Early the next morning, Xiao Yu left the inn and headed toward the city center.
After passing through several streets, Xiao Yu finally reached the spacious square a dozen or so minutes later.
More than a dozen enormous bird-type magical beasts stood in the square, occupying most of its space. On each bird's back stood a magnificent multistory building that looked large enough to accommodate a hundred people.
Xiao Yu looked around, found the ticket booth, and went over to queue for a ticket.
Looking at the long line, Xiao Yu could not help sighing. "Alchemists really do enjoy an exalted status. If I'd taken the exam for an Alchemist Badge, I wouldn't have to queue here."
With his current strength and soul power, Xiao Yu was capable of refining fourth-rank pills and could take the examination for an Alchemist Badge. His pill-refining method, however, was worlds apart from that of traditional alchemists.
One careless mistake during the examination could expose his Lightning-Fire Pill Refining Method.
The difference might seem to lie only in his attributes, but once exposed, its repercussions would be unimaginable.
First of all, traditional alchemists used fire and wood as the foundation of their craft. If, one day, another kind of alchemist suddenly appeared, using lightning and fire instead, how would traditional alchemists react?
Although people with dual attributes resulting from soul mutations were rare, that was only when considering individual regions. Across the entire Dou Qi Continent, there were probably several million people with both lightning and fire attributes. Scattered among the continent's tens of trillions of inhabitants, those few million represented a probability of 0.000001, so naturally, no one would consider them numerous. (The author doesn't know how many there are either, so I just made up a number. If anyone has researched this, let me know and I can change it.)
But what if those several million people all became alchemists? They would form a force that no one would dare underestimate, even in the Central Plains. Moreover, pills produced through the Lightning-Fire Pill Refining Method were superior in quality to those refined using fire and wood.
This referred to pills refined by ordinary cultivators with lightning and fire attributes. Xiao Yu was a cheat-powered freak and did not count.
That would deal a tremendous blow to traditional alchemists. No alchemist wanted their profession's standing threatened.
If Xiao Yu exposed his Lightning-Fire Pill Refining Method, he would be making enemies of the vast majority of alchemists on the continent.
Although this was merely his conjecture, he would not gamble on it even if there were only a one-in-ten-thousand chance of it coming true. The price was far too steep.
Although Xiao Yu had spoken very softly, a middle-aged man behind him still heard him.
"Young man, alchemists enjoy far too exalted a status. I'd advise you not to entertain such fantasies. You'd be better off thinking about how to improve your strength. Become powerful, and you can enjoy privileges and command respect just the same."
"You're still young, so you have a chance. Unlike me-I'm already well into my forties, and I'm only a one-star Dou Shi."
"Speaking of which, young man, what stage of Dou Qi have you reached?"
The middle-aged man smiled and patted Xiao Yu on the shoulder. His expression was exceptionally friendly, and his tone brimmed with encouragement.
Caught off guard by the pat, Xiao Yu froze for a moment at the older man's smiling face leaning toward him and his encouraging words.
Then he smiled. "You're right, sir. The requirements for becoming an alchemist really are too demanding. Better to work hard and grow stronger. A powerful cultivator isn't much worse off than an alchemist."
"I'm nothing special. I'm seventeen this year, a five-star Dou Zhe."
No sooner had he finished speaking than it was his turn to buy a ticket. Xiao Yu hurriedly handed the money he had prepared to the beautiful uniformed woman at the booth.
The woman accepted Xiao Yu's gold coins with a look of surprise, then took out a specially made beast-hide ticket and handed it to him.
Xiao Yu had not spoken quietly just now, so the beautiful ticket seller had naturally heard him.
A seventeen-year-old five-star Dou Zhe already counted as a rare talent, and he was so handsome, too.
Such a talented young man was already the partner most ordinary women dreamed of. Naturally, she was surprised, and she also wanted to ask where Xiao Yu lived.
Xiao Yu accepted the ticket without noticing the ticket seller's expression.
"Thank you."
"Goodbye, sir."
After thanking the ticket seller, Xiao Yu left and followed the information on his ticket to the designated Thick-Winged Bird.
The middle-aged man stared after Xiao Yu, dumbstruck.
"Good heavens-a seventeen-year-old five-star Dou Zhe. Truly terrifying!"
The ticket seller, meanwhile, gazed resentfully at Xiao Yu's departing figure. Why are you leaving so quickly? I haven't even asked where you're from yet.
Soon, Xiao Yu reached the designated Thick-Winged Bird, boarded the building on its back, and found his room.
The room was not large. After all, the Thick-Winged Bird did not have much space on its back, so all the rooms were designed to be fairly small. Still, it was tastefully furnished and clean.
It certainly could not compare with the accommodations on flying transport magical beasts reserved exclusively for alchemists.
Xiao Yu did not mind, though. Exclusive transport had its advantages, and ordinary transport had its own: fewer hassles. He remembered that Xiao Yan had encountered bandits during a flight who wanted to seize the pills Yao Lao had refined.
Those Second-Rank Alchemists had acted as though they had no brains. Despite knowing that someone inside the room was refining pills of at least the fourth rank, they had still dared to try to steal them. They really had mistaken themselves for mighty experts.
What Xiao Yu feared encountering most was precisely that kind of idiot-not only troublesome, but also relentlessly persistent, as though they had lost their minds.
Yes, as everyone knew, Xiao Yu was a man who feared trouble.
Sitting quietly on the bed, Xiao Yu sank his consciousness into his Storage Ring and began taking inventory of the medicinal ingredients needed to refine the Mystic Essence Pill.
When he had obtained the Pill Formula earlier, he had used those dozen or so Fourth-Order Magical Beasts in the Magical Beast Mountain Range to gather every ingredient.
He had collected enough ingredients for five batches. After all, this was a top-tier fourth-rank pill, and Xiao Yu feared something might go wrong during refining, so he had prepared several extra sets.
As for magic cores, he naturally had no shortage. During his time in the Magical Beast Mountain Range, he had encountered quite a few Fourth-Order Magical Beasts that had failed to recognize whom they were dealing with. His Storage Ring already held more than a dozen fourth-order magic cores.
Of course, these magic cores had not come from the magical beasts he controlled. Once Xiao Yu left the Magical Beast Mountain Range, he had withdrawn the Three Thousand Puppet Thunders and set them free. After enslaving them to find medicinal ingredients for him, killing them as well would have been like slaughtering the donkey once it had finished turning the mill.
Since the Mystic Essence Pill required quite a few ingredients, Xiao Yu swept through them several times with his soul perception before stopping. After all, it required neutralizing three fourth-order magic cores, so there were bound to be plenty of medicinal ingredients.
Once he confirmed that no ingredients were missing, Xiao Yu sat cross-legged on the bed and began cultivating. He did not want to waste even a moment now.
Traveling aboard an ordinary passenger-carrying Thick-Winged Bird, reaching the border would take seven or eight days. It was considerably slower than the flying magical beasts reserved exclusively for alchemists.
The journey was fairly peaceful, with no major incidents. However, because Thick-Winged Birds were unranked beasts, several bouts of strong wind along the way buffeted the bird up and down.
These Thick-Winged Birds were seasoned veterans. Despite the rough ride, they finally reached Desert City with a few scares but no real danger.
This further strengthened Xiao Yu's resolve to subdue the Amethyst Winged Lion King in the future. With a sixth-order flying mount, he could go wherever he pleased without any effort.
Just a bit of transition, a bit of transition. Next, we'll be entering the Tagor Desert. Queen Medusa is coming!!
Before you continue