I started by submitting to the Douluo Continent, and the nation helped me become a god.

Chapter 29 Modern Alchemy

Li Fulan followed Lin An through one security checkpoint after another, finally arriving at the core of the base—Yuan Lao's laboratory.

This place is frighteningly large, at least a thousand square meters. It is surrounded by various precision instruments with flashing indicator lights, and there is a faint smell of herbs in the air, mixed with the smell of disinfectant.

A dozen or so researchers in white coats were busy with their own things. Some were peering through microscopes, some were fiddling with reagents, and others were gesturing at the messy molecular models on the holographic screen.

In the middle of the laboratory, an old man with gray hair but in excellent spirits was facing away from the door, staring intently at something inside a constant temperature incubator.

That's Mr. Yuan.

The chief scientist of the Seventh Base, a national-level pharmacology expert, and the head of the entire "Otherworld Resource Development Project".

"Mr. Yuan, Li Fulan has arrived."

Lin An whispered a reminder.

When Mr. Yuan turned around, his eyes behind his reading glasses shone brightly.

"Little Li, come here, come here quickly."

He waved, a smile on his face.

"I was just looking for you. The information you brought back this time was a huge help."

Li Fulan stepped forward and nodded politely.

"Mr. Yuan, Lin An said you were quite interested in those medicinal herb materials?"

"It's more than just being interested."

Mr. Yuan picked up a stack of printed documents from his worktable, his eyes brimming with excitement.

"Did you know that although the herbs in Douluo Continent have completely different names and appearances from plants on Earth, they share a striking similarity in their pharmacological mechanisms?"

He turned to one of the pages and poked at a comparison table on it with his finger.

"Look, this thing called 'dragon's beard grass' has heat-clearing and detoxifying effects mainly from a type of flavonoid compound. Its molecular structure is over 70% similar to chlorogenic acid found in honeysuckle on Earth."

"What does this mean? It means we can use honeysuckle extract from Earth to partially replace dragon's beard grass and create an antidote with similar effects."

Li Fulan nodded. Although she didn't understand the technical terms, she roughly understood what they meant.

"That's great! This way we won't have to rely entirely on bringing back medicinal herbs from Douluo Continent."

"That's right."

Mr. Yuan smiled with satisfaction.

"But this is only the first step."

He put down the documents and turned to walk toward a transparent display case in the corner of the laboratory.

Inside the cabinet were several oddly shaped plant samples, all submerged in some kind of transparent preservation solution.

"Little Li, do you know what the most crucial step is in refining those elixirs in Douluo Continent?"

Li Fulan shook her head.

"It's not about the proportions of the medicinal herbs, nor is it about controlling the heat."

Mr. Yuan's eyes suddenly sharpened.

"Instead—a catalyst."

"catalyst?"

"That's right."

Yuan Lao turned around and stared straight into Li Fulan's eyes.

"Based on the information you brought back, I discovered that the reason why the elixirs in Douluo Continent can produce such miraculous effects is not only because of the potency of the medicinal ingredients themselves. More importantly, a special 'catalyst' must be added during the refining process to stimulate and fuse the medicinal power of various ingredients."

"This kind of 'primer' is called a 'catalyst' in that world. Its function is similar to a catalyst in a chemical reaction; it doesn't participate in the reaction itself, but it greatly accelerates the reaction process and guides the reaction in a specific direction."

Li Fulan nodded thoughtfully.

"So what are these 'medicinal guides' usually?"

Mr. Yuan remained silent for a short while.

"According to records, the most common medicinal guides are certain special plants or fungi. Especially fungi..."

He gave Li Fulan a meaningful look.

"Little Li, I remember your martial soul is a kind of mushroom, right?"

Li Fulan was stunned.

His martial spirit is indeed a mushroom.

A poisonous mushroom that emits an eerie fluorescent glow and looks extremely ugly.

When he first awakened in Holy Soul Village, he was disgusted by that behavior for quite some time.

"Mr. Yuan, what do you mean...?"

"What I mean is—"

Yuan's eyes lit up with fervor.

"Your mushroom-shaped martial soul is very likely the most perfect 'catalyst' in the Douluo Continent's alchemy system."

Li Fulan's mind went blank for a moment.

"What?"

"Don't rush, let me explain slowly to you."

Mr. Yuan walked up to the holographic projector and brought up a three-dimensional molecular model.

"This is the molecular structure diagram of a certain high-grade elixir from the Douluo Continent, which we extracted from the data you brought back. Look here—"

He pointed a laser pointer at a complex node in the center of the model.

"This location is the core area where the so-called 'guide drug' exerts its effect. Structurally, this area requires a substance that simultaneously possesses strong oxidizing and reducing properties, as well as special biological activity, to act as a 'bridge' between various medicinal components."

"And your mushroom-shaped martial soul..."

Then, Yuan Lao pulled up another image, which was the energy spectrum analysis diagram of Li Fulan's martial spirit.

"Look at it, the special energy waveform it releases matches the energy characteristics required by that 'catalyst' action site with a 92% accuracy."

"in other words--"

Yuan Lao turned around and stared at Li Fulan with shining eyes.

"Your 'useless' martial spirit, which is practically useless in combat, is a priceless treasure when it comes to alchemy."

Li Fulan stood there, silent for a long time.

Countless thoughts raced through his mind like a revolving lantern.

So that's what happened.

No wonder the system assigned him such a seemingly powerless martial soul.

It's not that it's useless, but rather... there's another way to do it.

"so……"

He finally spoke, his throat a little dry.

"You mean, you want me to learn alchemy?"

"That's right."

Mr. Yuan's smile grew even brighter.

"Little Li, with your martial soul talent, if you could master the alchemy techniques of Douluo Continent and combine them with our Earth's modern pharmacology knowledge..."

His eyes gleamed with fanaticism.

"You will become the one and only 'Grandmaster of Alchemy' between the two worlds."

Li Fulan remained silent for a long time.

Then, he suddenly laughed.

That smile carried a hint of self-deprecation, but also a touch of unexpected relief.

"I thought I'd only ever be able to get by with technology and swindling. Who knew... this damn mushroom would have such a use?"

He raised his head and looked at Mr. Yuan.

"Okay, I'll learn."

Yuan was as happy as a child, and he grabbed Li Fulan's arm and pulled her deeper into the laboratory.

"Come on, come on, I'll show you something good."

The two walked through rows of instruments and arrived at a secluded area at the very back of the laboratory.

The lighting here is much dimmer than outside. The walls are covered with various charts and formulas. In the center is a huge workbench with a strangely shaped... furnace on it.

Li Fulan took a closer look and found that the thing looked like some kind of ancient alchemy furnace on the outside, but upon closer inspection, it was filled with densely packed sensors and pipelines inside, clearly indicating that it had been modified with modern technology.

"What is this?"

"This is an experimental product we created based on the data you brought back, combined with Earth's materials science."

Yuan Lao patted the stove with a smug look on his face.

"I named it 'Heavenly Craft Furnace'."

"The Heavenly Crafting Furnace?"

"That's right. This thing can precisely control the temperature, pressure, and gas composition inside the furnace, and it can also monitor the progress of the drug reaction in real time. Compared to the rudimentary methods in Douluo Continent that rely on experience and intuition, this is far more advanced."

Li Fulan circled the stove, marveling at it.

"Professor Yuan, you've moved so fast! I've only just brought the documents back, and you've already got this thing up your sleeve?"

"Hey kid, don't underestimate us old guys."

Old Yuan stroked his gray beard, looking quite proud.

"I've dedicated my entire life to pharmacology, and this is the opportunity I've been waiting for. As soon as your data arrived, I didn't sleep a wink, working with the team non-stop for three days and three nights to finally produce this initial version."

"Three days and three nights?"

Li Fulan looked at the two obvious dark circles under Yuan Lao's eyes and immediately felt a little guilty.

"Professor Yuan, is your health up to the task?"

"I can handle it, I can handle it. My old bones are still strong."

Mr. Yuan waved his hand, not taking it to heart.

"Besides, this matter is too important; how can I sleep? You know, Xiao Li, if we can really replicate the alchemy techniques of Douluo Continent, the significance would be immense."

He walked to the wall and pointed to a flowchart posted there.

"Look, according to the records, the most basic 'Primordial Essence Pill' in Douluo Continent can improve the physical fitness of an ordinary person by 20% to 30% within a month. On Earth, that's equivalent to giving an ordinary person the physical abilities of a professional athlete."

"And the more advanced 'Body Tempering Pill' is said to be able to reshape the body's meridians and open up the Ren and Du meridians, with effects equivalent to ten years of arduous cultivation. If we could replicate this as well..."

Yuan Lao's eyes shone with a burning light.

"Then the combat effectiveness of our Chinese army will be elevated to a new level."

Li Fulan was stunned.

He originally thought that his trip to Douluo Continent would at most bring back some interesting information, but he never expected that the information would be so valuable.

"Mr. Yuan, what's next for me..."

"From now on, you'll learn diligently from me."

Yuan put his arm around Li Fulan's shoulder, just like an old master who had finally found his last disciple.

"Learn theory from me during the day, and conduct experiments at night. I'll pass on all my skills to you, combined with your unique martial spirit..."

His eyes narrowed to slits, and he smiled like an old fox.

"If we, master and apprentice, join forces, we're guaranteed to make quite a splash."

Looking at Yuan Lao's overly excited expression, Li Fulan suddenly felt a mix of amusement and exasperation.

He originally wanted to be a powerful figure who roamed other worlds, but unexpectedly, he ended up becoming an alchemist.

But thinking about it carefully, it doesn't seem so bad.

Being a Soul Master is prestigious, but it's also too risky, as you often have to face monsters like Tang Hao head-on.

Being an alchemist is different; you can hide behind the scenes and make a fortune quietly, which is both safe and promising.

And most importantly...

Li Fulan looked down at her palm, silently recited a mantra, and a small mushroom emitting a faint glow slowly appeared.

Although that lousy mushroom was ugly beyond words, it actually looks much better now.

"Mr. Yuan."

He put away his martial spirit and said seriously.

"I'm entrusting this entire month to you."

"Good, good, that's ambitious."

Mr. Yuan nodded in satisfaction.

"Let's begin now. Lesson one—Basic Theory of Medicinal Herbs in Douluo Continent. Come on, memorize this book first."

He pulled a thick document, as thick as a brick, from the shelf next to him and slammed it down in front of Li Fulan.

Li Fulan looked down and was immediately dumbfounded.

The "book" was over three hundred pages long, densely packed with the names, properties, origins, and contraindications of various medicinal herbs...

"Mr. Yuan, how long do we have to carry this thing?"

"Three days."

Mr. Yuan's smile remained as kind as ever.

"If you can't memorize it in three days, then don't eat."

Li Fulan's lips twitched.

He suddenly began to miss the days when Tang Hao was chasing him in Douluo Continent.

At least back then, although it was dangerous, we didn't have to memorize anything.