It’s been two days since Kent rescued Li Hua and returned her to the Alderford Mansion. He hadn’t gone to see his two vixens yet, nor had he taken the time to review the changes that had appeared in his body and the rewards from his quests.
Instead, he decided to learn from his master.
He learned a lot about how the world works and how best to handle the Ashland Noble Family. It was an informative discussion. In the end, Kent made two plans.
First, he would become a Pill Grandmaster (Grandmaster Alchemist) so he could start concocting Tier 3 to Tier 5 pills.
Those would give him the fame he was after. His master even supported his decision, partly because, for some reason, she didn’t want to share him with the Sect.
Yes, the woman didn’t know why, but she didn’t want Kent to get entangled with the academy on that level. Of course, if he joined the Alchemy Gate in the academy, he would gain power and fame, but also unnecessary enemies.
Another reason was that the Sect would try to suppress him when he rose above their current standards.
She had experienced how heavenly his pills were, and from that, she could tell Kent only needed a few years to break into the pill market with his perfect pills.
Of course, she would be there to protect him.
He was also strong, so she knew she wouldn’t have to do much. All she would need to do was focus on his sword training, and soon, if he remained consistent, he would become a Sword Grandmaster within months.
While the alchemy world may appear to be a rich market, the competition is also very tight and even dangerous. No alchemist would want to lose their value.
This was also the reason why no noble or merchant family would want to have any falling out with an alchemist. Of course, Kent’s plan revolved around this notion.
Once he gained fame, he would ensure the Ashland Noble Family became irrelevant while catapulting the Alderford Family to prominence. With his fame and riches, he could push the Ashland family out.
Then, the next phase—which he knew they would initiate—would take effect. No matter what, they would attack him, and he could use that as an excuse to retaliate and decimate them.
Kent wasn’t going to forgive them. Usually, he wouldn’t feel this vengeful, but after forming the guardianship bond with Li Hua, he felt like a shepherd who had nearly lost a sheep.
He wouldn’t stop until all threats around his ward/herd had been dealt with. That is the way of the guardian.
Aside from becoming a Grandmaster Alchemist, he wanted to hurry and break through to the Root Grandmaster stage.
Right now, his access to the tower is limited. Aside from just communicating with the tower and some minimal functions, everything else is locked away.
The Sword, Harem, Alchemy, Guardian, Soul Cultivation, and Servant Towers had all been locked away and would only be fully unlocked once he became a Grandmaster.
According to the tower itself, this has limited some things for him. So, Kent wants to hold back now and use the time to awaken the towers and see what they will bring him.
He is now safe because he has a Peak Root Sage as his master. So long as he is close to her, he wouldn’t have to worry about anything.
His only worry is how he would get a Pill Master to duel with so he can complete that requirement and become a Pill Grandmaster.
“Is she still not awake?” Saintess Selene asked immediately as Kent walked out of the room Li Hua had been sleeping in for the past two days.
“Yes, Master. I guess she needed the sleep from all the trauma of having witnessed her grandma’s death,” Kent said as he sat down with a pondering expression.
“What is wrong?” Saintess Selene asked, watching Kent’s expression.
“Master, if I am not going to join the academy’s Alchemy Gate of the sect, how am I going to gain my alchemy badge?” Kent asked.
Joining the alchemy gate of the Divine Palace Sect would have won him a badge that he could use to gain some authority in the kingdom. But now that he wouldn’t be joining them, how then would he be able to gain the badge?
“You can participate in the upcoming Pill Master competition that will be held in the capital in four months. Although you don’t have a badge, you can participate and earn a badge by default, along with some cool rewards.
It will also be the best time to show off your skills to the entire kingdom.”
“I see. But won’t that make me an even more hated target? I doubt the judges will even like a random kid taking their shine with his extremely flawless alchemy skills,” Kent joked as he flashed a shameless grin at his master.
Saintess Selene shook her head as a smile appeared on her lips. Although she hadn’t known him for long, she didn’t hate his presence at all.
“You will be fine. After all, this competition happens every five years, and the Second Queen of the Kingdom oversees it, so I doubt anyone would misbehave.
But even so, I am here. Nobody will be stupid enough to come after you.”
“Then I will rely on you, Master,” Kent said, taking her hand. Saintess Selene looked at his behavior but brushed it to the back of her mind. Her heart, however, was beating like crazy.
“Now, about the Second Queen, what do you know about her?” Kent asked, looking deep into Saintess Selene’s eyes.
Her heartbeat slowed down for a moment. The whitish-purple eyes looking back at her were just too cute and innocent, yet their danger made her body turn hot.
“Pervert… I am not telling you anything.” Saintess Selene tried to overcome the emotions that overwhelmed her.
She averted her gaze and chose not to continue the conversation. Kent just smiled, knowing she would be playing with his divine rod like a lollipop sooner rather than later.
She stood up and left the room to catch a fresh breath and evaluate her emotions. If possible, she would disown her disciple and run away. But then again, she couldn’t since she didn’t want to.
“In case you need a massage, don’t hesitate to ask, Master,” Kent said, watching her quicken her steps and walk away.
“I will get you… You can keep playing hard to get all you want.”
[A cat can only struggle for so long. Soon, the wolf will sink its fangs into it.]
“You know the drill, Tower, you know the drill,” Kent smiled, hearing his no-good tower’s shameless comment.
Kent was particularly pleased with the kind of system he had received. So far, they had talked about many things, and he could tell that whoever created the tower was very visionary.
It was designed so he could get strong quickly but also work for the strength he would be gaining. Instead of the system dictating everything, he had free reign to do things as he saw fit. He and the tower would have to agree on the approach.
That was all he needed, and for that, he wanted to explore what there was to know about the tower.
“Tower, let’s review my progress so far and my rewards from the quests,” Kent said, choosing to tackle that first before anything else.
[As you wish, Master.]
The tower began pulling up the details of his completed quests and his progress.