A Rapidly Warming Relationship

A trace of surprise flashed across Xue Mei's delicate, radiant face.

Her small mouth parted slightly, as though she understood why her teacher had insisted on taking this young man as his disciple.

This talent...

Although Xue Mei had yet to undergo the assessment for Tier 1 Alchemist, she was quite proficient in some basic Alchemy Techniques. In particular, she had observed President Frank refine pills many times and knew how to judge a pill's quality.

At the very least, she could tell whether a Grade One Pill was good or bad.

Xue Mei could tell at a glance that this Spring Return Powder was of exceptional quality.

Although the discarded materials beside it showed that Gu Fengchen had gone through many attempts, for his first successful refinement to produce such quality... Though she was unwilling to admit it, Xue Mei had to concede that his talent truly surpassed her own.

After thinking for a moment, Xue Mei said earnestly, "Junior Brother, your talent really is remarkable. If you have any questions about Alchemy Technique, you can come find me."

Gu Fengchen nodded. "Thank you, Senior Sister!"

At that moment, Xue Mei took two books from her Storage Ring and placed them on Gu Fengchen's table. She explained, "These are books I read when I first started out. I think they're quite valuable. Once you finish them, we can discuss them together."

"Alright, Senior Sister!"

Xue Mei sat beside Gu Fengchen, turning the pages as she introduced some of the book's contents.

The two sat very close together, their shoulders nearly touching.

Her breath was fragrant, and her voice soft and sweet.

Smelling the faint fragrance from her body, Gu Fengchen found his thoughts beginning to wander.

A lone man and woman sharing a room, happily discussing matters of Alchemy Technique together.

It was like the male and female leads in a youthful campus romance studying together after class—quiet and warm.

"Teacher, this Gu Fengchen is simply a monster!"

Others might not have noticed, but Jia Xingtian had. In just two short days, Gu Fengchen had risen from having only just advanced to Dou Shi to becoming a Four Star Dou Shi.

The grandfather and granddaughter had witnessed Gu Fengchen's growth firsthand. That was precisely why they were even more shocked.

Two days of improvement was enough to match the efforts of ordinary cultivators over several months, or even a year.

Yaoye felt that having a younger brother like this put far too much pressure on her!

However, Yaoye's own cultivation talent was only average. That was why she devoted more of her attention to recruiting talented people.

"Do you think he will be loyal to the Jia Ma Imperial Family?"

Yaoye was no fool. Although she had offered Gu Fengchen a few minor favors today, they were ultimately only minor favors. She could not determine where he stood.

"For someone like him, as long as he does not stand against us, that is already enough." Jia Xingtian stroked his white beard, his expression quite calm.

In Gu Fengchen's room, he and Xue Mei discussed matters for half an hour. Then, remembering that Frank still had to teach her Alchemy Technique, Xue Mei reluctantly left Gu Fengchen's room.

Breathing in the lingering fragrance in the room, Gu Fengchen suddenly felt that the Dou Qi Continent was truly quite interesting.

Although this world had none of those experienced forum drivers, and Mount Akina's roads lay desolate, the tire tracks in Gu Fengchen's memories still recorded the dashing figures of those veteran drivers.

Gu Fengchen took a deep breath, cast aside his tangled thoughts, and calmed himself before sitting cross-legged to cultivate.

By now, the impurities in his body had been cleansed away. As he cultivated, even the skin around his body emitted a glow like warm jade.

Golden flames quietly refined the surrounding Dou Qi. Cultivation passed amid tireless, arduous practice, until the darkness of night dispersed and daylight shone upon the window.

The next morning, Gu Fengchen changed his clothes and began preparing breakfast.

He generally liked porridge in the mornings—plain rice porridge with a little cold side dish. It tasted quite good.

After eating, he lay beneath a pine tree and let the gentle breeze wash over him. Gu Fengchen comfortably let out a full belch, not wanting to move at all.

The slow mountain breeze lifted the corners of his clothes and his hair, carrying the rich scent of pine nuts and the pleasant sound of pines whispering.

After resting for a while, he put on a black robe and prepared to head out.

Although Gu Fengchen was only eleven years old, he was already 1.73 meters tall. Moreover, due to cultivating the Indestructible Golden Body, his physique was slender and well-proportioned. Once his face was concealed, no one could tell from his build alone that he was merely an eleven-year-old boy.

Today, he planned to auction off the pills Clan Head Gu Yuan had given him, exchanging them for Gold Coins or seeing whether there were any poisons suitable for Xiao Yi Xian to absorb!

Having tasted the benefits, Gu Fengchen naturally intended to carry dual cultivation through to the end.

However, poisons truly were not easy to buy, so Gu Fengchen could only try his luck.

Yet the moment he stepped outside, Gu Fengchen saw a woman in an ancient, elegant purple dress appear before him.

Gu Fengchen smiled and rubbed her head. Xiao Yi Xian asked, "Gu Fengchen, are you heading out?"

"Mm, I have something to take care of. I'll be back this afternoon."

With that, Gu Fengchen turned and left.

Frank and Xue Mei had already returned to Black Rock City last night. Gu Fengchen and Frank had agreed that he would go to Black Rock City once every two weeks to study Alchemy Technique. After all, what mattered most in alchemy was personal practice, so once every two weeks was more than enough.

It was worth mentioning that after Xue Mei left, Xiao Yi Xian actually complained to Gu Fengchen like a little girl, "How annoying. Why is that Xue Mei always clinging to you?"

Gu Fengchen thought for a moment before replying with a smile, "I've become President Frank's disciple now, so she's my Senior Sister. She probably stayed two extra days out of kindness."

"Out of kindness?"

Hearing that, Xiao Yi Xian snorted unhappily again. "Hmph!"

After saying that, she ignored Gu Fengchen in a huff.

Upon arriving in Wutan City, Gu Fengchen did not head straight for the Mitel Auction House. Instead, he decided to try his luck at the Xiao Clan's marketplace first.

Since Xiao Yan could encounter a fortunate opportunity in the marketplace, perhaps he could as well.

Gu Fengchen narrowed his eyes slightly and wandered through the place without any particular destination.

He wanted to test his luck and see whether he could find some Grade One Pill Recipes.

Although he could directly ask Frank for them, Grade One Pill Recipes were extremely precious. It would not be good to keep asking Frank for them.

Still, Grade One Pill Recipes were not cheap, so he had specifically come to these street stalls to see if he could pick up a bargain like Xiao Yan.

However, to Gu Fengchen's disappointment, after wandering around for more than an hour, he did not find a single thing. He left the marketplace in disappointment and could only head to the Mitel Auction House now.

Wutan City, Mitel Auction House.

It was the largest auction venue in Wutan City and was also affiliated with the wealthiest family in the Jia Ma Empire: the Mite'er Family.

The most powerful force in the Jia Ma Empire was undoubtedly the Misty Cloud Sect, followed by the Jia Ma Imperial Family.

Beyond them were the Alchemist Guild and the Three Great Clans.

The Three Great Clans were the Nalan Clan, the Mu Clan, and the Mite'er Family.

The Three Great Clans had influence in the empire's business world, military, and every major sphere of power. Their strength could not be underestimated.

Among the Three Great Clans, if the Ice Emperor Hai Bodong was not counted, the strongest was undoubtedly the Nalan Clan.

First of all, Nalan Yanran's grandfather, Nalan Jie, was one of the Jia Ma Empire's Top Ten Experts and a genuine Dou Wang powerhouse. More importantly, the Nalan Clan was backed by the Misty Cloud Sect, which had countless experts. With that advantage alone, the Nalan Clan stood at the head of the Three Great Clans.