Indeed, youth shows great promise. After a brief discussion with Igor on two matters of pharmaceutics, Lingefei found Igor’s foundational knowledge to be exceptionally solid, leading him to offer praise.

At that moment, the seminar moderator announced from the stage, “We are profoundly honored to welcome His Excellency, the Marquis Du Neihao, who recently succeeded in formulating the Resurrection Elixir once again, as the distinguished guest for this session.”

The spotlights focused on a seat in the very front row of the hall. Sitting in the rightmost position of this row was Du Neihao. He rose and waved to the assembly, prompting a wave of applause.

“Professor Faskerlun, Your Excellency Du Neihao is your teacher, so this young man is technically under the same lineage,” Lingefei remarked to Dean Faskerlun. He then turned to Igor: “Young man, keep at it. If His Excellency Du Neihao takes notice and offers you some guidance, it will benefit you immensely for a lifetime.”

Coincidentally, just after the host finished introducing all the distinguished guests, he announced, “First, we invite the newly advanced Master Apothecary, Mr. Igor, to present his academic report.”

“The first one is you, Igor. Go for it!” Xia Laiya immediately grew excited, cheering Igor on.

“That’s right! Go! Go!” Dannan chimed in enthusiastically.

Dimas remained characteristically silent, but a glimmer of encouragement shone in his eyes.

“Alright! Here I go!” Igor announced, stepping out from the crowd and moving toward the stage.

“Oh? Master Apothecary Igor looks remarkably young…”

A flurry of whispering erupted around them. These Master Apothecaries understood potions down to their very core. They could clearly perceive Igor’s youth, recognizing it was not the result of a Rejuvenation Potion or an Elixir of Eternal Youth.

Even Du Neihao’s eyes flickered, revealing a hint of approval.

Under the gaze of the assembly, Igor ascended the podium. Before him rested a crystal orb. The sapphire on his forehead emitted a blue light that pierced into the orb, instantly activating the hall’s virtual projection system. The first thing to appear was an equation—a mode of expression built upon the foundation of Spirit Script, detailing the structural composition of a potion; the bedrock of all pharmaceutical creation.

“Hmm?” Dean Faskerlun, along with Laiya and the other two, gasped in unison. They had witnessed Igor’s previous academic reports, but this equation was not what had been described then.

What was happening? Had Igor made a mistake?

“Masters of pharmaceutics, please observe this equation,” Igor stated slowly. “This is a novel elixir I have developed. Its grade…” He paused for dramatic effect. “…is Grade Five.”

Silence!

A commotion swept through the hall. Some faces registered annoyance or impatience. These were Master Apothecaries who routinely dealt with Grade Ten potions. Even Grade Nine potions felt beneath their status, yet this young man was presenting on a Grade Five potion at such a pinnacle seminar.

What did that even imply? A Grade Five potion required virtually no Spiritual refinement; even some Grade Six and Grade Seven potions did not necessitate it. These potions could be mass-produced using large factories and assembly lines, a world apart from the work of an apothecary. Those factories employed their own research staff dedicated to developing these lower-grade elixirs—researchers not recognized by the Apothecary Association, akin to the difference between a painter and a printer; they were simply incomparable.

Laiya and the other two stared, speechless. Dean Faskerlun, under Lingefei’s peculiar gaze, flushed with shame, wishing he could immediately rush up and pull Igor down.

Du Neihao also frowned, but the moment his eyes fell upon the equation floating above, an intuitive feeling told him that this was a guiding light illuminating the darkness—the greatest moment in pharmaceutics was about to arrive.

The moderator moved to approach Igor, intending to ask if he was mistaken, but was stopped by a gesture from Du Neihao. He stared intently at Igor, resolved not to miss a single moment.

Igor took in the expressions of everyone in the hall, offered a slight smile to Du Neihao, and continued, “Esteemed colleagues, you heard correctly. This is a Grade Five potion. However, its effect is far from simple. Through rigorous testing, it has been proven to achieve one hundred percent…” He enunciated each word with powerful emphasis, “…HUMAN AWAKENING, identical to the effect of top-tier Gene Activation Potions.”

The statement hung in the air, causing the entire hall to fall utterly silent, so quiet that the drop of a single needle could be heard. But after that brief moment, cries of astonishment erupted like a tidal wave surging toward Igor.

One scholar rose to question, “Master Apothecary Igor, is what you say true?”

“It is true,” Igor replied without hesitation.

Another scholar challenged him, “Do not preach alarmism in this sacred place! A Grade Five top-tier Gene Activation Potion? A joke! If it were real, wouldn’t that mean the entire sub-human populace of the Empire could achieve Awakening through this mass-producible product?”

“That is precisely the goal of my invention and the potential of this elixir,” Igor countered. “If you believe that having the entire populace of the Empire awaken exceeds your capacity for understanding and acceptance, that is irrelevant to me. Your opinion cannot stem the tide that is coming.”

Yes, this potion represented an inevitable trend. Capable of awakening trillions of sub-humans across the Empire, its introduction had already forged an unstoppable momentum. Like the wheel of history, it rolled forward, crushing all who stood in its path; even an existence at the Fourth Level Limit, standing before it, would be utterly annihilated, reduced to nothingness.

The reason Yang Ying had allowed Igor to release this potion was to remedy the consequences of the collapse of the Primal Force Sea over ten thousand years ago, providing the sub-human population of the Empire a new source of evolutionary power.

The imbalance between True Humans and sub-humans in the Empire was the root cause of the Imperial family’s current awkward predicament. The surviving ‘Old Undead’ all harbored extremely conservative ideologies favoring True Humans. They sensed terror emanating from the existence of Yang Ying and Blade, wishing nothing more than to kill them and seize the secret to rapid ascension to the Fourth Level Limit.

However, if the entire population of the True Human Empire achieved Awakening, the distinction between True Humans and sub-humans would vanish. Over time, the formerly sub-human population might even leverage their numerical superiority to hold power over the True Human aristocracy.

Losing the absolute dominance held by True Humans, even if this trend emerged, the authority of the True Human nobles would inevitably diminish.

With this move enacted, at least for the next few years, dealing with internal conflicts would keep the ‘Old Undead’ preoccupied and prevent them from exerting pressure on Yang Ying.

The True Human Empire would experience several years of turmoil, but after emerging from the chaos, greater development would follow.

Yang Ying did not fear this development. He had already deployed this potion upon the Tralan race, who were now fully awakened and remained tightly united around him.

An organized minority would always triumph over an unorganized majority. For the coming years, the True Human nobility would be bogged down in domestic affairs, posing no trouble for him. But by the time the nobles resolved their internal matters and could turn their attention elsewhere, the development speed of the Starship Fleet in his grasp would grow to an unimaginable degree, perhaps even reaching the Fifth Level realm, which currently existed only in theory.

Of course, concerning how to secure the maximum benefit for the Imperial family during this period of intense future change, he already had a preliminary plan. The moment this potion was introduced, he had seized the initiative; the remaining issues were merely matters of detail.

Igor produced over a dozen materials from his clothing. All the Master Apothecaries present recognized them as common materials within the Empire. Two of them, while perhaps not abundant, certainly did not qualify as rare medicinal herbs; they could be acquired with sufficient funds.

Igor gave a slight tremor, and the materials were instantly processed by an unseen force. Some were instantly vaporized into ash by ultra-high temperatures; others were subjected to immense pressure, altering their microscopic structure; still others were bombarded by neutrons, causing molecular fission. Then, they began to separate, mix, decompose, synthesize, and magnetize—various physical and chemical reactions coalesced, transforming them into a clear liquid elixir that gathered in a small vial. Igor released the vial, which then strangely floated in the air and drifted toward Du Neihao.

“His Excellency Marquis Du Neihao, as a leading figure among apothecaries, I request you sample this elixir,” Igor said, offering a slight bow.

The methods Igor employed—super-high temperatures, extreme pressure, neutron bombardment—were all processes that could be replicated in large factories using industrial equipment. Although he used telekinesis, he incorporated no trace of Spiritual refinement. Provided the production facilities and ample raw materials existed, this elixir could be produced continuously.

Du Neihao accepted the small vial, feeling as if he were witnessing the birth of an era. With an indescribable mix of emotions, he downed the contents in a single gulp.

He meticulously noted every change within his body after the elixir entered him, savoring its medicinal properties. After a long pause, he nodded slowly.

“This is an outstanding elixir whose potency rivals that of a top-tier Gene Activation Potion!”

Du Neihao’s declaration utterly cemented the potion’s status. The Master Apothecaries in the hall were stunned. They were not fools; from his statement, they too saw the future trend. Universal Awakening had become unavoidable now that an Awakening Potion with abundant raw materials, simple processing, and industrial mass-production capability had emerged!

Laiya and the other two were staring blankly.

“Hey, is that really Igor?” Laiya nudged Dannan.

Dannan snapped back to reality and replied uncertainly, “Perhaps.”

“What ‘perhaps’?” Laiya asked Dimas, slightly annoyed. “What do you say, Dimas?”

“It is,” Dimas answered succinctly and clearly.

Then, the three sighed in unison: “Well, there’s no catching up to him in this lifetime.”

On the other side, Professor Lingefei and Dean Faskerlun also sighed internally, thinking, We are old, truly old. The era of the young is surely about to begin.