Chapter 10

The person who arrived was Long Chen, and not only did Long Chen recognize him, but few people in the capital didn’t know him. He was the president of the Alchemists' Guild—Grandmaster Yun Qi.

"President, this young man suddenly came to cause trouble. I will drive him away right away," the elder said upon seeing Grandmaster Yun Qi.

Long Chen's eyes flickered, and he put on a grateful expression, saying, "Are you Grandmaster Yun Qi? That's great, Long Chen is very grateful for your life-saving grace."

Yun Qi's face was originally unhappy, but upon hearing Long Chen's words, he was taken aback and couldn't help but ask, "Child, are you mistaken?"

"Mistaken? No, absolutely not," Long Chen shook his head and pointed at the elder, saying, "My mother bought a Tiger Bone Pill from you through this master, spending over a hundred thousand gold coins, which cured my injury. I am truly grateful."

Hearing this, the elder's face changed drastically, and Yun Qi's expression turned cold as he looked at the elder and said, "Guan Cheng, explain yourself."

"President, don't listen to his nonsense..." Guan Cheng hurriedly explained.

"Hey, why aren't you admitting it? Our alchemists are truly noble and selfless, but the fact that you sold my mother a defective Tiger Bone Pill is undeniable," Long Chen said with a cold smile.

Despite Guan Cheng's continuous eye signals, Long Chen pretended not to see. "Old man, do you think my family's money is so easy to swindle?"

Guan Cheng was an old-timer in the Alchemists' Guild, originally a medicine boy for Grandmaster Yun Qi, but he had no talent for alchemy.

However, Guan Cheng had diligently served by Grandmaster Yun Qi's side for decades. Out of pity, Yun Qi gave him a position as an alchemist's steward, helping with various miscellaneous tasks.

Sometimes, the failed pills he produced were handed over to Guan Cheng for disposal. Normally, the useful parts of these failed pills would be extracted and mixed into medicinal solutions, and these failed pills were not sold externally.

This was a matter of professional ethics. If it were known that Grandmaster Yun Qi sold failed pills, he would be ridiculed by his peers.

Grandmaster Yun Qi sighed and looked at Guan Cheng, saying, "You've been with me for decades, and you know my temper. Go, and never come back."

Guan Cheng's face turned pale, and his eyes showed a hint of unwillingness: "Sir, I..."

"Go," Yun Qi waved his hand, saying indifferently.

Guan Cheng almost collapsed to the ground. Yun Qi's words were equivalent to expelling him from the Alchemists' Guild.

A steward who was once high and mighty suddenly became penniless, and Guan Cheng seemed to have aged a decade in an instant.

"Hey, stop pretending. You've been swindling people for years, making more black money than you could spend in a lifetime. Don't act like a pitiful worm," Long Chen said disdainfully.

This old man, as a steward of the Alchemists' Guild, was very close to some nobles and had reaped countless benefits over the years. Seeing his face, Long Chen felt nauseous.

Guan Cheng's face turned angry, and his eyes flashed with resentment, but he didn't speak, lowering his head and slowly leaving.

Watching Guan Cheng disappear, Grandmaster Yun Qi shook his head and said to Long Chen, "Young man, thank you. Otherwise, the old man would still be in the dark."

"Hehe, this old man swindled my family to the brink of ruin. I was just getting revenge. Don't be too polite," Long Chen laughed.

Grandmaster Yun Qi said with some surprise, "Hehe, you're straightforward, not a sly or cunning type. That's good."

"Hehe, my little trick couldn't fool a senior like you. Since I can't hide it, I might as well act like a good person," Long Chen shrugged and laughed.

Grandmaster Yun Qi couldn't help but laugh. For years, everyone who met him was respectful, and this was the first time someone spoke to him so casually, finding it quite interesting.

"Boy, you didn't come to the Alchemists' Guild just to report, did you?"

"Of course not, I came for the alchemist examination," Long Chen said, extending his right hand.

Whoosh!

A small flame leaped onto his fingertip. To leave a deep impression on the master, Long Chen slightly moved his finger, making the flame dance like a playful monkey on his fingertip.

"Good control."

Initially, seeing the flame, Yun Qi nodded slightly. Forming a pill fire at this age was still quite good, but Long Chen's subsequent actions left him slightly impressed.

The control of flame power mainly came from the strength of one's soul power. Long Chen's flexible use indicated that his soul power was significantly above average.

However, what Yun Qi didn't know was that Long Chen was holding back. If he revealed the ancient secret technique in his memory, it might shock the master.

"Very good, your soul power is stronger than the average person, making you a promising candidate for alchemy," Yun Qi nodded.

Hearing this, a weight was lifted from Long Chen's heart. It was better to retain his strength if possible.

"Come, I'll take you for a test," Yun Qi said, leading Long Chen away.

Watching the two leave, the people in the hall who were using pill fire to refine medicinal materials were stunned.

"Damn, no examination, just straight to the test?"

"How can this be? Is he related to Grandmaster Yun Qi?"

"Ha, what relation? That boy is just the famous waste, Long Chen, from the capital."

The dozen or so people in the hall had come for the alchemist examination. According to tradition, they needed to purify a herb to the required standard before proceeding to the next test.

However, Long Chen skipped this process, leaving them furious but helpless.

This was the Alchemists' Guild, a place of supreme authority, where no one dared to make a sound, so they had to swallow their frustration.

In a basement of the Alchemists' Guild, Grandmaster Yun Qi pointed to a crystal in front of him and said, "Evoke your flame."

Long Chen nodded, extended a finger, and the flame on his fingertip condensed, slowly touching the crystal.

Several patterns appeared on the crystal, and Grandmaster Yun Qi said indifferently, "Pill fire is of the lower Yellow grade, barely passing."

Pill fire was divided into four grades: Heaven, Earth, Mystic, and Yellow, each with three sub-grades. Long Chen's pill fire, which he had formed himself, was neither beast fire nor celestial fire, so the lower Yellow grade was quite normal.

After that, Yun Qi led Long Chen to a pool of water, which was only half a foot deep, with hundreds of translucent beads at the bottom.

"Channel your soul power and see if you can make the beads float to the surface."

This pool was not a real pool; the water inside was called True Soul Mercury. When Long Chen carefully touched the water, he found that it amplified his soul power by more than ten times.

Long Chen immediately felt more at ease. His current soul power was not yet strong enough to move objects from a distance, so he had overthought it.

As he channeled his soul power, several beads began to float to the surface.

However, Long Chen suddenly noticed that Grandmaster Yun Qi was looking at the beads with shock.

Oh no, I'm about to expose myself.

Long Chen quickly released his soul power, using his spiritual energy to make himself look pale and weak, creating the illusion of soul power depletion.

"Master... Am I qualified?" Long Chen asked, panting slightly.

"Mystic grade, actually Mystic grade," Grandmaster Yun Qi muttered, seemingly ignoring Long Chen's act.

After a while, Yun Qi noticed that Long Chen had collapsed on the ground. Long Chen's acting was undoubtedly at the level of a film emperor.

Not only was his face as pale as paper, but his eyes were also somewhat vacant, as if he had overexerted himself.

"Very good, your soul power is indeed exceptionally strong, making you a promising candidate. This time, I've found a good protégé," Yun Qi smiled slightly.

Hearing this, Long Chen's eyes lit up: "Grandmaster Yun Qi, I am very eager to study alchemy. Can I become your named disciple?"

Yun Qi shook his head: "I dare not take you as a disciple. Cultivate well, and I will give you an opportunity to reach the pinnacle of alchemy in the future."

Seeing Yun Qi's refusal, Long Chen smiled awkwardly: "I mainly need a title. With it, no one will dare to bully me."

Yun Qi was taken aback and couldn't help but laugh. Long Chen's straightforward personality made him somewhat speechless.

For years, he had never encountered such an interesting young man. However, Long Chen's abnormal soul power made him very optimistic about Long Chen's future.

"Rest assured, I will give you a pill apprentice badge. Who will dare to bully you?" Yun Qi smiled.

Long Chen was overjoyed. Normally, to enter the Alchemists' Guild, one had to first pass the pharmacist examination, and then wait a year to take the pill apprentice examination.

A pharmacist was just an entry-level position, which already made many people envious, while a pill apprentice was a formal alchemy practitioner.

"With your current pill fire and soul power, it's still a bit difficult to refine pills, but within a year, you will definitely be able to do so. I'm just issuing it early, which isn't against the rules," Yun Qi smiled.

Long Chen was grateful. Although he could look down on anyone in alchemy, Yun Qi was a respected elder.

Grandmaster Yun Qi personally made a pill apprentice badge for Long Chen, and also gave him a medicine cauldron and a set of pill robes. The material of the pill robes was very luxurious, with a pill star pattern on the chest, the symbol of a pill apprentice.

The medicine cauldron was made of lychee copper and red gold, with exquisite materials and a more reasonable design, far surpassing the one Long Chen had previously bought.

In addition to these items, what surprised Long Chen was that Grandmaster Yun Qi also gave him a spatial ring.

This was a very magical ring. By channeling soul power, one could open the space inside and store items freely.

It was a luxurious item worth hundreds of thousands of gold coins, which Long Chen had never even dared to dream of. When he channeled his soul power into the ring, he found a space of several square meters inside, making him extremely grateful.

Grandmaster Yun Qi told Long Chen that with the badge, he could buy medicinal materials from the Alchemists' Guild at a 50% discount and read all the alchemy insights of his predecessors for free.

Long Chen suddenly felt like a chicken that had turned into a phoenix. He bought a large amount of Wind Mansion medicinal materials and some other herbs from the Alchemists' Guild.

When Long Chen stepped out of the Alchemists' Guild, he felt like a completely different person. He went in worthless and came out a millionaire, standing straight and looking down on others.

Long Chen returned home with a full harvest. As soon as he entered, he saw Bao'er waiting at the door. Seeing Long Chen, she immediately pulled him into the lady's room.

As soon as he entered, Long Chen was stunned, his heart racing uncontrollably.