Ethan quietly made his way back toward his secluded dirt hut on the lower fringes of the outer peak. For the moment, it appeared that the explosive details regarding Great Elder Hestia's miraculous Golden Core ascension had not yet leaked down to the lower echelons; the common disciples passing by were entirely oblivious to the monumental shift in the high-tier hierarchy.
However, his brief moment of tranquility did not last long.
As he stepped into the small dirt clearing outside his residence, his sharp eyes immediately locked onto a pair of arrogant figures waiting for him. They wore the loud, unmistakable bright orange silk robes of the Alchemical Pavilion—the wealthy, highly protected caste of pill-refiners who held a strict monopoly over the medical economy of the mountain. Their expressions were tight, dripping with an aggressive, hostile malice as they watched the towering rookie approach.
