The moment Li Xuan's Divine Sense touched Master Feng's spiritual aura, it was like a mortal prodding a sleeping dragon with a wet noodle.
A powerful, reflexive wave of Soul Power erupted from the meditating alchemist, slamming into his probe with the force of a battering ram. Li Xuan felt the backlash as a sharp, psychic jolt that made his own newly formed soul tremble. He instantly cut the connection.
He sat bolt upright on his bed, his eyes snapping open. A flicker of genuine, raw annoyance crossed his face.
'Fucking mortals,' his internal voice was a low growl of irritation. 'Even their souls are spiky. Troublesome.'
He closed his eyes, his own soul settling back into a state of calm. The mistake was made. Now, to see how the pieces fell. He did not bother to create an alibi. He simply waited, a spider in the center of a new web.
In his secluded meditation chamber, Master Feng was anything but calm. He had been thrown from his meditative state so violently he almost fell off his cushion. He sat bolt upright, his heart pounding like a war drum, a cold sweat drenching his robes.
He had felt it. A probe.
It was not the clumsy, forceful probe of a rival. It was something else entirely. It had been as subtle as a whisper of smoke, yet as vast and profound as the starry sky itself. For a single, terrifying instant, he felt his own powerful Rank 3 soul shrink, reduced to a dying ember before a cosmic ocean of power. It was like a firefly seeing the sun for the first time.
'Who?!' Feng's mind screamed, his every sense on high alert. 'Who in all of Yan Town has such a pure, powerful, and utterly terrifying soul?!'
His first, most logical suspect was, of course, Li Xuan. But he immediately crushed the idea with cold, hard, undeniable logic.
'Impossible,' he concluded, his heart still hammering. 'Absolutely impossible. I personally diagnosed the boy. His meridians are clogged trash. He nearly died from the backlash of a single, mid-grade Qi pill. His physical foundation is a wreck. A soul of that magnitude in a body that weak? It's like trying to put a dragon's heart in a sparrow. The sparrow would explode.' It couldn't be him.
So, if it wasn't him, who was it? An ancient expert hiding in Yan Town? Why would they probe him?
And then, his frantic mind started connecting all the impossible events of the last two days.
'Wait a minute,' his thoughts began to race. 'Think, you old fool, think! Eight days ago, a seven-year-old beggar shows up with a revolutionary formula for cosmetics. Yesterday, he diagnoses a poison that I, a Rank 2 Alchemist, couldn't see. He then provides a heaven-defying antidote formula. He creates a hundred-year-old herb from a sapling. He then lectures me, a sixty-year veteran, on the basics of alchemy and triggers a breakthrough that I haven't been able to achieve in thirty years!'
He started pacing his room, his mind a whirlwind.
'How? How could a child know so many techniques? How could a boy who has never held an alchemy brush understand the fundamental laws of the Dao better than I do? It's impossible! UNLESS…'
The final, earth-shattering puzzle piece slammed into place, and his entire world tilted on its axis.
'He's not alone.'
The realization dawned on him, a wave of cold sweat and a strange, ecstatic terror washing over him. 'He's a disciple! A young master playing a game in the mortal world, and his own, hidden Master is here watching over him! The probe… it wasn't an enemy! It was the Master's Master! Master Li's own, hidden Grandmaster is here! He's checking up on his disciple... and he was just assessing the quality of his disciple's new servant!'
The thought hit him like a physical blow. That divine, ancient gaze had not been a threat. It had been a test. A test of his worthiness to serve Li Xuan. Had he passed? The thought made him tremble. His chaotic, unstable soul… had the Grandmaster been disgusted?
A new, frantic purpose shot through him. He had to act. He couldn't tell Master Li directly—such a powerful being would want his privacy, and his young master was clearly playing a part. No, he had to play along. More importantly, he had to show this hidden Grandmaster that his young disciple was safe, respected, and had powerful allies. He had to prove he was a competent and useful servant.
He composed himself, schooling his features into a mask of calm professionalism. He strode out of his chamber and headed directly for Li Xuan's suite.
He found Li Xuan resting quietly, looking pale but stable. Feng bowed deeply, his expression a perfect picture of a concerned servant.
"Master," he said, his voice perfectly normal. "I have just been consolidating my new rank, and a thought occurred to me. The alliance with the Yan Clan is new. It would be beneficial to solidify it. I must go to the Yan Clan estate to discuss the future of our cooperation with the Patriarch."
He paused, as if the next thought were a casual afterthought. "Perhaps you would like to accompany me? A change of scenery would do you good."
Li Xuan looked up at the old man's carefully neutral expression. He could sense the frantic, fanatical energy buzzing beneath the surface, a chaotic storm of emotions the old fool was trying desperately to hide. He had no idea what the old man was thinking, but it was clearly something dramatic and, most likely, completely wrong.
'He's plotting something,' Li Xuan thought, a flicker of amusement in his eyes. He found the unpredictable nature of his new servant to be far more interesting than simple obedience. 'Fine. A trip to the Yan Clan's den might be more interesting than sitting here anyway.'
"Very well," Li Xuan said aloud, his voice calm. "If you insist."
He stood up, his movements steady. Feng and Lu Wen immediately moved to his side.
Together, the three of them walked out of the Alchemist Association. Feng, his back ramrod straight, felt an immense pressure on his shoulders. He was no longer just a servant to a young master. He was now a servant being judged by a hidden, strong grandmaster. He could not, and would not, fail.