Xiao Yi Xian: Young Master, I'm about to surpass you

“But without a skilled Alchemist to teach you, your growth will slow down, and your talent will go to waste.”

Ya Fei shifted the conversation, her expression turning serious.

She felt that giving up the substantial support he was certain to receive because of a possible risk was like refusing to eat for fear of choking.

“Sister Ya Fei, I only want to keep a slightly lower profile, not hide all my abilities and damage my prospects.” Chu Zhou understood her concerns and explained, “I'm only a four-star Dou Zhe right now. Even with a powerful Alchemist teaching me, refining Grade Three Pills would still be a struggle. I'd be better off refining more Grade Two Pills and solidifying my foundations in alchemy.”

“Once I'm a High-Rank Dou Zhe, or have broken through to Dou Shi, and my foundations are firm, I'll take the Second-Rank Alchemist Examination. I believe the talent I show then will still be enough for you to convince Patriarch Mittel Tengshan to invest heavily in me. It won't delay me much, and my talent won't be so conspicuous that the Mittel Family's enemies feel they have to eliminate me. What do you think?”

Alchemy proficiency did not necessarily correspond to cultivation level, but cultivation did affect the heights an Alchemist could reach.

Under normal circumstances, no matter how gifted a Dou Zhe Alchemist was, refining Grade Three Pills was difficult. The higher a pill's grade, the longer it took to refine, and the more dou qi the Alchemist had to expend. Higher-grade pills also required a higher level of flame to refine and fuse their ingredients.

Insufficient cultivation directly increased the difficulty of refining and the chance of failure. Of course, possessing heavenly flames or cultivating a high-grade cultivation method could overcome this problem to some extent.

Chu Zhou cultivated a High Xuan Tier Cultivation Technique and possessed the heavenly flame Mystic Yellow Azure Flame, whose grade matched his cultivation level. In terms of the necessary capabilities, he was perfectly able to refine Grade Three Pills.

What he had told Ya Fei was merely an excuse to buy time.

As long as he had enough Grade Three Pills, he could soon reach the third rank as an Alchemist. After his cultivation broke through to Dou Shi, becoming a Fourth-Rank Alchemist would not take long either. There was no need to find himself a teacher to lord over him.

Ya Fei knew none of this, so after a moment's thought, she nodded in agreement. “You're right. Then I won't tell anyone about your true alchemy abilities for now, or report them to the Family's higher-ups. Just proceed as you suggested.”

If Chu Zhou first built a solid foundation and raised his strength to Dou Shi, becoming a Fourth-Rank Alchemist would only be a matter of time.

"You really are understanding, Sister Ya Fei." Chu Zhou immediately offered a compliment, then added, "But I'll still have to trouble you to collect some Grade Three Pills and Recipes for me. Even if I don't take a teacher for now, I can still build up some experience on my own."

“I know, my young master Chu Zhou.” Ya Fei smiled and lowered her gaze to her hand. “So, can you let go now?”

“Sorry.” Chu Zhou immediately withdrew his hand.

He had to admit that Ya Fei took excellent care of herself. Her hand was soft and supple, her skin smooth.

Although her nickname was the Golden Empress, the "gold" referred to money. Her own dou qi had the water attribute.

"I'll be off, then, you little rogue." Ya Fei turned with a smile and strode away, her figure swaying.

After watching her leave, Chu Zhou closed his eyes and checked the Chat Channel.

[This is beyond ridiculous. I've only gone up one stage of dou qi, and God Chu is already a second-rank Alchemist.]

[To become an Alchemist, you need fire-attribute dou qi with a trace of Wood Attribute, outstanding innate Soul Force, and someone to teach you. How did God Chu meet all those conditions in such a short time and still progress so quickly?]

[Unless Chu Zhou tells us himself, outsiders have no way of knowing.]

[God Chu, can you share your location? I'll come join you right away.]

[Chu Zhou is one of us Koreans, imnida. Please return to your homeland as soon as you see this. Korea will spare no effort in nurturing you.]

[Chu Zhou-san, this is a representative of Little Japan's Extraordinary Bureau speaking. Please consider joining Little Japan when you see this. Luxury cars, beautiful women, wealth, status—we can also share everything our nation knows about the Dou Qi Continent with you.]

[...]

In this Chat Channel, Chu Zhou saw all kinds of people.

Unlike the casual chatter before, this time he saw many coordinated messages, all from representatives of national authorities hoping to recruit him.

This was entirely within his expectations. After his first appearance in an announcement, the authorities of major countries and people from various financial conglomerates and influential families must have done everything they could to find him. Yet they had uncovered nothing, so now they could only try to entice him on a public platform.

"But I still don't want to expose myself or step into the spotlight. Keeping a low profile is king. I've got to be cautious and brave!"

Chu Zhou opened the Jia Ma Empire Chat Channel, then entered the Northeast Province Chat Channel and watched for a while.

Places where people spoke publicly might contain information that interested him or proved useful.

"Once I'm strong enough, I'll establish a small faction made up mainly of players and recruit people specifically to sort through and record useful information."

Chu Zhou closed the Chat Channel and turned his attention to the diagram that had appeared deep within his soul.

The Great Sun Visualization Diagram.

When he looked at the diagram, he seemed to enter a new world, witnessing the birth of a Great Sun, sunlight shining everywhere and nurturing life, the utmost strength and Yang Attribute, all things brimming with vitality...

Two hours later, Chu Zhou stopped visualizing and keenly sensed an increase in his soul power.

The improvement was greater than what he gained from refining Grade Two Pills or cultivating the Azure Flame Soul-Refining Art.

The Myriad Medicine Clarity Body was a cheat.

The Mystic Yellow Azure Flame was a cheat too.

Now he also had the Great Sun Visualization Diagram.

"I've got more and more cheats!"

Time flew, and three months passed in the blink of an eye.

During those three months, every day was immensely fulfilling for Chu Zhou, and nothing particularly unusual happened.

He refined Grade Two Pills and gave them to Ya Fei to sell, building his alchemy experience while accumulating wealth through their mutually beneficial partnership.

Every day, he took three Grade Three Pills of the same kind and circulated the Azure Flame Soul-Refining Art, working with the Myriad Medicine Clarity Body to absorb their medicinal power and strengthen his physique while gaining experience in refining that type of Grade Three Pill.

By now, Chu Zhou had mastered the refining methods for nine of the most common Grade Three Pills. Learning one more should bring him to the level of a Third-Rank Alchemist.

Every day, he visualized the Great Sun Visualization Diagram instead of sleeping, leaving him refreshed the next morning with a noticeable improvement in Soul Force.

He returned to Blue Star for all three daily meals and occasionally went out to hunt Late First-Tier Spirit Beasts, tempering his dou qi and gaining combat experience while also turning them into resources to increase his strength.

[Name]: Chu Zhou

[Age]: 22

[Attributes]: Fire with Wood Attribute

[Talents]: Void Perception / Myriad Medicine Clarity Body

[Realm]: Peak Nine-Star Dou Zhe (dou qi), Peak Early Mortal Realm (soul), Peak First-Tier (Medicine Body; physique comparable to a Seven-Colored Heaven Swallowing Python of the same tier.)

[Cultivation methods]: Azure Flame Soul-Refining Art (high Xuan tier), Great Sun Visualization Diagram (special Secret Technique for improving the soul)

[Dou techniques]: Azure Slashing Sword Aura (Mid Xuan Tier / grows with the soul), Mad Lion's Roar (high Xuan tier), Explosive Flame Step (Low Xuan Tier), Fire-Pushing Palm (High Huang Tier)

[Secondary profession]: Alchemist (Peak Grade Two)

[Equipment]: Storage Ring / Azure Steel Sword (Low Fourth-Rank Dou Weapon)

His cultivation, soul, physique, and Alchemy were all on the verge of a breakthrough.

Looking at his current stats, Chu Zhou was barely satisfied.

Why barely?

Because Xiao Yi Xian's cheat was even more absurd. With the unlimited supply of first-tier Poison Pills Ya Fei provided, her cultivation had also risen to nine-star Dou Zhe.

"Young Master, Sister Ya Fei found me a second-tier poisonous herb." Xiao Yi Xian set the pastries she had made herself in front of Chu Zhou, a mischievous gleam in her eyes. "You said you'd always be stronger than me, but I'm going to break through to Dou Shi tomorrow."

Chu Zhou: "..."

Looks like I'll have to get serious!