Alchemists do not need self-cultivation

"Yao Lin, are there any alchemists in your clan?"

Yao Lin thought for a moment and said, "It seems there is such a person. Do you need to see him, brother?"

"Take me to see him; there are some things that need to be investigated."

Chapter 116: Alchemy

Yao Lin led Isaac to a small house in the Yao tribe's settlement.

"This is where Yao Hong, the alchemist of the Yao clan, resides."

Yao Lin walked to the door and knocked: "Uncle Hong, are you there?"

There was no sound from inside for a long time. After a while, the door finally opened, and a middle-aged man with messy hair and a dejected look came out: "Who is it? Coming to see me in the middle of the night?"

"Uncle Hong, it's me. Sorry to bother you."

Yao Lin chuckled awkwardly and scratched his head, feeling really bad for bothering them so late.

"Oh, Lin, what brings you here? And this is... His Highness Feifan?"

The middle-aged man named Yao Hong, with dark circles under his eyes, asked the two of them a question. He looked like he hadn't slept in a long time.

"My older brother needs to ask Uncle Hong something. Would it be convenient for us to come in?"

“Of course, please, both of you.” Yao Hong said, gesturing for the two to enter the house.

Upon entering the room, a pungent odor filled the air. The room was dimly lit, and the two saw various animal organs and carcasses in bottles and jars, as well as medicinal herbs in open drawers. The walls and floor were covered with transmutation circles.

The entire room could only be described as a chaotic mess. Isaac glanced casually at the books scattered on the floor; some contained records of alchemy from the New Kingdom, while others documented the alchemy of Amestris.

"Your Highness, what brings you to me?"

Yao Hong walked to his desk, picked up a glass of water, and drank it.

"What are your thoughts on this transmutation array?"

As Isaac spoke, he took out a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to Yao Hong. Yao Hong took the paper and read it, and suddenly his eyes lit up.

"This is... a product of the fusion of alchemy and alchemy!" Yao Hong suddenly exclaimed excitedly, and hurriedly asked Isaac, "Your Highness! Where did you get this transmutation array?"

"What do you see in the tattoos on a wanted criminal in Amestris?"

It seems that the guy named 'Scar' has quite a background.

"This is a product of the perfect fusion of the alchemy of the New Kingdom and the alchemy of Amestris. The energy source is the dragon vein in the alchemy of the New Kingdom, while the techniques are more similar to the alchemy of Amestris." Yao Hong changed his previous dejected expression and became excited.

He continued, "Without a doubt, the person who developed this is a genius. I have been researching the combination of alchemy and elixirs for a long time, but I have not made any progress until today!"

Yao Hong's eyes gleamed with an almost manic light.

"Really?" A hint of curiosity flashed in Isaac's eyes.

"Of course! This is a great discovery!" Yao Hong exclaimed excitedly, then looked at Isaac. "Your Highness, you've condescended to come to this small place to investigate. Could it be that you're also interested in alchemy?"

He was indeed somewhat excited. He was the only alchemist in the entire Yao clan, and he felt quite lonely, since the people here were more interested in martial arts than alchemy.

“Although that’s not why I came to see you, I do have some interest in alchemy, after all, I am an alchemist myself,” Isaac said with a smile.

"An alchemist?" Yao Hong's eyes lit up. He had long heard that His Highness, who had returned after ten years, had gone to Amestris, but he hadn't expected that His Highness had already learned alchemy.

Isaac clasped his hands together on the ground, and the floor began to twist and deform, revealing a longsword in Isaac's hand.

"A formation without formations?!" Yao Hong seemed to have discovered a new world, and immediately grabbed Isaac's shoulder excitedly, "Your Highness, how did you do it? Tell me quickly."

“Ordinary people can’t learn this,” Isaac said. “Then how about we make an equal exchange? I’ll tell you about alchemy, and you tell me about pill refining.”

"Yes, yes, yes! Thank you, Your Highness!" Yao Hong replied excitedly.

His research had to involve knowledge of alchemy, and in the entire Yao clan, he was practically the only alchemist, let alone a master alchemist. He had to find alchemical materials himself.

Self-study is too inefficient. He had originally wanted to find an opportunity to go to Amestris, but that was too difficult for someone like him who stayed at home all day.

Now, things are really going well. His Highness is an alchemist, and he doesn't seem to be an ordinary alchemist at all. It's like a gift from heaven!

"Then Yao Lin, you should go back first. I have something to discuss with this Uncle Yao Hong." He waved to Yao Lin as he spoke.

"Okay, big brother, remember to come back early, or Mom will start complaining again." With that, he left the messy house.

Yao Lin was rather averse to the room filled with corpses and experimental equipment, but Isaac did not share this sentiment. He felt a strong sense of familiarity with the laboratory, as it resembled his own.

The two then began to exchange academic insights.

"Speaking of which, Your Highness, what is your level of alchemy? How does it compare to the state's alchemy?" Yao Hong asked.

He was indeed astonished when he saw Wuzhen achieve this level of mastery; in theory, such a level would be exceptional even in Amestris.

"State Alchemist? That's me." He then took out a silver pocket watch from his pocket and waved it in front of Yao Hong.

"Your Highness is actually the State Alchemist?!"

This was the umpteenth time he had been shocked, but at the same time, he was also very pleasantly surprised. Exchanging academic ideas with a state alchemist from Amestris meant that his research would definitely make breakthroughs very quickly.

Next, Yao Hong and Isaac discussed the knowledge of alchemy.

"As we all know, the foundation of alchemy is similar to that of cosmology, but cosmology uses the energy released by the earth's crustal movements, while alchemy uses the flow of dragon veins..."

As he explained, he began to demonstrate: "For example, if I draw a transmutation circle on the ground here, and then draw another transmutation circle on the wall, then remote transmutation can be achieved."

As he spoke, Yao Hong slapped his hand toward the transmutation circle he had drawn. A burst of lightning began to flow, shooting from the transmutation circle on the ground to the transmutation circle on the wall. The wall began to deform, and a human head statue appeared on the wall.

“I see…” Isaac listened attentively and took some notes.

"Now I will teach you some theories of alchemy..."

The two spent the rest of the time talking to each other and sometimes doing a few experiments.

Day two.

"Thank you for your generous sharing, Your Highness. I have truly benefited greatly."

"Not at all, I learned a lot too. It was a very pleasant collaboration. I hope we can exchange ideas again sometime."

The two of them were tireless in their research, spending the entire night learning and exchanging ideas.

"Your Highness is welcome to come whenever you wish."

Yao Hong was very happy to have found someone who shared his hobbies.

Chapter 117: The Two's Special Training

After a night of conversation with Yao Hong, the alchemist, Isaac had gained a preliminary understanding of the flow of dragon veins and remote alchemy.

Looking at the rising sun in the sky, I realized that I hadn't been home all night.

"It's already morning."

Isaac walked toward the Yao clan's main residence, wondering if his mother and Violet would worry about him since he hadn't returned home all night.

But knowing Violet as Isaac does, she must be getting impatient.

as predicted.

When he returned to the manor, he saw Violet looking around at the entrance. She immediately ran over when she saw Isaac return.

"Mr. Isaac..."

"Alright, alright, I'm back now," Isaac comforted Violet.

She remains the same as before; she feels lost and helpless when she's away for too long.

Madam Yao also came out from behind.

"Feifan didn't come home all night yesterday. Did he spend the night at some girl's house?" Madam Yao still had a smile on her face.

No.

"Really~ Don't be so shy, it's okay to tell your mother." Mrs. Yao said, leaning closer to Isaac, "You should smell of a girl's rouge or perfume on you now."

However, as soon as she got closer, she realized something was wrong and sniffed Isaac.

Why does it smell like medicinal herbs?

“Oh, yesterday I spent the whole night talking to an alchemist named Yao Hong,” Isaac said.

"What?!" Madam Yao exclaimed in shock. "Feifan, you spent the night with a man?"

"Don't misunderstand me like that. I was just having some academic exchanges with him." Isaac said, taking out a small notebook from his pocket, which was filled with dense notes on alchemy.

"Good heavens! On such a beautiful night, instead of striking up a conversation, you're off studying academics? You'll be lonely for the rest of your life if you keep going like this!" Madam Yao said with a look of utter disappointment. "You'd be better off going to a brothel than studying alchemy."

After all, studying alchemy requires staying in a room all day without success, and the common perception of alchemists among the new Chinese is that they are gloomy, reclusive men who spend their days with herbs and corpses.

"What kind of mother are you?"

I did go to a brothel yesterday, and although I didn't do anything, I still managed to get the crown prince.

Violet suddenly tugged at Isaac's sleeve.

“Mr. Isaac will not be alone forever; I will always be by your side.”

"Ah! Violet, you're still the best to me!"

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Over the next few days, Isaac spent some time in Yao Hong's room almost every day.

Inside Yao Hong's room.

Isaac clasped his hands together on the ground.

呲!

A blue bolt of lightning appeared in his hand and shot off into the distance. When the lightning struck the wall, the wall began to twist and deform, and a statue was thus created.

"Your Highness is amazing! You've mastered remote-controlled techniques so quickly!" Yao Hong exclaimed from the side.

Isaac's talent truly surprised him.

“Now that we’ve grasped the flow of the dragon veins, the rest is simple,” Isaac said.

The gains of these past few days are invaluable to him.

"Speaking of which, my father seemed to have mentioned going to the palace."

Isaac calculated the time and found that a week had passed, which was about today.

"Uncle Yao Hong, I have to go now. I'll ask you for advice again when I have the chance," Isaac said before leaving the room.