"Brother Ren, from what I gather, all your problems stem from your perception. As it turns out, alchemy heavily relies on perception and on the training of one's mind. I think you would gain a lot by reducing your physical training and maybe use some alchemical methods of mind refinement."

"Maybe..." With a pensive look on his face, Ren Chao suddenly raised his head. After looking through his uniform for a while, he took out a small yellow book. "That's right, I borrowed this manual from the library. It's called 'Golden Principle of Flame and Fire' and supposedly, it exposes the principles of controlling the flame in any occupation. It's been a bit too obscure for me. Perhaps Brother Chen could take a look."

Cao Yun wanted to use his time to train, but he could not abandon this guy whom he considered his friend. He quickly went through the manual that was pretty worn-out. Hopefully it was in this sorry state beforehand, otherwise the librarians would chew Ren Chao out. There was no new information for Cao Yun, only what he already knew but presented in a slightly different manner. However, he had to admit that the writing of the book made it way more complicated than it should be.

Cao Yun took a paper and a brush. "I'll write down some books I quickly browsed through. They should be easier to get your head around. I'll also write down some ideas of exercise for you. Do you have a furnace?"

Ren Chao got excited like a child getting a present and suddenly realized. "... No, Brother, I... I don't."

"Then you can take this one." Cao Yun pointed at the old furnace in the corner of the room. "It's pretty old and damaged but very sturdy. I've got a brand new one so it's not a problem at all. I can't help you with cooling or quenching, but controlling the flame is really my domain indeed."

Ren Chao was trying to read what his friend was writing. These were exercises to perform with the flame in order to control its temperature with the use of different powders. The flame in blacksmithing was often bigger than in alchemy. It was often larger in size because alchemists worked with smaller ingredients but the temperature in which they worked could sometimes be even hotter, but much more focused. Indeed, the ingredients were imprisoned in the cauldron so the pressure and the temperature combined could skyrocket at incredible levels.

"What kind of exercises do you do for your blacksmithing?"

"Well, my main training is with my instructor, in groups. We work on small parts of materials or scraps to learn their different structures and how to work with them. In my free time, I often go to the Immovable Rock. It's a special mineral that can absorb a lot of force. The point of the training is just to hit it with your hammer. As soon as you can break one rock, you can go on to the rock one size higher. It doesn't just train brute force. You also need to be able to hit the rock in the right place considering its structure. And you must also strike consistently the same spot.

There's also the Impenetrable Fortress array formation. It's pretty similar but with a huge brick imbued with energy. It's made to train your precision and control of your force. You must hit consistently with the exact same force over and over again. If you hit with a force slightly higher or lower, your hammer just bounces off, you can really feel it in the arms. It's the same if you miss the spot you already hit.

Finally, I use the Blazing Iron Rods. These are rods imbued with a fiery energy. No matter how many times you cool them, they will heat up again. They're sorted according to their initial temperature. Hence, you can use them to train your quenching and other techniques of cooling."

Cao Yun was taking notes as Ren Chao was speaking.

"You will need to cut on some of these trainings to put in more exercises centered around the control of the flame and the mind. You really need to boost your perception of the materials you work on. First, you should start by understanding your flame better. Also the last exercise you mentioned doesn't seem like it can give you good feedbacks. I guess, it's better suited to someone who can already roughly get if he's on the right track or not.

I also added some exercises about visualization. You need to have a strong mind to do so, but it's extremely useful in alchemy. I think even a little bit of this could change your craft drastically. There, take that as well." He handed over a small pill to Ren Chao. "That's a Frozen Heart pill. I had it for a long time but it's not useful to me anymore. As you seem to have never trained your mind, even though its effects are low, it should bring you quite a lot."

This pill was the one he had forged the first day with Xiao Xuefeng and Mei Hua, and it was only 68% so he never got to consume it. However, he didn't tell Ren Chao its value by fear of him refusing.

"Brother Chen, you give me so many things. There's no way I won't become a 1-star Human blacksmith in the future. I swear that the day I am a blacksmith worthy of you, I'll make you any weapon you desire. No matter if you ask me for thousands of different kinds, I'll do it nonetheless. And I never break my promise."

"Thank you, Brother Ren. But for now, focus on your training." As he handed the pill over to Ren Chao, he suddenly remembered about the True Essence Low-level Qi Gathering he had forged. "By the way, I meant to give these pills to Sun Liao and you, among others. Take it now. I don't know whether you'll want to use it or not, but this pill can be very useful to you."

Seeing the pill, even Ren Chao who knew little about alchemy understood what it was. These last few days he had heard of his brother's achievements in the Wubei Merit Market. "Brother, you're really giving this pill to me?! Thank you, Brother! I'll use it carefully, I swear!"

Unlike Cao Yun who always rejected gifts before accepting them, Ren Chao was way more direct. Maybe he needed to learn some things from his brother. Soon after, Ren Chao began to fidget a little. "Brother, I'd like to buy another pill, if you have one."

"Brother, you shouldn't consume too many pills in a row, their toxins will be very harmful to you. Even with a True Essence pill, there are always some toxins."

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"This isn't for me..." Ren Chao became a bit embarrassed.

"I see... Wang Mei?" Just by saying her name, Cao Yun saw the truth on Ren Chao's face. He wasn't as embarrassed as he was in the first days, but he clearly could not conceal his lack of experience. "I do have more pills. I can give you one more."

"No! That's a gift, so I insist on paying!"

"Fine, Brother. You have 421 points, so let's do this, I'll lower the price to 21 points, is this good enough for you?"

"Thank you, Brother Chen!" Ren Chao quickly wrote a contract to give his brother 21 points and took the other pill Cao Yun handed to him. "Huh, Brother? Which one of the two is the best?"

"The first one I gave you."

Ren Chao then put the second one in his pocket and closed the small box in which the first pill was. "I'll gift it to her with the box then."

"You really seem to care about Wang Mei. Tell me, Brother, I heard strange rumors regarding the Coiling Silk Faction, but I don't know the truth from the slander. According to Ling Hui this is some kind of brothel."

"Who dares to insult my woman?!" Ren Chao erupted on the spot, his face full of anger. "The next I hear such slander, I'll break the bastard's bones."

Cao Yun didn't want to tell him that the 'bastard' was a little girl.

"The members of Coiling Silk are mostly women, yes. But they're not part of a brothel, they are artistic performers. To stay in the faction, you need to be proficient in all kinds of arts. Wang Mei for example is a master painter, a master calligraphist, a master dancer, a master musician, ... You should hear her when she plays the zither, your mind gets taken to otherworldly places..." Realizing he got a bit too excited, Ren Chao calmed down a bit. "Of course, as they're mostly women and they mainly perform for men, there are baseless rumors on them. But they're also very skilled warriors, so not many men would be able to force their way with them.

The next time you have some free time, you should go there. You'll see there's nothing indecent! It's a pity I never got to go... It's too pricey for me, but Wang Mei gave me some personal performances. I can tell you, she was gorgeous and elegant. I know she can seem a bit too provocative, but don't get the wrong idea. At first, I thought she was just playing with me. But she's really not. And neither am I."

-

Speaking of Wang Mei, she was precisely in the Coiling Silk Faction residence. The residence was pretty big for a faction with less than twenty members, but this faction, a little bit like the Dragon's Fire Faction, was very rich for its size. As Ren Chao had said, many people, especially Ling Hui, had the wrong idea about this faction. There were almost only women. As a matter of fact, this year, there were only two men and they were absent because this was their third year.

They offered all kinds of services, but none was indecent. Entering the Wubei Sect was very difficult for everyone, so no one decided to enter the sect just to sell their body. If that was your only goal, there was no need to put in so much work. What they sold was their performance. While the Lake Turtle Faction focused on craftsmanship, the Coiling Silk Faction gave the most importance to the performance aspect of art.

Their members learned all kinds of arts, calligraphy, dance, music, singing, poetry. Some also learned philosophy or games to entertain their audience. Because mostly men came to be entertained, baseless rumors were circulating. The Wubei Sect would probably not approve of such activities being performed on the ground of the sect itself if that were true. Visiting a brothel was not strictly forbidden, but it was not viewed with good eyes by the sect and it could only happen outside of their grounds.

In the matters of love, the orthodox path of cultivation in the Hongchen Kingdom heavily insisted on the importance of having a Dao companion, a reliable pillar. It was not forbidden to have several women though. Even having several men, which was more rare, was not forbidden. The Emperor Nuwa had decreed the orthodox path at least two thousand years ago. The best one was having a Dao companion for life, the second one was celibacy, then having several women or men was considered to be closer to the mundane world and thus not that favorable for cultivation.

Emperor Nuwa's sister happened to have had five men as husbands. But it wasn't a common practice. Most cultivator only had one romantic relationship but given their very long lifespan, they would sometimes change their partner. The others were often seen at too frivolous and unfit for the great path of cultivation where you needed to abstain from such pleasure during very long period of times to reach your goals.

Wang Mei was in the main room of the Coiling Silk Faction residence. She was kneeling before a woman lying in a bed. Even though her complexion was a little pale, she looked absolutely gorgeous. Her supple black hair was entangled all over her cushion and a young lady was slowly brushing them, trying not to hurt her.

Her clothes were also a mess but they were covering all the strategic parts of her body. Despite being almost entirely covered, just by seeing her face and her shape under these fabrics, anyone's mind would have gone rampant. All her body exuded an incredible charm, but also a terrible weakness. Slowly, she tried to get up. Seeing that she was lacking the strength to do so, her young servant helped her to sit on the bed.

"Wang Mei, I heard many things about you. Get closer, please." Once again, her voice was melodious but it would bring many people to tears given how weak it was.

"Yes, Faction Leader." Affected by a deep sorrow, Wang Mei got very close to the bed as the poor woman could barely speak. "How are you recovering?"

"Very slowly..."

"If you hadn't taken those Tiger's Mane Invigorating pills the other day, your recovery would be faster."

"The other faction leaders must not know of my condition, our faction could be destroyed by such a rumor. Many people are jealous by how much money we make. But I did not call you to discuss my health." Stretching her hand, she tried to touch the face of Wang Mei, almost like a mother caressing the cheeks of her child. Wang Mei was 18 and this woman, Lu Meihan was 25. She had gotten in the Wubei Sect just at the limit of 21. The maximum age to enter was 20. And she had barely reached the 9th-grade Mortal stage.

Sadly, when she tried to cross over to the Mortal Warrior realm a few weeks ago, she had suffered a terrible backlash. However she had insisted to be there during the entrance examination as a show for the other factions, but she had to take a 5-star Earth pill. Of course, it did not help her recovery. Even a month after, she still seemed weaker than she was before taking the pill.

"I heard that you were in a relationship with a first-year."

"Yes, Faction Leader. But I did not break my vow!"

"I do not doubt you, Wang Mei. However you should know that it will be difficult for him to accept it for five years. Men can be impatient."

"I believe in him."

"But did you tell him that all the members of the Coiling Silk are constrained to abstinence as long as they're with us?"

"I... The subject did not come up yet."

"Wang Mei, you should be honest with him. If he wants you, he'll have to wait until you leave our faction. But that's not the main reason I'm talking about this. This man seems to be friend with Chen Guo, right?"

"Indeed, Faction Leader."

"I'd really like to meet this Chen Guo." Some fire ignited in her eyes for an instant. "He's a very talented alchemist, and he even has ties with Xiao Xuefeng. He may be able to help with my problem."