A Gaze from Afar

The Flame Market of Wutan City had never been this prosperous.

Ever since the Aoba Clan introduced medicinal pills of a quality far surpassing their peers, the entire city's alchemy landscape had been completely rewritten. And when the mysterious Miss Ya Fei of the Miteer Auction House officially announced that they were accepting "custom flame" commissions, the entire market fell into a state of near-manic frenzy.

Countless mercenaries and adventurers treated the Magical Beast Mountain Range as their own backyard, desperately hunting down magical beasts that possessed innate beast fires.

Because they knew that as long as they could bring back a qualified beast fire, they would have the chance to exchange it through the Miteer Auction House for wealth enough to change their destiny.

Ya Fei stood before the window of the top-floor secret chamber, overlooking the bustling streets below, a satisfied smile gracing her stunning, world-toppling face.

She loved this feeling of having everything under her control.

Wutan City, this remote little town on the edge of the empire, had now become a chessboard that she and that man could manipulate at will.

And this was merely the beginning.

Jia Ma Empire, the Imperial Capital, Saint Jia Ma City.

This place was the power center of the entire empire, teeming with experts and filled with countless sects.

The headquarters of the Alchemist Guild was located in the most core district of the Imperial Capital. The Pill Tower, carved from a single piece of Obsidian, stood like a sharp sword piercing the firmament, shrouded year-round in the rich fragrance of pills; it was the holy land in the hearts of countless alchemists.

On the top floor of the Pill Tower, inside a simple and ancient quiet room.

An old man wearing moon-white alchemist robes was closing his eyes to rest. His hair and beard were snow-white, yet his complexion was as rosy as an infant's. There was not a shred of Dou Qi fluctuation on his body, yet the massive soul pressure that leaked out inadvertently was enough to make any Dou King expert feel their breath hitch in this place.

He was the President of the Jia Ma Empire Alchemist Guild, a sixth-tier alchemist, Fa Ma.

An attendant walked in silently and gently placed a piece of encrypted intelligence, specially crafted from magical beast hide, onto the sandalwood table beside him.

"President, an urgent secret report from the Wutan City branch."

Fa Ma did not even lift his eyelids, merely waving his hand casually.

Wutan City?

What could possibly happen in that remote little place, almost forgotten, that would be worth his attention?

The attendant bowed and retreated.

Inside the quiet room, tranquility was restored once more.

After a long while, Fa Ma opened his eyes with a sense of listlessness, picked up the clear tea on the table, and swept his gaze casually over the intelligence.

"Wutan City... Flame Master... custom flames of any attribute..."

He muttered the keywords on the page, a faint, indifferent smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

Yet another ignorant little fellow making a name for himself in the boondocks, thinking he could ascend to the heavens in a single step. He had seen too many such things.

Just as he was about to toss the intelligence aside, his movements suddenly froze.

His gaze was locked onto the end of the report.

There, attached was a page personally written by Otto, containing a detailed description of the "Purple-Cyan Dual-Effect Fire."

Between the lines, it was filled with a near-manic worship and fanaticism; every detail, every fusion of characteristics, was dissected to the fullest extent using the most precise language a fourth-tier alchemist could muster.

The faint smile on Fa Ma's face vanished.

The hand holding the teacup froze in mid-air.

For the first time, ripples appeared in his ancient, unruffled eyes.

He knew Otto's personality very well. That was an old fellow so rigorous he was practically pedantic; it was absolutely impossible for him to exaggerate in such a matter.

High-temperature explosion, and gentle penetration.

Two diametrically opposed characteristics, perfectly coexisting within a single flame?

This...

How could this be possible!

This had completely violated the common sense of the alchemy world!

Fa Ma slowly set down the teacup, and for the first time, two terrifying rays of sharp light shot out from his murky, aged eyes.

He extended two withered fingers and picked up that thin piece of intelligence once more.

This time, his expression was grave as never before.

Imperial Capital Alchemist Guild, Elder Council Chamber.

Around a massive circular stone table sat seven or eight old men with profound auras. Every one of them was a fifth-tier alchemy master and a Dou King-level expert who could make the empire's alchemy world tremble with a single stomp of their feet.

At this moment, the atmosphere in the hall seemed somewhat strange.

"It is simply nonsense!"

A red-haired elder with a fiery temper slammed the intelligence onto the table and shouted angrily.

"Custom flames? Who does he think he is? Even Pill King Gu He wouldn't dare make such a boast! I think that Otto has gone senile, being swindled by someone in a border town!"

"One cannot say it that way."

Another elder with a feminine face spoke in a measured, unhurried tone.

"The Miteer Chamber of Commerce has also attached a confirmation letter. That little girl Ya Fei is sharp as a tack; she wouldn't joke about something like this. I fear this matter is not without foundation."

"Hmph, even if it is true, so what?"

The red-haired elder let out a cold snort.

"It is merely the mastery of some obscure method for refining fire. Just send someone over and spend a bit of money to buy the technique. Can a nameless nobody in a border town really turn the world upside down?"

As soon as these words were spoken, they were immediately echoed by several other elders.

In their eyes, this was nothing more than a routine "technical acquisition." With the sheer scale of the Alchemist Guild, crushing a nobody from a remote region should be as easy as turning over one's hand.

"Gentlemen."

Fa Ma, who had remained silent until now, finally spoke slowly.

His voice was not loud, yet it instantly suppressed all the arguments.

The entire conference hall fell into dead silence.

Everyone's gaze converged upon the President.

Fa Ma's fingers tapped lightly against the smooth stone table.

Tap.

"You all see only the four words: 'customized flame'."

His gaze swept slowly across every person present.

"But what I see is another possibility."

"A storm capable of overturning our entire alchemy world!"

He stood up, walked to the massive floor-to-ceiling crystal window, and stood with his hands behind his back, gazing out at the bustling scene of the Imperial Capital.

"If he can customize a 'Purple-Cyan Dual-Effect Fire' for Otto today..."

"Then tomorrow, could he customize a flame for us that increases the success rate of refining Tier 6 medicinal pills?"

"And the day after?"

"Is it even possible for him to... customize for us... a true... Strange Fire?!"

BOOM!

The final sentence struck the minds of all the elders like a thunderbolt from the heavens!

The breathing of everyone present hitched violently at that moment!

The contempt and disdain on their faces vanished instantly, replaced by a sense of horror and shock that emanated from the depths of their souls!

That's right!

How had they not thought of this?

If that customization technique had no upper limit... the value it represented could no longer be measured in gold coins!

It was an endless treasure that would drive the entire Dou Qi Continent into a frenzy!

Cold sweat beaded on the red-haired elder's forehead. He finally realized how foolish and shortsighted his previous remarks about "forced buying and selling" had been.

If he had offended such a mysterious master of fire-refining, he would become a sinner against the entire Guild!

"President, then... what should we do?"

An elder asked with a trembling voice.

Fa Ma turned around, his heavy, deep eyes flashing with the light of wisdom.

"Such a person is no mere creature of the pond; we must not oppose him, only befriend him."

He said in a deep voice.

"High-handed tactics will only invite his resentment and might even push him toward our rivals, such as... the Misty Cloud Sect."

Upon hearing the words "Misty Cloud Sect," the expressions of the elders present shifted slightly.

"Pass on my order."

Fa Ma's voice became resolute and decisive.

"This matter is to be classified as the Guild's highest secret. At the same time, immediately dispatch a special envoy to Wutan City."

He paused, then added.

"Do not reveal your identities, and do not alert anyone. Under the guise of 'academic exchange,' go and meet this mysterious master."

"Remember, your mission is not to probe, and it is not to interrogate."

"It is to express the Alchemist Guild's highest respect and our most sincere... friendship."

"Qie Mi'er."

Fa Ma's gaze fell upon a middle-aged man who had been sitting silently in the corner.

The man had an ordinary face and a restrained aura, making him the most inconspicuous person in the room.

Yet he was Fa Ma's most trusted disciple, a genuine peak-tier Grade 4 Alchemist.

Qie Mi'er stood up and bowed respectfully toward Fa Ma.

"This disciple is here."

"You, go there yourself."

Fa Ma took an ancient, emerald-green jade pendant from his robes and handed it over.

"Take my token with you."

"Tell that master that the doors of the Jia Ma Empire Alchemist Guild will always be open to him."

Wutan City, Miteer Auction House.

Su Chen was standing before a massive map with Ya Fei, discussing their upcoming plans.

"According to intelligence, there is a high probability that traces of a Strange Fire exist deep within the Tagor Desert, near the tribe of Queen Medusa."

Ya Fei's slender finger tapped the vast yellow region on the map.

"Green Lotus Core Flame."

Su Chen whispered the name.

This was his next target, one he was determined to obtain.

Now that Xiao Yan was gone and he had lost his most stable "data source," he had to take the initiative and hunt for a real Strange Fire.

Just as they were discussing the details, neither of them noticed.

On the official road outside the city.

A carriage with an ordinary exterior but an incredibly luxurious interior was traveling toward Wutan City at a steady, unhurried pace.

The wheels rolled on, kicking up a trail of dust.

Behind that dust lay the direction of the Imperial Capital.

A storm originating from the Imperial Capital was quietly sweeping toward this remote little city.