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90.06% Learning To Live As A Cultivator / Chapter 290: Chapter Ninety - It comes down to the small details

Chapter 290: Chapter Ninety - It comes down to the small details

Jude had also completed making a cauldron of Pills, though in his case he had produced six pills, just that while three were good, two was so-so and the last was poor. He had succeeded in completing the formation of the pills almost three minutes quicker than Leo and could only hold his breath while Leo finished his. Those three minutes had been a little agonising for him, for while he was certain that he was the better alchemist, there were no one hundred percent certainties in this life. If Leo managed somehow to create a high or even perfect quality pill by some miracle, he would lose this challenge. So only when the four good quality pills were displayed upon the small jade plate in front of Leo did he exhale in relief.

He'd won. Although their final pill products were equal in quality, he'd produced more pills and in a faster time period than Leo, this would count to his benefit. True Leo had produced more good quality pills, but his two average pills still counted as being of use and the poor quality pill was not trash. He just smiled gleefully as he waited for the Teacher to announce him as the victor, glancing up at the stands where he believed Miss Maimai was standing.

Could she see now that there were better Alchemists in the school than that trash Leo?!

"And the victor of this challenge..." the Teacher began as Jude anticipated, "is Leo!"

"Wait, What?!"

There was some applause from the audience, particularly concentrated in one area of the stands, but reality was; the battle really was boring to watch. Nearly thirty minutes of seeing people cut herbs and stand staring at their cauldron. From this distance they couldn't see the minute changes of the flames turning what, the beads of sweat upon the two Alchemist students foreheads as they split their concentration again and again in order to create this particular pill. Some had chatted as they waited about earlier battles, some had laid small bets of copper coins upon the winner and loser of this match, a couple had even played rock, paper, scissors in a corner. Only those supporting Leo and Jude respectively actually paid much attention as well as an Alchemy Teachers who had higher senses and could 'see' just what was occurring with the flames and within the cauldron.

Leon didn't mind that there wasn't any thunderous applause or anything, just pleased that he hadn't let down the expectations of his lover and friends. Jude also didn't care, he was too busy trying to figure out why he hadn't heard his name when the victor was declared.

"Teacher, I don't understand!" He approached the female alchemist judge, who'd turned to congratulate Leon. As expected of Teacher Sagi's chosen student. They were seldom what they appeared upon the surface. She regretted that she had been amongst the naysayers at the time when Teacher Sagi decided to take the boy beneath his wing. She had no idea that interest in the boy had gone way past what she was aware of and that he had the eye of the Headmaster. As valued as she was, she wasn't one of the Institute's core Teachers and had not ever been a core Student. That part of the Institute, she was still unaware of. This incident would open her eyes and cause her to hop out of the well she was viewing things from the bottom of before. In a decade, she would finally gain the Headmaster's respect and become more aware, but that was a distance into the future and nothing to do with now.

Now, she had to pacify a sore loser. "What's not to understand?" She questioned, calmly and with no irritation in her tone. She could understand that from this boy's views, their pills were equal in value so their scores should have been untied with other factors.

Sure enough, he stated these very points.

The Teacher indicated the two translucent gold pills upon the table in front of the judges. They were of equal size, the colour at first glance seem equal in depth and shade, their scents were indistinguishable. However, the pill on the right somehow seemed more attractive and pure.

"You are correct in saying that the final pills were both equal in quality," the Teacher explained to the fallen youth, "however what won the battle was the amount of impurities within the pills." Seeing Jude frown, she continued to explain; "Leo's Seven-Steps Pill has two tenth less impurities than your pill, do you understand?"

"How can that be?" Jude muttered, then glanced at the array of fresh and dried herbs on the table in front. He'd grabbed what he needed without really looking at what was available and it had been down to luck that the amber within the Icerose was sizeable helping him to create a good number of pills. "Is that down to luck of ingredients? Were there bad ones mixed in with the good ones?" His hands formed into fists; he was unwilling to accept the consequences of his own actions.

The scholar judge sighed, but the amicable smile he'd been wearing all of this time did not fall. "Young one, herbs do contain varying amount of impurities and it cannot always be recognised which may contain more than others. Leo did spend more time than yourself when choosing his ingredients. Whether that was to his advantage or not remains unknown, but it is possible. However, Leo also took an extra step that you chose not to and that was to boil the water separately before seeping the herbs. In order to save time, you boiled the herbs with the water. Surely you were aware of the findings about this simple extra step, it has been a few months now." This step had been inadvertently discovered by young Leo, attributed to him via his Teacher. Any scholars interested in the theory of alchemy knew of this yet a student of alchemy was unaware?

Jude bit his lower lip, his eyes reddening in anger. He had heard about this in passing, one of his friends had mentioned this, but he hadn't realised it was such a big deal. If he could create a pill with better quality that Leo and in a better time, what did the impurities matter? If they were too much then fine it would make the quality of the pills worsen, but then, he wouldn't have picked that pill for judgement to begin with!

As if the alchemist Teacher could understand the thoughts running through his mind, she asked him; "If you were a martial artist seeking a Seven Steps Pill of good quality, which one of these pills would you choose? The ordinary one or the one that left his body in a better condition after consumption?"

Stated like this, Jude really had no choice but to accept his loss. He could only retreat quietly and reflect on what had gone wrong. He was unhappy, especially when he had to watch Leo return to Miss Maimai's side. He was jealous when she hugged him, when that tall martial artist pulled her away from Leo then kissed him soundly on the mouth... Wait, what??


Chapter 291: Chapter Ninety One - I am rewarded?

"And the victor of this challenge is Leo!"

Surprise was followed by the warmth of happiness. Leon's personality was such that he wasn't the gloating type, didn't think he was better than others and in wake of the Teacher's wonderful declaration he'd even forget that where there was a winner, there was a loser. He was just satisfied that he hadn't let Jin Li and the others down. His eyes, which had curved into joyful crescent moons, sought for them wanting to share with them this moment.

He vaguely heard Jude arguing about something in the background, maybe a small part of him was even aware that Jude was dissatisfied with his victory, but this sour note was drowned out in the melody of happiness and couldn't touch his mood.

But before he could rush off to celebrate with his friends, the scholar Teacher stopped him with a question; "Why did you waste time cutting off the wyrm's breath flowers?"

This had been an unnecessary step. The flowers did not effect the quality or efficiency of the pill at all, nor did they have any great effect on the overall impurities that might linger in the pill at the end. So cutting them off would just waste time.

Leon knew this, he'd learned about it in a lecture before he'd attempted to make them at that time, but he and Leo shared a certain nature caused by poverty. "Well, it's j-just that wyrm's b-b-breath flowers c-can b-be d-dried and used as p-p-p... other things." The fresh flowers were used in certain advanced pills, but Leon hadn't practiced enough to attempt those pills, but Leo had found out that the dry flowers could be burned as part of an incense blend or turned into perfume, though it was not that popular amongst nobles. So he'd purposefully cut off the heads to dry and sell for a handful of coins, just that he'd not the chance to do anything about it before Caprian trashed his place. Leon had cleared them out, unknowingly. But with the regained memory, old habits resurfaced.

"It's a w-waste otherwise," he couldn't help but blushing over his useless frugality in the moment. The scholar's smile flickered a bit as if the man was caught by surprise, but it regained its ambiance in a heartbeat, letting no one notice it.

In the meantime, Leon had already hurried off in order to rejoined his friends, a tablet with the won points in hand.  As Alchemists rarely traded in points, they would keep a stock of them in this way for later use. 

On seeing Leon, this victor, Maimai threw herself into his arms to congratulate him; "Ha ha ha!  I knew you would win!" She grinned.  Leon was used to her warm affections, though he related them to a siblings care, however they were intolerable to a certain man and that man literally tugged her away by grinning the back of her clothes without care of her nobility or gender.

'Mine!' This was the tone he expressed wordlessly to those around him as he moved into the place he'd forcefully made the girl vacate and to make doubly sure everyone understood, he marked Leon's lips with his own.

"Ah, your nose is bleeding!" Sun pointed at Maimai, who was unperturbed by Jin Li's behaviour, too busy enjoying the scene before her.

Bowyer and Pike were shocked, the former grabbed a handkerchief from an inner pocket and denounced Jin Li's actions; "How can you be so rough to a girl?"

"Tch," Jin Li's arms adjusted their position around Leon's body, pressing him to his side as he glanced at Maimai with disdain.  "There must be something wrong with that girl for her to bleed so much in that manner."

Maimai laughed as she accepted amicably the handkerchief with its foreign masculine scent rather than the light perfume she was used to and wiped clean the dripping blood.  "Don't worry, I'm not as fragile as others view me.  Jin Li did not hurt me."  No, just fed her premium dog food.

"Are you sure you are fine?" Bowyer pressed, not knowing Maimai well enough to be assured of her usual health.  Alchemists were squishier than Mages after all.  He didn't know that in truth, her martial arts could be compared to some of those standing in prime positions of at least the outer school's Standings list, that and she'd had to survive numerous exploding cauldrons.  Maimai simply nodded with smiling eyes.

Sun glanced down at the stage that was being cleared away for a more traditional battle; a fight between two martial artists that he recalled could not stand the air the other breathed.  "Your battle," he said in address to Leon, "it really was boring!"  Pike burst out laughing, while others looked amused.  Sun's eyes really had remained wide and unblinking for the first five minutes of the challenge, as Leon had chosen his herbs and prepared them, but after a while, his lids had half closed as he dozed unimpressed. 

Others were not sure what he'd been expecting (exploding cauldrons or black smoke from failure, underhanded tricks or some smack talk), but they all were aware how uninteresting Pill making was to onlookers... most onlookers.  Some alchemist students looked a bit interested in the preparation side of things, to see if they can learn from their seniors, such as Maimai, who did indeed watch from beginning to end.  There was also one Jin Li who happened to enjoy examining Leon's serious face as he pottered about a cauldron or his herbal gardens or preparing tea or dinner... so long as he, this Lord was not neglected overly long.

"I did warn you," Pike teased him.

*****

Author's note; 18+

"J-J-Jin Li...ah."

"En?"

"J-j-ju... how is th-this a rew-ah-ard ag-gain?"

"Do you not like this?"

"I d-d-didn't say that..." Leon's face was flushed crimson as if he had been standing in the glow of a warm fire.  Suppressed groans spilled from his throat as he tried in vain to hold back the cries that wantonly wished to escape.  Jin Li had earlier murmured in his ear that he would reward his small alchemist for his competency upon stage, winning the challenge that had been set him by another student.  Leon hadn't thought much about it at the time, just responded with bright cheeks that Jin Li didn't need to.  He'd even thought that Jin Li had forgotten about it as they'd celebrated with a feast in a cheap, student-favoured restaurant in old Julip Town.  There, Jin Li had even forbade him from drinking alcohol, hence his reasoning.

But on returning home, Jin Li, that ever arrogant young master that persistently ordered him about, poured him a small cup of the medicinal wine they had stored for some time.  The warmth of the alcohol in addition to the spiritual energy swirling in its depths thoroughly dazed Leon that he had to cycle his energies twice around his body dizzily before he was able to regain some clarity.  By that time, his body had been stripped clean of garments and several suspicious marks decorated his collarbone.  Apparently, this had been Jin Li's idea for his reward, though Leon felt it was more rewarding his lover than himself.

"Ah!" Leon cried out as his sensitive body responded again to the teasing pinches, his tender blush points captured between the fingers and thumbs of Jin Li's hands.  He clenched around the jade stick already deep within his body, which had yet to move further sensitising Leon's body with heightened need.  He writhed beneath the other man, losing himself to pleasure yet unable to be fulfilled by it as his body screamed out in want.

Jin Li licked his dry lips before lowering his body onto Leon's, capturing his mouth and plundering the depths of it with his tongue.  Leon responded unconsciously, tangling his about Jin Li's, tasting the heat of it as their saliva mixed only for that to spill from the corners of Leon's lips when it became too much.  Jin Li swallowed much of Leon's muffled groans in this time and it wasn't long before his hips slowly began to move, mimicking some of the movement of his oppressive kiss. 

As ever, his senses were stolen by the silken friction of Leon's hidden chrysanthemum as it contracted around his root.  The walls within him seemed to melt and conform to Jin Li's shape, the heat another sensation adding to the heightened pleasure he experienced.  He did not know how this act felt in Leon's mind, but he knew that his small alchemist derived pleasure from it as well, especially when he touched certain, specific places, without and within.

"Ha-ahh!" Leon cried out, his lips wet and a line of silver trailing down his face towards his neck, causing Jin Li's pupils to contract slightly and increase the pace of his thrusts.  Angling his body, he pressed against that place within over and over, noticing a sticky warmth increasing in volume between their abdomens as he did so with some satisfaction.  Leon's fingers gripped his shoulders, his eyes were glazed and distant, and after a few more minutes his hips stilled for a few seconds before a shudder rippled through his body and a renewed heat spilled between them. 

The contractions felt only about Jin Li's root were equally intense and he couldn't prevent himself from savouring the tightness far more intensely before fruition came and stole away his breath.  He sucked air into his chest, his breath mingling with the heavy gasps spilling from his lover as they calmed their beating hearts. 

Jin Li couldn't help wonder if he would ever tire of this indescribable feeling as his lips dotted Leon's weary face and his softened root began to revive, still captured within the depths of his lover.


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