08. The Alchemy Hall

''Hah!'' Lin Song quickly blocked the punch. He wouldn't be caught by surprise again.

Kicking the ground, Old Song swiped his leg in front of Lin Feng, forcing the young master to somersault away. Lin Feng's movements were fluid and even when retreating, he quickly came to assault from the other side.

Lightly Floating Steps. Old Song used his movement technique to trick the young master. However, it didn't work. Lin Feng's battle instinct and combat experience seemed to be higher than even his.

Whoosh!

Lin Feng jumped five feet high in the air and attacked the butler with his simple foot technique, Power Kick. It was a mere low-tier ordinary-grade martial art, something he had learned when he was just starting his cultivation.

Bam!

Old Song crossed his arms and took the hit. Yet this was just the first one. Lin Feng didn't give him time to react and chained more Power Kicks! The strength in Young Master Feng's attacks surprised Old Song. They were firm and heavy, containing explosive powers. Even as an Essence Condensation Realm cultivator, he felt slight pain when hit.

Bam! Bam!

Although Old Song seemed like he was getting a beating, he was, in fact, holding back a lot. There were two ways for a cultivator to display his/her might. One was martial arts, and the other was mystic arts. 

Any cultivator could use martial arts, but only Essence Condensation cultivators or above could use mystic arts. Old Song knew some mystic arts, but using them against Lin Feng would be like bullying a child. Just like him, most cultivators in the Mortals Lands thought mystic arts were superior to martial arts.

''Hah!'' Yet, Lin Feng knew it was untrue.

There were two types of cultivators. One were "essence cultivators" who cultivated their True Essence by refining the Yuan Qi of Heaven and Earth. The True Essence, this magical energy which one could store in their dantain, could fuel the mystic art along with the usage of spiritual energy.

One could conjure fire dragons or golden swords out of thin air and hurl them at their enemy. Such power was terrifying and most cultivators in the same realm wouldn't even be able to use their martial arts in time.

But this was because they weren't the second type of cultivators, the "body cultivators!"

Lin Feng, in his past life, had met many body cultivators, and the strength they held fascinated him. He even fought some personally and one of them, known as the Yao Emperor, was the most memorable.

It was said that the Yao Emperor's dantian had been crippled when he was 17, but he still became one of the most powerful figures in the world. Fire couldn't harm his skin and lightning was unable to penetrate his body. By stomping the ground, he could create earthquakes.

With one punch, he could destroy mountains. His shout had the power to reach everyone's ears in an entire empire! He was a beast in human form. Even Lin Feng, a Soul Returning Realm cultivator, had been speechless at the display of such might.

'Wind Sweeping Palm!' Lin Feng executed another attack as he fought Old Song, who was getting serious.

The fight turned more intense with every passing moment, and Lin Feng was the one getting the beating now. However, he took them all with a firm heart. It was nothing compared to the pain body cultivators inflicted upon themselves to get powerful. Lin Feng's eyes glinted when he remembered the tyrannical, raw power of the Yao Emperor.

Such strength was what he wanted. In his previous life, he was the top Essence Cultivator whose True Essence could scatter even the heavenly tribulations. However, in this life, he wanted to gain the might of his body as well!

Once he adapted to this new body, he planned to use a body cultivation technique, which he had exchanged with one of his friends. As he thought about it, Lin Feng fought more ferociously.

After a while, Old Song easily won. It was normal. Lin Feng was only at the 3rd layer of Qi Gathering. Even by using all his techniques and the advantages of his thicker Qi, his strength was only comparable to a cultivator of the 7th layer.

''Young master, what did you use in your last attack?'' Old Song asked. He had to circulate 1/4th of his total Qi outside of his body to block it.

''My family's secret technique,'' Lin Feng lied. He had used a downgraded version of a low-tier profound-grade martial art. Anything at the profound-grade was a valuable resource in the cultivation world, and even Core Formation cultivators would fight for it.

''You're great, young master! You're the strongest 3rd layer Qi Gathering cultivator I've fought.'' Old Song praised and didn't pursue the matter. The secret techniques of the Great Lin family weren't something he, a lowly butler, could know.

Lin Feng smiled and dismissed Old Song. After eating the blood fruit, this 60-year-old butler had also benefitted a lot.

"I'll go take a bath now,'' Lin Feng muttered, smelling his body. It would be a medicinal bath, of course. Others would be hesitant to soak their bodies in too much medicine, but Lin Feng had his ways to deal with the side-effects.

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At night, his mother asked him tens of questions about his cultivation technique. It took him two long hours to convince Lin Ming that his technique was harmless to him. When she asked him to write the Reverend Essence Chaos Scripture, he just said that he couldn't

''I forget everything about this cultivation technique whenever I think of writing it down. Only when I cultivate do I remember.''

This made Lin Ming more assured that it was the job of someone at the Nascent Soul Realm or above. Only such experts would be able to tamper with someone's psyche. She then used five or six talismans to scan his spirit and sighed in relief, finding that everything about her boy was normal.

Of course, she couldn't find that a different Lin Feng occupied her son's body now. The Reincarnation Gate was the Samsara Empyrean King's property. Even if Lin Feng's previous self was in her position, he still wouldn't be able to find anything abnormal.

Thus, she concluded that Lin Feng really had gained the favor of a mysterious cultivator, and went to inform her husband Lin Yang about it.

Lin Feng cultivated all night in his Sublime State and woke up early. He practiced a set of martial arts moves until the sun rose. Thereafter, he ate something and headed straight towards the Alchemy Hall, which was at the base of the 2nd Peak.

Today, half of his days would be spent making pills. The Alchemy Hall had the best alchemy chambers in the entire clan. All the Storm Feather Clan's important alchemists had their houses near it.

Whoosh!

Compared to the 3rd Peak, the 2nd Peak was closer. Lin Feng reached there in half an hour. The moment his carriage appeared before the four-storey tall Alchemy Hall, a commotion spread among the cultivators there.

The people chatting in the various plazas all looked at the door of his carriage. There, under the clan emblem of a feather swaying in a snowstorm, was the sign of golden lightning.

''Someone from the Great Lin Family? Could it be Young Miss Xiaowei?''

''No, it must be Lin Shuhuang. He has recently become a Junior Alchemist!''

While others speculated about the identity of the person inside, a foot stepped out and firmly landed on the ground. Stretching his limbs, Lin Feng exited the carriage, inciting disappointed sighs from the cultivators around.

In their eyes, they saw a tall, black-haired teenager who had a charming smile on his face. Even though he was wearing long blue robes, covering his whole body from top to bottom, he still looked robust. The young man glanced left and right, stepping on the white-tiled floor before the Alchemy Hall, and casually walked towards it.

''Why is HE here?''

''How would I know!?''

''This young master is surely going to make trouble for our alchemy sisters. We should tell them to be careful!''

''Yes, yes!''

They whispered amongst themselves and quickly headed to the hall from other entrances. Some sharp-eyed youths and elders had sensed the change in Lin Feng. But most of them thought he was here to pick up yet another unfortunate beauty.

Lin Feng was aware of the happenings caused by his presence, yet he was as carefree as a hummingbird. When he came before the hall entrance, the guards at the Essence Condensation Realm all bowed as per formality, and made way for him.

As he entered, everyone had tense expressions. A Young Master's authority was usually higher than an Inner Elder's but lower than a Core Elder's. Only a Core Formation cultivator who has served the clan for at least 200 years could be a Core Elder. There were only 4 of them in the entire clan, and all but one were in seclusion, along with the Grand Elder, the highest authority of the clan.

It would be nice if other Core Formation cultivators like those heads of the Great Families were here. But what would they be doing in this Alchemy Hall? Thus, unless another Young Master or Miss showed up, Lin Feng practically owned this place.

''What is your purpose in coming here, young master?'' A middle-aged alchemist asked.

''Of course, to do alchemy. Why else would I be here?'' Lin Feng replied with his hands behind his back.

The next moment, everyone in the hall looked at his smile and gulped. Was the herb chamber going to be emptied today…? They couldn't help but think.