40. Alchemist Ranks

According to the Federal Alchemist Certification Regulations, those who can extract single-ingredient potions are apprentice alchemists; those who can brew basic composite potions are junior alchemists; those able to concoct intermediate composite potions are intermediate alchemists; and those capable of creating advanced composite potions are senior alchemists. Above the alchemists are the titles of Alchemy Master and Alchemy Grandmaster, each also divided into various ranks.

When Ning Xuan returned to Chen Nan’s house, she was ravenous. Without a word, she headed straight to the kitchen to prepare and eat a meal. Chen Nan’s cooking skills were notoriously poor; despite her long efforts to teach him, he had only barely managed to stop setting the kitchen on fire. The dishes he made were almost an insult to the ingredients themselves.

After dinner, Ning Xuan meditated and practiced for a while, but her efficiency was far lower than when she trained in the A-grade geothermal chamber. She soon gave up on cultivation and focused entirely on studying. There was still so much to learn: the varieties of exotic plants, their habitats, behaviors, medicinal parts, properties and effects, as well as all kinds of composite potions—their ingredients and the precautions needed during brewing. The stack of books and materials on these topics alone was as tall as a person, and filled with tiny, dense print.

Chen Nan was a combat specialist and found the piles of books intimidating. Watching Ning Xuan scribble notes with such concentration, he found her incredibly special. It was clear she loved studying, enjoyed the learning process, and possessed a remarkable talent for it.

Being an alchemist was a well-paid and highly respected profession. However, most accomplished alchemists were men. To become an alchemist, one had to be a spirit master with awakened mental power, and the level of spiritual energy had to reach a certain threshold. Strict control over spiritual power was required, and the study content was vast and complex, with a long and often tedious learning process. Female spirit masters with higher spiritual power were highly sought after; they seldom had to exert effort, as countless male spirit masters were willing to serve and support them.

Indeed, even women without awakened spiritual power rarely lacked support. Therefore, female alchemists were more common among the lower ranks, but among senior alchemists, men were nearly universal.

Yet, judging by Ning Xuan’s current progress and displayed talent, she was destined to become a senior alchemist.

Ning Xuan’s demeanor before and after awakening her spiritual power was strikingly different. Before arriving at D618 planet, he had secretly investigated her past. Before awakening, Ning Xuan was timid and weak, her academic performance average, and she was often bullied by her sisters Ning Fei and Ning Chuchu. She secretly admired Romon, who had occasionally helped her, and her greatest wish was to form a contract with him and bear his child. When she heard Romon was injured and needed an exotic plant to save him, she foolishly fell into a trap set by others.

He analyzed that the previous Ning Xuan had been naive, innocent, and weak—a perfect mark for deception.

However, the Ning Xuan he encountered now was nothing like the one he had investigated.

She... she...

Chen Nan couldn’t understand why she was so different, yet all her identity information was accurate, her genetic match was perfect, and it was indeed her who had established a spiritual link with him, who had helped purge his mental toxins, and who had accompanied him through his fever. She was truly beautiful. The longer Chen Nan looked at her, the more his thoughts wandered, recalling that night and what she had done to him.

Chen Nan stared too long, and despite her deep focus, Ning Xuan was disturbed. She snapped her pen down sharply. “Don’t you want those eyeballs of yours?”

Startled, Chen Nan dropped his pen, and a drop of ink spread across the paper. He immediately bowed his head in apology. “Sorry, Contract Holder, I didn’t mean to offend you!”

“Give me what you wrote!” Ning Xuan snapped, shutting the book with authority.

Chen Nan knelt, holding out the ink-smeared sheet filled with writing.

“You said you wanted to be disciplined, didn’t you? I told you to copy the Bai family’s rules, but you’re not happy about it, huh?” Ning Xuan didn’t take the paper, and Chen Nan kept his arms outstretched. Hearing her question, he quickly answered, “No, I dare not!”

The Bai family’s rules that Chen Nan was required to learn in advance were said to be only a small part of the actual regulations, which were far more detailed.

For instance, Rule Thirteen, concerning conduct around the contract holder, stated that when the contract holder was present, the contractor must only stand or kneel in service; when the contract holder returned home, the contractor must kneel outside the door to greet them; direct eye contact with the contract holder was forbidden; touching the contract holder without permission was prohibited; and any violations of these rules were subject to corresponding penalties.

The Bai family’s rules were indeed harsh toward contractors. Ning Xuan had read a few and thought they treated contractors like slaves or pets. However, some rules were reasonable, such as forbidding direct eye contact or unauthorized touching, which Ning Xuan believed contractors must obey.

“Recite these two rules for me!” Ning Xuan pointed to Rule Thirteen and Fourteen on the sheet.

These two rules were near the top of the list. Chen Nan had copied them many times and, despite his resistance, had memorized them. Having angered Ning Xuan, he dared not argue and recited them without hesitation.

“This page is ruined. Rewrite it and get out! This is your warning; next time, fifty lashes with the whip!” Ning Xuan crumpled the ink-stained paper and threw it at him, chasing him out.

She then turned back to her studies, fully absorbed. Even with a good memory, it would take a long time to review all these materials.

The next morning, Ning Xuan visited the exotic plant market, the potion trading market, and the weapons market, familiarizing herself with the prices of various goods. She bought many affordable exotic plants before returning to the geothermal chamber to train and brew potions.

After her investigation, Ning Xuan found that what Chen Nan had said was true: exotic plants of all grades here were 50 to 60 percent cheaper than on the star network. For example, a common Blue Flame Herb cost 30,000 star coins online but only 10,000 here. As for the refined Blue Flame Herb potions, they sold for 80,000 to 100,000 star coins outside, and 50,000 to 80,000 here. Although finished potions were cheaper locally, the profit margin was still somewhat greater due to the lower cost of raw materials.

Ning Xuan also inquired at the Extreme Cold City’s immigration center. She had hoped to obtain a metallic identification tag that would grant her free passage in and out of the city.

Unfortunately, she was greatly disappointed. She could buy property and even reside permanently here, but the limited number of teleportation-enabled IDs were not for sale or trade.