Alchemist Apprentice

The Dou Qi Continent, northwest.

Salt City, eastern Jia Ma Empire.

The streets and alleys southwest of Salt City had never been lively places. The roads were narrow, there were few shops, and hardly any families lived there.

But today, the place was far livelier than ever!

A dense crowd packed the entrance to the Su Clan, straining to hear what the people inside were saying.

They weren't truly concerned about the Su Clan of Salt City. They were only there because there was a spectacle to watch.

"Su Yan, I advise you to stop making pointless struggles. Be sensible and sign these two deeds. If you don't, after today, the Mo Family won't offer the Su Clan this price again."

Inside the Su Clan's reception hall, a middle-aged man in a red robe looked at Su Yan, the clan head, with undisguised disdain.

Su Yan was shaking with rage, but the red-robed man remained completely composed, not taking him seriously in the slightest.

"Mo Lin! Your Mo Family has gone too far! You've cut off my Su Clan's supply lines and are trying to force us to sell our ancestral property. As long as I, Su Yan, still draw breath, I will never agree!"

Veins bulged on Su Yan's forehead. Pale brown Dou Qi swirled around him as he gripped the desk before him with both hands. The sturdy rosewood shattered beneath his grasp, crumbling into powder.

Though anger filled his chest, Su Yan chose not to fight back. It wasn't that he didn't want to; he couldn't. With only the strength of an Eight-Star Dou Master, he was no match for Mo Lin, a Da Dou Shi.

"Hmph! I knew you'd say that. So let me make this clear."

"Our Mo Family will pay five hundred thousand gold coins for those two shops of yours. Agree, and the money will be delivered at once. Refuse, and next time we'll offer only a hundred thousand. Think carefully."

"If the Su Clan keeps being so stubborn, in a few years you may disappear from Salt City for good. Do you understand?"

Mo Lin paid no attention to Su Yan's attitude. With a cold laugh, he turned his gaze around the Su Clan's reception hall, as if admiring his own property.

The Mo Family of Salt City was the city's foremost power.

Their Great Elder, Mo Cheng, was an outer sect steward of the Misty Cloud Sect, the greatest sect in the Jia Ma Empire. He was also sworn brothers with Yun Leng, the Misty Cloud Sect's Great Elder.

With the Misty Cloud Sect backing them, the Mo Family had spent years seizing property by fair means or foul. By now, they owned nearly sixty percent of all businesses in Salt City.

Now the Mo Family had set its sights on a small clan in Salt City: the Su Clan of the southern district.

The Mo Family had sent Mo Lin, a Da Dou Shi, to forcibly buy the Su Clan's ancestral property: two shops on the main street in the city center.

Those two shops were not only the Su Clan's ancestral property, but also its most important source of income.

It was no exaggeration to say that if the Su Clan lost those shops, it would be reduced to poverty and its members would be scattered within a few years.

Unfortunately, on the Dou Qi Continent, strength ruled all!

Before the Mo Family, which had a Five-Star Dou Spirit expert, the Su Clan—with its clan head at only the Eight-Star Dou Master level—was no more than an ant. It had no chance of fighting back.

Agree, and they would die within a few years. Refuse, and they might die right then. Su Yan's heart was bleeding.

What he didn't know was that today, the Su Clan would not only emerge unscathed; the Mo Family would also leave in defeat.

"Mo Lin, your Mo Family may be powerful and may shake all of Salt City, but as I recall, Salt City isn't yours to rule."

"Salt City is the largest city in the eastern province of the Jia Ma Empire. Imperial troops are stationed here year-round, and the city lord is a Dou Wang expert."

"You haven't even learned the first thing about the Su Clan, yet you dare barge in and throw your weight around?"

"Has your Mo Family produced a Dou Emperor? Or is the Misty Cloud Sect ready to go to war with the Jia Ma Empire?"

A slightly youthful voice came from behind Su Yan. A seventeen-year-old boy stepped out from behind the screen in the reception hall.

He was tall and lean, with a sturdy frame. His features bore a maturity beyond his years, and his handsome face was complemented by a pair of dark eyes brimming with confidence.

The boy was named Su Heng. He was the young clan leader of the Su Clan in the southern district, and Su Yan's only son.

"Hmph! Your Su Clan is just an obscure little clan in the southern district. You've probably never even met an imperial official, and you're talking about knowing your background?"

"Su Heng, what are you putting on airs for, you little brat? I could crush you as easily as an ant!"

Mo Lin shot Su Heng a look of utter disdain. He didn't even take Su Yan, an Eight-Star Dou Master, seriously, let alone the young master of the Su Clan, who had only just advanced to Dou Zhe at seventeen.

"Is that so? Uncle Bo'er, the city lord of Salt City, is my father's close friend. You didn't even know that?"

"Oh, right. Uncle Bo'er has an appointment with my father today. They're going to enjoy tea and take a stroll together. I suggest you apologize to my dad right away. Perhaps Uncle Bo'er won't hold your rudeness against you."

"Otherwise, you won't get out of this with just an apology!"

Su Heng narrowed his eyes and feigned surprise, glancing sideways at Mo Lin as if he were looking at a fool.

"You're lying! Why would Lord Bo'er, the city lord, be friends with your useless father? I've lived for over forty years, and that's the most ridiculous joke I've ever heard!"

But just as Mo Lin finished speaking, a commotion rose at the Su Clan's entrance. A faint smile appeared on Su Heng's face—the smile of someone whose plan had succeeded.

"Lord Bo'er, the city lord of Salt City, has arrived!"

The loud announcement cut through the crowd's commotion. Bo'er, a One-Star Dou King and the city lord of Salt City, had come to the Su Clan in person.

"Mo Lin, you're the one who's ignorant, arrogant, and empty-headed, spouting reckless nonsense without a care for your own life."

"I suggest you apologize to my dad right now. Otherwise, I won't let you off today!"

Su Heng watched Mo Lin with a cold smile. The man's arrogant expression froze, then turned to shock. When Lord Bo'er entered the hall, it quickly became obsequious.

"Lord Bo'er, what brings you here?"

In an instant, Mo Lin went from an arrogant, overbearing lion to a dog—and not just any dog, but a pug wagging its tail furiously.

"Nothing much. I have some history with the Su Clan's head. I was passing by, so I stopped at an old friend's home for a cup of tea. And you... what are you here for?"

Lord Bo'er casually looked around, then fixed his gaze on Su Yan and gave him a thoroughly formal smile.

"We were here to discuss business. We've already finished, and I was just about to leave."

Seeing that Lord Bo'er really had come to help the Su Clan, Mo Lin was so terrified that his soul nearly fled his body. He trembled all over and wanted nothing more than to leave at once.

"Hold it!"

Su Heng stepped forward and barked coldly.

"Mo Lin, you insulted my father just now and didn't even apologize. You think you can just walk away?"

"Do you take all the townsfolk here for blind fools? If word gets out, where will that leave the Su Clan's dignity?"

Su Heng had gone to all the trouble of setting up this trap. There was no way he would let Mo Lin leave just like that. He'd insulted his father, and now thought he could walk away without even dropping to his knees and knocking his head against the ground a few times? Dream on!

"Su Yan, I had no idea you were a friend of Lord Bo'er. I, Mo Lin, was blind and crossed you. I offer you my apologies!"

Mo Lin bent forward and gave a simple bow. It was obvious he wasn't sincere, and he wasn't the least bit convinced.

"That won't do! Mo Lin, it's bad enough that you look down on my father. But with Lord Bo'er here, you're offering such a perfunctory apology?"

"Are you looking down on the city lord, or on a Dou Wang expert? Or does your Mo Family look down on the entire Jia Ma Empire?"

Mo Lin's behavior had nearly given Su Yan internal injuries. Now that he had fallen into Su Heng's hands, there was no way Su Heng would let him off easily.

"Su Heng, you! You... What do you want me to do?"

Mo Lin's eyes were bloodshot, and he glared at Su Heng like a mad beast. He knew he was about to suffer a humiliating disgrace. Su Heng's expression was vicious enough to make it plain.

"Bow your head and knock it against the ground a few times in front of Lord Bo'er. Swear that from now on, the Mo Family won't target the Su Clan again, and we'll call it even."

"Otherwise, I'll have to ask Uncle Bo'er to uphold justice for the Su Clan."

Su Heng turned to Lord Bo'er and bowed respectfully. Lord Bo'er obligingly nodded and gently helped him back to his feet.

When Mo Lin saw that Bo'er really was supporting Su Heng, his vision went black, and he nearly fainted.

He truly hadn't expected the Su Clan to have such a powerful backer. The Mo Family—and he himself—had blundered straight into an iron wall.

Hundreds of eyes were fixed on him. Mo Lin's face flushed red, and a surge of fury lodged painfully in his chest. He wanted nothing more than to tear Su Heng limb from limb, but if he dared lay a hand on him, he'd be the one torn limb from limb.

The strong had the upper hand. In just a few minutes, Mo Lin had gone from furious to humiliated, while Su Heng had gone from being looked down on to standing tall.

In the end, Mo Lin bent both knees, knocked his head against the ground a few times, then fled like a stray dog.

The onlookers burst into laughter. Even Bo'er, the city lord of Salt City, was amused by the farcical scene.

"Thank you for saving us, Lord Bo'er. I, Su Yan, would gladly give my life in return for such a kindness, yet I could never repay it."

Bo'er ignored Su Yan and instead walked over to Su Heng. Looking at him with a stern expression, he said coldly:

"Young friend Su Heng, our deal is done. We agreed on a year. I hope you won't forget your promise, or else..."

Bo'er raised his right hand and lightly touched the desk in the reception hall. The instant his hand made contact, the entire desk gave a soft thud and crumbled into a pile of wood chips.

"I, Su Heng, will remember your kindness today. I won't dare break my word. Please rest assured, Lord Bo'er."

Bo'er gave a slight nod and said nothing more.

He walked to the entrance, and a pair of dark brown Dou Qi Wings spread from his back. In the blink of an eye, he vanished into the sky above Salt City, leaving behind a crowd of onlookers buzzing with discussion and the bewildered members of the Su Clan.

Watching Bo'er disappear into the distance, Su Heng let out a long sigh and murmured:

"Only one year..."

And so the farce came to an end, leaving behind a heavy burden that would decide whether the clan survived or fell.

"Heng'er, what on earth was that all about?"

The city lord of Salt City had come to the Su Clan in person, and no one was more bewildered than Su Yan. Everything had happened too quickly; even now, he was still reeling from the shock.

Su Heng said nothing. Instead, he unrolled a bronze-colored scroll and spread it out before Su Yan.

When Su Yan saw what was written on the scroll, the gloom on his face vanished in an instant. An indescribable joy burst forth.

The bronze-colored scroll read:

"Following the assessment by the Salt City Alchemist Guild, the One-Star Dou Zhe Su Heng has been found to possess Alchemist talent. This certificate verifies his aptitude. Alchemist Guild branches throughout the Jia Ma Empire, as well as the Imperial Capital headquarters, may admit him as an apprentice at their discretion."

Su Yan held the scroll in his hands and read every word again and again. As he continued, his sturdy frame began to tremble, and tears of excitement poured uncontrollably from his eyes. He wept with joy.