Ya Fei could not help thinking of Lu Heng in her courtyard.
Xiao Yan had reached the eighth stage at nine, and all eyes were on him.
If they learned that someone was about to attempt a breakthrough to Dou Zhe at nine, wouldn't their jaws hit the floor?
Gu Ni sighed. "Miss, you certainly know how to keep your composure."
Then he thought of the boy she had brought back three years ago, the one living in her courtyard, and asked quietly:
"Miss, how talented is that Lu Heng boy at cultivation? I truly don't understand why you brought a child like him home. You must know the rumors going around the family about you."
At that, the corners of Ya Fei's mouth lifted, but she did not answer his question directly.
"Uncle Gu Ni, time will give you the answer."
In a small room in the rear courtyard,
Lu Heng was immersed in a strange state.
The Dou Qi that had once filled his body had vanished completely. In its place, within his lower abdomen, was a palm-sized azure Qi Vortex.
This was the mark of a Dou Zhe.
And Lu Heng could clearly sense that his Qi Vortex was different from an ordinary person's.
An ordinary person's Qi Vortex was gaseous. His, however, had a faintly viscous, liquid quality, a lush green like a pool of jade.
Liquid Dou Qi was the mark of a Dou Master. Lu Heng was delighted. His special advantage really was powerful.
"Phew..."
Lu Heng slowly opened his eyes and breathed out a mouthful of stale air.
The world before him seemed clearer than ever.
The sound of falling leaves outside, the faint movements in the next room, even the dust trapped beneath his blanket—none escaped his senses.
Before Lu Heng could take stock of the changes in his body, the golden Book of Destiny in his mind trembled again.
Its tightly shut second page slowly turned.
[The Dou Zhe has emerged; the Five Elements generate one another!] [Unlock conditions met: break through to Dou Zhe and form a Qi Vortex.] [Obtained the Li Fire Body Awakening Method. Requires five Second-Tier Fire Attribute Magic Cores and ten second-grade Fire Attribute medicinal herbs.] [Li Fire Body: increases cultivation speed and resistance to flame, grants high resistance to cold poison and other ice-attribute attacks, and boosts explosive power in battle!] [Azure Wood Body can be enhanced. Requires five Second-Tier Wood Attribute Magic Cores and ten second-grade Wood Attribute medicinal herbs.] [Art advancement: Five Spirits Chaos Art (Dou Practitioner Chapter): allows Fire and Wood Attribute Dou Qi to circulate simultaneously.] [Obtained Dou Techniques: Azure Wood Seal (Low-Level Xuan Rank), Blazing Sun Finger (Low-Level Xuan Rank).] [Obtained alchemist inheritance: Pharmacopoeia of Ten Thousand Worlds: Volume I—pill formulas and alchemy techniques of the fourth grade and below.]
Lu Heng's attention was wholly captured by the contents of the Book of Destiny.
The Li Fire Body Awakening Method!
The Five Spirits Chaos Art was exactly what Lu Heng had suspected: an art that could command Five Elements Dou Qi.
And now, with the Mutual Generation of the Five Elements—wood feeding fire—he possessed both Fire and Wood Attribute Dou Qi!
Those were the basic requirements for becoming an alchemist on the Dou Qi Continent. Coupled with his Mid-Stage Mortal Realm Soul Realm, becoming a Fourth-Grade Alchemist was only a matter of time.
Lu Heng then followed the cultivation method of the Five Spirits Chaos Art's Dou Practitioner Chapter.
In mere moments, an unprecedented heat surged from deep within his dantian.
Beside the once-pure azure Qi Vortex, a faint wisp of crimson appeared, as though something had caught fire, and wound itself around it.
The crimson and azure wood Dou Qi nurtured each other and intertwined, yet neither interfered with the other.
Once his excitement subsided, Lu Heng looked at the materials needed to awaken and enhance his physiques.
[Li Fire Body awakening materials: five Second-Tier Fire Attribute Magic Cores and ten second-grade Fire Attribute medicinal herbs.] [Azure Wood Body enhancement materials: five Second-Tier Wood Attribute Magic Cores and ten second-grade Wood Attribute medicinal herbs.]
But they were expensive!
Together, the two sets of materials would cost nearly a hundred thousand gold coins. Without Sister Ya Fei, Lu Heng truly would not know how to get them.
What did cultivation run on?
Resources.
And where was Lu Heng, a boy with no background, supposed to get so many Gold Soul Coins? Without them, how could he even dream of reaching the Dou Zhe realm this early?
"Looks like I'll need Sister Ya Fei to support me again." Lu Heng chuckled.
Once I've awakened the Li Fire Body and spent some time consolidating my strength, I'll join Jia Nan Academy.
Lu Heng pondered the idea.
The Jia Ma Empire was too small in the end. Across the Northwest Continent, Jia Nan Academy was the only place worth entering.
Before entering Jia Nan Academy, though, Lu Heng planned to visit Green Mountain Town and secure the Flying Dou Technique first.
He could get to know Xiao Yi Xian while he was there, but he had no way to resolve her Woe Poison Physique. Perhaps the Book of Destiny would give him an answer someday.
Lu Heng had tried communicating with the Book of Destiny, but it never responded. It only granted rewards when he fulfilled certain conditions. For now, all he knew was that advancing to a new major realm could earn him arts and other rewards.
For instance, reaching the Dou Qi stage had earned him an art, while reaching Dou Zhe had earned him an alchemist's inheritance.
One thing still puzzled Lu Heng, though: why did the Book of Destiny offer multiple physiques? Were the five meant to merge into one?
Unable to figure it out for the moment, Lu Heng glanced at his status panel in the Book of Destiny.
[Name: Lu Heng] [Age: nine] [Cultivation: One-Star Dou Ze] [Soul Realm: Mortal Realm (mid-stage)] [Physiques: Azure Wood Body (First Tier), Li Fire Body (unawakened)] [Art: Five Spirits Chaos Art (Dou Practitioner Chapter)] [Dou Techniques: Azure Wood Seal (Low-Level Xuan Rank), Blazing Sun Finger (Low-Level Xuan Rank)] [Profession: alchemist]
Lu Heng clenched his fist, felt the abundant power within him, and smiled in satisfaction.
"Next comes the problem of money."
Five Second-Tier Fire Attribute Magic Cores, five Second-Tier Wood Attribute Magic Cores, and twenty second-grade medicinal herbs.
In Wutan City, a single Second-Tier Magic Core sold for roughly three to four thousand gold coins, depending on its attribute and quality.
Second-grade medicinal herbs were even more sought after. In the original story, Liu Xi, the First-Rank Alchemist hired by the Jia Lie Family, had been able to throw his weight around in Wutan City.
All told, the materials would cost at least a hundred thousand gold coins.
What did a hundred thousand gold coins mean?
That so-called marketplace owned by the Xiao Family only made about that much in net profit each year.
(In the original story, the starting price for the Wind Scroll Art was two hundred thousand. Xiao Yan mentioned then that it amounted to over two years of the Xiao Family's profits.)
Lu Heng scratched his head, flopped back onto his soft pillow, and stared blankly at the ceiling beams.
"How is this cultivation? It's a beast that devours gold."
He knew Ya Fei was wealthy and the Mittel Family was rolling in money, but Ya Fei had, after all, been sent away.
She had been in Wutan City for only a year. Raising that kind of money would certainly not be easy for her.
As he thought, faint footsteps sounded outside the courtyard gate.
They were soft and dragging. Whoever was walking had clearly been exhausted to the bone.
Lu Heng's ears twitched. He rolled out of bed, threw on an outer robe, and pushed the door open.
In the courtyard, moonlight flowed like water.