Bi Kan moved through the Spirit-Wood Grove like a wraith. His newfound sensory perception allowed him to not only spot herbs from a distance but to feel their Qi signature, discerning the potent from the weak with a single glance. He snatched the most vibrant Sun-Kissed Dewleaf and plucked the plumpest Crimson Spirit Roots, fleeing each area before his presence could attract unwanted attention. Today, fortune was his ally; he encountered no arrogant Direct Disciples, no desperate challengers, only the quiet rustle of leaves and the hum of ambient Qi.

  Back in his room, he laid out his haul. After a careful count, he calculated he had enough material to attempt refining ten Qi Sense Pills. A thrill of anticipation shot through him. "A thirty percent success rate would be a failure today," he muttered to himself, stoking the coals of his furnace. "With my improved control, I'm aiming for at least five. Maybe even seven!" He carefully stored the precious herbs, planning to begin the refinement process after attending to a more pressing, primal need.

  His stomach rumbled, a hollow ache that reminded him he had been running on pure willpower and ambient Qi for two straight days. He made his way to the small Mortal Market nestled within the sect's lower grounds, a bustling area where disciples could purchase common goods. One wouldn't find rare artifacts or powerful pills here, but for a hungry boy, it was paradise. He clutched his small pouch, feeling the satisfying weight of the 24 Lower-Grade Spirit Stones inside—more than enough for a sack of rice.

  He headed straight for his favorite stall, a humble establishment run by Ming Manyu. He was a mortal man who looked older than his thirty years, his face weathered by worry but his eyes always kind. Manyu had often given Bi Kan a discount in his leaner days, a kindness the boy had never forgotten. After purchasing a sack of rice—insisting on paying the full price this time—he heard a commotion from the adjacent alley. Peeking around the corner, his blood ran cold.

  Three Outer Disciples, all radiating the aura of the Qi Sensing Realm's 3rd Stage, had cornered a young girl. It was Ming Mei, Manyu's daughter, a thirteen-year-old who had only just become a disciple herself. She was one of the first friends Bi Kan had made in this cold, competitive sect.

  "Come on, Junior Sister Mei," the leader of the trio said with a slimy smile, holding out a small vial. "We'll help you train! We'll even give you pills. See? These are high-grade Body Tempering Pills!" He shook the vial, revealing several crudely formed pink pills that reeked of cheap stimulants and something foul.

  Fools, Bi Kan thought, his fury igniting. Those weren't Body Tempering Pills; he could identify the acrid scent of Spirit-Locking Powder even from here. To a new disciple whose meridians were still fragile, such a concoction would be poison, potentially shattering her cultivation foundation forever.

  He dropped his sack of rice with a heavy thud, the sound echoing in the narrow alley and drawing all eyes to him. He stepped between them, placing himself squarely in front of a startled Ming Mei. His gaze was like ice. "Are you trying to coerce this Junior Sister into doing something she does not want?"

  The leader, a youth with a perpetually sneering face, sized him up. "And who are you to interrupt our… guidance?"

  "Body Tempering Pills?" Bi Kan scoffed, his voice dripping with contempt. "Those are dregs mixed with Spirit-Locking Powder. They wouldn't temper a body; they'd shatter a cultivator's meridians. I wonder what the Junior Elders would say about disciples who peddle poison to cripple their peers?" He let the threat hang in the air. "Should I report this? Or should I simply challenge each and every one of you to a life-and-death duel right now? I hear the Sect Registry has been busy today."

  The leader’s sneer faltered. "You… you're the one who beat Gar Yu this morning."

  "I am," Bi Kan confirmed, his voice dangerously low. "And I promise you, I won't be as gentle this time. Now, scram before I change my mind."

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  The three disciples exchanged nervous glances. They were bullies, not warriors. A three-on-one ambush against a new disciple was one thing; three consecutive duels against a peer who had already proven his uncanny skill was another entirely. The leader’s face twisted in resentment. He tossed the vial of fake pills over his shoulder, where it shattered against the wall.

  "This isn't over," he snarled, pointing a trembling finger at Bi Kan. "The Mortal Market is a long way from the disciple courtyards. A lot can happen on the road."

  With that parting threat, the trio turned and beat a hasty retreat. Bi Kan watched them go, his expression unreadable, before turning to a shaken Ming Mei. "Are you alright?"

  She nodded, clutching her sleeves. "Thank you, Brother Bi Kan. I… I didn't know what to do."

  "Never accept anything from someone you don't trust completely," he advised, his voice softening. "Especially pills. The path of cultivation is filled with vipers like them." He picked up his sack of rice, his mind already calculating. This new threat was not just against him, but against Ming Mei and her father as well. His strength was growing, but it was not yet enough to guarantee their safety. He needed to get stronger, and he needed to do it fast.

  Bi Kan paused, a thought striking him with sudden clarity. Sister Mei was a new Outer Disciple, which meant she had not yet been assigned a room in the sect courtyards. She would have to return to the Mortal Market, a journey now fraught with danger. He turned to her, his tone shifting from that of a protector to a concerned friend. "Sister Mei, it isn't safe for you to return home alone. Would you… would you accompany this brother back to my room for the time being?"

  The implication of his words hung in the air, and Mei’s face bloomed a brilliant shade of crimson. Bi Kan’s own face flushed in response, and he nearly dropped the sack of rice, waving his free hand frantically. "No, no! I-I didn't mean it like that! It's just… those thugs know who you are. I have a room in the courtyards. It's secure. I just thought it would be safer!"

  Ming Manyu placed a comforting hand on his daughter's shoulder, his kind eyes fixed on Bi Kan. "Go with him, Mei'er. Bi Kan is a good boy. Have you forgotten the days you two used to chase dragonflies by the stream? He has a good heart." He then turned to Bi Kan and performed a low, formal bow that made the boy deeply uncomfortable. "Disciple Bi Kan, this old one will be in your debt. From now on, whatever you need from my stall, consider it yours at cost. No… consider it a gift from this grateful father."

  "Mr. Ming, your thirty percent discount was already too much!" Bi Kan protested, feeling a familiar pang of guilt mixed with gratitude.

  "T-then… I'll be in your care, Brother Bi Kan," Mei whispered, her eyes cast down to the dusty ground.

  The journey back was a silent, charged affair. Bi Kan was acutely aware of the threat of ambush and of the girl walking quietly beside him. He kept one hand ready to channel Qi, his senses on high alert. To his immense relief, the trio of bullies did not reappear. He knew if they had, protecting Mei while fighting three opponents would have been a perilous ordeal.

  His room, once a simple sanctuary of cultivation and study, suddenly felt small and intensely personal with her presence. It was sparse, containing little more than his furnace, a writing desk, and a single woven straw bed. He anticipated the awkwardness immediately. "You take the bed," he said, his voice firm but his eyes avoiding hers. He placed the rice sack in a corner. "I'll take the floor. I often sleep there while cultivating anyway."

  "B-Brother! I mustn't impose on you so!" she protested, her voice small.

  "Nonsense," Bi Kan shook his head, a genuine smile finally breaking through his serious demeanor. "A guest must be treated with respect. Please, cultivate peacefully. I will begin my refinement, and when I am finished, I will be sure to give Sister Mei her own share for her troubles!"

  With that, he sat before his furnace, the world outside his small room fading away. He fed the herbs into the chamber one by one, his Qi control more precise than ever before. Hours bled into a day, and then into a night. His focus was absolute, a state of pure concentration where only the furnace, the herbs, and the flow of his energy existed. He was so absorbed that he was barely aware of Mei’s quiet movements. When his stomach rumbled, a sound he was too focused to notice, she would quietly prepare a small bowl of rice and bring it to him, holding it to his lips. "T-thanks," he would murmur, his gaze never leaving the fire, before taking a bite. In those fleeting moments, as their fingers occasionally brushed, a silent trust began to form between them.

  A day and a half later, a dense, intoxicatingly sweet aroma, like sun-warmed berries and clean earth, erupted from the furnace. It was a scent far richer and more potent than anything he had created before. A soft, multi-colored glow pulsed from within the furnace's viewing port, bathing the small room in an ethereal light. With a final, delicate manipulation of his Qi, Bi Kan cut the heat and slumped back, utterly spent but exhilarated.

  "Success!" he breathed, a wide, triumphant grin on his face. He carefully opened the cooling chamber. Nestled inside, glowing with a soft inner light, were not two, not five, but eight perfectly formed, shimmering pills. "Eight! Luck is truly on my side!"

  The potent medicinal fragrance, however, was not contained by his small room. It billowed out of his open window like an invisible plume, drifting on the evening breeze across the Outer Sect courtyards. High above, on a secluded rooftop, the same Junior Elder who had observed Bi Kan’s duel sat in deep meditation. His eyes snapped open. His nose twitched, and a look of pure astonishment crossed his face.

  "That scent…" he whispered, his senses tracing the aroma back to its source. "That is the fragrance of pills with at least seventy percent purity. Far too refined for a common Qi Sense Pill… Who is this hidden alchemist in the Outer Sect?"