Luke Kee of Land and Qishan

"Treasure, huh..." Grace Zhu shook her head. "The whole treasure legend is just the oldest trick in a scammer's book."

"Hahaha!" Bianca Whitefan burst out laughing and gave her a big thumbs up. "Let me tell you, my senior brother once went bankrupt chasing after that so-called Legacy Treasure—he bought a treasure map and got totally swindled!"

"Hiss! Why do you have to spill everything to outsiders!" Leon Zane glared at her fiercely.

Bianca covered her mouth. "Oh no! Sorry, sorry! I did it again—just couldn't help poking at old wounds..."

Grace Zhu smiled and sighed. "If only that treasure really existed... at least we'd still have some hope."

"Hope? I’ve been searching for centuries and still haven’t found it. You think you’ll dig it up in a year?"

"Centuries?" Grace looked at him.

"Just exaggerating, just exaggerating!" Leon said quickly, trying to sound clever.

"So, what's the name of that Grandmaster?" Grace asked, her voice full of admiration.

"His surname is Luke, given name Kee." Leon Zane looked awestruck. "If you inherit his legacy, you become the Grandmaster of the Spirit Alliance. That position’s been vacant for centuries—no one’s qualified to take it..."

Grace Zhu was stunned for a long moment before asking, "Wait... what did you say his name was?"

"Luke Kee! 'Luke' as in land, 'Kee' as in Qishan Mountain." Leon Zane launched into his idol talk. "Do you know Qishan? It's a sacred mountain, covered in all kinds of rare herbs and magical treasures. Isn’t that just the perfect name for him? Seriously, his parents nailed it with that one..."

Grace swallowed nervously. "So... this Legacy Treasure... Where is it? What does it even look like?"

"You’re asking me? If I knew, I wouldn’t have gotten swindled out of everything I owned!"

"Then... have you ever heard of... the Alchemist's Tower?" Grace asked again.

"I know the Alchemist God! That's Luke Kee. Towers? Sure, there are plenty in temples. But 'Alchemist's Tower'... What’s that supposed to be?"

"The Alchemist God... that's referring to Elder Luke Kee, right?" Grace asked, still in a daze.

"Exactly! Word is, he lived for thousands of years, his cultivation was unfathomable—almost godlike! And his looks, too—absolute perfection, like a celestial being..."

"Hey, hey!" Bianca Whitefan interrupted. "Tone it down! People who don’t know you might think you actually met him. He’s been dead for 'hundreds' of years!"

"Oh! Of course I’ve never met him!" Leon Zane said quickly.

Yeah, right.

Not only had he met him, but Evan Xiao had too.

"What's wrong?" Evan Xiao asked Grace.

Her eyes were wide and unfocused, not blinking at all—her emotions were all over the place, she looked really worked up...

Grace blinked and shook her head. "No... it's nothing. You guys go on ahead, I need to visit my mom."

Evan Xiao looked at Leon Zane. "You guys go on."

"Sure! We’re always in the way!" Leon Zane muttered, dragging his hideously ugly sister away.

Once they were gone, Evan Xiao asked Grace, "So, what did Emperor Colin Gu say to you just now?"

"He said... Wait, he actually said I’m joining the army and going on campaign with you guys against Windspire Kingdom?" Grace was baffled. "How come I didn’t know about this?"

"That's what the Prime Minister told Emperor Gu just today," Evan Xiao said. "I'm not sure either, but why don't we go ask him together and see what he's planning?"

Grace nodded.