Alchemy Masters' Guild, Third-Tier Alchemy Master

Xiao Yan and Little Fairy rode the blue giant eagle to the outskirts of Black Rock City, then continued into the city on foot.

The Magic Beast Mountain Range was far too distant from the Tagor Desert. Traveling on foot would take at least four or five months.

The blue giant eagle was not suited for prolonged flight, and it was far too conspicuous.

Xiao Yan placed Little Fairy and the blue giant eagle into his portable space.

As Xiao Yan's cultivation rose, his portable space had expanded once again.

The dimensions of the portable space were as follows:

At the Battle Qi realm, it spanned ten li in every direction, with heaven and earth energy twice as dense as that of Wu Tan City.

At the Battle Practitioner realm, it spanned fifteen li in every direction, with heaven and earth energy three times as dense as that of Wu Tan City.

At the Battle Master realm, upon advancing to Battle Master, the space expanded to span twenty li in every direction. For every additional star, it expanded by five li, while the heaven and earth energy was five times as dense as that of Wu Tan City.

Xiao Yan was now an eight-star Battle Master. His portable space spanned sixty li in every direction, comparable in size to a small county town.

As the portable space expanded, mountains, rivers, forests, and plains appeared within it. These regions contained all kinds of plants, medicinal herbs, and ores, as well as magical beasts.

However, those plants, medicinal herbs, and ores were all exceedingly ordinary, and the magical beasts were rankless as well.

Yet as time passed, with the heaven and earth energy inside the space being so abundant, all of them would gradually improve.

The portable space was a genuine little world, with sun, moon, and stars, with all living things, and with the passage of time.

Once Xiao Yan grew powerful enough, the portable space might well develop into a small thousand world, or even a middle thousand world or great thousand world.

Within the portable space, Xiao Yan was a god.

Inside the space, Xiao Yan's soul power seemed to be amplified. Only then could he freely construct houses and appear anywhere within the space with a single thought.

As long as he wished it, his soul power could sense every corner of the entire space.

As the space grew, he constantly used his soul power within it. After leaving the space and losing its amplification, he discovered that his soul power had actually become stronger.

This discovery greatly delighted Xiao Yan.

After all, soul power was innate and difficult to improve through later cultivation.

Xiao Yan had lived four lives, so his soul power had already been four times that of an ordinary person. After being tempered and strengthened by the space, his soul power doubled, becoming eight times that of an ordinary person.

Twice the soul power meant the initial stage of the Mortal Realm.

Four times the soul power meant the middle stage of the Mortal Realm.

Eight times the soul power meant the late stage of the Mortal Realm.

Sixteen times the soul power meant the perfected Mortal Realm.

Now, Xiao Yan's soul realm had reached the late stage of the Mortal Realm.

The advancement of one's soul realm brought all sorts of benefits.

As for the specific benefits, there was no need to mention them for now.

Xiao Yan entered Black Rock City on foot. This city was one of the Jia Ma Empire's major cities. Its black walls were tall and sturdy, with guards patrolling and standing watch atop them.

The main streets were broad and straight, wide enough for ten carriages to travel side by side. Shops and buildings lined both sides in orderly rows, while people flowed endlessly through the streets.

Xiao Yan found an inn and settled in.

Or rather, once he entered his room, he went into his portable space.

Sleeping alone in an inn could not compare to sleeping in the space while holding the soft and delicate Little Fairy.

Of course, such matters between a man and a woman could not be done every day. Xiao Yan possessed the Vajra Saint Body, so no number of times would be a problem for him, but Little Fairy was different. Excessive indulgence would harm her vitality, energy, and spirit.

Therefore, Xiao Yan always restrained himself. As a Battle Master-level expert, restraining his desires was not difficult.

The next day, just as dawn broke, Xiao Yan left the inn.

Today, he was going to the Alchemy Masters' Guild to undergo the assessment and obtain certification for his alchemy master rank.

Given Xiao Yan's low-key nature, he had not originally wanted to certify his alchemy master rank.

However, a few words from Medicine Elder had made him decide to do so.

An alchemy master's status was extremely prestigious on the Battle Qi Continent. Sometimes, that identity could play a major role at a critical moment.

You could not simply claim to be an alchemy master capable of refining third-tier pills and expect others to believe you.

You still needed certification. Without it, you could not prove your identity.

Xiao Yan easily found out where the Alchemy Masters' Guild was located. After turning through several streets, he saw a grand and imposing building.

Alchemy masters were a profession that never lacked money. Naturally, the Alchemy Masters' Guild was built grandly and luxuriously, occupying a vast area and towering far above the surrounding buildings. It had become a landmark of Black Rock City.

Before the Alchemy Masters' Guild was a massive plaza, where guards maintained order.

When Xiao Yan stepped forward and wanted to enter the Alchemy Masters' Guild, the guards stopped him and demanded a letter of recommendation from his master.

On the Battle Qi Continent, alchemy master inheritances were passed down from master to disciple, so every alchemy master had a mentor.

Xiao Yan could not produce a mentor's letter of recommendation, so he could only release the Purple Flame he had obtained by absorbing the Companion Purple Crystal Source.

Being able to condense a real flame was the mark of a fourth-tier alchemy master. Xiao Yan's display immediately stunned the two guards. Their cold faces instantly broke into ingratiating smiles, and their straight backs bent nearly one hundred and eight degrees as they respectfully pushed open the guild doors for Xiao Yan.

Sighing once more at the esteemed status of alchemy masters, Xiao Yan stepped into the guild hall.

A woman dressed in a light green gown received Xiao Yan.

Xiao Yan glanced at the name on her chest: Chang Xinxin. It was a very pleasant name.

Chang Xinxin registered Xiao Yan's information with a smile, her slender fingers deftly twirling a black pen.

When she heard that Xiao Yan wanted to register for the first-, second-, and third-tier alchemy master assessments, her rosy lips parted slightly as she stared at him in astonishment, thinking she had misheard him.

After confirming with Xiao Yan once again that she had heard correctly, Chang Xinxin's eyes still held suspicion. However, she shook her head, knowing it was not her place to interfere. She led Xiao Yan to the outside of the assessment hall, then swayed away on her alluring waist.

The assessment hall was enormous, capable of accommodating over a hundred alchemy masters taking assessments at once.

Xiao Yan looked at the armband the staff had given him. It bore the number 18. He walked to the stone platform marked 18, where there was a two-mouthed medicinal cauldron, three jade bottles, and three portions of medicinal ingredients.

These were the ingredients for refining the first-tier Strength-Accumulating Pill.

To Xiao Yan's right stood two young beauties.

One was a girl in silver robes, with waist-length white hair, exquisite features, and skin like snow.

The other was a girl in purple, her long green hair bound by a purple ribbon. She was breathtakingly beautiful.

When they noticed Xiao Yan looking at them, disdain appeared in both their eyes, and they shot him fierce glares.

Their mentors were both fourth-tier alchemy masters. The purple-clad girl's mentor was the renowned Master Otto, while the silver-robed girl's mentor was Frank, the president of Black Rock City's Alchemy Masters' Guild.

A disciple basked in her master's prestige. The people around them usually went out of their way to flatter and fawn over them, and over time, even the humblest person would become arrogant.

Xiao Yan made no impression on them at all. He was even dressed in ordinary black clothes, so he clearly had no notable teacher.

Being slighted for no reason, Xiao Yan merely smiled faintly.

The assessment began. Surging Purple Flame rose within Xiao Yan's cauldron, stunning Frank, all the alchemy masters, and the silver-robed and purple-clad girls alike.

Xiao Yan paid no attention to everyone's gazes. He refined the Strength-Accumulating Pill in an orderly fashion, and his effortless alchemy techniques earned the admiration of even high-tier alchemy masters like Frank.

In just over half an hour, a pale yellow, translucent Strength-Accumulating Pill was completed successfully on his first attempt.

The silver-robed and purple-clad girls to his right were not so fortunate. They used up all three portions of ingredients without successfully refining a pill, leaving them covered in soot and dust.

The pride on their little faces had now turned to dejection, and a trace of something different appeared in their eyes as they looked at Xiao Yan.

"Han Li, nineteen years old. Young man, you truly are remarkable. Congratulations on becoming a first-tier alchemy master."

Frank personally approached with the first-tier alchemy master's badge and offered his congratulations with a smile.

Frank could not help but take him seriously. After all, even Pill King Gu He of the Jia Ma Empire had only been a first-tier alchemy master at the age of nineteen.

Han Li was the alias Xiao Yan used.

Xiao Yan did not take the badge. Smiling lightly, he said, "I would like to continue with the second-tier alchemy master assessment."