Chapter 253: The Alchemist’s Flame

Chapter 253: Chapter 253: The Alchemist’s Flame

The small hotel room had been temporarily converted into a makeshift alchemy lab. Lucian sat cross-legged on the floor, a thick, heavy cauldron resting on a low wooden stand before him. His silver hair was tied back, and his expression was one of absolute focus.

He was refining a Tier 3 Nine Revolutions Soul-Restoring Pill for Lena. Her body had taken a severe blow from the Head Instructor’s golden avatar, and while she was physically healing, her soul and meridians were still rattled. She wasn’t a vampire like Lucian and Lemora who could easily heal from such damage.

Lucian extended his right hand. FWOOSH! A brilliant, blue-white flame erupted from his palm—his newly acquired S-Rank Flame Manipulation.

So this is the power of S-Rank flames, Lucian thought, marveling at the intense, controlled heat. No wonder alchemists in the higher realms value powerful flames so much.

He tossed a bundle of Moonveil Grass into the cauldron. The blue-white flame instantly enveloped the herb, but instead of burning it to ash, Lucian’s mental power—honed by his Mind Palace—wrapped around the herb like an invisible hand. He carefully controlled the temperature, raising it just enough to melt the fibrous exterior and extract the silvery essence within. Sizzle... The impurities evaporated into green smoke, leaving behind a pool of shimmering liquid.

Next came the Abyssal Lotus Petals. These were tricky; they required a sudden spike in temperature. Lucian’s eyes sharpened. He snapped his fingers, and the blue-white flame roared, splitting into two separate streams. One stream kept the base liquid warm, while the other incinerated the lotus petals in a fraction of a second, forcing their essence to drip into the cauldron.

For two hours, Lucian repeated this process with a dozen different herbs. His mental power was stretched to its limit, guiding the volatile essences into a stable fusion. Finally, he brought his hands together. The blue-white flames condensed into a miniature dragon’s maw, swallowing the cauldron whole.

Ding!

A wave of fragrant, minty air exploded from the cauldron. Lucian opened his eyes and reached inside. He pulled out a single, perfectly round pill, glowing with a gentle, jade-like light.

[System Notification: Tier 3 Nine Revolutions Soul-Restoring Pill successfully refined. Purity: 92%.]

Lucian walked to Lena’s room, where she lay unconscious. He gently parted her lips and placed the pill on her tongue. Almost instantly, the pill dissolved. A soothing, jade-green energy spread across her pale face, flushing out the dark bruises. Her breathing steadied, and the color returned to her cheeks.

Lucian let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. He turned and walked into Lemora’s room.

Lemora was curled up on the bed, looking utterly drained. Her face was pale, and her aura was weak. Using herself as a cauldron to refine the demonic and death energy from his body had taken a massive toll on her.

She really did save me, Lucian thought, his emotions a tangled mess.

He sat on the edge of the bed and asked the System, "What about the premature evolution? What actually happened to me?"

The System materialized, its tiny white form hovering in front of him. "Your little temper tantrum forced the bloodline seal to shatter prematurely. You bypassed the safe evolutionary threshold. The Crimson Sovereign Form was a forced, unstable transformation that burned through a massive amount of your blood energy."

Lucian frowned. "Is it permanent?"

"The form itself is now permanently unlocked," the System replied. "But the seal is currently at 48% locked. Your next and final major evolution will occur when the seal hits 20% unsealing. That will be the true awakening of your Ancient Vampire Origin Bloodline."

"Did I gain any new abilities?" Lucian asked.

"No new Star Palace abilities," the System said, "but you gained significant perks."

[System Notification: Premature Evolution Perks Unlocked!]

[Perk 1: Blood Flash — An instinctual movement technique that allows the user to dissolve into a streak of blood energy. Speed scales with cultivation realm.]

[Perk 2: Crimson Sovereign Form — A partial bloodline manifestation. Grants a 150% boost to all physical stats, flight, and an aura that suppresses all beings below the Astral Realm. Cooldown: 12 hours.]

[Perk 3: Sovereign’s Regeneration — Eternal Regeneration is now 30% more effective when in a state of extreme emotion.]

Lucian absorbed the information.

"Also," the System added, "the time dilation in the system space has improved. It was 5x, but now it’s 10x. One hour in reality equals ten hours inside."

Lucian’s eyes widened. "That’s a massive advantage."

"But," the System warned, "there’s a catch. If you want to cultivate inside the system space, you’ll need to gather high-grade mana stones and create a formation. Once you do, the space will be able to replicate ambient mana, and eventually, you’ll be able to cultivate there if you later comprehend rule powers."

Lucian sighed. High-grade mana stones? On Earth? He barely had access to mid-grade stones. And the Sage Realm to unlock rule power? That was still a long way off.

Before he could ponder further, Lemora stirred. Her eyes fluttered open, and when she saw Lucian sitting beside her, her pale face lit up with a brilliant, radiant smile.

"Lucian! You’re awake!" Lemora threw her arms around his neck, pressing her soft body against him. "I was so worried! Thank the ancestors you’re safe!"

Lucian sat frozen. He didn’t know how to react. She was the daughter of the woman he was going to kill. She had just sacrificed her purity to save his life. He felt... conflicted.

He awkwardly patted her back. "Thank you," he said, his voice laced with a genuine, albeit confused, expression.

Lemora pulled back, her smile still bright. "I’m just glad you’re okay."

Suddenly, a shrill scream echoed from the next room. "KYAAAAAAH!"

Lucian’s eyes widened. "Lena!"

He rushed out of the room, with Lemora quickly following. He burst into Lena’s room to find her standing on the bed, pointing a trembling finger at the two towering corpse puppets.

"What the hell are those?!" Lena shrieked. "Get them away from me!"

Lemora chuckled, a soft, melodic sound. "Oh, don’t worry about them. They belong to me." She snapped her fingers, and the two corpse puppets dissolved into shadows, returning to her storage space.

Lena clutched her chest, breathing heavily. She looked at Lemora suspiciously. "And who the hell are you?"

Lucian opened his mouth, but no words came out. How was he supposed to introduce her?

Lemora, however, stepped forward with a graceful, mischievous smile. "I am Lemora Du Maurier. Lucian’s first wife."

Lucian’s jaw dropped so fast it nearly unhinged. "Wha—"

Lena blinked, then nodded thoughtfully. "I see. I thought there were only two. It seems Lucian never bothered to tell me about his first wife. It’s nice to meet you, my first sister-in-law."

Lemora’s smile widened, her eyes sparkling with mischief. "Don’t mind Lucian. He’s always the forgetful type. Isn’t that right, Lucian?"

BONK!

Lucian’s fist came down on Lemora’s head with a loud thud. "Ouch!" she yelped, clutching her head in pain.

"Don’t mind her, Lena," Lucian said, his face red. "She’s just joking."

Lena looked between the two of them, a small, knowing smile on her face. "Whatever you say, brother."

Suddenly, a loud ringtone echoed through the room.

BZZZT! BZZZT! BZZZT!

Lucian frowned, pulling his communication device from his shadow storage. He hadn’t checked it since the battle. The screen lit up, showing a staggering number of missed calls.

30 Missed Calls.

More than half of them were from Rose. The rest were from Mickey and Iris.

To be continued...