IN LI HAO'S CULTIVATION ROOM
Li Hao sat atop a soft cushion in a lotus posture, reflecting on his current cultivation and past experiences.
"Xian Ling and I have improved a lot over the last decade."
"She and I are now inner disciples."
"Her cultivation has reached the eighth level of the Apprentice Realm—equivalent to a mid-tier master," he thought, pleased.
"As for myself..." he acknowledged with satisfaction, "I've reached the Grand Apprentice Peak—just a step away from perfection."
Li Hao pondered deeply.
"Over those years, I've improved my swordsmanship—greater mastery, precision, and skill."
"And I've received some good rewards from the system in that time."
He let out a light sigh.
"With my current abilities, I'm equal in strength to the Academy Headmaster."
Li Hao opened his System Space.
The first major reward he received was the Alchemist Ancient Divine Record:
[Name]: Alchemist Ancient Divine Record
[Grade]: Upper Earth
[Quality]: Divine
[Description]: An ancient alchemist scripture from the Age of Void, created by a divine master alchemist.
This scripture delved into the Alchemist Dao with extraordinary precision, containing forgotten pill formulas.
Over the past several years, Li Hao had practiced this technique diligently, eventually forming his own Spirit Flame.
The second treasure he received, when he turned seven, was the Golden Bronze Cauldron:
[Name]: Golden Bronze Cauldron
[Grade]: Lower Earth
[Quality]: Legendary
[Description]: A golden-bronze cauldron forged by the Silver Heaven Master Blacksmith. Usable only by those who walk the Alchemist Dao.
This cauldron wasn't meant for defense. While its interior was exceptionally strong, its exterior was fragile—making it vulnerable to external damage.
The third item was a martial technique:
[Name]: Divine light mythical power
[Grade]: high heaven
[Quality]: mythical
[Description]: A technique created by a Third-Turn Daoist Path Master.
This art uses Qi as spiritual light, piercing through anything in it's path with a golden light beem
This would become one of his most useful skills, it was extremely useful—especially in moments when a weapon wasn't available. In those types of predicaments, it served him well.
The fourth treasure was a sword—refined, preserved, and inscribed with intrinsic patterns.
A double-edged straight sword with a crescent moon design at the guard, and a tapering blade:
91 cm in length, 4 cm wide.
Forged from mythgold, its surface was light-reflective gray with a faint blue glow. It had a long white handle etched with mist patterns and a crown-shaped pommel.
This sword was designed for elegant, soft cuts—mirroring the sword technique Li Hao received on his tenth birthday. It's called Eternal frost sword, It's extremely heavy, forged by folding Mythgold 42 times.
[Name]: Mythgold
[Description]: golden steal infused with dense spirit Qi, burn from nature condensed gold 3000 kilometer under the earth.
"Based on my current strength, I'd need to reach 2.62 MFU of force to lift and wield it properly," Li Hao mused.
"But that level of strength belongs to the domain of the Transcendent Mortals."
He knew his path forward would not be easy.
The final reward was a sword technique:
[Name]: inliten heavenly sword art
[Grade]: low heaven
[quality]: Divine
[Creator]: Taoist Master Jian Kun
[Description]: A technique of pure sharpness, precision, and flowing grace.
Despite its gentle name, this technique's perfect form could rival even low-tier mid heaven arts.
SEVERAL HOURS PASSED
"The Dao of Life threads chaos into bloom—sculpting essence from void.
Each breath births destiny; each heartbeat echoes the will of creation."
Li Hao sat beneath candlelight, his aura completely concealed.
In lotus posture, his heavenly yellow Qi circulated through his meridians.
Before him sat the pill cauldron, the fragrant blend of flowers, fruits, and herbs filling the room with a graceful scent.
Under the dim candlelight, his eyes slowly opened.
Spiritual fluctuations surged around him; the air grew cold.
With a flick of his fingers, several spiritual ingredients lit up under the glow of the flame:
Gold-Essence Ironleaf, radiant with golden spiritual Qi.
Corefire Crystal, brimming with blazing aura.
Qi-Reinforcing Slime, jelly-like and glistening.
Firming Lotus Seed, exuding a luminous, spiritual scent.
He threw the ingredients into the cauldron and flexed his fingers.
"To make spiritual pills, your body, mind, and will must unite into one."
"You must be completely focused—serene, silent, and without distraction."
Li Hao channeled a trace amount of spiritual Qi from his fingers, igniting a small Spirit Flame.
He increased the Qi output; the flame burned more intensely.
His will wrapped around the flame, directing its energy.
A radiant heat surged beneath the cauldron—reaching nearly 1700 Kulvin.
Years of practice with the Alchemist Ancient Divine Record had made him familiar with this process.
"Even though it's time-consuming... it's worth it," he acknowledged.
As he moved his fingers to maintain the flame's shape, he mused:
"Through years of effort, I've only managed to reach the perfect Alchemist Grand Apprentice level."
"My talent has its limits. But comprehension and skill develop with time."
"And I'm only a step away from becoming a Great Alchemist Master."
The spiritual flame sparked and crackled as he focused, his gaze firm.
One by one, the ingredients dissolved into liquid under the intense heat.
But as the process continued, the ingredients failed to fully purify—the required temperature to strip all impurities was simply too high.
Li Hao had no choice but to combine them in their immature state.
As they fused, the clashing spiritual Qi grew violent.
"Damn it..."
His strength wasn't enough to fully stabilize them.
BANG!
The cauldron shook as the pills exploded. Smoke filled the room, carrying the scent of burnt herbs and ash.
Li Hao slowly opened the lid as smoke billowed out.
With a wave of his hand, it dispersed.
In the center, three pills lay inside the cauldron.
They were Spirit Sea Forging Pills—designed to strengthen and solidify the developing spiritual Qi sea in the consciousness.
He picked up one and studied it carefully.
Its aura lacked the glow of a mid- or high-quality pill.
It was a low-grade third-rank pill—not ideal, but still useful.
Even if far from perfect, it would still aid in his cultivation.