The First Alchemist - Chap 29

Chapter 29 - Throwing A Tantrum

Chem Al examined the the Hard Earth Pill in his hand. Its purity was at one hundred percent. He should be proud of that considering he was able to make it with a medicinal cauldron that was not built to handle this higher tier pill, but he wasn’t happy at all.

He looked down at the medicinal cauldron. It was now slightly misshapen; cracks appeared all around it, along with melted parts and burn marks, making it look little better than it would one hundred thousand years from now.

He couldn’t stop the tears from coming to his eyes, despite knowing, because of the journals, that this cauldron still worked. But still, to see it so damaged like this, how could he not feel like crying.

After uncaringly tossing the pill towards his big brother, Chem Al carried the damaged medicinal cauldron to a corner of the hut and sulked.

Chem Au stared at the pill he caught. It was brown with thin swirls of faded gold all around. It was slightly bigger than the Primary Profound Pill and the smell coming off of it was denser. "What kind of pill is this? What does it do" he asked his brother. Sheng Yi wanted to know that too.

Chem Al's voice sounded like it came from far off. "I call it the Hard Earth Pill. And it's not a cultivation pill, if that's what you're thinking. It's a pill that affects your body rather than your profound energy."

The confused look in Chem Au's eyes didn't disappear. He didn't really understand what his brother meant. However, after the amazing effect of the previous Primary Profound Pill, he trusted that this pill his brother made would also help him get stronger in some way.

Chem Au swallowed the pill.

He could feel it going down into his stomach, but after waiting awhile, there was no burst of power. In fact, he couldn't really feel anything happening at all. "What's supposed to happen?" he asked again.

"Give it time," Chem Al whispered, still hugging his medicinal cauldron.

At that moment, Chem Au felt something, almost like his skin was rippling over his muscles. It was a strange sensation. It felt like snakes were crawling all over him, but then they soon settled down as if they had been turned to stone. He then felt normal again.

The pill must have taken effect, but he felt no change. He summoned up his profound energy and even threw a few punches, but he didn't feel any stronger. "I don't get it," Chem Au said.

Sheng Yi had been watching the whole thing. She didn't understand either. "Disciple, stop sulking and come over here. Explain it to us."

With a sigh, Chem Al walked back over to the center of the room with limp legs. "It's simple." He grabbed the knife from his master, then stabbed his brother with it.

When he did that, both Sheng Yi and Chem Au understood, their eyes widening in amazement. But before they could exclaim in wonder, they heard a yell coming from outside.

Someone was shouting at the top of his lungs.

Chem Al woke from his depression. "Oh, it seems like the village chief told Sorka Bo about our meeting."

"What meeting?" Sheng Yi asked, still listening to the fading echoes of that almost malicious animal-like scream.

Chem Al explained to her what had taken place over an hour ago, surprising her. "Just like that? The village chief will step down just like that?" Then she had a frightened look on her face. "No wonder Sorka Bo sounded so angry. Do you think he might come here?"

Just as she said that, she sensed someone running towards her hut at an extremely fast speed. The scared look on her face grew as she looked at the door. It smashed opened, almost exploding, the sticks it was made of splintering everywhere. A burst of cold wind blew into the hut.

Sorka Bo stood there, his aura like a vengeful beast.

The moment he spotted the cripple, he lunged at him. His claw-like hands were about to grasp his throat when suddenly someone grabbed his arm and pushed him back. Sorka Bo landed on the ground, back outside the hut. He looked up and saw Chem Au standing over him.

"Don't you dare," Chem Al almost growled.

Sorka Bo got up, his face contorted in anger. "You! You and your useless brother! What the hell did you do to my father?"

"Nothing," Chem Al said, coming around from behind his big brother. "I merely explained to him how it might better benefit this village if I became the next village chief."

Sorka Bo lunged at him again, but Chem Au grabbed him by the arms, holding him back, barely.

"You! Do you actually think someone as weak as you can become village chief instead of me?" Sorka Bo glared at the cripple, still trying to go after him. "I don't know how you tricked my father, but that's not going to happen!"

Chem Al laughed. "We'll see."

But that just made Sorka Bo push harder, trying to shove Chem Au out of the way to get at the little cripple. When he failed, he shouted at Chem Au. "Get out of my way!" His clawing hands tightened into fists. It looked like he was going to ignore the cripple for now and take on Chem Au.

"If you want to fight, save it for tomorrow," Chem Al said. "Unless you don't want to humiliate me by beating my big brother in front of everybody."

Sorka Bo stopped, a bit of calm cutting through his anger. He remembered that his cultivation was at the peak of the sixteenth level, while Chem Au had only recently broken through. Combined with his mastery of the second layer of the Soaring Crane Skill, he was sure to win. He took a step back, then stared at Chem Au. "That's right. Tomorrow, we fight. And I will show the entire village how weak you are, that you're not better than me. I'll remind everyone why I'm going to be the next village chief." He stomped off, a twisted smile on his face, thinking of the ways he was going to knock that bastard into the ground.

"Did you have to antagonize him like that?" Chem Au grunted, his muscles straining. It had taken almost all of his strength just to hold Sorka Bo back.

Chem Al shrugged. "Nothing I say would have calmed him down.” He then walked back into the hut. “Now hurry up and start cultivating. I've done everything I can to prepare you for tomorrow's fight. The rest is up to you."

With a worried sigh, Chem Au followed him into the hut, then sat down and closed his eyes, using every second he could to get himself ready for tomorrow.

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