Mission: Seduce the Master!

Additional chapter for the magical castle.

5/10

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The previous instructor who taught Lu Yin had at some point managed to become her direct assistant and ended up gaining power! Alchemists on the continent were respected figures, and great alchemists even more so!

"Khm... it's time to calm down. It seems that being stuck in this hole for twenty years is starting to affect me," thought the elder, and his eyes twitched with tension.

He was excited. All these years, the students had been more or less normal, but this was still not good enough. And now, someone had appeared who could learn so many things in such a short time! The elder coughed slightly, obviously fake, and then said to Xie Qing with a smile.

"Well done, young man, who would have thought you have such a good memory? Nevertheless, I strongly advise you to stay in my classes and learn new things." The elder introduced himself: "My name is Elder Bai. If you need anything, you can always come to me for help."

"Thank you... um, are you from the Bai family, Elder?" asked Xie Qing with a strange expression on his face.

"Heh, yes, you're right. If you can prove yourself well, it's quite possible that I can recommend you as an alchemist to our family! You will gain great status and wealth."

"Ooo..."

Xie Qing and several students let out an admiring gasp. Although the other students were sincere in their emotions, Xie Qing was just pretending. He didn't care about the reputation of the Bai family, and besides, he had a small conflict of interest with them; they had even put pressure on his family.

After the incident with Bai Bai, although there were attempts to contact him and find out everything, his status as Xu Mei's disciple worked at full capacity and prevented the Bai family from touching him. Besides, all the evidence pointed to the fact that Bai Bai had attacked him, and although voices were suggesting killing Xie Qing, many supported the decision to temporarily do nothing.

However, he just smiled politely.

"Hehe..."

***

The lecture ended an hour later, and Elder Bai exchanged a few words and promised to bring even more books.

"Thank you."

Xie Qing sincerely thanked the elder and, watching him nod and leave with his head held high, shook his head.

"Are all members of the Bai family so arrogant?" he thought.

The next lesson was a basic alchemy lesson. This time, it was not just about studying herbs but interacting with them. Of course, you wouldn't be put in front of a cauldron right away; you would first have to show your level of knowledge and awaken your alchemical flame.

Alchemical flame - Qi-fed flame used for alchemy. Each person's alchemical flame is different, but it can be bought and merged with one's body.

Xie Qing looked at the system store for this and found a large number of different alchemical flames there. However, the cheapest one was a flame for 750,000 called:

"Burgundy Tiger Flame!"

Although the name sounded impressive, it was only slightly stronger than an ordinary alchemical flame and had a function to increase success when concocting pills, but this bonus was small. The most expensive one, however, was a terrifying alchemical flame.

[Golden Dragon Flame] | [Price: 250,000,000 Spiritual Stones] | [Description: A high-quality alchemical flame that will make even Immortals fight tooth and nail for its acquisition. Allows you to concoct pills with a 70% success rate, and all pills will be of perfect quality!]

Xie Qing took a deep breath and calmed his heart when he saw this amazing flame... and the amazing, absolutely killing price!

250 million Spiritual Stones... that's 2,500,000,000,000 Huang in the currency of the Dynasty... please sit down if you're standing.

Even the Bai family could earn that much in ten years. They would need at least a hundred years if not more!

Such an amount of money... Xie Qing once again felt what it was like to be poor!

"And I was happy with a million..." he sighed a little and then shook his head: "No, calm down, just calm down. Even if I had the money, buying an alchemical flame for myself would be nonsense, considering I don't know if I'll be doing this."

Xie Qing was a swordsman and wanted to develop in that direction, so such activities as alchemy were somewhat useless to him. It would be easier for him to simply seduce Lu Yin and allow her to travel with him. That way, he would get two benefits at once - a beautiful woman by his side and an alchemist nearby.

"Alright, enough dreaming, it's time for the second lesson," thought Xie Qing and began to climb the floors.

Eventually, he found himself on the fourth floor, where the lesson had not yet begun. He was a little surprised to see the person who was leading this lesson.

"Lu Yin?" the young man raised an eyebrow.

However, it was not customary to speak first, so Xie Qing simply sat down on the floor like the other students. In front of him was a cauldron, and to the right was a box with the necessary plants.

"Hm?"

Of course, Lu Yin with her foresight easily noticed Xie Qing, and considering that he stood out with his special aura and beauty, it was an easy task.

Looking at his beautiful facial features, Lu Yin was a little surprised.

"Does he have a talent for alchemy?"

Usually, those who register for such lessons have a certain talent for alchemy. The entrance fee was not small, so only a few could afford it.

As for the rich... well, guy... they could simply sign a contract with some elder alchemist and allow their offspring to be taught at home.

"Alright, sit in your places and get ready to listen to the lecture. Do not do anything without my instruction."

Lu Yin clapped her hands and began the lesson. Although Xie Qing's personality and everything related to him interested the girl, she was still responsible for conducting the lesson and could not postpone the beginning.

Seeing that the noise had subsided and the students' attention was on her, she ignored the admiring glances of the male students and the awestruck glances of the female students, starting the lesson.

"As we know, alchemy is an indispensable part of the cultivation world. Many ordinary cultivators rely on pills for their development and healing." She began to explain, and a kind smile appeared on her face: "Alchemy is also related to the path of immortality, so you should not forget about increasing your cultivation level.

The purer and more powerful you are, the more it can help your path as an alchemist."

She was right. If you were talented but your cultivation level was, for example, at the Foundation Building stage, your Qi could be depleted during pill concocting, and everything would go up in flames.

The alchemical flame must be activated from beginning to end to complete the pill-concocting process.

This was a delicate, jewelry-like question that required all the attention.

Moreover, the purity of Qi also determined how well you could control your alchemical flame.

Therefore, Lu Yin spent five minutes of her time explaining this and hammering it into the students' heads about the importance of their cultivation.

Xie Qing, propping up his chin with his hand, listened to all this and restrained himself from yawning.

Apart from the sword, women, and alcohol, not much else interested him. Although he sometimes had bursts of curiosity, he still considered himself a restrained person with a narrow range of interests.

Some students noticed the young man's nonchalance and were secretly angered. For them, this was like disrespecting the path of alchemy and, most importantly, the instructor - Lu Yin!

Although the girl also noticed this, she did not show it and continued the lesson. In the end, she finished explaining the rules and methodology and then moved on to the most important part.

"Without exception, an alchemist directly depends on their alchemical flame. How you develop it determines whether you will become a great alchemist," said Lu Yin. She stretched her hand forward, and a burgundy-red flame ignited on her slender fingers. She looked at the amazed students and said, "My alchemical flame is unique and is called the 'Red Dragon Flame'... I have had it since birth.

But you can also change your alchemical flame by simply buying it!"

Immediately after these words, the students who were amazed by her flame acquired a bitter expression - at least, this was almost half of all the students.

Not everyone had rich parents, and even if they did, the alchemical flame was unbearably expensive, and it was extremely difficult to control without proper technique.

Lu Yin shook her head and was not at all surprised by such a reaction. The world of alchemy was extremely cruel to those who were poor. To get rich, you first had to empty your pockets!

Then, ignoring the gloom hanging in the air, she began to speak:

"Before you awaken your alchemical flame, you will not be able to practice alchemy," said Lu Yin, and then snapped her fingers: "Therefore, pay attention to your tokens. I have sent you the basic alchemical flame awakening technique. I strongly advise you not to try to sell this technique, as the punishment can be as severe as death."

Some students who had such thoughts were shocked and, under the gaze of some people, stumbled and blushed with shame.

Xie Qing, on the other hand, raised his eyebrows in surprise when he read the technique. It was mysterious and incomplete.

"There is an ancient touch, which means this is part of an ancient technique... I think it has been edited so that even worthless people can awaken their flame."

The technique itself did not increase the chances of awakening an incredible alchemical flame. Therefore, Xie Qing saw no point in trying to buy another technique in the store.

By infusing his Qi into the token, he was able to learn this technique in a second. There were no notifications - this technique was not related to the system ranking, so it was not counted.

The name of the technique was simple: "Basic Alchemical Flame Awakening Technique!"