Chapter 67: Elder Lin, how about you take me as your master?

"Elder Lin," Hun Cang greeted politely upon seeing the visitor.

Inviting him into the room, Elder Lin casually found a chair and sat down.

Looking at Hun Cang, he said with a puzzled expression, "Why are you so impervious to reason, kid? What you did in the outer academy earlier happened to align with the academy's plans, but killing an academy student openly caused a severe negative impact and called for punishment. It was I who stepped in to put in a good word for you and wiped the slate clean. Do you understand?"

It would have been better had he not mentioned this. The moment Elder Lin finished speaking, Hun Cang abandoned the gesture of pouring tea altogether.

"Elder Lin, if you intend to use this to blackmail me, I advise you to give up," a flash of annoyance crossed Hun Cang's eyes.

At the time, it was rumored that an elder of the academy deemed his temperament cruel and tyrannical, wanting to lock him beneath the Blazing Sky Qi Retaining Tower to temper him thoroughly for a while.

Hun Cang had been thrilled at the time, never expecting a chance to get inside the Black Gate and come into contact with the Fallen Heart Flame.

However, the end result was that because Elder Lin stepped in to protect him forcefully, such a fine opportunity vanished.

"Hey, I just don't get it. I am a dignified Tier 7 Alchemist, about to reach Tier 8. Taking you as my disciple—why does it seem like I've wronged you?" Elder Lin was somewhat baffled.

Hun Cang waved his hand. "It's not about being wronged; it's simply that you, old man, really have nothing to teach me."

"Hey, are you pushing your luck just because I'm being nice to you?" Elder Lin's eyes widened, and he said angrily.

"I'm just speaking the truth," Hun Cang said indifferently.

The Elder Lin opposite him sighed. Before coming here today, he had already made up his mind that, no matter what, he would establish the master-disciple relationship with Hun Cang.

Since the soft approach wasn't working, he would resort to concrete benefits!

Elder Lin took a deep breath, calming the ripples of agitation stirred up by Hun Cang, and squeezed a smile onto his aged face. "Hun Cang, don't be in such a hurry to refuse. Aren't you even a little curious about the benefits you'll get by becoming my disciple?"

"Benefits?" Hun Cang paused. He truly hadn't considered this aspect.

After all, he wasn't genuinely here to study at Jianan Academy anyway; all his efforts were merely aimed at getting his hands on the Fallen Heart Flame and making his escape.

Elder Lin nodded, straightened his collar, and said with a hint of pride, "That's right. As one of the only two top-tier alchemists in Jianan Academy, I am not only an academy elder, but also part of the academy's core. If you are willing to become my disciple—leaving everything else aside—you know about the Blazing Sky Qi Retaining Tower, don't you?"

Noticing Elder Lin's expectant gaze, Hun Cang had no choice but to nod slightly.

A flash of satisfaction crossed Elder Lin's face, and he continued, "As alchemists, the higher the tier of the pills we refine, the harsher the requirements for the flame. As for me, I have a pill-refining room at the very bottom of the Blazing Sky Qi Retaining Tower. If you become my disciple, you can practice directly in my pill-refining room from now on, and all the Qi Energy required by the Blazing Sky Qi Retaining Tower can be saved."

Discovering a flicker of brightness in Hun Cang's eyes, Elder Lin pressed on. "Moreover, what you are currently exposed to is merely a projected phantom flame of the Fallen Heart Flame. But in my pill-refining room, you can feel a wisp of the genuine physical flame of the Fallen Heart Flame."

"You must have heard of the top ten on the Inner Academy's Strong Ranking every year, right? Why do you think they struggle so hard to compete? Isn't it just to seize the qualification to have their bodies tempered by the true flame? Now such a great opportunity is laid out right before you, are you sure you won't cherish it?"

Elder Lin coaxed step by step, constantly elaborating on his advantages and analyzing them one by one.

He gazed at Hun Cang with a confident smile. To any inner academy student whose strength was below the Dou Wang level, the Blazing Sky Qi Retaining Tower held an irresistible temptation.

And Qi Energy was one of the core keys to the Blazing Sky Qi Retaining Tower.

If one didn't need to spend Qi Energy and could enjoy the cultivation-accelerating effects of the Fallen Heart Flame every single day, Elder Lin believed no one could refuse.

"Is what you said true?" Hun Cang tilted his head, thought for a moment, and asked.

Hearing this, Elder Lin felt a surge of joy in his heart and immediately replied, "Of course. Would I, this old man, lie to you?"

This actually could help me get in touch with the Fallen Heart Flame as soon as possible... Hun Cang stroked his chin, pondering seriously.

Previously, he really hadn't considered that he could enter the bottom of the Blazing Sky Qi Retaining Tower through this method.

However, if Elder Lin wanted to be his master, he was probably not qualified enough...

Back then, Hun Cang had obtained Emperor Tuoshe's pill-refining insights from the system. After digesting them for such a long time, he had already absorbed seven or eight tenths of that legacy.

By now, Hun Cang had long since become a Tier 8 Alchemist.

The reason he hadn't reached Tier 9, or even Emperor-tier alchemy, was entirely due to a bottleneck at the soul level, because refining pills required the cooperation of soul power.

And soul boundaries were divided into the Mortal Realm, Spirit Realm, Heavenly Realm, and Emperor Realm.

Having accepted the legacy rewarded by the system, Hun Cang's soul boundary was already at the Spirit Realm. Once his soul boundary ascended to the Heavenly Realm, he would be able to become a Tier 9 Alchemist.

When Elder Lin saw Hun Cang remain silent for a long time before shifting his gaze back to him, he immediately straightened his back, the corners of his mouth curving upward into an expectant smile.

Has he finally figured it out and decided to take me as his master? Elder Lin thought to himself.

However, the words that slipped out of Hun Cang's mouth instantly caused the smile on Elder Lin's face to freeze rigidly:

"Elder Lin, would you like to take me as your master?"

Having uttered those words, Hun Cang also weighed them in his mind for a moment.

If there truly could be some gains, acknowledging a teacher wouldn't be too bad.

The problem was that in terms of pill refining, throughout the entire Dou Qi Continent, no one was yet qualified to be his teacher.

Yet Hun Cang didn't want to miss such a golden opportunity to come into contact with the Fallen Heart Flame.

Thus, he chose a compromise.

The corners of Elder Lin's mouth twitched, his eyes involuntarily spasmed, and his hands clenched into fists. After a long while, seeing Hun Cang's serious expression, he asked in astonishment, "Are you serious?"

"Of course," Hun Cang nodded. "You don't need to feel embarrassed either. Pill refining is much like cultivation; it respects the capable as master. Since I am better than you, me being the master is naturally as it should be."

"Hahaha..." Elder Lin burst out laughing, pointing at himself. "You are better than me? Do you know how many years have passed since I started learning pill refining? A full hundred years, and I only have a slight grasp of advancing to a Tier 8 Alchemist. And you claim you're stronger than me? Even if you started learning from inside your mother's womb, it's impossible, absolutely impossible!"

Hun Cang sighed, stood up, and said, "Elder Lin, whether it's true or not, we'll know once we compare."

"You want to compete with me?" Elder Lin's laughter stalled, his expression somewhat chaotic. It seemed Hun Cang really wasn't joking.

Subsequently, the two headed towards the Blazing Sky Qi Retaining Tower. Hun Cang didn't want to take unfair advantage; inside the tower, Elder Lin was allowed to use the power of the Fallen Heart Flame, which also counted as utilizing a Heavenly Flame.

In this way, the two of them would be on fair terms.

Arriving all the way at the pill-refining room, this time Hun Cang encountered no obstruction.

Since it was merely a competition, Hun Cang proposed testing through pill examination.

This method avoided consuming a large amount of precious medicinal ingredients; otherwise, wanting to refine a Tier 8 medicinal pill would require very expensive ingredients, and preparing them would waste a lot of time.

By this point, Elder Lin's expression had already turned serious. Listening to Hun Cang speak smoothly and coherently, it seemed he truly understood alchemy.

Good heavens... Could he actually be stronger than me?