Chapter 472 - 393: Repairing the Alchemy Cauldron

"You... Who are you!"

Xiao Yu looked at the man’s stern eyebrows and eyes across from her, her originally tense vigilance and hostility quietly loosened—his aura, steady as a mountain, really didn’t seem like someone with malicious intent, but the way he suddenly appeared from the shadows carried an eerie feel, making her still hesitant to lower her guard.

"Qin Tian." The man spoke, his voice cold, his gaze sweeping over the center of the room at the dark green pill cauldron, "Ordered by the Military Department, secretly protecting Miss Dongfang Mingyue."

He was supposed to remain hidden according to the plan, and if not for discovering the deadly flaw in the cauldron, he wouldn’t easily expose himself—tomorrow was the "Star Cup" quarterfinals, and if Dongfang Mingyue couldn’t compete due to the cauldron’s issue, his mission would be equal to failure, making it impossible to report back to Marshal Lin.

"Military Department?"

Xiao Yu and Dongfang Mingyue were both stunned, exchanging a puzzled glance. They had never had any dealings with the Military Department; why would someone from there specifically come to protect them?

"You say you’re from the Military Department. Do you have proof?" Xiao Yu was still not reassured, clutching a protective charm in her pocket, her tone tinged with doubt, "Which bodyguard appears like this, suddenly out of the corner, like a ghost? Who knows if you’re a bad guy pretending!"

Qin Tian frowned slightly—he certainly had items to prove his identity, but his status as a Major General in the Seventh Bureau was classified, not usually disclosed.

"No need, I believe you."

At that moment, Dongfang Mingyue suddenly spoke, her gaze falling on the face that overlapped with the snowy night in her dream, her heartbeat still somewhat uncontrollable. Her future self had once shown close contact with him without any defense, and this mysterious connection was enough to make her choose to trust him.

"Miss?" Xiao Yu turned her head in surprise, unable to understand why Dongfang Mingyue would trust a stranger so easily.

Dongfang Mingyue waved her hand gently, focusing her gaze back on Qin Tian, her tone solemn: "Mr. Qin, thank you for coming forward to alert us. But what exactly did you want to tell me just now?"

"Someone tampered with your cauldron." Qin Tian didn’t mince words, pointing his finger to the bottom of the green cauldron, "There’s a tiny crack there, almost invisible to the naked eye, but it reaches the inner layer of the cauldron wall. If you use this cauldron for alchemy, when the flames heat it, the crack will enlarge, causing the elixir to fail at best, or exploding the cauldron at worst."

What!

Dongfang Mingyue’s expression changed drastically, light green Spirital Energy immediately surged out from her fingertips, winding like dense vines around the cauldron.

She closed her eyes, concentrating her Spiritual Power to the utmost, meticulously probing inch by inch along the cauldron wall—from the cauldron’s ears to its belly, down to its feet, finally touching the hair-thin crack at the junction near the three legs.

The pill cauldron is the alchemist’s life weapon. If there’s a small external flaw, it could still possibly be used, but a crack penetrating the inner layer means it’s a worthless item, absolutely incapable of successful alchemy.

"Miss, is he telling the truth?" Xiao Yu clutched Dongfang Mingyue’s hand nervously, her voice trembling, "What should we do now? The competition is tomorrow!"

Dongfang Mingyue bit her lower lip, a chill passing through her heart. Such a level of crack could only potentially be repaired by a high-level artifact refiner. Whether Shuang Hua star even had such a level of artifact refiner was uncertain. Even if someone was found, repairing this specially crafted pill cauldron would take at least three days, making it impossible to compete in tomorrow’s quarterfinal.

What’s even more troublesome is that the cauldron requires time to blend—each cauldron’s fire conduction and Spiritual Energy compatibility have subtle differences. She spent three entire years understanding the characteristics of this ’Lingering Spirit Cauldron’.

If replaced temporarily, not to mention finding a compatible pill cauldron, even if found, the blend couldn’t possibly succeed in just one day, let alone crafting the extremely challenging sixth-grade elixir.

When Dongfang Mingyue was nearly desperate and even considered the possibility of giving up the competition, Qin Tian’s voice sounded again, breaking the room’s silence: "I can help you repair it."

Whoosh—

Two pairs of eyes instantly focused on him, full of shock and disbelief.

"Brother Qin... Are you serious? Can you really repair Miss’s pill cauldron?" Xiao Yu rushed forward, her tone eager.

"Yes." Qin Tian nodded, his tone calm but confident, "Just need a little time."

Just now, when entering the alchemy room with Dongfang Mingyue, the perception of [Divine Weapon Emperor] had captured the anomaly of the pill cauldron.

He didn’t understand alchemy, but he knew the importance of a pill cauldron to an alchemist. Moreover, if Dongfang Mingyue failed the quarterfinal due to the cauldron, not only would her efforts be in vain, but his mission would also fail completely.

This was why he had no choice but to reveal himself.

"Alright, in that case, please..." Dongfang Mingyue began to thank him but was interrupted by Xiao Yu.

"Wait!" Suddenly Xiao Yu looked at Qin Tian with suspicion, her brows tightly furrowed, "Could this be your conspiracy? Did you damage Miss’s pill cauldron in advance, then pretend to be a good person by showing up, and once we agree, secretly do more harm to the cauldron?"

Hearing this, Dongfang Mingyue couldn’t help but hold her forehead, while Qin Tian’s mouth twitched imperceptibly, and he retorted, "If I wanted to destroy it, why not act before you arrived? Wouldn’t that be easier and undetectable by you?"

"Uh... seems like it." Only then did Xiao Yu realize it, her face immediately turning bright red, wishing she could find a place to hide— trying to be cautious, never expecting to make such a joke.

"Mr. Qin, sorry for the embarrassment." Dongfang Mingyue quickly apologized, then said seriously, "I entrust it to you."

Anyway, the pill cauldron was unusable, the worst outcome would be maintaining the status quo, and if repaired, it would be a desperate survival.

"Alright." Qin Tian stepped forward, gently holding the bottom of the pill cauldron with one hand.

"Do you need me to prepare repair tools?" Xiao Yu quickly asked, not forgetting to make up for the embarrassment earlier, "I’ll get them now, it’ll be quick!"

"No need." As soon as Qin Tian’s words fell, a brilliant golden light slowly blossomed from his palm, like flowing molten gold, spreading along the cauldron wall.

That’s the power of [Divine Weapon Emperor]—capable of enchanting weapons, awakening spirituality, repairing this damage was naturally within its realm.

As the golden light simmered, the tiny crack healed at a speed visible to the naked eye. In just a few seconds, the cauldron wall returned to its original smooth and glossy state, without a trace of repair visible.

Qin Tian originally intended to boost the cauldron’s performance casually, but he soon abandoned the idea—exposing [Divine Weapon Emperor]’s secrets was too risky, and suddenly enhancing the cauldron’s performance might disrupt Dongfang Mingyue’s alchemy rhythm, outweighing the benefits.

"Repair complete." He withdrew his hand, the golden light in his palm instantly dissipating.

"It’s fixed just like that?" Xiao Yu stared wide-eyed, examining the cauldron repeatedly, her tone full of disbelief, "It seems like you just touched it, and the crack vanished. Could it be an illusion?"

Dongfang Mingyue also stepped forward quickly, using her Spiritual Power to examine meticulously—the cauldron wall smooth as jade, the crack completely gone. She was filled with wonder, unable to resist asking, "Mr. Qin, is this... a superpower or a Bloodline Ability?"

"Consider it a special ability." Qin Tian didn’t elaborate, turning to look at the two, "The pill cauldron is back to normal, won’t affect tomorrow’s competition."

"Thank you, Mr. Qin." Dongfang Mingyue bowed respectfully, her tone filled with sincere gratitude.

For the opportunity to train at the Alchemy Association headquarters, she had put in efforts beyond the imagination of ordinary people. If her efforts were wasted due to the pill cauldron being destroyed, she truly couldn’t imagine if she could bear the heavy blow.

"You’re welcome, it’s my duty." Qin Tian slightly dodged her bow, his tone still calm, "Miss Dongfang, the issue is resolved, I’ll step back for now. I’ll keep a safe distance from you, won’t invade your personal space."

Dongfang Mingyue felt warmth in her heart, when Qin Tian showed up suddenly, she indeed worried about privacy issues, alchemy requires full concentration, and any disturbance is intolerable, in life even less wishes others to pry.

Now Qin Tian proactively mentioned it, solving her worries, also making her feel more fondness for the bodyguard sent by the Military Department.

"Alright, thank you for your understanding, Mr. Qin." she said softly.

Buzz—

As soon as the words fell, the space suddenly rippled subtly, like ripples on the water surface.

Qin Tian’s figure lightly blurred in place, then completely vanished, as if never appearing in this room.

"Wow! Where did he go? Like a magic trick!" Xiao Yu exclaimed, covering her mouth in surprise, looking around, but couldn’t find even Qin Tian’s shadow.

"It’s a Spatial Ability." Dongfang Mingyue’s eyes were full of astonishment, suddenly understanding why the Military Department would send Qin Tian to protect her— besides repairing the pill cauldron, possessing extremely rare Spatial Ability, such a person could never be an ordinary soldier.

His identity might be more complex than she imagined.