BZZZZ—

The entire Venerable Alchemy Room shuddered violently. The Spiritual Qi in the air became turbulent, rampaging and transforming into a fierce gale that swept toward a corner of the room.

A brilliant golden radiance emanated from Jiang Chen’s body, making him look like a Golden Armor War God!

All of this surging Spiritual Qi converged, pouring into his body.

He was filled with an explosive power.

SWOOSH—

Two beams of seemingly tangible golden light shot from his eyes as they snapped open. Then, the golden radiance around his body abruptly receded.

His flying hair and fluttering robes settled down. The corners of Jiang Chen’s lips curled up into a gentle smile. "I didn’t expect this seclusion would not only allow my Divine Demon Tyrant Body to break through to the Second Stage Realm, making my physical body comparable to a Profound-tier Profound Weapon, but my Divine Thought Power also broke through to First-Grade Advanced. My strength has reached a new level. Now, I can even face a master at the True Martial Realm Seventh Stage and win!"

’The Divine Demon Tyrant Body is an incredibly overbearing Cultivation Technique to begin with!’

’To refine one’s physical body as if it were a Profound Weapon... The process is incomparably arduous, but the benefits of success are immense!’

’A physical body comparable to a Profound-tier Profound Weapon!’

’In terms of physical strength alone, I’m afraid few within the True Martial Realm can contend with me now.’

"Jiang Chen, you’re finally awake! Your two apprentices have been waiting outside for almost half a month!" the Black Emperor said lazily, fluttering over on its fleshy wings.

Jiang Chen froze. "Half a month?"

"That’s right!"

The Black Emperor nodded, licked its fleshy wings, and settled onto Jiang Chen’s shoulder. "Your seclusion lasted a full month, and those two apprentices of yours waited outside for half of it," it said nonchalantly. "They’re pretty respectful, those two!"

"That’s very considerate of them. I’ll go out and see them," Jiang Chen said with a faint smile.

He absorbed the Eight Trigrams Roaming Dragon Cauldron back into his body, then rose and left.

RUMBLE—

The great doors of the Venerable Alchemy Room slowly swung open, revealing Kumu and Cui Zheng standing like sentinels on either side. The moment they saw Jiang Chen, they dropped to their knees and bowed. "Your disciples greet you, Master!"

"Rise."

Jiang Chen waved his hand, his seemingly all-seeing gaze falling upon the two men.

He noticed that on the chest of Kumu’s green long robe, the Artifact Refiner Guild’s emblem had been replaced by a golden hexagram.

This signified his promotion to the rank of First-grade Advanced Refiner.

As for Cui Zheng, his face was beaming with sincere joy. It was clear he had made great progress in comprehending the Three Passes of Alchemy, and his delight was written all over his face.

Jiang Chen said calmly, "It seems you both have made great progress."

Kumu quickly replied, "Master, I successfully passed the examination for First-grade Advanced Refiner half a month ago!"

Not to be outdone, Cui Zheng added, "Master, I have fully comprehended the first volume of the Three Passes of Alchemy. All I need to do is go to the Imperial Capital and take the promotion examination to officially become a Second Grade Alchemist."

Neither of them dared show any pride or complacency. They were incredibly humble and respectful in front of Jiang Chen.

’They both knew full well that this young master of theirs was an absolute monster!’

They vividly remembered when Kumu had found Cui Zheng and learned that Jiang Chen was not only skilled in Artifact Refining but also in Alchemy, and that his level in both was ridiculously high. The two of them had stood there, stunned, for several minutes before snapping out of it.

Alchemy and Artifact Refining were two completely different fields.

For Jiang Chen to have achieved so much in both fields at such a young age was already incredible. Furthermore, the Ten Solutions to Artifact Refining and Three Passes of Alchemy he had given them had allowed each to take a giant leap forward in their craft. They were utterly convinced of his superiority, admiring him so profoundly they could only prostrate themselves in their hearts and swear to follow him faithfully. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Jiang Chen nodded in satisfaction. "Good. It seems neither of you has been slacking off. In that case, from this day forward, you are my Named Disciples. The Ten Solutions to Artifact Refining and Three Passes of Alchemy are sufficient to elevate you to the levels of Third Grade Alchemist and Third-Grade Refiner. Only when you reach the Third Grade will you be considered my Official Disciples!"

"Rest assured, Master! We will not disappoint you!" the two declared in unison.

It was a good thing this was Cui Zheng’s private Alchemy Room.

Not even the two vice presidents of the Alchemist Guild could enter without permission. If anyone had seen two highly respected masters acting so deferentially toward a teenager and calling him ’Master,’ it would have caused an unimaginable uproar!

Kumu said, "Master, a few days ago, the City Lord’s Mansion had a letter delivered. It seems to be from Young Master Tianpeng..."

"Hm."

Jiang Chen nodded and took the letter. "For Brother Jiang" was written on the envelope.

Jiang Chen opened the envelope and skimmed the contents. It was from Yulan Tianpeng, explaining that he and the others had taken leave from the Saint Martial Sword Sect to come home and explore the Celestial Demon Ancient Realm. Their leave had now expired, and with Jiang Chen still in seclusion, Yulan Tianpeng, Si Xiaosheng, and Lui Yifa had already departed to return to the Saint Martial Sword Sect.

Yulan Tianpeng wrote that they would wait for Jiang Chen at the Saint Martial Sword Sect, ready to fight side by side as brothers and make a name for themselves!

At the end of the letter, Yulan Tianpeng cryptically mentioned that the Imperial Capital Luo Family had begun investigating the destruction of the Qinghuo Gang and the death of Luo Zhen. Although Yulan Shouqing had used every means at his disposal to cover up the truth...

...Yulan Tianpeng worried that with the Luo Family’s power and methods, they would eventually uncover clues. He warned Jiang Chen to be extra careful of the Luo Family’s retaliation!

’Brother Tianpeng is very thoughtful.’ Jiang Chen felt a warmth spread through his heart.

The one-year pact he’d made with Jiang Ziyou was drawing ever closer, with only six or seven months remaining.

On top of that, he needed to arrive at the Saint Martial Sword Sect a month early to participate in an assessment for new disciples. It was time to put the trip to the Imperial Capital on his schedule.

Jiang Chen looked at Cui Zheng. "Cui Zheng, do you have a map to the Imperial Capital?"

"Master, you’re going to the Imperial Capital?" Cui Zheng asked, taken aback. "Master, I was just planning to go to the Imperial Capital Association to take the Second Grade Alchemist examination. Kumu is confident he can break through to Second-Grade Refiner within half a year, so while you were in seclusion, we discussed traveling to the Imperial Capital together. You could travel with us on the Floating Flying Ship, Master!"

"Taking the Second Grade exams? That’s good. It’s for the best that you two go together; you can look out for each other."

Jiang Chen nodded, then said, "As for me... I’m used to traveling alone. The journey to the Imperial Capital will be a training experience in itself. Just have someone draw up a detailed map for me. I estimate I’ll reach the Imperial Capital in about half a year myself. By the time I see you two again, I hope you will have both officially reached the Second Grade!"

Since Jiang Chen had made up his mind, Cui Zheng didn’t press the issue.

He immediately ordered someone to draw a map to the Imperial Capital. He also prepared ten million taels in gold notes and a large supply of standard pills, including Vitality-Restoring Pills for healing, Spirit Recovery Pills for replenishing True Qi, and various Antitoxic Pills.

Cui Zheng said respectfully, "Master, this is a small token of my respect for you."

Kumu also took out a longsword. It was three fingers wide, about a meter and a half long, and engraved with two Second-Grade Middle Level Inscriptions. "Master," Kumu said, "this is a Profound Tier Intermediate Profound Weapon I came across by chance. Its name is the Qingfeng Sword. I would like to give it to you to use as your personal weapon. Please, do not think it beneath you!"

"The Qingfeng Sword?"

Jiang Chen grasped the hilt and gave it a light swing, raising a bright Sword Aura. It was truly a treasured blade, sharp enough to cut through iron as if it were mud and sever a hair that fell upon its edge!

Although he had the Spirit-Slaying Sword, it wasn’t something he could reveal casually. The Qingfeng Sword would be more than sufficient for everyday use. With this thought, Jiang Chen accepted his disciples’ gifts and smiled. "In that case, I won’t stand on ceremony with you. Let us part ways here. I hope that by the time we reunite in the Imperial Capital, you will have both reached the Second Grade. When that time comes, I will have a great gift for you!"

"We will not let you down, Master!"

Their eyes lit up, and they patted their chests in assurance.

Jiang Chen had merely given them the Three Passes of Alchemy and the Ten Solutions to Artifact Refining, yet they had made progress that would take others decades of bitter cultivation to match.

And now they heard Jiang Chen had prepared another great gift for them!

How could they not be ecstatic?

"I’ll be on my way, then." Jiang Chen waved to them and turned to leave.

"We respectfully see you off, Master!"

Kumu and Cui Zheng watched him go, their faces full of reverence.

Jiang Chen’s figure receded into the distance as he left the Alchemist Guild. He paused for a moment at the main gate, muttering to himself, ’According to Cui Zheng’s map, I’ll go by way of the Hundred Beasts Mountains and Rivers. It’ll be a perfect chance to hone my Wind God Extreme and Eight Celestial Dragon Divine Fist. Besides, if I go through the mountains, it should take about five months to reach the Imperial Capital!’

With that, Jiang Chen mounted the fine steed Cui Zheng had prepared for him, spurred it into a gallop, and rode off toward the Hundred Beasts Mountains and Rivers.

What he didn’t know, however, was that as he left, a pair of eyes in a villa across from the Alchemist Guild was staring intently at him. Watching him head out of the city, the figure broke into a bloodthirsty, chilling grin. "I’ve waited a whole month for you, you little bastard. You’ve finally come out. Heh heh heh..."