"Ugh..." Lin Hao awoke on a wooden bed inside a small cabin.
The back of his head throbbed with a dull ache. Lin Hao's heart went cold. 'I've been knocked out. Could the masters from the Lin family have found me?'
He quickly dismissed the idea, however. The cabin contained nothing more than a bed, a table, and a chair.
Most importantly, the cabin door was ajar.
Rubbing the sore spot on the back of his head, Lin Hao pulled open the door. He saw an old man with white hair and a white beard, a large red nose, and a tattered Daoist robe, standing before a Pill Furnace and looking his way.
Lin Hao was about to speak when the old man launched into a tirade.
"Kid, I know you want to thank me, but I didn't save you from a Scale Armor Crocodile just to get your thanks. Stay and be my alchemy apprentice for a few months, then you can go back to wherever you came from."
Lin Hao rolled his eyes and ignored him completely.
'My head still hurts. I don't have the energy to waste my breath on him. The priority is to get out of this damn place.'
"Oh, a mute? Even better. Saves me from hearing any nonsense," Cang Yan said, delighted.
Lin Hao, already in a foul mood, snapped back, "You're the mute, old man!"
"You've got some nerve! Kid, read!" Lin Hao's vision blurred as another rap cracked against his head.
The next thing he knew, he was standing before the Pill Furnace, unable to move. A bamboo scroll had been forced into his hand.
"Read my ass! It's just a damn Body Forging Blood Coagulation Pill. Your Alchemy Hand Seals are wrong in eight places already. Reading it would be a waste of time!" Lin Hao wasn't one to be bullied. His body might be paralyzed, but his tongue was as sharp as ever.
"Wrong my..." Cang Yan raised his hand, about to curse and smack Lin Hao on the head again, but he froze. "You know Alchemy?" he asked in astonishment.
"Hmph!" Lin Hao snorted.
Cang Yan was starting to believe him. He had followed the recipe on the bamboo scroll to the letter, with the herb measurements precise down to the last fraction, yet the pill simply wouldn't form. He had suspected the issue lay with the Alchemy Hand Seals.
On the Celestial Yang Continent, Alchemy Masters use specialized fire-controlling hand seals during Alchemy, manipulating the flame's intensity, temperature, and other factors.
Furthermore, the hand seals required for refining different pills were completely distinct.
Therefore, on the Celestial Yang Continent, Alchemy Hand Seals were as precious and rare as the recipes themselves.
Though Cang Yan was obsessed with Alchemy, his status made it impossible for him to take another as his master. Thus, he was entirely self-taught in the Alchemy Dao.
Getting recipes was one thing, but asking him to control fire with hand seals was like asking the Bull Demon King to do embroidery—it was simply too much for him.
Now that Lin Hao had pointed it out, Cang Yan believed him internally but maintained a tough exterior. "Eight places, you say? Alright, kid, tell me where. If you can't... hmph, I'll throw you in the Pill Furnace and cook you myself!"
Lin Hao gave a wicked grin and nudged his chin, signaling for Cang Yan to release the restraints on his body.
'Damn it all. What has the world come to when a little brat dares to act so smug in front of me?'
Cang Yan's mouth twitched. Forcibly suppressing the urge to swat Lin Hao dead, he released the restraints on him.
Lin Hao chuckled inwardly, knowing he had thoroughly angered the old man. He decided not to provoke him further and calmly began to explain Cang Yan's eight errors, demonstrating the correct fire-controlling hand seals as he spoke.
Throughout the explanation, Cang Yan nodded frequently, becoming like an eager student. He even raised several questions, all of which Lin Hao answered in detail.
"So that's how it is." After Lin Hao's lecture, everything clicked into place for Cang Yan. He knew at once that the boy's skill in Alchemy surpassed his own by leaps and bounds.
Cang Yan's personality was reckless and blunt, but he had three great passions: martial arts, alchemy, and wine.
His talent for the Martial Dao was exceptional, but he had absolutely no gift for Alchemy. He'd been dabbling for years and probably hadn't even reached the level of a mere alchemy novice.
He wanted to ask for more guidance, but one look at Lin Hao's youthful face made him swallow his words. If word got out that he was asking a junior for instruction, how could he ever show his face again?
But the unanswered questions weighing on his mind were driving him crazy.
Cang Yan fidgeted, completely on edge. Suddenly, he thought of a compromise.
"Kid, I don't have much, but I have a ton of alchemy ingredients. How about this: you stay and practice Alchemy, and I'll teach you the Martial Dao?"
After asking, Cang Yan stared at Lin Hao with hopeful eyes.
"You want to be my master?" Lin Hao asked with an amused smile, looking at him with interest.
"What, am I not qualified?! Let me tell you, back in my day, I, Cang Yan, was..." Cang Yan's face flushed red with agitation.
"Not interested," Lin Hao cut him off, giving him no chance to boast about his glory days.
Cang Yan felt a sweet taste in his throat and nearly coughed up a mouthful of blood. He had humbled himself, swallowed his pride to take on a disciple, and he was rejected.
"Kid, I am the Fiery Fire Demon Monarch! The number of people on this continent who want me as their master could drown you in their spit, and you're telling me no?!" Cang Yan was so furious his beard bristled.
Lin Hao's heart skipped a beat.
He had never heard the name Cang Yan, but the title "Fiery Fire Demon Monarch" was legendary!
Forty years ago, a princess of the Cangnan Kingdom's royal family became renowned. Her martial prowess and beauty were unmatched, earning her the title "Peerless Fairy" from the public.
Princes and young nobles from the other five kingdoms flocked to her, and even the Crown Prince of the Li Long Dynasty was deeply infatuated with her.
Yet, the Peerless Fairy fell in love with a simple man from the countryside.
When the Cangnan Sovereign learned of this, he was enraged. He tricked her into returning to the capital and placed her under house arrest, declaring that the royal family would not accept a common rustic.
The night after, a lone man stormed the capital, bare-handed. He slew three Spirit Transformation Realm experts, twenty Soul Gathering Realm experts, and countless Elemental Realm Martial Artists. In the golden throne hall, he slapped the Cangnan Sovereign across the face and left behind a single, domineering sentence: "The emperor closes his gates, so the peasant dares to slay a god!"
Then, he departed as he pleased, and no one dared to stand in his way.
But tragically, the rustic left the Imperial City alone, his hair having turned white overnight.
Afterward, the people gave him a title—the Fiery Fire Demon Monarch!
That title, in the hearts of Martial Artists—especially those from humble backgrounds—was the stuff of legend!
In his youth, that title had been legendary to Lin Hao as well.
Even now, the title evoked a special feeling in him.
Lin Hao never imagined that the old man before him was the Fiery Fire Demon Monarch from forty years ago.
If he agreed now, dealing with the Lin family in War Dragon City—or even the powers in the Imperial City—would likely be a trivial matter. But in the end, he had to walk his own path.
So, even knowing the old man's identity, Lin Hao still shook his head and refused.
"You... You..." Cang Yan was so enraged he raised his hand, ready to strike Lin Hao again.
"Senior, how about I help you refine a few Rejuvenation Blood Pills?" Now that he knew who Cang Yan was, Lin Hao felt it was best not to antagonize him further and quickly offered an olive branch.
"A Tier One Rejuvenation Blood Pill? What the hell would I need that useless pill fo— What? You know how to refine the Rejuvenation Blood Pill?!" Cang Yan broke off mid-sentence, crying out in astonishment.
The Tier One Rejuvenation Blood Pill Lin Hao mentioned was of the lowest grade and ordinarily unremarkable. However, if the fire-controlling hand seals required for its refining were lost to time, that was another story entirely.
Though only a Tier One pill, the Rejuvenation Blood Pill's hand seals had been lost. Even Alchemy Masters claimed that if one were to appear, it would be considered a peerless treasure among Tier One pills!
Now, hearing that Lin Hao could refine this pill, Cang Yan finally broke. He grabbed Lin Hao's hand, his eyes bloodshot, and pleaded, "Teach me!"
Seeing the old man's eyes were red, looking as if he were on the verge of tears, Lin Hao quickly nodded. 'If an old man like him actually starts crying, I'll be in deep trouble.'
"Senior, please don't cry! I'll teach you, alright?"
"Quickly, quickly!" Cang Yan was an impatient man. Without another word, he urged Lin Hao to begin the Alchemy.
They fired up the furnace again. Cang Yan stood to one side, personally tossing the various medicinal herbs into the Pill Furnace.
Lin Hao, in turn, was responsible for controlling the fire with his hand seals.
As he formed the seals, Lin Hao explained each step with care, patiently detailing every point of caution. He had the air of a true Grandmaster.
At first, Lin Hao's movements were slow, and Cang Yan could follow along, nodding frequently. But as the hand seals gradually accelerated, Cang Yan's head began to spin.
By the time Lin Hao finished the sequence of hand seals, Cang Yan was staring at his hands, completely stupefied.
"And that's that! Now, just use those same hand seals to control the fire once every hour. After three times, it'll be done. Got it?" This was his first time performing Alchemy, and Lin Hao was quite excited.
Cang Yan snapped out of his daze, his old face flushing red. He rubbed his hands together awkwardly, not knowing how to respond. He had memorized the hand seals, but actually performing them was another matter entirely.
"You... Never mind. I'll draw out the hand seals for you. You can practice them on your own." Knowing he was the Fiery Fire Demon Monarch, Lin Hao felt it was in poor taste to keep embarrassing him.
Cang Yan, who was still stewing in shame, couldn't believe his ears. 'These are lost Alchemy Hand Seals, and this kid is just going to give them to me?!'
He had no idea that to Lin Hao, such hand seals were utterly unremarkable; giving them away meant nothing. Besides, Lin Hao had his own agenda.
More than half an hour later, holding the diagrams of the hand seals, Cang Yan still felt like he was in a dream.
While Cang Yan hugged the diagrams and grinned like an idiot, Lin Hao simply ignored him and performed the next two fire control sequences.
Seeing that Cang Yan had finally returned to some semblance of normalcy, Lin Hao walked over and asked tentatively, "Senior, could you do me a favor?"
"No problem, no problem at all," Cang Yan agreed readily.
"My little sister was taken by the 'female ghost' of Sky-Rend Mountain. Could I trouble you to help me find her?"
In truth, ever since Lin Hao had learned that Cang Yan was the Fiery Fire Demon Monarch, he had planned to ask for his help in finding Yan'Er. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been so generous.
"Huh? A female ghost? I, Cang Yan, have lived for over half a century, and I've never heard of any female ghost," Cang Yan said, looking baffled.
Hearing this, Lin Hao was delighted. "So that means this 'female ghost' is a martial arts expert. Senior, could I trouble you to help me look for her?"
"Could there be another Martial Artist on Sky-Rend Mountain besides me?" Cang Yan muttered. He then sat down cross-legged. His Divine Soul left his body as a blood-red lion, which transformed into a streak of light and shot into the sky.
It was the first time Lin Hao had truly witnessed the power of a Spirit Transformation Realm expert. A brief moment of shock was followed by a look of deep envy.
But that envy was fleeting. His ultimate goal lay far beyond this.
'He was able to cultivate to the Spirit Transformation Realm with a Spirit Body, so I, Lin Hao, can also shatter my shackles! If I've lost my bloodline and have no special constitution, then I'll just create one for myself!'
A wild, boundless ambition surged within Lin Hao's heart.