Ya Fei's arrival carried an unusual solemnity.
She didn't lean against the doorframe and smile sweetly as she usually did. Instead, she walked straight into the dilapidated little courtyard and gently set a scroll wrapped in fine silk on the stone table in front of Su Chen.
Even her fiery red qipao seemed to have shed all its usual allure, leaving only the sharpness and efficiency of a queen of commerce.
"A request."
Ya Fei got straight to the point, her voice entirely free of languor.
"Or rather, a test."
Su Chen's gaze shifted from the teacup in his hand to the exquisite scroll.
"Master Otto, president of the Alchemist Guild in Wutan City."
Ya Fei lightly tapped the scroll with her jade-like finger.
"He's run into a problem. One that's troubled him for nearly a month and cost him three furnaces' worth of precious medicinal ingredients."
She paused, seeming to gather her thoughts as she described just how difficult the problem was.
"He needs to refine a third-tier pill, the Purple Spirit Pill."
"One of the main ingredients in the recipe is called Amethyst Companion Grass. Its outer layer is wrapped in a thin shell of purple crystal, and the energy within it is incredibly stubborn. Melting it requires an extremely high temperature and sustained burning."
"But at the same time, the medicinal essence inside the crystal shell is extremely fragile. It needs an absolutely stable, gentle flame to slowly penetrate it and bring out its medicinal properties."
Ya Fei lifted her eyes and gazed at the shadow beneath his hat.
"Explosive heat and gentle stability."
"Two entirely opposite traits—in fact, you could say they're in conflict—must exist within the same flame."
"Master Otto tried every Beast Flame in the guild's reserves, but failed each time. Either the temperature wasn't high enough to melt the crystal shell, or the flame was too violent and destroyed the essence inside as soon as it melted the shell."
"He's nearly been driven mad."
Ya Fei's red lips curved into a meaningful smile.
"That's his predicament, but it's also your opportunity."
"If you can solve this problem for him, what you'll gain won't be just gold coins or an ally like the Aoba Clan."
"You'll gain the friendship of the entire Alchemist Guild of Wutan City."
"From now on, you won't just be a mysterious supplier of Kindling."
"You'll become a master whom every alchemist will need to rely on."
Her words were like a stone tossed into a lake, sending invisible ripples across the silent courtyard.
Su Chen reached out and picked up the scroll.
That gesture was his answer.
"I'll need a few things."
His voice came from beneath his hat, steady and calm.
"Name them."
A glint flashed in Ya Fei's eyes.
"One Rock Fire Seed. One Green Phosphorus Fire Seed."
Su Chen paused, then added a third item.
"And the innate Beast Flame of a third-tier Wind-Runner Wolf. I need it as fresh as possible."
Ya Fei's brows furrowed almost imperceptibly.
The first two made sense to her. Rock Fire was heavy and stable. Green Phosphorus Fire was sinister and excelled at penetration.
But the Wind-Runner Wolf's Beast Flame... its traits were agility and swiftness, which clashed even more with the other two.
He meant to forcibly blend three flames with completely different attributes?
This was no longer flame refinement.
In the eyes of any alchemist, this was playing with fire and getting burned!
* * *
In the deepest part of the Alchemist Guild was a secret chamber.
It was Master Otto's private pill-refining room.
The walls were built from a black stone that could block energy fluctuations, and the floor was carved with a complex flame-gathering array.
The air was thick with the fragrance of medicinal herbs, along with a faint, charred smell from ingredients ruined during refinement.
Master Otto, his hair and beard completely white, sat in the main seat looking utterly exhausted. His eyes were sunken and bloodshot, clear signs that he hadn't rested properly in days.
Ya Fei stood quietly beside him, serving as the introducer and guarantor for this meeting.
When Su Chen appeared in the doorway, Otto's cloudy old eyes merely swept over him before losing interest.
Too young.
Though his hat hid his face, his slender frame and steady aura made it obvious that he couldn't be very old.
Otto simply couldn't connect the mysterious man before him with the "master" Ya Fei claimed could solve his enormous problem.
If not for the Mittel Family's sake, he wouldn't have wasted his time on this meeting.
Su Chen paid no mind to his scrutiny.
He walked straight to the center of the chamber and placed three Kindling Seeds, each sealed in specially made crystal, on the ground.
One was thick and orange-red.
One was cold and emerald-green.
The last was a restless, flickering blue flame, alive with the nature of wind.
"Three Beast Flames?"
Master Otto's brows knitted even tighter, and his voice carried a trace of restrained impatience and doubt.
"Young man, if you're just hoping to get lucky with these, then forgive an old man for speaking bluntly: you're wasting everyone's time."
"I've exhausted everything I've learned in my life and still can't perfectly fuse two flames with different attributes. How could I possibly fuse three?"
Su Chen didn't answer his doubts.
He simply turned to look at Ya Fei.
"I need absolute quiet."
"Miss Ya Fei can stay as a witness."
The words made Ya Fei's heart give a slight leap.
She understood that this was both a sign of trust and an undisguised display.
He meant to let her witness with her own eyes how he created a miracle.
Ya Fei nodded and inclined her head slightly to Master Otto. Though Otto remained deeply doubtful, he still waved a hand, signaling the other alchemist apprentices in the room to leave.
The heavy stone door slowly closed.
Only the three of them remained in the chamber.
Su Chen sat cross-legged, facing the three Kindling Seeds.
Slowly, he closed his eyes.
The next moment—
An indescribable, primordial aura, as if it had come from the ancient wilderness, silently spread from his body!
This aura wasn't Dou Qi.
It was more like... a will.
An absolute will that stood above all things and could command every flame beneath the heavens!
Ya Fei's breath caught in her throat.
She saw Su Chen extend both hands, palms down, hovering above the three Kindling Seeds.
No Dou Qi surged. No array was activated.
And yet the three Kindling Seeds sealed in crystal began to tremble violently without warning!
Buzz—
Three strands of flame, each a different color, pierced straight through the crystal seals. An invisible force forcibly drew them out of the very cores of the Kindling Seeds!
The orange-red strand was as heavy as a mountain.
The emerald-green strand was as sinister and cold as a snake.
The blue strand was as nimble as the wind.
The three strands of flame, their attributes utterly opposed, were exposed to the air, radiating fierce rejection and hostility toward one another.
"How... how is this possible?!"
Master Otto could no longer remain composed. He sprang to his feet, his cloudy old eyes filled with incredulous shock!
He'd drawn out the essence of Beast Flames with his bare hands?!
What kind of terrifying control over fire was that! It had gone completely beyond the bounds of what he, a fourth-tier alchemist, could understand!
Yet an even more hair-raising sight followed.
Su Chen's hands began forming an ancient, profound seal he had never seen before.
His movements were unhurried, but every shift seemed to stir some rule of the world.
Under his seal, the three restless, violent strands of flame were forcibly pressed together!
Hiss! Hiss! Hiss!
The shrill screech of grinding energy rang through the chamber.
The three flames twisted, bit, and clashed against one another, trying to devour each other completely.
The temperature in the entire chamber swung wildly, now scorching as a furnace, now cold as an ice cellar. The violent ripples of energy made the flame-gathering array on the floor flicker erratically!
Ya Fei's pretty face had gone pale.
She could feel that if the energy spiraled out of control, it would level this sturdy chamber in an instant!
At the center of the storm, beads of sweat had already appeared on Su Chen's forehead. His face was deathly pale.
This wasn't an act.
This kind of creative fusion consumed his mental strength to an unprecedented, terrifying degree.
He had to maintain absolute concentration, like the finest craftsman, forcibly smelting three completely different materials, removing their impurities, then reforging them into an entirely new work of art!
"Fuse!"
A low, soft cry came from beneath his hat.
Su Chen's hands snapped together!
Under the suppression of his final seal, the three endlessly writhing strands of flame let out an unwilling wail, then finally fused into one!
All the violent energy instantly subsided.
All the strange phenomena vanished without a trace.
A brand-new flame hovered quietly above Su Chen's palm.
It was no bigger than a thumb.
Its outer flames were a scorching orange-red, as if they could melt everything in the world.
But at its heart burned a pea-sized spot of steady, blue-green light, giving off a strange fluctuation that was gentle yet powerfully penetrative.
Two conflicting traits had reached a perfect balance within one tiny flame—a feat worthy of a miracle!
"Phew..."
Su Chen let out a long breath and swayed slightly, as if he'd exhausted every last ounce of strength.
He slowly opened his eyes, sealed the newborn flame inside an empty crystal, and gently pushed it toward Master Otto, who was already gaping in astonishment.
Otto's body trembled violently.
He wasn't afraid. He was overwhelmed with excitement!
He crossed the room in three quick strides and rushed to the table, his hands trembling as he picked up the crystal.
His cloudy old eyes fixed on the flame as if he were looking at a rare treasure.
He didn't even need to test it.
The aura of its perfect fusion had already told him everything he needed to know.
This was the perfect flame he'd dreamed of!
"M-Master!"
Thud!
This fourth-tier alchemist, highly respected throughout Wutan City and treated with courtesy even by the city lord, dropped to one knee before Su Chen without the slightest hesitation!
His voice trembled with excitement, filled with reverence and fervor from the depths of his soul.
"P-please accept Otto's bow!"
"I've never heard of such miraculous flame-refining art! I've never seen anything like it!"
Watching this, Ya Fei felt the heart she'd held in her throat finally settle back into place.
Then, a joy a hundred times greater than the thrill of their successful auction swept through her!
She knew she'd bet right!
She slowly stepped forward, her clear, melodious voice ringing through the silent chamber.
"Master Otto, there's no need for such ceremony."
"Starting today, my partner here will officially offer a new service to all top-tier clients through my Miteer Auction House."
Ya Fei's gaze swept over the miraculous flame, and her red lips curved into a smile capable of toppling kingdoms.
"We don't sell Kindling Seeds."
"We offer customization."
Before you continue