Alchemists Are Filthy Rich

Frank took a transparent, ancient-looking white orb from his Storage Ring and explained to Gu Fengchen, "Young friend Gu Fengchen, this Spirit Testing Orb is a Magic Tool used by our Alchemist Guild to test Soul Power. You said before that you possess a trace of Wood Attribute Dou Qi within your fire-attributed body. Then, as long as your Soul Power is sufficient, you have the aptitude to become an alchemist."

For alchemists, the first and most important thing was a flame source—the fire needed for alchemy.

Ordinary fire could not be used to refine pills. One had to use Dou Qi Flame catalyzed from Fire Attribute Dou Qi. Of course, Heavenly Flames would be even better.

But where could one find so many Heavenly Flames in this world? Most people could only cultivate Fire Attribute techniques and use Dou Qi Flame as a substitute.

Using Heavenly Flames for alchemy not only greatly increased the success rate, but the pills refined would also have stronger and more potent effects than those made with ordinary Dou Qi Flame.

Beyond that came Soul Perception.

It could be understood as control.

Because Soul Perception ultimately came down to controlling the heat.

Alchemy was delicate work. Sometimes, if the heat was even slightly too high, an entire batch of pills would turn to ash, rendering all previous efforts useless.

Controlling the heat required powerful Soul Perception.

Gu Fengchen nodded and placed his hand on the Spirit Testing Orb.

"Alright. Now, try to immerse your mind in it," Frank prompted from the side.

Gu Fengchen took a deep breath and followed Frank's instructions, immersing his mind within it.

Very quickly, Gu Fengchen seemed to fall into complete stillness. Even his breathing grew increasingly faint.

The next moment, a faint glow appeared on the Spirit Testing Orb. Frank froze for a moment, then watched as the glow gradually brightened, delight rising in his eyes.

On this continent, regardless of one's talent, anyone with the aptitude to become an alchemist was already luckier than ninety-nine percent of people.

In truth, Gu Fengchen had only immersed a small portion of his mind into the Spirit Testing Orb. He had not expected it to be so sensitive.

He stopped while he was ahead. By Gu Fengchen's estimation, if he fully immersed himself, the Spirit Testing Orb would probably explode on the spot.

Like putting a five-hundred-pound fat man on a two-hundred-pound scale.

Seeing Frank's blazing gaze, he knew that he truly possessed the aptitude to become an alchemist.

Frank took a deep breath and said seriously, "Young friend Gu Fengchen, your aptitude is even several degrees better than Mei'er's was back then. You... would you be willing to take me as your master?"

Frank was a straightforward man. Since he had found a promising seedling, he was willing to cultivate him.

You want to be my teacher?

Gu Fengchen mocked inwardly, then said in a deep voice, "I already have a teacher."

"What a pity." Frank's face was full of disappointment.

"However, you are my senior. I can still call you Teacher," Gu Fengchen said, not completely shutting him down.

"Hahahaha, good, good, good."

Of course, Frank, Fa Ma, and the others were limited by their own talents. They likely could not achieve much more in this lifetime, so they all hoped to cultivate even more outstanding juniors. That was the so-called competitive mentality.

Though he was not truly Gu Fengchen's teacher, hearing him say "Teacher" still made Frank feel quite pleased.

"Very good. Then from today onward, when you see Xue Mei, you must call her Senior Sister as well." The smile on Frank's face grew even brighter.

Gu Fengchen gave a chuckle but did not refuse. He would just treat it as playing a bit of roleplay with Xue Mei.

After thinking for a moment, Frank said, "I can give you some advice on Alchemy Technique, but if it is cultivation you are concerned with, I suggest you go to either the Misty Cloud Sect or Jia Nan Academy."

Frank got into character quickly—so quickly that even Gu Fengchen was a little taken aback.

Gu Fengchen considered it, then asked seriously, "Then... which one do you think is better?"

Frank thought for a moment before replying, "The two paths are completely different. The Misty Cloud Sect follows a master-disciple system. If you can cultivate to a sufficiently high level in the future, you may have a chance to control part of the Misty Cloud Sect's power. I heard that the Nalan Clan's young lady, Nalan Yanran, has entered the Misty Cloud Sect. But over there, there is more intrigue and infighting. Jia Nan Academy is comparatively more straightforward. The only downside is that you must leave Jia Nan Academy after graduation, though its overall level is somewhat higher than the Misty Cloud Sect's."

Gu Fengchen froze, mainly because he had heard a familiar name: Nalan Yanran.

Nalan Yanran did not actually have much of a role, but without that broken engagement back then, there would have been no classic line: "Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river. Don't Bully a Young Man for Being Poor."

Gu Fengchen still remembered that, when he was in school in his previous life, there had been an exceptionally chuunibyou classmate.

He often mocked his classmates, with words like "idiot" and "mediocre trash" constantly on his lips.

When the teacher called him to the office to reprimand him, he would say, "Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river. Don't Bully a Young Man for Being Poor."

Yes, a purebred overgrown problem child.

By age, Nalan Yanran was three years older than Xiao Yan.

(Do not argue with me, lore nerds. Potato's early timelines were a bit of a mess, but based on the three-year agreement, Xiao Yan was seventeen and Nalan Yanran was twenty, and both were Da Dou Shi.)

And Nalan Yanran seemed to have entered the Misty Cloud Sect at the age of ten, so the timing was about right.

Should I join the Misty Cloud Sect and win over Nalan Yanran?

After thinking it over, Gu Fengchen abandoned the idea.

First, Nalan Yanran herself did not have many resources. Her early role was simply to provoke Xiao Yan—provoke him relentlessly. There was no point in seeking out that girl.

Second, if he went to the Misty Cloud Sect, how would he dual cultivate with his Xiao Yi Xian?

Seeing Gu Fengchen remain silent, Frank hesitantly asked, "What is it? You do not want to go?"

Gu Fengchen waved his hand. "No one said that joining the Misty Cloud Sect means I cannot enter Jia Nan Academy. I am not hung up on that. I simply do not plan to join either of them for now. I will decide after I have grown stronger for a while."

"That is fine." Frank nodded. It was a good thing for a child to have his own opinions.

As they spoke, Frank flicked his finger, and a Storage Ring flew before Gu Fengchen.

"There are some basic materials inside. Since you are the owner of the Myriad Medicine Pavilion, you should not lack materials. The main thing is that there is a Medicine Cauldron inside. Consider it your master's gift upon our first meeting."

The moment Gu Fengchen heard there was even a Medicine Cauldron, he immediately bowed in gratitude!

Damn it, alchemists really were filthy rich.

After all, beyond talent, alchemists also needed resources.

Even a random low-grade Medicinal Herb cost dozens of Gold Coins, not to mention Magic Cores. A Tier 1 Magic Core could sell for five or six hundred Gold Coins.

Alchemists were not gods. Without top-quality materials, even the most skillful housewife could not cook without rice. Only good materials could be turned into good pills!

And Medicine Cauldrons were equally expensive. Even the worst ones cost over a thousand Gold Coins each. Although Gu Fengchen was now the owner of the Myriad Medicine Pavilion, he did not have much money on hand.