eyes were shut, he was glad she couldn’t see the concern on his face. The lotus seemed to be shielding her from the raging storm around them.

Then, the sixth indigo petal appeared, representing the base element of air and its sub-element, wind.

Major cracks continued to develop all over the array formation. Jin prayed for it to hold a bit longer, at least until the seventh petal opened.

Finally - last but not least - the violet petal appeared, representing the base of element of space and its sub-element gravity. This last petal confirmed what Jin had suspected all along. Yuri did indeed possess the peerless Primordial Goddess Physique.

A warm comfortable feeling settled above Yuri’s navel. Had she seen her reflection, she would have noticed a healthy change in her complexion.

Without her knowledge, the exposure to the base elements had activated her physique, which effortlessly absorbed the pure qi inside of the Seven Elements Lotus Pill. Consequently, Yuri had unknowingly expelled the impurities in her mortal body and formed a spirit core, thereby skipping the Qi Temperer rank entirely. In mere moments, Yuri accomplished what would have taken others many years; she had become an early-stage qi adept!

Once all of the pure qi in the pill was depleted, the chaos dissipated. A bead of sweat trickled down Jin’s back. Talk about timing - the array wouldn’t have held much longer.

Opening her eyes, Yuri stretched her arms and exclaimed joyfully, “I feel really good right now. So how did I do?”

Curious as well, Jin took her wrist and checked her cultivation rank. What he discovered put him at a loss for words. The girl was a monster alright.

They were going to have a long talk.