- Tz! What the... Why has the experimentation hall been closed for so long! - Cussed one of the two guys walking by the large gate.
- Guuuuum... - There was a rumbling sound of a door opening.
At that moment, a guy with snow-white hair and blood-red eyes stepped out. His robes were now in a slight disarray, slightly exposing his chest, and a careless ponytail was tied on his head.
As soon as the guy who had previously resented him saw Kai, he instantly shut up. This was the Personal Apprentice that had been much talked about in the Alchemy Alliance recently. Also, rumours of a 'duel' between Kai and Elder Brood had spread throughout the Shadow Sect. After all, there were a lot of people that night. And people have a tendency to spread interesting information lightning fast, 'in confidence'....
Many people didn't understand why Elder Brood spoke so well of Kai. He let him take over the experimentation room for almost a month, inconveniencing everyone else in the Alliance. Logically, it should have been the other way round....
Naturally, these guys didn't dare talk about it. They didn't even dare to ask Kai anything.
- Greetings Immortal Drunkard! - A guy shouted out, and quickly bowed.
Right now, he hoped that Kai hadn't heard his previous words.....
- Oh! Hi guys! - Kai greeted with a smile, and walked closer to them, -Listen, is Elder Brood in? - He asked calmly.
- 'Erm... I'm sorry, we don't have that information...' the guy paused, 'But I saw him walk into the Alchemy Alliance about an hour ago. - With a wary look at Kai, he replied.
- Great! Thanks a lot! - Gratefully Kai gave out and quickly went to the exit of the underground floor.
The two guys remained standing still, staring at Kai's back.
- This Immortal Drunkard seems like a nice enough guy... - One of them said thoughtfully.
- Yeah... He was friendly and didn't even show arrogance like the others usually do... - Answered the other one.
Their reaction was quite natural. Usually, Personal Disciples were arrogant and didn't socialise with everyone. But in reality, they were completely entitled to do so. Especially if one paid attention to everyone they met, there would be no time left for themselves.
Showing coldness to others was a good behavioural strategy. This was especially suitable for female Personal Disciples. They had entire crowds of admirers, which caused a lot of problems. Therefore, many chose to wear a mask of arrogance so that others wouldn't even think of approaching and talking to them.
Kai didn't fit the standard Personal Apprentice template a bit. But he was indeed a unique case....
While the guys downstairs were discussing Kai, he was already ascending on a hovering platform straight to Elder Brood's room.
- Elder, I'm done! Hehe. - Shouted Kai standing at the door.
- Bang! - The door swung open loudly!
It seemed that this manner of opening the door was habitual for this old man. Kai even wondered why it hadn't shattered over the years.
- Lousy... Show me what you've got in there! - The old man shouted.
Although he wanted to sound annoyed, his eyes were full of interest and excitement. Kai had spent a lot of time down there, and Brood was eager to see the result. In the last few days, he'd even wanted to go and see how he was doing. Only sheer willpower suppressed his burning curiosity.
- Let's fly Elder! - Kai replied with a smile.
Before Kai could even speak, the old man had already landed beside him.
- Did you make it? If not, then you know that your fate is now decided by me and the sissy Caius. - Brud said with a wicked grin.
- I think you'll be very surprised Elder Brood. This time, I even outdid myself. Hehehe. - Kai replied with a laugh.
- I won't believe it until I see it! - Threw out the Old Man.
They didn't waste any time and almost without talking, ran towards the testing room.
- Bang! - With an even louder sound the doors of the gate swung open.
- This... - The old man let out, involuntarily opening his mouth and not closing it back.
Although Elder Brood was an Alchemist, but due to his age, he had experience in many things. He didn't know how to draw and create arrays. But he could definitely tell where a real, working array was and where it was just a drawing.
And what Kai presented to him was something surprising and new....
- Boy, what is it? - Brud asked sceptically.
He understood that in this huge drawing, which was a radius of fifteen metres, the whole structure was definitely thought out. But before this, he had never seen something like this before. Therefore, he couldn't understand how to evaluate this array.
- This is my Alchemy Array! - With a smile, Kai gave out.
He had never given a name to this array, simply calling it the 'Alchemy Enhancement Array', or the 'Alchemy Array'. But now, he decided to introduce it this way. Kai called it the 'Alchemy Enhancement Array', which sounded absurd to the members of the Shadow Sect. Not to mention the members of the Alchemy Alliance and the Array Alliance...''
- What a stupid name...'' The old man tried to sneer, but his dazed and pensive appearance prevented him from doing so properly.
- Elder, go to the centre of the Alchemy Array and place your furnace or cauldron there. After that, just start concocting the difficult pill for you. - With a smile, Kai explained.
... - At first, Brood opened his mouth, but then just remained silent and walked to the centre of the room.
With a wave of his hand, a huge golden cauldron appeared in front of him. Naturally, the Shadow Sect Elder also had his own spatial ring .
Taking out his cauldron and placing it directly in the centre of the array, he sat down in the lotus posture and closed his eyes....
After a dozen seconds, the old man stretched his arms forward and they began to blaze with bright, red fire! Under Brood's control, all the fire turned into a large snake created from his flames. It slowly crawled towards the cauldron and crawled under its lid.
The next moment, the cauldron began to glow and heat up little by little. Seeing this, the old man once again waved his hand and several dozen ingredients appeared in front of him. After a second, they also flew straight into the cauldron.
The alchemical process had begun! Once all the reagents were inside, the old man's face instantly changed! It seems that he had already started to realise the unbelievability of the Alchemical Array. But at this moment, he didn't dare to be distracted and continued to focus all his attention on the process.
'Hmm... This kind of alchemy method is indeed many times inferior to mine... But those ingredients the old man threw in are very strong. They need to be handled very delicately. Right now, I would hardly be able to overpower the pill he creates...' - Watching the old man, Kai thought.
He wondered if the Alchemy system in the Shadow Sect was more advanced than that of the Border Beast City. But watching Elder Brood, Kai concluded that the current civilisation simply did not possess the knowledge and skills of the past.
'Although... If you think about it that way, my method is only possible due to the Astral Sacrificial Fire... Perhaps the problem isn't that the current civilisation doesn't have the knowledge. Today's alchemists simply don't have the ability to replicate such a thing.' - Kai suddenly realised.
It would be impossible for ordinary masters, even with high-end Earth Fire, to control the step-by-step and individualised processing of each ingredient. Even a perfectly absorbed Earth Fire, it wasn't the same as Heavenly Fire fused with your Spiritual Sea. To reach Kai's level of control was a fairy tale.
All Kai was limited to was his own cultivation level. Since the strength of the fire itself directly depended on it.
- Doom! - There was the sound of a lid flying up and two glowing, white balls flew out from there.
- A silk pill! Two of them! - The old man shouted out in shock, quickly catching them. He slowly turned his head towards Kai..., - Kai... This array... This Alchemy Array is just something... - Elder Brood muttered, trying to find the words.
He could clearly feel how much his control over the ingredients and fire had improved. On top of that, the beneficial properties were vaporising many times slower, retaining more nutrients. All of this increased the speed and efficiency of the entire alchemical process! If he hadn't experienced it himself, he would never have believed it!
- I know! This array is really good! I told you I outdid myself this time! Hehehe. - Kai laughed, 'So? Can I join both Alliances? - Kai asked with a smile, bringing the old man out of his stupor.
- Definitely...' replied Brood shocked, 'At least, I definitely don't have any objections... But I won't be responsible for Caius. I think he should come and see for himself... - Gazing intently at the array replied Brud.
He was so dumbfounded that he even forgot to call Elder Caius a sissy or some other insult. In a way, this Alchemy Array had made him reconsider some of his views.....