The envoy was no novice—he flicked his hand and tossed her aside, then dusted off his sleeve with a look of utter disdain. "Are you crazy?" he snapped.
Lily Xu was instantly wounded, but she insisted, "Chloe Zhu is only sixteen. How could she possibly pass Level Nine? There must be some kind of mistake!"
The envoy sneered, "What exactly are you doubting?"
"I—"
"Lily Xu!" Quentin Qin, the Alliance Leader, barked. "Stand down!"
Lily Xu had no choice but to shut her mouth, sulking.
"Envoy, you've had a long journey. Please come back to the Spirit Alliance and rest!" Quentin Qin said respectfully.
The envoy nodded and walked off with Quentin Qin and the others...
"Lily Xu, the Spirit Alliance Conference is about to begin. I'm so excited!" Chloe Zhu flashed Lily Xu a smile and skipped away.
Lily Xu bit her lip hard, staring at the golden roster, her face twisted with jealousy.
Full Moon Manor.
Quentin Qin dropped to his knees before Jun Lionhead.
Chloe Zhu hurriedly helped him up, saying, "Alliance Leader, you mustn't! You're much older than my master—how could you bow to him?"
Quentin Qin said gratefully, "I've taken the Stage Nine Alchemist exam twelve times! If it weren't for the Imperial Alchemist's guidance, I would've failed again. I don't even know how to express my gratitude!"
Jun Lionhead smiled lightly. "No need to be so formal, Alliance Leader. Alchemists should support and learn from one another. I've gained much from our exchanges as well."
"My lifelong wish has been to go to the Spiritual Alchemist Guild Headquarters. Now that I've finally passed Stage Nine, I can go." Quentin Qin looked relieved.
According to Guild rules, any Alliance Leader who has served for over a year and passes Stage Nine can transfer to headquarters without further exams.
It's a reward for all the hard work Alliance Leaders put into managing their branches.
"Congratulations, Alliance Leader. I'm sure your skills and cultivation will improve even more at headquarters," Jun Lionhead said.
Quentin Qin smiled. "Once I'm gone, Chloe Zhu is the obvious choice for Alliance Leader. But she's still so young—I'm afraid she won't be able to keep those Vice Presidents in line. I hope the Imperial Alchemist will support her when the time comes."
Jun Lionhead glanced at Chloe Zhu and nodded. "She's my disciple, of course I'll help her."
"Alliance Leader," Chloe Zhu said. "I have a request."
"What is it?" Quentin Qin asked.
"I want to join this year's advanced fellowship at headquarters," Chloe Zhu said.
"You?" Quentin Qin shook his head. "You probably don't know, but most of the fellowship program at headquarters is for Level Eight and below. It won't be much use to you."
"I'm not going for the fellowship itself—I want to win first place and get access to the Celestial Library."
Quentin Qin nodded. "Alright! No problem! Normally, only the top three at the Spirit Alliance Conference get sent to the fellowship. But with your rank, you can skip the competition and go straight in!"
Chloe Zhu was overjoyed. "Thank you, Alliance Leader!"
......
The Dragon's Nexus was truly magical.
With Evan Xiao's hands-on guidance, Chloe Zhu quickly reached the peak of Stage Nine.
All that was left was one final transformation, and she'd officially become a Spirit Master.
In her previous life, Chloe Zhu didn't reach Stage Nine nearly this fast.
But after years of hard work, she eventually got this far.
Then she tried every method, sought out countless masters, but still couldn't break through any further.