Chapter 5: Alchemy Insights_1

Yang Chen returned to his room and began sorting out his thoughts.

Indeed, Yang Caidie was not his biological sister; she was the adopted child of his current body's parents. Put bluntly, they had no blood relation. As for who Yang Caidie's birth family was, no one knew.

As for Yang Chen's parents, he couldn't even remember their faces within his memories. All he knew was that they had ventured into the Great Wild Hundred Clans in their youth and moved to the bustling area of ​​North Mountain County.

They had not returned for more than a decade, and no one knew whether they were alive or dead. In contrast, he and Yang Caidie were left as orphans, and their status in the Yang family was extremely awkward.

As the saying goes, a child without a mother is like a blade of grass...

If it weren't for Yang Caidie's astonishing talent, showing that she was no weaker than the men in the Yang family at such a young age, Yang Chen might have been expelled from the family register long ago.

However, even so, if it were the old Yang Chen, he would have been expelled in the coming three months.

Why would it be so?

In three months, it would be the Yang family's Coming of Age Ceremony.

This is a Clan Gathering that every young Yang family member must go through. It is a test for the young members of the Yang family. Only after passing this Clan Gathering will they truly gain the acceptance of the Yang family. Half a year ago, the Yang family had promulgated a new system: if the younger generation of the Yang family, who are participating in the Coming of Age Ceremony, did not show the strength of the First Layer Body Refining, they would be immediately removed from the family register.

Being removed from the family register, simply put, means exile, being gradually marginalized by the Yang family. Whether you live or die, no one will care.

Yang Caidie also knew about this. However, she had the mentality of "a dead pig is not afraid of hot water." With her protecting her younger brother, even if Yang Chen were to be expelled from the family register, she would still support him.

But Yang Chen didn't want to be so humiliated as to be expelled from the family register at the Coming of Age Ceremony.

"First Layer Body Refining..." Yang Chen muttered, "I'll set this as my goal for now. Otherwise, if I get expelled from the family register at the Coming of Age Ceremony, the lack of resources would be a huge problem."

He gradually formed a plan in his mind.

In his previous life, what he was best at was digging out a person's talent, using alchemy, various Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, to cultivate a person with martial aptitude into an outstanding genius. For him, Yang Chen's current awkward position in the Yang family and rumors of his incompetence might cause some minor obstacles, but ultimately, none of these were major issues.

However, the most troublesome issue now was a lack of resources, as his position in the Yang family was too awkward and he had no access to any.

He possessed vast knowledge, but he was broke and penniless.

Fortunately, he had a clear plan in his heart, and he murmured, "The most outstanding alchemist in the Yang family is the Second Master, one of the seven patriarchs of the Yang family. Today is his lecture day, and it is said that those who can please him will receive many rewards."

Yang Chen was very interested in this "reward." As soon as he thought of it, he immediately set off.

"Young Master, are you going out?"

A smile appeared on the face of a servant who was sweeping the courtyard in Yang Chen's residence.

Yang Chen glanced at the middle-aged servant and nodded, but he didn't have much affection for the man. This servant was called Zhou Huaiyi, and he was responsible for cleaning up the clutter in the Yang family courtyard. He was in his thirties and treated people respectfully. However, since being betrayed by Hua Wanru, Yang Chen's ability to observe people had improved.

Zhou Huaiyi's eyes were filled with cunning and defiance. Although he seemed respectful, no one knew what he was thinking.

But Zhou Huaiyi was just a servant, so Yang Chen didn't pay much attention to him. He nodded slightly, said nothing, and went straight to Elder Yang's place.

Elder Yang, the most talented alchemist in the Yang family, was said to have reached the intermediate level of a Second Grade Alchemist at this age, making him the number one alchemist in the family. He was also considered a top-notch alchemist among the Great Wild Hundred Clans.

This elder had the only Pill Refining Room in the Yang family, which was what Yang Chen cared about the most.

...

"During alchemy, the most important thing is the furnace fire, followed by adjusting and controlling the process. Your understanding and control of both will determine the quality and quantity of the final elixir," Elder Yang said as he sat at the top of the Pill Refining Room, stroking his white beard, lecturing the Yang family's alchemy descendants below him.

At that moment, a sudden commotion occurred, causing Elder Yang to frown in annoyance. He saw the source of the noise was a young man from the Yang family suddenly appearing in the classroom.

This young man of the Yang family was none other than Yang Chen who had rushed over from outside.

"Yang Chen, didn't you hang yourself? How could you still come to listen to Elder's lecture?" A teenager sarcastically said, his words filled with disdain for Yang Chen.

Yang Chen had long been the subject of mockery among many young members of the Yang family, mainly because he was too incompetent.

Now that someone had taken the lead, laughter continued to pour in. The next moment, someone laughed even louder, "Yang Chen, you gambled with the Wang family and lost even your open-crotch pants. You didn't produce a single elixir with three furnaces of alchemy materials. If I were you, I would have hanged myself. But instead, you come to listen to Elder's lecture; that's simply an insult to Elder! You've already lost face for the Yang family; don't lose face for Elder too."

Yang Heng, who had gambled with Yang Chen in the morning, was also among them. Now that he saw Yang Chen coming, his anger could not be contained.

He didn't know how in the world Yang Chen had managed to refine those four Reverting Bone Pills. He only felt that Yang Chen had some skill in the area of Reverting Bone Pills. Upon seeing Yang Chen now, he didn't hesitate to ridicule him, "Yang Chen, when Elder gives lectures, we attendees should be punctual. But you just burst in here. Do you even care about Elder at all?"Elder Yang didn't have a particularly good impression of Yang Chen either, especially knowing that Yang Chen lost to the Wang Family and had tarnished the reputation of the Yang family's alchemists. However, as an elder of the Yang family, when he saw the students making a commotion, he snorted coldly, "You're all acting so frivolously, where is your dignity? Have you forgotten to show me, your Second Master, any respect?"

Upon hearing Elder Yang's words, these Yang family brothers stopped their improprieties and immediately apologized, "Second Master, we know we were wrong."

Elder Yang wore a stern expression but did not attempt to help Yang Chen. He did not even glance at Yang Chen and directly said, "Yang Chen, my class has been going on for an hour, and you enter halfway through. Do you even have any respect for me, your Second Grandfather? Now, stand in the corner and listen."

"Yes, Second Grandfather." Yang Chen understood the rules and had no intention of complaining. He definitely wouldn't humiliate himself by trying to argue, so he simply stood in the corner.

Seeing Yang Chen's miserable appearance, Yang Heng laughed and felt a great deal of satisfaction.

There were also many boys who laughed at Yang Chen. Seeing him like this, they made mocking gestures, showing off their prowess against Yang Chen.

Yang Chen was not about to lower himself to the level of these members of the Yang family. With his hands behind his back, he was focused and meticulous.

Elder Yang found this somewhat unexpected since Yang Chen had previously fallen asleep during his class. But now, Yang Chen appeared energetic, as if he meant to pay full attention to the class.

With some questions in mind, Elder Yang did not stop the movements of his hands. He spoke slowly, "I've explained the principles already. Now, I am going to refine a batch of first-grade elixirs called Clear Flame Pills in front of you. This pill is a high-grade elixir among first-grade pills, very difficult to refine. If you can successfully refine it, you would reach the level of a Grade 1 high-rank Alchemist."

"Next, I will begin refining. What you can learn from my techniques depends entirely on your destiny."

After Elder Yang finished speaking, all of the Yang family members present held their breaths and carefully observed Elder Yang refining the pills.

Yang Chen also observed, though he wasn't trying to learn. Although Elder Yang's alchemy level was regarded as legendary within the Yang family, making people admire it, Yang Chen didn't consider him much. He was observing Elder Yang's refining process with other thoughts in mind.

What intrigued him was that Elder Yang's alchemy skills were much better than Yang Heng's half-baked methods. His technique could be described as skillful and proficient. He had clearly grasped many truths of alchemy.

"Elder Yang knows to add materials before controlling the fire. It seems he knows some intricate details of alchemy." Yang Chen thought to himself.

Elder Yang refined the pills meticulously. About half an hour later, the aroma from the alchemy furnace began to spread. He slapped the pill furnace, and with a bang, two smooth and round pills jumped out and landed in Elder Yang's hands.

Elder Yang's old face revealed a smile, clearly satisfied with the results of the refining. He held the two pills and scanned the crowd.

Upon seeing Elder Yang's miraculous alchemy skills, many of the Yang family juniors felt envious. But when they saw Elder Yang's gaze at this moment, they immediately became serious.

Elder Yang stood up and said, "Tell me, during my refining process, I intentionally slowed down my steps and techniques to help you learn better. Who can tell me what they learned from watching my refining process?"

When his words fell, there was silence.

This made Elder Yang's expression increasingly difficult to maintain.

At that moment, Yang Heng cautiously raised his hand and stood up.

Elder Yang felt a slight moment of joy, "Yang Heng, what did you understand? Tell me."

"Second Grandfather, when I observed your refining process, I noticed that you added the materials first, then used the Fire Control Wood to create the fire. This is different from the method of igniting the fire first and then adjusting the materials that you taught us before. I think that this step must be the key point for refining the Clear Flame Pills." Yang Heng spoke confidently.

Elder Yang sighed, his eyes narrowing, "You've only seen the surface, but you haven't truly understood the essence. Sit down."

His words were quite tactful.

Yang Heng's answer was like a blindfolded person trying to hit a target; he hadn't even grasped the outer layer properly.

He had originally thought that by refining a first-grade high-level elixir on the spot and teaching the process today, he could discover some alchemy geniuses among the younger generation of the Yang family before the Coming of Age Ceremony. But he didn't expect the result to be like this; the most outstanding alchemy genius, Yang Heng, could only provide such a reply.

"Does anyone else here understand anything from my refining process just now?" Elder Yang asked with a solemn expression.

"Second Grandfather, I..."

Next, several other young members of the Yang family tried their luck by answering, hoping to please Elder Yang. After all, gaining Elder Yang's favor was a blessing for the younger generation. Everyone knew that Elder Yang had no descendants, his entire life had been devoted to alchemy and the protection of the Yang family.

Gaining his favor meant receiving Elder Yang's true inheritance.

However, the answers from these youngsters failed to please Elder Yang. Instead, the old man's expression became more and more displeased, showing signs of anger.

"Your answers have disappointed me greatly! Do you really think you can trick me with your wild guesses? Alright, does anyone else want to answer?" Elder Yang sighed, having already lost hope at that point.

It was at this moment that Yang Chen, who was standing in the corner, raised his hand.

"Second Grandfather, I think I might have understood something." Yang Chen said without sadness or joy.