Alchemist Guild

As the sun set, a bright moon once again streaked across the night sky.

The last wisp of Azure Qi Flow in the bucket flowed into Yao Feng's body, and the water turned clear once more. Feeling the Dou Qi circulate rapidly within him, Yao Feng said inwardly,

"System, consume the Qi Breaking Pill."

The moment his words fell, a vast and pure surge of Dou Qi erupted within Yao Feng's body. It automatically circulated through his meridians once before flowing into his Dantian, strengthening his Dou Qi Vortex. One star slowly lit up, floating alongside the other four.

Strangely enough, the Dou Qi within an ordinary Dou Zhe would change color according to the cultivation technique they practiced. Initial Dou Qi was uniformly white, but techniques of different attributes would turn it various colors. For instance, those who cultivated wood-attribute techniques would have green Dou Qi, while water-attribute techniques produced blue Dou Qi. In the original story, Xiao Yan cultivated the Flame Mantra, and his Dou Qi had turned yellow. Yet Yao Feng had cultivated the Flame Mantra for some time now, and his Dou Qi remained white, merely faintly tinged with a trace of color so subtle it was almost imperceptible.

Is this the power of the Five Elements Spiritual Body? Does that mean I'll need to seek out Heavenly Treasures of other attributes for cultivation in the future?

Yao Feng scratched his head, pondering in confusion.

Forget it. I should focus on Heavenly Flames first. I can deal with the rest later.

Having made up his mind, Yao Feng climbed out of the bucket, dried himself, changed into fresh clothes, and sat by the window. He looked at a tall building in the distance, brightly lit from top to bottom, as strands of Pill Fragrance drifted toward him.

That was where the Alchemist Guild was located.

"The Alchemist Guild... that should be where that old man named Fama is, right?"

Yao Feng muttered to himself. Looking at the Alchemist Guild, still bustling with people even late at night, he thought, Looks like there are quite a few alchemists in the Imperial Capital.

It seemed he would have to pay it a visit tomorrow. An alchemist's status was highly sought after across the entire continent. With the identity of an alchemist, he would encounter far less unnecessary trouble in the Jia Ma Empire. Besides, he needed to refine some Dou Qi Recovery Pills, and being an alchemist would save him quite a bit of money when purchasing ingredients.

Once he passed the alchemist examination, he would begin refining pills, then wait peacefully for the Hidden Dragon Ranking to begin.

After sorting through his schedule for the next few days, Yao Feng let out a helpless sigh. "So busy. What a shame I harbor Unfettered Ambition, yet in the end, life has still bent my back!"

With a long sigh, Yao Feng got up and walked toward the bed.

"Tomorrow's troubles can wait until tomorrow. For now, I'm getting a good night's sleep!"

The next morning, when sunlight streamed into the room, Yao Feng opened his eyes on time. He lazily stretched his arms, rolled out of bed, washed up, and left his room for a tavern across from the inn.

"Shopkeeper, bring me something to eat."

Yao Feng sat at a table by the window and called out to the shopkeeper behind the counter.

"Right away, sir. Please wait a moment."

Yao Feng sat there and swept his gaze around. Though it was still early in the morning, the tavern was nearly full. Most of the customers were burly men, presumably mercenaries preparing to leave the city for missions.

"Hey, Old Zhang, I heard the Hidden Dragon Ranking starts the day after tomorrow. Did you know?"

At the table beside Yao Feng, a burly man spoke up.

"Old Li, your news is way too outdated. I heard several geniuses will be participating in this year's Hidden Dragon Ranking. Even Nalan Yanran, the sect leader's disciple from the Misty Cloud Sect, and Liu Ling, Alchemist King Gu He's disciple, will be taking part. And according to rumors, the Chu Yun Empire will be sending someone as well. They definitely aren't coming with good intentions!"

Another burly man shot Old Li a disdainful look and spoke smugly.

"Damn, Old Zhang, since when did you become so well-informed? But so what if people from the Chu Yun Empire come? I refuse to believe that our Jia Ma Empire is so vast that we can't find someone to crush them!"

"Hehe, I have a relative working as a guard at the registration site, so he happened to see it. But he said the person from the Chu Yun Empire is no simple character. Only fifteen years old, yet already a Three-star Dou Zhe. That's enough to rival that genius from the Misty Cloud Sect!"

"The Chu Yun Empire? It's a neighboring country of the Jia Ma Empire, yet it's sending someone to participate in a tournament held by the Jia Ma Imperial Family. They're obviously up to no good."

Yao Feng curled his lips. This Hidden Dragon Ranking was becoming more and more interesting. He was not surprised that Liu Ling would participate. Since Nalan Yanran was coming, it was hardly unexpected that Liu Ling would appear as well. As Alchemist King Gu He's disciple, Liu Ling surely had some skill. Still, although he might prove somewhat troublesome, with Yao Feng's current cultivation as a Five-star Dou Zhe, there should be no one capable of making him feel truly pressured.

"Sir, enjoy your meal!"

A waiter brought over the food and set it on the table, then turned to leave.

"Wait."

Yao Feng beckoned to the waiter, took out several gold coins, and stacked them on the table.

"Waiter, do you know where the Mittel Auction House is?"

The young waiter's face immediately brightened. He quickly tucked the coins into his clothes and replied respectfully,

"Sir, the Mittel Auction House is near the city center. Walk south from here for a while and you'll see it. Their sign is very conspicuous."

"Alright, thank you."

Yao Feng nodded and waved the waiter away.

"Please enjoy your meal, sir. Just call for me if you need anything."

The waiter grinned and backed away.

The Mittel Auction House... Hopefully those ingredients would not be too expensive. Although Wang Chao, the Black Tiger City Lord, had given him a Storage Ring full of gold coins because of the Tianwu Martial Arts School incident, it only contained a little over nine hundred thousand in total. Having seen how harsh the world could be, Yao Feng naturally did not believe that amount of gold would sustain him for long.

As Yao Feng ate, Zhou Tong appeared at the tavern entrance and walked straight over to sit across from him.

"Young master, I brought you dinner last night, but you wouldn't open the door. I didn't expect you to come eat so early today."

"I was cultivating yesterday. I didn't have time."

Yao Feng replied with his cheeks stuffed full.

"This tastes pretty good. Want some?"

Although Yao Feng's palate had been spoiled by Chinese cuisine, the food here had its own distinct charms. Moreover, it contained a trace of energy. Eating it over a long period could strengthen even an ordinary person's body.

"No thanks. I've been Fasting from Grains, so I generally don't eat."

Zhou Tong waved his hand.

Yao Feng immediately rolled his eyes at him without the slightest restraint.

"I wonder who it was that ate more than half a Roasted Electric Pig that day."

Seeing Yao Feng's glare, Zhou Tong naturally understood what he meant. He merely chuckled and said nothing.

As usual, please vote, bookmark, and comment. Life is hard; even kites can't fly. This is too difficult. (⌯꒪꒫꒪)੭ु⁾⁾ I'm eating dirt now. Thanks to Medical Ninja and Time Remembers Years, my old friend, for the recommendation votes!