My Teacher Yao Chen, the Greatest Alchemist in the Central Plains

In an unfamiliar mountain range, Zi Yan had just found some medicinal herbs she could eat when a rift opened in the sky, and a figure fell out of it.

The figure landed right on the food she had just found, crushing it.

"Ah! My food!"

Zi Yan was just about to lose her temper when she saw that the person who had fallen was a blond young man.

"Old man, a dead man just fell down here!"

Su Qian hurried over when he heard her. Taking a closer look, he found that there really was a young man. His injuries looked severe, but most were superficial.

Seeing that the young man was unconscious, Su Qian raised a hand and sent a strand of Dou Qi into him.

Before long, Sun Qi slowly came to. The moment he opened his eyes, he saw a little purple-haired girl glaring at him, her cheeks puffed out.

Just then, Su Qian suddenly spoke.

"With injuries like these, you won't be going anywhere for a while." He stroked his beard. "Would you like to come back to Jia Nan Academy with me and recover first?"

Hearing this, Zi Yan immediately undermined him from atop the cliff.

"Old man, you're tricking someone else into joining your lousy academy again!"

Su Qian glanced back at her.

"How can you call it trickery when it's a matter between cultivators?"

With that, he turned back to Sun Qi, put on a broad smile, and took two steps closer.

"I can see that you have exceptional bone structure. You're a fine prospect for cultivation. Would you consider joining my Jia Nan Academy? I might even take you as my disciple and pass down a peerless cultivation art to you!"

At the mention of Jia Nan Academy, Sun Qi immediately guessed who the two of them were!

Sun Qi raised his hands in salute.

"Thank you for thinking so highly of me, Senior, but I already have a teacher. As for becoming your disciple, I'd have to ask my teacher first."

Su Qian's interest was piqued.

"Oh? Who is your teacher, that you'd refuse even my offer to take you as a disciple?"

Sun Qi said, "My teacher's name is Yao Chen."

Su Qian frowned and smacked his lips.

"Yao Chen... That name sounds a little familiar."

He paced a couple of steps with his hands behind his back, then suddenly stopped as a figure surfaced in his mind.

"Is your teacher an alchemist?"

Sun Qi nodded.

"Are you from Starfall Pavilion in the Central Plains?"

Sun Qi nodded again.

Su Qian slapped his thigh, a broad smile spreading across his face. His earlier casual manner vanished completely, and he even straightened his back a little.

"Oh! So you're Venerable Yao's esteemed disciple! Forgive me for failing to recognize you!"

Zi Yan squatted on the cliff, tilting her head as she watched Su Qian's face change.

"Old man, who's Yao Chen? Is he really that impressive?"

Su Qian looked up at her, his tone tinged with admiration.

"Yao Chen is the greatest alchemist in the Central Plains. His strength is unfathomable. I was fortunate enough to meet him once when I traveled the Central Plains in my younger days. That pill-refining technique of his-tsk, tsk-I still can't forget it."

Zi Yan blinked and gave a little "oh," only half understanding.

After learning who Sun Qi was, Su Qian grew even more enthusiastic.

He stepped closer with a kindly look and asked:

"Since you still need to ask your teacher, surely you can at least visit Jia Nan Academy as a guest? Your food and lodging will be covered while you recover, and I'll personally arrange the best cultivation room for you."

As for whether Sun Qi had made up his identity, Su Qian didn't care in the slightest.

In his eyes, the young man looked about the same age as Zi Yan, yet his cultivation had already broken through to Dou Ling.

With talent like that, there wasn't a second person to be found in the entire Black-Corner Region.

Su Qian almost wished Sun Qi were lying to him.

If he really was lying, what would that mean? It would mean that a young man barely in his teens had cultivated to Dou Ling on his own.

A pure talent monster. A fine prospect like that couldn't be found even if you searched with a lantern.

After Su Qian invited him again and again, Sun Qi found it hard to refuse any longer and nodded his agreement.

A few days passed.

Su Qian sent Qi into him every day to treat his injuries, and with medicinal pills to aid his recovery, Sun Qi's wounds were mostly healed, while his Qi sea had also recovered more than half.

Early that morning, Su Qian swept his hand, wrapped Sun Qi and Zi Yan in Dou Qi, and led them flying south.

On the way, Sun Qi grew bored and casually asked a question.

"Senior Su, what realm are you at now?"

Su Qian stroked his beard, wearing a modest smile.

"I'm nothing special. I'm currently a Nine-Star Dou Emperor."

Sun Qi nodded, his tone perfectly matter-of-fact.

"Nine-Star Dou Emperor. Not bad. If you were at Starfall Pavilion, you could probably be an elder."

Su Qian's hand paused on his beard.

Sun Qi added another remark.

"Oh, right, Senior Su, if nothing else, why don't you bring Jia Nan Academy into Starfall Pavilion? I'll have my teacher arrange a good position for you."

The corner of Su Qian's mouth twitched. For a moment, he didn't know what to say.

He was the dignified grand elder of Jia Nan Academy, a Nine-Star Dou Emperor, a man who could walk sideways through the Black-Corner Region. How had their conversation turned into an attempt to recruit him?

Beside them, Zi Yan covered her mouth and snickered.

"Old man, how come you failed to recruit a student and ended up being recruited instead?"

Su Qian rolled his eyes at her and ignored her. He cleared his throat and pulled the conversation back on track.

"The academy was founded by the dean. I'd have to consult him about that first."

Sun Qi looked curious.

"The dean? How strong is Jia Nan Academy's dean now?"

Su Qian straightened his back, a note of pride in his voice.

"The dean is a Nine-Star Dou Zong expert. Jia Nan Academy now has three Dou Zong holding the fort, as well as a treasure like the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower, which can speed up cultivation. Our Jia Nan Academy is now the strongest faction in the Black-Corner Region."

Sun Qi nodded at that.

"Not bad. A Nine-Star Dou Zong could probably be the second elder at Starfall Pavilion."

Su Qian's face turned bright red, and for a long while he couldn't get a word out.

Seeing the old man at a loss, Zi Yan rocked back and forth with laughter, her two purple ponytails swinging to and fro.

Jia Nan Academy stood on a vast plain. From a distance, its grayish-white walls stretched for several miles, their tops densely engraved with protective formations.

Sun Qi landed in front of the academy gates and looked this way and that, finding everything new and interesting.

Most sects in the Central Plains were built against mountains, their pavilions and towers arranged in pleasing layers. Jia Nan Academy, on the other hand, had simply staked out a huge area on flat ground, like a small city.

Zi Yan stood beside him, gripping the doorframe and poking her head inside.

"So this is Jia Nan Academy."

Sun Qi turned to her, a little puzzled.

"Aren't you a student here?"

Zi Yan shook her head, her two ponytails swinging back and forth.

"No. I was looking for food in the mountains a couple of days ago when I ran into this old man. He told me there was lots of good food at the academy, so I came along."

The corner of Sun Qi's mouth twitched, and he glanced at Su Qian.

Well, even his trick for coaxing children was exactly the same.

Su Qian was walking ahead. Hearing this, he turned back and gave a hearty laugh.

"I call this welcoming talent from all quarters, without regard for convention."

Sun Qi ignored him and looked Zi Yan over again before suddenly speaking.

"You're not human, are you?"

Zi Yan's eyes went round, and she stared at him in amazement.

"How did you know? I definitely ate transformation grass!"

Sun Qi pointed at her.

"I can sense a magical beast bloodline in you, and it's pretty strong."

Zi Yan grew even more interested. She stepped closer and tilted her head to look at him.

"What about you? Are you not human either?"

Sun Qi nodded, his tone entirely casual.

"I'm Stone Monkey."

Su Qian turned around, his face full of disbelief.

"A monkey?" He looked Sun Qi up and down. "How is that possible? I clearly sensed a human presence from you. How could I have been wrong?"