“You—who are you!”Xiaoyu looked at the man’s stern eyes. Her initial tension, vigilance, and hostility subtly relaxed. The man’s steady, mountain-like demeanor didn’t seem to belong to someone with ill intentions. However, his sudden appearance from the shadows was somewhat eerie, making her hesitate to lower her guard.“Qin Tian.” The man spoke, his voice cool, his gaze sweeping over the dark green medicinal cauldron in the center of the room. “I am here by order of the military to secretly protect Miss Dongfang Mingyue.”He should have remained hidden as planned. If he hadn’t discovered the fatal flaw in the medicinal cauldron, he wouldn’t have revealed himself so easily. Tomorrow was the Starry Sky Cup quarter-finals. If Dongfang Mingyue couldn’t compete due to the cauldron’s issue, his mission would be a failure, and he wouldn’t be able to report back to Marshal Lin.“The military?”Xiaoyu and Dongfang Mingyue were both stunned, exchanging surprised glances. They had no previous dealings with the military, so why would someone from the military specifically come to protect them?“You say you’re from the military, what’s your proof?” Xiaoyu was still uneasy, clutching the protective talisman in her pocket, her tone laced with doubt. “What kind of bodyguard suddenly pops out of a corner like that? Like a ghost! Who knows if you’re a bad guy in disguise!”Qin Tian frowned slightly. He naturally had items to prove his identity, but his rank as a Seventh Bureau Major General was top secret and not easily revealed under normal circumstances.“No need, I believe you.”Just then, Dongfang Mingyue suddenly spoke, her gaze falling upon the face that overlapped with the snowy night in her dream, her heart still somewhat out of control. Her future self had shown him unguarded closeness, and this subtle connection was enough for her to choose to trust him.“Miss?” Xiaoyu turned in surprise, not understanding why Dongfang Mingyue would so easily trust a stranger.Dongfang Mingyue gently waved her hand, turning her gaze back to Qin Tian, her tone carrying a hint of seriousness: “Mr. Qin, thank you for appearing to warn me. But what exactly was it you wanted to tell me just now?”“Your cauldron has been tampered with.” Qin Tian didn’t beat around the bush, pointing to the bottom of the green cauldron. “There’s a tiny crack there, almost invisible to the naked eye, but it penetrates deep into the inner layer of the cauldron wall. If you use this cauldron to refine pills, the crack will expand when heated by the flames. At best, the pills will be ruined; at worst, the cauldron will explode.”What!Dongfang Mingyue’s face changed drastically. A light green spiritual energy immediately surged from her fingertips, coiling around the cauldron like delicate vines.She closed her eyes, concentrating her mental power to the extreme, meticulously probing inch by inch along the cauldron wall. From the handles to the belly, then to the legs, she finally touched the hair-thin crack at the bottom near the connection of the three legs.A medicinal cauldron was a refiner’s life-bound weapon. A small external chip might still allow for reluctantly use, but a crack that penetrated to the inner layer rendered it useless, making successful pill refinement impossible.“Miss, is he telling the truth?” Xiaoyu nervously grabbed Dongfang Mingyue’s hand, her voice trembling. “What should we do? The competition is tomorrow!”Dongfang Mingyue bit her lower lip, a chill running through her heart. A crack of this magnitude could only possibly be repaired by a high-level artifact refiner. It was uncertain if such a refiner even existed on Frostflower Star, and even if by chance one was found, repairing this specialized pill cauldron would take at least three days, making it impossible to make it for tomorrow’s quarter-finals.What was even more troublesome was that the medicinal cauldron required time to be broken in. Each cauldron had subtle differences in fire conduction and spiritual energy compatibility. She had spent three full years understanding the characteristics of this ‘Spirit-Nurturing Cauldron.’If she were to switch to another one at the last minute, not to mention whether she could even find a suitable medicinal cauldron, even if she did, it would be impossible to break it in successfully in just one day, let alone refine the extremely difficult sixth-grade pills.Just as Dongfang Mingyue was on the verge of despair, even starting to consider the possibility of giving up the competition, Qin Tian’s voice broke the silence in the room: “I can help you repair it.”Swish! Two gazes instantly focused on him, filled with shock and disbelief.“Brother Qin—Brother Qin, is what you said true? Can you really fix Miss’s medicinal cauldron?” Xiaoyu quickly stepped forward, her tone urgent.“Mm.” Qin Tian nodded, his voice calm but firm. “It just needs a little time.”Just now, when he followed Dongfang Mingyue into the alchemy room, the Divine Weapon Emperor’s senses had already detected the abnormality of the medicinal cauldron.Although he didn’t understand alchemy, he knew the importance of the medicinal cauldron to an alchemist, and he also understood that if Dongfang Mingyue were to fail in the quarter-finals due to the cauldron, not only would her efforts be in vain, but his own mission would also completely fail.It was precisely for this reason that he had no choice but to reveal himself.“Alright, then I’ll trouble—” Dongfang Mingyue was about to thank him when Xiaoyu suddenly interrupted her.“Wait!” Xiaoyu suddenly scrutinized Qin Tian with suspicious eyes, her brows tightly furrowed. “This isn’t some scheme of yours, is it? Did you damage Miss’s medicinal cauldron beforehand, then deliberately appear to act as a good person, and after we agree, you’ll take the opportunity to inflict even greater damage on the cauldron?”Upon hearing this, Dongfang Mingyue couldn’t help but rub her forehead, and Qin Tian’s mouth twitched almost imperceptibly as he retorted, “If I really wanted to damage it, why wouldn’t I just do it before you two arrived? Wouldn’t that be simpler and prevent you from discovering it?”“Uh—it seems so.” Xiaoyu finally realized, her cheeks instantly flushing crimson. She wished she could find a hole to crawl into—she had tried so hard to think a step ahead, only to make such a joke.“Mr. Qin, I apologize for making you laugh.” Dongfang Mingyue quickly apologized, then said seriously, “Then I’ll leave it to you, 5CAnyway, the medicinal cauldron is already unusable. The worst outcome is simply maintaining the status quo. If it can be repaired, it would be a desperate comeback.”“Alright.” Qin Tian stepped forward, gently placing one hand on the bottom of the medicinal cauldron.“Do you need me to prepare repair tools for you?” Xiaoyu quickly asked, not forgetting to make up for her previous embarrassment. “I’ll go get them now, it’ll be quick!”“No need.” As Qin Tian’s voice fell, a brilliant golden light slowly bloomed from his palm, spreading along the cauldron wall like flowing molten gold.That was the power of the Divine Weapon Emperor. If it could enchant weapons and awaken their spirituality, repairing this minor damage was naturally no problem.As the golden light swirled, the tiny crack healed at a visible speed. In just a few seconds, the cauldron wall returned to its former smooth and lustrous state, without even a trace of repair.Qin Tian had originally intended to reinforce the medicinal cauldron’s performance, but on second thought, he gave up. Exposing the Divine Weapon Emperor’s secret was too risky. Moreover, a suddenly enhanced medicinal cauldron might disrupt Dongfang Mingyue’s alchemy rhythm, making it more trouble than it was worth.“Repair complete.” He withdrew his hand, and the golden light in his palm instantly dissipated.“It’s done?” Xiaoyu’s eyes widened. She leaned over to inspect the cauldron repeatedly, her voice full of disbelief. “It feels like you just touched it, and the crack disappeared. Are you pulling my leg?”Dongfang Mingyue also hurried forward, carefully examining it with her spiritual power. The cauldron wall was smooth as jade, and the crack had completely vanished. Her heart was filled with wonder, and she couldn’t help but ask, “Mr. Qin, is this—an ability, or a bloodline power?”“It’s a special ability.” Qin Tian didn’t elaborate, turning to look at the two. “The medicinal cauldron has returned to normal and will not affect tomorrow’s competition.”“Mr. Qin, thank you.” Dongfang Mingyue bowed solemnly, her voice filled with genuine gratitude.To be able to study at the Alchemy Association headquarters, she had put in unimaginable effort over the years. If her efforts were to be ruined because the medicinal cauldron was destroyed, she truly couldn’t imagine if she could bear such a heavy blow.“You’re welcome, it’s my duty.” Qin Tian slightly shifted to avoid her bow, his tone still calm. “Miss Dongfang, the matter is resolved, so I will withdraw. From now on, I will maintain an appropriate safe distance from you two and will not intrude on your personal space.”Dongfang Mingyue felt a warmth in her heart. When Qin Tian had suddenly appeared earlier, she had indeed worried about privacy issues. After all, alchemy required complete concentration and couldn’t tolerate any disturbance, and she certainly didn’t want her personal life to be spied upon by others.Now that Qin Tian had brought it up himself, it not only eased her concerns but also made her feel a bit more favorably towards this bodyguard sent by the military.“Alright, thank you for your understanding, Mr. Qin.” She said softly.Buzz! As soon as her words fell, a subtle ripple suddenly spread through the space, like ripples on water.Qin Tian’s figure swayed gently in place, then completely vanished, as if he had never appeared in the room.“Wow! How did he disappear? It’s like magic!” Xiaoyu covered her mouth in surprise, looking around but unable to find even a shadow of Qin Tian.“It’s a spatial ability.” Dongfang Mingyue’s eyes were filled with astonishment. [N O V E L I G H T] She finally understood why the military would send Qin Tian to protect her. Someone who could both repair a medicinal cauldron and possess such a rare spatial ability could not possibly be an ordinary soldier.His identity was probably more complex than she had imagined.

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