"who?"

"Xiu Qiyu."

"Xiaoye's other half?"

"Yes, we're bound together through life and death, for all eternity. The contract is in place, and there's no going back." Thinking of this, Jing Li felt as if his precious disciple had been snatched away, and he was extremely unhappy.

"Don't worry! The Ice Spirit Clan members are exceptionally talented, exceptionally handsome, devoted in love, and have long lifespans. Besides, they are pure-blooded nobles. Don't worry! Xiao Ye's life is truly very good, very good."

"Is it really that good?" Jingli muttered under her breath, "It's just a pretty but useless flower that attracts bees and butterflies."

"Hahaha, little Lili, this is jealousy."

Jingli, enraged and embarrassed, flung her sleeves and shouted, "Master, you're old!"

"And then." The Emperor raised an eyebrow.

"My ears aren't working properly, and my eyes aren't working properly either."

Without the throne making any move, Jing Li was simply and lightly hung on a pillar in the main hall.

"Master, you're cheating again! Put me down!" Jingli was heartbroken.

The emperor waved his sleeve and said, "I'm getting old, my hearing isn't good, I need to go back to sleep."

Jingli was on the verge of tears. Her master appeared calm and ethereal on the surface, seemingly untouched by worldly concerns, but his heart was incredibly dark. He often bullied the weak and played the fool to deceive others.

"Master, I was wrong."

At dinner, Ye Xiruo was fortunate enough to taste the osmanthus cake made by the Emperor himself. No wonder her master had been craving it for so many years; it was indeed incredibly delicious. It melted in her mouth, with a lingering fragrance that wasn't sticky at all, and even had a refreshing quality. The key point was that eating it could actually increase her spiritual power! Ye Xiruo's eyes widened in astonishment. What kind of miracle was this? Everyone on the Taiyan Continent knew that increasing spiritual power was almost impossible, because there were very few methods for cultivating spiritual power, and even if they existed, they weren't guaranteed to be effective. Who had ever heard of increasing spiritual power simply by eating a few delicious pastries? If this were to spread, countless alchemists would go crazy.

"This only works for low-level alchemists; it has no effect on intermediate or higher-level alchemists," the throne explained with a smile, seemingly noticing Ye Xiruo's confusion.

"So delicious, so amazing!" Ye Xiruo's eyes were now sparkling.

Jingli didn't say anything, just buried her head in eating osmanthus cake, and soon the whole plate was gone.

"Disciple, eat quickly." Jing Li piled another plate of pastries in front of Ye Xiruo: "They taste best while they're fresh."

The emperor sipped his tea silently, seemingly detached from worldly affairs, occasionally taking a bite of pastry. His gaze fell on Jing Li and Ye Xiruo, filled with contentment and a gentle joy.

Having reached the throne, he was not far from that final step, and few things in the world could move him anymore. Jing Li was his responsibility, his family, and now Ye Xiruo was too, so naturally he had much more patience.

"Thank you, Grandmaster, it's really delicious." Compared to the pastries from the Celestial Empire, it seems incomparable; the existence of this thing is quite unscientific.

At this moment, only two days remained until Jing Li's disciple-acceptance ceremony, and everyone in the Pill King Hall was busily preparing. Genuine smiles graced everyone's faces; it felt like New Year's. When Ye Xiruo mentioned this to her master, Jing Li unexpectedly laughed heartily: "When Master accepted me as his disciple, it was the same scene. In any case, I have a successor; this is a blessing for the Pill King Hall. New Year's celebrations happen every year, but a disciple only gets one in their lifetime."

Ye Xiruo felt a surge of emotion: "Master, I will not let you down."

Jing Li stroked Ye Xiruo's head: "You will never disappoint me. Just like I have never disappointed my master."

Before Ye Xiruo started refining pills, he spent his days absorbing knowledge from his notes, listening to the teachings of his master or grandmaster, tending to medicinal herbs in his space, and cultivating in the pool.

Perhaps due to differences in the flow of time and the concentration of spiritual energy in different spaces, low-grade medicinal herbs can mature in three days. If water is added from the pond, they can be harvested in three hours. Ye Xiruo secretly took out some herbs and compared them with those from the Pill King's Palace, discovering that their quality seemed higher and they contained more spiritual energy. This would improve the quality of the pills refined from them, which was truly good news.

Another piece of good news is that she finally succeeded in refining a mid-grade Qi-restoring pill in the system's simulation room.

The Qi-restoring Pill, as the name suggests, is used to help cultivators quickly recover their true qi. It is a first-class pill and an essential medicine for those traveling or engaging in robbery.

When the system's cold voice informed her of her success, Ye Xiruo even thought she was hallucinating.

After the apprentice-acceptance ceremony, she will go into seclusion to refine pills. Otherwise, it would be too embarrassing to be the number one genius girl on the continent but a complete waste.

Ye Xiruo was dragged out of bed at 6:10 and made to try on clothes. Yes, try on clothes—it was her master's idea. "My apprentice is naturally beautiful; she'll definitely be a beauty that could topple kingdoms in the future. Today, she must stun everyone. The likes of the Ninth Princess and Yi Ruowu are no match for my apprentice."

Ye Xi could only manage a wry smile. Any normal person would have a proper sense of aesthetics. Oh well, as long as Master is happy.

Xiao Liu was malnourished and looked like a little green bean sprout. Now she is being fed and cared for every day, and at least she has gained a little weight. But her face can only be described as pretty. The only good thing about her is her eyes, which are beautiful, deep, captivating, mysterious and noble.

Ye Xiruo also noticed something else: her appearance seemed somewhat similar to her appearance in her previous life, though she wasn't sure if it was just her imagination. As for her face in her previous life, it still couldn't compare to Yi Ruowu's; Yi Ruowu was a saintess, her advantage lying in her sacred aura. The Ninth Princess, on the other hand, had noble blood and strong genes; she couldn't possibly be ugly.

"Okay, this one's fine, I'm hungry." She tried on countless outfits, but the tailor was still not satisfied.

"Let's eat first!" Jing Li was still wearing a blood-red robe today, with a layer of Tianshan Snow Silk Robe over it. Her jet-black hair flew in the wind, and her clothes fluttered, making her look like an immortal.

The emperor changed into a crimson robe similar in style to Jing Li's, which accentuated his majestic and unyielding aura, befitting a legend of the continent.

Ye Xiruo was wearing a pale yellow robe, with several delicate bows tied at the cuffs and waist. It was cute and girlish, yet it made Ye Xiruo feel a little ashamed. At her age, she was acting so childish and cute. She would definitely change it when she got back.

"Little Yezi, this outfit suits you very well." Since Master has said so, let's not change it! Ye Xi shed two wide, thin tears.

"Although we in the Pill King Palace don't rely on our looks to get ahead, even the people from Saintess Peak and Illusionary Heaven Palace wouldn't dare say they conquered the world with their beauty."

"Why?"

"Because of Xiu Qiyu," Jing Li said casually.