Heavenly Flames? Beast Flames!

During this long holiday, Master Otto did not go out for leisure. Instead, he shut himself in his room and diligently studied pill formulas.

Su Heng's astonishing talent had given him an inexplicable sense of pressure. If the teacher of the future Alchemist Guild president was merely a Fourth-grade Alchemist, Otto felt that it would be a little embarrassing.

Therefore, he had been painstakingly researching during this period, hoping to break through to become a Fifth-grade Alchemist.

"Teacher, are you there?"

Su Heng gently knocked on Master Otto's door. Although Otto had not left the Alchemist Guild, it was noon, so he might not have been in his room.

"Little Su? Come in quickly, the door isn't locked."

Upon hearing that Su Heng had arrived, Master Otto jerked upright. His round body smoothly spun around in the chair, bounced a few times, then quickly rose to his feet. Otto, who had been half-reclining, immediately sat upright, brimming with the dignity of an elder.

"Teacher, sorry to disturb you. I have a few questions I'd like to ask you."

"Questions? What questions? Go ahead and ask!"

This was the first time Su Heng had taken the initiative to visit during this period, and Otto was rather flattered. A trace of gratification appeared on his face as he urged him on.

Frowning, Su Heng explained the entire process of his cauldron explosion to Otto in detail. He even described the inexplicable barrier he had sensed while refining medicine with great precision.

He had even brought along a portion of the medicinal ingredients he had refined, so Otto could judge the situation from them as quickly as possible, identify the problem, and provide a solution.

Otto stared at the medicinal ingredients Su Heng had brought. After a moment, he took them, retrieved a medicinal cauldron from his Storage Ring, and actually began refining medicine.

A ball of deep crimson flame blazed fiercely within the medicinal cauldron as Otto poured in his Dou Qi.

The lower the grade of an Alchemist's Dou Qi flame, the lighter its color. For the most basic apprentices or First-grade Alchemists, regardless of the cultivation method they practiced, their Dou Qi flames would be pale yellow.

As a Fourth-grade Alchemist, Otto's Dou Qi flame had already become deep crimson.

Under his control, the two portions of ingredients fused at an astonishing speed. Before Su Heng's stunned eyes, a pale red pill flew out from the cauldron and landed steadily in Otto's palm.

"A top-tier First-grade Pill. Not bad, not bad! Little Su, I never expected your ability to refine medicinal ingredients to have already reached the standard of a Second-grade Alchemist."

Master Otto handed the pill to Su Heng, paused briefly, then continued.

"I think the reason you couldn't complete the pill fusion was that you refined the medicinal efficacy of the ingredients too purely."

"The purer the medicinal efficacy, the higher the required quality of flame."

"You're currently a Three-Star Dou Zhe. The quality of your Dou Qi flame isn't enough to support refining pills of this quality. If you lower the purity of the ingredients slightly, you should be able to complete the pill fusion!"

"I never expected you to become a First-grade Alchemist after studying for just over two months! Lin Fei and Xue Mei studied for two years before they even had a chance of passing the First-grade Alchemist examination this year."

Su Heng had yet to recover from his earlier shock. It took him seven days to refine medicinal ingredients, and fusing them would take even longer.

Yet Otto had completed the fusion in merely one or two minutes. That efficiency was truly astonishing.

After collecting himself slightly, Su Heng decided to ask his questions one at a time. First, he needed to figure out the issue with flame quality.

"Teacher, what does the quality of a Dou Qi flame mean? How can one improve the quality of a Dou Qi flame?"

"A Dou Qi flame changes color as an Alchemist's realm rises. The higher an Alchemist's realm, the greater the temperature their Dou Qi flame can reach. The invisible barrier you encountered was because your realm was too low, so your Dou Qi flame could no longer increase in temperature."

Su Heng's expression immediately darkened after hearing that. He cultivated a Low-Yellow Tier method, practically the sewer tile of cultivation methods.

He had only gained one star after refining medicine for a month, and that was after refining for more than ten hours every day. At this rate, becoming a First-grade Alchemist would take at least another half year, perhaps even longer.

Clearly, raising his realm was not an option at all. He did not have the conditions for it.

"Teacher, is there any other method besides raising my realm? If I wanted to subdue Heavenly Flames, what should I do?"

Heavenly Flames had played a crucial role in Xiao Yan's rapid rise into a top-tier Alchemist.

Among his memories of the Dou Qi Continent from his previous life, Su Heng would not have forgotten the term "Heavenly Flames" even after several decades. After all, it was one of the most unforgettable aspects.

Upon hearing the words "Heavenly Flames," Master Otto nearly sprayed out his mouthful of tea. He had never imagined that Su Heng would set his sights on Heavenly Flames. A genius's thoughts were always unconventional and unexpected.

Otto hurriedly wiped the tea stains from the corner of his mouth. After confirming that Su Heng was not simply talking nonsense, he spoke seriously.

"Among all flames under heaven, Heavenly Flames reign supreme. Nearly every Alchemist text contains this sentence, but do you know why Heavenly Flames are so sought after by Alchemists, and why so few Alchemists possess them?"

Su Heng's memories related to Heavenly Flames remained rather clear. In his recollection, Xiao Yan had nearly died every time he subdued one. After pondering for a moment, Su Heng answered.

"Because Heavenly Flames are too violent and difficult to subdue. A single misstep, and an Alchemist will be burned to ashes by the Heavenly Flame."

Otto nodded in satisfaction at Su Heng's answer. It seemed Su Heng had already done his homework, which would make the following discussion much easier.

"Heavenly Flames possess terrifyingly high temperatures. Many medicinal ingredients that cannot be refined with Dou Qi flames can be easily refined with Heavenly Flames."

"Little Su, the reason you haven't become a First-grade Alchemist yet is that your Dou Qi flame's temperature is insufficient. If you possessed a Heavenly Flame, with your talent, you would probably already be a Second-grade Alchemist."

"But I advise you not to set your sights on Heavenly Flames yet. Your realm is currently too low. Even if I gave you Mysterious Yellow Flame, the last-ranked flame on the Heavenly Flame Ranking, you would be unable to subdue it. You would only be devoured by it."

"My words may be blunt, but they are the truth, Little Su... Your talent is very high, and in time, you will surely become an extremely powerful Alchemist. But haste makes waste. Being anxious is useless."

Otto's words were earnest, and how could Su Heng not understand? His realm was too low, his strength too weak. Without any cheat, he should honestly sleep and stop dreaming nonsense.

"I understand..."

He truly understood, but he was also truly unwilling to accept it!

Su Heng let out a long sigh. Suddenly, a vague memory surged into his mind. It seemed that while he had been fully focused on thinking about Heavenly Flames, he had triggered a fragment of memory.

After a long time, Su Heng slowly spoke and asked Otto.

"Teacher, aside from Heavenly Flames, can Beast Flames also be subdued? If I remember correctly, they can also be used for refining medicine. However, the texts I have read only contain scattered fragments, without any complete records about Beast Flames."

In Su Heng's memories, the first flame Xiao Yan had subdued, Purple Flame, had been a Beast Flame.

As for information about Beast Flames, the records in the book grew sparser the further it went, until Su Heng's memories of them had gradually been worn away by time.

Su Heng only remembered that Xiao Yan had subdued Beast Flames and used them to refine pills in the early stages. Now that he had suddenly recalled this part, he asked Otto about it.

"Beast Flames, huh? Now that you mention it, that really is a good option."

Otto pondered for a moment, then his round head abruptly nodded as he gave an affirmative answer.

"Beast Flames, as the name suggests, are the origin flames within Magical Beasts.

"The most common Beast Flames are formed from flame energy extracted from fire-attributed Magical Beasts."

"Some Beast Flames are born alongside Magical Beasts. As long as you obtain a wisp of flame and swallow it into your body to refine it into an Origin Fire Seed, you can use it freely."

"As far as I know, the Beast Flame of the Seventh-Order Magical Beast Illusory Fire Scorpion Dragon Beast, Illusory Gold Flame, appears among the remains of the eggshell after its young hatch. After burning for three days, the eggshell remains are destroyed, and the Beast Flame goes out as well."

"Compared to Dou Qi flames, Beast Flames are far superior in flame quality. The higher the rank of the Magical Beast, the stronger its Beast Flame. The Beast Flames of a small number of Magical Beasts can even rival or surpass Heavenly Flames purely in terms of their effects on medicine refinement."

"If you want to refine a Beast Flame, it is indeed feasible!"

After hearing Otto's explanation, subduing a Beast Flame became the best answer before Su Heng!

There were ten months left until his appointed date with Bo'er, the Salt City lord. If he steadily improved his strength step by step, it would take at least half a year for him to advance to First-grade Alchemist. But if he subdued a Beast Flame, Su Heng would be guaranteed to be a Second-grade Alchemist in half a year.

He and the Mo Family were already mortal enemies. Only by breaking through to become a Second-grade, or even Third-grade Alchemist, could he gain more bargaining chips.

"Teacher, do all Magical Beasts possess Beast Flames? Or is it only fire-attributed Magical Beasts?"

If all Magical Beasts had Beast Flames, then Su Heng already had a ready-made Third-tier Magical Beast he could try it on. If only fire-attributed Magical Beasts had them, then he could only take Qing Lin on a long journey to seek an opportunity in the Magic Beast Mountains.

"In theory, all Magical Beasts possess Beast Flames. The higher a Magical Beast's rank, the greater the chance that it possesses one. Magical Beasts at the Dou Emperor level or above all possess Origin Beast Flames."

"I once read in an ancient text that if the Beast Flames of ten thousand Sixth Rank or higher Magical Beasts were fused together, there would be a certain chance of obtaining a Heavenly Flame: Myriad Beast Spirit Flame."

After thinking for a moment, Otto gave an answer that delighted Su Heng immensely.

"By the way, Teacher! Why haven't you subdued a Beast Flame? You're already a Fourth-grade Alchemist. If you had a Beast Flame, you should be able to break through to Fifth-grade Alchemist, right?"

As he spoke, Su Heng suddenly remembered that Master Otto apparently did not have a Beast Flame. He was still using a Dou Qi flame.

"Sigh... The quality of my Dou Qi flame is equivalent to the Beast Flame of a Fifth Rank Magical Beast. To advance any further, I would need the Beast Flame of a Sixth Rank Magical Beast."

"But Sixth Rank Magical Beasts are equivalent to human Dou Emperor experts. There are only a few people in the entire Jia Ma Empire capable of defeating a Sixth Rank Magical Beast, so naturally I have no way of obtaining a Sixth Rank Beast Flame."

"As for Beast Flames from Fifth Rank Magical Beasts and below, they are useless to me. So I might as well honestly keep using my Dou Qi flame."

Otto was rather helpless. If someone could give him the Beast Flame of a Sixth Rank Magical Beast, he would even have the confidence to challenge the rank of Sixth-grade Alchemist. Unfortunately, fate did not permit it, and he could only accept it.

"I see... If one day your disciple can subdue a Beast Flame of Sixth Rank or above, I'll definitely share it with you, Teacher!"

Su Heng nodded thoughtfully. At this moment, he already had a fairly reliable plan in mind.

"Ha, you brat sure have lofty dreams. Being young is wonderful. You dare to dream and act. When you get old, you won't have that kind of spirit anymore."

Otto let out a long sigh and looked out the window. He was now a Da Dou Shi and a Fourth-grade Alchemist. His life would probably remain like this. Sometimes, when life no longer held any possibilities, one gradually lost the will to strive.

Over the next few hours, Su Heng carefully consulted Otto on the techniques for subduing Beast Flames and all manner of precautions.

Seeing that Su Heng had made up his mind, Otto chose to withhold nothing, telling Su Heng everything he knew.

It had to be said that subduing Beast Flames was indeed several orders of magnitude easier than subduing Heavenly Flames. There was even a method akin to nurturing a Beast Flame:

Find a wisp of Beast Flame, wrap it in Dou Qi, and swallow it into the body.

Open up a space within the Dou Qi Whirlpool to contain the Beast Flame.

Place the Beast Flame within that whirlpool space. The wisp of flame would be nourished by Dou Qi and slowly grow into an Origin Fire Seed. Once the Origin Fire Seed formed, one could summon a tangible Beast Flame and use it to refine pills.

Compared to Heavenly Flames, Beast Flames had far lower temperatures. Furthermore, when facing Heavenly Flames, they would be suppressed by them. No matter how strong one's Beast Flame was, using it to form a tangible attack against a Heavenly Flame wielder would be useless against them.

The only advantage of Beast Flames was that they were relatively mild and not as violent as Heavenly Flames. If both people had relatively low flame-control skill, Beast Flames would produce better results for medicine refinement than Heavenly Flames. Only as one's flame-control ability grew would the gap between Heavenly Flames and Beast Flames become increasingly apparent.

At Su Heng's current stage, possessing a Beast Flame could solve ninety percent of his troubles.

At this point, there was no need for further words.

As the sun sank in the west, Qing Lin and Lin Fei once again returned from shopping very late. Ever since discovering the joy of shopping, Qing Lin had become extremely enthusiastic about such activities, and it made her very happy.

When they returned home, a lavish dinner had long been prepared on the table. Qing Lin usually cooked for Su Heng, but Su Heng was unusually free today, so he personally prepared Qing Lin's favorite grilled fish.

Although Su Heng was a boy, his love of good food meant that his cooking skills were above average. He was only slightly inferior to Qing Lin.

"Wow, Junior Brother, you can cook too? I absolutely have to try it! It looks delicious."

Lin Fei naturally stayed to mooch a meal, and Su Heng had no reason to refuse. It was only an extra bowl and pair of chopsticks.

After eating and drinking their fill, Su Heng watched Lin Fei leave, then discussed the matter of Beast Flames with Qing Lin while washing the dishes.

"Qing Lin, Brother Su Heng needs your help with something very important!"

Seeing Su Heng's serious expression, Qing Lin quickly nodded. Su Heng rarely spoke like this, and whenever he did, it meant something important had happened.

"Help me ask Little Gold whether it has a Beast Flame. A Beast Flame is the origin flame within a Magical Beast. Brother needs a wisp of Beast Flame to refine medicine."

Qing Lin obediently summoned Little Gold from the bag at her side. After a brief exchange, her expression dimmed. She shook her head and spoke softly.

"Little Gold said it hasn't cultivated a Beast Flame yet. Third-tier Magical Beasts almost never have Beast Flames. Fire-attributed Fourth-Order Magical Beasts might have them. If you want a stronger Beast Flame, you can only look for Fifth-Order Magical Beasts or higher."

"Then can you sense the presence of snake-type Magical Beasts? For example, if we go somewhere, can you sense where snake-type Magical Beasts are and roughly what rank they are?"

Those with Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils received feedback from the Magical Beasts they subdued. During her time at the Alchemist Guild, Qing Lin had already advanced to become a Dou Zhe.

Her senses were much sharper than before, and Su Heng boldly guessed that Qing Lin might now possess the ability to sense snake-type Magical Beasts.

"If it's just finding where snake-type Magical Beasts are, I should be able to do that. But I can't sense their realm or rank for now."

Qing Lin pondered for a moment before answering seriously.

"Excellent! That's already enough. Qing Lin, have fun for the next few days. After that, we'll be taking a long trip!"