Chapter 104: 9th Grade Alchemist (fixed)
With a flicker of anticipation, Xiang Yu retrieved the blood-stained spatial ring he’d claimed from the Core Formation expert. He already knew that what was inside was bound to be good given the owner’s strength—the only question was just how good exactly.
He channeled a pulse of qi into it, causing the storage space to manifest its contents before him. The first items to materialize were the usual—several scrolls of demonic techniques. Without hesitation, Xiang Yu summoned his Abyssal Void Flame and incinerated them, watching as the techniques crumbled into ash.
Next was a glass bottle containing several pills. Activating his Appraisal ability, Xiang Yu identified them as eighth-grade healing pills. These pills were certainly valuable, but insufficient to regenerate an entire limb as the Core Formation expert had done earlier. The man must have possessed some other method or treasure to accomplish such rapid recovery, though it wasn’t among the ring’s contents.
Moving on, a weathered scroll caught Xiang Yu’s attention. His Appraisal identified it as the [Flame Tempering Scripture]—a high-grade manual detailing methods to strengthen one’s physical body using flame energy. Xiang Yu’s eyes lit up with interest; this would complement his newly acquired phoenix bloodline perfectly. He carefully set the scroll aside for further study.
The remaining items proved disappointingly mundane—some spirit stones, a few common talismans, and miscellaneous cultivation resources that, while useful, hardly qualified as exceptional treasures. For a Core Formation expert, the collection seemed rather sparse, leaving Xiang Yu with a twinge of disappointment.
His gaze drifted to another scripture he’d discovered earlier but hadn’t yet examined closely. The title alone made him hesitate: [Midnight Yang Restoration Scripture]. Despite its suggestive name, Xiang Yu noticed it was classified as a superior-grade scripture. As much as he didn’t like it, he couldn’t easily dismiss a superior grade scripture.
"Well..." he rationalized to himself, "I could potentially derive insights about yin-yang energy manipulation from this. Are they even considered elements at all?" After convincing himself with that excuse, he glanced around his empty room confirming that no one was watching.
He then quickly tucked the questionable scripture into his spatial ring. Better not to risk anyone discovering such material in his possession—the misunderstandings would be endless.
Settling into a meditative posture, Xiang Yu reflected on his newly acquired resources. Though the spatial ring hadn’t yielded the treasure trove he’d hoped for, he’d still gained some valuable materials. His attention returned to the Flame Tempering Scripture laid out before him.
The manual described methods for using powerful flames to strengthen one’s physical form, but Xiang Yu intended to use it for other purposes. Just as he’d done with the palm techniques, he could potentially extract the core principles and apply them to other elements. With sufficient understanding, he might create tempering techniques for each element. And since scriptures didn’t require reaching a certain threshold to merge, he could merge them into something truly exceptional.
Though it might have seemed as an impossible task before, he felt that it might be achievable. With his enlightenment enhanced by the phoenix bloodline, Xiang Yu felt confident he could template the scripture.
...
After struggling with the scripture for several hours, Xiang Yu finally reached his limit. He set the Flame Tempering Scripture aside with a frustrated exhale, running his fingers through his hair. So close, yet still unable to grasp that final critical insight. The challenge was more complex than he’d initially anticipated.
Creating a tempering template wasn’t as straightforward as with the palm techniques. Each element required its own distinct approach—the methods effective for fire simply wouldn’t work for water, earth, or the others.
Fire consumed and purified, water nourished and flowed, wood grew and expanded, earth stabilized and protected, metal condensed and sharpened. Each required unique parameters meticulously calibrated to harness their inherent properties without damaging the body.
Despite the temporary setback, determination still burned in his eyes. He wasn’t giving up, far from it. His system showed his Enlightenment had progressed well beyond the halfway mark. Once it reached the Superior stage after the next reset... Perhaps he might even extract insights about the mysterious yin-yang elements from that questionable scripture.
Setting these aside for now, Xiang Yu turned his attention to the generous array of resources Elder Huang had provided for his secondary profession studies. She hadn’t merely supplied manuals—she’d also provided him with complete practice kits: an alchemy furnace for pill refining, quality soil samples for herb cultivation, formation disks for practicing array configurations, and various other specialized tools.
As he examined the exquisite craftsmanship of the alchemy furnace, Xiang Yu noted that some of these items were probably unaffordable to the sect. He guessed she had provided these from her personal collection. His Martial Aunt was quite wealthy. The realization made him smile wryly as a peculiar thought crossed his mind.
His master, now weakened and being lavishly cared for by a rich lady—wasn’t that one would call "eating soft rice"? But Xiang Yu wasn’t one to talk as he himself was in a similar position, relying on the newly appointed Sect Master. Like master, like disciple.
Shaking away these distracting thoughts, Xiang Yu decided to begin with pill refining, having already attempted it previously. From the various resources provided, he selected several medicinal herbs that his martial aunt had supplied, then opened the "Pill Refining 101" manual.
With his advanced Mind level, he absorbed the text’s contents rapidly, his understanding deepening with each paragraph. Despite the book’s questionable title, the information inside proved genuinely valuable, illuminating the numerous errors in his previous attempts.
"So that’s where I went wrong," he murmured, closing the book with newfound clarity.
Positioning the alchemy furnace before him, Xiang Yu activated his Abyssal Void Flame. The dark fire responded instantly to his will, its intensity perfectly calibrated as he carefully arranged the selected herbs within the furnace. Following the manual’s instructions step by step, he began the refining process.
His first attempts ended in failure—herbs burned too quickly, medicinal properties lost during extraction, proportions improperly balanced. Each failure provided valuable lessons, however, and he adjusted his approach accordingly. After several frustrating attempts, the furnace finally emitted a soft chime, signaling completion.
With steady hands, Xiang Yu extracted a small, unassuming pill from the furnace. It wasn’t particularly impressive—slightly misshapen, its color uneven, its energy signature lacking the vibrancy of properly refined medicines. By any professional standard, it would barely qualify as a functional pill.
Yet Xiang Yu’s face broke into a triumphant smile as his system interface updated:
[Alchemist: 9th Grade (1/100)]
"Success," he whispered, examining the modest pill with immense satisfaction. This marked the beginning of perhaps his most crucial secondary profession. If he advanced his alchemy skills sufficiently, he could potentially create pills capable of enhancing spiritual roots—even a slight improvement would be enough. His system would handle the rest, doubling the enhancement until his spiritual root reached a respectable grade.
Xiang Yu decided not to waste time accumulating more experience points just yet. Better to register all available professions first, then develop them systematically. Setting aside the alchemy furnace, he reached for the formation disks, eager to begin mastering yet another valuable