“There are only four of you left, and to the four who successfully refined a pill, I say: congratulations. It is no small feat to practice alchemy under these intense conditions. We alchemists spend our days locked away in our refining rooms. Rarely ever do we display our skills before a crowd. The pressure of refining pills before an audience is much different than refining within the quiet of your own space.”

Sao Yong’s words reached the furthest point of the arena. Zhou Lihua and those on the platform straightened their spines. Maybe his words were mere platitudes, but the acknowledgement felt good nonetheless.

“Now that you have refined your pills, we shall have them evaluated. You already know the process, so let us begin. The person who refined their pill first shall start us off.”

The first person to refine a pill this time was Lili Ling. She waltzed up with a bounce in her step, placed her pill inside of the device, and stepped back. With her hands clasped behind her back, she waited as the indicator lit up and began climbing.

Grade 9.

“What?!” Lili Ling shouted.

A grade of 9 meant it was still pretty high ranking, but it wasn’t a perfect ten. That meant it failed to reach the highest mark.

“There has to be some kind of mistake!” Lili Ling fumed.

Xaio Wei snorted. “Isn’t this how it always is with you? You start off so strong, only to choke at the very end. Perhaps you shouldn’t rush so much.”

“Shut up, you damn toad!” Lili Ling snapped.

“Hmph. Insulting someone who’s only pointing out the obvious is just proof of your immaturity. You’re such a child,” Xaio Wei said.

“Will the next person who completed their pill go up and be tested,” Sao Yong interrupted before they could continue.

Lili Ling and Xaio Wei glared at each other before scoffing and turning away. Zhou Lihua shook her head at the pair before focusing on the young man who walked up to have his pill evaluated. She took in the pill in his hand. It was a light purple color, mostly free of blemishes, and had an appealing appearance. She recognized it. Purple Haze Pill. It was a antidote pill used to cure poisons from magical beasts between the Asura and Human Limit Realms. Sadly, this pill was not nearly as complicated to make as the ones she, Lili Ling, and Xaio Wei had made.

The pill was given a grade of 9, meaning he would normally be tied with Lili Ling, but they also had to take into account the difference in complexity. The Three Layered Red Yin Yang Pill was even harder to refine than some tier 5 pills. The Purple Haze Pill was in the middle of tier 4 pills in terms of difficulty.

Xaio Wei went up next. The indicator lit up and began steadily climbing before it reached the top.

Grade 10.

Lili Ling gnashed her teeth together as Xaio Wei grabbed his pill and returned to his table. He glanced at the young woman and smirked, which further incensed the albino girl. For such a delicate-looking woman, Lili Ling had quite the temperament.

Zhou Lihua was the last person up. She walked toward the device with slow steps, trying to steady the staccato bursts of her heart as it bashed against her ribcage. It had been easy to ignore her nerves while refining, but now that she was about to be evaluated, all the anxiety she had pushed aside came rushing back. Blood pounded in her ears. Her heart was hammering. Even her toes and fingers tingled.

She took a deep breath, placed her pill in the device, and stepped back. She watched the indicator light up, resisted the urge to clasp her hands in prayer. It went from grade one to grade eight quickly, then slowed at grade nine. Zhou Lihua bit her lip as it continued to climb, passing grade ten, until it finally reached the very top.

“It looks like we have two grade tens, which means the winner will be the one who has the most points,” Sao Yong said.

Zhou Lihua felt her hopes come crashing down as she removed her pill. Xaio Wei had done better than her in the second round, which meant he had more points. His victory was now all but assured.

“The winner of this tournament is Xaio--”

“Hold on!” a shout echoed from above.

Everyone turned as Yun Che and Ruo Chong scrambled over the balcony and flew down to the platform. Zhou Lihua became almost frightened when the pair got into her personal space. What?! What was going on?! Their eyes were practically bloodshot as they stared at her… but no, it wasn’t her they were staring at. It was the pill in her hands.

“Let me see that pill,” demanded Yun Che as he thrust out his hand.

“Excuse you! I noticed it first!” Ruo Chong smiled at Zhou Lihua. “Excuse me, but could you let me look at this pill?”

Zhou Lihua didn’t know what to do as the two fought over who would get to see her pill, but one did not refuse a command from two platinum rank alchemists, so she just held out her pill.

The pair stopped fighting and stared at the pill. And they stared. And stared. And stared some more. Zhou Lihua wondered how long this would last.

“I knew it! This pill has formed pill veins!” exclaimed Yun Che.

“Amazing. I didn’t think I would ever see a pill with pill veins in my lifetime,” Ruo Chong looked like she was going to cry.

Pill veins were a near mythical existence among alchemists. Pills were typically categorized into low, middle, and high ranks. Low-grade pills were covered in bumps and had a dull or murky color. Middle-grade pills had less imperfections but still contained a few. High-grade pills were nigh perfect.

Above high-grade pills were pills that had formed pill veins, and they were aptly given the name mythical-grade because most alchemists would go their whole lives without ever seeing one. Zhou Lihua had heard a rumor, just a rumor, that forming pill veins was the most important step when creating sentient pills.

“Sao Yong,” Yun Che called. “My disciple has lost. You cannot even compare a pill without veins to one with them. That evaluation device of yours isn’t even capable of calculating the difference in quality.”

“Are they truly pill veins?” asked Sao Yong.

“Come see for yourself.”

Sao Yong came down and studied the pill in Zhou Lihua’s hand. He made several surprised exclamations, but then turned to the crowd, spread his arms, and made his announcement.

“This young alchemist has indeed formed pill veins! What a joyous occasion! I am proud to announce that Zhou Lihua is the winner of this tournament!”

His words were met with raucous applause.

***

“Ha ha ha! My good disciple! Congratulations on your victory!” Master Wong Jiu was in great spirits after the tournament. He congratulated Zhou Lihua over and over again, cheeks flushed as he laughed and drank wine straight from the bottle.

“Congratulations, Young Miss. I knew you could succeed,” said Zhou Chao with a smile.

“Thank you, you two,” Zhou Lihua said with a smile of her own. It was bright and cheerful like rays of light at the first sight of dawn.

Zhou Lihua looked magnificent in her red and gold dress. It was different from the usual hanfu. Slits ran up either side, and it was tight around her magnificent bust and waist, showcasing her curvasceous figure. Whenever she shifted on her feet, the slits would part to reveal her long legs. The heavily modified cheongsam had no sleeves, was backless, and showed off her collarbone. Men from across the room were gazing upon her with obvious lascivious intent.

It was late evening and they were having a celebratory feast with everyone who had participated and many prominent members of society. The feast was taking place inside of the palace. Emperor Cì Shā was hosting the festivities. He sat on his throne and did not mingle with the crowd, though many had come to him to pay their respects. As the winner of the tournament, Zhou Lihua had also paid her respects, though she’d left in a hurry after being under Cì Chuān’s intense stare.

The great hall of Han Palace was a place of magnificence and grandeur. Everything from the floor to the ceiling was made from expensive materials that glistened like freshly polished gems. Several gorgeous columns ran up to the ceiling. These support beams were made from an expensive wood and decorated with Qilin carved into them.

Tables had been set up around the room, platters of food made to look like works of art decorating each one. Several people stood around the tables. However, most were mingling with each other.

“Congratulations on your victory, Young Miss. My name is Hou Chun. I am a member of the esteemed Hou Clan from the Yuan Peninsula. Perhaps you’ve heard of us?”

“Young Miss! Young Miss! I’m from the Kin Family! We’re very famous in Qin Country. You should visit us when you get the chance!”

Of course, a lot of people were coming up to Zhou Lihua. They offered their congratulations, of course, but their real purpose for coming up was to try and poach her. She was a young and upcoming alchemist with enough talent to form pill veins. Anyone who was everyone wanted her to become their personal alchemist.

“Thank you for the kind offer. I may take you up on that and visit if time permits.”

“Of course, I have heard of the Chun Clan. You’re quite famous for guarding our south-eastern border from magical beast invasion. Please, keep working hard for the sake of the Xaio Continent.”

Zhou Lihua spoke to everyone who came up with grace and poise. Wu Jian was amazed by how calm she acted. He wouldn’t be nearly this calm were their positions reversed. He’d have been panicking if all these strangers came up and spoke to him.

“All right, you people. Settle down. You need to give the young lady some breathing room,” said someone familiar.

Wu Jian grimaced when Cì Chuān appeared from within the parting crowd. He walked over to them with a glass of wine in each hand, smiling as he offered one glass to Zhou Lihua, who had no choice but to accept it with a smile.

“I believe congratulations are in order,” the prince said. “You have exceeded all of my expectations in this competition. I was very impressed by your talent.”

“Thank you. I have merely worked hard to get where I am now,” Zhou Lihua said humbly. “Even those who have talent will be surpassed by those who work hard.”

“Hmm. You may have a point,” Cì Chuān said with a laugh. He then held out his glass. “Well, to you.”

Zhou Lihua kept her polite smile as she clinked their glasses together and drank. She paused only for a moment before polishing off the glass.

Wu Jian glanced at Lili Ling, who stood near a window, glaring at Zhou Lihua like she had murdered her ancestors.

“I would love to stay longer, but it seems I’m drawing an even bigger crowd, so I shall take my leave… for now.”

Cì Chuān gave Zhou Lihua a martial bow before parting ways. This meant the people who had been crowding around her before were free to crowd even more. Wu Jian wished he could help, but he was just her bodyguard right now. All he could do was silently observe the crowd and make sure none of them had untoward intentions on her.

“Please forgive me for leaving so abruptly, but I need to use the restroom really quick,” Zhou Lihua said to excuse herself. She eyed Wu Jian, who nodded once, and silently made to follow her.

They soon found themselves wandering through the hall. Wu Jian noticed Zhou Lihua’s face was flushed.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“Mmmm. That man just spiked my drink with an aphrodisiac,” mumbled Zhou Lihua.

“Uh…”

“Do not worry. He knows it won’t work on me. I have an antidote to cure it. He’s probably doing it to remind me of his intentions.”

“That worries me even more.”

They soon made it to a restroom. Wu Jian stood outside as Zhou Lihua entered. She came out just a few short minutes later, appearing much better. Her flushed skin had once more gone to its normal white color.

“Well, I believe we should get back to the party,” said Zhou Lihua.

“Sure, but do you mind if I ask something first?” asked Wu Jian.

She turned to him. “What is it?”

“Ruo Chong mentioned trying to convince you to marry her disciple. When I told her that you were part of the Zhou Clan’s main family, she laughed at me and said I knew nothing. She said something about a precedent. Can you explain what she meant?” he asked slowly.

“Ah. So you heard about that.” Zhou Lihua looked troubled as she leaned against the wall and crossed her arms. “You know the Zhou Clan’s main family is not allowed to marry outside of the main family. However, there is always an exception to every rule.”

“The Zhou Kingdom…” Wu Jian murmured.

Zhou Lihua grinned. “I see you’ve already figured it out. The Zhou Kingdom’s first emperor fell in love with a woman of the Zhou Clan’s main family. He normally would have never been allowed to marry her, but he did a great favor for our clan head, and so an exception was made. This man then went on to establish the Zhou Kingdom, which he named in honor of his alliance through marriage with our clan. Consequently, this is why the Zhou Clan does not have a branch here. We’re already tied to the royal family by blood.”

“Is that why Cì Chuān is so confident he can get you to marry him?” asked Wu Jian.

Zhou Lihua nodded. “Probably. He likely believes he can marry me because someone from his family has already married one of us. He does not realize how foolish his assumptions are. In order for him to even be granted the right to court me, he would need to do perform a great service to our clan head like his ancestor did before him.”

Wu Jian would have loved to know what Cì Chuān’s ancestor had done, but it was clear from how vaguely Zhou Lihua spoke that she didn’t know what that service was. It didn’t matter to him either. The only thing he was concerned about was whether or not Cì Chuān could perform a similar feat.

He reached out and grabbed Zhou Lihua’s hand, brought it to his mask, and phased both her hand and his through it to kiss her knuckles.

“I’m never letting go of this hand. You know that, right?” he asked.

Zhou Lihua beamed at him. “I’d be very disappointed if you did. Anyway, we should get back. I’m certain the award ceremony will be starting soon.”

“Right.”

Zhou Lihua and Wu Jian walked hand in hand until they reached the great hall, where the young woman would be rewarded with the Heavenly Ghost Flame in front of everyone.