Liam didn’t sleep, and neither did Grace, but they eventually stopped. As much as both loved being together, Grace had her convoluted planning, while Liam had his alchemy.

A certain hideous scar rose and fell in Liam’s eyes. A scent he had long since burned to his memory filled his nostrils. Panting reached his ears. Fingers were in his hair, and his forehead rested on sweaty, perfect, beating skin.

There was also something else, something too good to describe, still connecting Liam to another.

Everything was Grace. All Liam felt came from her. She was his entire world, overloading his senses in ways no one else could experience. He bathed in her existence, closing his eyes to claim but one additional second of that happiness, before forcing himself to leave it.

Liam kissed the scar without reopening his eyes, his head moving up to repeat the action on smooth skin, loving the deeper breath it caused, before rising further up.

Lips were already rising toward Liam’s mouth when he opened his eyes. Grace kissed him sweetly, pleased, holding his face in her hands, a faint breath blowing on him when she retracted herself slightly.

"I love you," Grace whispered, a kiss sealing her mouth soon afterward.

"I love you," Liam responded in kind once he managed to lift himself above Grace’s lying figure.

A loving smile blossomed in Liam’s vision, followed by a nod. Grace brought herself up to steal another brief kiss before uttering a single word. "Go."

Liam now knew from experience he would start again if he didn’t leave immediately, so he stood up from the bed of pillows, retrieving his trousers on the floor.

Liam wanted to do the same with his robe, but Grace stole it from under his eyes, bringing it over her as a blanket. He was far bigger than her, so the clothing covered her entirely as she lay sideways, a pillow between her head and arm, something more profound than cheerfulness shining on her face as she watched him.

A chuckle escaped Liam as he shook his head. He gave up on covering his torso and washed up with a talisman, not wanting his guests to smell any trace of Grace on him. Those scents were only for him to know.

Leaving the tent didn’t attract any attention. Lucas and Troy were sitting on the same mat on the other side of the hall, their eyes closed, their swords on their crossed legs.

That seemed to be simple cultivation, but Liam perceived something different in those two presences. It was so slight he almost didn’t notice it, but their auras grew smoother, thinner, and sharper.

’Probably specific to Sword Qi,’ Liam guessed, diverting his gaze and summoning his pipe, heading for an empty spot between the tent and the two men. It would be improper to watch any longer.

Liam fell prey to that very attention once he started smoking. Lucas and Troy had opened their eyes, alerted by the poisonous substance, their inspection wary and serious.

But Liam didn’t stop there. With how much the two had figured out or he had shown, there was no reason to hold back on some tasks he had to address.

Liam summoned the rank 2 white cauldron, talismans for alchemy, and one of the four violet Rainbow Roses. As he had explained earlier, harnessing the properties from that color was a challenging endeavor, but that didn’t mean that he wouldn’t try.

A green jade appeared in Liam’s hand, and he sent his Qi into it to review his Master’s inheritance. The theory was sound. He had committed it to memory ever since discovering that Grace had seized those ingredients, but there were other problems.

The most obvious issue was that the violet rose was a rank 3 ingredient, while Liam was a rooting expert. He should have no business doing alchemy with resources beyond his standing.

However, Liam had already overcome that challenge in the foundation stage. He had fully developed his spiritual roots back then, while he was still a long way from one hundred minor roots now, but part of him believed he had enough.

That confidence came mostly from the black Qi. Despite everything, it had still won against Dominic’s energy, meaning the black alchemical flame it could produce would likely suffice.

Qi reserves were another variable. What Liam’s body could contain could still expand, probably by over double, but he felt some sense of urgency.

Liam had already fought his second branching expert and killed his second level three magical beast. He was barging into that superior world whether he wanted it or not, so he couldn’t bear to stand still.

Nothing could be done about the previous week because Liam had run out of ingredients, but he could start working on the Rainbow Roses now that the loot was finally split.

It could sound hasty, especially since Liam only had four roses that could welcome the black alchemical flame. He could stay put and focus on smoking, but complacency led to death.

Also, there were reasons beyond mere desire to get stronger and more capable as quickly as possible.

Alchemical products lasted longer than ingredients, and Liam didn’t know how long it would take him to reach the stage’s peak. Preserving the violet roses in the shape of concentrates would delay their expiry date.

Liam was under no delusions of succeeding at the first try, either. As priceless and unfindable as rank 3 ingredients were, he would have to waste plenty eventually, more than he had done with rank 2 ones at the foundation stage. Such was the greater challenge of the higher ranks.

Even if Liam’s current body capacity turned out to be insufficient, he would still learn how the ingredient reacted, paving more of the way toward the branching stage. It would also teach him more about his capabilities, telling him if he were fit already or had to wait for more minor roots.

Lastly, if Liam had to be honest, he craved to sit behind a cauldron. He hadn’t appeased his enlightenment after his intimacy with Grace, not even close, and the Rainbow Roses were the only ingredient at his disposal.

Troy’s eyes went wide when Liam started plucking the petals. Lucas almost jumped to his feet, but Liam didn’t stop. He understood how shocking the sight was, but alchemy had claimed the entirety of his brain.

Each rose could suffice for three to four experiments depending on the number of petals. Liam stored everything he didn’t need and arranged the rest before lighting the log.

A tall, pitch-black flame immediately blew on the white cauldron, heating it in ways Liam had committed to memory. That item had accompanied him for hundreds of concoctions already, so he knew exactly how it behaved.

Tense minutes went by, and then almost half an hour. Then, without even looking away, Liam seized the violet petals, hovering them above the cauldron’s exact center before ultimately dropping them inside.

Variables only Liam could read followed. Tremors, smoke, heat, and even the first rumblings he had ever seen that cauldron make unfolded. Still, he kept the black flame steady and high, at full power, planning to continue until his body was empty.

That always was the first approach with a new ingredient meant for Liam’s breakthrough. The product that would make him a branching expert had to be tailored to his cultivation, concocted through his true Qi, so Liam let his energy flow, absorbing every piece of information his training had taught him to recognize.

A mental list of behaviors came to be and expanded in Liam’s mind. He was learning what the Rainbow Rose could take, what it liked, how it reacted to a specific stimulus, and his vast Qi reserves gradually vanished.

After two hours, Liam had both hands over the flame, his face dripping with sweat, his hair glued to it, his eyes bloodshot, his breathing ragged. His core was trying his best, but he was releasing more Qi than he could refill.

Liam felt that his limit was inbound, merely seconds away, when a certain rumble made him slap the cauldron’s side. A tide of black smoke blew from the item, the talismans dispersing it before it could spread through the hall.

Liam panted heavily. His body was basically empty, his core hard at work to refill it. He let a few seconds pass, gathering his strength, before summoning the ceramic basin where he had bound the fan.

Scooping was pointless. Liam just tilted the cauldron, pouring its contents into the basin. What came out was a bubbling dark spot of death, a single sniff enough to label it as a toxic, unusable mess.

Nevertheless, Liam grinned. That would have always been the outcome of his first test. Actually, the alternative would mean something worse and disappointing.

What that bubbling spot proved was that Liam could refine rank 3 products. His body and what his core could refill during a concoction were enough to bring it to completion.

At fifty-five minor roots, Liam had confirmed that he could create rank 3 poisons.