Chapter 143: Master and Apprentice

To her surprise, Luo En never showed impatience because her questions were too basic; instead, he encouraged her to ask more and think more.

"Learning potionology, the most important thing is not to memorize formulas, but to understand the relationships and reaction principles between materials."

Luo En explained while preparing a simple healing potion:

"Only by truly understanding this basic knowledge can you make appropriate judgments and adjustments in practice."

Lilia nodded thoughtfully; this teaching method was completely different from her past experiences.

In the noble family, when she learned etiquette and housekeeping, teachers only required mechanical memorization and imitation, never explaining the reasons behind them.

"Try it, follow my method just now and prepare a bottle of refreshing potion."

Luo En pushed the materials in front of Lilia: "Don't worry about failure; mistakes in the learning process are often the best teachers."

Lilia took a deep breath and began to operate carefully according to the steps in her memory.

Her movements were unfamiliar but unexpectedly precise, as if some intuition was guiding her.

Luo En observed silently from the side, already aware of something in his heart.

Perhaps this was the unique aspect of the "Diligence Makes Up for Clumsiness" talent:

A seemingly ordinary starting point, but the learning curve would become steeper and steeper over time.

Every attempt Lilia made was invisibly enhancing her understanding and operational ability.

【Extraordinary Identification EXP +1】

He quietly used the "Extraordinary Identification" ability to observe the energy flow in Lilia's body.

As she focused on potion preparation, that special energy fluctuation became more obvious, like a small but tough stream, slowly and steadily strengthening.

"Not bad." When Lilia completed the first bottle of potion, Luo En evaluated:

"Although there is still room for improvement in purity, it is already quite outstanding for a first attempt."

A joyful smile appeared on Lilia's face; this heartfelt praise gave her a long-lost sense of accomplishment.

This was not because of her appearance or charm, but derived from her real effort and ability.

"Thank you for your guidance, Lord Ralf."

Lilia said sincerely, her eyes flashing with grateful light.

"No need to be so respectful." Luo En responded with a smile: "On the road of learning, we are all seekers of knowledge."

For the rest of the day, Lilia was completely immersed in the basic learning of potionology.

She was surprised to find that she had an unexpected affinity for this discipline, especially in material identification and processing.

Luo En also noticed this and provided more challenging content at the right time.

"Your learning ability is very strong." When night fell and the day's teaching ended, Luo En evaluated:

"Tomorrow we can try some more complex formulas and start practicing basic spiritual power control."

Lilia raised her head in surprise: "Spiritual power control? But my spiritual power qualification is only in the middle reaches of the fifth-grade star..."

"The foundation of spiritual power control does not entirely depend on innate aptitude."

Luo En explained: "Correct methods and persistent practice can also bring significant improvement. Moreover, as a potionist, basic spiritual power control is an indispensable skill."

Lilia felt a warm current welling up in her heart.

In her past life, very few people were willing to invest time and energy to cultivate her because they saw her potential.

Most people only saw her appearance, regarding her as an item that could be used or possessed.

"I will work hard, Lord Ralf." She promised in a low voice.

Returning to her small room, Lilia sat quietly on the edge of the bed, her thoughts in turmoil.

Those calculations and schemes when she first came to the workshop now seemed so superficial and ridiculous.

Compared to throwing herself into his arms to exchange for protection, obtaining achievements through her own efforts and learning seemed to be a brighter and more tangible path.

"Perhaps, my value is not just in this face." Lilia whispered to herself, her eyes flashing with newborn hope.

At the same time, in the candidate apprentice dormitory area, a shocking piece of news was spreading rapidly:

The beautiful Lilia was said to have become the "special assistant" of that genius intermediate apprentice Luo En Ralf.

This news had no exact source, but it spread among the apprentices with vivid details, and all kinds of guesses and speculations emerged one after another.

"I heard that Lilia now lives in Luo En's workshop and doesn't come out even at night..."

A thin, tall candidate apprentice said mysteriously to his companion.

"Really? That Luo En is an intermediate apprentice, and also a professional potionist; his status is higher than ordinary intermediate apprentices."

The companion opened his eyes in surprise.

"Absolutely true! My cousin is a primary apprentice and saw Lilia wearing the workshop's work clothes entering and leaving the market to purchase medicinal materials with his own eyes!"

These messages soon reached Cain's ears.

This son of a wealthy merchant had always coveted Lilia's beauty and had tried to approach her many times, but had been cleverly avoided by her.

Now hearing that she had become someone else's "private assistant," his face became somewhat gloomy, but he did not produce any anger because of this.

After all, provoking others for no reason in the Black Fog Jungle often meant paying the price of life.

"Ralf..." Cain frowned: "I only went out to do an external mission for two months; when did the school produce such a character?"

The servant standing on the side reminded him in a low voice:

"Master, Luo En Ralf is a genius who rose in the two months you were away. It is said that his ranking in the candidate wizard sequence has risen significantly recently, already entering the top twenty. And..."

"And what?" Cain asked impatiently.

"And he seems to have received special attention from Wizard Soren Griffith, often receiving private guidance."

The servant said cautiously: "Offending such a character will likely bring many unnecessary troubles."

It should be said that it might lead to a disaster of extinction; after all, his master was just an ordinary apprentice without any special skills.

But as a servant, he could only remind him tactfully.

Cain was undoubtedly a person who listened to advice; hearing this, he fell silent instantly, a glimmer of fear flashing in his eyes.

He was born into a wealthy merchant family and had followed his father's influence since childhood, knowing when to retreat.

The price of angering a sequence member favored by a formal wizard might far exceed his imagination.

"Forget it." Eventually, he could only put away his little thoughts unwillingly:

"Beautiful women are everywhere; you can buy a bunch just by going to the mortal market; there is no need to form a grudge with such a genius for a woman."

Just like that, relying solely on her connection with Luo En, Lilia successfully got rid of Cain's entanglement, while she knew nothing about it.

In the following weeks, Lilia thoroughly integrated into the life of the workshop.

Every morning, she would get up early to prepare the potion materials and tools needed for the day;

In the morning, she followed Luo En to learn basic potionology and spiritual power control;

In the afternoon, she helped Ailan organize the workshop and take care of the little siren Dai'er;

At night, it was time for independent study and practice; Luo En occasionally could notice that the light in her small room would stay on until very late.

Surprisingly, her cooking skills were also fully displayed.

Unlike Ailan, who only knew how to cook simple vegetarian food, Lilia learned many advanced cooking techniques in the noble family.

She began to prepare rich meals for the workshop every day, cleverly combining various rare ingredients to create delicious and nutritionally balanced meals.

"The taste of this dish... is simply like what a hotel chef would make."

When Luo En tasted Lilia's craft for the first time, he evaluated in surprise.

Then he realized that the mortal kingdom might not have the concept of a restaurant, only various private chefs raised by nobles, so he immediately changed his words:

"I mean, very delicious."

Lilia's face showed joy: "In the family, I once followed the head chef to learn for a period of time."

She did not mention that she learned these skills to please her brothers and sisters: "I am very happy you like it."

Luo En nodded: "Talent and effort will eventually be rewarded, no matter in which field."

This sentence aroused a strong resonance in Lilia's heart; since coming to this workshop, she had not dared to relax herself for a moment.

Especially in her small room in the courtyard, after seeing the experimental area on the second floor of the workshop also brightly lit all night.

Lilia felt that Luo En, who had already achieved success in many careers, was so strict with himself, so what qualifications did she, this stumbling apprentice, have to relax her study.

And facts proved that effort was undoubtedly effective.

As time passed, Lilia's potion knowledge and skills improved rapidly, far exceeding Luo En's expectations.

Little siren Dai'er was also exceptionally active because of the addition of a newcomer to the workshop; she liked to listen to Lilia tell stories about the outside world.

Lilia also liked to accompany Dai'er in her spare time, teaching her some simple knowledge and games.

"Dai'er, look at this, this is called 'Light Chasing Game'."

Lilia aimed a small mirror at the sunlight, projecting a bright spot on the wall of the crystal tank, and then moved the mirror to let the light spot swim in the water.

Dai'er chased that light spot excitedly, and silver bell-like laughter echoed in the workshop.

The whole workshop seemed to have become more vibrant because of Lilia's arrival.

Even the tree spirit, who was slightly low in mood at the beginning because of the new assistant sharing her work, seemed to have begun to gradually recover recently.

Perhaps, she was worried that her value would be completely replaced...

Luo En, who had been observing silently from the side, reached this conclusion and couldn't help but sigh that the tree spirit was becoming more and more like a human, both in appearance and heart.

Luo En stood on the balcony of the workshop, reaching out to lift the iron-blue curtains fluttering in the night wind.

The Black Fog Jungle outside the window was shrouded in a thin mist, and the magic crystal lights of the distant tower penetrated the mist, like illusory stars dotted in the deep night.

Tonight was the twentieth day since he officially began teaching Lilia.

Recalling the experiences of this period, Luo En couldn't help but feel a trace of indescribable sense of accomplishment.

Lilia's learning ability far exceeded his expectations; that kind of focus and speed of absorbing knowledge was simply the dream student for a teacher.

The effect of the special talent "Diligence Makes Up for Clumsiness" was truly incredible.

A seemingly ordinary starting point, but

Especially over these past few days, Li Liya's progress has been astonishing.

Perhaps it was the accumulation of over two months with Lady Ailan, combined with the half-month of intensive study here, that allowed her talent to gradually be ignited.

She is not only able to independently complete the preparation of primary healing potions but has even begun to attempt to improve certain simple formulas.

The day before yesterday, she successfully increased the potency of the "Refreshing Potion" by nearly twenty percent while using only eighty percent of the materials.

This success rate even surprised Luo En; it is already comparable to the level of his own potion-crafting skills when they were approaching the proficient stage.

Even more pleasantly surprising is that she has also shown amazing adaptability in basic exercises for spiritual power control.

Although her aptitude is only in the mid-range of the fifth-grade stars, her near-obsessive focus allows her to master meditation techniques faster than apprentices with the same aptitude.

Just this morning, Li Liya successfully completed the test for the first stage of basic meditation, and the stability of her spiritual power clearly exceeded the level expected of her aptitude.

"Teacher, may I ask one more question?"

Li Liya's voice came from behind.

At some point, this title of "Teacher" had naturally replaced the initial "Master Ralph."

Luo En turned around and saw the young girl in her work clothes standing at the door, holding a copy of "Basic Potionology," her expression focused and humble.

"Of course, what is the question?"

"Regarding the mixing ratio of Silver Moon Grass and Morning Dew Flower, I found that the 3:2 ratio recorded in the book does not seem to be the optimal ratio."

She said cautiously:

"I tried it a few times last night and found that a 5:3 ratio makes the potion's effect more stable and also saves materials..."

A flash of surprise crossed Luo En's eyes, and he nodded with gratification:

"Your observation is very accurate. The traditional ratio is based on standard configurations in ordinary environments, but considering the magical environment of the Black Fog Jungle, 5:3 is indeed more reasonable. This spirit of active thinking and practice is very rare."

A flash of joy crossed Li Liya's eyes, but she immediately became humble again:

"It is all thanks to Teacher's excellent guidance..."

"No, this is the result of your own hard work."

Luo En corrected her habitual self-deprecation word by word:

"Learning is not just about accepting knowledge; more importantly, it is about questioning and verifying. You have begun to show the way of thinking that a true potion master should have."

Li Liya lowered her head slightly, her cheeks flushing; she clearly cherished such recognition very much.

"It is already very late, you should rest. Tomorrow we will begin learning the technique of 'Life Essence Extraction,' which requires abundant energy."

Li Liya nodded in thanks and took her leave softly.

When her footsteps faded away, Luo En returned to his room and took out the silver pocket watch hanging on his chest.

Its black gemstone surface shimmered slightly, as if responding to his touch.

He slowly closed his eyes and entered a state of contemplation.

A moment later, an unprecedented feeling welled up from the bottom of his heart:

It was a warm and pure flow of energy, as if a clear spring were being injected into his spiritual core from the outside.

This feeling was completely different from the improvement he gained during his usual self-cultivation; it was more relaxed and natural, nourishing his soul without requiring any effort on his part.

"This is 'Grace'..."

Luo En whispered to himself, his heart filled with wonder.

He finally personally experienced the special connection that Lady Ailan had spoken of.

This was different from the meager grace he had received when he had inadvertently inspired others during a lecture.

This time, as a true mentor, Luo En had provided professional and purposeful guidance, and the "Grace" he received was significantly more powerful.

He could clearly feel the flow of this energy and could actively guide its direction.

Under normal circumstances, most mentors would use this "Grace" to purify accumulated spiritual corruption, delay aging, or even heal old wounds.

But Luo En's situation at this moment was somewhat special.

"I have the Timekeeper's pocket watch, which can periodically clear spiritual corruption; at least until I advance to a formal wizard, I don't need to worry about this problem..."

He pondered for a moment and decided to invest this "Grace" entirely into the resource he was currently most lacking—his mana cap.

Luo En carefully guided the flow of energy, directing it all toward his mana core.

As the "Grace" was injected, he felt a wonderful change beginning to occur within his mana core.

(End of chapter)