Demonic Path: I Can Optimise

Li Wei's mood lightened slightly at the news. Twenty pills were a solid reward for his efforts, even if it felt like a small consolation after so many failures. He mentally calculated that the market price might be a bit higher, but then he'd have to deal with finding a buyer and all the hassles that came with it. Better to make a clean deal now and avoid the trouble. "That's good to hear," he said, managing a faint smile. "I'll take the twenty pills and hand the potion over to you."

Zhao Ming placed the vial down on the counter and slid a small pouch toward him. "Eighteen, otherwise there's no fat in it for me," he said.

Li Wei hesitated for a moment but then sighed. "Fine. But I'll need more ingredients for the Strength Potion," he replied.

Zhao Ming nodded as he handed over eighteen pills. Then, he reached under the counter, pulling out several small bundles. The rustle of packaging filled the air.

"I've got five sets of ingredients on hand right now," he said. "They're yours, no charge. Just keep bringing me those potions, and let me know when you're ready to brew something more lucrative."

Li Wei takes the bundles, securing them in his bag. "I appreciate it," he says.

Zhao Ming waved a hand dismissively. "No need for thanks. Just keep the potions coming."

Li Wei hesitated for a moment, then casually asked, "By the way, are you familiar with Elder Guo's disciples?"

Zhao Ming nodded, his fingers tapping lightly on the counter—"tap, tap." "They rarely show up in person. Most of the time, they just send their bone slaves."

Li Wei raised an eyebrow. "So, they don't handle transactions themselves?"

"Not usually," Zhao Ming replies. "It's been that way for as long as I've been running this shop. They keep to themselves, hidden away in their caves or labs."

Li Wei considers this information. "Was there anyone new before me?"

Zhao Ming scratches his chin. "Now that you mention it, there was a newbie about a year ago. Name was Chen Mu. Like you, he came in person at first."

"What happened to him?" Li Wei asks.

Zhao Ming sighs softly. "After a few visits, he started sending his bone slave instead. Then, after a while, I stopped hearing from him altogether. No more orders, no more potions delivered. Just vanished."

Li Wei's gaze narrows slightly. "Did he mention any difficulties?"

"Not a word," Zhao Ming says. "But that's how it is with Elder Guo's disciples. They don't share much."

Li Wei nods slowly. "I see. I'll be sending my bone slave next time, then."

"Sure," Zhao Ming says. "Just give it something so I can recognise it's from you."

"Understood," Li Wei replies.

Li Wei turns toward the door to leave the apothecary, the familiar weight of his failures still with him but now lightened by a small sense of progress. 

Li Wei returned to his cave, where the shadows and silence offered him the focus he craved. With a fresh set of ingredients from Zhao Ming, he began brewing again. This time, he had enough supplies for 50 attempts. From the very first try, success came more easily than before—a testament to his growing skill.

Encouraged by the improvement, Li Wei carefully repeated the process, refining his technique with each batch. Though his results were still far from true mastery, the steady progress boosted his confidence. Feeling emboldened, he began experimenting, pushing the boundaries of what he had learned. He adjusted the timing of his steps and introduced subtle changes to increase the complexity of his brews, challenging himself to go beyond the basics.

Out of those 50 tries, he succeeded 14 times

"Fourteen successes," he muttered to himself, reviewing his results. "I'm definitely improving, but it feels like my grasp on this is still too dependent on being as sensitive as possible to every detail... and a bit of good luck."

He sighed, frustration mixing with a sense of progress. He knew that experienced potion master's boasted success rates above 50%—a level of consistency that seemed just out of his reach. But the idea of achieving that proficiency intrigued him. He stared at the vials of successful potions, admiring the craft he had managed to master so far.

Li Wei quietly examined the fourteen successful potions..

"Fourteen out of fifty isn't bad, but it's nowhere near what the real masters can do, he thought, turning a vial between his fingers. I'm getting there, but to reach their level, I'll need more than just practice. I have to make brewing as natural as breathing—second nature."

He carefully packed away most of the vials, deciding which ones to sell and which ones to keep hidden.

"I won't let anyone see just how fast I'm improving. The shopkeeper would snitch on me to Elder Guo the moment it became profitable."

Li Wei set aside only two potions he intended to offload—just enough to avoid suspicion.

"Spreading out my sales should keep me off anyone's radar."

He paused, letting out a slow breath.

"If I don't watch my back, I'll end up like the last guy—someone who just disappears with no explanation."

Li Wei set the last of the new potions aside and moved to the center of his cave. With the brewing session complete, this was the ideal time to test his most innovative technique. Crouching down, he took a slow breath.

Tiny grains of bone sand floated free from his storage pouch, drifting into the open space before him. He guided the swirl with careful, deliberate motions, feeling a surge of pride at how smoothly they responded.

He remembered when he first experimented with the fine, chalky substance—how easily it molded to his will, almost as if it were an extension of his own mind. Now, with repeated practice, he could form shapes, obscure himself in a cloud of dust, or even apply it to certain refining steps in potion-making.

But the real promise lay in coupling the bone sand with mind runes. Li Wei already had one mind rune etched into his spiritual sea. The reward was too sweet to ignore: clearer insight, improved mental control, and the prospect of commanding the bone sand as if it were part of his body.

His eyes narrowed. There was a glaring limitation, however: storage. He glanced over at his pouch, which strained from the sheer volume of bone sand he'd gathered.

"This is barely enough for my ambitions, yet it already takes up most of my current pouch. There must be higher-grade storage items out there—maybe even ones that could hold entire dunes of bone sand. But once I start buying bigger pouches or hauling around suspicious amounts of it, I'll draw attention I can't afford."

He clenched his jaw. Revealing the full extent of this technique, even once, would surely make him a target. Others would wonder how he managed to control so much of the stuff—and might try to pry his secrets from him.

"It's an eye-catching method, no doubt, he thought, slowly rotating his wrist. The swirling sand responded by coalescing into a loose sphere. The moment I use it publicly, the cat's out of the bag. Word spreads fast in the sect. Those who covet power—and that means everyone—will want what I have."

Still, he couldn't help the flicker of ambition that flared in his chest at the thought of so much untapped potential. If he combined two more mind runes with this ever-growing supply of bone sand, he would become a force few could challenge.

Li Wei let out a slow breath, then gently eased his control. The sand drifted down in a clattering hiss, forming a pale circle on the cave floor.

He reached out and swept the grains back into his pouch, careful not to lose a single speck. With that done, he stood and glanced at his stash of freshly brewed potions. A slight smile curved across his lips.

"I'll keep a low profile. By the time they see what I've really been doing… it'll be too late."

Li Wei sat cross-legged in the dim, quiet space where he usually meditated. Closing his eyes, he steadied his breathing and guided his qi inward. The first mind rune in his spiritual sea already felt familiar. Its shape was simple yet precise—a small curve tapering into a short, hooked stroke.

He turned his focus toward creating a second rune, identical in every detail. Slowly, he visualized the same curve, the same hook, letting his qi trace the lines until they solidified. After some effort, the new rune appeared, pulsing faintly in unison with the first.

Without pausing, Li Wei pushed himself to form a third. Again, he repeated the exact outline—no deviations or alterations—until it settled alongside the other two. Once it stabilized, he exhaled in relief.

"That makes three."

He opened his eyes, tension easing from his shoulders. Though he felt a lingering fatigue, he also sensed a deeper calm growing within him. Having these three identical mind runes, all in place, left him feeling more stable in his practice.

Li Wei exhaled and swept a cloud of bone sand into the air around him. With three mind runes now etched into his spiritual sea, he found controlling the grains noticeably smoother—like a film had lifted from his eyes. Each subtle shift of qi brought a sharper response, as if the sand were an extension of his own will.

After a moment of satisfaction, he let the sand drift down.

"If three runes make it this easy… he thought. What about four?"