After sending away Zhou Yan and the others, Ye Xuan left the academy and returned to the Alchemist Association.
Ye Xuan was very curious about his black-dot martial soul. For someone like him, who had only just opened three Profound Veins, a martial soul was of no particular use at the moment.
But a martial soul could influence a Martial Artist’s entire life, so Ye Xuan was still eager to learn more about his own.
However, his Soul Power was currently too low for him to inspect his martial soul himself. His only option was to buy a Soul-Revealing Pill.
The Soul-Revealing Pill was a basic potion that allowed the faint characteristics of a martial soul to manifest. Ye Xuan had originally planned to concoct one himself when he had time, but after receiving so many valuables from Zhou Yan and his group, he couldn’t be bothered with the effort. After all, the Soul-Revealing Pill wasn’t an especially rare potion.
As he walked into the Alchemist Association, a wave of noisy clamor washed over him.
The Alchemist Association was bustling with activity, at the peak of its busiest hours. There were Alchemists here to practice their craft and study, customers here to purchase potions, and people constantly coming and going before the counters.
’Huh? It’s him.’
Far from being punished for the last incident, Lu Yue had actually been promoted to lead attendant. She was swamped with work at the service desk when she glimpsed Ye Xuan approaching, her face immediately lighting up with delighted surprise.
"Chen Jia, go take care of this young man," Lu Yue instructed. "Remember to be polite and sincere. Most importantly, you have to make him stay here until I get back."
Lu Yue quickly instructed a young woman beside her, then dashed up the stairs like a gust of wind.
She remembered with perfect clarity that Lord Zhou Huarong had told her in no uncertain terms: if Ye Xuan ever came again, she was to keep him there and notify him at once.
Chen Jia shot a disdainful look at Lu Yue’s disappearing back. ’Hmph,’ she thought, annoyed. ’Just because she got lucky and made lead attendant, she thinks she can order me around?’
She glanced at Ye Xuan’s clothes and curled her lip. ’Just some poor kid. What kind of money could he possibly have? Don’t tell me he’s Lu Yue’s boy toy.’
Annoyed as she was, Chen Jia still approached Ye Xuan. "Sir, how may I help you?"
"I’d like to buy a Soul-Revealing Pill."
Chen Jia’s contempt deepened. ’Most people who buy Soul-Revealing Pills are losers who can’t even awaken their martial souls,’ she thought. ’They hope the pill can help them find some trace of one.’
"The Soul-Revealing Pills are at the first-floor counter. They cost one hundred Profound Coins each. Please, follow me."
Chen Jia led Ye Xuan forward. The Soul-Revealing Pill was just a basic potion, so it wasn’t considered expensive.
"Huh? Is this the Request Area?"
As he navigated the crowded throng, Ye Xuan’s attention was caught by a large metal cabinet to one side. This was the Alchemist Association’s Request Area.
The purpose of the Request Area was simple: when Alchemists encountered an unsolvable problem during their concoctions, they could post it on the cabinet. If another Alchemist knew the solution, they could leave a reply along with their Alchemist ID number. Once an answer was verified as correct, the original poster was required to reward the solver, and the Alchemist Association would also grant a reward based on the problem’s difficulty.
Most Alchemists trained in seclusion and tended to hoard their knowledge. The Alchemist Association created this system to encourage more communication between them and thus advance the field of Alchemy.
Ye Xuan smiled with a sense of understanding. In that moment, his thoughts drifted to his past life.
In his past life, he had been an honorary elder of the continental Alchemist Association, a Ninth-Grade Emperor Level Alchemist. He had taught innumerable students and solved endless problems for others. The feeling of being completely immersed in the art of Alchemy was something he still savored with deep nostalgia.
In fact, the entire concept of the Request Area was his own invention—an idea he had proposed to the Alchemist Association, which was then gradually adopted by every branch.
’Oh well. Let’s see what level the Alchemists are at in the Association of a city in some remote corner of the continent.’
Ye Xuan stepped forward with a smile. If you wanted to gauge the caliber of a region’s Alchemists, their Association’s Request Area was an excellent place to start.
Stepping up to the nearest cabinet, Ye Xuan carefully examined the message displayed on its panel.
"While concocting the Awakening Potion, the Sunstone must be added within three finger-snaps of the Dark Night Grass’s first reaction ending, just as red spots appear in the liquid. Why do I fail every single time I follow this step? The moment I add the Sunstone, the potion’s activity is instantly extinguished, and it becomes a useless slurry..."
Below the question were the detailed steps the Alchemist had taken.
’Looks like the person who posted this is a Third Grade, Earth-rank Alchemist.’
The Awakening Potion was a Third Grade potion, and a fairly advanced one at that. One had to be a Third Grade, Earth-rank Alchemist to even attempt it; otherwise, their Profound Sense wouldn’t be strong enough to meet the requirements.
After glancing over the Alchemist’s detailed process, Ye Xuan rubbed his nose and couldn’t help but shake his head.
’And this person is supposed to be a Third Grade Alchemist? Their fundamentals are a complete mess. The medicinal properties of Dark Night Grass have three distinct layers. The so-called "end of the reaction" refers to the completion of the *third* layer. This person obviously rushed to add the Sunstone after only the first layer reaction was finished. It’d be a miracle if they ever succeeded.’
After a moment’s thought, Ye Xuan picked up a nearby brush and paper and, with flowing, masterful strokes, wrote: "The medicinal properties of Dark Night Grass manifest in three layers. After the First Layer reaction, the red spots have a faint yellow hue. After the Second Layer, they have a faint orange hue. Only when the Third Layer reaction is complete and the spots turn deep crimson should you add the Sunstone. Your foundational knowledge is pathetic. You failed to even consider the three-layered nature of Dark Night Grass. I suggest you go reread Master Ye Xiaoyao’s ’Characteristics of Common Continental Herbs’ a few times. With fundamentals this rotten, you’ll never achieve anything. If you’re not going to bother shoring up your basics, why even pretend to be an Alchemist? You might as well go home and be a farmer."
He dropped the reply into the cabinet’s deposit slot and turned his attention to the panel on the next one.
PFFT. Chen Jia, who was standing to the side, nearly burst out laughing. As an employee of the Alchemist Association, she knew perfectly well that the question in cabinet #01 had been posted by Chairman Hua himself to set an example for the Request Area. It was a problem he’d faced that he couldn’t solve, one that no one in all of Blue Moon City had been able to answer.
’Who does this brat think he is? Seriously writing out an answer like that. Does he actually believe he can solve a problem that stumped even Chairman Hua? It’s utterly absurd, just hilarious.’
’Is he trying to get my attention? What a clumsy way to hit on a girl.’
Seeing Ye Xuan move on to the next cabinet, Chen Jia figured the kid was determined to continue his charade. "Sir," she said, her patience wearing thin, "are you going to buy that Soul-Revealing Pill or not?"
"Of course. Here are one hundred Profound Coins. Go get it and bring it to me."
Ye Xuan produced one hundred Profound Coins without even glancing at Chen Jia, immediately becoming engrossed in the questions once more.
Chen Jia pursed her lips, took the Profound Coins, and walked away.
Meanwhile, on the third floor, Lu Yue was pacing anxiously. She had sprinted to Steward Zhou Huarong’s office only to learn he was in his personal refinement chamber, concocting Pills. She then raced to the chamber but was blocked by the steward’s assistant, who refused to let her pass no matter how much she pleaded.
"Zhou Yu, I really have something urgent for Steward Zhou! Please, just let him know."
"Hmph, what urgent business could a lowly attendant like you have?" Zhou Yu said, looking down his nose at her with disdain. "Lord Zhou is at a critical point in his refinement. If you were to disturb him, could you possibly afford to compensate for the loss?"
Lu Yue’s face flushed red, but she was helpless.
Zhou Yu gloated internally. He was only an alchemy apprentice himself, but he had been incredibly fortunate to be chosen by Zhou Huarong as his assistant.
This "assistant" role mostly involved running errands and fetching things for Zhou Huarong—he was little more than a temp.
But Zhou Huarong was the head steward of the Alchemist Association. Being his assistant, even just as a gofer, instantly elevated one’s status. He now looked down on mere attendants like Lu Yue.
"Don’t say I didn’t warn you. I’m already giving you a lot of face by letting you wait here. Make any more noise, and I won’t be merciful. If you disturb Lord Zhou’s refinement, your death wouldn’t even begin to cover the damages." A thrill shot through Zhou Yu as he uttered these pretentious words; he was practically getting high on his own authority.
Lu Yue clenched her fists, left with no choice but to wait anxiously for Zhou Huarong to finish.
Back in the first-floor Request Area, Chen Jia returned with the Soul-Revealing Pill. "Here. The Soul-Revealing Pill you wanted."
’Keep up the act,’ she thought. ’I don’t have time to serve you.’
Seeing Ye Xuan still engrossed in answering questions, she curled her lip in disdain. She slammed the Soul-Revealing Pill onto a nearby table with a THUD and walked off without a backward glance. Lu Yue’s instructions had been completely forgotten.
Startled by her abruptness, Ye Xuan frowned at her retreating back. ’Given my status, I can’t be bothered to argue with a mere attendant,’ he thought. ’Still, for this kind of thing to happen over and over... the service at this Alchemist Association is truly terrible.’
Ye Xuan no longer had the patience to continue browsing the requests. He collected the Soul-Revealing Pill and left the Alchemist Association.
CREAK.
On the third floor of the Alchemist Association, Zhou Huarong, who had been in seclusion refining potions, finally emerged from his private chamber.