This Time, Trouble Is Brewing

The moment Grace saw her, a chill ran down her spine. Uh-oh, bad vibes incoming.

Wait, that's Lily Xu?!

This time... I might really be in trouble...

If I'd known... Back at the Vermilion Spirit Alliance, I would've kept my cool and not slapped her silly...

Lily Xu went over the exam rules again. Yep, same old three rounds: spirit elixir ID, pill-making, and healing.

Each round gets an 'upper,' 'middle,' or 'lower' grade.

Score 'upper' twice and avoid any 'lower,' and congrats—you're in the Spirit Alliance.

First up: spirit elixir identification.

The Spiritual Alchemists lined up for their turn. Some left beaming, others looked ready to cry.

Two folks got the dreaded 'lower' and were immediately booted out.

Grace was number fifteen in line.

She stepped inside and—bam!—the place was lined with tables.

On top of them? A mountain of jars, baskets, bottles—you name it, it was there.

Four people sat behind the tables, looking all official.

Dead center was an old man with a salt-and-pepper beard—definitely not young.

Spotting him, Grace instantly felt her nerves settle. Phew.

He was one of the deputy leaders of the Vermilion Spirit Alliance, Elder Kong.

Back in her past life, when Grace joined the Spirit Alliance, Elder Kong was still kicking—but he passed away not long after.

Pretty sure... he died in some alchemy mishap...

Grace didn't know him super well, but her impression was: honest, gentle, and fair.

This time, Elder Kong was clearly in charge of the Blue Moon Spirit Alliance's exam. Even if Lily Xu wanted to mess with her, she'd have to play it subtle.

...

Besides Elder Kong, there were Lily Xu, Sun Xiangjun, and a young assistant scribbling away in a notebook.

The assistant was probably Elder Kong's apprentice, Xiao Shun.

Xiao Shun checked the list and called out, "Number fifteen, Grace Lawrence! Is that you?"

"That's me," Grace replied, cool as a cucumber.

Xiao Shun nodded and turned to his master.

Elder Kong gave her a look, then casually pointed at a spirit herb. "What’s this one?"

He pointed at a super common spirit herb—Dujin Grass.

"That's Dujin Grass."

"And what does it do?"

"Dujin Grass clears heat and detoxifies. It’s a lifesaver for fire spirit overload and works wonders for calming nerves or fixing a Qi mishap..."

Honestly, there aren’t that many spirit elixirs people use around here.

Maybe two or three hundred types total, but only a few dozen are in regular rotation.

Grace was an Eighth-Tier Alchemist, with twenty-plus years in the biz. She knew every spirit elixir like the back of her hand.

Elder Kong tossed out a bunch more questions, and Grace answered each one like a pro.

He smiled, nodded, and turned to Lily Xu: "Lily, got any questions for her?"

Lily Xu didn’t look the least bit surprised to see Grace.

Clearly, she’d already peeked at the roster and knew Grace was coming.

Or maybe Sun Xiangjun spilled the beans.

Lily Xu flashed a smile at Grace and asked, "Grace Lawrence, your file says you don’t have a Spiritual Alchemist’s license. Care to explain?"

"I’ve been learning from my master up in the mountains all these years—never got around to taking the license exam," Grace answered.

"That’s not a valid excuse," Lily Xu said. "No license, yet you show up for the Spirit Alliance exam? Should I take that as you disrespecting the Alliance?"

"Oh, Ms. Xu, you wound me!" Grace said dramatically. "The Spirit Alliance is the most sacred institution on the continent—how could I ever disrespect it? I adore the Alliance so much, I couldn’t even wait to get my license before rushing over for the exam!"