Chapter 96: Grandmaster Alchemist Inheritance

Rhain’s foot froze mid-step.

A tidal wave of information crashed into his consciousness like a dam bursting open.

His vision blurred as a bottomless ocean of knowledge filled his mind.

Tens of thousands of ancient pill formulas, incredibly complex refining techniques, and the absolute mastery of millions of medicinal herbs and spiritual plants forcibly etched themselves into his brain.

Along with this staggering wealth of knowledge he also got to understand the Verdane continent’s alchemical hierarchy.

The path of an Alchemist was notoriously grueling, divided strictly into ranks: Novice, Apprentice, Expert, Master, Grandmaster, and finally, the legendary Emperor level Alchemist.

And right now, System had forcefully elevated his comprehension directly to the Grandmaster Alchemist level!

A Grandmaster Alchemist!

In this vast dynasty, such a figure was treated with almost religious reverence.

Even powerhouses at the Domain Master Realm—experts whose mere breath could shatter a city—would bow their heads and respectfully address a Grandmaster as an equal, or even a superior.

As long as he revealed a Grandmaster crest, he could walk sideways through any dynasty or empire on the continent, treated as a VVIP wherever he went.

More frighteningly, Rhain wasn’t just an ordinary Grandmaster.

Because this inheritance was provided directly by the System, it was utterly flawless.

It was the complete, perfect compendium of alchemical knowledge.

There was absolutely no one in the current Grandmaster Realm who possessed a deeper, more comprehensive understanding of alchemy than he did.

He was, effectively, the true apex of his current rank.

A rare surge of excitement coursed through Rhain’s veins.

Alchemy was universally recognized as the most lucrative and respected occupation on the continent.

Alchemists commanded astronomical wealth and unmatched political influence.

But more importantly for Rhain, an Alchemist never fell short of cultivation resources.

His Abyssal Sovereign Physique devoured cultivation resources with the insatiable hunger of a black hole, and required an incomprehensible amount of energy to advance.

Buying pills would eventually bleed even his massive fortune dry.

But if he could refine his own peak-quality pills from raw materials?

The problem of his gluttonous physique would be solved forever.

Rhain composed himself, letting the flood of knowledge settle into the organized architecture of his mind.

Then he resumed walking calmly, as if nothing had happened.

He crossed the spacious main hall and approached the guild’s service counter — a long, curved desk of polished darkwood manned by several attendants in pristine white robes bearing the Alchemy Guild’s emblem.

The attendant who greeted him was a thin, sharp-eyed young man.

"I need to rent an alchemy room," Rhain requested, with the rough voice of the middle-aged man.

The attendant’s smile remained fixed, but his gaze sharpened slightly, performing the standard, discreet evaluation that every guild attendant was trained to conduct.

"Of course, sir. May I ask — are you a titled Alchemist registered with the Alchemy Association?"

"No," Rhain replied flatly. "I have not been registered."

The clerk’s polite smile faltered slightly, replaced by a look of mild condescension.

An untitled alchemist walking into the Mirravele branch was not uncommon — aspiring pill refiners from smaller towns often traveled here to practice in the guild’s superior facilities.

"I understand, sir. Without a registered title, you are eligible to rent only our Basic Alchemy Chambers. The rate is one hundred Aetherium Crystals per day."

Rhain flicked a glowing crystal onto the counter without hesitation. "One day."

The attendant scooped up the crystal and produced a thin bronze key. "Very well. Chamber Fourteen, on the third floor. The room is yours until dawn tomorrow."

Before heading to the room, Rhain walked over to the guild’s material dispensary.

Using the vast knowledge now deeply rooted in his mind, he quickly purchased several batches of ingredients required for Common and Uncommon-Grade pills.

He wanted to buy higher-tier materials, but the attendant informed him of the guild’s strict rules: Rare-Grade materials were strictly prohibited from being sold to untitled alchemists.

As for Epic-Grade materials, they were so exceedingly precious that only an officially recognized Expert or Master Alchemist had the authority to even view them, let alone buy them.

It didn’t matter.

Uncommon-Grade herbs were more than enough for a test run.

Rhain took his materials and made his way down a long corridor until he found the bronze door matching his bronze key.

Rhain pressed the bronze key against the door’s array lock, and the heavy bronze door slid open.

He stepped inside.

The Basic Alchemy Chamber was modest but functional.

The walls were lined with sound-insulating and essence-stabilizing arrays — not the highest quality, but more than sufficient to prevent external interference and contain minor explosions.

At the center of the room sat a bronze cauldron.

Beneath the cauldron, set into a recessed stone platform, burned a steady, orange-red Earth Fire.

It was a natural geothermal flame specifically maintained for alchemists who did not possess their own refining flame.

The heat was consistent and controllable through a simple array dial on the side of the platform, making it suitable for Novice, and Apprentice level Alchemist.

Most beginner alchemists relied entirely on this Earth Fire.

Even among Expert-ranked alchemists, only a rare few possessed their own flames — typically low-grade beast flames extracted from fire-attributed Spirit Beasts.

Possessing a personal refining flame was considered a mark of genuine distinction in the alchemical world.

Rhain looked at the Earth Fire for a brief moment, then dismissed it entirely.

He didn’t need the guild’s mundane fire.

He had the Red Tribulations Heavenly Flame.

A Heaven-Grade fire. The kind of flame that even Emperor Alchemists would wage wars to obtain.

Rhain set the ingredient bundles on the preparation table beside the cauldron and untied the first set — the Uncommon-Grade Essence Gathering Pill materials.

He wasn’t going to waste time on Common-Grade pills. He just bought it to avoid suspicion.

He already knew his abilities far exceeded that level.

The Uncommon-Grade formula would serve as his true benchmark.

Rhain rolled up his sleeves and began.

His hands moved with a preternatural fluidity — as if he had performed this exact sequence a thousand times before, even though his physical body had never once touched a cauldron.

He sorted the seven ingredients by volatility and elemental affinity, arranging them in the precise order they would need to enter the vessel.

Fire Spirit Grass was separated from the Moonpetal Dust, which in turn was isolated from the Crimson Marrow Root to prevent premature elemental reactions.

With a thought, a wisp of tiny, heavily suppressed spark of blood-red fire danced upon his fingertips.

He knew how violent this flame was, even a Core Formation Realm expert’s body was almost reduced to ashes.

If he didn’t control it well, it would vaporize the ingredients, the cauldron, and half the building.

The blood-red wisp slipped beneath the cauldron, instantly replacing the Earth Fire with a heat that was incomparably purer, more refined, and more responsive to his will.

Rhain dropped the first ingredient — the Fire Spirit Grass — into the cauldron.

Then second, third, fourth, and fifth...

The blood-red fire expertly instantly burned away the impurities within the herbs, extracting the purest droplets of medicinal essence in mere seconds—a process that would take an ordinary Master Alchemist hours of effort.

Once the initial extraction and fusion were complete, Rhain swiftly placed the heavy bronze lid over the cauldron.

In the standard alchemical process, this was the stage where the vast majority of refinements failed.

Once the lid was sealed, the alchemist was effectively blind

They had to rely entirely on their instinct, experience, and raw spiritual sense to blindly manipulate the flame and essence.

A single misjudgment in temperature or timing would reduce the entire batch to a pile of toxic ash.

It was an art form honed over decades of bitter practice and countless failures.

Even Master Alchemists with fifty years of experience still suffered occasional catastrophic failures during this blind phase.

But Rhain possessed something no other alchemist had.

Eyes of Truth.

His dark grey pupils instantly shifted into a brilliant, glowing golden hue.

His vision pierced straight through the thick bronze lid of the cauldron as if it were made of thin air.

Inside, he could clearly see the turbulent storm of medicinal essence struggling to fuse.

With precise, unobstructed vision, Rhain effortlessly adjusted the intensity of his Heavenly Flame.

He smoothed out the violent clashes of energy, perfectly guiding the essence droplets to condense and merge.

The process was flawlessly perfect.

Minutes passed.

Within minutes, he reached the final step of the refinement process, which would have normally taken hours.

Six perfectly round, glowing pills were rapidly solidifying at the bottom of the cauldron, radiating a purity that was completely unheard of for Uncommon-Grade pills.

But just as the pills achieved total, flawless perfection—

Rumble!

The standard bronze cauldron suddenly trembled violently.

Rhain frowned, instinctively taking a step back. "What the—"

BOOM!

A blinding, destructive bolt of silver lightning suddenly tore straight through the thick stone roof of the Alchemy Guild!

The heaven-sent lightning bolt struck the bronze cauldron with devastating force.

The explosion was deafening.

The basic cauldron, unable to withstand the destructive lightning, was instantly blown into jagged shrapnel!

A cloud of thick, fragrant smoke and dust filled the silent room.

Rhain stood amidst the rubble, entirely unharmed, but bewildered.

He looked up at the gaping, scorched hole in the ceiling, never expecting something like this to happen.

Before he could even begin to comprehend all that happened, the heavy bronze doors of his room were violently kicked open.

A squad of heavily armored Alchemy Guild guards burst into the room, coughing through the smoke, their weapons drawn. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

Seeing the shattered cauldron, the blasted roof, and the scorch marks covering the walls, the captain of the guards turned completely red with fury.

"You lunatic!" the guard captain roared, pointing his spear directly at Rhain. "How dare you recklessly damage the property of the Mirravele Alchemy Guild! Put your hands up and surrender immediately!"