During this time, no one on the team talked to Gu Jin. They avoided her during meals, ignored her during practice, and acted like she wasn’t even there.
Gu Jin didn’t seem to care.
She came to class on time, trained quietly, and left just as quietly. Her face stayed calm, her actions steady.
No matter how cold others acted, she didn’t try to explain herself or ask why they were ignoring her.
It was like a wall had formed between her and the rest of the group.
And the one who built the wall... was Han Xiaoyu.
She smiled every day, talked sweetly with everyone, and made small comments that kept pushing them away from Gu Jin.
"Maybe she thinks being strong means she doesn’t need us," she would say.
"Did you see how she looked at you yesterday? So cold," she whispered to Zhao Lili.
Bit by bit, the team stayed close to each other—but far from Gu Jin.
One day, Instructor Liu clapped his hands loudly during practice.
"Listen up, everyone. In one month, we’ll be going to the international alchemy competition. From now on, we’ll do team training. You’ll be working in pairs."
Everyone stood straight, listening carefully.
"There are nine of you, so one person will be left without a pair."
Everyone quickly found someone to stand next to. Bai Yu went with Zhou Lei, Meng Hao grabbed Qiao Feng.
Zhao Lili stood next to Han Xiaoyu, and Lin Yue walked over to... Yun Qing.
Only Gu Jin stood by herself.
Instructor Liu chuckled. "Hm? Looks like Gu Jin is left out."
Everyone stayed silent.
Then the instructor said, "Lin Yue, you pair with Gu Jin."
Lin Yue froze. "I... I don’t want to. I mean—"
But Instructor Liu didn’t listen. "Alright, now let’s pair the rest of you."
He quickly called out the rest of the pairs.
In the end, Han Xiaoyu was the only one left.
She looked around and pouted. "What about me?"
"You can be the judge," Instructor Liu said with a smile. "You’ll walk around, watch the pairs, and give comments."
Han Xiaoyu beamed. "Yay! I’ll cheer for everyone!"
As she skipped off, Lin Yue frowned and whispered, "Ugh... I got stuck with someone I didn’t even want."
Gu Jin didn’t react. She just stood still, eyes calm.
Instructor Liu clapped again. "Now, here are the rules. One of you will go into the forest and collect the herbs I listed. After that, your partner will use those herbs to make the pill."
Lin Yue raised her hand. "I’ll get the herbs. You are better at alchemy anyway."
Gu Jin nodded. "Okay."
Soon, all the teams dashed into the forest while the alchemists stayed back at their tables.
Han Xiaoyu skipped between tables, cheering loudly.
"Good luck, Meng Hao!"
"Zhao Lili, your flames look awesome!"
When she passed by Gu Jin, she didn’t say anything. Just gave her a quick look and walked away.
Half an hour later, teams had already started making their pills. Flames rose, herbs boiled in cauldrons, and the smell of medicine filled the field.
But Gu Jin’s table was still empty.
Just then, Lin Yue came running out of the forest, limping badly.
Her face was pale, sweat on her forehead, and her ankle was twisted and red.
She held a bundle of herbs in her hands.
"I-I got them... Sorry, I’m late," she said, panting, and passed the herbs to Gu Jin.
All the other teams glanced over. Some of their gatherers were sitting and relaxing now. Some chuckled softly.
But Gu Jin didn’t start making the pill.
Instead, she gently set the herbs aside and knelt in front of Lin Yue.
Lin Yue blinked. "Huh?"
"Sit on the ground," Gu Jin repeated calmly.
Lin Yue blushed, confused. "W-What are you doing?"
"You’re injured," Gu Jin said simply.
The people from other teams who were watching gasped.
Gu Jin carefully lifted Lin Yue’s injured ankle and rested it on her lap.
Then, with her fingers glowing softly, she started massaging the swollen area, slowly guiding a bit of her spiritual energy into the injury.
Lin Yue’s eyes widened. "Wait... shouldn’t you be making the pill?! Everyone else is already halfway done!"
Gu Jin didn’t even glance at the others.
"It doesn’t matter," she said, her voice steady. "Injuries come first. Pills can wait."
Lin Yue was speechless.
She stared at Gu Jin in shock.
The girl in front of her didn’t look arrogant at all. She wasn’t angry that Lin Yue arrived late. She didn’t blame her or scold her.
Instead, she treated her wound like it was the only thing that mattered.
Was this really the same cold, proud Gu Jin that Han Xiaoyu always talked about?
She looked at Gu Jin’s calm face, her careful hands, her gentle actions.
And for the first time... she started to wonder if everything she believed about Gu Jin was wrong.
Gu Jin finished wrapping a soft cloth around Lin Yue’s ankle. Then she stood up calmly, walked back to the table, and looked at the herbs.
Everyone else had already started making their pills. Some were even close to finishing. Flames danced under their cauldrons, and the smell of herbs filled the air.
But Gu Jin didn’t rush. She placed the herbs down carefully, lit her flame, and began.
Her hands moved smoothly—washing, slicing, and grinding the herbs with perfect control. Every motion was clean and fast. Soon, her potion glowed softly in the cauldron, the color rich and pure.
Even some of the other students stopped to stare. Her movements were elegant, almost like a dance.
Not long after, a soft pop came from her cauldron. A small, round pill rolled out, shining faintly with energy.
Gu Jin held it up to the sunlight. The color was clear. The shape was smooth. A gentle glow surrounded it.
It was an Earth Rank Intermediate Stage pill.
When Han Xiaoyu came around for inspection, she looked at everyone’s pills one by one.
Zhao Lili’s team had made a Yellow Rank Advanced Stage pill.
Bai Yu’s group had a Yellow Rank Intermediate Stage pill.
Every team had done alright, but none came close to Gu Jin’s pill.
Han Xiaoyu finally reached Gu Jin’s table. She stared at the pill with wide eyes. Then she frowned.
"...Earth Rank Intermediate Stage?" she mumbled.
She looked at the shiny pill, then at Gu Jin.
Her smile returned—but it didn’t reach her eyes.
"I’ve made my decision," she said cheerfully. "Gu Jin and Lin Yue’s team will be ranked last
The whole field went quiet.
Even Instructor Liu raised an eyebrow.
Meng Hao scratched his head. "Huh? But Gu Jin’s pill was way better than ours!"
Han Xiaoyu shook her head, still smiling sweetly.
"No no, that’s not the point," she said. "Gu Jin didn’t take the competition seriously. She wasted time. She disrespected alchemy."
Lin Yue stood up, wobbling a little.
"She didn’t waste time! She was helping me because I got hurt! You can’t say she disrespected alchemy—she made the best pill out of all of us!"
Han Xiaoyu just waved her off.
"It’s still her fault. Taking care of others is fine, but she didn’t even try to finish first. That means she wasn’t serious."
Gu Jin didn’t get angry. Instead, she just smiled—cold and sharp.
"You’re talking bullsh*t," she said calmly.
Everyone froze again.
Han Xiaoyu blinked, then gave a fake gasp. "Gu Jin! Such rude language! Tsk tsk, you should control your mouth."
Gu Jin looked her in the eye. "And you should control your bias."
Han Xiaoyu tilted her head. "Well, you’d better get used to it. There will be even worse judges in the future. Some will hate you just because of your face."
Gu Jin smiled again, but this time it looked like she was amused.
"That’s fine," she said. "I’ll just report them."
Then she turned toward Instructor Liu.
"I can give you an example, right now," she said.
"Han Xiaoyu just gave an unfair score. She didn’t care about the result or the pill. She only wanted to pull me down."
Han Xiaoyu blinked again. "W-What? It’s my job as judge!"
Instructor Liu stared at her for a long moment.
Then he laughed quietly.
"Oh dear... Gu Jin, you really are something," he said. "Cold on the outside, but you still complain like a child when someone steals your toy."
Some of the other students laughed a little.
Gu Jin crossed her arms. "I just don’t like injustice."
Instructor Liu nodded. "Good. Then let me teach a lesson about that."
He turned to Han Xiaoyu.
"Since you’re so excited about giving scores, I’ll give you one too."
Han Xiaoyu’s smile froze.
Instructor Liu pointed at the field. "Forty laps. Now."
Han Xiaoyu gasped. "W-What?! Forty?! But why?!"
Instructor Liu’s voice turned serious.