Chapter One Hundred: A Modest Test of Skill

Katherine had never seen a face so twisted with rage. Every feature, every detail radiated boundless hatred—such overwhelming malice that even the murder of one’s entire family might not breed so much. She shrank back a couple of steps, moving closer to Ling Mo, and cautiously asked, “What’s wrong with her?”

“The scholars of the arcane arts call the most perfect alchemical automaton ‘Alice’. Creating ‘Alice’ is the lifelong pursuit of every such scholar,” Ling Mo replied. “I used to think it was merely tradition, but seeing her now, I realize ‘Alice’ is more than a title. It may carry a special meaning.”

“…What meaning?”

“I don’t know. Vein should know, but she’ll never say,” Ling Mo shook his head. “And frankly, I don’t want to know. The last time I encountered an automaton named ‘Alice’ left me with deeply unpleasant memories.”

“That wretch is not ‘Alice’!” Vein interrupted violently, her fury flaring higher. “Master, I beg you, never mention that name in front of me again, or I truly will lose my mind!”

“Fine, as you wish.” Ling Mo shrugged, unconcerned. “But do try to rein yourself in—the automaton in your hands has been torn to pieces.”

Vein glanced down. The chubby, three-headed automaton’s arms, legs, and head had already been yanked off unconsciously. Its battered torso writhed, and its oversized cartoon face was twisted in pain; its large, crystalline eyes brimmed with lightning as it looked up pitifully at its mistress.

A flicker of tenderness crossed Vein’s face; her expression had returned to normal. After a long hesitation, she finally spoke, “Ma…Master, did that automaton really come to you on its own? Wasn’t it controlled by someone nearby?”

“No,” Ling Mo replied with absolute certainty after careful thought. “At my level, if anyone were controlling the automaton—be it through mental force, pure energy, or curses—I would have sensed it.”

Hearing this, Vein let out a long sigh. Any pity for the automaton vanished from her eyes. She reached out, roughly pried open its head, and fished around inside. With a forceful yank, she pulled out a dazzling, multicolored oval stone. The automaton’s body instantly ceased moving, collapsing into a pile of scrap metal, its cartoon face frozen in an eternal expression.

“Someone has already gone this far…” Vein murmured as she toyed with the stone, then stowed it in her spatial pouch. Raising the ‘Foundation Pill’ in her hand, she asked, “It’s too much to think through all at once—best to focus on martial cultivation. Master, do I just eat this?”

“For you, yes, just eat it.” Ling Mo nodded. “Your body, with its elven bloodline, is remarkable. Even your automaton’s toughness is impressive—you tore it apart bare-handed!”

“Only a quarter elven,” Vein replied dismissively, tossing the pill into her mouth like a candy bean. Chewing, she muttered, “The elven bloodline isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Those old tortoises—having their blood makes your thinking stubborn and rigid…”

Her words barely finished when her expression changed. Large beads of sweat broke out across her forehead. The intense pain forced her to clutch her stomach and kneel, as black, foul-smelling sludge seeped from every pore, pooling into rivulets that flowed down her skin and dripped onto the ground. She struggled to stay conscious, but as the black mud increased, her whole body trembled violently, even losing the strength to kneel. She collapsed, writhing in agony across the floor.

Katherine pinched her nose and grumbled in a muffled voice, “I went through this a couple days ago, but am I imagining things? I don’t recall it being this smelly. Does elven bloodline make you stink more?”

“Don’t talk nonsense!” Ling Mo glared at her. “Your mouth will get you into trouble someday. Legend has it the elves’ ancestors bathed in moonwell water, acclaimed as the purest race in the world. Their lifespan is twice that of humans, and once they reach adulthood, even the lowest among them are mage-level!”

“Hiss~~~!” Katherine sucked in a breath, her eyes wide. “A race of mages?!”

“What did you think?” Ling Mo sneered. “From the elves I’ve met, they’re all narcissists and fanatics. Say what you just did in front of them, and the best you can expect is to be beaten crippled!”

Katherine rubbed her nose, not daring to speak further. Ling Mo pointed at Vein, collapsed on the floor, and continued, “She stinks because years of arcane experimentation have caused her body to absorb a lot of toxins. Judging by the amount of black sludge just now, this little girl won’t live past forty! Heh, no wonder that old witch Vess is so eager to change bodies—probably this is part of the reason.”

Hearing Ling Mo call Vess an old witch, Katherine twitched her lips as if to say something, but held back. Together, they watched Vein’s struggle in silence.

As an observer, Katherine noticed that the hellish detoxification process was actually brief. Though the sufferer felt each second drag, it lasted barely two minutes. When Vein stood up again, Katherine keenly observed that her eyes no longer glowed red as hers had during her own ordeal; instead, they shimmered with a deep blue light!

“Are you hungry? Don’t worry, this feeling will…” Katherine hadn’t finished her idle chatter when a chill ran down her spine. Her gaze sharpened as she realized her ‘junior sister’ had awakened and was staring at her—not at her, but at the crab meat in her hand!

“How interesting!” Katherine laughed, waving the meat in the air as if teasing a dog, provoking Vein, “Come on! Try to snatch it—if you get it, you can eat!”

“Give…me…!”

Vein’s throat rumbled, and with no further words, her icy blue eyes burned with madness. She leaned forward, tensed her legs, and shot toward Katherine like an arrow loosed from a string!

“I*&……%￥#~!!”

As Vein charged, Katherine wanted to curse. She’d assumed her opponent, having just advanced, would be a novice martial artist like she’d been days ago. Confident she’d have the upper hand, she was startled to find Vein’s speed nearly matched her own!

Had she just leaped straight to intermediate martial artist?

A thousand curses stormed through Katherine’s mind. She hastily took up a defensive stance and exchanged blows with Vein. At first she worried, but after several rounds, she relaxed; Vein clearly wasn’t yet in command of her new body, acting purely on instinct—her moves showed traces of ordinary brawling, which Katherine easily countered.

Moreover, Vein hadn’t truly reached intermediate martial artist level. Though her blows were mighty and her speed swift, she lacked the sustained aura of an intermediate. It was simply racial prowess at work. After dodging several powerful attacks, Katherine saw Vein begin to pant, and a few more moves later, her chest ached and her strength drained away like air from a punctured ball. Before she could process the sensation, Katherine seized the opening and slammed her to the ground with a fierce over-the-shoulder throw!

Katherine stood tall, triumphant, one hand on her hip, the other waving the crab meat as she laughed, “Little sister, you’ve got much to learn! Let your senior sister teach you how to—”

Bang!

Katherine’s words were abruptly cut off. Bewildered, she collapsed unconscious onto the floor. Behind her, another three-headed cartoon automaton, clutching a giant lollipop, was snickering coldly.

(P.S.: One hundred chapters in! If you have a recommendation vote, please toss one my way—it would be a comfort to the author. If you’re out of votes today, you can vote tomorrow. Consider this a small commemoration for reaching one hundred chapters.)