Battle Through the Heavens: Starting from the Jia Ma Empire

Chapter 216 Do you often explode your cauldron?

In a courtyard filled with birdsong and fragrant flowers within the academy's inner grounds, Lin Feng and Yao Chen sat facing each other, chatting and laughing. Although they were different ages, they shared a rather similar air about them.

Xiao Yan, who was serving nearby, had been imitating Lin Feng, but had never surpassed him. Moreover, if one observed closely, one could sometimes see that Xiao Yan would glance at Lin Feng from time to time, his gaze filled with a hint of fervor.

With Lin Feng's powerful observation skills, how could he not have noticed? But he acted as if he hadn't noticed at all, remaining calm as he continued to drink his newly developed spiritual tea.

"Haha, Lin Feng, your passion for research is quite similar to mine back in the day."

After taking another sip of tea, Yao Chen stroked his beard and sighed.

Logically speaking, Yao Chen, as the top alchemist in Zhongzhou back then, could be considered the strongest existence below the ninth-grade alchemist. Even if Lin Feng had some strange and unusual things, it shouldn't be worth his feelings.

This brings us back to what I just mentioned. Yao Chen took a small sip of the spiritual tea. As a soul, he no longer had a real physical body, so how could he drink tea?

This is why Yao Chen was so impressed. The spiritual tea that Lin Feng researched not only slightly improved the spiritual tea, but also referenced the existence of atoms and molecules from his previous life. When the tea was transformed into mist, Yao Chen's soul power could absorb it and produce the sensation of physical drinking.

"It's just a cup of tea. If you like it, Elder Yao, you can take some more back later."

Lin Feng smiled slightly and then took the initiative to speak.

"Junior Brother Xiao Yan has been standing here from the beginning. Is there something you want to say?"

"This, Senior Brother Lin Feng."

Xiao Yan scratched his head sheepishly, then a determined look appeared in his eyes as he spoke solemnly.

"Senior Brother Lin Feng, half a month ago, after you subdued and killed the people of the Black Corner Region, you returned a strange flame to the academy."

"Junior Brother Xiao Yan, that strange flame is the academy's most precious treasure, ensuring its enduring prosperity. I cannot give it to you!"

Lin Feng took a small sip of tea. Although he already knew Xiao Yan's intentions, he was now in a position of power and didn't need to rush. He only needed to bring up this topic, and given Xiao Yan's personality, he would naturally fall into the trap he had set.

However, he has almost squeezed all the good stuff out of Yao Chen, so it seems he will have to find new trading clients in the future.

"Lin Feng, stop teasing this silly boy," Yao Chen, who was already prepared to be fleeced, glanced at his silly disciple who was scratching his head and laughing awkwardly, and calmly said, "Just tell me what you want. As long as I have it, I can trade it."

"The Fallen Heart Flame you handed over to the academy half a month ago has a very different aura from the one that broke through the seal at that time. Based on my many years of research on strange flames, it must be a new strange flame."

A sharp glint appeared in Yao Chen's eyes. "Then, could you exchange it for the original strange flame?"

"Haha, Elder Yao is as straightforward as ever. Since we've come this far, I'll just say it directly."

Under Xiao Yan's tense gaze, Lin Feng slowly stood up and said solemnly.

"Elder Yao, Junior Brother Xiao Yan, after several transactions, you must already know my true situation."

"I am indeed a native of the Northwest Continent, on the border of the Jia Ma Empire. My current level of development is due to a combination of luck and hard work, but also to the help of Elder Yao."

"Given my current situation, once I arrive in Zhongzhou and join the Pill Tower, I can become a core disciple or even a steward. At that time, I will have access to all kinds of knowledge and pill formulas in alchemy."

"Besides alchemy, Senior Yao must only have a few top-tier cultivation techniques in his possession."

Seeing Xiao Yan's increasingly downcast expression, Lin Feng didn't keep him in suspense any longer.

"However," Lin Feng changed his tone, noticing their expressions, "consider this my investment in Junior Brother Xiao Yan. A very reasonable price—all of Yao Lao's insights into alchemy!"

Upon hearing Lin Feng's request, Xiao Yan's initially expectant expression immediately wilted. Although he desperately wanted the strange fire, and it had always been his master who had given him everything, the fact that the other party in this transaction was all his alchemy techniques was far too important for an alchemist.

As a result, although Xiao Yan longed for it, he had already prepared to give up.

Yao Chen's expression remained unchanged. After taking another sip of spiritual tea, he smiled slightly and slowly spoke.

"You little fox, you haven't made an outrageous demand this time. I agree to this deal. Hand over the strange fire!"

In Yao Chen's mind, the value of a single strange fire couldn't compare to his most treasured collection as a peak eighth-grade alchemist. In fact, once you reach the Dou Zun realm, strange fires ranked lower on the Strange Fire Ranking, unless they have extremely special uses, don't offer much benefit to Dou Zun experts or eighth-grade alchemists.

The reason he felt Lin Feng hadn't made an exorbitant demand this time was because this strange fire was extremely important to its user. Knowing the Burning Technique, Lin Feng could even propose any conditions, which was why Yao Chen was happy.

"This little fox has finally spared me this time!" A sense of relief welled up inside me, but it quickly turned into unease. "Could this little fox be hiding some trap for me to fall into?"

"Master, you..."

Upon seeing that his master had agreed to bring out the last of his collection, Xiao Yan hurriedly spoke, his face filled with urgency, but was interrupted by Yao Chen waving his hand.

"No need to say more. Although these things are precious, they are insignificant compared to your future. Little Yanzi, instead of acting like a little girl here, you should strive to catch up, absorb these two strange flames, and narrow the gap with your senior brother Lin Feng."

Changing the subject, Yao Chen continued, "Moreover, with Lin Feng's talent, once you enter Zhongzhou and come to the Pill Tower, these seemingly precious things will be easily obtained by him."

"Master, Senior Brother Lin Feng, it's me..."

"Junior Brother Xiao Yan, there's no need for that. As Elder Yao said, instead of wasting time, you should focus on your cultivation and strive to become a strong expert as soon as possible."

As Lin Feng spoke, he handed the strange fire to Xiao Yan and took a storage ring from Yao Lao's hand.

"Oh, right," Lin Feng said, as if he had just remembered something, and waved his hand.

"Thump"

A heavy thud was heard as a huge medicine cauldron appeared before the three of them. Yao Chen was the first to react and spoke with a hint of shock.

"Its body is crimson, covered with various strange patterns of ancient ferocious beasts. From its open mouth, one can almost hear its roar, like a dream."

The medicinal dust circled the medicine cauldron several times, observing it closely with burning eyes.

"Lin Feng, could this be the Myriad Beast Cauldron, ranked thirteenth on the Heavenly Cauldron Ranking?!"

"Hahaha, as expected of Elder Yao, you have a discerning eye. Indeed, this is the Myriad Beasts Cauldron."

Lin Feng smiled slightly, looking at the burning desire in Yao Chen and Xiao Yan's eyes, and continued to speak.

"Junior Brother Xiao Yan, whether an alchemist can delve deeply and continuously into learning depends on several key points."

Upon seeing Lin Feng about to share his insights, Xiao Yan, who had always looked up to Lin Feng, immediately focused his attention and listened intently. Even Yao Chen was taken aback. After all, although Lin Feng inherited most of his alchemy skills from him, a genius's ideas always drew attention, and he might even broaden his own thinking as a result.

"As we all know, the first thing to consider when deciding whether someone can become an alchemist is whether their battle qi attribute is fire or wood. Currently, fire attribute accounts for 99% of the total, with only a trace of wood attribute to neutralize the raging flames."

Although Lin Feng was merely stating the ironclad rules of the Dou Qi Continent, Yao Chen and Xiao Yan remained focused. Given Lin Feng's current level, he was certain that he would have his own unique understanding of the rules.

As expected, Lin Feng then revealed some little-known secrets of the alchemy world.

"However, I think this view is too one-sided, for example..."

At this point, Lin Feng suddenly raised his palm, and a wisp of battle qi rose up, which appeared to the three of them in five colors.

"As you can see, I possess a very rare five-attribute battle aura, with all five elements evenly distributed. Fire and wood each account for 20%, while the other three elements interfere. According to what is said on the continent, I should not meet the requirements to become an alchemist."

"However, I have now reached the seventh-grade alchemist realm, and there is also a powerful figure from Burning Flame Valley who, despite only possessing a single fire attribute, forcibly became an alchemist by relying on his powerful fire control techniques."

Seeing Yao Chen's unchanged expression and Xiao Yan's surprise, Lin Feng continued.

"Although the Valley Master of Burning Flame Valley has a few alchemists whose level is slightly lower than his battle qi level, this is enough to prove that the attribute of battle qi is not a strict factor that restricts whether one can become an alchemist."

"Secondly, it requires strong soul power. Junior Brother Xiao Yan, you don't need to worry about that, as your soul talent is extremely strong."

"Senior Brother Lin Feng's talent is truly at the level of a prodigy; I'm just a genius from a small place."

Xiao Yan rubbed his nose. Although he felt he had good talent in soul power, it was still much weaker than Lin Feng's. With his master's reminder, he also realized that Lin Feng's soul realm had now reached the peak of the mortal realm.

Given enough opportunity, one can step into the legendary spiritual realm.

On the Dou Qi Continent, the classification of souls differs from that of Dou Qi, lacking the complexity of a simple system. There are only four realms: Mortal, Spirit, Heaven, and Emperor. The legendary Emperor-level soul goes without saying; it is something connected to the Dou Di (Battle Emperor) realm, and even among the ancient imperial clans, only a few extremely powerful individuals can glimpse this realm.

Even among those with second-tier Heavenly Realm souls, there are perhaps only a few dozen such individuals on this Dou Qi Continent. Among them, alchemists, due to their years of refining pills, experience a slightly faster improvement in their souls and make up the majority.

The third level, the Spirit Realm, is not to be underestimated either; it is one of the thresholds for becoming an eighth-grade alchemist.

In fact, it could be said to be the most important condition, because the achievement of an eighth-grade pill differs from that of grades one through seven, requiring the imbuing of the pill with the legendary spiritual energy. This spiritual energy can only be controlled by beings whose soul power has reached the Spirit Realm.

Furthermore, Lin Feng's alchemy skills have already reached the seventh rank, so it can be said that becoming an eighth-rank alchemist is just around the corner for him.

Of course, Xiao Yan did not give up his determination to catch up with Lin Feng. With the existence of the Burning Flame Technique, he even absorbed a Wind Fury Dragon Flame, proving that the Burning Flame Technique can absorb different flames to evolve.

This confirms Yao Chen's earlier view that this is a more bizarre technique than the Heavenly Rank technique, and now it also contains the Sea Heart Flame and the Fallen Heart Flame. Perhaps this Burning Technique can even be promoted to the Earth Rank.

At the Dou Ling level, in this region of the Northwest Continent, this is absolutely the most top-tier existence.

Furthermore, when Burning Blade absorbs and fuses different flames, it can even increase his Dou Qi level. With his current four-star Dou Ling realm, using two different flames would guarantee him at least a mid-to-high-level Dou Wang level. In terms of combat power, the Buddha's Fury Lotus unleashed by using three different flames could easily kill a low-level Dou Huang.

Of course, with the experienced Yao Chen guiding him, he would not allow Xiao Yan to absorb two different flames at once.

While that could allow one to advance to a mid-to-high-level Dou Wang in a short time, it would significantly diminish their understanding of the Dou Ling Dou Wang realm. Consequently, they would lack a certain foundation. Furthermore, in Yao Chen's eyes, the cultivation of alchemy was equally important; a rapid increase in Dou Qi meant a decrease in control, which was extremely detrimental to alchemy.

According to Lin Feng's analysis, Xiao Yan should first absorb the Fallen Heart Flame, which is known as a cheat code for cultivation. At his current level, this strange flame will have the greatest effect.

"Leaving aside soul power and battle qi attributes for the moment, for alchemists, a direct lineage to the top is also extremely important." At this point, Lin Feng bowed slightly to Yao Chen, "I must also thank Elder Yao for passing on the art of alchemy to me; otherwise, I might only have just touched the threshold of the sixth rank by now."

"You earned all of this through transactions. I have no time to teach you." Although he said this, judging from the smug expression on Yao Chen's face, he was quite pleased with the gratitude shown to a super genius like Lin Feng.

"Besides these three well-known points, a powerful medicine cauldron is also extremely important to an alchemist." Looking at Xiao Yan, who seemed to have thought of something embarrassing and looked a little awkward, Lin Feng continued.

"Even a sixth-grade alchemist would have a very high chance of their cauldrons exploding if they were to use three cauldrons to refine fifth-grade pills." Lin Feng suddenly looked at Xiao Yan and teased, "Junior Brother Xiao Yan, that expression... do you often have your cauldrons explode?"

(End of this chapter)