https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-16-Solar-Corona-Swordsmanship-Black-Market/13535083/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-18-Potion-Brewing-Stimulant-Potion/13535086/
Chapter 17: Spirit Catalyst Trap
Chapter 17: Spirit Catalyst Trap
"What news?"
"It supposedly came from a merchant claiming to offer 'special channels.'" Andie's voice carried a trace of unease:
"These rumors have been spreading wildly among candidate apprentices lately. Merchants claim they can rapidly boost spiritual energy in a short time."
Luo En's heart quickened. "So Luo Ke was tricked?"
"No, far worse."
Andie shook his head. "Those forbidden drugs do temporarily enhance spiritual energy, but the cost is..."
He didn't finish, but Luo En already envisioned the twisted flesh and convulsing eyeballs.
"I heard these merchants seem to have mage backing."
Andie continued, "They need countless test subjects, and desperate candidate apprentices make perfect targets."
Luo En's mind sharpened like a blade. Was Luo Ke prey from the start?
Then he recalled how immediately after Luo Ke's incident, whispers about his "special channel" for obtaining Spirit Catalyst had surfaced nearby. That coincidence felt unnaturally timed.
"So, I came to warn you." Andie's voice turned grave. "No matter what temptation arises, never touch anything from dubious sources."
"Don't worry, I'm not that foolish." Luo En managed a faint smile. "Now that I've found the right path, why would I stray?"
Andie nodded, relief flickering across his face:
"True. Your talent in alchemy has even earned Holt's recognition, and your cultivation of the Solar Corona Breathing Technique is progressing smoothly."
"Speaking of which", he suddenly shifted tone, "how will you handle Madame Ellen's lesson today? That woman's infamous for her strictness."
"Well", Luo En glanced at his notes, "I've reviewed the Basic Alchemy Manual's section on simple potions."
He picked up a notebook filled with dense annotations, casually displaying his mastery of medicinal ingredients:
"Yesterday's practical work at the Herbal Medicine Shop gave me fresh insights into many materials."
Andie flipped through the notes, surprise spreading across his face:
"All your own deductions? Even rare ingredients' reactions and properties are recorded in such detail—"
Suddenly, chaotic commotion erupted outside, punctuated by muffled shrieks.
"Another one." Andie's expression darkened, his usually refined voice turning hoarse.
Their eyes met. At this hour, disturbances meant only one thing: someone had chosen the irreversible path.
"Should we check it out?" Luo En hesitated.
Andie's fingers unconsciously brushed his collar—a habit when conflicted.
Finally, he nodded slowly:
"Let's go, but maintain distance. When experimental materials run low, the white-robed mages always make timely 'appearances.'"
By the corridor's end, a crowd had gathered. Though predawn darkness still lingered, residents here were never truly idle.
Unlike Luo Ke's incident, everyone kept a wary distance this time, as if fearing contamination.
Under flickering magic crystal lamps, Luo En spotted a twisted figure hunched in the corner.
Morning light filtering through windows illuminated what had once been a delicate female face—now grotesquely contorted.
"It's Ai Mi Li." Someone whispered recognition.
The name sent a jolt through Luo En.
He'd seen the Duke's daughter just yesterday afternoon. Though disheveled then, she'd still worn a costly silk gown, her neck adorned with gemstones. Even reduced to another's servant, she'd maintained noble elegance.
But now...
Ai Mi Li's face was unrecognizable. Her body writhed unnaturally, the expensive silk gown soaked with sweat, clinging to her skin in eerie patterns.
Something wriggled beneath her flesh, warping her once-slender form into monstrous contortions.
"I heard she visited Ma Kusi's apprentice's room a few days back..." A female apprentice murmured.
"Tsk, Ai Mi Li never accepted her fate. Still chasing dreams of becoming a junior apprentice..."
"Exactly. She probably bought that 'Spirit Catalyst' with fragments of mana shards she earned through selling her body."
"What a pity. Remember when she first arrived? Boasting 'even as a test subject, I'll stay here.' Now look..."
Whispers died abruptly as a towering white-robed figure emerged at the corridor's end. A sneering scoff echoed from beneath their mask:
"Another fool who doesn't know when to die."
The mage flicked a hand, releasing an invisible wave that trapped Ai Mi Li mid-transformation, preparing to haul her away.
Under the mage's brutal binding, the girl's once-delicate features twisted grotesquely, the gemstone necklace digging into her swelling neck.
Suddenly, she struggled, lifting her head toward the crowd of apprentices.
Luo En noticed her eyes—once clear as polished gems, now crisscrossed with blood vessels like a spiderweb. Within that crimson chaos, something unnatural squirmed.
"Hel... help..." Her voice cracked into unintelligible whimpers.
The mage scowled, pulling a vial of sinisterly glowing liquid from his robes: "Time to make you behave..."
"Let's go." Andie gripped Luo En's arm. "Better not witness what comes next."
They turned to leave, but a spine-chilling scream erupted behind them—part shriek, part guttural growl from the abyss itself.
Back in their quarters, Luo En couldn't shake the weight of the day.
From Luo Ke's fate yesterday to Ai Mi Li's horror today, the world's cruelty pressed heavy upon him.
"I must grow stronger, fast."
In this dark realm, power was the only foundation of existence—whether to survive, or avoid becoming meat on a white-robed mage's chopping block.
He opened his notebook, resuming his study of medicinal ingredients.
Madame Ellen's instruction loomed ahead. He would be fully prepared.
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
