Chapter 3

"Damn, I'm still alive!!"

After regaining consciousness, Song Li’s first thought was that he was still alive in such a situation, which was simply... a hundred times tougher than a cockroach.

Why did he have those memories in his mind, and Song Li could vaguely sense that it seemed as if he had been imparted something, but those things quickly merged into the flames within his body.

Flames, how could there be flames inside his body? Song Li suddenly sat up. How could there be flames inside a human body? As soon as he thought about it, Song Li entered a peculiar state. He actually saw a mysterious spot in his abdomen, as if he had entered a layered space, a very small purple-red flame, very weak, barely flickering inside.

Internal vision? Is this the legendary internal vision?

Heaven, he could actually see the situation inside his body. Although he knew that the world he was in was no longer Earth, and that everything here couldn’t be judged by common sense, from the memories in Song Li’s mind, it seemed that one could only achieve internal vision at the Foundation Establishment stage, which was a very high level.

Even if his current strength, according to the memories, had suddenly increased to the sixth layer of Body Tempering, there were ten layers in Body Tempering, and above Body Tempering was Qi Induction, which also had ten layers, followed by Foundation Establishment. At the Foundation Establishment stage, one would be a very powerful figure even in the Imperial Capital.

Even by this standard, internal vision was incredibly impressive. However, it seemed that he could currently only see the situation around the purple-red flame in his abdomen, including the flow of strength.

But even so, Song Li was very satisfied.

"Here..." After slightly recovering, Song Li looked around. According to the memories, this should be the temporary resting place inside his mother’s alchemy room, a place for her to rest. Oh no, it’s been wrecked like this now.

Ah! Then, Song Li was startled to see himself naked. He hurriedly looked around. This was an alchemy room; where could he find clothes?

Peeking out, he realized he would have to pass through his mother’s alchemy room to go out. Even if he managed to get out, what would people think if they saw him running around naked? Although from the memories, this place wasn’t as conservative as ancient Earth, it wasn’t open enough to allow random nudity.

After looking around for a long time, he finally saw a piece of white cloth. Song Li didn’t care much now and quickly grabbed it to wrap around his body, then carefully walked out. He had just destroyed the place, and if he didn’t leave, he would surely be beaten by his fiery and impulsive mother!

The alchemy room was huge. After leaving the resting room, he could feel the temperature rising inside, but this temperature, which ordinary people couldn’t bear, didn’t bother Song Li at all.

"Boom... Boom... It’s over, it’s over, this time it’s really going to be ruined. This batch of medicinal pills has been refined for over ten days, and it’s just a little more..." In the depths of the hall, a huge furnace could be vaguely seen, with flames burning below. The flames were not ordinary, and the surroundings were filled with restrictions; otherwise, the flames would have destroyed the room. Even so, the leaked flame power had already made the surrounding temperature very high.

In the depths of the alchemy room, about twenty meters away, Yun Lin was muttering to herself, her brows furrowed, deep in thought. She was continuously casting spells to control the flames, enhancing them, and adjusting the medicinal pills in the furnace, but it seemed she was struggling to continue.

"Hmm?" Song Li, wrapped in a piece of white cloth, had already sneaked to the door, but suddenly heard Yun Lin’s words. This was because his strength had suddenly increased, and he now had the strength of the sixth layer of Body Tempering, with his body being much stronger than the average sixth layer, so he could hear her muttering from a distance.

Song Li didn’t think much and was about to leave, but the weak purple-red flame inside him suddenly moved, and he immediately saw the situation of the flames below the furnace in his mind.

Song Li clearly felt that the flames his mother used for alchemy contained mixed and complex energy, far less vast and pure than the small flame inside him.

"Mom, why are you using such lousy flames for alchemy?" Song Li couldn’t help but blurt out.

"What did you say? You think the flames I use are lousy? Boy, do you know that the fire seed material comes from the Red Rock Valley, the central location of the Nebula Continent, the place closest to the sun, where fire elements are abundant, and the Red Rock produced there is the best fire seed material. Plus, your grandfather added a bit of the Three-Flavored True Fire. The fire seed I use is called the 'Three-Flavored Flame Rock Fire,' which is much better than any artificially synthesized fire seed! You brat, you don’t understand, so don’t talk nonsense!" Yun Lin immediately objected when she heard her son mocking her fire seed.

Central Nebula Continent? Closest to the sun? Oh, on Earth, that place is called the equator. He didn’t know much about Red Rock, but he instinctively felt that his mother’s flame was very weak, at least compared to the purple flame inside him.

However, he didn’t plan to argue with his mother and just watched her alchemy.

Seeing her son speechless, Yun Lin proudly raised her chin. She was very proud of her "Three-Flavored Flame Rock Fire." As the daughter of a Saint Alchemy Master, of course, she used the best fire seed.

"Sigh, if there were a fire seed in this world that could refine all medicinal pills, that would be great. Although my Three-Flavored Flame Rock Fire is good, it has significant flaws. It can’t refine high-level or cold-natured medicinal pills." Yun Lin muttered, "But my father said that there is no such universal fire seed in the world, unless it’s the 'Source Fire,' a natural wonder produced between heaven and earth. Ordinary people shouldn’t even think about it."

Song Li’s heart stirred. Why did the small flame inside him feel so much like the "Source Fire" his mother mentioned? Although there was no evidence to prove it, Song Li instinctively felt it was true. Perhaps sensing Song Li’s thoughts, the small flame inside him flickered happily, as if telling Song Li, "Yes, I am the Source Fire, you guessed right."

"Mom, is the fire seed very important for an alchemist?" Song Li asked.

"Of course," Yun Lin, busy controlling the flames and adjusting the herbs, scolded, "You’re the son of an alchemist, and you ask such a stupid question? If others heard you, they would laugh at you. In the Nebula Continent, even a three-year-old knows that alchemists are rare, but fire seeds are even rarer. With a high-quality fire seed, an alchemist is like a tiger with wings. Whether it’s the success rate of refining medicinal pills or the quality of the pills, it’s incomparable... Oh no, it’s getting worse. It seems my Three-Flavored Flame Rock Fire is indeed unsuitable for refining cold-natured medicinal pills..."

"To refine cold-natured medicinal pills, your flame is too intense to form the pills. Lower the power and add some Ice Pear Wood to make the flame both strong and gentle. There might still be a chance to save it." Feeling the situation of the flames and the contents of the furnace, Song Li almost instinctively said.

"Brat, stay inside and rest, don’t shout and affect your mother’s alchemy." Yun Lin, who was already annoyed, shouted without even turning her head, thinking Song Li was talking from inside.

What was he doing? Song Li was also startled. He was supposed to sneak out, but why did he speak up? Song Li covered his mouth, pulled the white cloth around him, and quickly rushed out of the room. Not far from the alchemy room, there were many guards of the county lord’s mansion. When they saw a person wrapped in a white cloth, they were all startled, and then, realizing it was their young master, they were all dumbfounded. Their young master had just been injured; what was he up to now?

Was he beaten into a daze?

Song Li ignored the guards’ surprised looks and walked proudly into the courtyard. Wrapped in a large piece of white cloth, he looked like a plump mummy, both eerie and comical. Fortunately, it was daytime; otherwise, if this monster suddenly appeared at night, the guards would have been terrified.

Just as he was about to leave, he heard a heart-wrenching wail from outside the wall, so sharp that even from a distance, Song Li felt his eardrums sting. The person was wailing and muttering, "Big Brother... you can’t die... if you die, who will take me to the 'Thousand Gold Smile Tower' for a good time... if you die, who will pay for my free meals... if you die, who will stand in front of me in fights... if you die, the Justice Alliance will be left with just me, where will I find the courage to show off... in short, you can’t die, I won’t allow it, dying would be abandoning me irresponsibly... I’ll curse you every day..."

Although the voice was sharp, Song Li found it familiar. Gradually, memories of this person surfaced in his mind. His name was Pang Da, the third son of Chancellor Pang, sixteen years old, the same age as Song Li. He had a weak constitution and was a failure in cultivation, so he wasn’t favored by his family. Pang Da grew up with Song Li and was a close friend, a childhood buddy. In the capital, there was a saying among the young nobles: "Pang Da is not big, Song Li is not strong, they are two scoundrels, a pair of failures."

They had endured a lot of humiliation from the young nobles, but they weren’t the type to endure it quietly. They couldn’t stand the arrogant attitudes of these young nobles and refused to be humiliated. So, under Song Li’s leadership, they formed the "Justice Alliance," which, of course, was a joke. With their cultivation at the second layer, any six-year-old on the street could beat them up. Trying to act like heroes and protect the weak was a typical case of asking for trouble. In the eyes of the young nobles, Song Li and Pang Da were the most brain-dead duo, with no exceptions.

Even if Song Li and Pang Da were failures in cultivation, if they had given up like other young nobles, spending their days playing with birds and beasts, and chasing women, they could have been considered decent young nobles in the capital. Unfortunately, they had a habit of meddling in other people’s affairs. Given their backgrounds and the presence of guards, they often made other young nobles suffer, even though they themselves were weak.

Gradually, they became the enemies of the young nobles in the capital. The younger ones avoided them, but some didn’t fear them.

This time, Song Li was beaten, and Pang Da wasn’t there, or he might have suffered the same fate. However, it hadn’t been long since the fight, and Pang Da must have rushed over as soon as he heard the news, which warmed Song Li’s heart. He wasn’t alone in this world; he had a friend who cared about him, which made him feel much better after his identity change. However, what was this guy saying... treating him like a scapegoat, was he?

Song Li’s eyes twinkled with a mischievous idea. As Pang Da’s voice grew closer, Song Li “thumped” to the ground, lying straight and stiff, as if he were dead!

The guards in the courtyard were terrified when they saw the young master suddenly fall. The leader whistled, and the guards rushed over, surrounding Song Li.

"Master, are you okay? Don’t scare us..."

"Don’t move, go tell the lady..."

"......"

Hearing the leader say he would inform the lady, Song Li opened his eyes and winked at him. The leader was puzzled, not knowing what the young master was up to.

At this moment, Pang Da, wailing, entered the courtyard. Seeing a “corpse” wrapped in white cloth lying in the middle, with the guards standing around in a daze, and recalling the recent fight, Pang Da felt his heart sink. Although he was worried about Song Li’s injuries, he never thought he would die. There was a saying, "Good people don’t die, and troublemakers live for a thousand years." In sixteen years, Song Li had done all sorts of mischief, from stealing chickens and peeking at princesses to pranking other young nobles. Given his troublemaking, he should live for at least a hundred years, not die so young.

The leader was also shrewd. Seeing Pang Da enter, he immediately understood the young master’s intentions. It seemed the young master was in a playful mood and wanted to tease his friend. The leader patted Pang Da’s shoulder and said solemnly, "Rest in peace." Then he led the guards to the side.

Pang Da was still hopeful. He checked Song Li’s breath and listened to his heartbeat. Song Li, now at the sixth layer of Body Tempering, could control his breath and pulse for a short time to create a “false death” phenomenon. However, Pang Da, unaware of Song Li’s rapid advancement, felt no breath or heartbeat and fell to the ground, stunned.

"Ah! Big Brother, you can’t die... leaving me alone, what will I do..." After a while, Pang Da’s emotions burst out. He hugged Song Li’s “corpse” and wailed. Although he was small and weak, he had a big appetite and a loud voice. Song Li was truly impressed by his powerful tenor. He thought that if this were 21st-century Earth, Pang Da would be a wasted talent as a singer. He secretly opened one eye and observed Pang Da’s expression, seeing him crying bitterly, tears and snot streaming down his face... no, snot. Two shiny clumps of snot were dripping from Pang Da’s nose, and Song Li watched as they stretched longer and longer, about to drip onto his mouth...

"Damn!" Song Li quickly sat up, dodging the snot.

"Eh?" Pang Da, who had been wailing loudly, suddenly stopped, his eyes widening in shock, staring at Song Li, his mind struggling to process what was happening.

They stared at each other, neither speaking.

"What are you doing?" Pang Da blinked.

"Playing dead, haven’t you seen it before?" Song Li said confidently.

"You can’t do that, Big Brother. I’m confused, are you dead or not?"

"I was dying, but I suddenly remembered you. Without you, it would be so boring, so I came back to take you with me, to keep me company."

"Is that so? Let me think about it," Pang Da, hands on his cheeks, rolled his eyes and thought, then nodded. "Big Brother, I’ve thought it through. If you die, my life would be meaningless. I’d either be bullied to death by Song Moran (the son of the Seventh Prince) or die of sadness thinking about you. So take me with you. In the afterlife, we can continue the Justice Alliance’s great cause, uphold justice, and protect the weak!"

Song Li had just wanted to scare him and play a joke, but he didn’t expect such genuine emotion from Pang Da, whose eyes were red and who was willing to die with him. This moved Song Li deeply. Despite Pang Da’s lazy nature and tendency to take small advantages, his feelings for Song Li were genuine. He was willing to accompany Song Li to the afterlife, which was rare in a world where human relationships were cold and indifferent.

"Brat, we’re alive, why go to death? If anyone should die, it’s Song Moran and his gang!" Song Li punched Pang Da hard, grinning.

"You’re not dead, Big Brother?" Pang Da’s face lit up, curiously touching and pinching Song Li.

"Hey, don’t touch me. Just because we’re close doesn’t mean I won’t report you for sexual harassment..."

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