Chapter 4

After a moment, Lin Feng had successfully cultivated his technique, and his mind was gradually sinking into his body.

Instantly, that extraordinarily complex, almost terrifying map of meridians appeared in his mind.

Controlling his mind, he sped through several meridians and quickly arrived above the qi vortex at his lower abdomen.

Now his qi vortex not only holds far more than before practicing the technique, its span is many times greater.

Moreover, the scarlet qi flowing within is obviously far superior in quality to the attribute-less qi he had before cultivating the technique.

A slight stir of his mind sent a thread of scarlet qi streaming out from the vortex, then swiftly flowing along his meridians.

As the qi began to circulate, Lin Feng could clearly feel a mighty power within his body gradually climbing to a peak he had never reached before.

He slowly opened his eyes, and a smile appeared on Lin Feng's face.

At his current cultivation speed after switching techniques, he could advance to a Two-Star Fighter within at most one month.

Having finished cultivating, Lin Feng immediately rose, mounted his horse, and rode straight for Hei Yan Cheng.

He no longer wants to stay in Wutan City, and Qingshan Town is too barren, while Hei Yan Cheng is a decent place.

Moreover, because the Alchemist Guild exists in Hei Yan Cheng, the city has many alchemists, and he can easily purchase the herbs needed for his alchemy studies.

Hei Yan Cheng is a large city located in the eastern provinces of the Jia Ma Empire, and its scale is even more magnificent than Wutan City.

In terms of overall strength, it ranks among the top of all the large cities in the Jia Ma Empire.

Lin Feng gazed at the massive city, its surface reflecting a faint reddish glow in the afterglow of the setting sun, and let out a slight sigh of relief.

The past few days of wilderness life have given him a fair amount of hardship.

As he approached, Lin Feng finally realized that the city's massive walls were forty to fifty meters high.

Compared with Wutan City's walls, they are more than twice as tall, and the entire structure is built from neatly arranged black rocks, which left him deeply impressed.

Arriving at the city gate, after paying the tax, he was smoothly allowed inside, passing through a somewhat dark wall passage.

A moment later, his vision cleared to a sea of noisy, bustling crowds. The deafening din poured over him, catching Lin Feng off guard and making his head throb slightly.

Upon entering the city, Lin Feng found that Hei Yan Cheng truly lived up to its reputation as a top city in the Jia Ma Empire; although it was already dusk, the streets were still bustling with prosperity and a roar of voices.

Occasionally, a regiment of guards marched by in formation, the clanking of armor echoing orderly, intimidating any ill‑intentional onlookers.

Lin Feng strolled the streets for a while until night fell, then casually entered an inn, rented a room, and began studying the alchemist books he obtained from the Liu Xi Na precepts.

At dawn, Lin Feng sat cross‑legged on the inn's bed, hands clasped, eyes closed, and under the guidance of his technique, the battle Qi surrounding his body flowed into his meridians.

After an indeterminate amount of time, a muffled sound emanated from Lin Feng's body as if he had broken through a barrier, and he slowly opened his eyes.

"Second‑Star Fighter, you're almost ready to practice alchemy," Lin Feng murmured.

He had spent the past month daily studying introductory alchemist books, and now his curiosity was itching; he could no longer wait to try alchemy himself.

After washing up, he left the inn and headed toward the Alchemist Guild in Hei Yan Cheng.

He had previously learned that as long as you pass the Alchemist Guild's test and demonstrate the talent to become an alchemist, they will issue you an apprentice alchemist certificate.

With this certificate, one can freely enter and exit the Alchemist Guild and also rent a laboratory within the guild.

Of course, this requires paying rent—three hundred gold coins per day.

But the guild is a dedicated practice venue built especially for apprentice alchemists, ensuring they are not disturbed while brewing.

It also conceals any noises generated during alchemy.

After turning a few rather long streets, and after a short while, Lin Feng slowly stopped, looked up at the imposing building that now stood before him.

The structure's design was rather unique; its overall shape resembled a medicinal cauldron.

Around the building, windows were arranged like the opening of a cauldron's fire mouth, and atop the high roof, a massive cauldron lid draped down, covering the rooms beneath.

His gaze fell on the building's exterior, where a light‑purple sandalwood plaque bore five faint, slightly blurred ancient characters that glimmered with a subtle sheen.

"Alchemist Guild!"

He whispered the words softly, then walked inside.

As he approached the entrance, two fully armed hulks reached out to block him, their voices buzzing: "Little brother, this is the Alchemist Guild. You want to go in? Do you have a recommendation letter from your mentor?"

Lin Feng clasped his hands and said, "Gentlemen, I'm here to apply for an apprentice alchemist certificate."

"Apply for an apprentice alchemist certificate? Then you must first test your battle Qi attribute," one of the burly men said, smoothly pulling out a crystal sphere and handing it to Lin Feng.

Lin Feng stepped forward, took the crystal sphere, infused it with battle Qi, and as expected, the sphere burst into blazing red light with a hint of green.

"Little brother, you may enter now," the burly man said, his tone tinged with a hint of flattery upon seeing the sphere's reaction.

"Thank you," Lin Feng said, then slowly stepped inside.

Upon entering the Alchemist Guild, a faint medicinal fragrance wafted forward, making one feel pleasantly refreshed.

Inside the hall, there were few people, only a handful quietly attending to their own affairs.

Seemingly hearing footsteps, some people looked up, glanced at Lin Feng, and then returned to their own tasks.

At that moment, a woman dressed in a light‑blue dress hurried out from a backstage area and briskly walked toward Lin Feng.

"Sir... you look unfamiliar; it must be your first time at our Hei Yan Cheng Alchemist Guild, right?"

She smiled as she approached Lin Feng, her beautiful eyes scanning around before she asked with a smile.

"Hmm," Lin Feng said, eyeing the lady in blue with her bright eyes and white teeth, finding her rather charming. "Indeed it's my first time; I'm here to apply for an apprentice alchemist certificate."

"You may proceed," the lady in blue replied, a hint of respect appearing on her pretty face as she stepped back a few paces, approached the counter, and smiled at Lin Feng.

She took a yellowed, rustic parchment from the counter, held the brush elegantly with her bare hand, looked up and smiled gently at Lin Feng: "Sir, please state your name, age, and mentor's name; Ya Han needs to register you."

Lin Feng added two years to his age and said, "Lin Feng, age… seventeen, I currently have no mentor."

"No mentor? … Hmm… alright," the woman named Ya Han wrote on the paper, then retrieved a medallion from the counter, performed a few steps, and handed it along with a form to Lin Feng.

"You only need to take these two items to Master Ao Te inside for the test. After you pass, the master will perform a special processing on the medallion, allowing all Alchemist Guilds in the Jia Ma Empire to read your identity information from this badge."

After thanking her, Lin Feng followed the directions to an elderly man, handing over the two items Ya Han had just given him.

"Place your hand on it and try."

The elderly man known as Master Ao Te pointed to the crystal sphere on the left side of the wooden table before him and said.

Hearing this, Lin Feng stepped forward, placed his hand on the crystal ball, and poured Battle Qi into it.

When he saw that the Battle Qi attribute matched, Master Adept nodded and then said, "Place your hand on another crystal ball that tests Soul Perception to see."

Lin Feng did as instructed, but unlike before, this crystal ball emitted a black light that looked rather eerie.

Seeing this, Master Adept performed some more actions with the Alchemist Apprentice's medal, then tossed it to Lin Feng and said, "That's enough."

Having obtained the Alchemist Apprentice medal, Lin Feng quickly rented an alchemy room here.

Entering an alchemy room, Lin Feng found it empty, with nothing inside, but upon seeing that the surrounding walls were all black rock, he couldn't help but marvel at the Alchemist Guild's wealth and grandeur.

Legend has it that this black rock can withstand attacks of Battle King level; if used to build an alchemy room, it can absorb the energy released during alchemy, preventing energy leakage, though its price is extremely high.

After observing the environment, Lin Feng adjusted his state, made a gesture on his Space Ring, and a great cauldron instantly appeared on the ground before him.

This medicinal cauldron is dark red all over, with faint specks of light on its surface; at its lower part, two ferocious snake heads are carved, their mouths wide open, forming two interconnected fire vents.

Inside the vents, the passage winds and narrows the deeper one goes; faintly visible, it seems to hide mysteries—these are the cauldron's fire vents, also the things that distinguish the cauldron's grade.

The medicinal cauldron before Lin Feng has two fire vents, so it is called a two-mouthed medicinal cauldron, the lowest grade of medicinal cauldron.

Generally speaking, the more fire vents a cauldron furnace has, the higher the grade and rarer the medicinal cauldron, but controlling multiple fire vents requires stronger Soul Perception.

Of course, such fire vents are not simply made by drilling a few holes; their intricacies are beyond the comprehension of laypeople.

The fire vents are the essence of the medicinal cauldron, requiring high-precision polishing; if there is the slightest mistake during crafting, the entire cauldron will become a defective product.

At the top of the medicinal cauldron, a giant serpent coils to form the dark red cauldron lid; on the lid there is a special opening, which is where medicinal ingredients are poured in.

On the lid are scattered fine holes made of ice silver, which serve to dissipate heat and prevent overheating from causing the furnace to burst.

In the middle of the medicinal cauldron is set a transparent mirror made of ice crystal essence, from which one can clearly see everything happening inside during alchemy.

The surface of the medicinal cauldron is adorned with exquisite carvings of magic beasts, lifelike as if they were living creatures.