The guy calm and loudly asked from around 50 Meters away "Is one of you Max Darkwing?"
He carefully answered while staying prepared to Block an incoming attack "Yes I am Ma"
Not even letting him finish answering the guy shot a Steel thorn at him which he was barely able to block the incoming Attack.
As he blocked the attack the guy was already transforming into his 20 Meter tall Earth Ostrich form clearly surprised from him being able to block his Attack.
"Being able to block my attack like this is an achievement for itself in your realm, it really sad I have to kill you for. You should have accepted my little Brothers offer." There was even some real disappointment in his voice as hundreds of Steel thorns condensed behind him, the others Sophie, Luis and Luke where unable to move under that guys aura of the 9th Layer, he transformed and stood above to keep them safe in a split seconds he decided he can't keep his strengh hidden if he want to protect his new friends.
But still condensing more Thorns his eyes where filled with shock as he saw Max Beast body expand over the 10 Meters in Hight his brother told him where displayed in the artefact, the three where the same.
But as he didn't attack as he hesitated out of surprise for a moment and the moment he already finished his transformation to his full height of 40 meters towering over him by a large margin and his steel thorns bounced off his scales like toothpicks, since his scales had long become solid far exceed his own strength that even he himself at full strengh would barely able to make a crack on them.
The shock in his eyes turned to despair and attempted to flee, but as he used his Aura and True Dragon might he was unable to take another step, he started begging for his life he didn't even listened for a single second and Turned him into dust with his Chaos Dragons Breath to leave no evidence.
As he Transformed back they looked at him dumbfounded from this revelation as they could feel his aura of the 3rd Layer but is far denser than any they had ever felt before almost becoming visible to the naked eye.
They just stared at him for some time until Luis was the first to be able to formulate a question.
"Why would you hide your full capability of being able to fight 7 realms above your own, what would you gain from it?"
Before he could do answer
Sophie said something to "No Matter what you answer you are our friend and would keep your secret, even if you don't tell us, we won't hold it against you."
Shocked over Sophies innocence as usually those who hide there strengh, would silence all witnesses, he sighted before giving his answer. "I hope you could keep my true strengh hidden, as the Vice principle Luna Moon already made an attempt on my life."
As he Looked on the siblings Faces, while saying the persons name there faces distorted with anger.
"She took my fiancé as her disciple on the day after the Awakening and clearly stated her disgust for me having a double F grade Talent."
As he spoke Luke spoke into his explanation "Isn't your Talent Double B Grade?"
"If you hadn't disturbed me I would be already explaining it to you three, so as she didn't know the evening of the day of the Awakening my transformation received enough Essence to complete the Awakening as Primordial Chaos Divine True Dragon Transformation of unknown grade and received multiple innate skills like the flame breath you just witnessed there was also a skill to analyzing, and naturally is used it on her and she possesses two skills that gave me a bad feeling about her the first Full moon Hypnosis (SS-) (puts its target into a trance) and the second being moonlight Seal (SS) (After the seal is engraved on the female targets lower abdomen the target will follows the holder of the control seals order).
And after hearing your stories of this Nathan Behemoth and his people of the moon family, so I decided on staying low until I obtained enough strengh to fight against her."
All three understood what he meant and promised to support him and talked some more fabricating a story incase they get asked about the Devin Hull guy before continuing on their way back.
Once back in the mission hall they overheard many people talking with each other.
"Hey did you see the girl Yesterday at the Body Refinement Rooms she was just too beautiful, she beat someone up who wanted to steal her with a realm above her own and brought him to the brink of death with a single thunderstrike."
"Yes I was standing just a few meters away as it happened I even overheard that she is the disciple of the Vice Principle and was send inside with tons of resources and Pills which is even more than an Elder gets for a whole year and is only allowed out after reaching the Essence core Formation Realm."
Hearing these things, the weight on his mind lessened to some extend on their way to the mission desk showing their identity token and handed them there gathered resources to the young man behind the desk went to the back to get the evaluated to make sure there are fresh and not bought somewhere to obtain free merit points without having done anything themselves.
Once he returned he told them there total earnings. "After evaluation the cores and lotuses and after recalculating the Reward for handing over higher level cores you get a total of 5630 Merrit points, how do you want the points to be distributed between you?"
He said they should distribute them equal between them but they refused as he saved them.
"I think we should distribute them equally."
"No, without you we would have died. You should get at least one fourth of the points." Threw Luis in.
"No, I was the reason it even happened."
After going back and fort for a minute the ended the discussion with him getting two fifths of the point and they were set on in.
After the transfer he received 2252 merit point while the others each received 1126.
After the Transfer the boy behind the desk pulled out the extra lotus and handed it back to him and whispered to him.
"I am not supposed to tell this but the lotuses can be sold for nearly 3 times the amount in the academies Alchemy hall, so you should sell the extra one there."
Hearing this he told the others about it on there way out, and looked for the way to the Alchemy hall they soon found a sign giving them directions to it after following the signs until they discovered a building with multiple circular parts each having their own chimney, when suddenly an explosion sounded through the air and a dense black cloud left trough one of the chimneys right next to the entrance.
Coming closer the heard someone shouting inside "this is the 57 time you blew up the cauldron up and waste our halls recourses again and again, now get out! Weren't it for your father i would have long smacked you to death!"
The door flew open and an angry looking boy run out with all kinds of things flying after the boy, they needed to step aside to doge the items that missed the boy.
Once no more items came flying anymore, they got inside seeing an old man muttering to himself while gathering the pieces of the broken wall that shattered under the explosion that happened before and all kinds of things lying on the ground.
The old man turned over to them and asked them annoyed what they wanted what as he walked over to the Reception desc standing a few meters behind the entrance.
"What do you kids want?"
Walking up to the desc, he pulled the lotus out and placed it on the desk in front of the old man.
"We wanted to sell our extra Spirit lotus"
Taking the lotus, the old man's eyes started glowing.
"Let me see. It looks fi..." looking back up from the lotus, his eyes landed on max stopping in the middle of his word and suddenly his expression turned from annoyed to excited.
"My name is Horus and i am the master of the Alchemy hall, what's your name?
"My name is Max Darkwing sir."
"do you want to become my disciple boy?"
"No thank you sir we just want to sell this lotus."
Directly the others started to stare at him for refusing the offer from Horus already knowing his identity.
"Great, let's get.... wait what, why would you refuse my offer even the other branch Academy's students wish to be my disciple as I'm the only grade 4 Alchemist in the continent, why would you refuse?"
"I just think it would stop me from advancing fast enough in my cultivation and i can't afford the herbs by myself."
After thinking for a moment, Horus gave him a new offer "No it will not slow down your cultivation, because the pills you are making can not only be used for faster cultivation but can also be sold for different resources if needed and i even offer to pay fully for the herbs you use as long as i teach you and i will give your friends a discount of ten percent on all pills they buy, how does this sound to you?"
hearing this offer, even he was shocked as even if he wanted to become an alchemist usually he wouldn't be able to, as an normal Alchemist needs in average around 300.000 Merrit points or 300.000.000 Beast coins in recourses in order to train becoming a apprentice alchemist and even then the talent for it is rare and together with the bonus for the siblings and Luke he didn't hesitate to accept while adding one condition himself.
"I accept under one more Condition, which is that i can go whenever i want if I need to."
Not waiting for him to even finish his sentence, Horus reached with his hand over the desk. "Deal" with a happy expression. Which he also responded with "Deal" and sealed it with an handshake, before he got pulled away by him before he could even send his friends on their way, into a room in the back until the old man Horus told him to wait there for a moment.
"Wait here, I'm going to get something quickly." And started walking away.
"Yes sir" he said before the old man Horus shouted over his shoulder before disappearing completely in another room.
"It's Master from now on boy!"
His master had come back holding a circular plate and a cube made of a glass like material and brought them over to him.
Having approached him, his Master passed the cube to him.
"This cube is to measures the purity and strengh of your flame and the more Layers on the flame appears the better and stronger is the flame, 0 to 4 layers are too weak and impure for alchemy, from 5 to 14 you can become an apprentice Alchemist, 15 to 49 layers you reach a 1th grade Alchemist, 50 to 199 layers you reach 2 the grade alchemist and for the following grade after a big leap in requirements 200 to 499 layers 3th grade and 500 to 999 layers to reach the 4th grade in necessary flame power, my flame is currently at 963 Layers, but until now no flames of more layers where discovered as without cultivation not all layers can be brought out to see by the user and the strengh of my flame is already unheard of in the Essence core realm, but even with good flame and cultivation it doesn't matter if the other Condition aren't met to become an alchemist."
After finishing, his master placed the cube on his palm and told him to release his flame into the cube, quickly controlling his essence and using purely his fire attribute part of his chaos attribute he condensed a flame inside the cube, making after just a second a spark lighted up which quickly turned into a flame with more and more Layers appearing on it and after just a few seconds 780 layer had condensed
Visible exited his master grabbed the cube from his palm and replaced it with the circular plate and the moment it touched him his mental strengh got absorbed into it.
After a few seconds his Vision started turning blurry and his head started hurting, before the absorption finally stopped and left him close to fainting, as many star like dots started emitting a black light on the plate.
Quickly taking the plate of his hand his master suddenly stuffed something into his mouth and as soon it entered his stomach the pain disappeared and his vision returned to normal, he could see his masters happy expression.
"Boy not only do you already possess a flame with enough layers to produce 4th grade pills with just the cultivation of essence gathering realm and then we speak about your mental strengh which is from the amount comparable to an essences core Formation Realm by having lighted up 117 black stars just 33 short to make any kind of pill, even i who have lighten up 98 stars in the Essence gathering realm told to be a prodigy and you are even greater compatible with Alchemy."
Before he could ask his master to be clear how great his mental strengh is compared to others and what it had to do with alchemy, someone pushed the door open by force "Great Grand master Horus the principle wants you to make as a compensating for breaking the one year deal of teaching his son and wants you to make a soul rising pill in the next two weeks for his attempt of breaking into the soul awakening realm."
Just as he finished the guy got out as fast as he came leaving no time for any talking back.
Still looking at the door his master started ranting and yelling after the guy "what else could i have done with this idiot, he barely met the condition to make the lowest kind of pill after month and his control was that bad that he destroyed materials worth 3 million Merrit points in just 3 month."
After finishing his rant, his master told him to follow him.
Getting out of the building from the back they entered another building in the back of it, where his master brought him inside towards a room filled with books and the testing devices and a essence gathering array for cultivation.
"This is your room now all important literature are still in the top of the left shelf as the one i chased out in front of you did not touch even one of them. So read the Litterateur of Herbs and there effects, Alchemy beginner knowledge and lastly introduction of mental strengh and chose a mental strengh technique for yourself, i will probably take around eleven days for me to finish the pill and after that i can start teaching you how to refine pills, even if you don't reach the threshold until then."
After his master Left he started with the lectures his master told him to read, he sat down and began reading them one after another.
....
At the Draconis academy one male and one female giant dragon like beasts, where fighting in an giant open Arena.
The male one began speaking as he barely dodged or blocked the females attack.
"I really envy you Lily, being able to absorb a drop of the founders blood essence and transform into a 4 elemental dragon and surpass me in cultivation in and instant reaching the 5th layer of essence gathering, i can't even suppress you with my own true dragon might anymore as you now have your own, but this is the least an item should do, my grandma had exchanged for 20 years' worth of her Merrit points."
Lily kept attacking as she made a comment about her sparring partner.
"I am really grateful to my Master for this Arthur, it also allows me to punish you for this hellish training you put me through because of your crazy Obsession over you so called rival you discovered close to my home city."
"Even if your stronger now and your Bloodline suppression is even stronger than mine, it's not even a thousandth from what i felt from him."
Arthus was knocked out mid-sentence from another of Lily's strikes ending there sparing her thoughts shifted to her brother thinking about if the thing her master left for him had helped a bit, still worrying that he might end up as handymen disciple with his low talent so she looked forward for an exchange competition in a few month giving her a chance to meet him.
....
Finally closing the last book his very Understanding of Alchemy has shifted as it was much more complex than he thought.
Mental strengh is found in everybody, as it stems from the soul meaning as long there is a soul there will be mental strengh which is stored in the soul see, but its strengh and capacity are decided from soul and are inborn Limits which can't be changed, but the soul grows together with the cultivation rising its limits so that even those with low soul strengh can once they break out to the soul awakening realm are able to become alchemist as the soul will grow immensely with that breakout and from there on increasing the souls capacity together with it immensely and it will change in quality from mental strengh to spirit strengh.
This change from mental strengh to spirit strengh can also be achieved earlier with much training and great talent.