Strongest Scammer: Scamming The World, One Death At A Time

Han Yu blinked.

"…Wait. So, you mean…"

"I'll be trapped looking like a twelve-year-old for the rest of my life," she said flatly. "Even when I'm three hundred years old, I'll still get mistaken for someone's little sister."

Han Yu coughed and did his best not to laugh. "So the pill… kept your age young too well?"

Li Mei glared. "It was supposed to preserve my vitality and youth, not freeze my growth like a failed Time Stasis pill!"

Han Yu couldn't help himself. He chuckled, then snorted. "So let me get this straight. You're telling me the reason you haven't broken through is because you don't want to be a forever-loli?"

Li Mei's eyes narrowed dangerously.

"You say that word again and I'll make you swallow a pill that turns your hair bright pink."

Han Yu laughed harder now, clutching his stomach. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I just—wow, that's a first."

Li Mei turned away, grumbling. "This is why I don't tell people things."

Han Yu wiped a tear from his eye, calming down. "No, seriously. I get it. That's… kind of tragic."

She glanced at him. "You're not going to say something annoying again?"

"No, no," Han Yu said sincerely. "I mean it. You've worked so hard to get to where you are, but now you're stuck with this stupid side effect. That's not fair."

Li Mei let out a long sigh and nodded. "Yeah. And what's worse, there's no known way to reverse it unless you have an alchemist with supreme control over Top Grade Spirit Flame and Vital Progression Pills, both of which are nearly impossible to get even if you're in a top-tier sect."

Han Yu was quiet for a moment. "We'll figure it out. One day."

She blinked and looked over. "…We?"

He smirked. "Well, I am your apprentice, right? And now I've got twenty-two thousand merit points. At this rate, I'll be a Top Alchemist in no time. I'll find something. Make something. Or steal from a Divine Flame Salamander if I have to."

She rolled her eyes, but there was the faintest smile at the corner of her lips.

"Big words. Try not to miss your lesson first, hero."

Han Yu groaned. "Oh yeah. I better get going or Gai Qing'll have me memorizing pill formulas backward."

Li Mei waved a hand. "Good. Now go. And Han Yu?"

"Yeah?"

She gave him a look. "If you even think about calling me loli again, I'll test that hair color pill on you and add permanent glitter."

Han Yu fled the hut before she could throw a beaker at him.

Han Yu made his way toward the Hall of Golden Instruction, mentally preparing himself for what he assumed would be a few hours of quiet listening and maybe a question or two. He didn't expect it to be particularly fun, but he figured it wouldn't be much worse than reading compendiums for half a day.

Still, just to be sure, he asked one of the other disciples waiting outside.

"Hey, do you know how long this lesson's supposed to last?"

The girl glanced at him with a look that could only be described as resigned despair. "It's Gai Qing."

Han Yu blinked. "Yeah, I know. What about it?"

She sighed. "That means it'll be six hours. Minimum."

"…Six hours?"

"If we're lucky."

Han Yu nearly staggered on the spot. "Wait, aren't the regular sessions just three or four hours?"

The girl nodded. "Exactly. But this is Instructor Gai Qing. He's known across the entire Alchemy Peak for treating every lesson like it's a battle against ignorance itself."

"Do people survive it?" Han Yu asked with a bit of dread building up within him.

"Barely," she said. "But hey, at least you won't be bored. Just mentally drained, physically exhausted, and possibly incapable of speaking for the rest of the day."

Han Yu gulped and found an empty seat near the front of the long semi-circular classroom. He figured if he was going to be stuck here for six hours, he might as well look like the model student. Maybe it would reduce the chances of being picked on.

The room slowly filled up, with nearly forty other disciples filing in and taking their seats, most with glum or carefully neutral expressions. A few brought extra writing scrolls and spirit tea to keep themselves alert—something Han Yu immediately regretted not doing.

Finally, the door at the back opened with a soft creak, and a tall, lean man in white alchemist robes stepped inside. His expression was blank, almost carved from stone, and his long hair was tied into a tight topknot. A Golden badge with the insignia of the Alchemy Peak glinted on his chest.

Instructor Gai Qing.

He walked briskly to the podium and scanned the room. With a flick of his finger, a pale blue attendance scroll unfurled itself midair and began hovering in front of him.

"Name call," he said in a deep, even voice that carried perfectly through the chamber. "Speak clearly."

The list began.

One by one, names were called, and responses echoed back—some nervous, some bored. When Han Yu's name was called, he sat up straight and answered clearly, "Present, Instructor."

Gai Qing didn't react, merely marking the scroll with a brush stroke made of qi.

With attendance completed, the instructor raised his hand, and a glowing diagram of a pill cauldron shimmered into being behind him. "Today's lesson will focus on multi-phase pill refinement theory, including essence synchronization, property layering, and volatile counterbalance."

Han Yu blinked. That sounded… advanced.

Still, he readied his brush and scroll and prepared himself.

But as Gai Qing began to teach, Han Yu was struck by something unexpected.

Despite the man's monotonous tone and stone-like expression, his explanation was—shockingly—good.

Really good.

Precise. Measured. Structured.

Even the most abstract concepts were broken down into digestible parts.

As the lesson went on, diagrams of herbs appeared in the air behind Gai Qing: Blood Orchid Leaf, Celestial Wave Bark, Nine-Spice Fern, and Ironroot Mushroom—each used in various combinations depending on the desired effects.