"Hmm, there's something I'd like to ask of you, and I'd like to get your opinion on it," Rhett said thoughtfully. "You should now be fully aware of Manu's alchemy skills—they rival any remaining alchemists, and he may even surpass them. So, I'm thinking of running a simulated world session when we have free time. I'd only include you and Manu to focus on alchemy research."
"Really? Of course, I'd love that! I've been wanting to consult with Manu more often, but we haven't been in the same space," Tyrus said excitedly.
Then he hesitated. "But... it'd be best if we set a fixed time. I have a family to spend time with, and the war at the Coldstream Front has gone on for too long. I don't want Abel to grow up without a father."
Rhett smiled slightly. "You don't need to tell me—I already know. Don't worry, I'll handle it."
"Hehe, that puts my mind at ease," Tyrus replied with a happy grin. "By the way, can I ask what Manu's current research focus is? Is it alchemical potions or equipment? Oh, and I've mastered fire elements now, so I'm qualified to become an alchemical equipment specialist!"
"There's much more than just those two. Blood source crystals are definitely one of the focuses, along with alchemical fusion and magical plant improvement. The main directions are these three, but as I understand, each one covers a broad range of branches," Rhett mused for a moment and then advised, "Make sure you learn well from Manu and don't hesitate to ask questions."
"Understood!" Tyrus patted his chest in assurance, cherishing the great opportunity.
The next few months saw rapid development within the Kingdom of Green.
The initial construction of Green King City was complete, but the city continued to grow.
As more people and merchant guilds flowed in, adjustments and improvements were constantly made.
Three months later...
With the return of Rhett's subordinates and old friends from the Coldstream Front, and the arrival of servants, knights, and alchemists from Shadow City and Eagletown, the entire Green Palace was now fully vibrant and lively.
On the terrace of the Green Palace...
Rhett looked down from above. The maids and gardeners were carefully trimming the flowers and plants, creating beautiful patterns and symbols. Behind the fountain square, they had even pruned the greenery into the shape of a soaring eagle.
This was an idea proposed by Macoff, and Rhett found it to be excellent, so he gladly adopted it.
At this moment, Vidas, Shirin, Vicki, and Milton were each leading a small squad of knights, patrolling in perfect formation inside the palace.
Although no one would dare attempt an assassination within the palace, maintaining a sense of ceremony was important.
Moreover, with such patrols, the palace servants would behave themselves, ensuring they didn't slack off in their duties.
In the rear garden, a man in a white hat was teaching a group of children under the age of ten the basic skills needed for painting.
Even though the children were noisy, he showed considerable patience, which was the hallmark of a good teacher.
When Rhett founded his kingdom, the man in the white hat had reluctantly agreed to become the chief artist for the palace after much persuasion.
Besides being responsible for the palace murals, he also spent his free time teaching Rhett's grandchildren, helping to cultivate their artistic sensibilities.
From the terrace, Rhett noticed that Dick, the oldest and tallest child, was the most mischievous. He often took advantage of the white hat's distraction to secretly doodle on the faces of the other children with paint.
Since Dick was the biggest, the other children didn't dare to protest and could only meekly report the incidents to the white hat.
Watching for a while, Rhett saw that Dick was eventually punished, forced to do a one-handed handstand while painting with the other.
Rhett chuckled to himself.
He couldn't help but think that the punishment was appropriate. If it were him, he'd have been even stricter with Dick for his mischief.
After all, "a piece of jade cannot become a masterpiece without being polished."
His mental perception continued to expand, gradually encompassing the entire royal city.
It's often said that people vote with their feet, migrating to places that best suit their development and interests.
That proved to be true.
With the main cities of other kingdoms already saturated and even experiencing internal competition, the policies enacted in Green King City had attracted people from all over the world. Those seeking opportunities and advancement brought their families and belongings to the city, filling it quickly.
In just a few months, the capital had reached capacity.
Of course, this rapid population growth didn't mean the city's quality or foundation had instantly matched that of other capital cities.
For now, it was just a matter of numbers. In terms of depth and talent, it would take time for people to come and go, competing and refining, leaving behind the cream of the crop...
Some were content with less and hadn't aimed for the depth of the capital, instead choosing smaller cities to find a balance.
However, these regional cities were still under construction. Rhett had already published the locations of these smaller cities well in advance.
As a result, many people, aware of their abilities, had already camped out near the future sites of these cities, setting up temporary bases using their supernatural means.
In Rhett's view, this was an unexpected boon, solving a problem without him having to lift a finger.
These temporary settlements built by the supernatural were of far better quality than those constructed by ordinary civilians. With a little modification to the local environment and layout, they could easily serve as administrative towns.
It could be said that the development of the Green Kingdom had exceeded Rhett's expectations, speeding up significantly.
Satisfied that he hadn't detected any problems, Rhett withdrew his mental perception.
He then focused his attention inward.
In his sea of consciousness, a thick elemental core swam like a beautiful fish. Although it seemed to blend with his other spiritual powers, Rhett knew it was far more important than ordinary spiritual power.
Any other spiritual power could be lost, but the elemental core must remain unharmed.
Compared to the simulation, the elemental core had not changed.
For the past six months, Rhett had not attempted elemental fusion in reality. Instead, he had focused on comprehending the mysteries of heat and explosion.
These two mysteries had not yet been fully mastered and had great potential for further development.
After all, when he eventually performed elemental fusion again, he would need to fuse perfected mysteries as well.
His earth-element mysteries had all been perfected, but his fire-element mysteries still had room to grow and needed to catch up quickly.
In addition to that, there was also the power of the Blood God, hidden in the corner of his sea of consciousness. As long as Rhett didn't actively control it, it remained dormant.
This, too, had great potential for growth, and Rhett couldn't help but wonder if it might one day be possible to fuse it with the elements.
As his thoughts wandered, Rhett was suddenly jolted out of his reverie. It was Tyrus from the simulated world, requesting to come out.
After calculating the time, Rhett realized that the most recent simulation had been running for over half a month.
For Tyrus and Manu, Rhett had been providing simulations based on past time points, allowing them to conduct research on alchemical fusion and magical plant improvements.
However, due to the fact that the world origin in the past timeline had not been filled with evolutionary power, they couldn't study blood source crystals in that period.
To ensure Manu's research progressed smoothly, Rhett would sometimes open a simulation set in the present timeline, simulating the current reality.
This meant that Rhett himself would participate in the simulation as well, using it as an opportunity to train.
Rhett didn't run these simulations frequently. Manu would plan the workload in advance, conducting his blood source crystal research in the real timeline, and using the simulations primarily for verification, greatly shortening the time needed for each simulation.
Rhett descended from the terrace and entered a secret chamber on the top floor.
This room had been specially built by Rhett's request, combining the expertise of alchemical equipment masters and array masters from the Round Tower. It was designed to block external perception and provide strong reinforcement.
Inside, Tyrus lay quietly on a bed.
As soon as Rhett ended the simulation and transferred the results of Tyrus's spiritual training, Tyrus suddenly opened his eyes. He quickly sat up, grabbed his father's arm, and excitedly said, "Father, great news! After many trials and improvements, Manu has finally maximized the effects of the Darkblade Grass. It's estimated that the blood source crystals will be 20% more effective than the ones in Hypast's experiments."
Rhett already knew this good news.
As the master of the homeland, there was no way the events within the simulation space could escape his notice. Nodding, he said, "Hmm... That's excellent. Come with me to the Palace of Wisdom so we can share this news with Isard."
"Wait, Father, Manu also asked me to inquire if there has been any manifestation of the power from the God of Love's origin..." Tyrus quickly added, as if suddenly remembering something.
Rhett sighed helplessly. "My answer is the same as before—the God of Love's origin hasn't shown any signs. I'm beginning to wonder if I returned a fake world origin..."
"Alright."
Tyrus pouted.
It wasn't just Manu who was curious—Tyrus, too, wondered what kind of changes that power might bring.
The Palace of Wisdom was the new name Rhett had given to his alchemical institution, to distinguish it from the Round Tower.
Located in a secluded corner of the palace, the Palace of Wisdom was heavily guarded. No unauthorized individuals were allowed entry, and even the surrounding areas were off-limits to servants and outsiders.
Rhett and Tyrus arrived at the entrance to the Palace of Wisdom.
The building stood three stories tall, but it was expansive, with each floor as large as several football fields combined.
The outer walls emitted a faint red glow, and several solitary, calm eagles were sculpted at the corners, giving the entire structure an aura of understated luxury and deep significance.
The two of them entered smoothly, making their way to the top floor of the palace.
Inside one of the alchemy chambers, Isard, drenched in sweat, was using his spiritual power to control a blood-colored cauldron, refining blood source crystals, also known as bloodstone.
Though the requirements for refining bloodstone were relatively lenient compared to bloodline potions, it still demanded a high level of skill from the alchemist.
Even for a master alchemist like Isard, the process required his full concentration. Despite this, the quality of his bloodstone would still fall short of that made by a Holy Domain alchemist.
Even so, the effectiveness of the bloodstone was indisputable. Even those refined by master alchemists would become mainstream in the world.
There were only a handful of Holy Domain alchemists in existence, and they certainly couldn't spend all their time creating bloodstones for the masses.
By comparison, while master alchemists weren't as common as street performers, they were far more numerous.
Inside the cauldron, the thick blood bubbled, and under the manipulation of Isard's high-frequency spiritual power, the impurities were gradually removed.
A master alchemist might not have the precision of a Holy Domain alchemist, but after hundreds of practice sessions, Isard had mastered this method.
Though it was laborious, the color of the blood in the cauldron was slowly transforming from a gory hue to a pure, bright crimson.
Rhett and Tyrus quietly observed from the side, careful not to disturb the process.
During this time, Rhett activated the audio-visual link, allowing Manu to remotely observe the entire refinement process and point out any weaknesses, which he relayed to Rhett.
Several hours passed.
Phew, phew.
As the blood-steamed mist dissipated, a faint red glow flickered in the cauldron. In the center lay a translucent, roughly spherical bloodstone.
A unique fragrance filled the air, instinctively attracting any living being that caught sight of it or smelled it, evoking a primal urge to consume it.
Clap, clap, clap.
Applause broke the silence in the room.
Isard, startled, turned around to see Rhett, and only then did he relax.
"Your Majesty, welcome," Isard greeted as he picked up the bloodstone and handed it to Rhett. "This is the latest product I've refined, in line with the quality of recent batches. Please have a look."
"Mm... You've worked hard these past few months," Rhett smiled, offering his praise.
"It's no trouble at all." Isard shook his head. "I'm still grateful to you for eliminating the wyrmlings for me. Besides, if not for you, I wouldn't have had access to the precious bloodstone formula so easily."
Isard's words were not mere humility. He knew that bloodstone, once introduced to the world, had caused an upheaval as significant as an earthquake, with effects that would last for years to come.
After all, ordinary people and low-tier extraordinary individuals made up the majority of the world's population, and bloodstone offered them an unparalleled way to increase their combat abilities—far more effective than simply consuming meat!
Additionally, countless alchemists had become eager to learn the formula for bloodstone.
In particular, master alchemists were keen to get their hands on the method for refining it.
Unfortunately, it was a closely guarded secret.
To Rhett's knowledge, only a few high-ranking individuals on the continent had acquired the bloodstone formula.
Rhett and Hypast had been among the first to gain access to it. It seemed that Grayrock Kingdom and Golden Kingdom had paid a hefty price to obtain it from the Realm Kingdom.