The Bond of Blood

Second Master Yang's heart was already churning with immense waves. For someone of Yang Chen's age to reach the level of a First Grade Intermediate Alchemist was incredibly rare. The Yang Family was critically short on alchemists, and this generation was far inferior to his own, with very few promising talents.

Only that Yang Heng had reached the level of a First Grade Intermediate Alchemist at such a young age. However, Yang Heng could barely be considered intermediate, whereas if Yang Chen wasn't lying, he had already reached the threshold to challenge for First Grade High-Level. Once he broke through that bottleneck, that hurdle, his status would change dramatically, and he would directly leap to become a First Grade High-Level Alchemist.

One quasi-First Grade High-Level, one First Grade Intermediate...

Yang Chen had already left Yang Heng far behind, but unfortunately, Yang Heng was completely unaware of it. Second Master Yang shook his head, sighing with regret.

Immediately, Second Master Yang recalled Yang Chen's alchemy talent and said with great joy, "How could Second Master deceive you? Hahaha, that's wonderful, Yang Chen. Second Master will now teach you the method for refining the Clear Fire Pill. As long as you can successfully refine the Clear Fire Pill, you will break through this bottleneck yourself and reach the level of a First Grade High-Level Alchemist!"

First Grade High-Level, Second Master Yang's heart fluttered at the thought.

One must understand that in those major families, like the Feng Family or the Wang Family, individuals of Yang Chen's age typically only possessed the level of a First Grade High-Level Alchemist at most. For their mid-tier family to produce a First Grade High-Level Alchemist would directly elevate them to the average standard of the major families.

Yang Chen still had immense potential.

"Good, good, good!" Second Master Yang became more excited the more he thought about it and said urgently, "Yang Chen, follow me!"

How could Yang Chen not know what Second Master Yang was thinking? He replied, "Yes."

The two walked one after another, and in the blink of an eye, Second Master Yang led Yang Chen into his exclusive alchemy room.

Upon seeing the fully equipped alchemy room, Yang Chen's eyes lit up. This was precisely the place he needed! Once the materials from the Li Family Commerce Association arrived, he would definitely need to refine a large number of pills. And when refining a large quantity of pills, the capacity of ordinary cauldrons would struggle to support it.

Therefore, Yang Chen had long set his sights on Second Master Yang's alchemy room.

If he could borrow the power of the alchemy room to refine pills, it would be twice the result with half the effort, solving many of his worries and problems.

Wasn't he here today to scout the place out? To see what Second Master Yang's alchemy room was like?

As it stood, although this alchemy room couldn't truly impress him, it was more than sufficient to be incorporated into his plans.

"Second Master, is this the alchemy room?" Yang Chen thought to himself, then feigned surprise as he spoke.

Hearing this, Second Master Yang said with considerable pride, "Yang Chen, it seems you've done your research. Indeed, this is the alchemy room. For every alchemist proficient in alchemy, the alchemy room is extremely important when refining pills. Ordinary cauldrons struggle to handle the large-scale refinement of pills and have limited lifespans. And special cauldrons are difficult to find and require the cooperation of peculiar flames to achieve twice the result with half the effort. But with an alchemy room, it can solve the problems that ordinary cauldrons cannot."

"So that's how it is," Yang Chen said, appearing deeply enlightened.

Second Master Yang spoke earnestly, "Yang Chen, the path of an alchemist must be taken one step at a time to be firm. Second Master will teach you the specific steps for refining the Clear Fire Pill later. You must listen to each step carefully and then observe my alchemy process closely. If you can successfully refine this Clear Fire Pill, you will be the Yang Family's number one alchemy genius!"

"Second Master, Yang Chen understands," Yang Chen replied respectfully.

Second Master Yang stroked his beard. Seeing that Yang Chen seemed indifferent to the title of Yang Family's number one alchemy genius, he felt uneasy. He was afraid that Yang Chen might become arrogant and make a mistake, which would be too regrettable.

Then, he moved to sit before the cauldron and began to manipulate the surrounding equipment with his hands. Instantly, a ball of flame appeared out of thin air in Second Master Yang's hand.

Second Master Yang instructed without forgetting, "Yang Chen, I'm starting the alchemy. You must watch carefully."

With that, Second Master Yang adjusted his steps and began to refine them progressively.

As he refined, he explained the secrets of refining the Clear Fire Pill to Yang Chen, teaching him hand by hand.

Although Yang Chen didn't need this knowledge, he truly listened attentively and held his gratitude in his heart. He could see that Second Master Yang valued him greatly, the kind of importance an elder shows when seeing a promising talent. A family thrives precisely because of this kind of attention.

Time passed slowly, and explaining while refining pills consumed a great deal of mental energy. Second Master Yang was sweating profusely. After refining for a full two hours, a batch of pills suddenly popped out of the cauldron and landed in Second Master Yang's hands.

Second Master Yang was overjoyed, but he didn't focus his attention on Yang Chen. Instead, he said, "Yang Chen, did you see all the steps clearly? Did you remember all the details I mentioned?"

"I remember most of it," Yang Chen replied.

Second Master Yang asked curiously, "How confident are you that you can refine the Clear Fire Pill?"

"Second Master, this junior dares not guarantee it. After all, the path of alchemy is unpredictable, and no one can guarantee a hundred percent success rate. Therefore, this junior is willing to try, but whether it succeeds or not will depend on my understanding from observing Second Master's alchemy just now," Yang Chen said with a smile.

He didn't make any absolute claims.

"Good, good, good!" Second Master Yang was also very curious.

He was actually looking forward to Yang Chen refining the Clear Fire Pill.

However, he couldn't guarantee how many attempts it would take for Yang Chen to succeed. He felt that it would be difficult for Yang Chen to grasp the essence of the Clear Fire Pill in ten or eight attempts. After all, theory and hands-on practice were different. Although Yang Chen had understood the details of his alchemy last time, the actual refining process would yield a different result.

As Second Master Yang's curiosity grew, he couldn't help but worry. "Xu San, come here!"

"Second Master," Xu San walked over with a dark expression, still in a bad mood.

Second Master Yang, in his current state of joy, didn't notice Xu San's expression. "Xu San, help Yang Chen out and assist him in refining the Clear Fire Pill."

Saying this, he chuckled heartily and looked at Yang Chen, "Yang Chen, Xu San is my capable assistant. With his help, you'll save a lot of effort during your alchemy. After all, this is your first time refining the Clear Fire Pill, and you might not be able to perfectly control many of the steps and details. Having Xu San assist you is indeed very suitable."

"Second Master, I absolutely will not help him refine pills," Xu San's expression changed drastically, as if he had suffered a great injustice.

"What?" Second Master Yang's expression shifted slightly, a sign of impending anger.

Xu San gritted his teeth and said, "He's not worthy!"

Then, he cast a cold glance at Yang Chen.

These words truly infuriated Second Master Yang. He slammed the table abruptly, "You scoundrel, Xu San! I keep you as my Pill Apprentice assistant to listen to my careful teachings and obey me, not to argue with me here."

"Second Master!" Xu San was agitated.

Second Master Yang, who usually doted on and valued him so much, how could he scold him like this for the sake of Yang Chen?

"Get out!" Second Master Yang roared.

"Second Master!"

"Get out!"

Second Master Yang pointed outside the door, fuming.

Xu San shot Yang Chen a venomous glance before gritting his teeth and leaving.

Second Master Yang calmed himself, saying, "Yang Chen, I apologize for that spectacle. I will deal with Xu San later. Let's put today's events aside for now and focus on the Clear Fire Pill. If you can refine it, I have other rewards for you."

"Second Master, allowing me to practice is already the greatest gift. I don't need any other rewards," Yang Chen replied, not taking Xu San seriously at all.

Second Master Yang shook his head. "No, these rewards are necessary. Yang Chen, you are still young and may not understand. Do you know what a family is?"

Yang Chen gently shook his head. He was quite willing to learn from Second Master Yang in this regard. After all, Second Master Yang was much older and understood many principles that Yang Chen might not grasp.

Second Master Yang said earnestly, "For a family to ensure its lasting prosperity, unity is the prerequisite. But unity alone is not enough, because as time passes and people age and die, it's a cycle. A family needs new blood, it needs geniuses. And you, Yang Chen, are a crucial new star I see for the Yang Family!"

"A genius is the guarantee of a family's future. The family will unconditionally cultivate you. Yang Chen, you might blame the Yang Family for treating you poorly before, but that was unavoidable. The Yang Family's resources are limited, and they cannot be wasted on those who are idle. We need to invest resources in those with greater talent, nurture them, and make them stronger. Only then can the Yang Family secure a place among the Great Wilderness Hundred Clans in the future. This is what family means, Yang Chen. For the sake of the family, personal gain becomes insignificant."

"If, one day, I had to sacrifice the Yang Family to survive, I would choose to sacrifice myself without hesitation. Because my loved ones, my home, are all here. You may not feel it now, but one day you will understand. Family is kinship, it is a blood tie."