The Old Man in the Storage Ring: Han Feng

Xiao Yan returned looking oddly secretive. He ignored the women and walked straight into the Secret Chamber.

Cai Lin's eye twitched. She rubbed her forehead helplessly. "This guy..."

Inside the Secret Chamber.

Xiao Yan examined the Advanced Storage Ring. Heavenly Flames gradually spread across his palm, slowly erasing the remnants of the Seal on it. Within half an hour, the pale blue ring lay fully exposed before him.

He checked its contents and found quite a haul: copies of Pill recipes from the second to the sixth grade, along with a wealth of Medicinal Materials. Together, they were worth more than Five Million Gold Coins.

Clearly, the ring's previous owner had been an Alchemist.

More importantly—

"The Flame Mantra. A Fragment."

Xiao Yan narrowed his eyes at a battered scroll. The four characters on it stood out. "Flame Mantra" appeared to be part of the original title, while "Fragment" had clearly been added later.

He flipped through it and found many notes toward the back.

It looked more like a Log.

``` [Central Plains calendar—My second year under Master's care. I started learning alchemy and finally reached the First Rank today. Master called me a Genius. I'm so happy...]

[Third year. I advanced to the second rank. My talent ranks among the best in all of Starfall Pavilion. Only Gu Ling refuses to give me the time of day. She even secretly urges Master to be wary of me. Despicable. I'll kill that old wretch.]

[Sixth year. I advanced to Three-Rank Alchemist. Master finally taught me the Flame Mantra, and I was appointed Young Pavilion Master of Starfall Pavilion. Humble, cautious, discreet...]

[...]

[Thirty-seventh year. I advanced to Six-Rank Alchemist. Only by chance did I learn that the old bastard never taught me the Complete Flame Mantra. He held back!