After the cheerful dinner gathering at Kemiya's house, Xilutaiya returned home.
The Swan Orchid in the backyard was still quietly in full bloom, faint and invisible ripples spreading across the entire courtyard, as though the air itself had become somewhat purer.
“Has it already bloomed, Tiya?” Taliel followed carefully behind the girl, observing the beautiful Swan Orchid blooming beneath the glass cloche.
“It’s so beautiful...” she breathed in natural admiration, just as unable as Xilutaiya to look away.
The two lingered before the Swan Orchid for a long time before finally going inside to bathe and sleep.
***
Three days later, the end-of-the-month examination mentioned by Scholar Haide began. Today, Iona had also come to the venue.
“The questions are on the blackboard; I have already written them out.” He hung up the blackboard.
“You will have two hours. When time is up, I will collect all the papers together.
“For those who finish in the top three, I will present a bottle of blood wine, and first place will receive extra instruction in secret art knowledge,” he announced the rewards.
“Now then, begin writing.”
A rustle of writing rose in the quiet room. Some looked at the questions on the blackboard; some pondered deeply; others simply gave up, glancing casually in all directions.
Time slipped past, and by the time Xilutaiya had finished every question, fifty minutes remained.
*Should I hand it in?* She looked around. Most students were still hunched over their desks writing. Even Iona was stuck on a problem, looking rather irritable.
*I’ll check it once more.* After thinking it over, she went through the questions and answers again.
More than twenty minutes passed, and Xilutaiya had reviewed the questions and answers several times. Deciding there was no point in waiting any longer, she stood up.
Seeing her submit her paper, the other students were somewhat caught off guard, though not entirely surprised. Xilutaiya’s outstanding marks in secret history class were nothing new; their own slow pace did not mean the girl couldn't answer the questions.
Seeing Xilutaiya finish early, Iona seemed visibly shaken. She abandoned the difficult problem she was stuck on and shifted her attention to the subsequent questions instead.
Half an hour later, amidst the groans of numerous students, the examination came to an end.
“That was so difficult this time,” someone sighed the moment it was over.
“The difficulty was on a completely different level from before.”
“Some of the calculations were very complicated.” The test had involved quite a bit of mathematics.
“Even Miss Iona seemed to struggle.”
“Only Tiya finished early. I wonder what score she got.”
While everyone was discussing the exam, Iona leaned against a stone pillar by the door, listening quietly. Occasionally, she lifted her gaze toward the corner of the classroom where several friends surrounded the girl, an unreadable glimmer flickering in her eyes.
Before long, Scholar Haide finished grading the papers and announced the results.
“First place, Tiya, 100 points. Second place, Iona, 84 points. Third place, Kemiya, 81 points... Mick, 68 points; Kailun, 64 points; Lei, 57 points.” Such a score gap left the assembled students astonished.
No one was surprised that Tiya took first place, but they were shocked by how wide the margin was. Previously, Tiya and Iona had often both scored full marks, with Iona only occasionally falling a few points behind Tiya.
Now that the test had become harder, everyone suddenly realized that the gap between them was not as small as it had appeared on the surface.
Furthermore, Mick, Kailun, and Lei’s scores had also shown marked improvement, lifting them out of the bottom tier and placing them squarely in the class's middle ranks.
After hearing the rankings, Iona did not linger and walked straight out of the room.
“Lady Iona,” Walaini called, hurrying after her in an attempt to remind her that she had yet to collect her prize.
“Just deliver the wine to my residence later,” Iona tossed back, disappearing around the hallway corner.
“Uh, all right.” Delighted at the prospect of visiting Iona's residence, Walaini suddenly perked up, no longer minding Iona's abrupt departure.
Scholar Haide then had a servant bring out three large bottles of blood wine. Each bottle contained roughly eight hundred milliliters, considerably larger than the five-hundred-milliliter bottles sold by the Adventurers’ Guild.
[Blood Wine] (First-Order - Blood Law): Medicinal wine concocted from the blood of transcendent beasts. Can enhance abilities related to the Blood Law attribute and is exceptionally well-suited for training the Breathing Method. (Brewed by Scholar Haide; excellent quality.)
The dark brown bottle was sealed with a cork and covered with coarse straw paper tied with twine, marked with the brewing date and origin—personally crafted by Scholar Haide just last month.
*The quality is noticeably superior to what the Adventurers’ Guild sells. A bottle like this would probably cost eighty to ninety silver coins,* Xilutaiya thought after receiving it and examining it closely.
“Thank you,” Xilutaiya and Kemiya said, clutching their bottles in gratitude. The sight left their classmates both envious and speechless—the blood wine had wound up in the hands of two girls who did not even focus on the Breathing Method.
“(＾－＾)v~ Yay!” Kemiya flashed a victory sign.
As they were leaving, Baron and several noble students approached, bluntly asking if they were willing to part with the blood wine.
“One gold coin. That’s an immense generosity,” Baron said, holding up a finger. He knew his goods and was well aware that Scholar Haide’s brewing skill far surpassed anything from the Adventurers’ Guild.
The other two noble students offered similar amounts; even if they had the money, they wouldn't dare outbid Baron, whose status as heir to a barony made him the highest-ranking among them.
“Mm... all right, here you go.” After considering it, Kemiya handed the blood wine over for the coin, since she had no use for it anyway.
Then came Xilutaiya's turn. After some thought, she decided to keep it.
“Not for me. I plan to save it for other purposes.”
Baron was slightly annoyed, but having secured one bottle, he did not care too much about the other.
“Suit yourself. You won’t find such a generous price out there.” Waving a hand dismissively, he walked away.
With the examination over, everyone dispersed. Because of the test, Scholar Haide had granted them a half-day break, meaning no training that afternoon.
Placing the blood wine into a bag, Xilutaiya cradled it as she headed back home.
*What’s this?*
Having returned home and put her things away, she suddenly sensed that the Emerald Honey aura wafting through the yard had grown noticeably thicker.
Filled with anticipation and delight, the girl hurried to the backyard with light steps, and just as she had hoped, she found all three Swan Orchids in full bloom, each now exhibiting a complete first-order Emerald Honey attribute.
Resembling three graceful swans slowly spreading their wings, the three Swan Orchids gave off a subtle halo of light. In the wild, such fresh blossoms would surely attract many unusual creatures. Sheltered beneath their glass cloches and located in the heart of the city, however, their secret belonged to her alone.
Lifting the glass cloche, Xilutaiya bent down slowly and lightly touched the blooming Swan Orchid. An invisible, rippling resonance connected them, causing the Dew Prayer Method upon her Fate Board to surge significantly. What was already close to advancement instantly crossed into the third tier.
[Dew Prayer Method lv.3] (Emerald Honey): Gather morning mist at dawn and condense emerald dew into water; promotes growth and heals withered plants. (Yield and purity of Emerald Dew Water increased; added effect of healing withered plants.)
It seemed the gardener’s path of advancement went hand in hand with cultivating transcendent plants. One used various abilities to nurture them, and in return, the cultivated plants fed back into the cultivator, accelerating their own growth.
When the Dew Prayer Method rose to lv.3, Xilutaiya felt like a bowl brimming with water. The Emerald Honey attribute power within the Ability Card [Dew Prayer Method lv.3] felt as if it were on the verge of overflowing.
If she guided this overflowing Emerald Honey attribute power into the Sleeping Maiden at the center of her Fate Board and continued to nurture it for a while, she would likely step into the first-order Emerald Honey realm, and the Destiny Card's additional effect would also be tied to the Dew Prayer Method.
It seemed advancement was becoming an imminent matter. *For now, though...* She stood up and ran a hand through the dark locks resting against her chest.
Now that the Swan Orchids were fully cultivated, it was time to visit Madame Falan. Perhaps, as a senior gardener, the lady could offer her better counsel.
Chapter 45