Lin Ze looked at the information on the Bronze Mirror, his eyes filled with delight.
Truthfully, he had no idea whether Death Soldiers could possess Alchemy.
After seeing the business and Hunting Skills, he had even given up hope that a Death Soldier could possess Alchemy.
After all, Alchemy was clearly far more prestigious than skills like business and hunting.
So naturally, seeing a Death Soldier with Alchemy came as an even greater surprise.
Without hesitation, Lin Ze spent ten units of Flesh Essence to summon the Blue Rare Death Soldier.
The Death Soldier was of average height, with fair features. He looked like a pampered young master.
Lin Ze rubbed his chin, troubled. What should he name him?
After all, he had never really had to name anyone before.
He had named Ma Fugui earlier because he had the business skill, so Lin Ze had given him the surname Ma and named him Fugui.
But there would surely be more and more Death Soldiers in the future.
Was he supposed to name each one after some distinctive trait?
Lin Ze felt he'd never remember them all.
After all, he still hadn't named the second Blue Rare Death Soldier.
"A name... Zhao, Qian, Sun, Li; Zhou, Wu, Zheng, Wang... Picking a surname is easy enough. I can just borrow from the Hundred Family Surnames."
"As for a given name... Should I just use a number?"
"In that case, I'll call you Zhao Yi."
Zhao Yi nodded at that.
"You have Alchemy. What grade of alchemist are you now?"
"Reporting to Master, my Alchemy is currently equivalent to that of a Second-Grade Alchemist."
Lin Ze's eyes widened.
A Second-Grade Alchemist right off the bat!?
Was Proficient Grade really that powerful?
He knew that for ordinary skills like business and hunting, reaching Proficient Grade probably took more than a decade of practice.
But he wasn't sure how that translated to the alchemist system, so he questioned Zhao Yi in detail.
"Reporting to Master, Proficient Grade is roughly equivalent to First- through Third-Grade Alchemists."
Zhao Yi spoke expressionlessly.
"So you can keep improving and reach the level of a Third-Grade Alchemist?" Lin Ze asked in surprise.
"Yes."
"Can you keep advancing and reach the level of a Fourth-Grade Alchemist?"
Lin Ze asked on a sudden whim.
"No. A Third-Grade Alchemist is the limit of my aptitude."
Zhao Yi replied without hesitation.
Lin Ze nodded in understanding.
The alchemist profession on the Dou Qi Continent truly demanded great talent.
The first hurdle was that without an innate Fire and Wood Attribute, it was very difficult to become an alchemist.
And having the Fire and Wood Attribute was only the first step.
Some people became Alchemist Apprentices but spent their whole lives stuck at the First or Second Grade.
Being able to reach the level of a Third-Grade Alchemist was already quite impressive.
Lin Ze then questioned Zhao Yi further, learning more about the alchemist system and the Bronze Mirror's skill grades.
The Bronze Mirror's skill grades could roughly be divided into Introductory, Proficient, Expert, and Master.
In the alchemist system, Introductory was equivalent to an Alchemist Apprentice.
Proficient corresponded to First- through Third-Grade Alchemists.
Expert corresponded to Fourth- through Sixth-Grade Alchemists.
Master corresponded to Seventh-Grade Alchemists and above.
After learning this, Lin Ze was secretly glad that the Blue Rare Death Soldier had come with a Proficient Grade skill.
He had skipped the Alchemist Apprentice stage entirely.
Otherwise, Lin Ze would have had to spend a great deal of resources supporting him.
"Wait. According to Zhao Yi, the skill grade he possesses is equivalent to the limit of his talent..."
"That means if a Death Soldier really only has Introductory Grade Alchemy, he'll never become a true First-Grade Alchemist in his entire life."
After questioning Zhao Yi, Lin Ze sent him off to cultivate.
Although he possessed Alchemy equivalent to that of a Second-Grade Alchemist, he was still an ordinary person.
On the Dou Qi Continent, alchemists advanced their cultivation and Alchemy side by side. Low-level cultivators could hardly become high-level alchemists.
Let alone an ordinary person becoming a Second-Grade Alchemist.
Only the Bronze Mirror's power could make that possible.
"Zhao Yi will have to become a Dou Zhe and cultivate a Fire Attribute Cultivation Method before he can start refining pills."
"He has everything else he needs. He's just lacking cultivation."
"Unfortunately, alchemy is a long process. The three minutes of Proxy State are completely useless."
"No, Proxy State borrows my power. If I enter Proxy State, Zhao Yi's attribute will become Wind Attribute, so he won't be able to refine pills at all."
Lin Ze rubbed his temples in frustration.
At first, he had been delighted to summon a Death Soldier with Alchemy.
But the more he thought about it, the more problems he saw.
"Even so, Zhao Yi is unquestionably the most important Death Soldier!"
The next morning, Lin Ze received the spoils collected by the Death Soldiers.
"Huo Lie's Fire Attribute Cultivation Method is just right for Zhao Yi."
"These Dou Skills don't seem very suitable for me..."
Lin Ze thought for a while, then shook his head.
"They're all Yellow Tier High-Grade Dou Skills, so there's no need to take them too seriously. The lowest-grade techniques in that ruin are Xuan Tier Dou Techniques."
"There seems to be one in that ruin that suits me."
"Mad Lion Chant, which Mu She was originally supposed to get?"
Lin Ze sent the Death Soldiers in Fire Wolf Town toward Qingshan Town.
Before he had Death Soldiers, he had to explore ruins himself and deal with any trouble along the way.
Now that he had them, if he still had to handle the trouble himself, what was the point of summoning them?
So Lin Ze naturally sent those Death Soldiers to the area around Qingshan Town.
They would search for the location of that ruin.
Although Lin Ze didn't know the exact location of the ruin,
he did know it was near one of Wan Yao Zhai's medicinal-herb gathering sites.
To be safe, Lin Ze asked Xiao Yi Xian about all of Wan Yao Zhai's gathering sites.
Only one was in a Sunken Basin.
They only needed to search from the Sunken Basin toward Qingshan Town, sweeping in a fan shape for places with cliffs, valleys, and similar terrain.
As Lin Ze was thinking this, Xiao Yi Xian's door opened. She saw him sitting at the Stone Table.
Xiao Yi Xian came over with a bright smile and sat down in front of Lin Ze, bringing a waft of fragrance with her.
"Hm? Is that a Storage Ring on your finger?"
Xiao Yi Xian had been about to greet Lin Ze when she noticed the Storage Ring on his finger and couldn't help exclaiming in surprise.
"Yeah. One of my men was adventuring in the Magical Beast Mountain Range and happened to find it."
Hearing Lin Ze say this so casually, Xiao Yi Xian's eyes filled with envy.
That thought surfaced in her mind again: where did Lin Ze find so many subordinates who were so fiercely loyal to him?
A Storage Ring cost at least tens of thousands of gold coins.
That was enough to make the vast majority of mercenaries greedy.
Xiao Yi Xian was certain that if an ordinary mercenary found a Storage Ring, most would keep it for themselves.
They wouldn't hand it over to Lin Ze's subordinate without hesitation.
And judging by the look of it, he had brought it over first thing at dawn.
Not only were Lin Ze's subordinates loyal, they were also so thoughtful.
Xiao Yi Xian pursed her crystal-pink lips and couldn't help telling Lin Ze,
"Lin Ze, I've realized I'm so envious of you that I'm starting to get jealous!"
Lin Ze: ???
Before you continue