…sub-territories were all governed by Yang Ying's clones overseeing the logistics, and with no internal conflicts at this stage, both races were focused on development. In this stability, strength was being accumulated. Though physically in the Empire, Yang Ying felt as if he were present in those lands, watching the three territories prosper day by day, their military strength growing ever thicker. His heart was filled only with joy, with no lingering worries, allowing his main body to devote the majority of his energy to the study of pharmaceutical alchemy.

The next morning, Yang Ying returned from the Floating Continent. He didn't leave his room but immediately logged into the virtual laboratory, intending to spend the entire day immersed there.

It was a rest day, so the Academy had no classes scheduled, and Yang Ying had nowhere else to go. Moreover, the virtual laboratory was the best form of leisure he could imagine.

Ever since he had gained an introduction to spiritual processing, Yang Ying had felt an undeniable allure to it.

As his perception delved to the molecular level, guiding matter to react through spiritual will, the external and internal mysteries of the material world unfolded before him, making him feel as if he were admiring some magnificent work of art.

However, the beauty of nature was inherent and unforced—a manifestation of the cosmos, surpassing any man-made beauty. Once tasted, it was something one could never tire of, incomparable to any art.

Of course, Yang Ying knew that spiritual processing merely opened a window for him, representing only a small fraction of the universe. But even this small fraction was enough to fully engross someone at the peak of the third level.

Due to this passion, coupled with his desire to advance to the fourth level, Yang Ying found joy even when encountering the most difficult research obstacles, focusing his entire attention on resolving them.

The sun rose and set. Yang Ying exited the virtual laboratory, his expression still thoughtful. He stepped across a thin membrane of light and onto the balcony.

The cool evening breeze brushed against his face, yet he barely noticed; his focus remained fixed on several problems he had encountered while formulating potions.

After spending a full day in the virtual laboratory, it was regrettable that he still had not managed to create his first Rank Eight potion.

In Yang Ying's view, many of the spiritual processing techniques in Rank Eight potions, at least those in the one-class of Rank Eight, were inherited from Rank Seven potions. Those parts, after several days of meticulous examination, he had largely grasped.

However, the difficulty lay in the techniques he had never encountered before. Because certain crucial aspects remained unclear, Yang Ying still could not master those methods.

Every time he reached the stage in potion formulation requiring those specific techniques, an anomaly would occur, leading to failure.

Whence these anomalies originated and why they arose—though Yang Ying had studied the relevant Rank Eight courses—it was still true that knowing something was one thing, and executing it was another.

The spiritual processing of potions, or other matters related to spirituality, were inherently difficult to describe in language. Even when using Spiritual Script, which could convey meaning with utmost precision, it could not fully capture the profound and subtle principles involved.

Though the course explained the potion formulation process clearly, there remained unsaid implications, much like how a sub-human advances from the second to the third level—a realm that must be intuitively understood rather than explicitly taught.

Yang Ying had tried numerous times according to the course instructions, yet he kept stumbling at those critical points, failing every time due to unforeseen accidents, which was a great headache for him. Thus, he came out seeking a moment of quiet reflection.

After blowing the wind for a while, Yang Ying finally put his thoughts aside for the moment. He took a deep breath of the cool, clean air and shook his head, saying, "I had better ask Professor Tessar during class tomorrow. Perhaps I can gain some enlightenment."

Setting this matter aside temporarily, Yang Ying returned to his room and sat for a while on the **. His mind soon turned to another matter.

When he first heard of the existence of the Top-Tier Gene Activation Potion, he had considered using the silicone ore’s property of being able to transform into all things to awaken the entire population of the Terran race he possessed, which would surely greatly enhance their combat strength.

He already had a preliminary plan for how to execute this action concretely, which in turn spawned an even grander scheme.

Even in a developed place like the Empire, Awakened individuals were one in ten thousand. This was because high-quality gene activation potions required materials of exceptionally high value to concoct, making them unaffordable for ordinary people.

The market price for a High-Tier Gene Activation Potion, with a one-in-five chance of success, was fifteen million Imperial Credits. The market price for a Top-Tier Gene Activation Potion was one hundred and twenty million! This price point was already pushing the range of Rank Ten potions.

The reason for this was that gene activation potions were one of the most commonly used and popular potions, targeting the trillions of unawakened sub-humans in the Empire, ensuring an abundant consumer base. As for supply? One could easily imagine. High- and Top-Tier gene activation potions could not be mass-produced industrially; they could only be crafted by hand by alchemists. And among the one-in-ten-thousand who awakened, how many would choose the profession of an alchemist?

The absolute imbalance between supply and demand resulted in high-tier potions being an absolute seller’s market, allowing alchemists to earn exorbitant profits. ※

This phenomenon of scarcity was not limited to the alchemy profession. Because Awakened individuals comprehensively surpassed ordinary people in aspects like physical fitness, they could easily achieve success in whatever field they pursued.

Setting aside other professions for the moment, in terms of alchemy, the Top-Tier Gene Activation Potion was a Rank Eight, Class Eight potion—neither too high nor too low in standing. In the Alchemy Department of the Glacier Central Academy, although students were required to take five Rank Nine courses and one Rank Ten course, as long as a student could successfully concoct ten Rank Eight potions, regardless of category, they could immediately apply for graduation. If this included one Rank Eight, Class Five potion, or two Rank Eight, Class Four potions, their final graduation evaluation would be graded 'Excellent'.

Only a handful of top-tier institutions whose alchemy programs were as strong as the Computer Science programs at Glacier Central Academy required students to master the formulation of Rank Eight, Class Eight potions before graduation. This was the case at Lanton's alma mater—the First Imperial Academy. That institution represented the pinnacle of Imperial higher education. Lanton had earned four degrees there before her flight; this achievement was truly remarkable. Moreover, it was there that she met Bai Bai's older sister, the former First Princess and current Empress.

Currently, Yang Ying planned to acquire the Top-Tier Gene Activation Potion at Glacier Central Academy. Ordinary students could learn the principles and formulation methods for this potion, but by the time they could concoct it, they would have basically already graduated. He had checked the Academy's history and found that using a Rank Eight, Class Eight potion as a graduation assignment was extremely rare.

However, rare as it was, there had been a few such cases in the last century. And even if there hadn't been any, Yang Ying believed that if he proposed to Dean Faskerlun the idea of using an eight-grade potion as his final project, the Dean would only be delighted and would proactively create the necessary conditions for him. Thus, obtaining the Top-Tier Gene Activation Potion was merely a matter of time.

Once the physical substance of the materials was obtained, it could be subjected to comprehensive analysis by the God and Human races, and then replicated using silicone ore.

Yet, Yang Ying later had a sudden inspiration, conceiving of an even better method, which spurred him to formulate another, larger plan.

He focused his attention, for the moment, on the virtual laboratory. As a computer program, the virtual laboratory could perfectly reproduce materials from the real world, which clearly implied that the Empire had thoroughly researched these materials, inputting everything from external characteristics to molecular structure into the virtual laboratory's database.

If he could gain access to the virtual laboratory’s database and crack its security, the data within could substitute for the physical objects as templates for the silicone ore. Yang Ying had previously had the research departments of the God and Human races investigate this concept, and they had returned an answer indicating "extremely high possibility."

Moreover, this approach offered another benefit, exponentially greater: not only could the materials for the Top-Tier Gene Activation Potion be replicated using silicone ore, but even the materials for those Rank Ten potions that had gone extinct could be duplicated.

If that were the case, wouldn't those Rank Ten potions, lost for countless years and long considered legendary relics, be able to return to the world!

When Yang Ying conceived of this idea, he felt an intense thrill, almost bursting into uncontrolled laughter. With such a magnificent prospect ahead, he certainly wouldn't let it pass.

However, while the virtual laboratory he was currently using had been brought out of the laboratory building, it still relied on the building's server. The only difference was that previously he could only access it via the local network, whereas now he was permitted external access.

It was like playing an online game; his optical computer only contained a client program that could connect to the server; the core database was not stored with him.

Information is wealth. The virtual laboratory’s database itself held immense value; it was not software that could be freely downloaded.

Yang Ying had checked: to establish a private virtual laboratory, in addition to possessing an alchemist's license, one needed at least one billion Imperial Credits in funding—no small sum.

Of course, this was true for the average Imperial citizen. But Yang Ying did not worry about funding because he was an alchemist—no, a soon-to-be alchemist, but that made little difference.

Once the Top-Tier Gene Activation Potion was successfully formulated, it would immediately fetch one hundred and twenty million. Deducting some cost, the profit would surely not be less than one hundred and ten million. In the Empire, all potions requiring spiritual processing were wildly profitable; there was simply no need to worry about making money or finding buyers. Alchemists only needed to focus on production. In this way, by selling ten potions, he could cover the cost of building a virtual laboratory.

Naturally, besides the Top-Tier Gene Activation Potion, concocting other potions was also highly lucrative. Yang Ying's current plan was: once he successfully formulated his first Rank Eight potion, he would consult Professor Tessar to see if there were avenues for students in the Alchemy Department to take on paid work. He could sell potions while studying, and perhaps by the time he graduated, he would have accumulated the one billion needed.