Bloodline Bond

Second Master Yang's heart had long since been whipped into towering waves. At Yang Chen's age, reaching the level of a First Grade Intermediate Alchemist was exceedingly rare. Alchemists were what the Yang family lacked most, and this generation was far inferior to his own. There were pitifully few promising seedlings.

Only Yang Heng had reached the level of a First Grade Intermediate Alchemist at such a young age, but Yang Heng could only barely be considered intermediate. If Yang Chen had not lied, he had already reached the threshold of challenging First-Rank High-Level Alchemist. Once he crossed that bottleneck, that hurdle, his nature would immediately transform, and he would leap straight into becoming a First-Rank High-Level Alchemist.

One was a prospective First-Rank High-Level Alchemist, while the other was a First Grade Intermediate Alchemist...

Yang Chen had long since left Yang Heng behind. Unfortunately, Yang Heng still knew nothing of it. Second Master Yang shook his head and sighed endlessly over it.

Then, remembering Yang Chen's talent for Pill Refining, Second Master Yang said in great delight, "Would Second Master ever deceive you? Hahaha, wonderful! Yang Chen, I'll teach you the method for refining the Clear Fire Pill right now. So long as you can successfully refine a Clear Fire Pill, you will naturally break through this bottleneck and reach the level of a First-Rank High-Level Alchemist!"

The very thought of First-Rank High-Level Alchemist made Second Master Yang's heart stir.

One had to know that among great families such as the Feng family and the Wang family, someone Yang Chen's age would at most be a First-Rank High-Level Alchemist. If a middle-ranking family like the Yang family could produce a First-Rank High-Level Alchemist, they would directly catch up to the average standard of the great families.

Yang Chen still possessed enormous potential.

"Good, good, good!" The more Second Master Yang thought about it, the more excited he became. He hurriedly said, "Yang Chen, come with me!"

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

The two went one after the other. In the blink of an eye, Second Master Yang led Yang Chen into his personal Alchemy Room.

When Yang Chen saw the fully equipped Alchemy Room, his eyes shone brightly. Was this not exactly the place he needed? Once the Li Family Commerce Association's materials arrived, he would certainly need to refine pills in large quantities. Yet with the capacity of ordinary pill furnaces, it would be difficult to sustain large-scale pill refining.

Thus, Yang Chen had set his sights on Second Master Yang's Alchemy Room long ago.

If he could borrow the power of the Alchemy Room to refine pills, he would accomplish twice the result with half the effort, solving many of his worries and problems.

Had he not come here today precisely to scout the place out? To see what Second Master Yang's Alchemy Room was like?

For now, although this Alchemy Room did not quite meet his standards, it was more than sufficient to include in his plans.

"Second Master, could this be an Alchemy Room?" Though he thought this inwardly, Yang Chen put on a look of surprise as he spoke.

Hearing this, Second Master Yang said rather proudly, "Yang Chen, it seems you have studied this as well. Indeed, this is an Alchemy Room. For every alchemist proficient in Pill Refining, an Alchemy Room is extremely important when refining pills. Ordinary pill furnaces can hardly bear the refining of large quantities of pills, and their lifespan is limited. Special pill furnaces are difficult to find, and they must be paired with extraordinary flames to accomplish twice the result with half the effort. But with an Alchemy Room, one can solve problems that ordinary pill furnaces cannot."

"So that's how it is." Yang Chen put on the appearance of having received profound instruction.

Second Master Yang said earnestly, "Yang Chen, the path of an alchemist must be walked step by step before one can tread steadily. In a moment, I will teach you the precise steps for refining the Clear Fire Pill. You must listen carefully to every step, then observe my pill refining with care. If you can successfully refine this Clear Fire Pill, you will be the Number One Genius in Pill Refining of my Yang family!"

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

Second Master Yang stroked his beard. Seeing that Yang Chen seemed utterly unconcerned with the title of the Yang family's Number One Genius in Pill Refining, he felt somewhat uneasy. He feared Yang Chen might be arrogant and suffer a misstep, which would be far too regrettable.

Then he sat down before the pill furnace and used the surrounding equipment, grasping at the air with both hands. In an instant, a ball of flame formed from nothing in Second Master Yang's hands.

Second Master Yang did not forget to instruct him, "Yang Chen, my pill refining is about to begin. Watch carefully."

Once those words fell, Second Master Yang adjusted his movements and began refining step by step.

As he refined, he explained to Yang Chen the key points of refining the Clear Fire Pill. It could be said that he was teaching him hand in hand.

Though Yang Chen had no use for this knowledge, he truly listened attentively and kept his gratitude in his heart. He could see that Second Master Yang valued him greatly. It was the regard an elder had upon seeing a promising seedling. A Lineage needed precisely this kind of regard in order to flourish.

Time passed especially slowly. Explaining while refining pills consumed immense concentration and energy. Second Master Yang was drenched in sweat, and only after refining for a full two hours did a furnace of pills leap out of the pill furnace with a bang, landing in Second Master Yang's hands.

Second Master Yang was overjoyed, but instead of turning his attention to Yang Chen, he asked, "Yang Chen, did you see all the steps clearly? Have you remembered all the details I explained?"

"I remember seven or eight out of ten," Yang Chen said.

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

"Second Master, this junior does not dare guarantee it. After all, on the Alchemy Way, success and failure are difficult to predict. No one can guarantee that every batch will produce pills, so this junior is willing to try. But whether I can succeed or not will depend entirely on how well I understood Second Master's pill refining just now," Yang Chen said with a smile.

He did not make his words too absolute.

"Good, good, good!" Second Master Yang was tremendously curious as well.

He truly looked forward to Yang Chen refining a Clear Fire Pill.

Yet he did not dare guarantee how many attempts it would take to produce one. Still, he felt that within seven or eight attempts, Yang Chen would likely find it difficult to grasp the true essence of the Clear Fire Pill. After all, theory and personally refining pills produced different results. Yang Chen had understood the details of his pill refining last time, but actually getting his hands on it and refining the pill himself would be another matter entirely.

As Second Master Yang grew curious, he could not help but worry as well. "Xu San, come here!"

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

In his delight, how could Second Master Yang notice Xu San's expression? "Xu San, give Yang Chen a hand and assist him in refining the Clear Fire Pill."

As he spoke, he gave a hearty laugh and looked at Yang Chen. "Yang Chen, Xu San is my most capable assistant. With him helping you, you can save quite a bit of effort when refining pills. After all, this is your first time refining the Clear Fire Pill. You may not be able to smoothly control many steps and details, so having Xu San help you is indeed most suitable."

"Second Master, I absolutely will not help him refine pills." Xu San's expression abruptly changed, as though he had suffered a tremendous grievance.

"What?" Second Master Yang's expression shifted slightly. This was the precursor to anger.

Xu San gritted his teeth and said, "He is unworthy!"

Then he cast Yang Chen a cold glance.

Those words truly made Second Master Yang's rage surge to the heavens. He suddenly slammed his hand onto the table. "Bastard! Xu San, I raised you as my Pill Apprentice assistant so that you would heed my careful teachings and obey my every word, not so you could come here and make an unreasonable fuss with me!"

"Second Master!" Xu San grew anxious.

Second Master Yang had always doted on him and valued him so highly. How could he possibly rebuke him like this over a mere Yang Chen?

"Get out!" Second Master Yang roared.

"Second Master!"

"Get out!"

Second Master Yang pointed outside, anger rising from every corner of his chest.

Xu San shot Yang Chen a venomous look, then gritted his teeth and left.

Second Master Yang calmed himself somewhat. "Yang Chen, you have witnessed an ugly scene. I will properly educate Xu San in the future. Let us not speak of today's matter for now. Focus first on the Clear Fire Pill. If you can refine a Clear Fire Pill, Second Master will have other rewards for you."

"Second Master, allowing Yang Chen to practice is already the greatest favor. How could I need any other reward?" Yang Chen said. As for Xu San, he had not taken him seriously at all.

Second Master Yang shook his head. "No, this reward must be given. Yang Chen, you are still young, so perhaps you do not understand. Do you know what a Lineage is?"

Yang Chen gently shook his head. In this regard, he was quite willing to humbly seek instruction, because Second Master Yang was indeed advanced in years, far older than he had been in his past life. There were many principles Second Master Yang understood that Yang Chen might not necessarily be able to comprehend.

Second Master Yang said earnestly, "For a Lineage to ensure that it flourishes without decline, unity is the prerequisite. But unity alone is not enough, because the sun and moon alternate, and people are born, age, fall ill, and die. That is the cycle. A Lineage needs fresh blood; it needs geniuses. And you are a new star I see as extremely important to the Yang family!"

"A genius is the safeguard of a Lineage's future. The Lineage will nurture you unconditionally. Yang Chen, you may resent how the Yang family treated you poorly in the past, but that could not be helped. The Yang family's resources are limited; they cannot be spent on idle people. We must put those resources into those with greater talent, nurture them, and make them stronger. Only then can the Yang family have a place among the Great Wilderness Hundred Clans in the future. This is a Lineage, Yang Chen. For the sake of the Lineage, personal interests no longer amount to anything."

"If one day came when I had to sacrifice the Yang family in order to live, I would choose without the slightest hesitation to sacrifice myself. Because my kin, my home, are all here. You cannot yet feel it, but one day, you will understand. A Lineage is family affection; it is a bond of blood."