Zhang Fei - The Abandoned Son

Chapter 522: Alchemy Union

”Young master, my name is Lian Jinshu, and I am a representative of the alchemy union.” The old man then took out a badge with the symbol of an alchemy furnace and some writings on it. ”The alchemy union is spread across all the planets within the middle realms, and our organization controls the marketing of all alchemy products.

If alchemists want to sell their alchemy products to the public, then they must register as our members, and we will assess whether their products are marketable or not. If their products are marketable, we will issue a certificate enabling them to sell them, and vice versa.”

Zhang Fei raised his eyebrows slightly after hearing that, especially since it was similar to the requirements on earth, but each country on earth has their own authority to issue marketable certificates unless they want to sell their products in other countries.

However, the alchemy union is more difficult than the countries on earth because there are so many planets in the middle realms, and they completely control the market for alchemy products. ”As long as we donʼt sell pills or anything else to the public, itʼs fine if we donʼt join the alchemy union, right?”

”Yes.” Lian Jinshu nodded to Zhang Fei. Alchemists can use pills or anything for themselves or their families, but they must join with us to trade them. If they sell their products without our permission and our higher-ups find out about it, then they will send people to arrest them for trial.

If their mistakes are too serious, then they wonʼt be able to do alchemy again for the rest of their lives, and they will face more severe punishment if they violate the higher-upsʼ decision.”

Zhang Fei was furious after hearing that, especially since he had plans to sell pills and others in the Xian Kingdom, but he was now faced with excessive regulations. He felt that the alchemy unionʼs actions to capture alchemists who did not have permission to sell their products were too excessive, let alone prohibiting them from practicing alchemy for the rest of their lives.

”Does that mean the royal family canʼt sell alchemy products either?”

”No.” Lian Jinshu then explained to Zhang Fei again. ”The alchemy union is an independent organization that specializes in supervising alchemists and alchemy products, and we are not tied to any kingdom, so the royal family must adhere to our rules. If they donʼt follow our rules, weʼll stop supplying alchemy products to their kingdom.”

ʼSuch a selfish and authoritarian organization, huh?ʼ Zhang Fei muttered to himself as he pondered new plans to sell alchemy products. ”Does my wife have to register with the alchemy union?”

”As long as your wife doesnʼt intend to sell alchemy products, she doesnʼt need to register with the alchemy union.” Lian Jinshuʼs answer relieved Zhang Fei. ”However, it would be beneficial for her to register as a member of our organization, particularly as it would provide her with numerous advantages.

She could meet other alchemists with excellent alchemy skills to further develop herself in the field, and she would have access to several things, such as getting extremely rare ingredients, selling her products freely, and many other benefits.

After all, the price of alchemy ingredients and products is not cheap; even extremely rare herbs and high-ranking products can cost millions or hundreds of millions of gold coins.”

Zhang Fei naturally already knew about it; even the basic pills in the system shop cost him so many jewels, let alone the usable pills, the beauty restoring pill, the youthful retaining pill, and those beast pills. Thatʼs why he wanted to set up an alchemy shop with Zhang Lingxue as his alchemist, so he collected more money in a short time. ʼTch!

The alchemy union thinks too highly of themselves and acts arbitrarily.ʼ ”If I may ask, where is the main headquarters of that organization? Who is the leader? Does the alchemy union have representatives in every kingdom?”

”To be honest, we donʼt know who our leader is, but he is the most skilled alchemist in the middle realms, and only our superiors are aware of his identity.” Lian Jinshuʼs answer made Zhang Fei feel that the alchemy union was too mysterious. ”Our main headquarters is in the Shrouded Sky Realm, which is directly adjacent to the outermost planet of the upper realms.

As for our representatives, we have one representative in each of the human kingdoms, except for the Huangfu Kingdom. However, we do not have representatives in the beast kingdom, the natural racesʼ kingdom, or the two demon kingdoms.”

ʼHeh! They still know their limits, huh? The beast emperor and the elf emperor seem to be stronger than the leader of the alchemy union, so they canʼt force their will on them. As for the two demon emperors, they are probably afraid of dying in their hands, so they donʼt dare to find trouble with them.ʼ Zhang Fei then questioned Lian Jinshu once more. ”Have you heard of the Huo Clan, Senior?

They are an alchemist clan, and I heard that their abilities in alchemy are unrivaled.”

Lian Jinshu immediately searched for information about the Huo Clan in his memories, but he remembered for sure that he had never heard of that clan in the alchemy world of the middle realms. ”Are you sure that the clan is an alchemist clan? If they are an alchemist clan, I have definitely heard of them before.”

ʼOld foolish! The Huo Clan is an alchemist clan from the upper realm, so you have never heard of their name in these middle realms, and their abilities are far superior to your punny alchemy union.ʼ Zhang Fei made a sarcastic remark to himself. ”They are indeed an alchemist clan, but they might not be members of your organization, so you might not be aware of them.

Thank you for your information, Senior. My wife and I do not wish to be tied to any organization, and we will not sell her products to the public, so she will not join your organization. Regardless, we need those herbs to aid our cultivation, so I hope you can provide them for us.”

Lian Jinshu put on a disappointed face before speaking. ”Itʼs a pity that a talented alchemist like your wife, who can concoct high-rank pills, is unwilling to join us. However, that is your choice, and I can understand it. Do you want to buy the herbs that are already available? Or do you want to wait for other herbs and buy them all at once?”

”Iʼll wait for the other herbs and buy them all at once, so Iʼll come to see you again in a week.”

”All right.” Lian Jinshu nodded and put away the list of herbs. ”I will collect them first, and you can buy them at that time.”

”Thank you, Senior.”

After Zhang Fei left, Lian Jinshu immediately took out a communication device and ordered someone to follow him. ”Where did that kid and his wife actually come from? Why have I never heard of a high-ranking alchemist in this kingdom before? The best alchemist in this realm lives in the Bai Kingdom, but I know all her disciples, and his wife shouldnʼt be one of them.

Forget it; I will wait for information from that guy, and I will know his wifeʼs identity soon.”

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Zhang Fei naturally noticed Lian Jinshuʼs actions, so he continued to monitor his map as he looked at another shop, which was a forging materials shop. ʼThat old fool underestimates me! I will wait for the person he ordered to follow me.ʼ

”Are you interested in blacksmithing, Kid?” The owner of the forging shop, a middle-aged man with a tall and large stature, suddenly asked Zhang Fei.

Zhang Fei immediately looked at the man. ”Honestly, I am interested in blacksmithing, Senior. Unfortunately, I donʼt have a mentor to teach me in that field, so I have no knowledge about it.”

”Come in.” After he led Zhang Fei to enter his shop, the middle-aged man immediately turned around and examined his body, starting from his shoulders, arms, and several other parts. ”You are a body cultivator in the skin refining stage, correct?”

”Yes, Senior. I havenʼt been a body cultivator for a long time, so my level of body cultivation is currently low.” Zhang Fei immediately introduced himself to the middle-aged man. ”My name is Zhang Fei. How should I address you, Senior?”

”My name is Gang Zhishou, but people call me Old Gang, the Iron Hands, so you can call me the same as them.” Zhang Fei nodded in understanding, and Gang Zhishou immediately continued his assessment. ”Your bone age indicates that you are still 20 years old, and while your body cultivation is still in its early stages, your physique is more refined than some body cultivators I know.

With your current physique, you should be able to learn blacksmithing, but it is not easy to learn, and you need great perseverance and imagination.”

”I comprehend the concept of perseverance, but how does imagination relate to blacksmithing, Old Gang?” Zhang Fei inquired, his expression bewildered.

”Hahaha.” Gang Zhishou laughed and led Zhang Fei toward one of the walls. ”As you can see, each weapon or equipment has different models. If you donʼt use your imagination to forge them, all of your equipment will have the same shape, making them less attractive to buyers.

Although their functions are basically the same, everyone definitely wants to have their own unique characteristics, so they wonʼt buy weapons or other equipment that are similar to other people. Moreover, the weapons and equipment used by men and women differ, necessitating the imagination and understanding of each personʼs physical characteristics; only then can one become a skilled blacksmith.”

Zhang Fei nodded in understanding. ”Do you know Senior Duan Zhao, Old Gang?”

”Oh?” Gang Zhishou turned to Zhang Fei in surprise. ”Have you met my master before?”

”Is Senior Duan Zhao really your master?” Gang Zhishou nodded to Zhang Fei. ”Actually, I have never met him, but I heard his name from Prince Xianwu. In fact, I thought about going to see him, but he lives too far from this capital, and I still have to prepare for the opening of my restaurant. Thatʼs why I delayed going to see him, but I didnʼt expect to meet his disciple here.”

”Are you close friends with Prince Xianwu?”

”No.” Zhang Fei shook his head at Gang Zhishou. ”I only met Prince Xianwu once, but I could see that he was different from the other princesses, and he told me many things, one of which was about Senior Duan Zhao.”

”I see.” Gang Zhishou nodded in understanding and patted Zhang Feiʼs shoulder. ”If you want to meet my master to learn about blacksmithing, then you should forget about your intentions, especially since he has long decided not to take a new disciple.

Instead, I can teach you if you are interested in learning it, and I got all my knowledge from him, so itʼs the same whether you learn from me or my master.”

”Yes, Old Gang! I want to learn blacksmithing from you.” Zhang Fei immediately decided on it without thinking twice. In fact, he wanted to learn blacksmithing from Tie Xuan, especially since he came from the upper realms. However, he had no desire to join his Tie Clan, so he gave up on his intention. ”Should I address you as my master?”

”No need.” Gang Zhishou responded with a dismissive shake of his head and guided Zhang Fei to the backyard of his shop. ”Having a disciple is really a hassle for me, so Iʼm not interested in having one.” Moreover, my master allows me and his other disciples to share his blacksmithing techniques with people who truly have an interest in blacksmithing.

Seeing your genuine interest in blacksmithing, I decided to teach you.”

Suddenly, Gang Zhishou pulled out five iron hammers of varying sizes from his storage ring and dropped them onto the ground, producing several loud bangs. One of them caused Zhang Fei to be stunned, especially since its size was so big and heavy that it made the ground beneath it dip.

Gang Zhishou then took the smallest hammer and showed it to Zhang Fei. ”Even though the size of the hammer is small, my master forged it using special materials, and they weigh 250 pounds. Before I begin teaching you blacksmithing, I want you to practice swinging each hammer one by one, without relying on your cultivation, until you can swing them effortlessly.”

Zhang Fei immediately received the smallest hammer from Gang Zhishouʼs hand, but the weight of 250 pounds was not a problem for him, and he right away swung it again and again.

Gang Zhishou didnʼt seem surprised by that, especially since he had already checked Zhang Feiʼs physique before, and he would be disappointed if he couldnʼt swing the smallest hammer. ”Try swinging the second hammer; it weighs 500 pounds.”

Zhang Fei immediately returned the hammer in his hand to Gang Zhishou and picked up the second hammer from the ground, and he also found no difficulty in swinging it repeatedly. ”This hammer may be quite heavy for others, but it still feels light to me, Old Gang.”

”Try the third hammer.” Zhang Fei immediately followed Gang Zhishouʼs order, and he once again swung the 750-pound hammer without any difficulty, especially since he was already used to the level four gravity feature. ʼI donʼt know how he trained himself, but his physique and raw strength are stronger than I had previously expected.

Back then, it took me two years to be able to adapt to the weight of the third hammer, but he was able to swing it in one try.ʼ ”Try the fourth hammer, but you donʼt need to force yourself, especially since it weighs 1000 pounds.”

”All right.” After he put down the third hammer, Zhang Fei immediately tried to lift the fourth hammer, but Gang Zhishouʼs expression tensed up. ʼIt should be easy for me to lift it, but it would be better if I held myself back for now.ʼ

Gang Zhishou let out a sigh of relief in his heart when he saw Zhang Fei struggling to lift the fourth hammer, and he immediately stopped him. ”All right, the weight of the hammer is still too heavy for you now, so you can stop. Moreover, your ability to swing a 750-pound weight is already good, and you can start learning blacksmithing.”

Gang Zhishou then touched Zhang Feiʼs forehead and shared a forging technique with him. ”For the time being, I want you to read and study the Thousand Ways of Forging first, and you can come to me again in a week.”

”Are you planning to be away for a week, Old Gang?”

Gang Zhishou nodded to Zhang Fei. ”My previous master summoned me to meet him, so I have to go to Heian town right now, or he will punish me.”

”Haha.” Zhang Fei laughed hearing that. ”Is Senior Duan Zhao a tough person?”

Gang Zhishou let out a heavy sigh as he nodded his head at Zhang Fei. ”My master is the strictest and harshest person I have ever met. Even after I became independent, he would not hesitate to punish me if I was late answering his summons, and his punishments were really harsh, so I have to leave now.

Anyway, you can bring the fourth hammer with you, so you can try lifting and swinging it at home later.”

Zhang Fei immediately put the hammer into the storage ring. ”All right, I will study everything first, and I will see you again in a week.”

After he put away the other hammers, Gang Zhishou immediately led Zhang Fei out of his shop, and he hurriedly left the capital afterward.

Meanwhile, Zhang Fei was walking towards the south gate, examining his map, when he noticed a man following him from a distance. ʼThat guy must be Lian Jinshuʼs subordinate, and his cultivation is at the 5-Star Earth Realm. Hey! Letʼs see if you can follow me!ʼ

- To Be Continued -