Lin Yuan took the beast essence stones and immediately went to the medicinal garden to inspect the things there. As Lin Yuan entered Dan Zhenren’s medicinal garden, a faint wave of essence immediately lingered against his face. Unlike the outside academy grounds, the atmosphere here felt calmer and smoother, as though the essence itself was flowing more naturally.

Rows of spirit herbs stretched across the garden beneath carefully arranged essence formations. Lin Yuan slowly walked into the garden, his dark eyes quietly observing everything around him.

He saw Green Spirit Grass, a pale-green herb with thin shimmering leaves swaying gently beneath the wind. This is used for making healing potions and essence recovery mixtures. Suddenly, Lin Yuan’s gaze was attracted by a crimson colored flower. It is a Crimson Flame Orchid, a crimson-colored flower blooming beside heated stones. Its petals released faint heat waves into the surroundings. It is used for fire-attributes enhancement and flame essence recovery. He saw many herbs and flowers in that garden. And after some time, he returned to the house with a Blood Vine Flower. His instincts wanted to take that flower with him.

****

The next morning after the alchemy trial, a thin layer of mist covered the western side of Green Hollow City. The early sunlight barely went through the dense forests surrounding the outskirts, while the distant sound of flowing water echoed from the direction of the River of Origin.

Lin Yuan slowly walked out from the Qing Clan residence wearing simple dark robes, his turtle ring resting calmly around his finger. His expression remained calm, but his thoughts still lingered on yesterday’s refinement process.

The balance between essence circulation and heat stabilization was nearly similar to magical control from Noir’s previous world. The more Lin Yuan understood cultivation, the more he realized that everything in this world revolved around controlling losses and maintaining structure.

"Brother Lin!" A familiar voice suddenly called out from the pathway ahead. Chen Ming sprinted toward him while carrying a small cloth bag behind his back. Unlike Lin Yuan’s composed expression, Chen Ming looked excited from the morning itself.

"You really woke up this early?" Chen Ming grinned.

"You were the one who insisted we leave before sunrise," Lin Yuan calmly replied.

Chen Ming scraped his head awkwardly before laughing. "The Green Jade Forest is dangerous during noon. And we need to find Mid-Tier spirit food before others arrive."

Lin Yuan merely nodded once. The two quickly strolled toward the northern side of Qing Feng Mountain where the Green Jade Forest existed near a smaller stream connected to the River of Origin itself.

Unlike ordinary forests, Green Jade Forest possessed extremely dense essence because of its distance nearer to the River of Origin. The trees there were gigantic, covered with emerald moss and shimmering spirit vines. Even the air itself carried faint beast essence flickers.

As the two stepped deeper into the forest, Chen Ming carefully lowered his voice. "I heard Mid-Tier fruits only appear near heavy-essence zones."

Lin Yuan’s eyes quietly skimmed the surroundings.

"Most likely near water sources," Lin Yuan whispered calmly.

His instincts naturally analyzed the environment. Denser moisture meant better essence concentration for spirit vegetation growth. Even though cultivation differed from magic, natural energy principles remained surprisingly similar. The deeper they entered, the quieter the surroundings became. Only the rustling leaves and distant beast cries echoed faintly.

After nearly half an hour of searching, Chen Ming suddenly pointed toward a cliffside tree. "There!"

A faint blue fruit glimmered weakly between the branches.

"A Spirit Fruit!" Chen Ming’s eyes lit up instantly. Lin Yuan and Chen Ming quickly moved closer.

SKRRRRT!!

The moment they reached closer, several sharp noises echoed from above. Lin Yuan immediately stepped backward. Seven dark-green cicadas clung to the tree branches, their wings reverberating violently.

"Rank 1 Iron Cicadas..." Chen Ming frowned. The beasts’ sharp crimson eyes locked onto the two instantly.

The next moment—

BZZZZZT!!

The Cicadas descended downward rapidly flapping their wings in blurry motion.

Lin Yuan’s eyes narrowed. His right hand instantly moved forward while pale-green beast essence flowed through his arm. "Shell Guard."

A faint turtle-shell aura formed before him.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

The cicadas crashed against the defense ferociously, their metallic wings releasing sharp screeching noises. Chen Ming immediately summoned his beast essence and struck one of the cicadas downward. But the remaining beasts continued swarming aggressively.

"They’re protecting the fruit!" Chen Ming shouted.

Lin Yuan carefully observed attack patterns. ’Fast. Sharp, but predictable.’

The cicadas always attacked in synchronized angles. Without hesitation, Lin Yuan stepped sideways precisely before punching outward.

"Shell Strike!!"

BOOM!

One cicada exploded against a nearby tree trunk. Before the others could react, Lin Yuan grabbed a fallen branch and infused essence through it, striking another cicada directly from the air.

CRACK!

The cicada dropped lifelessly. The remaining cicadas became even more lethal, surrounding the two from multiple directions.

"Dammit! Why are they this annoying?!" Chen Ming gritted his teeth blocking another attack.

"They rely on numbers," Lin Yuan calmly exhaled.

The next instant, Lin Yuan deliberately lowered his defense slightly. One cicada rushed directly toward his shoulder, and at that exact moment, Lin Yuan caught it midair. Then slammed it into another incoming cicada.

BOOM!

Both beasts crashed to the ground. The remaining three hesitated briefly, and that single hesitation was enough. Chen Ming immediately used his beast essence precisely to pierce through another cicada while Lin Yuan crushed the final two with consecutive Shell Strikes. Silence returned to the forest again.

Chen Ming heavily exhaled. "We finally—"

RUMBLE!!

The ground suddenly trembled faintly, both their expressions changed instantly. From deeper within the forest, a massive beast slowly emerged. Its enormous body was covered with dark stone-like scales while two heavy horns curved from its head. Each step caused the ground to crack slightly.

"Rank 3... Stonehorn Boar..." Chen Ming’s face turned pale. The beast’s crimson eyes instantly locked onto the scent of blood from the dead cicadas.

ROOOAR!!

The Stonehorn Boar charged violently.

"Move!" Lin Yuan shouted.

BOOM!!

The beast crashed through a nearby tree effortlessly. Chen Ming barely avoided the attack while stumbling backward. Lin Yuan’s eyes sharpened instantly. Unlike the cicadas, this beast relied entirely on brute force. Direct confrontation would waste too much essence and even if he used a faint essence for defeating cicadas, he only left with 5% essence.

The boar charged again. This time, Lin Yuan didn’t retreat. Instead, he observed the terrain carefully. The terrain’s cliffside, loose stones, and uneven ground. The moment the Stonehorn Boar rushed toward him, Lin Yuan dodged calmly at the brink of a moment. The beast’s heavy body lost balance slightly against the uneven rocks.

"Now!" Lin Yuan yelled.

Chen Ming instantly attacked the boar’s side.

BOOM!

The beast staggered. Lin Yuan immediately concentrated essence into both arms. "Shell Strike!"

A heavy impact exploded directly against the beast’s exposed neck.

WHOOSH!!

The Stonehorn Boar roared painfully before collapsing heavily onto the ground. Dust scattered everywhere, and the silence followed with cries of boar. Chen Ming stared blankly for several seconds before speaking.

"Humph ~ This fucking boar is annoying... Finally we managed to kill it!" Chen Ming grunted, exhaling a heavy breath.

"It was already unstable after charging downhill." Lin Yuan slowly exhaled while observing the corpse calmly.

Chen Ming merely stared at him speechlessly. Lin Yuan crouched beside the beast and carefully extracted its shimmering blue beast core. The dense essence within it pulsed vehemently.

"Use this," Lin Yuan calmly handed the core toward Chen Ming.

"What?! No, this is yours!" Chen Ming widened his eyes instantly.

"You need stabilization more than me," Lin Yuan answered, placing the Rank 3 beast core in Chen Ming’s hands.

Chen Ming hesitated briefly before finally accepting it silently. The two sat beneath the nearby trees afterward while Chen Ming began refining the beast core carefully.

’That spirit fruit is not a Mid-tier food. What a waste!’ Lin Yuan sneered, clicking his tongue.

***

Hours slowly passed. By evening, a stronger beast aura suddenly erupted around Chen Ming.

The surrounding pale-green essence gradually deepened, and then stabilized completely.

"Baby Beast Realm... Peak Stage..." Chen Ming slowly opened his eyes in disbelief, his hands slightly trembling from excitement. "I actually broke through... Baby Beast Realm - Peak Stage."

"We should return before nightfall." Lin Yuan simply sat beside him calmly. Those two slowly began walking back toward Green Hollow City while the evening sunlight dimmed across the forest. After several minutes of silence, Chen Ming suddenly looked toward Lin Yuan.

"Lin Yuan... How did you even make that ninety-two percent purity potion yesterday?"

"Most people focus too much on success," Lin Yuan’s gaze remained ahead, yet he responded calmly.

Chen Ming blinked in confusion.

"Other students forced the reaction instead of understanding it. The herbs were already stable, and the Beast Core was the unstable factor. So rather than increasing flame control... I reduced unnecessary interference." Lin Yuan continued.

Chen Ming stared blankly at Lin Yuan’s clear thoughts about the alchemy.

Lin Yuan calmly added "Balance is not controlling everything. It is controlling only what matters."

The evening wind quietly rustled through the trees as Lin Yuan and Chen Ming slowly returned toward the noisy streets and lights of Green Hollow City.