The Mighty Mage

He had appeared behind them without a sound.

Gu Jin turned to look at him with curious eyes. Meanwhile, Little White and the blue caterpillar stared at Long Yifan like he had just stabbed them in the back.

Little White gritted his teeth in his heart.

'Traitor! We told him the truth, and now he's here acting like some great hero, trying to look smart in front of Gu Jin!'

Long Yifan didn't seem to notice or care about their angry glares.

He continued calmly, "I saw them together before I fell into that special rift."

Gu Jin narrowed her eyes slightly. Her gaze returned to Little White, clearly waiting for an explanation.

Little White almost cursed the day he decided to trust Long Yifan. He turned to Gu Jin with a serious face, already making a promise in his heart.

'Never again. I'm never helping that guy again. Not even if he begs me.'

But before he could say anything, Long Yifan added more.

"The reason I saw them together is because I was the one who brought the blue caterpillar here."

Gu Jin blinked in surprise. So did Little White and the blue caterpillar. They both turned to look at Long Yifan with wide eyes.

"You… brought him here?" Little White asked.

Long Yifan nodded. "Yes. I found him in a strange place, and he seemed injured and alone. He had a special aura, so I brought him back. I didn't expect him to become friends with Little White."

The blue caterpillar's expression changed instantly. It looked at Long Yifan with stars in its eyes. Its body wiggled excitedly like a puppy seeing its owner. Its mouth even opened in a strange, smiling way.

Gu Jin watched all this silently.

The blue caterpillar looked so happy that it didn't seem fake at all. In fact, it looked a little too happy… and a bit ugly.

Gu Jin narrowed her eyes again and thought,

'Maybe Long Yifan really did bring it here. Otherwise, why would it look at him like he's made of delicious cake?'

Then she turned to Long Yifan and asked, "Why did you bring this caterpillar to me?"

Long Yifan answered without hesitation. "Because it's powerful. I think you should contract it."

Gu Jin tilted her head slightly. "I'm not at the intermediate stage yet."

Long Yifan looked surprised. "What? Why not? You've been back for a while now. Why haven't you advanced your summoning element?"

Gu Jin sighed and looked away for a second. "You know what had happened in the past few days, right? The alchemy competition is starting soon. I haven't had time to focus on my summoning cultivation."

Long Yifan crossed his arms and looked serious.

"You know that once you reach the intermediate stage, you can form a contract with this blue caterpillar. And if you go even further, to an advanced stage, you can contract a soul-type beast too."

Gu Jin nodded slowly. "I know. I haven't forgotten. I just have other priorities right now. After the competition, I'll focus on it."

Long Yifan looked at her for a moment, then nodded. "Alright. After the competition, I'll help you. With both the summoning element and training. You won't do it alone."

"No need." Gu Jin calmly said and turned her attention to Little White.

Gu Jin looked at Little White and asked in a soft tone, "So, are you doing well lately?"

Little White immediately nodded his small white head. Now that he had gained intelligence, he understood her words clearly and could respond without just smiling dumbly like before.

Seeing his clear reaction, Gu Jin smiled with a bit of emotion in her eyes. When she first met Little White, he was just a silly-looking creature who stared at her with wide eyes and smiled like she was the most amazing person in the world. Back then, he couldn't speak, couldn't understand her much, and just followed her around like a lost puppy.

But now, things had changed.

Little White had grown smarter. His thoughts were clearer, and his reactions were quicker. To Gu Jin, this was a huge improvement.

Then, she turned to Long Yifan and said seriously, "After the alchemy competition, I want to go to Abyss Rift."

Long Yifan nodded without hesitation. "Alright. I'll go with you."

After a short talk, Gu Jin said her goodbyes and went back to the Gu Mansion. She had been busy lately and hadn't rested well, so she went straight to her room and fell asleep.

The next morning, Gu Jin woke up early, feeling refreshed. She got dressed and soon arrived at Beijing University. There, she was quickly taken to the school bus by her master and the university's principal.

It turned out that Gu Jin had been a little late for the national alchemy competition. But thankfully, due to some issues in the organization, the event had been delayed.

Soon, Gu Jin boarded the bus with the rest of the participants. As she entered, she saw familiar faces.

Her teammates were already there.

Lin Yue, Bai Yu, Meng Hao, Yun Qing, Qiao Feng, and sleepy Zhou Lei. Each of them was smiling as they saw her approach.

"Captain Gu Jin!" Meng Hao called out with his usual loud energy.

The others greeted her too. Some waved, some gave small smiles. They were clearly happy to see her again.

Gu Jin gave a calm nod and sat down with them. She didn't say much, but her presence alone brought a sense of calm to the group.

They reached the airport and boarded the plane. During the flight, everyone chatted a bit and caught up. To their surprise, they learned that their first competition match would be against Country B.

After reaching the host country, they rested at the hotel. The next morning came quickly, and it was time for the competition.

Before it began, they had a short practice session. Gu Jin watched them carefully.

She noticed something right away. Their alchemy skills had improved.

Their movements were sharper, more confident. Even though none of them had broken through to Earth Rank yet, they were clearly at the peak of Yellow Rank. She knew that soon, they would reach the next stage.

This made her feel proud, even if she didn't show it.

During the practice, the team moved together smoothly. It was clear they were in sync. The energy was just right, and the cooperation between them felt natural.

Soon, the actual competition started. The arena was huge, filled with people from many countries. Country B's team stood opposite them, looking confident.

Some of the people from Country B began to whisper and laugh.

"Look at them. They're not even Earth Rank."

"They're going to lose badly."

"Let's see how long they can last."

A few people in the audience from Country B even shouted out loudly, "Go home, weaklings! This isn't a playground!"

Gu Jin's teammates began to frown. Meng Hao clenched his fists. Even calm Lin Yue looked annoyed.

But before anyone could say anything, Gu Jin raised her hand.

"There's no need to reply," she said quietly. "Let's answer them with our actions."

Her teammates nodded one by one. Even the usually sleepy Zhou Lei gave a small yawn and said, "Captain Gu Jin is right."

The bell rang, and the first round began.

It was a team alchemy challenge. The goal was to work together to create a healing pill using rare herbs provided by the organizers. Two people were assigned to search for herbs, while three focused on making the pill.

Gu Jin was one of the three alchemists who would work on the pill itself.

Lin Yue and Meng Hao ran to gather the herbs quickly. They picked carefully, making sure to select only the best ones. Once they returned, Gu Jin and the other two started working.

Their movements were smooth and practiced.

The flame control, the timing, the mixing... it all looked perfect.

Before the time limit even ended, their pill was ready.

A soft glow came from the cauldron. The pill smelled rich, and the judges could feel the energy from it even from a distance.

Country B's team was still rushing to complete theirs.

When the results were announced, Gu Jin's team had clearly won the round.

The crowd fell silent for a moment, then burst into applause.

The second and third rounds followed.

Gu Jin's team kept their pace, working together perfectly. In the end, they won all three matches.

Her teammates were stunned for a moment. They couldn't believe it had been so smooth.

But Gu Jin stood calmly.

She had expected this.

She knew her team. She had trained with them. She believed in their strength.

Seeing her calm face, the others felt their confidence rise too.

They smiled, proud and excited.

On the other side, Country B's team was silent. The mocking smiles had vanished from their faces. None of them said anything.

They had lost. And badly.

They couldn't even pretend it was close.