“What’s the point of being a top-tier alchemist? If your strength’s weak, those pills still end up in our hands!”

“Ridiculous. Think being a supreme alchemist makes you invincible?”

“Why bother talking? These pills are ours now! Hahaha!”

One cold jeer after another, every word sliced through Galen Parker’s heart like a knife.

“Evan Angeles! You led your men to destroy my Pill Manor, shattered my soul!”

“If I get another chance at life, I swear I’ll make you pay, blood for blood!”

He had once stood as the continent’s greatest alchemist!

Hailed by all as the Immortal Pill Sovereign!

Yet without enough martial power, he got slaughtered like a dog by the young master of the Angeles Clan, Evan Angeles.

"If there's a next life, I’ll forge my path by the blade—and crush every one of you with my own hands!"

“Galen!”

"Galen! What are you zoning out for? Your pill furnace’s about to scorch!”

A sharp female voice snapped him back.

He shook his head hard. The blurriness faded, and once more, he sat inside that familiar classroom.

“I’m back...” Galen blinked. Turning his head, he found the pale, beautiful face of the girl beside him.

He knew her. Sophie Leighton—the girl he’d once loved with all his heart.When Galen Parker was twenty, Sophie Leighton died trying to protect him.

That was the turning point. From then on, Galen went mad collecting herbs, forging pills. He had one goal—refine a resurrection pill, bring Sophie back.

But even as the continent's top alchemist, he failed. The pill never came. In the end, surrounded by enemies from every major clan, he died next to his own pill furnace.

“Sophie! I won’t let you take the hit for me again!” Galen grabbed her hand tightly. Years of struggle and pain were all for this—so she could live again. Now he was reborn, and she stood right in front of him. He wasn’t letting go this time.

This life, he would protect her.

“Galen…”

Sophie’s face flushed. They’d grown up together, sure, but holding hands like this in front of everyone? How bold was that…

“What are you doing, Galen?! You’re here to practice pill-making, not grope a girl’s hand! Got guts, huh!”

A flamboyant figure stormed over, ruler in hand, scorn plain on her face.

“Hah, probably nodded off mid-refining again,” sneered someone at the side. “Wouldn’t be the first.”

“Bet he was dreaming about girls too. Just look at him—a nobody at the bottom of the class thinks he can reach out for a swan?”“Isn’t it obvious? Sophie Leighton’s a legend in the Alchemy Institute. At fifteen, she could already refine top-grade Tier-One pills. And Galen Parker? He can’t even make a basic Fasting Pill!”

The nearby students snickered among themselves. At this point, Galen was the class bottom-feeder.

Whether in martial arts or alchemy, he was the weakest across the whole academy.

But now—Galen Parker wasn’t the same.

This life, I’ll protect my woman.

This life, those who wronged me, will pay with blood.

“Sorry, Mentor Monica, I got carried away,” Galen quickly let go of Sophie’s hand. Sophie withdrew hers hastily, cheeks flushed crimson as she covered her face.

Monica Houston was their class mentor, responsible for teaching the most basic alchemy.

“Galen Parker! Did your family send you here to chase girls? Today’s the institute assessment, and you’re napping?”

Monica was fuming. Having Galen in her class was pure shame.

“No need for you to refine anything. Pack your things and get out!”

The class erupted in laughter. To them, this good-for-nothing was finally getting what he deserved. Keeping him around was just dragging everyone else down.“Mentor Monica, I’m not done yet. How can you be so sure I won’t make it?” Galen Parker looked up, meeting her gaze squarely. In his past life, yeah, he failed this assessment and got kicked out.

But this life? He was the greatest alchemist the world had ever seen. A Grade One Spirit Gathering Pill? Child’s play.

“Heh, we’re talking about a Grade One Spirit Gathering Pill here, and not just any— it needs to be mid-grade or higher. You couldn’t even make a basic Fasting Pill properly. Now you wanna try this?” Monica Houston sneered. In all her years teaching, Galen was by far the worst.

“Galen probably hit his head in his sleep. Bet he doesn’t even remember the formula for it. Making pills? What a joke.”

“He’s packing up for sure. Trash is still trash. What, thought a nap would turn him into a dragon?”

Galen just smiled. Calm, steady. He ran a hand over his furnace, and the flame flared higher.

This old furnace wasn’t anything special. But his father saved every coin to buy it for him. It had stayed by his side through thick and thin in his past life.

“He actually reignited the furnace!”

“Wait, what was that move? That was kinda cool.”

“Cool’s not enough. If you can’t make pills, you’re still done for.”

Watching Galen’s smooth moves, Monica raised an eyebrow. This brat... could he really pull it off?Sophie Leighton snuck a glance at Galen Parker, her cheeks tinged with pink. He seemed different now—focused, composed... almost handsome when he worked the cauldron.

With a wave of Galen’s hand, herbs floated one by one into the furnace. The flames surged higher, fierce and steady.

The pill furnace started to tremble, rocking back and forth like a fire phoenix struggling to burst free, shedding all limits.

The students around him stared slack-jawed. Was this really the same Galen they knew?

An intoxicating scent soon drifted from the furnace, wrapping the whole room like a fairy descending from the clouds—soft, tempting, impossible to ignore.

"Rise!" Galen slammed his palm on the table. The furnace lid sprang open, and several Spirit Gathering Pills lifted into the air.

“It’s the Spirit Gathering Pill! He really did it!”

“No way—that guy couldn’t even make a Fasting Pill yesterday. How the hell did he pull this off?”

“I bet they’re the lowest quality. He’s not passing.”

The room buzzed with noise, skeptical voices rising one after another. Without mid-grade pills, Galen still wouldn’t make the cut and would be kicked out of the academy.

Galen adjusted his blue robe, placed the pills on a white cloth, then handed them to Monica Houston. “Instructor Hu, please inspect them.”Monica Houston stared, clearly shaken. Galen Parker? Succeed? No way. He was always dead last in class. No chance in hell he crafted a mid-grade Energy Condensation Pill.

She snatched up the white cloth. The pill gleamed under the light, lying there calmly.

The scent hit her nose—thick, pure, far too rich for a low-grade pill.

"Tutor Monica, what level is this Energy Condensation Pill?"

"Surely it’s just low-grade, right?!"

"This is…" Monica bit her lip, a storm raging in her chest. Because the truth was—this pill was top-grade. No one in class had ever produced anything close to it.

"This is a top-tier Energy Condensation Pill. Even among top-grade pills, it’s the absolute best," Sophie Leighton spoke before Monica could.

"That’s impossible! Sophie, you sure you’re not seeing things?"

"Tutor Monica, she’s got to be mistaken, right?"

"If that loser can make this, I’ll swallow this cauldron—whole!"