Chapter One: Defying Fate

“A bottle of Life Rejuvenation? Are you joking? Do you expect me to waste my time brewing a level-seven potion for you? Any of those useless assistants downstairs could make one for you! What’s that? The Emperor? What about him? Can’t you see how busy I am?” Without even lifting her head, the only god-tier alchemist in the entire Mata Arcane Society was thoroughly absorbed in her experiment.

The so-called useless assistants downstairs could only exchange helpless glances at the slender figure seen in the crystal orb. Turning to the guest seated nearby, one of them apologized, “I’m truly sorry. My teacher has run into a minor issue with her latest formula and is extremely busy at the moment. If you don’t mind, I can prepare the Life Rejuvenation for you. As you know, I’ve recently achieved the rank of Grandmaster, so a level-seven potion is well within my capabilities.”

The guest immediately stood up and bowed in return. He was, after all, just a lowly envoy from the greatest empire on Mata, and this was not only the continent’s sole god-tier alchemist’s disciple, but a Grandmaster at that. He stole a furtive glance at the figure in the crystal orb.

The legendary alchemist was barely a hundred years old, which, on a continent where the minimum lifespan was a thousand, was little more than the threshold of adulthood. Her achievements were beyond imagination—yes, she was the pride of all Mata. And this was her disciple. “You are far too kind,” the envoy said earnestly. “To have your assistance is truly our good fortune.”

What was happening at the moment, however, was beyond Xuan Xuan’s concern. The continent’s greatest alchemist meant nothing to her now—only endless trouble. All her focus was on the potion in her hand. She swirled it gently; it was as blue as the sky, its depths mesmerizing with beautiful vortexes. She could see nothing else.

She had spent ten years—formulating, gathering ingredients, and finally perfecting this potion. But if it succeeded, she was certain it would be something that defied the very heavens. Talent—bestowed by fate. But what if one could change it? Would that not be a defiance of heaven itself?

On the Mata Continent, becoming an alchemist was not hard, but becoming a successful one was. To reach the rank of Grandmaster required a foundation of knowledge, a good teacher, and proper guidance. To reach god-tier—before Xuan Xuan, it was something no one dared even dream of.

She was not gifted; she had no aptitude for magic. Though her spiritual power was sufficient, she lacked the ability to truly communicate with magic, and could never become a great mage. In her family, it was normal to be cast aside for poor talent.

She had climbed step by step to where she was, using her own potions to elevate her abilities to this level, yet she could go no further. God-tier could not be attained by potions alone. Ten years she had spent to create this potion, needing no other name—“Heaven-defying” was what she called it.

She had waited too long for this day. Cast out by her family for lack of talent, she had paid a bitter price to become an alchemist, reading every book on magic she could find, yet never able to become an excellent mage.

She remembered it as clearly as yesterday—the day she was expelled from her family, the looks they gave her. The effort she had spent to become an alchemist instead of a mage had been immense, far more than anyone could imagine.

Yet even so, though others called her a god-tier potion master, she knew the truth. She was stuck at the threshold, half a step inside, but without being a god-tier mage or possessing a strong enough body and magical power, she could not complete her own formula.

The formulas were before her, the ingredients within reach, but her lack of innate talent kept her from progressing.

Ten years ago, she began to devote herself to creating “Heaven-defying,” and only today had she succeeded. No one knew how much effort she had poured into this. Clutching the potion bottle tightly, her gaze was resolute. She believed she would succeed.

Her ability to communicate with magical elements was so poor that she didn’t sense how the entire area around her mage tower was saturated with lightning elements—so much that their concentration was terrifying.

The gathering of lightning elements eventually became a massive, oppressive force. Only now, as the pressure built, did Xuan Xuan’s powerful spiritual senses alert her. By then, the lightning elements had already amassed into a formidable presence.

She glanced at the feedback from her Arcane Eye. It was clear—the lightning was directed at her. Whatever the reason, this place was now dangerous. Carefully storing away the potion in her spatial pouch, she took out a high-grade magic stone and placed it into the spatial gate beside her, preparing to leave.

Frowning, she found nothing wrong with the spatial gate, but it was obvious—space around her had been locked down. Who could possibly lock down her mage tower? She had thought her tower would withstand the lightning assault, but now it was clear—it would not. She stepped out and put the tower away.

For a mage, creating one’s own tower was of great importance. To see it destroyed by lightning pained her deeply. She looked up at the sky, where the oppressive force had grown unbearable. Probing with her spiritual sense, she realized her surroundings—fifty kilometers in every direction—were sealed off.

After half-stepping into god-tier, she too had shaped her own domain—an absolute order, but it only spanned ten kilometers around her. The smaller the area, the more control she had. To seal off fifty kilometers—she could not imagine who possessed such power.

The lightning elements in the sky grew denser, their original violet darkening to black. Gritting her teeth, she gathered all her strength and launched a focused attack at a single point, sending out ripples of energy, but it achieved nothing.

In another mage tower hundreds of kilometers away, everyone had also evacuated. Among them was Xuan Xuan’s assistant, his face alight with joy. “Has Teacher finally succeeded with her potion?”

“A Heavenly Retribution?” Xuan Xuan frowned, suddenly recalling two words—Heavenly Retribution. It was said to be punishment for heaven-defying things or people, the heavens’ counterattack against those who challenged them. But that was only legend—could it truly exist?

Before she could think further, the amassed lightning struck. As the bolts came crashing down, Xuan Xuan instinctively expanded her domain, shrinking it to a radius of just ten meters. That should have been enough, but as the lightning drew closer, her face grew pale—her domain was already beginning to collapse. Yes, before the attack had even truly arrived, her domain was breaking apart. The power she had elevated with potions was pitifully fragile.

Lightning raged across the sky, shattering Xuan Xuan’s domain, scattering her spiritual power to the winds. Darkness claimed her vision; she felt nothing at all. “Is heaven truly unwilling to let me exist?”