章節 12: The Madman Alchemist and his mysterious disciple

[Updated] [Rewritten]

____ __ _ _

Once the Sect Master had left Rong Yuan's room, he retired to his own quarters and began to search through his storage ring. After a moment of rummaging, he produced a talisman bearing the words of the infamous "Madman Alchemist".

Without hesitation, he activated the Spirit Connection Talisman, a powerful tool that could connect two individuals who possessed the same talisman. To activate the talisman, one needs to charge it with their own spirit power, channeling spirit power into it until it glowed with a yellow light.

The talisman was designed to work only within areas where special Circles had been drawn, and fortunately, the Hundred Swords Sect boasted a Circle that encompassed all of its buildings and grounds.

"Alchemist Zheng Meng! You need to come and check that Yuan brat very fast. He is in a very bad condition." He started to talk as soon as the other side was connected.

"What? Did he die?" Asked the other side with a middle-aged voice.

"No…" {Wait, he was really dead for a while...} thought Feng Rong.

"Yes. He was dead when I entered his room. He was lying unconsciously and wasn't even breathing." He told the story. "I thought he was dead. He even had no pulse..."

"But after a few moments, he came back to life again!"

"So what? Do you even know how much I have time?" Shouted the Mad Alchemist angrily. Zheng Meng was the grandmaster alchemist's name.

He was in his fifties. He had a muscular body and a great passion for alchemy…

"No!"

"Yes, you are correct. I have no time to chat with you… So stop beating around the bush and tell what happened fast!"

"Why are you even an alchemist when you have such a temper?" Feng Rong rubbed his temples in frustration.

...He also had a fierce temper.

"Don't have anything to say. Then goodbye…"

He was also impatient...

Zhing... (The talisman disconnects)

"Ferocious, truly fierce and impatient person.."

"Whatever, I know he will send someone to that brat even if he can't go by himself." Feng Rong muttered

"But I hope he won't blackmail me again..."

_ __ ____ __ _

Hundred Swords Sect.

Alchemy Hall.

Hall Master's Room.

Poof!

Zheng Meng reached into the cauldron and pulled out a dozen pills, but his expression quickly soured as he realized that three of them were of low-grade quality. He tossed the subpar pills into a nearby basket with a frustrated grunt.

"Damn it," he muttered. "Another three wasted because of that annoying..."

He trailed off, not bothering to finish his thought. It was clear that he was unhappy with the situation, but as a grandmaster alchemist, he was no stranger to the occasional failure. In fact, it was common for even the most skilled alchemists to waste four to six pills on average during the production process.

However, the pills that they wasted were completely unusable and had no value whatsoever. In contrast, Zheng Meng was only dealing with low-grade pills, which still had some value, albeit less than high-grade ones. In reality, he was doing quite well to only have one or two wasted pills.

With a shake of his head, Zheng Meng put the talisman bearing the name "Wasted Pill Creator" back into his storage ring. It was a strange name, to be sure, it was the Sect Master's nickname he created.

Zheng Meng's face twisted with anger as he spoke his thoughts aloud. "I will take more resources from him in the coming month. I'll claim that he wasted the resources, and if he refuses...we'll see where he can get his pills!" he snarled.

It was clear that he was referring to the Sect Master, Feng Rong, and his words were filled with malice and contempt. But before he could continue his tirade, a young female voice spoke up, urging him to calm down and reconsider his actions.

"Calm down, Master," she said firmly. "Sect Master's work must have been urgent. And it's very wrong to blackmail someone."

Zheng Meng turned to his disciple and explained his reasoning. "Disciple, you don't understand that old geezer. If I don't mention his wasted pills, we won't be able to get enough resources from that shameless and stingy Sect Master of yours," he said with annoyance in his voice.

His disciple pouted at him in response. "Master, this is why they say you're a fierce person," she teased.

Zheng Meng couldn't help but smile at the sight of his cute disciple. "Hmph, he must be jealous that I have such an adorable disciple like you. What a lucky master I am," he said with a chuckle.

Despite his gruff exterior, Zheng Meng had a soft spot for his disciple, and he couldn't help but feel a sense of pride and joy whenever he looked at her.

Zheng Meng's disciple blushed at the mention of her master calling her adorable and quickly changed the subject. "What was the Sect Master talking about, Master?" she asked.

Zheng Meng was happy to oblige and switched gears. "Oh, yes! By the way, he said that a brat who was going to be the youngest elder after the sect's exam had died," he replied, his tone serious.

"What?" his disciple exclaimed in shock.

"How could he die?" asked his surprised disciple.

"Why aren't you going there if that's happened?" she continued.

Zheng Meng shook his head, a hint of annoyance in his voice. "Well, listen to the very end. I don't know where you learned to be so hasty," he scolded gently.

His disciple looked a little embarrassed at the rebuke. "I'm sorry, Master. Please continue," she said.

"He has died but came back to life later. And..." Zheng Meng trailed off, bracing himself for his disciple's reaction.

"What? How can a dead person come back to life?" his disciple exclaimed in disbelief.

"Really..." Zheng Meng sighed, massaging his temples. He was frustrated that his disciple wasn't listening to him, but he knew he couldn't speak to her the same way he spoke to others. She was too important to him, and he didn't want to upset her.

"I really want to punch the person who taught you to be impatient and burn him my flames..."

{....} (What would he do if he realized it was him?)

"He shouldn't have died. He may have just lost consciousness after cultivating non-stop. That stupid guy couldn't check that, so he immediately reached out to me," Zheng Meng explained, his frustration evident in his voice.

"But what if he was seriously injured?" his disciple asked.

"Yes, you might be right, disciple," Zheng Meng conceded. "But I'm working on a serious antidote now...for a really deadly poison."

He paused for a moment before an idea struck him. "Oh, I have an idea!" he exclaimed. "Disciple, go check on him! Maybe you can get to know each other and be friends. He may be our sect's future Sect Master, while you will take my position as the Alchemy Master of the Sect. Establishing a connection right now is also very good."

His disciple looked at him with surprise. "Me?" she asked, hesitant.

"Yes, you," Zheng Meng confirmed. "You're smart and capable, and I trust you to handle this responsibility. And who knows? You might even be able to help him in some way."

His disciple hesitated at the thought of reaching out to someone she didn't know. "No, Master! I can't!" she exclaimed.

Zheng Meng reassured her, "I know you haven't been talking to anyone and don't have any friends. But you should be confident in yourself. He is only two years older than you."

"Really?" his disciple asked, surprised.

"Yes." Zheng Meng confirmed.

"If he is 18, then he's really the youngest master in the empire. He must be amazing!" His disciple muttered, with a hint of excitement in her voice.

"And I heard he also doesn't communicate with people much like yourself."

"Oh!"

"So take a perfect-grade pill with yourself in case he might be injured."

"Ok…"

Then his disciple left the room after taking two perfect-grade pills.

"I will take two, no four, master!"

She left the room before he even agreed. Well, this was the privilege of having a grandmaster alchemist as your master. You never need to worry about pills. Be it a perfect grade, or the other low-level grade. How much do you want?