First Steps

"What? He really has it!"

"Yes, Family Head. It took the boy less than fifteen minutes to find the Wood Qi within his body."

"What is the Wu Family thinking? They don't even want an Alchemist?"

"Uh... Family Head, the boy had never been tested for his affinity before."

"Hmm?"

Even Han Chi, the head of the Han Family and a Dou Huang expert, could not make sense of the Wu Family's thinking.

A fourteen-year-old Dou Zhe with the talent to become an Alchemist would be treasured by the Han Family. How could the Wu Family cast him aside without a second thought?

Unless...

Did the Wu Family have so many children with a talent for alchemy that they could not afford to train them all?

"Family Head, should we still train the boy?"

"Send him to Elder Zhu Qian. One more student won't make a difference. Even if he barely reaches the first rank, the Han Family will come out ahead."

The Alchemist profession demanded a heavy investment at the start, but after that, it paid for itself many times over.

Even a first-rank Alchemist possessed wealth beyond an ordinary person's imagination.

"Elder Zhu Qian is an honored guest of the Han Family and a Fifth-Rank Alchemist! You may not understand what that means yet, but you only need to know this: even Dou Huang experts treat a Fifth-Rank Alchemist with respect."

"The elder is reserved and dislikes noise..."

The steward wanted to build a good relationship with this talented young Alchemist, so he gave Wu Bai a thorough account of the Fifth-Rank Alchemist's temperament.

Wu Bai listened carefully. Even in the Central Plains, a Fifth-Rank Alchemist was an important figure.

Given his current circumstances, a Fifth-Rank Alchemist was the highest-ranking Alchemist he could hope to meet.

Before long, Wu Bai followed the steward into a spacious academy courtyard.

It was large and bright.

Bold black characters posted around the courtyard warned: No noise!

More than a dozen identical small rooms lined the two sides of the courtyard. A raised platform stood in the center, with dozens of round stone slabs arranged around it.

"The locked rooms are unoccupied. You can choose one. The elder comes to teach once every half month. His next lesson is in three days, so be sure to arrive early."

"Thank you for the advice, Steward. I'll remember it."

"It's my duty. No need to thank me."

In the end, Wu Bai chose a room with no occupants on either side.

The room in the corner was already taken, so it was not an option.

Now that he knew the way, Wu Bai returned to his quarters to receive his teacher's instruction.

He would come back to the academy in three days.

As it happened, the courtyard where he stayed was now his alone. No one would move into the empty room; it was reserved for his alchemy practice.

Three days passed in a flash. With a legendary figure like the Yellow Springs Demon Saint teaching him, Wu Bai had already grasped the basics.

And that was despite the Cultivation Technique being Low Earth Tier.

At first light, Wu Bai pushed open his door and headed for the academy.

But no one was there.

Wu Bai took out his key and unlocked the room he had chosen.

It was a simple little room. The walls were unusually thick, apparently for soundproofing.

Moonlight Stones set around the walls gave off a soft glow, bright enough to see by without straining the eyes.

The thick walls also ate into the space, leaving an interior about the size of a shipping container.

Inside stood a Medicine Cauldron. Beside it lay an unclaimed Storage Ring filled with Medicinal Herbs.

Wu Bai could not identify the herbs, and neither could the Yellow Springs Demon Saint. He had little memory of such common low-grade ingredients.

So Wu Bai sat quietly in the room and meditated, waiting for the Fifth-Rank Alchemist to arrive.

Several hours later, the Yellow Springs Demon Saint's voice sounded in Wu Bai's mind.

"He's here."

Wu Bai opened his eyes, straightened his clothes, and stepped out of the room.

Eight or nine people had gathered in the courtyard. All were young adults around twenty, sitting quietly on the round stone slabs.

Wu Bai followed their example and took a seat toward the back.

Someone heard him, opened his eyes, and saw an unfamiliar boy. He nodded in greeting.

A few minutes later, the atmosphere in the courtyard shifted, and an elderly voice rang out, tinged with aloof pride.

"What's your name?"

"Wu Bai."

"Hmm."

The cold, haughty elder gave a soft grunt, then waved his hand. A distinguished-looking Medicine Cauldron landed before him.

Several Medicinal Herbs appeared beside it. Wu Bai remembered seeing all of them in the Storage Ring.

"Blood-Stopping Powder."

With that, the elder began refining.

Perhaps because there was a newcomer today, the elder deliberately slowed his movements.

The young members of the Han Family silently thanked Wu Bai for it!

Wu Bai was wholly absorbed in watching the elder and had no attention to spare for them.

He dared not miss even the smallest movement.

The flame's temperature at each moment, the interval between every step... Wu Bai committed it all to memory.

After finishing the Blood-Stopping Powder, the elder cleaned the Medicine Cauldron.

"Wound-Healing Pill."

Before lighting the flame, the elder saw that Wu Bai was still watching intently and said, "You needn't learn this yet. It won't be too late once you can refine Blood-Stopping Powder."

"Yes."

Wu Bai nodded. He knew he was getting ahead of himself, but he could not help watching with curiosity.

The elder said no more. He continued his demonstration, refining the Wound-Healing Pill.

Once that was done, the elder refined a first-rank Qi Recovery Pill.

And with that, the half-monthly lesson was over.

Students with questions had to think them through or ask someone else. They could not disturb the elder.

Otherwise, they could wait for the next lesson in half a month, when he would teach the exact same things.

As soon as the lesson ended, Wu Bai hurried back to his room to try it himself.

Everyone else did the same, returning to their rooms at once to reproduce what they had seen and refine the medicines successfully.

Pfft...

"The flame was too strong."

Pfft...

"The flame was too weak."

Pfft...

"I waited too long."

Pfft...

"I didn't wait long enough."

Pfft...

"I moved too fast."

Pfft...

"Too slow."

Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!

When someone devoted himself completely to a task, he lost all sense of time.

And so time slipped by unnoticed.

The reserves of Dou Qi granted by his Low Earth Tier Cultivation Technique let Wu Bai expend it freely.

His Soul Power, growing stronger at every moment, kept his mind exceptionally sharp.

Two days later, Wu Bai forced himself through his exhaustion and began cultivating.

As he breathed slowly and deeply, the energy of heaven and earth rapidly gathered around him.

Several more hours passed before Wu Bai opened his eyes with some difficulty. A hint of relief appeared on his face.

His cultivation had advanced considerably. And...

Wu Bai looked down and saw bottles of faintly glowing green medicine, portioned out at some point while he cultivated.

"Thank you, Teacher."

"I only took care of the finishing touches. What is there to thank me for?"