Ian laid out his cultivation plan, then took out a piece of parchment.

This was the reward Kristen had given him: a fragmented recipe.

He had just studied it carefully for a while, but the panel hadn’t registered it. This was because too much of the content was missing for it to be identified.

Ian was a little disappointed. ’It seems I’ll have to find a professional to restore the recipe.’

’Alevia Wizard is the best candidate.’

When the time comes, he would first sound Malena out. It shouldn’t be too hard to complete the recipe.

The recipe was for a strange potion called the "Water of Balance."

First was the main ingredient, called the "Silent Jellyfish Condensate Core," which Ian had never even heard of.

It was extracted from the non-decaying central gel left behind after a deep-sea Silent Jellyfish dies.

The Silent Jellyfish Condensate Core naturally possessed an "Energy Buffer" characteristic, capable of turning sharp, fierce energy impacts into gentle ripples.

Harvesting it was also very troublesome. It had to be cut into an almond-sized piece with a silver saber in a lightless environment and preserved. If exposed to light for more than ten seconds, it would rapidly decay and become useless.

Acquiring the auxiliary materials for the Water of Balance was also difficult. One was the complete shed skin of a creature called the Snake of the Retired Qilin.

The Snake of the Retired Qilin was a rare Demonic Creature whose place of origin was the Moonlight Forest.

Every year, during summer and winter, it would completely shed its translucent skin in a process that lasted only five minutes.

The shed skin was about the length of an adult’s arm, a complete, silvery-white serpentine membrane, as thin as a cicada’s wing yet exceptionally tough.

The outermost layer of the skin had fine, protruding scales that were naturally compatible with all energy systems, making it the best material for Energy Guidance.

Besides these two ingredients, it also required the dew of a Moon Sleep Flower, the user’s own saliva...

As Ian read on, he saw a long list of bizarre catalytic materials that made his head spin.

’No wonder Kristen traded this away. This thing is more trouble than it’s worth!’

Ian rubbed his eyes and set the recipe aside for the time being.

His eyes closed, and he gradually fell into a deep sleep.

...

「The next morning.」

Ian tidied up briefly and headed out, planning to visit the colleagues who had fought alongside him.

He first went to Clayton and Kristen’s residence. The two lived in adjacent houses.

Upon entering, Ian saw Clayton half-propped up in bed, his face still a deathly pale.

Seeing Ian come in, he struggled to sit up.

"Ian, you’re here," Clayton said, his voice a bit hoarse.

"Don’t move. Just lie down and rest." Ian sat on the edge of the bed and placed a few potions for restoring mental and physical stamina on the table.

Clayton looked at Ian, his expression complicated.

During the previous battle, when he was lying on the ground, he had seen Ian vanish in a flash. At the time, he had felt a bit resentful.

But thinking about it later, Ian was still just a Middle Level Apprentice, so his anger dissipated.

But a piece of news that morning had left him stunned.

Nolan was dead!!!

Just last night, a dozen or so li outside of Nightfall Town, he had been killed by Alevia’s student, Aisling, who had also taken the Silent Flower.

That story was only good enough to fool outsiders!

Clayton and the others all knew Aisling, and they knew she hadn’t been there at all.

Even if Aisling had secretly come to Nightfall Town, there was no way she would have been sent to intercept and kill Nolan alone on such a dangerous mission. It was completely illogical.

"Ian..." Clayton licked his chapped lips.

"Nolan... you killed him, didn’t you?!"

He asked cautiously, his voice filled with uncertainty.

Ian sighed inwardly and gave a slight nod.

’This isn’t something I can hide from the others who were there. They’re all High Level Apprentices; no one’s a fool.’

Seeing Ian actually admit it, Clayton was horrified.

Although he had been the first one on the field to lose the ability to fight back, it didn’t mean he was weak. Nolan was just too strong!

He remembered Nolan’s Dark Witchcraft, the helplessness of being ensnared by "Life Absorption," and the fear of his life and stamina rapidly draining away.

But Ian? Not only was he uninjured, but he had even managed to kill Nolan in return... This was simply unbelievable!

"My god..." Clayton muttered to himself, a dazed look on his face.

He remembered when Ian first arrived at the Star Leaf Magic Pharmacy, he was cautious and careful about everything, acting as if he was afraid to offend anyone.

Later, he showed a talent for Magic Potions, but everyone still treated him like a junior.

He thought of the two deep-blue rays Ian had fired. Their power was astonishing, and they had caused a huge disturbance for Nolan.

Thinking back now, the only reason Ian could have agreed to be the bait was because of his own formidable strength!

"Hmph! You got the biggest prize, so I can’t give you the full amount of Magic Stones I promised before!"

Clayton quickly adjusted his mindset and started teasing Ian.

"I didn’t get much out of it either, and I nearly died!"

Ian gave a rough account of what happened next, and Clayton’s expression shifted continuously as he listened.

"So, you’re saying the Silent Flower ended up in the hands of Alevia Wizard!"

Clayton’s eyes darted back and forth, his thoughts unreadable.

Seeing him like this, Ian found it a bit amusing that he apparently hadn’t given up completely.

In truth, Ian himself felt the sting of losing it. The Silent Flower was an extremely precious promotion Magic Potion, but he’d had no choice at the time.

It was a pity he was still only a Middle Level Apprentice. Even if he had kept the Silent Flower, it would have just brought him endless trouble.

The two chatted for a while before Ian said his goodbyes to Clayton. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

He then went to Harvey and Kristen’s places, and those two had also guessed the truth of the matter.

Ian warned them, "As long as you know the truth, that’s enough. Don’t go spreading it around. We’ll stick to whatever Alevia Wizard announces."

As he was leaving, he asked Kristen about the origin of the "Water of Balance," but unfortunately, she didn’t know either. She had just picked up the recipe from some stall.

Ian was a bit speechless. Everyone else’s rewards had been sincere, but she had just fobbed him off with something random.

On the way back to his residence, he saw Malena leisurely drinking tea in the courtyard.

"Ian, come over quickly! I have good news for you," Malena said, giving a little wave.

She looked radiant. The sunlight fell on her fair skin, giving it a translucent, dewy glow.

"What can I do for you, my dear Steward!" Ian sat down familiarly and picked up a cup of tea to drink.

Malena crossed her legs, her toes twitching slightly.

"Last night, I put in a lot of good words for you with Lady Alevia."

"Thank you, Malena. I’ll be sure to work hard at refining Magic Potions," Ian replied sensibly.

Malena nodded in satisfaction. "Lady Alevia has already agreed. From now on, you can purchase and learn high-level knowledge directly from her."

"Really?!" This time, Ian was genuinely surprised, and he finally felt a little more at peace with his loss.

’In that case, killing Nolan wasn’t such a bad thing after all.’

Knowledge for ranks above High Level Apprentice was almost completely monopolized by Wizards, making it very difficult for ordinary Apprentices to access.

Why had Ian been so envious of Allen before? Wasn’t it just because he had a Wizard mentor!

Now, he too had a channel for obtaining high-level knowledge. It was a bit of a late start, but that didn’t matter.

’Heh, I’m someone with a powerful Talent!’

’I learn everything faster than other people!’