Strongest Scammer: Scamming The World, One Death At A Time-Chapter 313: Learning Alchemy

Han Yu looked down at the scroll again, skimming through the simplified diagrams and explanations. Despite their cartoonish appearance—complete with crudely drawn cauldrons and exploding stick figures—the underlying principles were surprisingly deep.

And as he read...

...he understood.

Not just the words. The concepts. The logic.

He could practically see how a sequence of heating a particular herb to extract volatile essence would lead to destabilization if done in the wrong phase. He imagined the flow of energy inside the cauldron, the way impurities floated up with the heat, the subtle shifts in color and sound that would signal success—or failure.

It all made sense.

He looked up in mild surprise. "This isn’t nearly as hard as I thought."

Li Mei raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Feeling confident already?"

"No, no," he corrected quickly. "I just... I can follow this really well. I feel like I understand it. The logic behind it. Like I’ve done this before."

Li Mei tilted her head, examining him with an amused expression.

"Ahhh. Are you just talented or is it one of the pills I fed you?" She wondered

"Huh?"

She spoke. "Qi Cultivators have enhanced spiritual perception and mental clarity. But you? You’re picking up a bit faster than expected. I didn’t notice it at first, but your memory retention and comprehension speed? It’s leagues above normal cultivators now."

Han Yu blinked then realized it.

’Soul Cultivation.’

That... actually explained a lot.

No wonder he’d been picking up techniques and formations more easily. And no wonder his brain didn’t feel like it was melting, even as Li Mei spouted things like spirit flame resonance and synchronized condensation protocols.

"Whether it’s talent or the side effect of some pill, its good," she added. "That means you won’t be too dumb to train."

Han Yu rolled his eyes. "What a glowing endorsement."

"You’ll get used to it."

Li Mei stood and walked to one of her shelves, pulling out a tray with six sealed pouches of dried herbs.

"We’ll start simple," she said, placing the tray before him.

Li Mei could’ve gone with more explanations, she knew there were many more left. But before that, she reckoned it was better to get an insight into Han Yu’s real talent.

’If he can figure this out before i give him more details, that means he has some real talent in all this.’ Li Mei thought to herself before explaining what she was giving him. "These are the components for the Minor Vitality Replenishing Pill. Common enough for most Outer Court disciples, and if you mess up, it only costs about three hundred merit points."

Han Yu’s face twitched. "Only?"

"Compared to blowing up a Fire Origin Condensing Pill? That’s practically free."

She reached under the table and pulled out a smaller cauldron—a squat, bronze one that looked like it had seen better days.

"This is your training cauldron. It leaks heat slightly on the left side, so you’ll have to compensate with your Spirit sense control. Call it... extra practice."

Han Yu stared at the battered cauldron. "You’re giving me a defective one?!"

Li Mei grinned. "You’ll thank me later."

He stared at the herbs, the scroll, and the cauldron before him.

Then he smiled.

For once, it wasn’t a grin born of schemes, lies, or sabotage. It was something else entirely.

Genuine excitement.

He was finally walking a path he had wanted for so long. Becoming a cultivator had been his dream. Soul Cultivation, though potent, had been a twist of fate. But alchemy?

That had been his choice.

His desire.

Han Yu rolled up his sleeves and looked at Li Mei.

"Alright. Let’s make some pills."

She clapped her hands. "Let the explosions begin!"

He wasn’t sure whether to feel encouraged or terrified.

But either way?

He was ready.

The sun had already begun to dip past the peaks in the distance, casting golden-orange light across Li Mei’s pill refining hut. Inside, the air was thick with the scent of herbs—bitter roots, tangy leaves, and faint metallic undertones from the cauldron’s bronze body as it heated steadily.

Han Yu sat cross-legged before the battered training cauldron, his sleeves tied back, his brows furrowed in determined concentration.

Li Mei leaned lazily against the doorframe behind him, arms crossed and an impish grin tugging at her lips.

"Alright," she called, "you’ve seen the instructions, you’ve memorized the ingredient sequence, and I’m giving you free fire essence to work with."

"I’m ready," Han Yu said, though his stomach churned.

"Good. Begin."

He flicked his fingers and activated the basic flame talisman Li Mei had stuck onto the bottom of the cauldron. The faint blue flames whooshed to life, warming the metal quickly. Han Yu took a deep breath and dropped in the first herb—a clump of Dried Crimson Moss.

It promptly curled, blackened... and turned into ash almost immediately.

The cauldron hissed in protest.

Han Yu stared.

"...Too hot?"

"Way too hot," Li Mei confirmed, grinning. "You incinerated the base herb. Try again."

Second attempt.

Han Yu adjusted the flame talisman’s intensity and tried to be gentler this time. The Dried Crimson Moss simmered nicely, letting out a faint herbal fragrance. Encouraged, he added the next ingredient—a shard of Ground Bone Vine, meant to stabilize the vitality attribute.

This time, instead of burning, the moss just... sat there.

And then, with a gurgling pop, the contents turned into a sludge-like paste. The cauldron burped out a puff of green smoke.

Li Mei wrinkled her nose.

"You forgot to stir the essence between ingredients."

"...Right."

"Try again."

Third attempt.

Han Yu carefully heated the moss, stirred the essence clockwise, and added the next two ingredients—Ground Bone Vine and Sunpetal Extract.

The cauldron accepted both. The mixture began to shimmer faintly. Han Yu grinned.

Then he reached for the fourth ingredient: Blue Reed Juice.

He dripped it in.

A second passed.

Then the cauldron rattled. A loud hiss followed, and the concoction suddenly turned frothy and foamy. A minor explosion followed—poof!—and the entire top layer of the mixture was ruined.

Han Yu jumped back, face smudged with herbal residue.

"Timing!" Li Mei said cheerfully. "You added the juice too early! Blue Reed interacts with Sunpetal only after it’s properly emulsified. Back to the start."