Chapter 8: Self-Taught Alchemy

Everyone's gaze shifted to Luna Juggins. Pride flickered across her breathtaking face. "This bar of soap was a gift from Pace. But he didn't buy it. He made it himself!" "Ah!!!" The room erupted in shocked cries, faces full of disbelief. After all, Pace Zorn was only a year old, still at the age where babies nursed (even if he had already been weaned). Yet the soap was snow-white like jade, free of any harsh odor, carrying only a clean jasmine fragrance. It looked flawless, a rare treasure. Just imagining how hard it was to make made their scalps prickle. A moment later, Pace's uncle suddenly burst into booming laughter. "Pace is truly filial, and sharp as they come!" The others snapped out of their daze and piled on the praise, sighing that Pace Zorn might be a sage reborn. After the storm of compliments, his aunt turned to Luna. "Luna, how did Pace make this soap?" The discussion hall fell so quiet a pin could have been heard hitting the floor. Every eye fixed on Luna, brimming with anticipation. Luna smiled. "He told me the whole method. It isn't complicated, and it doesn't cost much." Delight flashed across the crowd. It meant the family had found a new road to fortune. Luna continued, still smiling. "By my estimate, even if we sell it for only half a tael of silver, we'll still profit." The hall exploded. In an instant, everyone was talking at once, excitement surging like a boil-over. … After Pace told Luna the scented soap method, she did not end up spending more time with him. If anything, she grew even busier. The Juggins family planned to establish a soap workshop, and the method had to be kept under strict lock and key. They could only use their own people as much as possible. As one of the leaders, Luna had no shortage of early-stage work. Pace guessed the reason and did not resent his mother for breaking her promise. After a few dull days, he sat down and seriously reconsidered his future Cultivation Resources. Making scented soap to sell only brought in small money. If the profits were too outrageous, or if the Juggins family earned too much too quickly, they would not be able to protect the craft. Besides, as time passed, the method would inevitably leak. It could never remain a true monopoly. Relying on a single bar of scented soap to supply him with endless Cultivation Resources was nothing but a daydream. "Since I'll need to consume large amounts of Spirit Elixir in the future, I'll learn alchemy," Pace Zorn decided. Just like that, he chose his next side path. That night, he waited until Luna returned after a long day of running herself ragged. "Mother, I want to learn alchemy." He looked up at her, expression earnest. Luna blinked, surprised. "Why do you suddenly want to learn alchemy? You're still too young. Alchemy can be dangerous." Pace did not offer a reason. He only tugged at her with a hint of childish clinginess. "Mother, please." "All right," Luna said at last, just as he expected. She trusted him, truly. After dinner, Luna went to find Wade Juggins and asked him to locate an alchemist to teach Pace. Alchemists held exalted status. Any alchemist with even a bit of reputation had people lining up at their door. They did not accept disciples lightly. It took not only an expensive apprenticeship gift, but also strong connections. Wade agreed immediately. He looked forward to Pace becoming an alchemist. This grandson of his was simply too brilliant. The next morning, Wade took Pace out to seek a master. To their surprise, they ran into walls everywhere. Each visit ended in a polite refusal. Two or three days passed. They visited five or six alchemists, and every one of them turned Pace away. Wade's face darkened. He returned to one alchemist they had already visited and pressed for the real reason. That alchemist had a decent relationship with Wade, and the Juggins family had purchased elixirs from him for years. "Your grandson's identity is… special," the alchemist admitted with a troubled look. "My little household can't afford to offend the Southern Marquisate. Please forgive me." In White Emperor City, the Southern Marquisate was like a king in its own domain. Alchemists had wide networks and sharp ears. They knew Luna and her son had, in truth, been driven out of the Southern Marquisate. On top of that, Parker Zorn's new wife, Gemma Scurr, had an enormous background. She was not only a direct-line young lady of the Scurr family of Green State, but also the Buddha Master of Mount Salvation's only personally taught lay female disciple. Mount Salvation held immense influence in the south of the Celestial Empire. Temples were everywhere, incense offerings burned day and night, and the faithful were countless. If they accepted Pace Zorn as a disciple, even if the Southern Marquisate did not pursue it, what if it displeased Gemma Scurr? They would still be doomed. When Wade learned why Pace had been refused again and again, anger flared in his chest, but he could do nothing. "Grandfather, it's fine. I don't want to take a master anymore," Pace said, soothing him. Wade reached out and gently stroked the boy's small head, letting out a long sigh. "Pace, you're too clever and too sensible. You've been wronged." In his heart, Pace added another heavy mark against the Southern Marquisate. "Grandfather, I can teach myself alchemy," he said seriously. "Can you help me gather some alchemy books and formula?" Wade frowned. "Alchemy is no small matter. It's not easy at all. Even with a famous master personally teaching, most people still can't become an alchemist. Alchemists are respected precisely because they're rare. Most people simply can't learn it." "Then let me mess around with it for fun," Pace pleaded pitifully. "I'm bored every day." Wade gave a helpless, crooked smile. "You're bored because you awakened too early. When other children were one year old, they were only just learning to walk." He hesitated, then relented with indulgent softness. "Fine. I'll find you alchemy books and formula. I'll even get you an Alchemy Furnace and the rest." "Thank you, Grandfather," Pace said, bright with happiness. Wade bent and lifted him into his arms, heart aching with affection for this grandson. Five days later, Wade brought Pace a Basic Alchemy book and two formula. He also prepared an Alchemy Furnace and gave him three hundred taels of silver. The Basic Alchemy book was called Thirty-Six Alchemy Secrets, a guide for beginners on how to step into alchemy. Thirty-Six Alchemy Secrets was simple and relatively easy to buy. It cost only one hundred taels of silver. But using it to cross the threshold into alchemy was as hard as climbing to the heavens. Countless people had clung to hope, trying to learn alchemy from Thirty-Six Alchemy Secrets, only to bankrupt themselves and gain nothing. Wade believed that without a master's guidance, learning alchemy was brutally difficult. He did not think Pace could teach himself alchemy, so he bought Thirty-Six Alchemy Secrets for Pace to play with and pass the time. Better alchemy manuals were simply too expensive, easily costing over a thousand taels of silver, sometimes several thousand. Wade adored Pace, but he could not afford that kind of spending. The two formula were Hundred Herbs Liquid and Energy-Blood Pill. Both were unrated formula, suitable for beginners to practice with. Each one cost eighty taels of silver. Pace picked up Thirty-Six Alchemy Secrets and flipped through it at lightning speed. In no time, he finished Thirty-Six Alchemy Secrets. Then he quickly finished Hundred Herbs Liquid and Energy-Blood Pill as well. He closed the book and the formula, lowered his lashes, and opened the panel in his mind. Under [Martial Techniques], a new entry had appeared: [alchemy]. [alchemy: Thirty-Six Alchemy Secrets (1/300), Hundred Herbs Liquid [unrated] (0/100), Energy-Blood Pill [unrated] (0/100)] Pace focused on Thirty-Six Alchemy Secrets and poured proficiency points into it, filling it in one breath. A flood of alchemical knowledge and techniques surged into his mind. He held his focus steady and absorbed it with everything he had. After two or three breaths, he fully comprehended Thirty-Six Alchemy Secrets. He opened his eyes and let out a light, easy smile. Exhaling a stale breath, he closed his eyes again and reopened the panel. His attention remained on Thirty-Six Alchemy Secrets. He continued adding points to Thirty-Six Alchemy Secrets until the proficiency points reached ten times the requirement. A deeper, more thorough understanding poured in, as if he had studied and practiced Thirty-Six Alchemy Secrets for decades. He kept adding proficiency points, pushing it to one hundred times. In an instant, his comprehension leapt again, higher and newer, refining the old into the new. Thirty-Six Alchemy Secrets changed on the panel, automatically becoming Forty-Eight True Alchemy Formulas. Pace opened his eyes, joy shining in their depths. "I've grasped Forty-Eight True Alchemy Formulas. As long as I have a Medium Grade Formula, I can refine a Medium Grade Spirit Elixir!" After savoring the thrill for a moment, he pressed on. He added proficiency points to Hundred Herbs Liquid and Energy-Blood Pill as well, raising both to one hundred times. From them, he derived the Hundred Herbs Elixir formula [Low Grade] and the Energy-Blood Elixir formula [Low Grade]. When he opened his eyes again, he rose to his feet. As he walked out, he muttered to himself, "Next is buying medicinal ingredients and refining elixirs."