The four disciples Elder Fan had assigned to Rayen stood like mismatched ingredients waiting for synthesis.
First was Yao Min, a bright-eyed herbalist who kept scribbling on a floating slate even as Rayen spoke. Second, Ji Rong, a stoic array engraver with a voice like gravel and a spiritual sense more precise than most elders. Then came Tessa Wu, a kinetic potion specialist who once caused a lab ceiling to collapse from "a miscalculated vigor enhancer." Finally, there was Han Bo—an artifact tinkerer who introduced himself by asking if he could "reverse engineer the Philosopher's Core if it exploded."
Rayen looked at Lin Xue. "Are you sure this isn't a punishment?"
She grinned. "It's your first class. They reflect your teaching potential."
He groaned. "Great. I attract chaos."
:: Correction: Controlled entropy. Predictable under lab conditions. ::
Rayen clapped his hands. "Alright, class. Welcome to Quantum Alchemy 101. First rule: don't blow up unless you're doing it on purpose."
The first week was chaos.
Yao Min's energy-calming incense accidentally knocked out three outer disciples. Tessa Wu's enhancement elixirs melted two cauldron legs. Han Bo replaced a monitoring array with an experimental spirit lens that accidentally broadcast Rayen's lecture into the outer sect dormitories. And Ji Rong refused to work without recalibrating every glyph, "for precision."
Yet amidst the chaos, something beautiful emerged. Yao Min developed a calming compound that harmonized breathing with low-Qi fluctuations. Ji Rong inscribed a lab-wide protective array so precise it deflected Tessa's next chemical explosion back into containment. Han Bo adapted Etherweave into a monitoring band that recorded pill resonance changes in real time.
And Tessa…
She brewed a tonic that caused minor levitation.
Lin Xue floated three inches off the floor for half an hour.
She declared it a success.
One evening, as the lab finally quieted, Rayen gathered his prototype class.
"You've all survived. That means you've passed the unofficial test."
"Which was what?" asked Han Bo.
"To make me question my life choices and then impress me anyway."
The students chuckled.
Rayen turned serious. "This curriculum isn't just about formulas or pills. It's about shaping a new cultivation path. One that uses observation, calculation, and refinement alongside intuition. It's going to challenge traditions. And that means it will draw enemies."
He activated the projection panel behind him. It displayed the roadmap:
Quantum Path – Phase Two: Intent Crystallization
Requirement: Anchor Intent to Pillar Formula Ingredient: Harmonized Crystalline Focus (Grade 5+) Location: Starcradle Ruins – Western Expanse
Rayen looked at them. "I'm going there. To find the material needed for the next step."
Lin Xue added, "And you're staying. This will be your first unsupervised lab cycle. Prove the method works."
The four students exchanged nervous glances.
Yao Min raised her hand. "What if we… mess up?"
Rayen smiled. "Then you simulate. You rebuild. You refine."
Ji Rong nodded slowly. "We are… becoming quantum cultivators."
Rayen tapped the Core hovering near him.
"No," he said. "You already are."