2025-10-14 16:02:45The hospital’s atrium glittered with cameras and white coats. Banners draped across the mezzanine read “In Honor of Life Restored.”
Rick stood beside Master Yuren Sun at the podium, heart pounding louder than the applause.
Yuren’s voice carried over the crowd. “Apprentice Franklin achieved what we deemed impossible, reviving a collapsed Golden Pulse.”
Polite clapping rolled through the hall; reporters leaned forward, holo-recorders glowing. Rick managed a stiff bow.
Across the rows of physicians, he caught Isaac Voss’s expression, smiling just enough to hide the contempt in his eyes.
When the crowd quieted, Yuren’s tone shifted, almost too soft for the microphones. “Yet, even golden light can blind those who gaze too long.”
A murmur rippled. Rick blinked, uncertain whether it was a warning or a proverb. After the ceremony, Yuren placed a hand on his shoulder. “Come by the study this afternoon. We need to talk.”
Rick forced a smile. “Yes, Master.”
The cameras kept flashing; every lens felt like an eye judging him. From the edge of the hall, Evelyn watched, white lab coat over her floral dress, pride mixed with something darker. When their gazes met, she mouthed “Be careful.”
Yuren’s private study smelled of aged parchment and tea. Diagrams of meridians shimmered in suspended light; scrolls lined the walls like silent witnesses.
Rick stood near the window, waiting while Yuren poured tea into two small cups. “You spoke beautifully this morning,” Rick said, trying for levity.
Yuren’s smile was brief. “I spoke the truth. Beauty is irrelevant.” He set a cup in front of Rick. “Tell me, do you know what you awakened that night?”
Rick hesitated. “You called it the Golden Meridian Flow.”
“More than that.” Yuren’s eyes flicked to an ancient scroll on the shelf. “It is the remnant of a divine system, one that hears the pulse of creation itself. Those who touch it uninvited… invite echo.”
Rick frowned. “Echo?”
“Death, madness, calamity, call it what you will. Every miracle disturbs the balance.”
Rick’s voice sharpened. “Then why train us to heal at all? Why teach methods you fear?”
“Because compassion without discipline is chaos.”
Yuren’s words landed like blows. Rick stared into the steam rising from his cup. “When I treated that child, I didn’t feel chaos. I felt… clarity. Like the world was breathing with me.”
“That feeling,” Yuren said softly, “is precisely how the madness begins.”
Silence settled. Outside, rain whispered against the glass. Rick finally asked, “So what now? You want me to pretend it never happened?”
Yuren looked tired. “I want you to live long enough to understand what it means.”
Rick glanced down at his wrist; beneath his sleeve, the faint golden rune pulsed once, then faded.
The apprentice ward buzzed with quiet rivalry. Screens projected patient simulations, virtual meridian maps, digital organs pulsing in rhythm.
Rick joined the cluster of students around a holographic patient suffering from “energy imbalance.” Isaac was already there, coat immaculate, tone clipped.
“Standard correction at points Q-14 to S-3,” Isaac instructed. “We balance flow manually, no improvisation.”
Rick watched the projection flicker, the simulated heart still faltering. “That path only stabilizes output, not rhythm.”
Isaac’s brow furrowed. “You have a better idea?”
Rick stepped forward, fingers hovering over the interface. “Link Q-14 to T-7, skip S-3. Cross-bridge the meridian. It’ll sync the pulse faster.”
“That’s not in the manual,” another student whispered.
Rick smiled faintly. “Neither was the cure last night.”
He executed the adjustment. The holographic pulse leveled instantly; the screen turned green.
A wave of murmurs swept the room. Isaac’s jaw tightened. “You think breaking rules makes you enlightened?”
“No,” Rick replied evenly. “It makes me adaptable.”
Isaac slammed his palm on the console. “You got lucky once. Don’t mistake intuition for mastery.”
The door opened. Yuren entered silently, gaze sweeping the room. “What’s this commotion?”
Isaac straightened. “He’s undermining standard protocols, Master.”
Rick started to respond, but Yuren raised a hand. “Enough. If conflict breeds skill, you’ll settle it through cooperation.”
“Cooperation?” Isaac repeated, incredulous.
“You’ll share the next clinical assignment. One patient, one report.”
Rick blinked. “Together?”
Yuren nodded. “Perhaps you’ll learn balance from each other.”
When he left, Isaac leaned close, voice low and venomous. “I don’t need your charity, Franklin. Keep your miracles to yourself.”
Rick said nothing, but the silence between them crackled like static. As he packed his notes, he heard Isaac mutter to another apprentice, “He thinks he’s touched heaven. Let’s see how heaven feels when it burns.”
Rick didn’t turn around, but a cold weight settled in his chest.
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Chapter 90. Departure To The Ruins
Morning light crept over the valley like a slow-moving wave of gold. It touched the roots of the living mountain first, then slipped across the grass that had grown overnight, then flowed down toward the stone paths Rick had carved. The air smelled fresh, like earth after a gentle rain, though not a single cloud floated in the sky. Everything here breathed. Everything lived.Rick stood at the valley’s edge with his pack open, sorting bottles one by one. He moved carefully, almost reverently, as though each vial held something sacred. His face was calm, but his eyes were sharp, focused, and touched by a quiet weight. The Elixir of Mercy was tucked deep in a padded pocket of the pack. Several stabilizing mixtures, dried herbs, silver needles, and Qi-thread tools filled the rest.Beside the pack lay a small wooden box carved with rune lines. Inside it rested the Homunculus Seed, sealed in a thin layer of glass crystal. It pulsed gently, faint blue light flickering like a heartbeat wai
Chapter 89. The Soul Elixir Completed
The valley was quiet the next morning, too quiet for a place that had recently woken into strange life. Mist curled low around the roots of the living mountain, drifting like pale ghosts between stone ridges. The air tasted heavy, thick with the scent of soil and something faintly metallic, the lingering echo of Qi storms that had raged during Bloom’s sealing.Rick sat alone near his alchemy circle, shoulders hunched. His hair was unkempt, his breathing slow and low, and his right hand kept trembling no matter how tightly he held it against his knee. Before him lay rows of cracked vials, scorched bowls, and half-dissolved Qi crystals. The experiments from last night had not stopped until dawn.He had failed nearly every attempt. But he was close. He could feel it.The formula he sought drifted at the edge of his mind like a shy whisper, a fragile truth that refused to step fully into the light. The Elixir of Mercy, the perfect Soul Elixir, the one that could heal life and memory w
Chapter 88. The Limits Of Perfection
The morning light in the valley was soft and pale, but it did not feel warm. The air carried a quiet unease, as if the world sensed that something new walked within it. Bloom sat on a stone near Rick’s alchemy circle, its vine-like legs folded neatly beneath its small frame. Its eyes glowed softly, pulsing in rhythm with a faint echo of Rick’s heartbeat.Rick stood a short distance away, breathing slowly, hands trembling as he heated a small flask with controlled Qi flame. His face was tired, the shadows beneath his eyes darker than before. He had not slept properly since the night Bloom was born. Luna stood at the edge of the circle, arms crossed over her chest, watching both of them with a mix of protectiveness and dread.Bloom watched Rick’s hands carefully, its head tilted like a curious child. “Why do your fingers shake?” it asked softly.Rick forced a weak smile. “Because I am still hurt.”“But you made me even while hurt,” Bloom said. Its voice carried a gentle innocence tha
Chapter 87. The Soul Bloom
The night in the valley was quiet, but it was not peaceful. The silence felt heavy, like the land itself was holding its breath. Rick had placed the Homunculus Seed on a smooth stone platform inside the ring of obsidian slabs he had carved with his alchemist code. The small seed glowed faintly, a soft white light pulsing inside its crystal-like skin. It looked harmless. It looked innocent.But Luna stood several steps away, her body tense, her eyes fixed on it as if it were a coiled snake waiting to strike.Rick knelt beside the platform, studying the seed. His fingers hovered above it but did not touch. He breathed slowly, steadying his heart.His pulse felt uneven ever since the first experiments. It was like two rhythms inside his chest were arguing with each other, one mortal, one divine.Luna finally spoke, her voice low. “Rick, this thing is not alive. It should not become alive. It is wrong.”He did not look at her. “It is a vessel. Nothing more.”“That is the same excuse use
Chapter 86. The Homunculus Seed
The valley had grown quiet over the past few days. The strange Qi rain had stopped falling from the sky, the shimmering plants had settled into steady rhythms, and the air felt heavier, as if the land itself held its breath. The dawn light stretched across the ground like a thin golden sheet, touching every root and stone.Rick stood at the center of the Alchemist’s Ring, surrounded by the obsidian slabs he carved his laws into. His eyes were shadowed from lack of sleep, and his hands trembled slightly. But he did not stop. He had collected a small pile of pale Qi crystals from the valley’s heart, crystals formed from the titan’s lingering essence and the valley’s healing hum.Luna watched him from a short distance. She sat on a rock with her legs pulled close, her expression troubled. Her crystalline arm glowed softly in the morning light, but her eyes were fixed on Rick’s movements.“Rick,” she said, her voice calm but tight, “you have been at this since last night. You need to
Chapter 85. The Alchemist’s Code
The sun had not yet risen, but the valley was already awake. The strange new life growing across the land pulsed with a slow glow, like soft breath moving through soil. Roots shimmered faintly under the earth, veins of Qi running through stone and water. Rick stood in the center of the clearing, the air cold against his skin, his breath rising like mist.He had not slept. His eyes were heavy, but they held a sharp clarity, the kind that came from painful truths finally settling in the mind.Behind him, Luna stirred from her makeshift bedding, rubbing her eyes with her good hand. Her crystalline arm shimmered with early light, casting rainbow reflections on the stone wall beside her.She stood slowly, watching Rick with worry. “You are awake again,” she said, voice soft.Rick did not turn. His attention was fixed on the obsidian slabs he had dragged from the valley’s edge. Dark, smooth, heavy stones lay arranged in a circle around the clearing. They reflected nothing, light simply sa
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