The days passed, one after another. Maria was recovering and spent most of her time with Kasuur. After all, when she stayed with Mais, she could be nothing more than his apprentice. It couldn't be said that Mais was interested in much besides alchemy. In fact, he didn't want to talk about anything else. Compared to Mais, Kasuur was easier to talk to. It was also better for Kasuur to have a louder friend.
These days, he was advancing more quickly in his training. Having someone who had already ascended to the Core Realm help him made his progress easier. At least it was better than taking lessons from a blind person. Reaching the Core Realm greatly increased one's value in the city. A child who reached the Core Realm at age 11 was no ordinary child. Thinking about these things excited Mais.
They should be treated like royalty! Mais was the third prince!
But wherever he went, people treated him disrespectfully, which bothered Mais greatly. Let's skip Kasuur. He was just a peasant. But what about this city girl!
Mais realized he was stirring the cauldron too quickly and took a deep breath. He shouldn't let his emotions show. He had to curb his pride. His brother Leon had taught him that.
'Leon... I wonder how he's doing right now.'
Mais shook his head. Now was not the time to think about that, though. He had to add rose dust to the cauldron.
Let's continue with Kasuur reaching the Core Realm before entering the city.
City lords were usually just sages. How could they not be surprised by a child under the age of 12 entering the Core Realm? To them, Kasuur's success would be unbelievable, but to the state cities, he would appear to be quite the acceptable genius. He wouldn't attract too much attention and could grow up in the city.
The Immortal White was just a Sage. He could protect them in ordinary cities, but Mais knew it would be difficult to survive in state cities with a fool like Kasuur. Eventually, he would provoke someone he shouldn't have.
It's hard to believe these were the thoughts of a nine-year-old child. Maria, on the other hand, was 15 years old. She was in the Core Realm and still ran after a butterfly with beautiful wings like a two-year-old.
Well, Kasuur was running after it, too. Clearly, Mais was the one who was not normal in this environment.
Mais spent his entire day practicing alchemy while they roamed the forest together. His theoretical knowledge had previously been on par with master alchemists — a level generally considered as valuable as those at the pinnacle of the Core Realm.
However, Mais had been making noticeable progress lately and felt he could use new formulas. His passion was growing. He felt different. He began to suspect the reason for this, so one morning, before Maria had even woken up, he kicked Kasuur's big belly to wake him up.
"Take Maria away from here. I'm going to do things she shouldn't see."
To the ignorant 11-year-old child, these words, which could be quite misunderstood, did not seem wrong. As soon as Maria woke up, he promised to take her away from here. Mais then left the hut and returned to the cauldron. The Immortal White was very clever. As she wrapped his body, he showed her the books and taught her how to arrange the wood under the cauldron. At this level, an alchemist could not place the wood randomly. The temperature had to remain constant. He couldn't see anyway. He had to do things consistently. In his blind state, he couldn't arrange the wood himself. Otherwise, even a core expert could be ruined by faulty mixtures. Mais was only at the third stage of the Origin Energy Realm. He had no intention of creating such a poison.
He had started out in alchemy this way. When he realized he couldn't cultivate, he feared he would remain this way forever. Everyone was afraid. However, Mais entered alchemy because of this. This way, he could advance in alchemy and begin to cultivate. This is how he became an Artisan Alchemist. Before, it was almost impossible to become even an apprentice alchemist. Mais broke the taboo as an Artisan Alchemist. To reach this stage, one had to be at least in the Foundation Establishment Realm. Mais hadn't even started cultivating yet.
But there was something more important. No one realized at the time that Mais's knowledge was even greater than that.
When he felt the Tao of Cold, he entered the Beginning Realm. Of course, this did not make him an Alchemy Master. That would have been absurd, but Mais felt that he had reached the limits of his Artisan status at that time. He had managed to access his knowledge and the power in his body more actively. He was now more than just a human being. He had become a cultivator!
Even if he was at the lowest level.
He spent the entire year working and thinking that his knowledge was lacking. Previously, he had only practiced alchemy to improve his cultivation, but he eventually came to love it. He valued alchemy as much as cultivation.
However, the problem was not knowledge. It was cultivation. His abilities did not allow him to create certain mixtures. He could not create any of the pills necessary to become an Alchemy Master.
Mais did not understand until then. He did not realize that his talent for alchemy surpassed his understanding of Tao. He later realized this with fire.
Yes, fire.
But how could Mais see the trace of the Tao of Fire? How could an eight-year-old child grasp the power of fire? And how did the delicate, frail Third Prince encounter such an aggressive nature?
Because he had mastered alchemy. He had tried to understand them countless times, adjusting them with his hands. A few days before the war, he collapsed after failing once again. But watching the flames had enlightened him. They allowed him to see things he hadn't seen before.
Mais was sure that what he would understand this time was not the Tao of Fire. It was entirely related to alchemy. He sat down in front of the cauldron and stood motionless. After a while, a short-haired girl passed by with an unsettling aura. She was clearly upset. She and Kasuur went into the forest. Who knows how Kasuur had convinced her? Mais turned his head and looked after them. He didn't think Maria was an ordinary person.
Someone who had reached the Core Realm by age 15 couldn't be found in an ordinary city. She was clearly talented.
But Mais wasn't surprised by this. After all, the geniuses participating in the Star Path Tournament from all over the planet had to come from somewhere. They weren't all princes or the talented heirs of clans.
On the contrary, true geniuses were usually people from remote places who were unknown. The Imperial Family won every tournament they participated in. What about the others? There were the hunter children from poor families who worked hard to earn money; the bastard children of great clans; and the servants who tried to improve by stealing techniques from the palace. The real geniuses were those who truly risked their lives. They were forged in the merciless flames of life.
Mais wasn't surprised by the existence of Maria or Kasuur. In fact, their existence was the very reason he continued on. Despite their poverty, they had managed to progress. Could he progress despite his lack of talent? Could he fight even if he was blind?
Uncertainty could be terrifying for many people, but it gave Mais hope.
Mais listened to Maria and Kasuur's footsteps as they walked away. They disappeared into the forest.
***
The leaves of the dense trees reached out and touched those chubby cheeks. Both of them were short. They disappeared among the trees. But Kasuur wasn't bothered by this at all. He had never felt pride in his life. He didn't feel exalted or dirty.
Maria was not like him. On the contrary, she deeply felt the presence of pride. She had finally seen one of those legendary geniuses who could surpass her with her own eyes. This made her as happy as it made her sad.
Who had been telling her all this time that she needed to work harder? Her own father, a sage. She had always told him to stop worrying. It seemed she had been wrong.
She missed him terribly now. This was the longest she had ever been away from her father. Winter was coming soon, and he would probably lose hope. She understood his sadness.
She had cut her hair short just to spite him. She looked at the ring in her hand. This spatial ring was supposed to be filled with the items needed in such situations. However, Maria had only put her clothes in it. It seemed she didn't care much.
The ground sank beneath their feet with each step. It must have rained recently. There were moments when they sank into the mud. Neither of them cared. At least Maria managed to hide her discomfort.
"It's truly incredible that Mais is an alchemist at this age. My father values alchemists greatly. Considering his cultivation ability, he will be quite valuable. It's such a shame he's blind. I don't even need to mention you. He'll definitely take good care of you," Maria said. She was wearing a loose-fitting, blue, hooded top. She had on loose-fitting sweatpants underneath. They had numerous pockets. Around her waist, Kasuur noticed a few bottles that he couldn't identify. He assumed they were alchemical potions.
"We're not worried. On the contrary, I'm very excited. For the first time in my life, I'm going to a city."
Kasuur's words were definitely surprising to Maria. Even she hadn't expected that.
"Why? How come you don't live in a city, even though you're so talented?"
"We're villagers. About a year ago, we went to a town, but then we killed the sheriff's daughter and fled. The daughter of the sheriff I killed that day."
Kasuur regretted this, and he didn't hesitate to admit it. Enough time had passed that he could only feel sorry for his mistakes. He wasn't going to give up his life.
Maria suddenly turned to Kasuur.
"Then who taught Mais alchemy?"
After all, you needed great masters to learn alchemy. Mais was an alchemist. Even though Maria didn't know this, she understood that Mais must have learned from someone because he was such a skilled alchemist. He couldn't have learned alchemy from just anyone.
Only an Alchemy Master could be considered the equal of a sage by her father. Higher-level alchemists wouldn't even acknowledge her father. They usually served the lords of larger cities.
"Probably from books."
Unlike Maria, Kasuur didn't care about this at all. After all, he was the one who had suddenly found Mais in the middle of the forest.
But there was a mistake in his words.
"Mais is blind. He can't read."
TIRIRIRIM...!!!
BOOOOMM...!!
Suddenly, a light rose toward the sky. It was bright and yellow. It was like a beam of light rising into the sky. At that moment, they were both looking at the light and watching the clouds part in the sky. The light seemed to reach beyond space.
The leaves of the trees shook violently, and a powerful wind blew over them. They both realized at that moment that it was difficult to withstand the wind. Especially at these cultivation stages.
"Is this the power of Tao?"
As a Core Realm cultivator, Maria had already begun searching for the Tao. But she never thought she would encounter something so incredible.
"I must see it."
She knew the source of this power. Jumping up with all her strength, she began to return the way she came, using her powerful legs.
"Stop! Maria!"
At the same time, the chubby child had a worried expression on his face. With his lush green hair flowing in the wind, he threw himself forward. Unfortunately, his large belly made him slower than someone at his own level. Despite his superior abilities, he couldn't keep up with the agile Maria.