With the Enchanted Cauldron properly heated, it was time to start.

  Xiao Ning didn't possess a scale, so he would have to rely on luck and a good judgment of the eye when determining the amount of ingredients used at a time. Thus, the first thing he did was place one of the four pieces of the Red-Haired Boar's spleen inside the cauldron.

  As soon as the organ was placed, a blue light shone in his right hand, enveloping the skin with a translucent energy that oscillated in an illusory manner. That was his Spiritual Energy in its purest state, being condensed and externalized. And with a wave, he threw it inside the cauldron.

  Attentive so as not to commit gross errors, Xiao Ning fused his own Spiritual Energy with the boar's spleen, which jumped from one side to the other, pulsing once more through a fleeting, mortuary life, looking as if it wanted to escape the metal bars.

  Next, it was the Malachi Grass's turn. He filled his left hand twice and threw the grass inside. And in the same way he did with the spleen, he poured Spiritual Energy over the Herb.

  But this time he didn't stop there. With both hands, Xiao Ning concentrated an even denser Energy and flooded the Enchanted Cauldron, making it release blue lights which, upon mixing with the smoke coming from the ingredients being cooked, gave rise to a cyan-toned mist laden with mysteries and fantasies.

  This strange mist, together with the somewhat bitter smell, was the indication that the Alchemical Composition had indeed begun.

  Alchemical Composition is what Alchemists call the process of creating something using an Enchanted Cauldron and Spiritual Energy through the Essence Flames. This composition is divided into several categories, some of them being: Refining; Cooking; Fermentation.

  Refining: This is a process whose purpose is the manufacture of pills. There are various types, but the most common and sought-after is the Spiritual Refining Pill, or simply Spiritual Pill, which can be divided into several levels.

  Such a pill has the miraculous effect of increasing the amount of Spiritual Energy a cultivator can absorb for a determined period of time. And the higher the level and purer the quality, the more Energy it is possible to absorb.

  Cooking: Cooking is used to create potions and other things through boiling. These, which in turn are normally made with the objective of healing, restoring spirit, or vigor. But they have various other purposes. Taming a beast, or deceiving your enemy with unreal and terrifying visions, is not something impossible for this type of Alchemical Composition.

  Fermentation: In the north of a certain empire, long ago visited by Xiao Ning, there was a saying: "There is no better elixir than our good wine!" Elixirs are very similar to potions; the difference lies in their composition, which requires the use of alcohol to manufacture them.

  But it is worth noting, there are various types of compositions. Some of which even Xiao Ning is unaware of their practice methods. Those mentioned above are just the main ones. The lineage that connects a magical world through fire and metal.

  The process Xiao Ning was doing at this moment was Refining. In general, refining this type of low-level pill was something that wouldn't take more than a few minutes. But due to the terrible quality Enchanted Cauldron, the unstable Essence Flames, and the imperfect Spiritual Sense, which didn't allow him to know precisely how much Energy to use, the time was prolonged in an exaggerated manner.

  It was already reaching an hour when, suddenly, from the cauldron, the cyan-toned mist disappeared and a black smoke rose. Xiao Ning fanned the smoke away using one hand and cursed:

  "Damn it, a failure!"

  In a way, it was frustrating to fail in the Refining of such a basic pill. On the other hand, the sensation of being a true beginner was exciting. With a wide smile, he lit the Essence Flames again, took another piece of spleen, a handful of Malachi Grass, and repeated the whole process.

  "I think I overdid the use of Spiritual Energy. I'll try to decrease it a bit this time," he murmured to himself.

  Thirty minutes later, the blue mist, which dared not leave the edge of the cauldron, flickered and grew darker, gaining an almost purplish color. Noticing this, Xiao Ning focused his Spiritual Sense even more to try to discover what was happening. But all he felt was a cloudy world, too nebulous for imprecise eyes to reach.

  Failing to discover what was wrong, he resolved to send even more Spiritual Energy into the cauldron. And for an instant, it seemed he had managed to solve the problem. The cyan color was reestablished and a gleaming, almost velvety shine came to life. However, once again the tone changed and the mist lost its shine. So, he sent even more Energy.

  It was then that, out of nowhere, the mist transformed into a dense, purple fog. In the center of the cauldron, the smoke began to agitate, twirling in a slow rhythm but constantly accelerating. Propelled by the excess Energy, a small tornado formed, spinning in a growing, ascending spiral. The Enchanted Cauldron vibrated, clinking with a distant and tempestuous timbre. Inside the shack, the cloths flapped, impelled by the propagated gusts that gradually took shape. And suddenly, the lighter things, like the grass, began to be sucked into the fog.

  Gusts of wind spread through the room, forming a hurricane that grew at every instant. The Malachi Grass, including what was inside the sack in a corner, was sucked into the cauldron, pillowcase and all. The organs of the Red-Haired Boar; the two plates; the cloth bed—everything was being sucked in by the tornado, which grew and expanded until it hit the ceiling of the cabin.

  When the hurricane gained strength and began to swallow everything inside the shack, Xiao Ning, seeming calm, got up while moving away from the purple spiral beating against the roof. With his hair blowing crazily and his clothes fluttering uncontrollably, he took a few cautious steps toward the door.

  At first glance, he didn't seem very worried about the event that unfolded in an instant and became more chaotic by the second. However, when he heard a metallic crack echo from the utensil, which by this point was covered by the hurricane, his eyes widened and he ran wildly out of the cabin while roaring:

  "IT'S GOING TO EXPLODE!"

  In an act of desperation, Xiao Ning kicked the door, which was closed, tearing it off the wall and throwing it far away. He fled, running as fast as he could. Without even looking to see if there was anything around there, he dove headfirst behind a tree and curled up like a scared rabbit.

  When, suddenly...

  BOOMM!

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  A purple smoke rose toward the sky and, for some mysterious reason, his old, dilapidated shack learned to fly that day. In the place where there was once a small house, there was now a black soot mark decorating an open field of scorched brush.

  When it stopped raining remains of what was once a cabin, Xiao Ning, quite cautiously, peeked his head out from behind the tree.

  "I knew I should have thrown that thing away... scrap!" he murmured, looking at the place where his house used to be. And, contrary to the expected reaction that many would take in his place, he didn't get angry or depressed. On the contrary. "AHAHAHAHAH!" he burst into laughter. Even faced with a disastrous situation, Xiao Ning couldn't help but laugh and smile even more.

  The explosion of the shack was so great that, within the Xiao Family territory, on top of a peak where a dazzling mansion was located, an old man with long white hair and a beard just as long and gray, with a frowning expression, threw open the doors of the house and croaked:

  "What the hell is that noise?" he said in an irritable tone, with a jagged voice. "Hm... What is that?" he asked himself, looking at the purple smoke in the distance.

  In the Combat and Training arenas:

  "Hey! What is that? That purple smoke?"

  "I don't know. But isn't that where..."

  "What do you think happened?"

  "Was it an attack?"

  The young people stopped what they were doing just to admire the distant sky, which had gained a purplish tone. The commotion spread through the arena. Everyone wanted to know what the hell had happened. Some feared they were being attacked by a powerful Demonic Beast or an enemy Family, although they knew the chances were minimal. They only calmed down when the teachers intervened. But to be honest, even they were curious.

  At this moment, everyone in the Xiao Family was looking in the direction of Xiao Ning's shack, including Xiao Shui, who was standing in the outer courtyard of her house.

  "Father!" called Xiao Shui. "Look. Isn't that at that vagabond's house?"

  "Hm... indeed!" agreed Xiao Chang, nodding his head. With a worried expression, he continued: "I'd better go take a look."

  Finishing saying this, he and Xiao Shui left. In fact, at this instant, there were many people heading toward the source of the purple smoke, which was gradually dissipating, carried by the wind.

  In the now-exploded shack, Xiao Ning rummaged through the wreckage trying to find something that survived the explosion. To his misfortune, everything was burnt. Even the Red-Haired Boar's organs had been destroyed. The only things left, besides the clothes on his body, were his spear, the skin, and the boar's tusks, which had been left outside. Even—or should I say, especially—the cauldron was gone without leaving a trace.

  Looking at all the mess, Xiao Ning couldn't help but lament:

  "Damn it! Until I get another cauldron..."

  He knew that anywhere an Enchanted Cauldron, even a Low-Quality Normal Type one, would cost at least a few silver coins, maybe five or eight, and the problem lay in the fact that he didn't possess even a single bronze. Everything in his possession amounted to a skin and a pair of tusks, which, with luck, would be sold for one, maybe two, silver coins.

  Anyway, he would have to wait a little longer to finally produce his first pill. Ah... it was truly horrible, pitiful! After so much time waiting, he would have to wait even longer to do Alchemy.

  While Xiao Ning was lamenting and thinking of a way to make quick money, suddenly, he felt a crushing pressure heading his way. It was as if a pair of eyes were staring at him from afar. In an involuntary movement, he turned his head and looked at the sky.

  That was when he saw it: An old man with white hair and beard was flying, surfing through the air. His dark blue robes flapped with the wind. With a frowning expression and his gaze fixed on Xiao Ning, the old man approached at high speed.

  Seeing that man flying, Xiao Ning didn't even need to use Spiritual Sense to know he was at least in the Spirited Realm; for the only ones capable of flying are those who found themselves in that Realm and above.

  However, the old man wasn't the only one flying in his direction. As if they were ants attracted by honey, in different spots, it was possible to see people approaching, cutting through the sky at an astonishing speed. Some further away than others, but all toward Xiao Ning's shack.

  Looking at the sky, with a sorrowful and dismayed countenance, he sighed looking depressed. He thought: "Now I'm screwed!"

  The first to hit the ground was the white-haired old man. He cast a dismissive look at Ning and then walked, hands behind his back, to the destroyed cabin. Unhurriedly, he took a walk around. He studied the rubble attentively. With the tip of his toes, he nudged the soot impregnated in the soil. He examined the few surviving woods, stained by a strange purple powder. And finally, he turned to the culprit.

  "Boy, what happened here?" questioned the old man, with a harsh voice of arrogance, worn by time.

  Xiao Ning looked at him for a moment, studying his hard and severe features, before finally saying something:

  "After all that dawdling, you couldn't tell the place exploded?"

  "What did you say, you little bastard?" thundered the old man, his eyes flashing a sudden, burning anger.

  Xiao Ning, caught by surprise by the reaction, jumped back. He had no malice when making the comment; he just thought the old man took too long to realize the place had exploded. That's why he said that without thinking about the consequences.

  The old man, on the other hand, was irate with the little bastard's disrespect. He raised his arm, and a red light began to gather in his hand. Xiao Ning felt that it was pure condensed Spiritual Energy. There was no technique behind it. However, still, if he were hit, it would be his end.

  "In the next life, learn to be respectful to your elders!" he hissed, initiating a hand movement, insinuating a possible attack.

  But at this instant, a voice loaded with power, overshadowing the old man's malicious intentions, emerged:

  "That's enough." As if coming from a titan, the order descended from the sky, cornering all the wretches below, making the inferiors retreat and bow to a superior will.

  Recognizing the familiar sound, Xiao Ning raised his head and saw that right above was Xiao Chang, and wrapped in his arms was Xiao Shui.

  Releasing an oppressive aura, accompanied by a resolute countenance that didn't lose out to the old man at all, Xiao Chang landed beside his godson, took a step forward, and asked, with a tone of voice that wasn't quite a request:

  "Older Brother Dong, couldn't you show mercy and, as the 1st Elder, forgive this young man for this foolish mouth that doesn't know what it says?" he requested, seeming respectful but without showing subservience.

  Upon seeing Xiao Chang in front of him, Xiao Dong made an even more displeased face. As the 1st Elder, it was indeed his duty to show mercy to the follies of the young. However, hearing Xiao Chang imply this made his blood boil, and the desire for a lesson that would forever be marked on the back of the disrespectful one only grew. However, he couldn't act as he pleased.

  "Hmph, as Younger Brother Chang says, it is the duty of the eld..." Just when 1st Elder Dong was about to forget the matter, an unfortunate comment arose.

  "Ah... so this crumpled-faced old geezer is the first Elder," said Xiao Ning, who was standing next to Xiao Shui, who had detached herself from her father's arms. He had never seen the 1st Elder, so without realizing what he was saying, he let this comment slip.

  When she saw that vagabond open his mouth to immediately say something improper, Xiao Shui turned pale. With an urgent voice, she grunted:

  "What are you doing? Hurry up and beg for forgiveness!" she ordered, roughly pushing Xiao Ning by the arm, trying to force him to take a step forward and bow his head, begging for clemency.

  But it was already too late.

  "See! This boy is disrespectful to his elders! A disgrace to the Family! Today he set fire to his own house; tomorrow, who guarantees it won't be mine or yours? This evil must be cut while still young!" shouted 1st Elder Dong. In the palm he pointed at Xiao Ning, a golden light shone. This time it wasn't condensed energy; it was a legitimate Combat Technique.

  But then, an Energy capable of oppressing everyone below swept the area of the exploded shack. The air vibrated announcing a majestic, transcendent arrival. Feeling the pressure, Xiao Ning and the others looked up; the only one who took a while to realize what was happening was Xiao Shui.

  When he saw a man floating in the air, 1st Elder Dong narrowed his eyes and snorted coldly, making the golden light in his hand disappear. On the other hand, Xiao Chang allowed himself to show a discreet smile, letting a sigh of relief escape between his teeth.

  "Patriarch!" murmured Xiao Shui, surprised and impressed by the graced vision she didn't expect to encounter today.

  Xiao Ning tried to probe the man floating in the sky right above their heads with a serene posture, but due to his imprecise Spiritual Sense, all he could find out was that his spiritual strength (Energy) was certainly superior to Xiao Chang and the 1st Elder.

  Perhaps he is the person closest to entering the Sovereign of Awakening Realm within the Xiao Family.