"Ron, long time no see." Trish's voice was much lighter: "Didn't expect to run into you here."

"Trish, congratulations on winning the duel." Ron was slightly surprised, but he sincerely congratulated her: "Your leopardess is incredibly strong."

The scene immediately triggered murmurs of surprise and envy among the surrounding apprentices.

"Isn't that..."

"Ron? Isn't he that..."

"Lady Allen's new assistant! I've seen him in the herb store..."

"Trish actually knows him, no wonder her leopardess is so strong, she must have used a special advancement magic potion!"

"Oh my, look at Cynthia's expression, she looks like she wants to kill someone..."

Trish's easy victory and her familiarity with Ron undoubtedly elevated her status in the eyes of the crowd.

Those who might have initially looked at her with a bit of scrutiny now showed her respect.

Cynthia stood in the distance, her eyes filled with jealousy and rage.

She glared at the leopardess beside Trish, her gaze dark and gloomy.

"Trish's leopardess surely used an advanced potion, and it's not the regular kind..." she guessed in her heart:

"A regular potion wouldn't have such an effect, where exactly did she get such a high-quality magic potion?"

She frowned, her gaze shifting to Ron who was talking with Trish, a slight unease rising in her heart.

"Allen, that old witch's student..." Cynthia squinted: "Could this be the secret behind Trish's sudden rise?"

"What a coincidence." On the other side, Trish smiled at Ron and said: "I was planning to find you in a few days to commission the next batch of magic potions, I didn't expect to meet you here."

She gently stroked the leopardess's shoulder, her eyes filled with obvious pride:

"The bloodline activation agent you helped me refine last time worked wonders, Li Yue's combat power increased by at least thirty percent, and the recovery ability during combat and the suppression of pain were especially noticeable."

Hearing this, Ron smiled slightly, feeling a sense of relief, but then he hesitated and said: "I'm sorry, Trish, I'm afraid I won't be able to prepare magic potions for you in the near future."

Upon hearing this, Trish immediately asked with some urgency: "Why? Are you encountering any trouble? If there's anything I can help with..."

"Uh, don't worry, actually, I need to prepare for the alchemist certification examination recently," Ron explained slightly upon seeing her concern:

"It requires a lot of time to prepare and practice, so I might not have the energy to take on new orders."

"Alchemist certification?" The brown-haired girl's eyes widened slightly, but then she returned to normal, with a flash of admiration in her eyes:

"Well, with your magic potion skills, it's only natural to apply for certification. At such a level, you are probably already an absolute standout among us apprentices."

The two stood in the plaza chatting casually as if no one else was around.

For most of the mediocre elementary apprentices, having a genius from the candidate wizard sequence actively engage in conversation with them was already a great honor.

Ron and Trish's almost equal mode of communication made many apprentices extremely envious.

"When is the assessment scheduled?" Trish asked with concern.

"In a week." Ron replied: "I intend to go purchase some materials to practice recipes that may be involved in the examination in advance."

"I understand." Trish nodded: "Speaking of which, if it weren't for the special magic potions you provided today, my Li Yue wouldn't have been able to defeat that half-beastman."

She glanced at the half-beastman lying on the ground, barely alive, with a flash of pity in her eyes:

"That Frenzy Crystal is a banned item, but such things are common among the sequence members, and no one would report it."

Not far away, Cynthia had been ignored for quite some time, and her face was twisted to an extreme.

Not only had she lost the duel, but she was also completely ignored by the victor, which for her, with her pride, was a huge humiliation.

"Cynthia, since entering the candidate wizard sequence, has been trying to accumulate points and resources." Trish whispered to Ron:

"But her performance has never been great, if not for Marsala's support, her ranking might be even lower. This time she probably saw me as an easy target since I just entered the sequence. If not for the magic potion support you provided, I might have been in danger this time."

Just as Cynthia was about to erupt with anger, a silhouette quietly appeared behind her.

"Cynthia." A deep and calm voice spoke in her ear: "I don't suggest you act out now."

Cynthia turned her head and saw Oliver standing there, with his usual perfect smile on his face.

His gaze was gentle but carried an undeniable authority, and Cynthia's impending eruption of anger was instantly cooled.

"Get out of my way! Oliver." She said in a low voice, with extreme resentment in her tone:

"I lost an important combat slave, and I was humiliated by that lowly daughter of the hunter!"

"A temporary setback is not worth dwelling on." Oliver said softly, his gaze glancing unobtrusively at Ron in the distance:

"Besides, I have more important matters to discuss with you."

He whispered a few words in Cynthia's ear, and her expression gradually shifted from anger to shock, finally turning into an abnormal excitement.

"It's unbelievable." She said in a low voice: "You've really decided..."

"Of course." Oliver nodded: "But now is not the time, let's go back and talk about it slowly."

He turned to leave, and after hesitating for a moment, Cynthia gave Trish a fierce glare, then followed in Oliver's footsteps.

Ron noticed this scene, and a warning bell went off in his heart.

After the two left, he noticed two servants quietly appeared, deftly putting a large sack over the barely alive half-beastman, then efficiently dragged him away.

Nobody spoke up to stop them throughout the entire process, and even the surrounding apprentices didn't bother to look in that direction, as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

"What will happen to this half-beastman warrior?" Ron asked Norris nonchalantly.

Norris slotted the Witness Gold into his own pocket and shrugged when he heard the question:

"A defeated slave? Usually, things don't end well. If the injuries are minor, they might be sold off; if the injuries are severe like this half-beastman, they'll probably be sent to the school's resource recycling division."

"The resource recycling division?" Ron guessed what this meant in his heart.

"It's where they extract the usable parts from them, and the resulting Magic Stone Fragment would be split with Cynthia, the owner, fifty-fifty."

Norris's tone was unusually calm, as if he was talking about the weather:

"The half-beastman's skin is very tough, their heart and other organs are quite decent magic potion materials, and as for their bones—they can be ground into powder for various rituals."

Ron nodded, refraining from further questions.

The rules here were brutal, and to him, it was no longer news.

After Norris left, Ron cast an assessing glance at the leopardess, Li Yue.

As the effects of the bloodline activation potion gradually faded, the various abnormalities induced in her seem to have returned to normal, yet her inherent grace and danger remained.

"Your leopardess is truly impressive..."

He sincerely praised, his gaze lingering on Li Yue's graceful yet dangerous form:

"Although I've refined quite a few bloodline activation potions, I've never seen such a pure activation effect."

At these words, Trish raised an eyebrow, a slight smirk on her lips.

The previously maintained air of distance seemed to have melted somewhat, and she gently stroked Li Yue's shoulder, showing a seldom-seen softness in her eyes.

"Li Yue is indeed... very special." She lowered her voice, with an involuntary pride in her tone:

"I guess you're curious about her origins, right?"

Ron nodded, not hiding the curiosity flickering in his eyes: "If you're willing to share, I'm all ears."

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