First Attempt at Alchemy

Ye Zhong believed that with the terrifying Soul Power his precious grandson had shown, combined with the Ye Family's nurturing, becoming a Seventh Grade Alchemist before the age of thirty was absolutely a sure thing.

When that time came, the Ye Family would no longer have to worry about failing the Pill Tower's assessment and losing its title as one of the Five Great Clans!

Forcing down the excitement in his heart, Ye Zhong announced the end of this test.

Then, looking at the precious little treasure of his family below, he tried his best to speak in a gentle tone. "All right, Chen'er, you should go find your mother too."

"Yes, Grandpa."

Ye Chen gave a proper little bow, then turned and looked toward where his parents were.

And then...

Then he saw his mother proudly accepting everyone's congratulations.

The corner of his mouth twitched. As for his mother's behavior, showing not the slightest idea what low-key meant, Ye Chen was not surprised in the least.

After being mother and son for so many years, Ye Chen knew exactly what kind of personality his mother had by now.

Ever since the Soul Value test passed, Ye Chen's reputation as the Ye Family's monstrous talent once again spread like wildfire.

This time, it was even more terrifying than before. Even his Old Man, who had originally seemed like a steady man, was now telling everyone he met about how amazing his son was...

At this rate, the only thing missing was for him to carry Ye Chen straight up to the walls of Ye City and announce in front of everyone that the Ye Family's Genius was his son!

Although the Ye Family and all of Ye City were currently in an uproar, Ye Chen actually found things much quieter than before.

Right now, he had already been personally taken into the courtyard of the Ye Family Old Ancestor, who was said to be his grandfather's grandfather, under the claim that he would be taught personally and that no one was allowed to come disturb him...

This meant that his mother, Song Chun'er, who used to come every day for a round of parent-child exercise with her son, could go one or two months without seeing him even once.

The current Ye Chen had to spend every day under the supervision of the Ye Family Old Ancestor, reciting the Medicinal Scripture, familiarizing himself with medicinal properties, and observing the Old Ancestor's techniques for handling medicinal materials...

At night, he had to cultivate Dou Qi for two hours in a medicinal bath personally prepared by the Ye Family Old Ancestor to assist cultivation, and only then could he sleep.

Although this kind of life was somewhat dull and tedious, it made Ye Chen feel extremely fulfilled.

After all, his soul was not truly that of a child. To Ye Chen, who had been used to the 996 work schedule in his previous life, this was only normal intensity.

Besides, every day there were large amounts of tonics and all kinds of delicacies provided in endless variety. For Ye Chen, whose shut-in attribute had been maxed out, this could already be considered an ideal life.

Just like that, more than another year passed, and Ye Chen's strength finally broke through to Nine Stage Dou Qi...

Nine Stage Dou Qi at seven years old—how to put it? It was still a frightening cultivation speed.

After checking Ye Chen's cultivation, Ye Family Old Ancestor Ye Xun simply could not suppress the smile on his face.

Even his originally lifeless eyes now flickered with a trace of light, showing just how excited all of this made him.

"Good child, although you are already at Nine Stage Dou Qi, don't rush to pursue condensing a Dou Qi Vortex. Patiently temper your Dou Qi. This will benefit you!"

Stroking Ye Chen's head, Ye Xun spoke in a solemn tone.

At this, Ye Chen also nodded directly.

With the Ye Family's strength, they definitely did not lack pills like the Qi Gathering Pill that helped condense a Dou Qi Vortex, but a breakthrough achieved through pills and a breakthrough achieved through one's own willpower led to completely different results.

For the current Ye Chen, accumulation and foundation were what he needed to care about most. Compared to that, cultivation level was secondary instead.

However, since he did not need to rush to break through, Ye Chen shifted the focus of his cultivation to Star Essence...

Over the past year, he had collected a total of 5 points of Star Essence, two more than before. This also showed that the speed at which Star Essence was collected was not fixed, which counted as good news.

Adding these 5 points of Star Essence, Ye Chen now had 82 points of Star Essence. He was not far from the 100 points needed to light up the Third Star Soul.

Moreover, while he had the time, Ye Chen also wanted to try Refining Medicinal Materials and accumulate some experience for himself.

Ye Xun's first reaction to this request was that this kid was indulging in wild fantasies.

After all, right now he was not even a Dou Zhe, had not cultivated any cultivation method, and could not even drive a flame, yet he was talking about alchemy?

Facing the Ye Family Old Ancestor's flat refusal, Ye Chen had no choice but to reveal a little of his trump card ahead of time...

"Old Ancestor, look..."

A silver-white flame suddenly rose from Ye Chen's tender palm, flickering unsteadily.

The instant the flame appeared, the surrounding space not only lacked the scorching heat of fire, but instead developed a faint chill...

"Hm? This is..." Astonishment appeared in Ye Xun's eyes.

Although the temperature of this silver-white flame was not very high, only a tiny bit stronger than ordinary Dou Qi flames, the fact that it appeared in the hand of a little child who was only at Nine Stage Dou Qi gave it an entirely different meaning!

"This is Star Fire. I suppose it counts as my Lifebound Flame..."

Ye Chen thought for a moment, then explained it this way.

"Lifebound Flame?" Ye Xun looked speechlessly at the little thing in front of him.

Did he think he was a Magical Beast? Having a Lifebound Flame from birth?

Ye Chen chuckled, scratched his head, and said, "Well... I don't know the specifics either. Anyway, from the time I had memories, this thing was already inside my body. And every day, it can absorb starlight and slowly improve...

"When I first discovered it, it was only about the size of a little bean, and the temperature was very low too. It only grew to its current level because I've absorbed Starlight every night without stopping all these years."

As Ye Xun listened to these words, he murmured, "Starfire? Could it be because of that phenomenon when this kid Chen'er was born?"

It wasn't impossible.

In terms of classification, Star Fire should have belonged to Cold Fire, while the Yang Fire condensed in the Ye Family's Yang Fire Ancient Altar was its perfect opposite, one yin and one yang, generating and countering each other.

Though Ye Chen's claim about a "Lifebound Flame" was far too unbelievable, when Ye Xun thought about all the strange phenomena this little monster of his family had displayed over the years, the idea did not seem entirely unacceptable.

Even so, Ye Xun remained extremely cautious regarding Ye Chen's request to practice Refining Medicinal Materials.

"In that case, fine... I can agree to let you refine some simple medicinal materials, but it must be done in front of me. That way, if you make any mistakes, I can point them out to you in time."

Ye Chen naturally agreed with pleasure.

Watching his family's Old Ancestor take out a Red Beast-Pattern Medicine Cauldron over a meter tall from his Storage Ring, he could not help feeling a faint stir of excitement in his heart.

After reading the Medicinal Scripture for so many years, he was finally going to get hands-on practice!