Today, Raven's toxic chicken soup story was exceptionally potent.

After listening, Huai Shi shivered and then angrily denounced the Stone Pot Society as a bunch of shameless bastards.

"Do you think the association is for hosting dinners and practicing calligraphy?" Raven sneered. "The fundamental purpose of an organization is to protect the interests of the group to the utmost. With such immense interests at stake, the Stone Pot Society even dared to split from the Guide Association back then.

Moreover, miracles are luxuries. If obtained without cost, they will only invite disaster. With the horrific consequences of Alchemy abuse as a precedent and massive monopoly profits to consider, everyone would choose the conservative approach."

"What is this other paper?" Huai Shi took out another document from beneath the box, emblazoned with golden letters—it looked like... a patent?

"It's a patent certificate filed in your name."

Raven said, "Haven't you been fiddling with that recently? Metal explosives. I checked, and there was no existing formula for it. After I purchased this set of materials, I immediately registered one in your name.

Once it's published, if any Alchemy Workshop buys your patent, they can use it to produce products. A one-time buyout would be about 400,000, with the association taking a quarter cut. It's not much, but every little bit adds up, and it could earn you some pocket change."

This was a byproduct Huai Shi had developed after enhancing his metallurgical skills. It used a base of magnesium, tin, cesium, and other unstable alloys, melted and formed in one go, then triggered by Alchemy Fire to create an explosive effect.

Although the ones he hastily crafted weren't too effective and could only serve as smoke or Flash Bombs, with more time and effort, they could reach the power of a small fragmentation grenade.

It was also a way to compensate for his current lack of offensive ability.

Hearing that this could actually make money, he immediately became elated. "Doesn't this mean I'm going to get rich?"

Raven looked at him as if he were a fool. "What are you dreaming about? Do you know how many explosive formulas there are? Hundreds of thousands! There are over 4,000 Alchemy Explosives involving metal that are more cost-effective than yours.

Your advantage is that it's all metal-based and can have good effects in certain situations, and it can be crafted on the spot. But do you think everyone has the Alchemy Fire to ignite it instantly? Without it, they must be made in advance, which reduces their accessibility.

Moreover, there are countless mature products on the market. Where is there any room for our small workshop to make waves?"

Hearing this, Huai Shi's heart chilled, but he consoled himself, Having invested so much, I finally have hope of recouping the cost. As long as it sells, earning a little is fine.

After abandoning the dream of overnight wealth, Raven asked about Huai Shi's progress, "How far have you gotten with making the Silver Blood Potion?"

Huai Shi scratched his head. "As per your suggestion, I've been working on two types—one that takes five minutes and can be used like a small health potion, and the other that takes about four seconds, which can sort of act as an enhanced band-aid."

"Good. This means you have a healing skill now," Raven said, not demanding more.

It's enough to just scratch the surface with the Silver Blood Potion; there's no need to invest significant effort into specializing in it. If your Alchemy level increases, its effects will naturally improve.

Moreover, the most technically complex part isn't the potion itself, but the patented solvent that prevents it from solidifying after cooling.

Otherwise, an hour after it's made, the Silver Blood Potion would change from liquid to solid. At that point, it would lose its effectiveness and could even become poison.

After all, few people have stomachs capable of digesting metal.

Each Alchemy Workshop has its own different techniques and methods for the anti-coagulant solvent, and they all charge exorbitant prices for it. If it's just for personal use, there's no need to purchase one.

"In short, you're proficient enough. Many experts can't reach your current level, so there's no need to invest more time in it for now."

Raven spread its wings, signaling him to follow it to the basement.

In the dim light, as they passed through the basement corridor, he heard the faint buzzing of electricity, and the old light bulb overhead flickered.

But as the lights flickered, Huai Shi noticed his own figure starting to become ethereal.

When he deliberately entered the Yin Soul state, he found his body appearing and disappearing with the flickering light. In the dark, his outline would dissolve into a dim gray mist. Even under the dim, yellow light, his presence felt insubstantial, like a Phantom projected onto dust particles.

Raven noticed the anomaly with him and looked back, its gaze slightly more satisfied. "Very good, it seems you've nearly mastered Yin Soul."

"Is it time to prepare for advancement?" asked Huai Shi.

"No rush," Raven shook its head. "There are many paths to advance the Yin Soul, but before that, choices must be made... To be honest, I'm still hesitating."

"Hesitating about what?"

"Hesitating about many things: the future, your life, and other, comparatively trivial, matters." Raven landed on the table. "So I've decided to observe a bit longer. We need to pick the most suitable option, right?"

"Just pick one that won't screw me over." Huai Shi gestured dismissively, utterly frustrated. He was truly terrified of being tricked by Raven again.

"Don't worry, if the plan goes without a hitch, you won't need to drive illegally anymore," Raven fluttered its wings, pointing to the silver Long Spear on the table. "You can take it with you now."

The Crossed Spear · Compassion.

Another transformation of the Source Substance weapon awakened by Huai Shi.

A rare long weapon, although he wasn't very skilled in using it, it was still useful for stabbing people. And the effect... caused those wounded by Huai Shi to feel the Sorrow and compassion in Huai Shi's heart.

It was as if to say, "I really had no choice; I didn't mean to stab you, you know. It's your own fault for not listening."

Although it sounded quite sinister, one would only know how vicious its effect was when they were actually stabbed.

Much like the Axe of Anger impacted the mind and The Sorrow of Index induced listlessness, every strike and collision from the Spear of Compassion would break down an enemy's fighting spirit. It made them ponder what they were doing, whether their actions had any meaning, and what their purpose truly was.

Even if they were indeed stabbed to death, their heart wouldn't harbor any hatred or reluctance but would instead be filled with peace and tranquility.

It was practically a spear that delivered physical last rites.

After being stabbed with it himself, Huai Shi remained in a Sage State for a whole hour. Ever since, he had no desire to be Raven's test subject anymore.

Of course, what was more important was the Blood of Green Crown Dragon coating it.

Like an inexhaustible supply, the Dragon Blood left a faint, moist trail, eternally dripping viscous, poisonous blood. The unique property of the Philosopher's Stone imbued it with this unbelievable miracle.

Wherever the blood dropped, pure white iris flowers would bloom, only to wither away with the dissipating droplets after about fifteen minutes.

If brandished, the entire training field would transform into a breathtaking scene, with fragrant, pure petals filling every corner, weaving together into a dazzling garden.

For these audio-visual effects alone, Huai Shi wanted to give KP 100,000 likes.

And what pleased him even more was the effect of the Dragon Blood: Decay.

The Green Crown Dragon's most terrifying aspect was its decaying breath, potent enough to rival time itself, causing all life to perish where it passed. This trait seemed to have been inherited by the Dragon Blood, now imbuing the blade of Huai Shi's spear.

Consequently, when someone was stabbed by the spear, the Dragon Blood entering their body would cause their vitality to rapidly decay and dissipate. A significant enough dosage could even induce a temporary aging effect in a short period.

Even without coming into contact with the Dragon Blood, just being in the midst of these flowers, smelling their scent, would also lead to a rapid decline in vitality, dizziness, and a fall in spirits.

In simple terms, Huai Shi could now enjoy the thrill of beating up the elderly with even greater pleasure.

What was bothersome, however, was that this toxin also affected Huai Shi. He had no way to grant himself immunity!

Therefore, he had no choice but to ask Raven to research its properties and temporarily produce some Antidote. The results were the few syringes now on the table.

"Inject one before use; it should last for about half an hour. Just be careful," Raven said nonchalantly. "Now, we need to conduct a physical examination."

As always, this involved a variety of common and uncommon methods, plus blood tests and CT scans. Yes, CT scans. Raven had even bought a CT machine, placed it in a corner, and would call Huai Shi over for a scan every so often.

After all, the bodies of Sublimators were extraordinarily resilient; such levels of radiation were a minor concern for them.

In fact, the main purpose of this examination was to check for any aftereffects.

On the ship, Huai Shi's Source Substance had coexisted with Van Essen's for too long. Normally, this would have resulted in Van Essen's consciousness completely overriding Huai Shi's, turning him into a walking corpse.

Thankfully, the Divine Artifact, the Book of Fate, held all the memories of his life up to that point, guaranteeing the independence of his personality and Soul. Consequently, the main concern was whether the Source Substance contamination had led to subtle physical changes.

Fortunately, everything was under control.

It was just that Huai Shi wasn't quite used to it yet.

Having been a Third Stage Sublimator for so long, and even having briefly served as an Imitated Holy Light Fighter, he felt particularly maladjusted returning to his own body.

This was especially true since Van Essen was a preeminent figure even among Third Stage Sublimators.

Now, Huai Shi had to exert all his effort just to barely match the baseline abilities he possessed as Van Essen, and even then, he often fell far short.

The lag in his neural reflexes had troubled him until now, and it still felt distinctly awkward.

"That will do." Raven looked up from the data and pointed towards the end of the basement, at an iron stake 20 meters away. "Show me your current limits in speed and strength."

"I'll give it a try." Huai Shi warmed up slightly. Darkness enveloped his form, shrouding him completely. A swirling, fierce light surged from the crack on his chest.

Feeling the tremendous power of the dark Source Substance within his body, he closed his eyes and exhaled slowly.

The next instant, ferocious blood light burst forth from his eyes.

A roar of thunder resounded.

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