Conquest of the Dragon Sovereign

Feicui Long woke up around seven in the morning. He moistened a piece of cloth and wiped his body down, realizing that he probably hadn't bathed in two days. At the very least, he wanted to clean himself up a little. As he did, he suddenly recalled memories of bathing at a public bathhouse not far from here. Deciding to head there, he packed up his tent and blanket before setting off at a brisk pace.

Upon reaching the bathhouse, he saw the sign that read "Bathhouse – Ludwig Von Auswitch." The double doors were wide open, and people were constantly coming and going. Without much thought, he simply followed the crowd and paid the entrance fee to a young woman collecting the money. She handed him a towel, a wooden bucket, and a bar of soap made by the bathhouse itself. The total cost was twenty copper coins—a bit expensive, he thought, but he didn't want to search for another bathhouse. So, he simply entered, bathed, and left, heading toward the bar from the previous night for breakfast.

…

As he neared his destination, he noticed the sign for the first time: "Hilda & Family Bar and Restaurant." It occurred to him that it might be a good idea to remember the name since he would likely be eating here often. It seemed like the best option. He continued walking and took a seat at a table. A waitress—who introduced herself as Olivia when she greeted him, came over, and he ordered breakfast along with a beer.

While eating, he took out a map, one that the version of himself before recovering his memories had been using. This map was a treasure in its own right. While he had been unable to progress in his cultivation in this life, his talent in other areas was astonishing. The map displayed various marked and charted locations, some well-known, others explored solely by him. That made it valuable, any adventurer, hunter, or mercenary would pay handsomely to know about these locations, which were all safe zones, either for rest or profit.

He had taken out the map to plan which areas to visit next. This time, he chose a different forest for various reasons, but mainly to allow the medicinal plants and fungi time to recover while he harvested others. Even though these were energy-infused plants whose dormant spirit had yet to awaken, causing them to grow rapidly, it was still better not to overharvest. If he wanted to make money producing medicine from them, he needed to preserve their population.

By the time he finished breakfast, he had already marked the locations he would visit today. After folding the map and putting it away, he paid Olivia for the meal, leaving her a tip before heading out.

…

Twelve hours had passed since he left the bar. Today, Feicui Long was heading back to the alley, but this time, he skipped the market, he wanted to start setting up his small alchemy laboratory.

As he pondered this, he arrived at the spot where the formation was glowing. He set up his tent and blanket, but more importantly, he used his mastery over mystic energies—which included mana, psionic energy, spiritual energy, and the fifteen primary elemental energies. These were lightning, wood, fire, water, earth, metal, wind, crystal, light, darkness, arcane energy, plasma, poison, acid, and alkaline.

A person who masters all four types of mystic energy is called a Mystic Energy Master. These energies are considered the second most 'basic' in existence. The first is known as neutral energy (also called attribute-less energy or neutral Qi), which is what most cultivators use.

Using his mastery over the earth element, he raised small walls of stone and built a simple roof with a circular opening at the center. Then, he began engraving various inscriptions: runes, seals, talismans, glyphs, sigils followed by a series of formation lines and a master formation.

What he did next would seem insane to any cultivator. However, since his cultivation could no longer progress due to the curse of the Superior God of Curses, he didn't care about exhausting his remaining energy stones. He crushed some of them into powder and used others as energy cores for storage and power supply.

All of this effort was to create an improvised alchemy furnace and enhance the quality of the medicines he would produce using the master formation. Once activated, the small alchemy furnace began to glow beautifully.

"Phew... I honestly thought my energy stones wouldn't be enough. But with this, I can finally start the next step to making a living." Feicui Long wiped the sweat from his forehead.

Then, he took out several medicinal plants. Some he placed on a flat rock—which served as a makeshift cutting board, and carefully chopped them with a knife he had bought the day before. His cuts were precise and delicate.

Once he finished chopping, he placed the remaining plants into an improvised mortar made of rock, something he had crafted himself. He began grinding them while pouring water from his spatial canteen.

After completing this step, he carefully placed the chopped plants into the mortar and inserted it into the alchemy furnace. Placing one hand on the furnace, he began channeling energy into it while using his other hand to cast runes, seals, talismans, glyphs, and sigils onto the ingredients.

As time passed, the furnace glowed a little more until it reached its peak brightness and remained so for about 30 to 45 minutes, until finally, the emitted light began to slowly and gradually decrease, which took another 5 minutes. When it went out, Feicui Long sighed in relief and quickly took out the mortar. Inside, 25 to 30 small pills could be seen. He quickly grabbed them and carefully placed them in a small bag. Then he tried to take out the mortar, but it crumbled into pieces, to which he simply let out a sound of resignation and spoke to himself, "Well, at least the production of blood recovery pills was successful. I'm glad I found a few blood flowers today to complement the blood herb from yesterday. That said, according to market value, blood recovery pills are worth 5 pills for 50 copper coins, so in total, that would be about 2 silver coins and 50 copper coins to 3 silver coins. Not bad for the small amount of material used."

"But in the end, even though I'd like to make more, without a mortar, I can't. It seems I'll have to buy a good rock to make one myself. But more importantly, I need to get a few energy stones for the inscriptions. For now, let's sleep for today."

…

The next day, he followed the same routine, but this time, he did go to Nancy's herbal store to sell. This time, he made 50 silver coins from all the sales and immediately went to buy a granite cutting board and a granite block to create the mortar. The two things cost him about 25 copper coins. Feicui Long also got 25 energy stones, which cost him another 15 silver coins. He also bought several dozen glass and ceramic bottles for about 25 silver coins. It's worth noting that it wasn't transparent glass since that was expensive, and he didn't want to have to sell his medicines at a price higher than the market, even though, in the fortress city of Vienna, medicines were already more expensive than market price due to the high demand for these products in the city. His plan was to sell to low-income adventurers, hunters, and mercenaries and to be able to sell cheaply to the poor. The latter wasn't because Feicui Long was a super kind person or a saint, but because after everything he had experienced in this new life, he felt a certain empathy for these people. Setting that aside, his total earnings for today were only 10 silver coins.

When he arrived at his shop, he started using excavation tools, especially the chisel and hammer, and also used earth element energy to shape it. When he finished the mortar, he began engraving a few runes to strengthen its resistance and durability, a few seals to retain medicinal energy, and a few talismans to further aid in the creation of different types of medicine. Lastly, he established a pattern of lines and drawings as a feeding formation and placed an energy stone as the core for power supply and energy storage. He repeated the entire inscription process with the cutting board, using a total of 7 of the 25 stones he had acquired.

That done, he started refining medicine. He refined about 3 to 4 sets of blood recovery pills. Afterward, he began cutting and grinding ingredients for another medicine. These were the bone recovery fruit he had picked up two days ago and the bone-strengthening herb he collected from the place he went to today. Together, they were used to create a bone regeneration pill, which was worth 75 copper coins for 5 pills at market price. This time, during refinement, he was only able to create 3 sets of 25 pills each.

Before going to sleep, he stored all the medicines in different bottles. The blood recovery and bone regeneration pills were placed in ceramic bottles since they were the cheaper type of pills usually found. It wasn't worth putting them in a glass bottle, even if it wasn't transparent glass.

…

Thus, time continued to pass until a week had gone by. From selling herbs alone, Feicui Long had made a total of 1 gold coin and 50 silver coins, while he had yet to start selling pills. This was because he wanted to have enough sets to sell for a good while. He was confident that they would sell well, and this was because, although a basic blood recovery pill or a basic bone regeneration pill was normally of mortal quality – grade 1 – mortal rank, his were grade 3 – supreme rank, nearing advancement to grade 4.

This may seem confusing, but the system of quality or rarity classification, which is used for medicines, treasures, skills, cultivation techniques, and even to classify a person's talent or the level of a general special constitution, or a specific one such as a corporeal or bloodline constitution, is one of the many points established in the first treaty signed by the 3 clans of the Absolute Universe at the beginning of time, even before other universes existed. Therefore, this makes it a system linked to the law of the Absolute Heaven and, consequently, a system used in any universe, multiverse, or omniverse.

In any case, the system is as follows: there are 11 normal quality classifications, which represent the so-called great realms. In order, they are: mortal quality, earthly quality, sovereign quality, mythical quality, spiritual quality, sacred quality, immortal quality, divine quality, universal quality, celestial quality, and absolute quality. Each category is further divided into 9 grades, where every 3 grades represent a small cultivation realm and its subdivisions. For example, mortal quality represents a great realm, called the great mortal realm, but it has 3 small realms, each divided into 9 grades. These 3 small realms are, in order, the elemental realm, the mystical realm, and the ascendant realm. Therefore, the first 3 grades of mortal quality represent the elemental realm. Going further, the first grade represents the first 3 levels of the elemental realm, the second grade represents the 3 intermediate levels of the elemental realm, and the third grade represents the 3 advanced levels of the elemental realm. The same pattern applies to the other realms.

In addition to the previously explained divisions, the grades are also divided into ranks, which are: mortal rank, inferior rank, low rank, intermediate rank, high rank, superior rank, and supreme rank. These, in turn, are divided into 3 stages or levels: beginner, intermediate, and advanced.

Beyond this, there are also 4 special quality classifications. They are called special because, instead of representing a great realm and its grades, they represent a small realm. These correspond to small realms called transition realms, also known as the 4 palaces. The names of these realms are: Earthly Palace Realm, Spiritual Palace Realm, Divine Palace Realm (also known as the Demigod Realm), and Absolute Palace Realm. As can be inferred, these 4 special classifications share the exact same names as those realms. But what makes them special is not just their names; these classifications do not divide into 9 grades but only into 3 grades, where each grade represents a division of these realms.

All of this may seem complex, but at the time, it was actually agreed upon to simplify the entire process of establishing hegemony for each of the 3 clans. This is the same reason why the use of the Absolute Language and other matters were stipulated in that very same treaty.

Now then, even though Feicui Long felt a little proud that his pills were of higher quality—especially because his cultivation would normally prevent him from creating ones of such advanced quality—of course, this could be ignored if Feicui Long were a genius in alchemy. But the reality is not like that. His talent could at most be described as mediocre, and he knows it. So, in truth, this was largely due to the help of the master formation he used.

The type of master formation he used is a very special kind called an alchemy assistance and enhancement formation, although there is also a version for refinement and smithing, which Feicui Long is also familiar with. These formations can have a multitude of effects, but the specific one Feicui Long used has only two: quality enhancement and ingredient stabilization. This means that, to a large extent, it is thanks to the formation that he can surpass his cultivation and talent limits. However, it would still be a mistake to give all the credit to the formation and take it away from Feicui Long.

The reason is very simple: master formations are extremely complex. So much so that, in any universe, multiverse, or omniverse, what you need to call yourself an inscription master is mastery over runes, seals, talismans, glyphs, and sigils, along with proficiency in 10 types of line formations, 10 types of rune formations, 10 types of seal formations, 10 types of talisman formations, 10 types of glyph formations, 10 types of sigil formations, 5 mixed formations, and 1 master formation.

This is why many tend to look down on inscription masters, even though being one is a requirement for becoming an alchemist or a refiner-smith. This ultimately led pure inscription masters to create a different title system separate from alchemists and refiners. In this system, the title of "inscription master" is actually a beginner's title, which would be called apprentice inscription master. This is the first title one must obtain before advancing to the second, which is beginner inscription master, and so on, progressing to advanced titles such as true inscription master or grand inscription master, among others. In any case, master formations are extremely complex, which is why mastering just one is considered sufficient.

Now, if we look at this type of master formation—the one Feicui Long used—it is one of the most complex types of all. So much so that only one person in 100 million is capable of understanding even half of the basic principles of this type of master formation. Meanwhile, the probability of finding someone capable of establishing the most basic form of this type of formation is 1 in 1 billion. Going even further, the likelihood of finding someone who can combine two basic effects in one of these formations would be 1 in 10 billion. And yet, the effects Feicui Long used—one of which is an advanced effect and the other a basic one—would mean that, realistically, you would need to search among trillions to find someone capable of setting up such a formation.

Not to mention that Feicui Long could have added all possible effects. The reason he didn't is that each effect exponentially increases the consumption of stones, and Feicui Long does not have enough stones to add that many effects to his small furnace.

So, in the end, being able to establish such a complex formation is already an achievement in itself. Therefore, much of the credit must go to Feicui Long, who was the one who set up the formation.

…

In any case, Feicui Long had finished preparing the three signs he had bought at the market. He planned to place one in front of his tent, one near the alley entrance, and another at the bar he frequented. The signs were simple—they stated that all kinds of medicines were sold in the alley and provided the address. At least two of them said that, while the other simply read, "Medicines for sale and medical treatments available," which was the one that would be placed in front of his shop. In addition to this, he modified them by adding runes that would prevent them from being stolen.

Having said this, Feicui Long started putting up the signs. First, he placed the one in front of his shop, then the one near the entrance. Afterward, he headed to Hilda's bar, where he found Olivia, the young girl working as a waitress, and asked her:

"Hey Olivia, can you tell the owner if I can put up a sign next to the door?"

Olivia simply replied, "Of course you can put it up."

Slightly confused, Feicui Long asked, "Are you sure? Aren't you going to ask your boss or something?"

Olivia looked at him confidently and said, "Of course I'm sure. Why wouldn't I be?"

Still a bit doubtful, Feicui Long responded, "But she's the owner of the bar. What if she gets angry?"

Olivia placed a hand on her face and said, "It seems you don't know, but Hilda, the owner of this bar, is my mother. So, as her daughter, I can decide on trivial things like this."

Somewhat surprised, he looked at her and then realized that the bar owner had deep red hair, exactly like Olivia's, and her eyes were olive-colored, just like her mother's. Not wanting to waste any more time, he left the bar to put up the sign, with Olivia curiously following behind.

This time, the sign wouldn't be nailed to the ground since there was a clearly paved path here. So, he took out a nail he had prepared for this occasion and hammered the sign onto the wall. Olivia, curiously, soon read the contents of the sign and slightly opened her mouth in surprise. Shortly after, her eyes started shining with admiration as she asked, "Are you really an alchemist and a doctor?"

Feicui Long humbly replied, "You could say I have some knowledge in the field."

Hearing this, Olivia's eyes shone even brighter. Feicui Long started to feel a bit embarrassed. It wasn't that he wasn't used to being admired, but having such a young girl like Olivia, who was barely thirteen and still had two years before reaching adulthood, look at him like that made him feel even more uncomfortable. Especially because those eyes reminded him of a certain person, though, for some reason, he couldn't fully recall who.

…

In any case, Feicui Long had finished preparing the three signs he had bought at the market. He planned to place one in front of his tent, one near the alley entrance, and another at the bar he frequented. The signs were simple—they stated that all kinds of medicines were sold in the alley and provided the address. At least two of them said that, while the other simply read, "Medicines for sale and medical treatments available," which was the one that would be placed in front of his shop. In addition to this, he modified them by adding runes that would prevent them from being stolen.

Having said this, Feicui Long started putting up the signs. First, he placed the one in front of his shop, then the one near the entrance. Afterward, he headed to Hilda's bar, where he found Olivia, the young girl working as a waitress, and asked her:

"Hey Olivia, can you tell the owner if I can put up a sign next to the door?"

Olivia simply replied, "Of course you can put it up."

Slightly confused, Feicui Long asked, "Are you sure? Aren't you going to ask your boss or something?"

Olivia looked at him confidently and said, "Of course I'm sure. Why wouldn't I be?"

Still a bit doubtful, Feicui Long responded, "But she's the owner of the bar. What if she gets angry?"

Olivia placed a hand on her face and said, "It seems you don't know, but Hilda, the owner of this bar, is my mother. So, as her daughter, I can decide on trivial things like this."

Somewhat surprised, he looked at her and then realized that the bar owner had deep red hair, exactly like Olivia's, and her eyes were olive-colored, just like her mother's. Not wanting to waste any more time, he left the bar to put up the sign, with Olivia curiously following behind.

This time, the sign wouldn't be nailed to the ground since there was a clearly paved path here. So, he took out a nail he had prepared for this occasion and hammered the sign onto the wall. Olivia, curiously, soon read the contents of the sign and slightly opened her mouth in surprise. Shortly after, her eyes started shining with admiration as she asked, "Are you really an alchemist and a doctor?"

Feicui Long humbly replied, "You could say I have some knowledge in the field."

Hearing this, Olivia's eyes shone even brighter. Feicui Long started to feel a bit embarrassed. It wasn't that he wasn't used to being admired, but having such a young girl like Olivia, who was barely thirteen and still had two years before reaching adulthood, look at him like that made him feel even more uncomfortable. Especially because those eyes reminded him of a certain person, though, for some reason, he couldn't fully recall who.

…

In any case, having fulfilled his task, he ate breakfast and simply returned to his "home," waiting for someone to come. It didn't take long. The first to arrive was a timid young adventurer.

"G-Good morning, is it true that you sell medicines at market price?" the young man asked, stammering slightly.

"Of course. I have blood recovery pills, bone regeneration pills, healing potions, energy recovery pills, mana potions, stamina potions, spiritual recovery pills, and more," Feicui Long replied while pointing to the medicines he had laid out on a cloth on the ground.

The young man widened his eyes slightly upon seeing them and said, "I-In that case, I'll take a bottle of blood recovery pills, a bottle of bone regeneration pills, an energy recovery pill bottle, and a healing potion."

"Sure, that will be three silver coins," Feicui Long said as he gathered the requested items in one place while extending his other hand.

The young man, trembling slightly, took out the three silver coins and placed them in Feicui Long's outstretched hand. Then, he took the medicines and examined them for a moment. His eyes widened in shock.

"T-This… A-Are you sure you want to sell me these for just that price?"

Feicui Long replied with a serious expression, "What's written on the sign is what I do. I said I'd sell them at market price, and that's exactly what I'm doing."

Still slightly dazed, the young man bowed in gratitude before leaving.

Shortly after he left, a group of four hunters who seemed to have followed him approached. At first, they were hesitant, but soon, just like the young man, they left happily. And so, more people kept arriving little by little, and this continued for three months.