Becoming a Third-Tier Alchemist

Seeing that Xiao Yan had already begun, Frank and Otto stopped disturbing him. They silently stepped down from the VIP platform and waited quietly.

Xiao Yan was extremely cautious with this refinement.

After all, third-tier pills were different from first- and second-tier pills. Even with his Dou Qi at its peak, he dared not take them lightly.

Wasting even a sliver of Dou Qi could very well leave the fire cauldron without the power to sustain it, ruining the entire batch of pills.

The fire cauldron trembled, spinning constantly in the young man's hands. Its nine dragon heads ceaselessly breathed in and out the Dou Qi power he had drawn forth first.

The scorching yet cold heat continued to rage across the square, leaving many people showing signs of dehydration.

Yet even with cold sweat pouring down their faces, they dared not look away, afraid of missing the slightest exciting detail.

Refining pills was an extremely tedious affair.

But for alchemists, it was an entirely different matter.

As masters of this field, they found even the most basic extraction of medicinal ingredients a pleasure.

A person's performance at this stage was the clearest indication of how solid their fundamentals were.

If the power was intact and concentrated, it showed that the person had a strong foundation.

If it was riddled with impurities and uneven in strength, the opposite was true.

Besides, the medicinal effect of a pill filled with impurities would be greatly reduced!

There were even... enormous hidden risks that could lead to serious consequences such as blindness, poisoning, and paralysis.

As time passed, colored light swirled inside the fire cauldron. Suddenly, a dazzling pillar of light burst forth.

And just before that pillar of light, blobs of medicinal liquid slowly rose from the fire cauldron.

They circled one another in midair, meeting and merging until they finally condensed into a pill the size of a longan.

Whoosh!

Xiao Yan reached out and beckoned, and the pill flew into his arms like a shooting star.

The young man opened his clasped hands, revealing a pale yellow pill in his palm.

This was Third-Tier Qi Gathering Powder, capable of increasing the success rate of breaking through from Ninth Stage Dou Qi to Dou Zhe by fifty percent.

Xue Mei and Lin Fei exchanged glances, their faces full of joy.

As the disciples of Fourth-Rank Alchemists, they could naturally recognize the various medicinal ingredients Xiao Yan had used.

Those were precisely the ingredients needed for Third-Tier Qi Gathering Powder.

They were both at the Peak of the Ninth Stage of Dou Qi, only one step away from breaking through to Dou Zhe.

Xiao Yan refining this pill now was undoubtedly like delivering charcoal in the snow!

Lin Fei smiled sweetly and skipped over to the young man. She slipped her arm through his and said in a coquettish voice:

"Little brother Xiao Yan, your big sister has already reached Ninth Stage Dou Qi and really needs this Qi Gathering Powder. Could you give it to me?"

After speaking, she blinked and hugged Xiao Yan's arm tightly, looking utterly pitiful.

"Hiss~" Feeling two plump mounds press against his wrist, Xiao Yan couldn't help drawing a sharp breath. He swallowed and said with an awkward smile:

"If you want it, take it. I can't use it anyway."

To escape this tempting little demoness, Xiao Yan had no choice but to toss her the Qi Gathering Powder in his hand.

After doing so, he hurriedly pulled out his arm and fled.

"Hehe, thank you, little brother Xiao Yan."

Lin Fei caught the pill and broke into a sweet smile. Then, brimming with joy, she put it away in a jade bottle.

Otto, who had witnessed the scene from the side, slowly raised a thumb and praised her sincerely:

"Well done, Lin Fei! Hurry up and get your snout into that pig Xiao Yan, and your master can rest easy!"

Beside him, Frank's mouth twitched at the sight, and he rolled his eyes.

Then Frank turned toward Xue Mei with an expression of frustration, as if he hated that iron could not become steel.

His gaze seemed to be scolding her:

"Look at her, then look at yourself."

"Your best friend Lin Fei not only got a Qi Gathering Powder for free, she even found love. And what about you?"

"For the sake of this so-called modesty, how many more chances are you going to miss?"

Xue Mei was speechless. She folded her arms and turned her head away, unwilling to bother with the wretched old man.

Of course she wanted to get close to Xiao Yan too, but she just couldn't do it!

If she had a bosom as ample as Lin Fei's, she would have taken the initiative to approach him long ago.

At that thought, she suddenly looked down.

The place most likely to draw attention was like a little lotus with only its tip just showing...

Xue Mei thought it over carefully.

If she really did what Lin Fei had done, wouldn't he be put off instead?

Rather than do something so embarrassing, she would rather not approach Xiao Yan in the first place. That was better than leaving him with a bad impression!

But just then, Xiao Yan suddenly walked over to the VIP seats and said calmly:

"Now that the alchemist examination is over, shouldn't you give me my alchemist robe and register my information?"

After speaking, Xiao Yan tugged hard at the front of his robe, trying to stir their imagination.

"Oh~ right, right, right! What a memory I have. I almost forgot."

Frank smiled awkwardly.

He immediately waved a hand and ordered the guards beside him to fetch an alchemist robe.

Then he turned to look at Xiao Yan and said apologetically in a serious tone:

"Sorry about that..."

"Young friend Yan Xiao, please wait a moment. I'll have someone fetch it right away!"

Xiao Yan paid no mind to these details. He merely nodded slightly and said indifferently, "It's fine, haaah!"

He yawned as he spoke.

The frequent refining just now had evidently drained his body, which was why drowsiness had swept over him.

Just then, he suddenly remembered the next step of his plan and hurriedly asked Frank:

"May I ask, Chairman Frank, now that I've become an alchemist, can I use the Alchemist Guild's channels to find some information?"

His reason for asking was simple.

He wanted to bring up the location of Hai Bodong's map shop.

That way, he could find a reasonable explanation for his subsequent search for Heavenly Flames.

And keep Yao Lao from growing suspicious.

"Of course. What would you like to know, young friend Yan Xiao? Feel free to tell me. Perhaps this old man can be of some help?"

Frank responded excitedly. He immediately took Xiao Yan's hand in both of his and spoke eagerly.

This was a fine chance to raise Xiao Yan's favorability. How could he miss it?

Xiao Yan gave an awkward laugh, pulled his hand back, and shook his wrist before saying helplessly:

"It's nothing much. I'm planning to go to the Tagor Desert, but I don't have an accurate map, so I was hoping you could recommend some good map shops."

Hearing this, Frank frowned slightly and rubbed his chin with a finger, lost in thought.

Although Black Rock City was close to the Tagor Desert, the conditions there were too harsh. He had never been there and naturally had never prepared any maps.

He felt somewhat frustrated. How was it that, at this crucial moment, he couldn't even answer such a simple question?

Just then, Otto spoke up from the side.

"Haha, you're asking about the best map shop? This old man happens to know one!"

With a laugh, Otto walked over slowly, leaned close to Xiao Yan's ear, and said in a low voice:

"Nearby, there's a place called Desert City. There's a map shop there called the Ancient Map, and it's very good!"

"Although this old man is a Fourth-Rank Alchemist, I'm also a Dou Qi expert. I often venture around the area, which is how I came to know about that map shop."

Even Otto himself had never imagined that one day he would be able to grow closer to Xiao Yan by recommending a map shop.

Meanwhile, Frank looked at Otto before him, his gaze gradually turning hostile.

He was jealous that Otto's disciple actually knew the ropes so well, hooking up with young friend Yan Xiao as soon as she arrived.

He was also jealous of Otto's overflowing luck.

Otto just happened to know the information Yan Xiao needed.

Hmph, it seems that after today, Otto and I are bound to have a battle.

Frank thought to himself, clenching his fists a little tighter beneath his sleeves.

A small vortex appeared in his palm, and Dou Qi surged for a moment before he relaxed his hand again.

He calmed himself, held back his emotions, and thought no more about it, all so he could leave Xiao Yan with a good impression.