Chapter 13: The Alchemists’ Guild.

“We’re not going back?”

Anna lifted the carriage curtain and looked outside, noticing that the road was different from the one they had taken earlier.

Shu Yue nodded and casually explained,

“I plan to visit the Alchemists Guild.”

“What are we going there for?”

Anna’s pupils shrank slightly. The last time they had impersonated a dead alchemist, they had made a huge profit. They could have earned even more, but someone reported them to the Alchemists Guild. Without any proof of identity, their disguise was exposed.

In the end, they were chased for a very long time. They fled far away and wandered the outer regions for a whole year before daring to show their faces again. Even now, they still didn’t dare return to that area.

Because of that experience, they held no good impression of the Guild…

The Alchemists Guild itself gave off an unpleasant feeling. It represented a complete monopoly over alchemical potions.

It was a massive organization founded by several major alchemical schools, incorporating countless smaller factions. It established unified standards for the alchemical system, regulated the production of alchemical potions, and cooperated with various races, nations, and powers.

The Alchemists Guild had branches all over the world. It either absorbed or destroyed wild alchemists, ultimately achieving a monopoly over alchemy and earning enormous profits through alchemical potions.

For adventurers in the outer regions, healing potions were an extremely common alchemical product. As the name suggested, they could heal the vast majority of injuries. Their medicinal effect was mild and only slightly inferior to receiving treatment from the Holy Radiance Church’s clergy. Ordinary adventurers would not have clergy accompanying them, so these potions had become almost essential consumables.

The Alchemists Guild priced a single bottle of Mercury-rank healing potion at ten gold coins. It was an exorbitant price, and they vigorously cracked down on any healing potions circulating outside the Guild.

The Guild forced adventurers to spend ten gold coins at their branches to buy a single-person dose of potion, even though the actual production cost was worth less than one gold coin.

The purchasing power of gold coins was actually very high. Shu Yue had learned how to refine healing potions from her cheap master and had sold them before, but she was warned and “invited for a talk” by the Guild.

Shu Yue naturally didn’t confront them head-on. She simply moved to the underground market and sold potions in small batches to make money.

The main reason she wanted a letter of introduction was to become a registered member of the Alchemists Guild.

Even though she was already an alchemist, without belonging to a clear school or faction, she still needed a letter of introduction to register as an official alchemist and gain the right to legally sell alchemical potions.

She could still sell potions on the black market, though she would occasionally run into trouble. Her real goal was purchasing qualification. The Alchemists Guild was a major client for adventurers. The Guild needed large quantities of magical beast materials, which created many hunting orders.

Selling materials to the Guild was easy and required no qualification. Buying materials, however, had certain thresholds.

One way was to be a registered member. The other was to have an internal recommendation or a noble’s letter of introduction.

“Lord Lia, the Alchemists Guild has arrived.”

The coachman’s voice came from outside the carriage. Shu Yue responded, then turned back to Anna.

“Let’s go.”

“…”

Anna was silent for a moment before nodding.

The two got off the carriage. The coachman then drove away to the designated parking area.

Anna looked at the grand, imposing building and felt a sense of suffocation. The Alchemists Guild’s power was far greater than she had imagined. Escaping from them last time had been a narrow escape from death. Even now, thinking back on it filled her with lingering fear.

Shu Yue was not like Anna. Ever since she had followed that bald-headed master to learn alchemy, she had seen too much of life and death. She had even been used as a test subject for potions and endured considerable suffering. These experiences had indirectly tempered her mentality, making the outer shell of her heart extremely tough.

The two walked into the carpeted hall one after the other. As soon as they entered, a beautiful woman dressed in elegant and proper attire came forward to greet them and asked what Shu Yue had come for.

Shu Yue took out the letter of introduction and handed it to the woman while saying,

“This is a letter of introduction from Baron Lester. I believe you know who to give it to.”

“…”

The woman was briefly stunned. She took the letter, curtsied, and quickly went to deliver it.

Shu Yue brought Anna to a resting area in the hall and asked her to wait there. The woman soon returned, her professional smile now replaced by a sincere and respectful one.

“Lord Lia, please follow me upstairs.”

“Mm.”

Shu Yue nodded and followed the woman at a steady pace.

They entered a reception room. It was not particularly large, and the interior décor was mainly gray and white.

After leading them in, the receptionist quietly withdrew. A graceful and mature beauty seated in a chair looked Shu Yue up and down before slowly standing up and walking toward her.

“Lord Lia, hello.”

“Hello…”

The woman wore a form-fitting purple dress that accentuated her impressive figure. A rich, intoxicating fragrance emanated from her body. Any hot-blooded young man would explode with excitement after just one glance, especially when she approached with swaying steps, her full bosom heaving like waves and her waist and hips swaying seductively, paired with a bright, charming face. The sight was enough to stir anyone’s heart.

Unfortunately, Shu Yue’s expression remained calm, her eyes as still as an ancient well. Of course she had looked at the woman’s impressive assets.

But in Shu Yue’s heart, there was only the thought ‘They’re really big,’ without the slightest trace of desire.

This reaction instead piqued the mature beauty’s interest. She moved even closer and spoke to Shu Yue in a soft, gentle voice,

“Lord Lia, what brings you to the headquarters of the Alchemists Guild?”

“I wish to register as an alchemist,” Shu Yue stated her purpose concisely. “I also want to buy some things. There shouldn’t be any issues with that, right?”

“Hehe, of course there aren’t~”

The graceful woman raised an eyebrow. She lightly covered her red lips with her fair, slender hand and began circling around Shu Yue.

“Lord Lia is quite an interesting person. Very intriguing indeed.”

“…”

Shu Yue didn’t know what the woman had noticed. Her bloodline had not been obtained through alchemical potions, but by using the Quenching Star Art to refine dragon blood essence and absorbing it directly. There should be no traces of alchemy. Her disguise was also achieved through special tools.

After circling once, the graceful woman returned to stand in front of her.

“May I ask, are you an alchemist?”

“Yes.”

“Oh? Then which alchemical school do you belong to…”

“My master forbade me from mentioning him outside.”

Shu Yue naturally couldn’t make something up, so she directly hinted that her master was a reclusive expert.

“Oh, what a shame. I was quite curious about you, Lord Lia,” the graceful woman did not press the issue. She didn’t even ask Shu Yue to demonstrate anything before agreeing directly.

“In that case, Lord Lia, I can only grant you the status of a Mercury-rank alchemist.”

“That’s fine.”

Shu Yue did not quibble about the rank. The Alchemists Guild’s ranks corresponded to the level of potions one could refine. From lowest to highest they were: Mercury, Gold, Ether, Star Antimony, and Philosopher’s Stone. It was said there was also a Grandmaster evaluation, but that was reserved for Philosopher’s Stone-rank alchemists. Every Grandmaster essentially represented a major alchemical school.