“Qingqing, I think I understand now…”

When Qin Luwei said this, she still couldn’t quite believe it.

If her sudden idea was correct, it would mean that even Qiangwu and Dangshen weren’t necessary.

Could the recipe really be that simple?

The more she thought about it, the more it seemed possible.

Perhaps they had been overcomplicating things all along.

Qin Luowei stood up in a daze.

Feeling the sticky flower juice on her hands, she used a cleaning spell, then turned and ran out.

Qirong was bewildered.

He saw his third sister stand up excitedly, mumble to herself for a bit, then start walking out.

With a loud thud, she set the cauldron down, making the ground shake.

Qirong asked in confusion, “Sister, where is the third sister going?”

Qin Ruqing, smiling with her hands behind her back, leisurely followed, “She’s probably going to the herb garden.”

Sure enough, her third sister had a much better intuition for alchemy than she did.

With just a small hint, she could grasp the crucial points.

How wonderful!

As Qin Ruqing had guessed, Qin Luwei headed straight to the herb garden.

Without any delay, she picked fresh Tongling Grass and Star Flowers, then hurried back.

Without any further notes or extra actions, Qin Luwei immediately started the alchemy process.

She was eager to test her new idea.

An hour later, perfectly round pills finally formed in the cauldron.

Qin Luwei had a solid foundation in alchemy, and this batch yielded three pills.

When the cauldron cooled down, Qin Luwei held the newly made Qi Revitalization Pills up to the light for a closer look.

As Qin Luwei examined the pills, Qin Ruqing also observed them.

The new pills were darker in color, almost black, but not as pitch-black as those produced by the system.

This indicated some differences in the auxiliary ingredients since Qin Ruqing hadn’t shared the exact recipe from the system.

Qin Ruqing guessed that these new pills’ effectiveness was very close to the system’s version.

She didn’t expect her third sister to make an identical product—why limit her thinking to the system’s standards? Perhaps one day her sister would create even better pills.

Feigning curiosity, Qin Ruqing asked, “Third sister, did it work? These Qi Revitalization Pills look a bit different from before.”

Different was normal; identical would have been strange.

Now, on the verge of knowing the answer, Qin Luwei hesitated, feeling a mix of fear and excitement.

After thinking for a moment, she handed the pill to Qin Ruqing. “Little Sister, can you try this for me?”

Qin Ruqing quickly waved her hands in refusal, “Third Sister, I can’t. My spiritual energy recovers too fast, so I can’t test the effect of the Qi Revitalization Pill!”

She wasn’t joking.

Last night, She almost blew up the courtyard just to barely test the difference between two Rejuvenation Pills.

Se didn’t want to go through that again.

Qin Ruqing pointed to Qirong, who was lifting a large cauldron nearby. “Let him do it. He just finished training, so he’s the most suitable.”

With a loud thud, Qirong put down the cauldron and patted his chest confidently. “Third Sister, let me do it!”

Qin Luwei nodded.

Maintaining a careful attitude, she instructed Qirong to first use up all his spiritual energy.

Then, he took the improved Qi Revitalization Pill from the Zhang family and noted its effects.

After using up his spiritual energy again, he took her new pill for comparison.

Qirong closed his eyes to feel the effects of the pill.

Qin Luwei clenched her fists and asked softly, “Qirong, how is it? Which one works better?”

Qirong opened his eyes suddenly and exclaimed excitedly, “Third Sister, your Qi Revitalization Pill works better!”

Qin Ruqing was already grinning, ready to show her biggest smile.

However, Qin Luwei held her breath and asked again, “Qirong, are you sure? No mistake? The one you took last was the one I made.”

Qirong said loudly, “Third Sister, how could I be wrong? The difference is huge. When I took the Zhang family’s Revitalization Pill, I felt like I needed five pills to fully restore my spiritual energy, and the effect got worse with each pill. But with yours, I felt that just three pills could restore my spiritual energy to its peak!”

“Really!” Qin Luwei murmured to herself, “Did I really succeed?”

Qin Ruqing hugged Qin Luowei tightly, “Third Sister, you’re amazing! You did it… we did it!”

Qirong also wanted to join in and hug his sisters, but remembering his mother’s advice that now he was older, he shouldn’t be too close to his sisters, he just happily jumped around nearby.

Qin Luwei clutched her chest, her heart pounding.

A huge sense of accomplishment surged through her.

She had never felt so happy.

Qin Luwei had a secret she couldn’t share.

She envied Qingqing and Qirong.

They were the two most outstanding children in the Qin family, gifted and talented, even taken by the ancestor to be personally taught at Shadow Residence.

Only heaven knew how envious little Luwei was at that time.

She admired the ancestor the most.

She wanted to be as strong as the ancestor and her third aunt, so she also learned swordsmanship like them.

During the time when Qingqing and Qirong were taken by the ancestor and no longer attended the academy, Qin Luwei spent even more time practicing alchemy and swordsmanship.

Qin Luowei thought, since Qingqing and Qirong were so talented and had the ancestor’s guidance, they would surely surpass her by far.

She had to work twice as hard to not fall too far behind them.

Her efforts during that period seemed to bear some fruit.

She received praises from the elders, but these praises felt somewhat hollow to her.

She wasn’t sure if they were more encouragement or if her skills had truly reached that level.

Later, when Qingqing and Qirong returned to classes at the academy, she consciously tried to get closer to them.

She wanted to be near her two outstanding younger siblings, as if by doing so, she could become outstanding herself.

Qingqing and Qirong warmly welcomed her, and because she grew closer to them, she noticed that the way people at the academy looked at her changed too.

Luwei felt both happy and anxious; she didn’t know if she deserved this honor and attention.

Until today, when she successfully developed her own improved formula for the Revitalization Pill, better even than the Zhang family’s.

Luwei finally dared to believe that she now had the qualifications to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Qingqing and Qirong.

‘I’m also amazing! I’m just as outstanding!’

Qin Ruqing keenly noticed something different about her third sister.

She genuinely felt happy about this change.

After all, Her Third Sister was like a sweet fairy.

Qin Ruqing couldn’t help but wish she could get closer to the sweet fairy! Seeing her third sister approach with such a fairy-like charm made her incredibly happy.

The sweet fairy was going to shine brightly! Third Sister was going to shine brightly too!

Qin Ruqing clenched her fists tightly in excitement.

While the three siblings were momentarily joyful, Qin Luwei quickly regained her composure.

She spoke seriously, “We don’t know if this success was just a fluke or if it can be replicated. Let’s conduct more experiments and fine-tune the formula!”

Qingqing and Qirong nodded, “Hmm!”

The experiments confirmed that this success was not a fluke; the improved Revitalization Pill could indeed be replicated!

Once Qin Luwei was certain of the formula, she recorded it in a jade slip and exclaimed enthusiastically, “Let’s go, let’s report to the elders!”

In these days, the Third elder of the clan were busy deciphering the improved Revitalization Pill formula from the Zhang family with several talented alchemists.

However, progress had been slow due to the short time they had.

Suddenly, urgent footsteps were heard outside the alchemy room, followed by a halt as they were stopped by guards.

Soon after, a guard entered and reported that someone wished to see the Third Elders.

Everyone else was busy, but Third elder raised her head and asked calmly, “Who is it? What is the matter?”

The guard lowered his head respectfully and replied, “It’s Third Miss, Young Master Fourth, and Miss Fifth. They say they’ve made a significant discovery regarding the Revitalization Pill and have come to report it!”

“Hmm?” The alchemists in the room first looked surprised, then chuckled as they resumed their work.

Those who arrived were several cherished young members of the Qin family.

They were talented but still young.

What important discovery could they have made about the Revitalization Pill?

The elders dismissed them, thinking they were just seeking amusement.

The third elder pondered for a moment, then lifted her robe and said, “Tell them to wait for me in the inner hall.”

The Guard bowed respectfully, “Yes!”

Qin Ruqing and the others sat on chairs in the inner hall.

Qirong curiously touched the armrests of the chairs and looked at the alchemy furnaces on the tables.

He exclaimed, “Is this the inner alchemy room? There are alchemy furnaces instead of tea sets here.”

Qin Luwei smiled, “That’s the specialty of the alchemy room. Sometimes, when the elders and alchemists of the clan gather to discuss formulas, they need to do hands-on work, so they have furnaces ready at their seats, just in case.”

As they spoke, footsteps approached the door of the inner room.

Qin Ruqing and the others quickly stood up, lined up neatly, and composed themselves.

“I heard you’ve made a significant discovery regarding the Revitalization Pill? Please, share it with us,” said the Third elder as she sat at the head of the table, her voice calm.

Qin Ruqing discreetly glanced up.

The third elder of the Qin family was shrouded in mystery. Her father had said she managed the family’s medicine business and was a formidable elder with real authority.

Her father had also cautioned her to show respect when facing the third elder.

This made Qin Ruqing curious.

She hadn’t seen the third elder often.

When she did, it was usually from the side or at a distance, never in such close proximity.

Unexpectedly, when Qin Ruqing glanced up, her eyes met directly with those of the third elder.

She quickly lowered her head.

Oh no! The third elder looked so serious and intimidating!

Qirong was indeed intimidated by the third elder’s presence and dared not speak.

It was Luwei, being the eldest among them and having personally crafted the Revitalization Pill, who stepped forward to report:

“Respected Third Elder, we have indeed made a significant discovery regarding the Qi Revitalization Pill.”

“After days of research, I have successfully improved the formula of the Revitalization Pill and successfully crafted the pill,” Qin Luwei confidently stated.

The third elder’s gaze sharpened even further.

She had successfully improved the formula of the Revitalization Pill?

Did this young Miss from the Qin family understand the significance of what she was saying?

Qin Luwei remained unaware, respectfully presenting a small jade bottle with both hands. “This is the improved Revitalization Pill that I have crafted. Please inspect it, Elder.”

The third elder remained solemn, not immediately taking the jade bottle.

Instead, she fixed his gaze on Qin Luwei, who began sweating nervously on her forehead before she finally accepted the bottle.

As the pill was poured out, it revealed a smooth texture and emitted a fresh medicinal fragrance.

However, its color and scent were noticeably different from a typical Revitalization Pill.

The third elder remained composed.

She first scraped off some powder from the pill and tasted it, then swallowed the entire pill without hesitation.

After a brief pause, the third elder spoke in a deep voice, “Indeed, it is a Revitalization Pill. However, I did not detect the scent of Rhodiola and Codonopsis. What have you replaced them with?”

Qin Luwei kept her hands respectfully on her thighs.

Though she had conducted numerous experiments and was confident there were no issues, the calm demeanor of the third elder made her nervous.

“I replaced them with Starflower and the companion plant of Lingzhi,” Qin Luowei replied succinctly.

Little did she know, this simple statement stirred up a storm in the mind of the third elder.

Maintaining her composure after tasting the Revitalization Pill was no easy task.

Only heaven knew the amount of determination it took for her to maintain the elder’s decorum.