Punishing villains

Long Chen recognized the person who arrived. It wasn't just Long Chen; very few people in the Imperial Capital didn't know him. He was the Guild Master of the Alchemist Guild—Great Master Yun Qi.

"Great Master, this brat suddenly ran over to cause trouble. I will chase him away right now," the old man said hurriedly upon seeing Great Master Yun Qi.

Long Chen's eyes rolled, and he feigned a grateful expression, saying, "Are you Great Master Yun Qi? That's wonderful. Long Chen thanks you for your life-saving grace."

Originally, Yun Qi's expression was displeased, but upon hearing Long Chen say this, he couldn't help but be stunned and asked, "Child, did you mistake me for someone else?"

"Mistake you for someone else? No, absolutely not." Long Chen shook his head and pointed at the old man. "My mother spent hundreds of thousands of gold coins through this Great Master to buy a Tiger Bone Medicinal Pill from you, which is the only reason my injuries were healed. This junior is truly grateful."

When Long Chen said this, the old man's expression changed drastically. Yun Qi's face turned cold as he looked at the old man and said, "Guan Cheng, you tell me, what is the meaning of this?"

"Great Master, don't listen to his nonsense…" Guan Cheng hurriedly explained.

"Eh? Why aren't you admitting it? Our Alchemist Guild members are truly noble and selfless, doing good deeds without leaving their names. However, it is an indisputable fact that you sold my mother a defective Tiger Bone Medicinal Pill," Long Chen sneered.

Although Guan Cheng kept winking at him, Long Chen acted as if he didn't see it. 'Old geezer, do you think my Dragon family's money is so easy to scam?'

Guan Cheng was an old-timer in the Alchemist Guild. He was originally a medicine boy for Great Master Yun Qi, but he had no talent for Alchemy.

However, Guan Cheng had worked diligently by Great Master Yun Qi's side for decades. Great Master Yun Qi pitied him and gave him a position as a deacon in the Alchemist Guild to help manage some miscellaneous tasks.

Sometimes, the failed Medicinal Pills he concocted would be handed to Guan Cheng to handle. The normal procedure was to extract the useful parts from these failed pills and mix them into some medicinal liquid; failed pills were not to be sold externally.

This was a matter of professional integrity. If word got out that Great Master Yun Qi was actually selling failed pills, he would be laughed at by his peers.

Great Master Yun Qi sighed, looked at Guan Cheng, and said, "You have been with me for decades; you understand my temper. Go yourself, and never come back."

Guan Cheng's old face turned deathly pale, and a trace of unwillingness appeared in his eyes. "Great Master, I…"

"Go." Yun Qi waved his hand and said indifferently.

Guan Cheng nearly collapsed to the ground. With one sentence, Yun Qi had effectively expelled him from the Alchemist Guild.

A once high-and-mighty deacon had suddenly become nothing. Guan Cheng seemed to have aged a dozen years in an instant.

"Hey, I'm telling you, stop pretending. You've been swindling people outside for so many years; you've made enough black-hearted money to last a lifetime. Why act like a pitiful wretch?" Long Chen said disdainfully.

As a deacon of the Alchemist Guild, this old man was very close to some princes and nobles. He had reaped countless benefits over the years. Looking at his face made Long Chen feel nauseous.

Guan Cheng's expression turned angry, and a flash of resentment flickered in his eyes. However, he didn't speak and lowered his head as he slowly left.

Watching Guan Cheng disappear, Great Master Yun Qi shook his head and said to Long Chen, "Young man, thank you. Otherwise, this old man would still be kept in the dark."

"Hehe, that old man scammed my family until we were destitute. I was retaliating on purpose, so please don't be polite with me," Long Chen laughed.

Great Master Yun Qi said with some surprise, "Hehe, this kid is quite straightforward, not a sinister or cunning person. Not bad."

"Hehe, how could a little trick like mine be hidden from a Senior? Since it can't be hidden, it's better to pretend to be a good person," Long Chen shrugged and laughed.

Great Master Yun Qi couldn't help but be amused. For many years, everyone who saw him had been respectful. This was the first time someone had spoken to him like this, and he found it quite interesting.

"Kid, you didn't just come to my Alchemist Guild to lodge a complaint, did you?"

"Of course not. I came to be assessed as an Alchemist." After Long Chen finished speaking, he stretched out his right hand.

Whoosh! A tiny flame shot up to his fingertip. To leave a deep impression on the Great Master, Long Chen moved his finger slightly, and the flame danced back and forth on his fingertip like a mischievous monkey.

"Not bad control."

Initially, seeing that flame, Yun Qi nodded slightly. Being able to condense a flame for Alchemy at this age was not bad, but Long Chen's subsequent actions made him somewhat moved.

Control of flame power mainly comes from the magnitude of Soul Power. Long Chen's flexible method of using it indicated that his Soul Power far exceeded that of ordinary people.

However, what he didn't know was that Long Chen was holding back. If he revealed the kind of ancient secret techniques from his memories, he wondered if it would frighten the Great Master before him.

"Very good. Your Soul Power is a notch stronger than ordinary people. You are a seedling for Alchemy," Yun Qi nodded and said.

Hearing Yun Qi say this, a stone in Long Chen's heart fell. It was better to keep his strength hidden as much as possible.

"Come, I will take you to be tested." After saying that, Great Master Yun Qi led Long Chen away.

Watching the backs of the two as they left, the people in the hall who were refining Materials with flame for Alchemy were dumbfounded.

"Damn, no assessment, just going straight to the test like that?"

"How can this be? Could he be a relative of Great Master Yun Qi?"

"Relative my ass. Isn't that kid just the famous waste, Long Chen, of the Imperial Capital?"

The dozen or so people in the hall were here today to be assessed as Alchemists. However, according to custom, they needed to purify a portion of herbs, and only after reaching the standard could they proceed to the next test.

Yet, Long Chen skipped this procedure directly, which made them indignant but helpless.

This was the Alchemist Guild, a supreme place. No one dared to let out a fart, so they could only swallow their frustration.

In a basement of the Alchemist Guild, Great Master Yun Qi pointed to a crystal object in front and said, "Activate your flame."

Long Chen nodded, extended a finger, condensed a flame at the tip, and slowly touched it to the crystal object.

Several patterns appeared consecutively on the crystal. Great Master Yun Qi said indifferently, "The flame for Alchemy is Yellow Rank, Lower Grade. It barely counts as passing."

The flame for Alchemy is divided into four ranks: Heaven, Earth, Profound, and Yellow. Each rank is divided into Upper, Middle, and Lower grades. Long Chen's flame for Alchemy was condensed by himself; it was not a beast flame, nor was it a flame of Heaven and Earth, so Yellow Rank, Lower Grade was very normal.

After speaking, he took Long Chen to a pool. The pool was only half a foot deep, and the bottom of the pool was covered with hundreds of crystal-clear beads.

"Circulate your Soul Power and see if you can make the beads float to the surface."

The pool in front of him was not a real pool. The water inside was called True Soul Mercury. When Long Chen cautiously touched the water, he discovered that the water instantly amplified his Soul Power by more than ten times.

Long Chen was immediately relieved. Currently, his Soul Power was not yet capable of moving objects from a distance. It seemed he had overthought it.

As he circulated his Soul Power, a dozen or so beads were affected by his Soul Power and slowly floated to the surface.

However, Long Chen suddenly noticed Great Master Yun Qi looking at those beads with a shocked expression.

Damn, I'm about to be exposed.

Long Chen hurriedly released his Soul Power and circulated his Spiritual Energy, making his face turn deathly pale and appearing unsteady, giving the false impression of Soul Power over-exhaustion.

"Great Master… do I count as having passed?" Long Chen said, gasping slightly.

"Profound Rank, it's actually Profound Rank." As if he hadn't seen Long Chen's performance, Great Master Yun Qi muttered.

After a long while, Yun Qi finally noticed that Long Chen had collapsed to the ground. If one were to talk about Long Chen's acting skills, they were definitely at the level of a movie star.

Not only was his face as pale as paper, but even his eyes were slightly unfocused, looking like he was over-exhausted.

"Very good. Your Soul Power is indeed extraordinarily strong. You are a talent worth molding. I've picked up a good seedling this time," Yun Qi smiled slightly and said.

Hearing this, Long Chen's eyes lit up. "Great Master Yun Qi, this junior very much wants to study the Dao of Alchemy. I wonder if I can become your Named Disciple?"

Yun Qi shook his head and said, "I dare not take you in. Cultivate well. In the future, I will give you an opportunity, an opportunity to step into the Peak of the Dao of Alchemy."

Seeing Yun Qi refuse, Long Chen smiled awkwardly. "I mainly just wanted a title. That way, when I go out, no one would dare to bully me, right?"

Yun Qi was stunned and couldn't help but laugh out loud. Long Chen's straightforward personality left Yun Qi feeling amused and helpless.

In all these years, he had never met such an interesting youth. However, Long Chen's abnormal Soul Power made him think very highly of Long Chen.

"Rest assured, I will give you an Alchemist Apprentice Nameplate in a moment. Who would dare to bully you?" Yun Qi laughed.

Long Chen was overjoyed. Usually, people wanting to enter the Alchemist Guild must first be assessed for Alchemist qualifications. After completing the assessment, they must wait a year before they can be assessed for Alchemist Apprentice qualifications.

Alchemist is just an Entry-Level position, which already makes countless people envious, but an Alchemist Apprentice is a formal practitioner of Alchemy.

"With your current flame for Alchemy and Soul Power, it is still a bit difficult to practice Alchemy, but within a year, you will definitely be able to truly practice Alchemy. I am just issuing it early, so it does not count as a violation," Yun Qi laughed.

Long Chen was grateful in his heart. Although Long Chen could despise anyone when it came to the art of Alchemy, he had to admit that Yun Qi was a respectable elder.

Great Master Yun Qi personally made the Alchemist Apprentice Nameplate for Long Chen and also gifted him a Medicine Cauldron and a set of Alchemist robes. The material of the Alchemist robes was very luxurious, and on the chest position, a pill star pattern was embroidered, which was the symbol of an Alchemist Apprentice.

The Medicine Cauldron was crafted from Li Copper and Red Gold. The Materials were exquisite, and the design was more reasonable; it was unknown how many grades higher it was than the one Long Chen had bought before.

Besides these two items, what surprised Long Chen was that Great Master Yun Qi also gifted him a Spatial Ring.

That was a very magical ring. As long as one inputs Soul Power, the space inside can be opened to store items at will.

That was a luxury item worth hundreds of thousands of gold coins that Long Chen had never dared to think about before. When he input his Soul Power into the ring, he discovered that there was actually a square-zhang of space inside, which made Long Chen extremely grateful.

Great Master Yun Qi told Long Chen that with the Nameplate, Long Chen could purchase medicinal Materials at the Alchemist Guild at a fifty percent discount, and could also study all the Alchemy insights of Seniors for free.

Long Chen suddenly felt like a pheasant jumping onto a branch to become a Phoenix. He bought a large batch of Fengfu Medicinal Pill Materials and some other herbs at the Alchemist Guild.

When Long Chen stepped out of the Alchemist Guild, he felt that entering and leaving made him feel like a different person. When he entered, he was worthless; after coming out, he became worth millions. Even his back was straightened, and he could look down on people in the future.

Long Chen was full of gains and returned home. As soon as he entered the door, he saw Bao'er guarding the entrance. Seeing Long Chen, she directly pulled him and walked toward the Madam's room.

Just after entering the door, Long Chen couldn't help but be stunned, his heart thumping wildly against his will.