Translator: _Dark_Angel_ Editor: Kurisu

Ling Han was very rueful. In his last life, he had already stood at the top of the field of alchemy, and had not thought of fusing with any Strange Fire, but from the looks of things now, even if he once again returned to the peak of alchemy, Strange Fire would still be a source of great help to him.

‘If I ever encounter any other Strange Fire in future, I will definitely not miss the opportunity to fuse with the Strange Fire!

And now… I’ll take a bath first!’

After pill concoction, he could not avoid being covered by a great amount of dust. Since he was going to sleep later, even if Ling Han was not a clean freak, he would also feel uncomfortable with such a large amount of dust on him.

He boiled water in the kitchen, and after a while, he poured it into a big wooden tub. The water was high enough to reach his waist. After a considerable number of times boiling water, he finally filled the tub to mid level. Ling Han removed all his clothes, and stepped into the tub of water. The warmth from the water spread out and relaxed his entire body.

When he was concocting the pill earlier on, he himself was almost barbequed in the process. He had almost lost all the water content in his body, and now with the nurturing of the warm water, his skin immediately returned to its previous smoothness and elasticity at a visible speed.

He closed his eyes and rested his mind, considering his plans for the near future.

In the Imperial City, he had already reached quite a high level on the social ladder at first, convincing the two great bosses of the current field of alchemy to become his pillars of support. He could practically do anything he liked, but Feng Yan’s return had brought a very unstable variable into his path.

This person… was like him, completely ignoring all shackles of rules and regulations.

Most importantly, he must have gotten hold of some kind of trump card that allowed him to disregard all rules.

If he was also in Gushing Spring Tier, he would naturally not fear Feng Yan, but the sixth layer of Element Gathering Tier… was still a bit too far from Gushing Spring Tier.

‘I had thought that my cultivation speed was already very fast, but looks like it’s still not enough!’ he could not help but frown, ‘Could it be that I would have to use ‘Passing Golden Needle Acupuncture’ to force out my potential and reach Gushing Spring Tier as soon as possible? But this is undoubtedly a last resort that would only make things worse. It will force me to pay the price of my future potential to force out power beyond my current capability. If it is not the only means available to me, then I had best avoid using such a method.

Moreover, there is only one chance to use such a method in my whole lifetime, so I should save this chance for when I need it even more.

According to Feng Yan, I should still be relatively safe within these three months.

With my current speed of cultivation, three months would be enough for me to reach Gushing Spring Tier, or even seventh layer of Gushing Spring Tier, and I need not fear him by then.

But that Lian Guang Zu is a little odd. He looked like he wanted to take me in as his personal disciple previously, but did not bother with me anymore after throwing me here. That old man’s attitude is a bit ambiguous!

Forget it. I need only to increase my own ability, and as long as I am capable enough, whatever devious scheme there is would be of no effect on me.’

“Zhiya,” the door to the kitchen was pushed open, and a dainty figure walked in. It was Liu Ru Er. She quietly walked in, as if she was a thief. Her eyes swept over the kitchen, and saw a head sticking out of a wooden tub which stunned her.

She had slept already, but suddenly felt pangs of hunger while she was sleeping. Thus, she got up, intending to look for some food, but never thought that she would encounter the master of this household, which naturally caused her to feel the awkwardness a thief would feel upon being caught.

“Ah…” but only after a moment, she suddenly shrieked and covered her face with her hands. She turned around abruptly and ran off. “Damn scoundrel!” she cursed.

Ling Han had a strange expression on his face. This was his house, and even if he decided to take a bath in the middle of the night, why would that offend anyone? Why did he now become a damn scoundrel? Moreover, his whole body was submerged in the tub, and she didn’t even see anything. Did she need to have such a dramatic reaction?

But after such a disturbance from her, he had also lost the mood to continue bathing, so he stood up, took his towel and wiped himself off, intending to return to his room to sleep.

“Damn scoundrel, don’t come over. I want to take some food- pu!” who would have thought that Liu Ru Er would return suddenly at this moment. The girl spoke very quickly, and he had just barely heard her when she had already walked in.

“Shua,” it was as if time had frozen, and the two of them stared at each other without moving.

“Ah!” Liu Ru Er shrieked loudly again, before once again racing out, “Damn pervert, dirty pervert!”

Ling Han rubbed his chin. This wooden tub was tall enough to reach his waist, and had covered completely all the important parts of his anatomy, so there was no possibility of her seeing anything inappropriate. Why was this girl embarrassed again?

“I am not a pervert!” he mumbled. When he recalled how he had encountered Gu Feng Hua previously, he could not help but grin.

“Little girl, let me give you a serious warning. I am now going to put on my clothes, and if you dare to peek at me again, I will smack your bottom sore,” Ling Han warned before he stepped out of the wooden tub. He quickly wiped off his body and put on his clothes.

Outside, Liu Ru Er’s heart was beating like crazy, and her face was as red as a tomato, as she fiercely stomped her feet, “Despicable damn scoundrel, if it was not because I had not yet recovered my full ability, I would definitely cut off your dog’s head! Waaahh, I’m going to die from fury!”

When she recalled how Ling Han’s naked body was practically branded into her mind, she could not help but want to go crazy.

Ling Han returned to his room, and took one look at Hu Niu’s “egg”, which did not seem to have changed in the slightest. He then lay down on his bed and quickly slipped into slumber.

“Ka ka ka,” a faint sound was heard, which was especially clear in the silence of late night.

Ling Han’s eyes suddenly snapped open and he flipped himself up to stand, his hands stretched out in front of his body in a defensive stance. This was due to the alert nature of a martial artist.

However, he quickly realized that this odd sound was not because enemies had arrived outside his room, but came from a corner of his room.

That giant egg.

Hu Niu?

There was no candle lit inside the room, and the window was also tightly closed, so the room should be completely dark. However, there was a faint flickering light in the room—light was coming from the egg shell.

There were patterned marks on the egg shell, and it seemed as if these marks had suddenly gained a life of their own, continuously flickering on the egg shell.

Hu Niu was about to hatch out?

Ling Han had a very strange feeling. What kind of race did this little girl come from?

Without a doubt, such a great change had happened to Hu Niu because she had eaten the godly medicine. From this aspect, Hu Niu must have gotten a colossal benefit, and this was a change for the positive.

But this was really too strange. Would it be like a butterfly’s metamorphosis? A caterpillar entered into its cocoon, and what came out was a butterfly?

The answer should be soon revealed.

“Ka ka ka,” slight cracks appeared on the egg shell, and a powerful heartbeat was heard from within. Apparently, Hu Niu should have entered a state similar to hibernation, and when the changes to her body were complete, the various bodily functions were awakened.

Otherwise, with the little girl’s appetite, she would have long rebelled after these few days of not eating or drinking. How could she have so obediently remained inside for so long?

“Tong! Tong! Tong!”

The sound of the heartbeat was as loud as the cracking of thunder, and Ling Han could not help the slight change to his expression. He had seen many powerful races in his last life, and the strength of the heartbeat, in a sense, would reflect the strength of life and vitality of these races.

From this aspect, Hu Niu would be adequate to rank as the top.

Ling Han was getting more and more curious, and could not help guessing again. Would the little girl come out with an extra two horns, or with a pair of wings?

A ball of light flickered within the egg, spun around, and he could faintly see the shrunken figure of a human being.

“Meat!” a loud shout was heard, and this tiny figure suddenly stretched out all her limbs. “Pa,” the egg instantly shattered into pieces, and out popped a tiny little girl.