First Steps in Alchemy (Second Update)

"Young Master, what exactly did you buy to drain all the money?" Qinglin leaned against the doorframe, her face crumpled as she looked at the gold card Xiao Han had casually tossed to her—the balance displayed on it was a stark zero.

"If you run short of funds, just go to my shops and take what you need; the managers there all know you." Xiao Han tinkered with his medicine cauldron inside the room, not even turning his head.

"Oh."

With a helpless nod, Qinglin turned to leave, but then remembered that yesterday Xiao Han had said he would set out for training today. Now it was nearly evening, yet there was no sign of him leaving.

"Um... Young Master..."

Qinglin looked back, hesitating.

"What's wrong?"

"Didn't you say you were going out for training today?"

"Oh? That?"

Turning to face his maid, Xiao Han slapped his forehead—how had he forgotten something so important? "I feel my Douqi cultivation loosening a bit, so I plan to go into seclusion for a while. During this time, make sure not to disturb me. Just bring me meals morning, noon, and evening."

"How long is 'a while'?"

"Not sure. Maybe a week, maybe half a month? Depends on how it goes." Xiao Han said offhandedly.

"Ah? Then Qinglin won't get to see Young Master for some time?" Hearing this, Qinglin looked at Xiao Han with disappointment and sadness.

"Silly girl, your Young Master isn't going to sprout wings and fly away. And I said ten days to half a month—it might not even take that long."

Hands on his hips, Xiao Han shook his head helplessly. "If you get lonely, you can go play with Cousin Xuner during this time. Didn't you say you wanted to practice Dou Techniques together?"

"Then... alright, Qinglin won't disturb Young Master."

After a moment's hesitation, the ever-obedient Qinglin didn't throw a childish tantrum.

Though she was only twelve now, having endured years of bullying, scolding, and discrimination, her maturity far surpassed her peers.

And for some reason, Xiao Han seemed very concerned about her Douqi cultivation, often checking on it. With that in mind, Qinglin didn't want to see disappointment on his face. Her talent might not match his, but it wasn't low either. In the days ahead, she too should train properly.

Once Qinglin had left, Xiao Han poked his head out.

Four years ago, when he had just transmigrated, to avoid exposing that he had taken over the body of the previous owner—also a ten-year-old boy named "Xiao Han"—he rarely spoke to others and even requested to move out of the courtyard near the Xiao Family's main residence, choosing a remote separate courtyard instead.

Xiao Zhan assumed Xiao Han had become withdrawn due to his inability to accept his parents' death and wanted to avoid everyone, so he reluctantly approved the request.

Later, however, Xiao Han began to shine. He voiced many baffling insights and unconventional money-making methods that helped the Xiao Family through a crisis, drawing the attention of most family members to this quiet little boy.

When he later revealed his extraordinary talent, he became a prized asset in the eyes of the Xiao Family. Because of his outstanding talent, many forces near Wutan City sought to arrange child betrothals with him.

Anyway, you just need to understand that this world is similar to ancient Huaxia—arranging child betrothals is as simple as eating or drinking. Some even marry before the age of twelve.

If Xiao Zhan hadn't respected Xiao Han's opinion and flatly refused those betrothal offers, Xiao Han would have been plagued by such matters.

Betrothing a cultivation prodigy—this was far too common on the Douqi Continent.

It's like how Xiao Yan's Grandfather and Nalan Yanran's Grandfather arranged a marriage contract. On the surface, it was because the two old friends took a liking to each other and betrothed their grandchildren.

In reality...

Ahem, wrong example. Xiao Yan and Nalan Yanran were betrothed at birth—a child betrothal—so it wasn't a case of the Nalan Clan eyeing Xiao Yan's cultivation talent.

Wait, speaking of which, Xiao Zhan is Xiao Han's biological uncle, and Xiao Yan is his cousin. Doesn't that mean... Xiao Yan's Grandfather is also Xiao Han's own grandfather?!!

Holy shit! That joke went too far!

So in this timeline, who is the one betrothed to Nalan Yanran?!

Come to think of it, I'm only a month older than Xiao Yan!

WTF?!

"No, no, no. Xiao Han, you have to trust your luck."

Seeming to recall something very unpleasant, Xiao Han shuddered and forced himself not to think about it.

Hanging a sign on the gate of the separate courtyard that read "In Training, Do Not Disturb," Xiao Han closed the courtyard door.

Entering a rarely used empty room, he locked the door behind him.

With a flick of his hand, he channeled a stream of Douqi into the Storage Ring on his finger. The Sapphire Storage Ring flashed faintly, and a yellow medicine cauldron nearly half a meter tall materialized in the room.

The cauldron was entirely copper-yellow, shaped like an upright oval egg. It bore faint specks of light, and at its base were carved two ferocious, unknown beast heads, both with gaping Bloody Mouths forming two interconnected fire channels. The channels twisted and curved, growing narrower deeper in, hinting at hidden intricacies.

At the top of the cauldron was a hemispherical bowl-shaped lid, with a special opening for feeding in medicinal ingredients.

Scattered across the lid were fine holes made of Cold Iron, designed for heat dissipation to prevent explosions from high temperatures. In the middle section of the cauldron, a transparent pane made of Ice Essence was set, allowing a clear view of everything inside during alchemy.

Aside from the two beast heads, the cauldron's surface was as smooth as an egg, as if the craftsman hadn't bothered with aesthetics, giving it a somewhat rough overall look.

And since it was an oval cauldron, it naturally required three claw-shaped supports mimicking some beast's claws.

Looking at this cauldron, which seemed like something picked up from Pinduoduo, Xiao Han didn't mind. He was a pragmatist and scorned flashy nonsense.

Besides, since Master Guni had extended goodwill, the cauldron he selected couldn't be bad.

Picking up the Alchemist's Beginner's Guide, Xiao Han had already read it once, but even so, the dense list of alchemical taboos made his scalp tingle.

Having a teacher to guide you versus learning on your own were two completely different things.

Glancing at the alchemist's notes and comparing them to the cauldron's design, it was clear that Guni had chosen a relatively low-grade cauldron for him.

According to the notes recorded in the manual, Medicine Cauldrons also have grades—the more Fire Ports a cauldron has, the higher its grade and the rarer it is. The Fire Port is the essence of the cauldron, requiring high-precision polishing; during the crafting process, even the slightest mistake will render the entire cauldron a failure.

Therefore, the more Fire Ports a cauldron has, the stronger its auxiliary effect on alchemy. Of course, controlling multiple Fire Ports requires powerful Soul Perception. For someone like Xiao Han now, being able to control two Fire Ports is already pushing his limits!

In other words, a good Medicine Cauldron is as important to an Alchemist as a Precious Sword is to a Swordsman, and it greatly increases the success rate of pill refinement.

However, he was currently nothing more than a beginner scrub—no matter how good the cauldron, it was useless. The key was to learn how to master the timing, heat, and Medicinal Properties of the refining process.

"Alright, let me see... Press your hand against the Fire Port, then channel Dou Qi into it to transform it into the flame for alchemy... Hmm, the flame summoned at this point is not yet the true alchemical flame... Sink your mind to control that trace of Wood Attribute within you, then infuse it into the cauldron..."

Holding a book in one hand while channeling Dou Qi into the cauldron to convert it into flame, Xiao Han felt as if he had returned to his school days, opening a textbook to solve problems.

Mainly because this was way too similar—the uncomfortable feeling was practically a carbon copy of back when he was in math class, searching for the solution to a problem.

"If only I had some Energy Value right now. According to the system, as long as I read through the pill formula and refining steps completely, I could directly use a certain amount of Energy Value to learn alchemy."

"Sigh, this is going to be a pain."

Staring at the complicated refining steps, Xiao Han groaned in frustration. Next, he would begin his very first attempt at alchemy in this life.