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Chapter 210: His Plan in the Alchemist Association
Aldrian and Eleine now stood in front of a tall building, its air filled with the rich fragrance of spiritual herbs. Many people were entering and exiting through the grand main gate, guarded by Earl-stage cultivators, a level of strength seemingly excessive for mere door guardians. However, this was the Alchemist Association’s way of showcasing their dedication to security and their power.
Aldrian and Eleine entered the building, and as they stepped inside, the strong fragrance of spiritual herbs that was already noticeable from outside instantly filled their senses. It was both refreshing and calming, creating an urge that made them want to meditate on the spot.
Aldrian glanced around, taking in their surroundings. Inside was a vast hall that was divided into various sections, each designed to cater to the needs of guests and customers. There were areas that allowed customers to commission alchemists to create pills, sections that offered ready-made pills for purchase, and many more.
However, those were not what Aldrian was looking for. His gaze shifted to one particular section, where a sign above it read, "Test Registration for Alchemists" He turned to Eleine.
"I want to become an alchemist. How do I do it?" Aldrian asked through voice transmission.
Eleine widened her eyes, looking at Aldrian with a shocked expression. He hadn’t revealed his intentions for visiting the Alchemist Association, leaving her and the others to assume that he wanted to visit the headquarters to gather information or conduct intelligence work. They had interpreted "infiltrate" to mean entering the place unofficially. After all, he had emphasized that he wanted everything to be efficient and fast.
To think that, in Aldrian’s mind, being efficient and fast meant becoming an alchemist made Eleine want to facepalm. However, she looked at him and said,
"Are you sure, young master? Have you ever studied alchemy or anything related to it before?" she asked.
"Actually, I’ve only studied spiritual herbs during my time in the Forest of Despair, and I’ve read about them in the Evergreen Imperial Family’s library," Aldrian replied. "But I haven’t delved deeper into practical applications."
"Alright, at least you have some knowledge of spiritual herbs," Eleine said. "But that’s still not enough, young master. To become an official alchemist through the association, you’ll need to pass several steps. First, they’ll check your compatibility with the fire element, which you already have. Then, you’ll be asked many questions related to alchemy to test your knowledge. Finally, you’ll undergo a test to control fire—not like when crafting artifacts as a blacksmith, but to control it delicately enough to avoid destroying the ingredients while creating a pill." She paused.
She looked at Aldrian’s face, but he only had a calm and serene expression. She sighed and continued.
"Then, the last test is to create a pill. You’ll need to at least create one stripe pill, which is the minimum requirement for it to be considered a success. Only after that will you be registered as an alchemist of the association."
"But usually, those who try to register here already have some experience, at least in handling a cauldron. But I don’t think you’ve ever even touched a cauldron, have you, young master?" Eleine asked, to which Aldrian responded with a shake of his head.
"That is the problem. Without someone to guide you, it will be difficult. You at least need someone who can teach you," Eleine said. Aldrian understood what she meant. This time, he didn’t have someone like Duke Valiard, who had taught him how to become a blacksmith, starting from the basics all the way to the point where he could create a divine-grade artifact. Here, he would have to do it alone, without any support or teacher.
He could do it by himself if given time, but after hearing Eleine’s explanation, he realized he needed to find another way to make this infiltration more effective and faster than if he had to do it alone. If he wanted to carry out this operation efficiently, the only option was to have a connection, a helper. He would need someone of the same caliber as Duke Valiard here.
He couldn’t rely on a connection from the Thunderous Shadow Pavilion right now—or rather, he wasn’t sure if using that connection would alert the traitors, causing them to escape earlier. He needed to approach them as naturally as possible.
He pondered for a moment, glancing at his surroundings. His gaze then landed on the section where all items related to alchemy were sold, and an idea came to mind. 𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑝𝘶𝘣.𝑐𝘰𝘮
"To catch a big fish, you need extraordinary bait," he thought to himself.
Without hesitation, he began walking toward that section. Eleine, puzzled by his sudden direction, still followed him.
Upon arriving and being greeted by the receptionist, Aldrian didn’t beat around the bush. He immediately purchased a basic alchemy book and a cauldron—one that was considered cheap by alchemist standards.
The receptionist didn’t find his actions particularly noteworthy, assuming that Aldrian, like many others, simply wanted to study alchemy.
After that, he stood in one corner of the hall and began reading the basic alchemy book. Those who noticed Aldrian merely gave him knowing looks, assuming he was just another beginner starting to learn about alchemy. They paid him no further attention and left him to it.
However, a few moments later, they became puzzled by Aldrian’s actions. They noticed how quickly he was reading the book, flipping each page every few seconds. The book was quite thick and contained a wealth of knowledge essential for beginners. It even included a few simple recipes for basic pills that could be created by any official alchemist. One needed to read this book thoroughly to fully understand and comprehend its contents, avoiding any mistakes.
A few people glanced at him, and after a few minutes, they saw Aldrian close the book. This raised questions in their minds—had he actually read it, or was he just playing around?
What they didn’t know was that Aldrian had indeed read the entire book and memorized its contents the moment his eyes scanned each word and symbol. With his exceptional comprehension and the help of the Eyes of the Heaven, he could grasp and memorize the content at an astonishing speed.
Aldrian then headed to the herbs section to buy a few ingredients for pill creation. After that, they watched as he moved to another section to rent a room for his alchemy work. Naturally, this place had many such rooms, and Aldrian ordered the most expensive one to avoid waiting.
Watching Aldrian’s actions, Eleine more or less knew what he intended to do. She was truly amazed by her young master’s approach. It could only be done by her genius young master.
By this point, the people who had been curiously watching Aldrian also began to understand his intentions, and many thought he was either crazy or arrogant. Did this young man think alchemy was like cooking, where you just read the recipe and follow it? Truly arrogant!
However, Aldrian continued with his actions. After entering the special room designed to accommodate alchemists creating high-level pills, he inspected the room’s layout. In the center was a large cauldron, surrounded by several seating pads. Aldrian could also sense that the room was protected by a few formations, designed to prevent any mishaps during the pill concoction process from spreading outside.
The outcome of the pill concoction can vary depending on the tier of the pill being created. For lower-tier pills, there are no serious consequences if the concoction fails—at most, the pill will be burned, and the ingredients will be lost. However, for higher-tier pills, there’s a risk that the concoction process could go wrong, potentially causing the cauldron to explode. Without proper precautions, the alchemist could suffer serious injuries or, in the worst case, death.
Now, Aldrian wanted to try concocting one of the simple pills that beginner alchemists typically create for the first time: a supplement pill. The effect of this pill is to help cultivators replenish their stamina. It is commonly used by lower-level cultivators during their training or in situations where a quick stamina boost is needed.
Aldrian had already purchased several sets of spiritual herbs to practice with, so he wasn’t worried about failure. If needed, he could simply try again. He carefully arranged the herbs and, with a wave of his hand, ignited the fire beneath the cauldron using his fire laws. The intensity of the flame depended on the cultivator’s own abilities. Those with a strong flame or special flame were fortunate, as it allowed them to concoct pills more efficiently and quickly, significantly reducing their workload.
If they had an ordinary flame, they would have to work much harder. Sometimes, the heat from an ordinary flame wasn’t enough, forcing them to drain more energy to intensify the flame.
For Aldrian, he didn’t possess a special flame, but he had his golden energy, which could amplify the strength of any element several times over. He also created his domain here to make his work easier, and with his self-taught methods, he was now ready to concoct his very first pill!
