At the dinner table, Xiao Yan cast a sidelong glance at Xiao Yu across from him, who was chewing her food with deliberate viciousness, her silver teeth producing tiny, audible creaks with each bite. He curled his lip at the memory of that peculiar, pleasant sensation, and his right hand's fingers drifted involuntarily to the palm of his hand.
Xiao Yu, who had been glaring daggers at him throughout the meal, caught the gesture. The color in her cheeks shifted — blue and red in rapid alternation — as fury and humiliation tangled across her face.
Xiao Xun'er, seated beside Xiao Yan, observed the exchange with a curious frown. Her brow furrowed at the peculiar tension, but after a moment she shook her head with quiet resignation and returned to the slow, deliberate pace of her meal.
Xiao Yan's gaze drifted past Xiao Yu to Xiao Ning, who sat beside her. The young man's face was alight with undisguised joy, his smile so broad it seemed to stretch halfway across his face. Xiao Yan tapped a finger lightly on the table's edge, a private smirk curling his lips.
*This fellow must have gotten his hands on the Foundation Liquid by now — but he doesn't realize it hardly works on anyone above the eighth rank of Dou Qi...*
Chuckling silently to himself, Xiao Yan let his eyes wander idly around the table. His father and the clan elders were beaming from ear to ear. He frowned inwardly, puzzled.
*Clan dinners are only supposed to happen on special occasions, aren't they? What's the cause for celebration today? Surely they aren't holding a feast just because they overpaid for Foundation Liquid at the auction?*
Lost in idle speculation, Xiao Yan naturally had no way of knowing that the reason for the gathering was the cloaked figure's casual remark at the auction house — the simple suggestion of a future partnership.
Securing the cooperation of an alchemist of second-tier standing or higher would yield profits that would leave other clans green with envy. It could even elevate the Xiao Clan to a position of dominance over the other two great clans. No wonder even his normally composed father was this elated — and the elders, caught in the grip of sudden fortune, had not stopped smiling since they arrived.
The meal wound down in a festive atmosphere. The moment Xiao Zhan signaled his departure, Xiao Yan leaped from his chair, dashed out of the hall ahead of everyone else, and made a beeline for his room without a backward glance.
Moments later, Xiao Yu stormed out in pursuit, teeth bared — but the corridor was empty. With no quarry to catch, she could only stamp her foot in frustration and retreat, brimming with pent-up fury.
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Back in his room, Xiao Yan had learned his lesson. He did not immediately ask Yao Lao to begin refining. After locking the doors and windows securely, he collapsed onto the bed and drifted into a heavy, dreamless sleep.
When deep night descended and the world fell silent, Xiao Yan's eyes snapped open. He rose from the bed with a fluid, cat-like motion, retrieved the ingredients from the cabinet, and arranged them carefully on the table. Turning, he found Yao Lao hovering a foot above the ground like a specter.
"Master — is it time now?"
"Finally, you've learned some caution." Yao Lao drifted to the table, his translucent hand passing over the ingredients in a slow, measured sweep. He nodded faintly, his tone taking on a rare note of severity. "Alchemy demands absolute stillness. If you are interrupted, the consequences are severe. It would not harm me at this stage — but once you've learned to refine on your own, such carelessness could cost you your life."
Xiao Yan scratched the back of his head, sheepish. He nodded contritely.
Satisfied by the young man's chastened demeanor, Yao Lao allowed himself a small measure of relaxation. He extended his palm, and after a brief silence, a pale white flame bloomed to life in his hand.
His soul perception held the flame's temperature in delicate control. Yao Lao took the opportunity to glance at Xiao Yan, whose eyes were round with fascination as he stared at the fire.
With a slight pause, Yao Lao spoke softly. "An alchemist can usually be identified by the color of his flame."
"Most alchemists produce a pale yellow flame. The higher the rank, the deeper the shade — and the greater the power."
Xiao Yan blinked, then pointed at the white flame in Yao Lao's palm. "Then... why is yours white, Master?"
Yao Lao smiled — a faint, proud smile. "What I described are the common flames. But among alchemists, beyond catalyzing fire through one's own Dou Qi reserves, there exists another way."
"It is called... borrowing flame."
"Borrowing flame?" The term was not unfamiliar, yet the meaning behind it left Xiao Yan's mind reeling. *Could even fire be borrowed?*
"That's right — borrowing flame." Yao Lao nodded firmly. "Across this vast heaven and earth, there exist extraordinary natural phenomena known as Heavenly Flames. Perhaps they are the lingering embers from a meteorite that fell from the heavens, or perhaps the ancient magma fires that have burned in the depths of volcanic chambers for millennia. These Heavenly Flames burn with a ferocity far beyond what Dou Qi can produce, and when employed in alchemy, they enhance the potency of the resulting elixirs. However, these flames are wild and untameable. They appear only rarely, and even when one is fortunate enough to encounter one, subduing it is another matter entirely."
"Countless alchemists have spent their entire lives searching for a Heavenly Flame, only to die without ever laying hands on one. To control such a flame, one must draw it into one's own body — but Heavenly Flames are instruments of destruction. Even Mithril-Drill Alloy, one of the hardest metals known, cannot withstand their burn, let alone the fragile flesh of a human being. It is, in every sense, an act of playing with fire. Only a rare few — blessed by fortune — have ever managed to refine a sliver of a Heavenly Flame and nurture it into their personal fire seed. And every last one of them stands at the pinnacle of the alchemical world."
Xiao Yan listened with rapt, almost dizzy fascination. After a long moment, he licked his lips, his gaze fixed intently on the pale white flame dancing in Yao Lao's palm. Studying it more closely, he caught an unmistakable hint of cold — a chill that seemed to seep from the fire itself.
"Your flame, Master — it must be a Heavenly Flame as well?"
Yao Lao's aged face lit up, a glow of fierce pride kindling in his eyes. "The alchemical community of the Dou Qi continent has compiled a registry of all known Heavenly Flames — the Heavenly Flame Ranking. It lists twenty-three in total. My fire seed... is ranked eleventh. The Bone-Chilling Ice Flame."
He paused, his voice dropping to a reverent hush.
"This flame can only be encountered in the depths of the coldest, most yin-soaked places — and only once every hundred years, at the precise moment when the sun and moon exchange places."
"The Bone-Chilling Ice Flame..."
Xiao Yan's gaze never left the churning, ghostly white fire, his lips murmuring the name as though tasting it on his tongue.
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