Xuan Hao, Third-Rank Alchemist

"Master, this is bad! Mister Liu is missing," a maid said in the hall, trembling with fear.

"Find him! Even if you have to dig three feet into the ground, find Mister Liu!" Jia Lie Bi slammed the table and roared.

At some point, a rumor began spreading through every street and alley of Wutan City. It said Xiao Zhan had feared the alchemist Liu Xi would help the Jia Lie Family turn things around, so he had snuck into the Jia Lie Family at night, killed Liu Xi, burned the body, and destroyed the evidence. Witnesses had even appeared, claiming they had gone out to piss in the night and seen Patriarch Xiao carrying Liu Xi's corpse as he shot out of Wutan City. Their stories sounded vivid and convincing.

"See this? This is that so-called One-Seal Treasure Artifact. Cost me several thousand gold coins," a burly mercenary said loudly, drawing the sword at his waist and showing it off.

"So this is the legendary divine weapon? I heard you can't buy one on the market now even if you've got ten thousand gold. The black market's already driven the price up past ten thousand gold coins." On the street, mercenaries gathered in small groups, talking loudly. And the center of their conversation was the item that had been selling with abnormal popularity lately—

the One-Seal Treasure Artifact.

"Fuck, pills are so damn expensive these days. I can barely afford them anymore." At the entrance of the Xiao Family marketplace, mercenaries cursed and grumbled.

Recently, pill prices in Wutan City had soared, and the culprit was none other than Jia Lie Jun. While he produced large numbers of One-Seal Treasure Artifacts for sale, he also wantonly bought up medicinal ingredients, causing a shortage of herbs in Wutan City until demand far outstripped supply. Some families could only purchase from other cities, which greatly increased their costs. They might even run into bandits while transporting the medicinal ingredients; with one careless mistake, not only would the herbs be stolen, they might even lose their lives.

That rumor had also spread through Wutan City like wildfire, becoming the talk of the town after meals and over tea. It had thrown the Xiao Family into a panic as well, leaving them afraid that Liu Xi's master would come to seek revenge. When Xun Er and Xiao Yan heard the rumor, each had different thoughts.

"Jia Lie Jun is truly despicable," Xun Er cursed inwardly. Though she was furious, there was nothing she could do. She could not exactly stand out and say she had been the one who killed him. And lately, Xiao Yan had always been staring blankly at her. Their originally inseparable relationship now somehow felt as if a barrier had appeared between them.

"Could Jia Lie Jun and Xun Er have joined forces to frame my father? No, impossible. Xun Er isn't that kind of person. Besides, I was still the one who killed him in the end." Xiao Yan's thoughts ran wild, but a trace of dissatisfaction toward Xun Er had appeared in his heart. It was all because of her that his father had suffered this unjust accusation. At the same time, a seed called suspicion had already quietly fallen to the ground and taken root.

The Jia Lie Family rode the wind of the rumor and fanned the flames. Jia Lie Bi secretly sent men to contact Liu Xi's master. If they could make an alchemist bear a grudge against the Xiao Family, then nothing could be better.

"I, Xuan Hao, will never coexist under the same sky as the Xiao Family!" On the main seat in the hall sat a middle-aged man who looked to be in his forties. He wore alchemist robes, and on his chest was an association badge with three stars shining brightly upon it. His large hand slammed heavily onto the tabletop, and the table instantly split apart. This middle-aged man was precisely Liu Xi's master, Xuan Hao, a tier-three alchemist.

"Exactly. That Xiao Family is truly despicable and shameless. My Jia Lie Family will spare no effort to avenge Young Master Liu." Jia Lie Bi stood respectfully at the side and echoed him.

"Good. Prepare some men. Follow me to slaughter our way to the Xiao Family and avenge my disciple," Xuan Hao said sternly.

Jia Lie Jun hurried forward to stop him. "You mustn't."

When Xuan Hao heard this, he followed the voice and looked over, only to see a handsome young man with a tall, straight figure and an exceptionally outstanding bearing. Moreover, faint fluctuations of Soul Power emanated from his entire body.

"Jun'er, how impudent! You dare contradict Master Xuan Hao?" Jia Lie Bi shouted harshly.

Xuan Hao waved his hand and looked at Jia Lie Jun with great interest. "Why not?"

"Rumor has it that Xiao Yan has taken a tier-three alchemist as his teacher, and that alchemist is also a Dou Ling. The Xiao Family also has several elders, all of whom possess Da Dou Shi cultivation. If we recklessly attack their door, it's very likely both sides will suffer heavy losses. So the matter of revenge must be considered carefully." Jia Lie Jun glanced at Jia Lie Bi and spoke neither servilely nor arrogantly.

"Well said. Before figuring out the enemy's true strength, recklessly attacking their door would indeed be somewhat rash." Xuan Hao nodded. Then he asked, "Little brother, what attribute is your Dou Qi?"

"Dual fire and wood attribute Dou Qi," Jia Lie Jun immediately replied.

Hearing this, Xuan Hao looked at Jia Lie Jun with a burning gaze, as though he were looking at a priceless treasure. He pressed both hands onto Jia Lie Jun's shoulders and asked with some excitement, "Little brother, do you want to become a respected alchemist?"

"Of course." Jia Lie Jun put on an expression filled with admiration.

"Then are you willing to become my disciple? I see faint fluctuations of Soul Power emanating from your entire body, so your Spiritual Power must be extremely abundant. Moreover, your Dou Qi attribute is fire with wood mixed in. You are naturally excellent material for becoming an alchemist." Xuan Hao's eyes were filled with anticipation.

"Disciple is willing." Jia Lie Jun suppressed the excitement in his heart and hurried forward to perform a disciple's greeting.

"Haha, good. From now on, you are my, Xuan Hao's, second disciple." Xuan Hao burst into loud laughter.

Over the following days, Jia Lie Jun practiced alchemy day and night. Of course, it was worth mentioning that during his continuous alchemy, the Spiritual Power within his Niwan Palace had actually grown much more vigorous without him realizing it, and there were faint signs of him breaking through to Two-Seal Symbol Master. After these days of practice, Jia Lie Jun could be said to have improved with astonishing speed, shocking Xuan Hao so badly his jaw almost dropped as he repeatedly called him a monster.

In truth, there was a reason Jia Lie Jun improved so quickly. It was all because of the Ancestral Stone. First of all, the Ancestral Stone had the ability to extract the essence of medicinal ingredients, and extracting medicinal essence was an extremely crucial step in alchemy. With the Ancestral Stone's help, Jia Lie Jun could complete it with ease. At night, he practiced alchemy techniques within the Ancestral Stone space, and the Ancestral Stone could even perfect those techniques, which counted as an unexpected delight. After these days of practice, Jia Lie Jun could already refine some simple pills. The pills he refined had also been put onto the market. Although their medicinal effects could not compare with Blood Coagulating Powder, they were not far off. There was no helping it; this was a problem with the recipe, and Jia Lie Jun was powerless to change it. Moreover, because their price was a little cheaper, the market response was quite good. As this continued, the Jia Lie Family's pill business actually slowly began to show some improvement.

After spending these days together, he had also gained a deeper understanding of Xuan Hao. Xuan Hao was someone who doted on his disciples quite heavily. Otherwise, Liu Xi would not have developed that kind of personality. Furthermore, Xuan Hao had not backed down because he did not know the enemy's full strength, nor had he chosen to give up on avenging his disciple. Jia Lie Jun often wondered why, when he had read the book back then, he had viewed Liu Xi's master as a villain. Thinking about it now, it was because he had substituted himself into the protagonist's perspective and had not considered things from the other side. If he looked at it from a different angle, perhaps he would not think that way.

"Have you heard of Jia Nan Academy?" Jia Liet looked kindly at Jia Lie Jun, his eyes filled with gratification. He was now becoming more and more satisfied with this grandson of his. Not only was his cultivation strong, he was also an alchemist. Now, who in the family did not try to curry favor with him? Wherever he went, Jia Liet felt especially proud.

"I have. It's said that Jia Nan Academy is located at the intersection of several great empires, and its strength is extremely great. Those empires don't dare offend it. I've also heard that Jia Nan Academy has cultivated quite a few famous experts." Jia Lie Jun searched his mind for his impression of Jia Nan Academy.

"Correct. Jia Nan Academy is an extremely powerful force. Even the Misty Cloud Sect is somewhat weaker by comparison. Recently, Jia Nan Academy will be coming to Wutan City to recruit students, and you are the person in our family most likely to be accepted. So Grandpa wants you to give it a try," Jia Liet said, his face filled with expectation.

"Yes, Grandpa. Your grandson will definitely do his utmost," Jia Lie Jun said solemnly. In truth, he had originally planned to join Jia Nan Academy. The academy possessed the Heavenly Flame ranked fourteenth, the Falling Heart Flame, and the Imperial Fire Scripture he cultivated was extremely compatible with Heavenly Flames. Moreover, even if he could not obtain the Falling Heart Flame, he could not let Xiao Yan obtain it. Even if Han Feng benefited from it, Xiao Yan could not.