Chapter 357 – Life 92, Age 16, Martial Disciple 1

When I had joined the Hall of the Herb Lord, I had been told that my time was my own. I could sign up for tasks whenever I wished, but nothing was required of me. As long as I paid my dues, I would have a roof over my head and be considered a member in good standing.

After being conscripted as Pill Lord Yong’s assistant, however, this had changed. Being a Lord’s apprentice came with numerous benefits, but it also came with equally burdensome restrictions. I would need to follow the Pill Lord’s orders and attend him whenever and wherever he requested. My time was now his to command.

I had no desire to be in service to some random Lord–especially not one with close ties to Jon–but I wasn’t entirely opposed to this arrangement. I needed someone to teach me the basics of how alchemy worked on this new continent. If the only cost of such lessons was a bit of hard labor, that was a cost I was willing to pay. If he tried to push me too far, however, I would have to pursue other options.

So, one day after first meeting Pill Lord Yong, I headed up to a workshop on the Hall’s sixth floor. Somewhat surprisingly, Yong didn’t put on any airs and didn’t make me wait an inordinate amount of time for no reason. In fact, he even showed up a few minutes early.

Upon his arrival, the Pill Lord looked me over with a critical eye, and I could only assume that he was studying me in qi vision. “Why have you not yet started cultivating?”

Not wanting to be caught in a lie, I worded my response carefully. “I do not want to rush. I am aware that cultivating improperly can cause numerous side effects, and I don’t want to fall prey to madness.”

The Pill Lord stroked his chin in thought, and I glimpsed a hint of satisfaction in his actions. “Good. An alchemist must be deliberate in all their actions. Concocting pills takes patience and dedication. It cannot be rushed.”

Walking over to a stool, he sat down and waved a hand at me. “You are currently using the Hall’s standard Low-Yellow fire qi technique, correct? Show me what you have been able to accomplish.”

I reached for the limited qi that my body contained, moved it to my upper right arm, and shaped it into the proper filter.

Seeing this, Lord Yong nodded. “Very good. While you may have progressed slower than your peers, your efforts have not been in vain.”

He reached into a storage bag and pulled out a technique manual. “You are more than ready to begin cultivating that Low-Yellow technique, but I see little reason for you to do so. This is a Peak-Yellow technique. Begin working with it instead.”

Examining this technique, I found that it was the Mantra of Resolute Flames, a somewhat basic Peak-Yellow technique that had the effects of increasing a person’s dedication to their chosen task, a technique that I had copied into my mental library millennia ago. Was Jon’s Pill Lord really so straightforward?

After handing me this scroll, Lord Yong reached back into his storage bag, pulled out an iron brazier that was covered in a layer of fine inscriptions, and placed it in the far corner of the room. Then, to my surprise, he took out a spirit fire and placed it in the brazier.

“As a Martial Disciple, other than performing a few menial tasks, there is little that you can do to assist me. So, I have reserved the use of this workshop for the next month. I expect you to come here each day to practice cultivation. If you wish to one day rise to the Rank of Master, Grandmaster, or even Lord, then you will need to get your fire affinity as high as possible. If you have any latent talent for fire manipulation, practicing in front of this spirit fire will help draw it out.”

My eyes widened at this. Did Lord Yong have a spirit fire that produced fire essence? I glanced at the brazier and used my analysis ability to examine its contents.

True Wood Fire, Yellow-Rank, Elements: Fire, Consumes: Energy, Produces: Flames of Burning Wood, Laws Absorbed: 100%

That… It just produced the same flames that one would get from burning a pile of wood? Looking at Lord Yong, he didn’t seem to be lying about this increasing my affinity, but how…

“Apprentice Fang,” said the Pill Lord, breaking me from my reverie, “I expect you to work hard. As long as you are diligent, I will draw out all your talent and transform you into the best alchemist possible. All you need to do is follow my orders and things one step at a time.”

While there was a deep level of disdain hidden beneath Lord Yong’s words, his voice, again, held the ring of truth. He seemed to mean what he was saying. Wasn’t this whole thing a trap that Jon had set up to sabotage me? Why would he assign me to a Pill Lord who would actually do his best to teach me? What was the trick? Was there something wrong with my skill for reading people?

If I wanted to find out, I could only continue pressing forward. “Understood, Lord Yong.”

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Over the next month, I spent nearly all my time cultivating in Lord Yong’s workshop.

Since I was only using a Peak-Yellow technique, rushing to Peak Disciple would have been a simple matter, but doing so would have been too telling. I needed to take things slow and give off the impression that I was an honest, diligent, hard-working young man.

So, instead of rushing forward, I formed and reformed each qi filter dozens of times and put all my effort into making them as perfect as possible.

At first, I was just wasting time. By this point, cultivating a basic Rank 1 technique barely required any thought—I could do it in my sleep. However, as I went through the motions, I began to notice something… strange. The more I practiced, the more smoothly fire qi passed through my qi filters.

It took me several days to pin down the exact cause of this, but eventually, I realized that the amount of impure energy my body was pulling had decreased. I hadn’t gained any special skill with fire, and my affinity hadn’t changed. Fire qi was just passing through my filters more easily because those filters weren’t being clogged up with as much random junk.

This effect was subtle, and if I hadn’t been so used to what cultivation was supposed to feel like, I might not have noticed it at all, but whatever this effect was, it was very real. If this continued, it wouldn’t be long before I would be able to cultivate at the level of a Low-Yellow technique without any filter at all.

What was going on?

“System, what has changed with my cultivation technique? Why has my body started drawing in fewer impurities?”

Purchase confirmed. Cost 5,000 credits.

Host’s qi affinity has advanced to low nine-star.

I blinked.

Was it really so simple? All I had needed to do was to practice a cultivation technique, and I had gained an affinity for qi? No essence required?

“System, is this… is this ‘qi affinity’ permanent or temporary? Is it something that I will retain through future lives?”

Purchase confirmed. Cost 1,000 credits. 237,955,112,175,273 credits remaining.

Host’s current qi affinity is permanent.

How… Were the Laws of this new continent really so generous? With enough effort, wouldn’t anyone be able to ascend to Peak Grandmaster? That… didn’t feel right. From what I had seen of Proud Eagle City, Grandmasters were no more common here than they were in major cities on Nine Rivers.

Something else was going on, and I only had a single clue as to what: latent talent. This phase kept popping up, but I hadn’t given it too much weight. I had been told that cleaning pill furnaces would transform my latent talent for alchemy into an alchemy affinity, and Lord Yong had said that sitting next to his spirit fire would transform my latent talent for fire into a fire affinity. Was practicing a cultivation technique transforming my latent talent for qi into a qi affinity?

If so, how much latent talent did I have? How far would my affinity be able to advance? I wanted to find out.

---------------------------------------------------

I had planned to take things slow, but learning that I could gain a permanent qi affinity just by cultivating had lit a fire under me. Because of this, by the end of my first month in Lord Yong’s workshop, I was already a Peak Disciple, and I had noticed two subtle changes to the rate at which I was absorbing energy, indicating that my qi affinity had advanced to high nine-star.

I considered taking an Energy Expulsion Pill to abolish my cultivation base and hide my progress from Pill Lord Yong, but… what was the point? I had found a new path of advancement. Slow walking my cultivation here would just lead to countless years of interminable boredom. Advancing too fast might cause problems with Jon, Lord Yong, or the Hall of the Herb Lord, but I wanted to start pushing forward.

So, when that first month was up, I proudly displayed my Peak Disciple cultivation base to Pill Lord Yong without any hint of shame.

Seeing what I had done, he remained composed, but I could sense a touch of anger roiling beneath his calm façade. He spent several minutes carefully studying me in qi vision, but my cultivation base was flawless. There was nothing for him to complain about.

This only made him annoyed. He wasn’t happy with my progress, but since there were no problems, he couldn’t speak out against me.

After several long moments of silence, he nodded, reached into his storage bag, and pulled out a new technique manual. Where the Mantra of Resolute Flames was a short scroll, this one was a thick tome.

“Apprentice Fang, your progress is… exceptional. I did not expect you to advance so quickly, but maybe I should have. As I said before, I see great potential in you. That said, the technique you are currently using is only Peak-Yellow. It is the simplest of techniques, and it will only allow you to wield fire qi. For an alchemist, this is less than ideal. Someone of your talents should aim for more.”

He passed me the new manual. “This is a secret technique of the Yong Clan, the Writ of Pill Fire. It is a Peak-Earth dual-element technique for cultivating both fire qi and pill qi—the perfect combination for a budding alchemist. It is the most potent cultivation that I can give you, one that you must never share with anyone else.”

Not believing what I was hearing, I immediately activated my technique analysis ability.

Writ of Pill Fire, Peak-Earth Rank 1 Cultivation Technique, Fire/Pill Qi, Effects: Makes one focused on the pursuit of alchemy.

I looked up at Lord Yong with wide eyes.

He nodded to me. “It is a powerful technique, but I must give you a few warnings before you cultivate it. First, unlike other dual-element techniques, the Writ of Pill Fire combines fire qi and pill qi into a special form of pill fire qi. This will have a permanent effect on your energy body. Even if you use Expulsion Pills, you will never be able to cultivate any other type of qi in the future.”

I nodded silently, barely caring about such a limitation.

“Second, pill fire qi is only suitable for alchemy. With normal fire qi, you might one day be able to become both a powerful warrior and a powerful alchemist. If you cultivate this technique, then your future as a warrior will be cut short.”

Again, I nodded without even thinking.

“Finally, this is a dual-element technique. Like all dual-element techniques, it requires an affinity for both elements. If your talent in either is lacking, you will find your path forward cut short. By the time you learn this, your body will have already been irreversibly changed by the pill fire, so there will be no going back. You will be stuck with an unsuitable technique forever. Do you understand?”

I nodded. “Yes, Lord. I would still like to use this technique.”

Lord Yong smiled in satisfaction. “Good. Do so slowly, though. A mistake in combining the two elements could result in disastrous consequences. Be careful.”

With that, he turned around and departed.

The Writ of Pill Fire was one of the most complex cultivation techniques that I had ever seen, and it was full of pitfalls that could permanently cripple my cultivation base, yet Pill Lord Yong had left me to study it entirely on my own.

I knew that this had to be part of Jon’s plot. I wasn’t sure why he was trying to sabotage me in such a roundabout way, but I didn’t really care either. I was more than happy to take advantage of his generosity.