The flame hovering above Yama's fingertip was small and steady.
He felt no heat from it at all.
If anyone from the Heaven Pill House had seen it, they would have recognized it instantly.
A Fire Spirit.
These spiritual flames were incredibly rare, and even when one was discovered, gaining its acknowledgment was far more difficult than obtaining it in the first place.
For alchemists and fire magicians alike, Fire Spirits were priceless treasures.
Those with a talent for fire magic would willingly go through unimaginable hardship for even the slightest chance of obtaining one.
And if they discovered that Yama possessed not just one flame, but an entire collection of them inside the Judgment Book…
They would likely hunt him down just to force the truth out of him.
Unfortunately, Yama had no idea how dangerous this flame really was.
If he had, he would never have summoned it so casually.
Not until he was much stronger.
Just as he was studying it, a voice came from outside.
"Ye Ji, are you in there?"
It was Wei Yang.
At the same time, Ye Ming pushed open the door.
The two of them entered just in time to catch sight of the flame before Yama could dismiss it.
Given their cultivation, there was no way they could have missed it.
They had already sensed something unusual coming from the room and came in expecting danger.
But what they saw stunned them both.
Wei Yang's eyes widened.
"Ye Ji... quickly. Show me that flame again."
Yama blinked.
Why does he want to see it so badly?
Is there something special about it?
Still unaware of what a Fire Spirit truly meant, Yama casually summoned the flame again.
The tiny blue flame danced above his finger.
The moment Wei Yang saw it clearly, his entire body trembled.
"Oh my God... a blue Fire Spirit!"
His voice was full of disbelief and excitement.
"A rare one at that! Ye Ji, where did you get this?"
Ye Ming was equally stunned.
By now, he had already seen enough strange things from Yama that his sense of shock was slowly being worn down.
But this was different.
A Fire Spirit was not some common treasure.
It was something many experts would spend their whole lives chasing.
And yet somehow, the boy who had supposedly never even left the Ye Clan had one.
Yama's thoughts immediately exploded.
Fire Spirit? What the hell is that?
How am I supposed to know?
This ridiculous Judgment Book of mine is filled with flames of different colors. I just pulled one out to test it, and you two happened to walk in!
He obviously could not tell them the truth.
He couldn't say that the Judgment Book had copied it from their own ancestor.
So he gave the only answer he could.
"A senior I once met in the Ye Clan gifted it to me."
Wei Yang narrowed his eyes immediately.
"I've never heard of any senior in the Ye Clan possessing a Fire Spirit."
Ye Ming also found the explanation impossible to believe.
He had lived in the Ye Clan long before Yama was even born. If there had ever been someone like that, he would have known.
Yama corrected himself at once.
"No, you misunderstand."
"One night, a senior appeared before me out of nowhere. He said he could not bear to watch how I was treated in the Ye Clan, so he decided to take me as a student."
Yama continued with a straight face, making the lie more elaborate as he went.
"He gave me this flame, taught me alchemy, and passed on some of his techniques. But he warned me not to reveal anything while I was still inside the Ye Clan. He said I should only begin practicing after I left the kingdom."
Wei Yang and Ye Ming exchanged a glance.
The explanation was absurd.
And yet...
The existence of the Fire Spirit made it difficult to dismiss completely.
What kind of person could force a Fire Spirit to acknowledge someone else?
Only an expert of terrifying power.
Wei Yang's expression grew serious.
"What is this senior's name?"
Yama shook his head.
"He never told me."
"He said I was not yet qualified to know his name."
"He also said that he would only appear before me again if I was in great danger."
Yama paused, then added the final touch.
"And he said that only when I reach the Sovereign Realm will I be worthy of meeting him properly."
Wei Yang and Ye Ming were both shaken.
They had initially guessed that this hidden senior might be someone in the Tyrant Realm, perhaps even the Sovereign Realm.
But if Yama needed to reach the Sovereign Realm just to be qualified to meet him...
Then that person had to be an existence in the Extinction Realm or even higher.
Only a few such monsters even existed in the Green Heaven Kingdom.
To think that this brat had somehow gained the favor of such a being...
Wei Yang could not decide whether to be jealous or amazed.
"Brat, your luck is terrifying," he said at last.
"A rare blue Fire Spirit... Make sure you properly thank that senior if you ever meet him again."
Then Yama asked the question that made Wei Yang nearly lose his mind.
"Senior... what exactly is a Fire Spirit?"
Wei Yang stared at him in disbelief.
"What?"
"You don't know?"
He looked as though he wanted to strangle him on the spot.
Countless people would kill for this flame, yet the one who already possessed it had no idea what it even was.
"The senior never explained it," Yama said innocently.
Wei Yang let out a long, frustrated sigh.
"Listen carefully."
"The flame in your hand is a Fire Spirit. Magicians and alchemists would fight to the death over something like this."
"But since it has already acknowledged you, no one can take it from you by force. It now belongs to you alone."
Then Wei Yang's expression shifted.
Suddenly, many things made sense.
"No wonder you were so confident about refining a pill in three days."
"So you really do have knowledge of alchemy already."
He looked at Yama seriously.
"Fine, brat. Tell me the conditions you mentioned earlier. You've got me this time."
Wei Yang had fully accepted it now.
He still needed to see Yama's pill quality with his own eyes, but after learning about the mysterious senior and seeing the Fire Spirit, he no longer dared treat him casually.
If that hidden expert truly existed, offending Yama would be the same as inviting disaster to the Heaven Pill House.
Yama, unaware of everything running through Wei Yang's mind, spoke calmly.
"I only have three conditions."
He raised one finger.
"First, I will not be your assistant, and I must be free to move around here as I please."
A second finger.
"Second, I want to join a good academy. I need to improve my cultivation and learn more about this world. But when I enroll, my name must be registered as Yama. I do not want my real identity exposed."
Then the third.
"Finally, any pills I refine and put up for sale must earn me seventy percent of the profit."
This last condition was especially important.
Yama was certain that any pill he created using the inheritance of a nine-star alchemist would not be ordinary.
The money Ye Xiang had sent with him would eventually run out, and he would need resources in the future.
Selling pills was the simplest way to solve that.
Wei Yang listened carefully.
Then, to Yama's surprise, he agreed almost immediately.
"Fine. I accept."
The conditions were reasonable enough.
In fact, Wei Yang was relieved.
He had no desire to keep Yama close as an assistant after hearing about the possibility of some hidden old monster standing behind him.
Just as the matter was settled, a loud shout came from outside.
"Patriarch!"
An elder of the Heaven Pill House rushed in.
"People from the Leaf Pill House have come to challenge us!"