The City Lord's alchemy chambers were sufficient for their city. It was the best in the entire city, with all the materials required and even some rare ones. But nothing compared to the things produced by the great alchemy masters.

Zahar's cultivation had risen to the 2nd realm overnight, though none of them detected it because of how little it leaked. At the 2nd realm, the growth rate would now slow down significantly.

He grabbed the materials he needed, as both father and daughter watched him work.

"That's not the formula of the Bloodfire pill." The City Lord countered as Zahar arranged the materials.

Zahar merely nodded. "I believe you've got some suspicions on my origins." He didn't need to say who he really was, that was overkill. It was enough they suspected he was a reincarnator of some kind.

"We do." The City Lord answered with firmness.

"Then watch. There are other ways of achieving the same things. Many societies go through different paths." The materials were different, and in different quantities. The process was different too. "This will take two days. Make yourself comfortable."

Zahar first started with the leaves of the Thousand Fire Berries, and he crushed them with a mortar. This would normally serve as the base.

Then, the City Lord's eyes widened as Zahar's qi, as fine as it could be, shredded the leaves into a fine powder. He watched as Zahar's incredibly dense qi bonded with each and every powder.

"You're substituting the Bloodfire Heart with your own heart energy!" The City Lord had never seen it happen, but Zahar merely chuckled at how the City Lord misunderstood his dense qi as his heart energy. He didn't need to correct him, as he continued to work.

The fine powder glowed as they turned into a burning red color, the intense energy bound itself with compounds of the Thousand Fire Berries, turning it into a liquid quite similar to molten fire.

Next, was an extremely slow process of adding the rest of the components into the liquid without destabilizing the balance. The other components were mainly accelerators and amplifiers. Except for the last one, the Marrow of the Wildland Lizard. In some worlds they were referred to as the Small Land-Dragon.

The marrow was sliced into seven parts, and a small hole was made in each one. Then, the burning liquid was poured into each of the seven separated marrows.

Then, the cauldron was lit, and the seven marrows was thrown inside. Zahar held the cauldron, and swirled his qi.

They had never seen the cauldron glow so brightly, as the marrow and liquid compressed and bonded. It took hours, but at the end of it, what was left was seven beautifully condensed Bloodfire Pills.

"There. Six for the City Lord, and One for my concubine, my gift before I claim her as my woman."

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If the city lord had any doubt, now there was none. The six perfectly formed flawless pills shone in his hand.

This man was at least an alchemy reincarnator, or inheritor of some kind of divine treasure. His daughter may be successful in her own way, and would even do reasonably well in the Roaring Dragon Sect, but the City Lord had seen geniuses back when he was just an inner disciple, and could recognise that this man’s alchemy prowess was on par with the best of them. He had potential to be one in a billion geniuses.

The type that would go on to be a contender for Sect Master. No, he could even see him as the leader of the great Sect Alliance.

A concubine or a maid to such a man was a great honor for his daughter. Hell, he'd be able to brag if he ever met any of his peers. In every sense of the word, their family got out ahead! The City Lord looked at his daughter, and at the end of the day, he would need to speak to her about it.

Sana stared at the single pill. "-what- what should I do with it?"

"Eat it, of course. Prepare a room for us? I shall need to help her grow her cultivation properly."

The City Lord snapped back to reality, and immediately shouted. "SERVANTS!"

A small army of servants immediately rushed to the alchemy room.

The City Lord coughed, and then declared. "Lady Sana is this man's concubine from today. Treat him as one of the Masters of the family, as my equal. Prepare a proper bedroom and chambers for them to consummate their relationship now. If Master Zahar demands it, see that you all carry it out, on my direct authority."

The maids and aides couldn't believe their ears, but it came from the City Lord himself. Sana stared at her father, unable to believe what had just happened. Her father continued.

"Next, I will need to speak to my wife, AND I intend to be in secluded cultivation for the next week."

The maids all knelt as the City Lord walked out with a small case. Within in the six Bloodfire Pills.

Sana could only stare and then complained to herself. "Father didn't even ask for my opinion."

Zahar smirked. "What, you would reject me?"

Sana was, in every sense of the word, a practical woman. She knew someday that her father would try to arrange for her to be married to another young master, a son of another city lord of similar rank and power. She just didn't expect it to happen so quickly.

She sighed, and accepted that was fate for women in a cultivation world. Hell, even men were traded that way, if the female was from a stronger family and had an eye on someone. She just sighed, because she knew she wouldn't refuse her father's arranged marriages. She'd just accept it.

One of the maids looked afraid to approach Zahar, but then eventually came over to inform them that their chambers were ready for use.

"Come, Sana. You have a pill to eat. I'll help you get the most out of it." Zahar laughed, as the maid led the way.

Sana was too stunned to react, so Zahar walked over, and pulled her hand.

"Let's get to it."

***

Sana Eshtar was not having a good few days.

A man had somehow taken over the street gang, and now swiftly tracked her agents back to her. That same man proposed to her, and her father demanded to take her as a concubine. Third, her father pretty much said yes.

She expected to be married off, but this was way too fast. Mother once told her that a lifetime can happen in a moment, and she never quite understood it until now.

Sana observed the man that would soon be her lover and partner, as he walked to the room. Compared to the amazing display of alchemy earlier, he just looked-

Tired.

Why was he doing this to her? What did he want from her?

She understood that she was quite pretty, but a look from her father made it clear, her father suspected it might’ve been something else altogether.