Chapter 4

Li Yuan went to meet the Head Alchemist and saw that she was quite young. His eyes scanned her and determined that her age should be 20 or 21. Also, she was quite beautiful with a voluptuous body. Even Li Rong couldn't him but stare at her. Of course, Xiao Yin gave him a death stare which made him give a hollow laugh.

The Head Alchemist noticed Li Yuan's gaze and sneered at him.

"This is the guy who passed the Tier 1 and 2 Test?" Thought the Head Alchemist.

"Are you Li Yuan?" Asked the Head Alchemist. Li Yuan nodded and said " May I know why the Head Alchemist came asking for me?".

"I want to know who is your master!" Said The Head Alchemist. It is impossible for Li Yuan to become a Tier 2 Alchemist with his age without any guidance. His master must be a Tier 3 or even Tier 5 to achieve this result.

Li Yuan shrugged his shoulders and decided to go with the flow.

"My master is someone who doesn't like interacting with other people nor meeting them. So he ordered me to not tell anyone his name" said Li Yuan.

"I see... Then, can you tell him that I, Qin Yin, a Tier 3 Alchemist want to discuss alchemy with him! Of course, you only need to tell him and if he doesn't agree then it's fine" said, Qin Yin.

"Sorry but no! He is busy and doesn't have time to waste with Tier 3 Alchemist." Said Li Yuan. He was telling the truth. If he discusses alchemy with her, he might flood this girl's mind with many intricate and hard to grasp information that will cause more harm than good. She should at least be a Tier 5 Alchemist in order to handle his lecture.

"You!" Qin Yin was quite angry and pointed at Li Yuan.

"At least tell him!"

"No!"

Qin Yin felt her blood boil from anger. Why is he unreasonable? She just wants to discuss alchemy with his master. And even if he refused the meeting, she wouldn't mind it. So the least he can do was to tell his master.

Smack!

Xiao Yin smacked Li Yuan's head and said " Why are you rude to our guest?".

"......." Li Yuan looked at his mother speechlessly.

Xiao Yin looked at Qin Yin and said " Pardon my son's rude behaviour. He is still young!".

"Also, we were bad hosts and didn't serve any tea for our guest".

Qin Yin sighed in relief as Xiao Yin appeared to be a reasonable person.

"There is no need. I just hope that he just deliver this message" said Qin Yin. She bowed her head lightly and left.

Xiao Yin looked at Li Yuan with cold eyes and said " Mind telling me why you hid such an important matter from your own mother? Also, when did you meet such a master?".

Li Yifeng sighed and said " Mom, my master is quite eccentric and don't like meeting with others. He noticed that I have a good talent for alchemy and decided to teach me. When I become his student, he ordered me not to tell anyone as he has many enemies".

Xiao Yin became silent for a few minutes before nodding.

"Then, let's talk about the 2nd problem! You shouldn't be rude to women

like this! Especially, a girl like her who politely made a request. You should be polite to her. If you continue like this no woman will want to be your wife!".

".....…..." Li Yuan.

"I am quite old and I want a grandchild! You are my eldest son and the mission of giving me a Grandchild falls upon your shoulders!" Said Xiao Yin.

"......." Li Yuan. His lips twitched as he remembered a certain reincarnation... No! He should just forget about the 45th Reincarnation and never make the same mistake he made that time.

"Okay! I will tell my master" said Li Yuan before turning and leaving. This was the only way he can escape from his mother's lecture.

"Also, that girl is quite good and I like her. It will be great if you make her my daughter in law!" Said Xiao Yin which nearly caused Li Yuan to stumble. He hastened his pace as he didn't want to hear more about this matter.

Li Yuan went to the Alchemist Association to meet Qin Yin. When she saw him, she was surprised and said " You are quite quick!".

Li Yifeng shrugged his shoulders and before he could say anything, he noticed that a token on the table in front of Qin Yin. That token is a Tier 4 Protective Artifact.

"Interesting..."

This Qin Yin isn't simple! Even Tier 4 Alchemist will need to fork out an astronomical amount of resources in order to get a Tier 4 Protective Artifact. She is only a Tier 3 which means she belongs to a major force that has Tier 4 Forging Master. And her position should be high in it. The chances of her finding a Tier 4 protective Artifact in this empire with low knowledge and occupation ranks is extremely minuscule.

Li Yuan's eyes shone with light as he found a good shortcut to quickly increase his cultivation.

"Miss Qin, I have talked with my master and he gave me these instructions, defeat me in an Alchemy Discussion and he will meet you when you want" said Li Yuan.

Qin Yin was surprised and asked " Defeat you?". Li Yuan's master wants a Tier 3 Alchemist who was about to become Tier 4 to challenge a Tier 2 Alchemist? Something is off about it. But, it could be her chance to meet a High Tier Alchemist! So she nodded and said " Okay, I accept it".

"Good! What subject you want to discuss?" Asked Li Yuan. There are many subjects in alchemy like cultivating ingredients, fire manipulation, Pill Making and many more.

"I like to discuss Pill Making if you don't mind" said Qin Yin. Li Yuan nodded and said" Then, let's start!".

Qin Yin strengthened her back and looked at Li Yuan seriously. This is an Alchemy Discussion and it's a sacred matter for Alchemists as they can exchange knowledge with each other. Even if Li Yuan was a Tier 2 Alchemist, some of his ideas might open a new path for her.

"I am going to start!" Said Li Yuan, he became silent for a few minutes as he quickly rephrased and simplified his words in order to make it easy for Qin Yin to understand.

"Sure!" Said Qin Yin. Suddenly, she was stunned because Li Yuan's disposition changed.

"Pill Making depends on three important aspects. One is precise control over soul energy. Two is to have a good cauldron that has great heat conduction. Three, the ingredients as each ingredient have a different melting point. Right?" Said Li Yuan.

"Correct!" Nodded Qin Yin.

"Then, what if i said that you can bypass the precise control over soul energy?"

"What?! That is impossible!" Said Qin Yin right away.

"No, It's possible! Seeing how you acted now, you will not be convinced without seeing it so I want you to prepare a set of ingredients for me to make the Heart Calming Pill, a Tier 3 pill." Said Li Yuan.

Qin Yin became sceptical but she still took out the ingredients from her storage ring.

Li Yuan nodded and said " You can spread your spiritual sense into the cauldron to see how the pill is made.".

Qin Yin nodded and looked at the cauldron in the room. She watched how Li Yuan started the fire and throw all the ingredients at once which made her speechless. She shrugged her shoulders and sent her spiritual sense into the cauldron.

Li Yuan waited for a few seconds before slapping the cauldron multiple times. Qin Yin's eyes widened because she saw how the ingredients reacted to each strike.

Each strike facilitated the melting of each ingredient despite having different melting points.

"How?!" Cried out Qin Yin.

Li Yuan continued slapping the cauldron until all ingredients melted. Then, he started spinning it.

Qin Yin became dumbfounded by the fact that the medical liquid started to merge and slowly turned into pills.

The process was extremely short and only took a few minutes for Li Yuan to make one extremely pure Heart Calming Pill.

Her mind became chaotic as she felt that all the alchemy she studied was for nothing if someone can do such a thing.

Why does someone need to cultivate his soul if he can do what Li Yuan did?

While she was deep into her thought, she felt something in her mouth and swallowed it unconsciously before snapping out of her daze.

"Snap out of it! You are harming yourself by thinking like this!" Said Li Yuan. This is quite normal for him as his bizarre methods nearly crippled the mind of many peak experts in the past. He made the Heart Calming Pill so Qin Yin calms down and not lose her mind and passion for alchemy.

Qin Yin looked at Li Yuan for a few seconds before bowing her head.

"Thank you!" She understood why Li Yuan made the Heart Calming Pill.

"You wouldn't be in such state if you understood my words! I said you can bypass the soul aspects but I didn't say that it implies on the other two aspects" said Li Yuan.

Qin Yin's eyes shone with light and said " Please, continue!".

Li Yuan nodded and said "The reason I can bypass the soul aspects because I know exactly how these ingredients react to the fire. For example, the Moonlight Flower react to the fire by making the petals sway in order to disperse the heat. I hit the cauldron at the exact moment the petals start to move in order to stop it from moving. It can only be done if the timing is precise."

Qin Yin stared dumbly at Li Yuan which made him chuckle a little. He continued to explain the process in great detail while making sure not to accidentally harm Qin Yin. And since he at it, he explained a few ideas that could help her to reach Tier 4. He only finished after a full day.

Qin Yin bowed to Li Yuan and said "I lost the alchemy discussion and I don't feel ashamed at all. I am even thankful for you for showing such a path for me!".

Alchemist always respects those who are more knowledgable than them. Li Yuan has proven himself to be way more knowledgeable and creative than her.

" Alchemist Li, What is your Tier?" Asked Qin Yin as she was extremely sure that he wasn't a Tier 2 Alchemist.

"I should be able to make Tier 4 Pills if I reach the Qi Gathering Realm" said Li Yuan nonchalantly.

Qin Yin nodded and said " Your master should be at least at the legendary Tiers!". What she means by legendary Tiers are the Tiers above Tier 5 because after reaching Tier 5, each advancement will take decades of hard work and research.

Li Yuan shrugged his shoulders and didn't say anything.

Qin Yin smiled and said "Thanks to your lecture, I can become a Tier 4 and go back to the sect".

Li Yuan looked at her for a few seconds and said " Punishment or mission?".

Qin Yin smiled in embarrassment and said "You can say that it was a punishment and a mission at the same time.".

Li Yuan nodded as he knew the ins and outs of sects. After all, he joined a huge amount of sects and even created some sects. Qin Yin is a Tier 3 Alchemist at the age of 20, this is a testament for her talent.

But, there is a single problem. She is a woman and sects/clans always use talented women like her to form a marriage alliance with other sects/clans. Coupled with her appearance, many young masters sure are lusting after her. Her situation is most likely caused by her refusing the marriage. The sect/clan will try to convince her and if she still didn't agree, they will send her to one of the regions with weak Qi and Occupations Tiers like the Tang Empire to make her achievements come to halt. She either rot here or accepts the marriage.

Li Yuan stretched his body and said "Well, good luck for you!".

"Alchemist Li.."

"I am younger than you. So you should call me by my name" said Li Yuan which caused Qin Yin's lips to twitch.

"Li Yuan, why are you staying in this small city when you can shock the entire empire with your mastery in Alchemy? Is your master staying here?" Asked Qin Yin.

"Well, that doesn't matter as I am about to leave Cloud City and head to the capital. Also, my master has already left the Empire and headed to who knows place" said Li Yuan.

"I see... Then, how about you join the Profound Heart Sect? Your talents will shine there and the sect will nurture you and give you the chance to quickly reach Tier 5 in alchemy." Said Qin Yin.

Li Yuan nodded as joining a sect is way better than going to the capital. Still, he doesn't like been tied down by the rules of the sects.

"I have no desire to join any sect now. But, I will think about it in the future" said Li Yuan. Qin Yin became disappointed and said " What a shame!".

Li Yuan shook his head and stretched his hand. Qin Yin looked at him in confusion and when she heard his answer, she nearly vomited blood.

"Now, pay for the lecture!".