Luna glanced at Andrew with a flat expression. “Get well soon. And honestly, I think I understand why you got beaten up. It’s probably because of that mouth of yours.”

With that, she turned and walked out of the Lloyd family estate.

Andrew frowned as he watched her disappearing figure. She was still as fierce as always, always wanting to have the last say and mocking him.

Before long, Amari returned, panting heavily. “Andrew, the situation’s not looking good.”

Andrew remained calm. “It’s fine, just tell me what it is. It’s not the end of the world.”

Amari said, “Didn’t you ask me to contact some fellow alchemists? Those guys have impeccable skills in alchemy, no question about it. Among them are two eighth-grade divine alchemists who are close friends of mine. Additionally, there are a few sixth-grade and seventh-grade alchemists who are also acquaintances of mine. If we want to start our own operation, getting them to join wouldn’t be a problem.

“But the problem is, right now we have no reputation and no resources. We can’t even offer a decent headquarters. These are people used to comfortable lives, and they can’t openly break ties with Sovereign’s Apothecary. So, getting them to join our alliance immediately will take more work. At the very least, we need to show them real skill first.”

Andrew nodded. “Just give them a heads-up for now and let them know we’re about to go independent. As for getting people to immediately come over and join our side, I never had such unrealistic expectations to begin with.

“Amari, keep making contacts with any alchemists you can reach. You don’t need to say much, just tell them we’re planning to start our own venture and gauge their interest in joining. On my end, I’ll handle the most important matter at hand first.”

Amari quickly emphasized, “Andrew, the most important matter right now is deciding exactly what kind of organization we’re establishing, and who our allied partners will be.”

He continued, “If we’re just playing small or if we’re too weak, then there’s no point. Sovereign’s Apothecary and the Divine Alchemists could easily crush us. You know how alchemists are; they’re a pretty fragile group. The Divine Alchemists and Sovereign’s Apothecary have massive resources, top-tier benefits, plus unlimited advancement opportunities. There’s no reason they’d abandon Sovereign’s Apothecary to start from scratch with us.”

Andrew smiled. “I’m aware of your concerns. So I’m about to take action and recruit a few allies.”

Amari rubbed his hands together and smirked. “Allies? Come on, Andrew, who in Chetvine would still side with you? From what I know, this city’s full of people who’d love to see you dead. Where exactly are you finding these allies?”

Andrew smirked. “Times change, Amari. Effort always brings results. Sure, I’ve got plenty of enemies, and most won’t give me the time of day, but Chetvine isn’t entirely filled with my enemies.

“For example, there’s the military, and then there’s the Reyes family… Wasn’t I planning to arrange for Valerie to be your wife? That’ll kill two birds with one stone. We seal the marriage alliance with the Reyes family, then invite them to join us.”

He leaned back and crossed his arms. “I’m calling it the Medicine God’s Covenant. Not bad, right? Took me three seconds to come up with it.”

Amari mulled it over and gave a thumbs up. “Using Mr. Zeroual’s title as the name? Brilliant, absolutely brilliant!"