C2 The Alchemy Branch

After leaving the Ling family, Ling Chen made his way toward the bustling market of Suinsa County. He had been walking for a little over ten minutes when he suddenly halted in his tracks, standing before a majestic structure.

"Is this the Alchemy Branch?" Ling Chen appraised the building before him, his eyes lighting up with delight. Having recently been reborn, he was in urgent need of medicinal herbs to condition and improve his physique, and the Alchemy Branch was the ideal place to find them.

With that thought, Ling Chen wasted no time and stepped through the grand entrance of the Alchemy Branch. Passersby glanced his way, their expressions tinged with surprise. Typically, whether alchemists or laypeople, visitors approached with reverence, careful not to show any disrespect.

Despite his youthful age, Ling Chen carried an air of seasoned composure. As he entered the Alchemy Guild, his eyes were serene and profound, betraying no hint of anxiety.

"Hello sir, welcome to the Alchemy Guild," greeted a girl with a sweet demeanor at the door. She was taken aback by Ling Chen's youth, but her professionalism quickly prevailed, and she greeted him with the utmost respect.

The girl glanced at the list in his hand, her eyes widening in astonishment before she chuckled, "Little sir, are you certain this list is correct?"

"What's the issue?" Ling Chen inquired, looking at her. The girl gave a wry smile and said, "Little mister, I've been with the Alchemy Branch for several years and am familiar with nearly all the medicinal herbs in the Nacuan Empire, but I've never even heard of the ones on your list."

Ling Chen felt a twinge of disappointment. He had planned to concoct a Body Tempering Liquid, and the herbs on the list were indispensable. Yet the girl claimed they had none of them? Then again, he realized that the ingredients he sought were quite rare and unlikely to be found at a modest establishment like the one in Suinsa County.

"Forget it, I'll figure something else out," Ling Chen sighed, preparing to retract his list.

Just then, a piercing voice cut through the air, "Gu Xue, what are you doing here?"

A man in his thirties approached with a swagger, his face etched with arrogance. He wore a black robe, the uniform of an alchemist, adorned with two golden leaves on the lapel—a symbol of his status as a Pill Leaf!

In the Heavensfall Continent, the quantity of Pill Leaves signified an alchemist's level. The greater their number, the higher the alchemist's rank!

This young man was a two leaves alchemist!

"Mr. Zhou!"

Upon noticing the young man's sudden arrival, a collective gasp rippled through the crowd, their eyes brimming with respect.

The girl known as Gu Xue spoke with a hint of anxiety, "Mr. Zhou, this gentleman wished to purchase some medicinal ingredients, so I assisted him in selecting them."

Gu Xue handed the list over to Mr. Zhou.

He barely glanced at it before his expression soured with impatience.

"What is this nonsense?"

Mr. Zhou swore under his breath, crumpling Ling Chen's list into a ball and tossing it aside as if it were garbage.

"Gu Xue, in the future, refrain from fraternizing with such disreputable individuals during work hours!" Mr. Zhou commanded from his high horse, "And remember, I've already informed you that Master Lee is present today. No one is permitted to slack off, understood?"

At the mention of "Master Lee," Gu Xue's eyes darted around in distress. She nodded quickly, replying, "I understand, I'm sorry, I'll pay more attention next time!"

Meanwhile, Ling Chen's expression darkened as he stared at the discarded ball of paper on the ground. His pill formula, once a treasure that could fetch an astronomical sum, was now treated like refuse?

"What is your name?" Ling Chen inquired, his gaze fixed on the middle-aged man.

"What's it to you?" Mr. Zhou retorted with a scowl, his tone icy, "Kid, are you even old enough to be here? The Alchemy Branch is no place for children. If you have any sense, you'll leave at once!"

Ling Chen's response was icy, "My age is irrelevant to you, but I'd like to know who gave you the audacity to discard my pill formula?"

Pill formula?

Mr. Zhou let out a derisive snort. That indecipherable scrawl was a pill formula?

Was the boy delusional?

"Listen, I don't care if it's a scribble or a pill formula. If you have any sense, leave now! Otherwise, I'll have the guards escort you out shortly!" Mr. Zhou declared, showing no mercy.

"Ignorant!"

Ling Chen's face remained impassive as he slowly shook his head. "I didn't expect such hospitality from the Alchemy Branch. No matter, I have no desire to stay in such a place."

Having said that, Ling Chen bent down to retrieve the crumpled piece of paper and was about to leave.

Just as he lifted his foot to step away, a voice unexpectedly rang out, "Haha, who do we have here, speaking with such boldness?"

A white-haired elder descended the stairs from the second floor of the Alchemy Branch, chuckling, "What's this? Young man, do you have any particular insights into our Alchemy Branch's way of welcoming guests?"

Ling Chen gave him a brief, cool look.

The elder was clad in a black robe adorned with four glittering leaves.

A Four Leaves Alchemist!

"Master Lee!" The sudden appearance of the elder elicited gasps of surprise from the onlookers, as if the air itself had solidified. Mr. Zhou's face paled as he asked anxiously, "Master Lee, why have you come down?"

Shouldn't he have been upstairs, engrossed in his study of alchemical formulas?

"I stepped out for a breath of fresh air," Master Lee replied with a slight smile, then turned his attention to Ling Chen. "Young man, you haven't yet responded to my earlier question. Do you have any thoughts on our Alchemy Branch?"

"Is this place under your authority?" Ling Chen asked, his gaze steady and confident.

"You could say that," Master Lee mused, still smiling. "As long as it's not a matter of murder or arson, I do have some influence here at the Alchemy Branch."

Upon hearing this, Mr. Zhou felt a lump in his throat. Master Lee was a senior advisor to the Alchemy Branch. If Ling Chen were to bring up Mr. Zhou's earlier discourtesy, Master Lee would likely not take kindly to it.

With that in mind, Mr. Zhou shot Ling Chen a meaningful glance.

However, Ling Chen seemed not to notice, calmly nodding and extending the wrinkled paper, "Very well, since you're the one in charge, let's address the issue at hand. I came here today to purchase some medicinal materials, yet your associate dismissed my pill formula as trash and threw it out, telling me to leave! Is this the standard of hospitality at the Alchemy Branch?"

Upon hearing this, Mr. Zhou's face turned ashen. Master Lee's expression grew grim as well. "Manager Zhou, is this the truth?"

Mr. Zhou faltered, "Master Lee, please hear me out. It wasn't intentional. This young man was the one causing trouble first. Just look at the nonsense he's scribbled on this pill recipe. He's clearly here to cause a scene!"

Master Lee, taken aback by the accusation, unfurled the crumpled paper and began to read intently.

"Dragon Yang Grass, Mandara Snow Lotus, Seven Bone Burning Flower, Earth Dragon Ganoderma..."

As he listed the ingredients, Master Lee's expression shifted from shock to utter astonishment, eventually settling into a profound daze.

"Master Lee, as you can see, these ingredients are nothing but a jumbled mess," Mr. Zhou whispered under his breath.

"Silence!" Lee Qingqiu suddenly spun around, barking the command. His outburst shocked everyone nearby.

"Master Lee, why... why are you yelling at me?" Mr. Zhou asked, feeling aggrieved.

"Fool!" Lee Qingqiu snapped back, "Can't you recognize that these ingredients are exceedingly rare and valuable?"

The crowd erupted into a buzz of excitement at his words, their gazes turning to Ling Chen in sheer disbelief.

Gu Xue was dumbfounded, barely able to utter, "My goodness... are these ingredients actually real?"

She had never even heard of them before!

"Valuable... valuable medicinal herbs?" Mr. Zhou's jaw dropped as he pointed incredulously at Ling Chen, wondering if he had misheard or if perhaps Lee Qingqiu's vision was failing him.

"They are indeed valuable medicinal herbs!" Lee Qingqiu retorted with irritation. He had previously visited the Alchemy Guild's headquarters and encountered many rare medicinal herbs. The ones Ling Chen mentioned were known to fetch a high price in the market.

Although he had only seen them on rare occasions, Lee Qingqiu was confident he was not mistaken. Moreover, he recalled that when combined, these particular herbs could greatly benefit a warrior's training.

"Well done." Ling Chen, noting Lee Qingqiu's recognition, smiled and remarked casually, "It seems that not everyone in the Alchemy Branch is ignorant. There are indeed those among you who are knowledgeable."

Lee Qingqiu immediately bowed with his fists clasped, expressing his regret, "My apologies, sir. Manager Zhou is merely a second-grade alchemist, lacking in foresight. I hope you won't hold it against him. May I inquire as to the origin of your pill recipe?"

Lee Qingqiu's face brimmed with expectation. Not even the president of the Suinsa Alchemy Branch could concoct this pill formula, let alone him. It was clear that whoever had this formula was undoubtedly a distinguished alchemist!

"I wrote it."

Ling Chen uttered these three words, his demeanor cool and detached. Yet, his statement sent Lee Qingqiu's expression into a tailspin, a flicker of disbelief crossing his eyes.

"Sir, are you joking?" Lee Qingqiu's brow furrowed, irritation creeping into his tone. This pill formula was the kind of work expected from a venerable elder who had spent centuries steeped in the alchemy world.

Ling Chen was merely a teenager. How could he have possibly crafted such an exquisite formula?

Lee Qingqiu was convinced that Ling Chen was just boasting!

"Believe it or not, that's your choice." Ling Chen shook his head, giving Lee Qingqiu a once-over with a half-smile. "However, I can see you're a decent person, so let me offer you a friendly piece of advice: don't use your right hand next time you're refining pills."

At those words, Lee Qingqiu was visibly shaken, his face freezing over.

His gaze at Ling Chen turned to one of profound bewilderment.

"How... how did you know?" Lee Qingqiu stammered, his voice laced with incredulity.

Ling Chen's lips quirked in a slight smile as he replied, "You don't need to worry about how I know. But if I'm not mistaken, you once added the wrong ingredients to your medicinal cauldron, which led to toxins seeping into your right hand. You might have suppressed the poison with Poison Avoidance Pills, but that's just a temporary fix. Without proper treatment..."

"Your arm will be useless in less than a month!" Ling Chen's proclamation was startling.

The crowd was taken aback.

Master Lee's arm was going to be useless?

This was news to them all!