As the three of them stepped into the association, Wen Wen cast a glance at the stern-faced President Cui, then turned her eyes toward the alchemy rooms. “Only the president has the authority to activate the protective array of the Legacy of Subtle Wonders.”
She gently patted the back of Shi Yu's hand. “The president is currently concocting pills. I'll go report to him. Just sit here and wait for a moment.”
Shi Yu agreed. Just as she was about to find a seat, she noticed President Cui standing silent and solemn to the side. She hesitantly offered, “President Cui, why don't you have a seat as well?”
President Cui grunted in response, walked over, and sat down across from Shi Yu.
Among the three association presidents Shi Yu had met so far, President Cui before her was likely the highest in cultivation—or more accurately, the highest-cultivation cultivator she had encountered since transmigrating into this world.
He shot her merely a casual glance—a completely ordinary look that was by no means sharp—yet it made Shi Yu feel instantly engulfed, sending a faint chill through her. This was the natural intimidation that arose from a vast gap in cultivation strength.
President Cui's cultivation is probably even higher than that of Xie Han, the head of the Xie Clan, Shi Yu noted privately.
Xie Han was already at the half-step Golden Core Realm. As for President Cui, he was likely already condensing his Golden Core, merely a step away from the Golden Core Realm!
An association attendant approached and respectfully poured tea. The two of them each picked up a teacup and sipped, the atmosphere heavy and subdued.
Fortunately, before long, President Song emerged from the alchemy room.
Shi Yu looked up, but before she could even greet him as “President,” she paused with an odd expression.
President Song's face was covered in black smoke and soot, his hair was completely disheveled, and his robes were smeared with patches of dregs. Wen Wen was fast on his heels, anxiously pulling out a handkerchief.
“Did you... suffer a furnace explosion?” Shi Yu offered a soft chuckle, her eyebrows bending into light arches.
President Song stomped over, took the handkerchief, and wiped his face haphazardly, complaining gloomily, “Explode, explode, explode! All day long! These Tier-5 pills are way too difficult to refine. They don't give you even a sliver of leeway!”
Shaking his head with a sigh, he caught sight of President Cui nearby. An expression of surprise crossed his face, followed by a hint of delight. “Old Cui, you arrived at just the right time!”
President Song joked half-heartedly, “Hurry and go check if the Mind-Soothing Array in my alchemy room is broken. I was wondering why I kept getting so flustered and irritable while refining.”
President Cui merely glanced at him without uttering a word.
Twitching his lips, President Song was well accustomed to the man's rigid and taciturn nature. He cleared his throat and looked at Shi Yu. “Let's go, Girl Yu. I know you've been eyeing this for a long time.”
A look of delight washed over Shi Yu's face, and she closely followed behind him. “Thank you, President.”
“You child.” President Song shook his head, leading her inside. “You must understand that going too far is as bad as falling short. The reason I didn't allow you inside before wasn't that I was stingy, but because you were merely a Tier-2 alchemist. Exposing you to too many ancient texts at once would only dazzle and confuse your vision.”
Shi Yu nodded repeatedly.
Shifting his tone, President Song added, “However, since we are about to attend the Alchemy Exchange Conference soon, having a deeper foundation is a good thing. You can stay in there until we set off. How much you can memorize and absorb will depend entirely on yourself.”
He reckoned that with less than a month left, Shi Yu probably wouldn't be able to read much anyway. After all, most of the records inside were stored in jade slips. These were not things that could be memorized by rote learning; rather, they contained profound, indescribable insights and experiences that required genuine comprehension to be retained.
Shi Yu, however, intended to seize this rare opportunity to read and memorize as much as she possibly could. After all, who knew when she would have the chance to enter the Legacy of Subtle Wonders next?
As they conversed, the two arrived at the innermost floor of the association.
Passing through a narrow corridor, Shi Yu once again stood before that heavy stone room.
In front of the room, two deacons serving as guards cupped their fists in greeting to President Song, and President Song returned the gesture.
Shi Yu followed suit, then pulled out her own identity jade token.
One of the deacons took the token, examined it carefully, and verified that the imprinted aura within was correct. Turning it over, he raised an eyebrow upon seeing the symbol of the Refinement Association engraved on the back.
President Song's expression was complex—neither purely proud nor entirely annoyed. He grunted softly before explaining, “This little girl is also a weapon refiner.”
The deacon handed back the jade token, giving Shi Yu an unexpected extra glance with a chuckle. “Young and promising.”
With that, the two guards stepped aside. The heavy stone door slowly slid open, revealing a stone room about ten feet square inside.
President Song led Shi Yu inside. Sensing their presence, layer upon layer of protective arrays lit up from their faint glow, emanating a chilling and formidable power.
Gazing at the spiritual light of the arrays, Shi Yu thought to herself, This protective array is Tier-4 at the very least.
She saw President Song press his hand against the array core at the doorway, injecting spiritual energy wrapped in his divine sense into it. Before long, the bright light of the array gradually faded away.
“Go ahead.” President Song withdrew his hand and looked at Shi Yu encouragingly.
Shi Yu nodded and walked toward two rows of ancient cabinets crafted from Yaoguang Stones, which were lined with jade slips and texts.
Seeing her carefully retrieve a volume of ancient text and quickly immerse herself in reading, President Song refrained from disturbing her further and exited the stone room.
As the stone door slowly closed, President Song instructed, “I must trouble you two to keep a close watch.”
“Rest assured, President.”
...
When President Song returned to the association's first-floor hall, he found President Cui still standing there without leaving. Wen Wen stood beside him playing host, her gentle face almost frozen from smiling for so long. President Song muttered mentally, What trick is Old Cui playing today?
As he walked over, Wen Wen instantly let out a sigh of relief upon seeing him return. The president of the Array Association was the most difficult to get along with among all four associations, possessing an extremely eccentric temper. Standing by his side had made Wen Wen feel like she was walking on eggshells.
Stopping in front of the two, President Song cast a glance at Wen Wen. “Go tend to your duties.”
Feeling as if she had been granted an amnesty, Wen Wen hurriedly excused herself.
“Look at how you scared Girl Wen.” President Song sat down, took a sip from a cup of spirit tea, and asked, “What brought you here today of all days?”
President Cui fell silent for a long moment before finally speaking: “That junior named Shi is quite extraordinary.”
Hearing that he was referring to Shi Yu, President Song immediately beamed with a smile. “Of course, Girl Yu—”
Yet as soon as the words left his mouth, he felt something off. Alarm bells blared in President Song's mind. “Why bring this up all of a sudden?”
Had it been anyone else praising Shi Yu, he would have happily agreed with a few words. But now that the habitually taciturn Old Cui was saying this, it inexplicably reminded him of Liang Guan at the Refinement Association last time.
Under President Song's wary gaze, President Cui raised his eyes.
Unbothered by President Song's posture as if facing a formidable enemy, he pondered for a moment before continuing on his own, “She seems to be quite accomplished in the Dao of formations.”
Crack! President Song's face turned ash-pale as the celadon teacup in his hand instantly shattered under his grip.
President Cui was poor at interpersonal pleasantries. Rarely taking the time to think about why President Song was displeased, he attempted to soothe him: “The twelve alchemy rooms on the first floor of your Alchemist Association—I can personally redesign their arrays into ones a rank higher than the Mind-Soothing Array—”
“Heh.” President Song gave a cold, insincere smile, cutting off his remaining words. He waved a hand at Wen Wen, who hadn't walked far. “Girl Wen, come over and see our guest out.”
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