I am creating a small segment of Q&A before every chapter to clear some confusion and gives better reading experience. So do comment or give critics as this may help the others.

Q: Why don’t I turn it into a vermillion tiger/phoenix village?

A: The village is actually in a transition in becoming a city and humans are quite sceptical about having magical beast in helping them. Therefore, Rancer and Dugo cannot transform themselves into magical beasts.

Q: Why don’t bind all the villagers with magical beast?

A: Binding with magical beast is not as easy as it thinks. Magical beasts are usually arrogant and do not like to have their freedom taken. They will rather die to be bonded even when facing a superior experts. The only way to do bind with them is to do it since young or they can gain extreme benefits for themselves.

Q: Why no one ask what Dugo wants when he teaches them for free?

A: Well, Dugo is an experts and to be taught by an expert for free is pretty much a dream. What’s more when he is willing to teach for free, they can ask him questions which may cause him to change his mind.

Q: Why Dugo did not ask for anything?

A: You have to know that Dugo is an overseer so basically he knows that all humans will have black hairs and he is confident that only Vermillion Tiger can have vermillion hair upon humanification.

Chapter 8- Alchemist Apprentice Rancer

I first summon my Vermillion flame and will it to engulf the Yin Yang flame. The Yin Yang flame is struggling to avoid being engulf by my Vermillion flame. Each flame overlapping one another. The result is that my Vermillion flame lost in the fight. Now, I just have to rest and meditate for the day as I can only summon the Vermillion flame once a day. I try for 2 weeks and the result is still the same. I finally give up on the futile struggle in subjugating the Yin Yang flame. I move on to the Turquoise Nature flame. I then once again summon my Vermillion flame and this time the battle is so intense. A small part of my Vermillion flame goes astray from the battle of dominance and landed onto another flame. All of the rest of the Vermillion flame hops into the other flame. NOOO! I am screwed for life. However, all is too late. What can the weakest and ordinary reddish-orange flame do to the mightiest Vermillion flame? In just milliseconds, the red flame is swallowed. My life as an alchemist and blacksmith is gone but what can I do. Dejected, I am just smile and laugh like a mad man. The reward regardless of what flame I get is two vermillion dantian but this feeling is probably the worst one can find. I just absorb the chi from the vermillion dantian.

After absorbing all the chi, I can feel that my dantian is full and now I am ready to impact the 3 stars 1 stripes. Carefully and calmly, I remember what Grandpa Dugo has said. Preparing for myself, the dantian shrinks and expels the chi. I exert my willpower and try to direct as much chi as possible to the right of my heart area. I then open the chi pulse and the pain is excruciating causing to me lose focus once in a while. As a result, some chi are lost in the result. Finally, the chi pulse is establish with 13% chi loss. That gives me an advantage to others as geniuses will establish their chi pulse at a loss of a minimum 20% chi loss. Now, my dantian is devoid of chi. In order to cultivate now, I have to make sure that my chi pulse is full before my dantian can start absorbing chi. This is one of the main reason for why cultivators will generally gets slower and slower in cultivating as their chi pulse enlarges causing them to have to use more time to fill up their chi pulse before cultivating. Once the dantian is full and a breakthrough occurs, each cultivator will have to redirect the expelled chi into their chi reservoir and the never-ending cycles repeat.

After the entry to the 3 stars realm, the stairs way appears. I move on and the last test appear. The words written on the banner is Test 3- Control Your Flame. I then draw my chi from the chi pulse. Redirecting the chi to my hand, I try to feel the flame in me. The flame flickers and then dissipate into thin air. Surprisingly, the chi consumption is almost neglectable. The trial and error go on for five hours until my chi reservoir is completely dried up. Now, I manage to summon the flame around the size of a tennis ball. When my chi reservoir is fully filled, I start my test. The test requires me to control the temperature of my flame my deviating it by 50 degrees Celsius. I pass the test and the next moment a blinding light covers the room. In the midst of the blinding light, I can feel a sharp pain on one of my ear lobes. ARGH! The pain and the light subsides together. I touch my ear lobe and it appears that a metal ring is pierced and connected to my earlobe.

Grandpa Dugo makes his appearance while holding a furnace tripod. The tripod has ominous feeling as if it has a will of its own. “This tripod is made from the from some fine metal, dragon bone and phoenix feather. Show me what flame you have obtained,” says Grandpa Dugo.

I then show him my flame and I can see he is about to faint anytime. He is speechless. After for a moment, I recount the whole scene to him as I know that he wants to know what just happen. “Well what is done is done. It will be miracle for you to become an Alchemy Junior. The benefits for your flame is low chi consumption and easy control of the flame temperature which makes you easily an Alchemy Apprentice,” says Grandpa Dugo. I am then told about the drawbacks which are the flame is second non-fatal flame next to the Turquoise Nature Flame and my flame has very low range of temperature. The metal thing that is onto my ear lobe is an extra gift. It is called an earring but this earring is somewhat special as it has its own thought coupled with extensive knowledge that can help me in the future and have the interspatial function.

I move to my room to have some sleep and happen to meet Jeslyn on my way. “Rancer, where have you go for this one whole week?” says Jeslyn. What!!! One week! The time spent on the pagoda should be an approximately one month. Could it be times runs slower in the pagoda? “OH, I was training for the past week. Could it be that you miss me?” I tease her as I answer her previous question. “Hmph!” Jeslyn stomps onto the ground and does not say anything then moves in the opposite direction of mine. I wonder I have made a mistake.

A good sleep on the bed where its softness I have thoroughly missed after sleeping on the cold hard floor for a month, I doze off. The next morning, I start off my alchemic training. Grandpa Dugo throws to me a scroll. As my hand is with contact with the scroll, I can that my chi is involuntary drawn from my chi pulse. What is going on? The next moment, my alchemy flame ignited and covers the scroll. The scroll then releases from my grasp and unroll itself in front of my eyes. The words can shining with light. The words are as if they have a will if their own. They move in an orderly manner but I can see their excited form. They are moving up and down as they approach my mind. All of this happen in seconds and the scroll drop itself to the ground with no words left in the scroll.

“That scroll is enchanted with some seals and the seals test whether the person has perform the ceremony before, have at least reach 3 stars realm and lastly have an alchemy flame. All the alchemy techniques to make the pills from Alchemist Apprentice rank to Alchemist Ancestor rank. Here are the materials to make the Blood Regenerative Pill. Try it yourself,” says Grandpa Dugo.

Each alchemist rank correspond with each stars realm:

Alchemist Apprentice

Alchemist Junior

Alchemist Senior

Alchemist Master

Alchemist Grandmaster

Alchemist Advisor

Alchemist Ancestor

I look at the requirements for making the Rank 1 Blood Regenerative Pill. They are using the alchemic fire to burn at 100 degree Celsius and requires it to deviate it with 20 degree Celsius at times, use the fruits of Iron Lava Tree, Scarlet Blaze Grass and Common Morning Dew. The Morning Dew is used to reduce the effect of the heat from the Scarlet Blaze Grass. The alchemy herbs are mainly divided into Common, Earth and Heaven grading. For the common grade, this herbs have some usefulness in alchemy just that they do not have chi in them. Earth and Heaven alchemy herbs have chi in them and their potentness is greatly differ from the common grade alchemy herb. In Earth grade herb, there is a sea-level from Level 1 to level 10. 10 being the highest value in both money and pill uses. The Scarlet Blaze Grass is a Level 1 Earth herb and the Iron Lava fruit is a Level 2 herb.

First, I extract the juice of the Iron Lava fruit and then mix with the extract of the Scarlet Blaze Grass. Pouring the juice into the tripod cauldron, I start to summon my flame energy to burn the tripod cauldron to remove the extra water content to get more of the essence of blood regeneration and heat drawing. The heat drawing is to circulate the blood faster. I drop five drops Common Morning Dew and the liquid in the tripod cauldron sizzle. Seeing that everything is at its final stage. I throw the flesh of the Iron Lava fruit and the Scarlet blaze grass to give the pill more of a solid state. I then sharply increase the temperature of the flame by 20 degree Celsius. The solid melts slightly and then starts to mix together. I then drop the flame’s temperature by 40 degree Celsius to allow the pill to start to coagulate. Willing my chi, I draw the semi-molten state of the pill into a pill mould. Closing the pill mould for a while to let the pill to cool down and retain the circular shape. After ten minutes, I open the pill mould and the fragrance of the pill can be smelt. HAHA! Now, I can call myself Alchemist Apprentice Rancer.

Grandpa Dugo’s POV

When I sent Rancer to the Platinum Jubilee Pagoda’s Insight, I will have expected that my grandson will select one of the five flames that I handpick. Who wold have known the unexpected twist of event causing him to have the weakest and most ordinary flame. HAHA, I nearly cannot retain my laughter when he recalls his event. God, you have been too kind for me. You even give such ‘gift’ to my grandson.

What exactly has happened? Is this a conspiracy of Dugo? Could it be that what he has said is sarcasm or he really meant it. Find out in the next chapter for the reason behind Dugo’s reaction. Do leave comment if you have questions for the story and by now, you all should have known that I have bad naming sense. So, do give some decent name to be used in the story in your comment. Next chapter coming out the day after tomorrow.