"Did I forget to mention that? Oh dear."
Ace rolled his eyes at the voice in his head. Get on with it.
"Oh, eager now, are we? Fine. There's a reason peak-grade pills are nothing more than myths in the mortal realm. Mortal cauldrons can't handle them. They shatter long before the pill even takes form. The sheer purity and density of spiritual energy required to refine one would rupture an ordinary cauldron from the inside out."
Ace frowned. That made sense. But there was something even stranger.
Then how does Akha even know what a peak-grade pill is?
She had called it by name without hesitation, her voice laced with awe but not confusion. That meant she had seen—or at least heard—of them before. But such knowledge shouldn't exist here.
"Now that," the voice purred, "is the interesting part."
Ace glanced at Akha, who still cradled the pill in her hands as if holding a sacred relic. But there was no point in dwelling on it now.
Shaking his head, he turned to the three women.
