Apprenticeship

"So, you're an alchemist?"

Huo Yuhao shielded Xiao Yan behind him and asked in a low voice.

"I am hardly worthy, but everyone calls me the 'number one alchemist on the continent—Venerable Yao.'" Yao Chen paused, waiting for their shocked cries.

Silence...

"Believe it or not!"

Seeing the skepticism in the two boys' eyes, Yao Chen grew a little exasperated.

"You old man, why are you attached to me?"

"Old, old man? Do I look that old?" Though a soul body had no blood vessels or meridians, Yao Chen still felt the veins on his forehead throbbing.

"Hehe, no rush. I see your roasted meat is ready. Why not let me have a taste?"

"Shameless!"

After Huo Yuhao finished dividing the roasted meat, Yao Chen suddenly looked at Xiao Yan with a wicked grin. "This is meat from a second-tier magical beast, a Flame-Spotted Antelope, isn't it? The sauce brushed onto it also has quite a few qi-nourishing medicinal ingredients mixed in. What a pity, what a pity. The energy it contains isn't something a little brat with three stages of Dou Qi can endure. Hehe, you won't get to enjoy it."

"You old man—"

"If you don't believe me, go ahead and try it!"

Upon hearing that, even though he did not fully believe the old man, Xiao Yan did not dare take another bite. He turned to Huo Yuhao with a questioning look.

"Don't worry," Huo Yuhao said. "I tested it before. This Heavenly Cycle Art has excellent suppressive and refining effects on external energy. Circulating it after eating will help you recover some Dou Qi."

Xiao Yan was relieved and shot Yao Chen a glare.

"Tch, you can't even handle that. And you claim you're not a fraud."

"You little bastard!" Yao Lao's snowy white eyebrows trembled with rage. "That little fellow there—earlier, I saw you take several medicinal herbs from your Storage Ring. Take them out and let me show you whether my reputation is undeserved." Yao Chen named several herbs.

Huo Yuhao fell silent for a moment, looking somewhat awkward.

"You don't recognize them?" Yao Chen was rather astonished. He had seen Huo Yuhao use quite a few medicinal herbs while making seasonings, so he had assumed Huo Yuhao was at least a physician.

Without speaking, Huo Yuhao took out every medicinal herb in his storage ring that he did not recognize.

Yao Chen mobilized his soul power and selected the herbs he needed. Then, a pale white flame ignited in his hand.

Feeling a bone-chilling cold sweep over him, Xiao Yan exclaimed, "It's clearly fire, so why is it this cold? Could this be the legendary—Heavenly Flame?!"

"Hmph, at least you have some discernment."

Under Yao Chen's control, the Bone Spirit Cold Flame scattered apart. Every small clump of flame wrapped around a medicinal herb, drawing arcs through the air. At the same time, Yao Chen still had the leisure to instruct Huo Yuhao.

"The medicinal herbs you took out are respectively... and... Their effects are..."

As soon as his explanation ended, every flame dancing in the air gathered before Yao Chen.

"This old guy is kind of cool!" Xiao Yan muttered. Huo Yuhao, meanwhile, wore a solemn expression. In his previous life, whether on Douluo Continent or in the God Realm, he had refined medicine before, yet he had never seen such a method. Thus, he understood just how incredible Yao Chen's display was.

"Condense!"

With a low shout, the clusters of flame converged, then went out. White pills marked with pill patterns appeared in Yao Chen's hand. He casually tossed them at Xiao Yan.

"Meridian-Protecting Pills. They protect the meridians and assist in absorbing energy."

"Hot, hot, hot!"

The pill bounced between Xiao Yan's hands several times before he finally caught it. He examined it carefully. "You didn't poison this, did you?"

The veins on Yao Chen's forehead throbbed again.

"Eat it or don't! Countless experts across the continent would offer their entire fortunes and still fail to get even one pill from me. You brat..."

"Tch! Keep bragging!"

After finishing the roasted meat and taking the pill, Xiao Yan sat cross-legged on the ground, palms, soles, and crown facing heaven as he circulated the Heavenly Cycle Art.

Nearby, Huo Yuhao and Yao Chen were chatting idly.

"Kid Huo, your cooking can be called the best on the continent. Where exactly did you learn it?"

"At first, I researched it myself. Later, I took a teacher."

"Who was your teacher? Maybe I've even met them!"

"You can't meet him anymore."

Seeing Huo Yuhao's mood darken, Yao Chen hurriedly changed the subject.

"By the way, your Storage Ring is rather strange. Absorption Stones don't seem to look like that, do they?"

"Mm..." Huo Yuhao swallowed the excuse he had prepared. After thinking for a moment, he answered, "I made it myself. It's made of refined iron."

"Iron?!"

"Mm. It's a Soul Tool. Various functions are achieved by engraving core formations onto metal."

Yao Chen's expression suddenly turned sinister. "Hehehe, kid, you dared to tell me that so openly. Aren't you afraid I'll kill you and take your treasure?"

"You joke, Senior." Huo Yuhao's expression did not change. "As the number one alchemist on the continent, you demonstrated your alchemy before the two of us juniors. I imagine you intend to take disciples."

"Besides, this Soul Tool Ring of mine may be valuable to an organization like the Mittel Auction House. But to an alchemist of your level, Senior, it holds little attraction."

"Mm." Yao Chen stopped fooling around and curled his lip. "You're much more boring than that brat Xiao Yan."

Yao Chen rummaged through his Ancient Flame Ring and casually tossed out several ancient books.

"I won't eat your things for nothing. These are fragments of ancient artifact-forging techniques. I found them by chance while traveling in my early years. You can study them. Combined with that Soul Tool thing of yours, perhaps you can revive the profession of artifact forger."

Huo Yuhao rose to his feet and gave a respectful bow.

"Thank you, Senior!"

Suddenly, Xiao Yan, who had been sitting cross-legged nearby, sprang to his feet.

"Hahaha! I broke through to the fourth stage of Dou Qi!" The joy of breaking through made even the old man who had sucked away his Dou Qi for a year look more pleasing to Xiao Yan.

"Old—Senior, thanks."

"You were about to call me old man again, weren't you?" Yao Chen narrowed his eyes, suppressing the anger in his heart. He said to Xiao Yan, "So? Do you want to take the greatest alchemist on the entire continent as your master?"

Xiao Yan and Huo Yuhao exchanged a glance. Xiao Yan stepped forward and asked, "There's no such thing as a free meal. Why do you want to take us as disciples, Senior?"

"Clever boy." Yao Chen caught the deliberate emphasis Xiao Yan had placed on the word "us." "Naturally, I have selfish motives. As you can see, I am a soul body. I hope that one day, you can help me refine a body and free me from this state."

"Refine a body?"

"Once you reach Seventh Grade, you should more or less meet the requirements."

"Seventh Grade?! Even Pill King Gu He is only Sixth Grade!" Xiao Yan exclaimed.

"A mere Sixth Grade alchemist dares call himself the Pill King? He's just a frog at the bottom of a well. Enough talk. Are you going to learn or not?"

"Yes, yes!" Xiao Yan gave an embarrassed laugh, then performed the disciple-taking ceremony.

"Master, what grade are you?"

Yao Chen ignored Xiao Yan and looked toward Huo Yuhao. "Kid Huo, do you want to take me as your master?"

Huo Yuhao put away the ancient books. He thought that his understanding of Battle Qi Continent was still insufficient, and having a teacher's guidance would indeed save him many detours. Thus, he made his decision as well.

"Teacher!"

"Kid Huo, you're a Dou Zhe now, right? How many stars? What cultivation art are you practicing?"

"Teacher, I'm a seven-star Dou Zhe now." Huo Yuhao released his Dou Qi.

"Mm, mm? Seven stars? You're only thirteen, aren't you? Wait, why is it ice attribute?!" Yao Chen's voice suddenly rose.

"You collected so many medicinal herbs. Weren't you preparing to become an alchemist? Even if you don't have fire with wood, you should at least have a fire attribute!"

"Being ice attribute only means he can't use a medicine cauldron, right? Master, you didn't use a medicine cauldron before either, did you?" Xiao Yan asked in confusion.

"How can an ice attribute control the temperature of flames!"

"With Soul Tools!"

"Uh?"

The next day, the sun shone brightly.

Huo Yuhao sat by the window, holding an ancient book with missing pages and studying it carefully.

Bang! The door was suddenly kicked open, and Xiao Yan rushed in like a whirlwind.

"Yuhao, how many gold coins do you still have?"

His train of thought interrupted, Huo Yuhao put down the book. Listening to the groan of the door hinges, he pinched the bridge of his nose.

"What do you need money for? I have a little over a hundred gold coins."

"Not enough. I'll have to think of another way!" Xiao Yan scratched his head and turned to leave Huo Yuhao's room.

"Wait!" Huo Yuhao raised a hand, and the air around them moved with it. Xiao Yan, who had just started to run out, felt as though a hand had grabbed the back of his neck and dragged him back.

"Tell me what's going on first."

Xiao Yan rubbed his neck and answered.

"Master is preparing to refine medicine for me. He told me to find three stalks of Purple Leaf Orchid Grass, preferably older ones; two Bone-Washing Flowers; and a Wood-Type Magic Core. Do you think he takes us for filthy rich nobles? Where am I supposed to find several thousand gold coins?"

"Do the Bone-Washing Flowers have an age requirement? What tier does the Magic Core need to be?"

"Mm—no. First tier will do." Xiao Yan thought back, then asked in surprise, "Don't tell me you have them?"

Huo Yuhao glanced at him as if looking at an idiot. "Why would I ask if I didn't? Will thirty-year-old Purple Leaf Orchid Grass do?"

"That's more than enough." Yao Chen suddenly emerged from the Ancient Flame Ring. "I didn't see you take out those two medicinal herbs yesterday."

Huo Yuhao took out the materials and placed them on the table. "I recognize these two herbs." As he spoke, he pressed down on Xiao Yan's outstretched hand. "Fix the door first, then I'll give them to you."

"Ah—haha?" Xiao Yan laughed awkwardly and turned to Yao Chen.

"Hehe, your master isn't a carpenter. I don't know how to fix doors." Yao Chen covered his mouth, his face full of gloating.