Dual Cultivation

"Su Yang… what if I want to leave with you?" Wang Shuren suddenly asked him after a moment of silence.

"Your last words… you sounded very confident that I would not leave with you. Hell, you didn't even ask me if I want to go with you."

"Then can you abandon all of your achievements and status here and start a new life in a place where nobody even knows your name?" Su Yang asked her with a calm expression.

"Your name has risen to the top over the last few months, perhaps even the number one Alchemy Master in the Eastern Continent. Can you really discard all of that?"

"..."

Wang Shuren remained silent for a few moments before speaking, "You are right, Su Yang. It has always been my dream to become a famous Alchemy Master that is known by almost everybody in the Eastern Continent. I have always wanted to experience what it would be like to be respected by every Alchemy Master I come across."

"Now that my dream has been realized, I cannot just simply throw all of it away, even if all of my achievements are mostly thanks to you."

"However, what is to say that I will not change my mind somewhere down the line? Two years is more than enough time to change someone's mind, Su Yang…"

"Perhaps in two years, these achievements will no longer mean anything to me — perhaps I will even have the courage to abandon them and follow you."

Su Yang smiled after hearing her words and spoke in a gentle voice, "Then I will ask you in two years. But for now, I want you to focus on Alchemy, since I want you to be just more than the 'best' Alchemy Master in the Eastern Continent."

"W-What do you mean by that?" She asked him with a puzzled face.

"With just these pill recipes alone, you have already surpassed every Alchemy Master in this world. Once you master them, you will become an unrivaled existence in Alchemy, and your name will forever exist in history." Su Yang explained to her with a calm expression.

"Su Yang…" Wang Shuren's eyes became teary after realizing what Su Yang had planned for her.

If she did not meet him at the Burning Lotus Auction House last year, perhaps she would still be a mere lowly Sect Elder with subpar Alchemy skills even now.

If she did not toss aside her pride as an Elder and kicked Su Yang out of the auction house on that day, all of her achievements might have been achieved by someone else, and she would be kicking herself in regret every day for the rest of her life once she realizes the once-in-a-life opportunity that she'd missed.

"However, if you are going to become the best Alchemy Master this world has ever seen before, I will need to train you properly." Su Yang suddenly said. "Starting today, I will come here once a week to teach you how to concoct pills properly, and this will continue until I feel that you are good enough."

"Really?" Wang Shuren stared at him with a surprised look. "You would go through so much trouble just for me?"

"It's not just for you. It's for everyone in this world." Su Yang responded with a mysterious smile. "I am going to up the standard of Alchemy in this world by a few levels. In other words — it's going to be a new era."

"You can go for now. I will come to you once I am finished here."

"You mean the disciples outside? It'll take days to make them all go away." Wang Shuren said.

"Then you should use this time to prepare yourself, because you will have no room to relax when I start with you."

Wang Shuren nodded with a serious expression before leaving the place.

Once Wang Shuren was gone, Su Yang resumed his autograph session with the disciples outside.

A few days later, Su Yang approached Wang Shuren's living quarters, which was an enormous estate that was right beside the Sect Master's estate. It was obvious just how much Huo Yuanjia respects and values Wang Shuren after seeing her living conditions.

It was so grand that if one was not aware of their relationship, they might even think Huo Yuanjia fancied Wang Shuren.

"It appears that your living conditions have slightly improved since the last time I visited your house." Su Yang greeted her with a smile.

"Slightly…?" Wang Shuren chuckled upon hearing his understatement. "It was only recently built, too. Our income has significantly increased because of my pills, even slightly overwhelming."

She had particularly gone from living inside a small house to a freaking mansion. However, considering her current status and worth, it would not be an exaggeration to say that she deserved to live in such luxury.

"Show me to your pill room." Su Yang then said to her.

Wang Shuren nodded and led him inside the building and then into a large empty room without any decorations or unnecessary furniture.

Besides a small cabinet in the corner of the room that emitted the smell of herbs and medicine, there is also a precious-looking cauldron in the middle of the room.

"This cauldron isn't half-bad." Su Yang praised the cauldron, as it is the best cauldron he has seen in this world so far.

"That cauldron is a Heaven-grade treasure, and I'd spent three million spirit stones on it." Wang Shuren said with a bittersweet smile, as this is the most that she's ever spent on a single item.

"By the way, did you get all of the ingredients I requested during the auction at Snowfall City?" Su Yang suddenly asked her.

"I do! Although a few of them were difficult to find, I managed to buy every ingredient on the list. They are all stored inside that cabinet." Wang Shuren said as she pointed to the cabinet in the corner of the room.

"Good, because those are the ingredients needed to concoct the new pills. Before I lecture you, I will demonstrate my techniques first." Su Yang proceeded to name a few ingredients, and Wang Shuren delivered them to him a few moments later.

"I will only do this once, so watch and learn." He said before sitting before the cauldron.