Boom!

A deafening explosive sound echoed in the room as the furnace exploded, covering the whole room in dust.

Suddenly, a whirlwind erupted, sweeping away the dust outside the window and destroying the window of the alchemy room, revealing Lu Zhen, who was covered in dust.

"Sigh, what went wrong?" He questioned himself as a frown appeared on his face.

Lu Zhen recounted his whole process; however, he couldn't find anything wrong with it. The process was all smooth, to the point where Lu Zhen felt it was even easier than making paste, but the last part felt off, as if he had missed a crucial point.

"How do I form that symbol? Can I only form it when I become a first-stage Martial artist?" Lu Zhen had many questions in his head that hadn't been answered until now.

"Forget it; I will make paste for now," Lu Zhen thought as he took out another cauldron from the shelves.

Since Lu Zhen was expecting an explosion, he had prepared hundreds of cauldrons because they were all cheap and easy to make anyway. He didn't care how much he wasted as long as he could learn to make pills.

But seeing the last process, Lu Zhen knew he couldn't make the pill, so he decisively gave up.

"Let's make another paste for now," Lu Zhen said as he took out rows of books, all of which were alchemy books and other tactical books.

His eyes turned golden as he carefully looked at each and every single book.

[Ten Arts of War]

[Grade: Half Qi Item]

[Remark: A rare book detailing strategies of warfare.]

[Thousand Men Formation]

[Grade: Half Intent Item]

[Remark: Teaches a formation capable of trapping a first-stage martial artist for an hour and potentially killing a third-stage martial artist if caught off-guard, even with a mortal army.]

[Wood Element Barrier]

[Grade: Intent Item]

[Remark: Teaches the practitioner to set up a barrier using wood element resources capable of withstanding ten attacks from a second-stage martial artist.]

[Body-Refining Formula]

[Grade: Half Intent Item]

[Remark: Instructs the practitioner in refining paste and pills that accelerate the process of attributeless qi conversion in the body, strengthening it.]

[Food Formula]

[Grade: Qi Item]

[Remark: Provides guidance on refining paste and pills that store valuable nutrition and proteins, aiding in body growth.]

[Qi-Refining Formula]

[Grade: Half Intent Item]

[Remark: Details the process of refining paste and pills that enhance a martial artist's ability to condense and refine qi, increasing its efficiency and speed of condensing qi.]

"Hmm, it seems I can categorise the grades into three different levels. 'Normal' should be for things only useful for mortals, 'Qi items' are likely for martial artists, and 'Intent items'..." Lu Zhen paused, deep in thought. "They're probably meant for first-stage martial artists or higher."

Here's the conclusion he reached after analyzing the grades provided by his Appraisal Eyes:

Normal item = Mortal use.

Half-Qi item = Suitable for martial artists.

Qi item = Suitable for third-stage martial artists.

Half-Intent item = Suitable for second-stage martial artists.

Intent item = Suitable for first-stage martial artists.

Looking at the books before him, Lu Zhen felt a wave of both excitement and overwhelm. However, he quickly regained his composure and sneered as he flexed his muscle.

"I am not going back to my mediocre life like before."

"I still have more books, but they aren't useful to me," he thought, glancing at the various items he had obtained from the sack he acquired from the old man.

"What a steal for just a gold coin," he mused, a smirk forming on his face. While the old man's exaggerated claims weren't the same as what he had told, each item he had acquired was indeed valuable to the bones.

Lu Zhen doubted if the inheritance cave even had any treasure left, except for the natural resources it contained. Hearing about the intel from Huang Li, he was 90% sure that everything here came from the inheritance cave.

Everything within the cave possessed the potential to cause a bloodbath if it were to be leaked into the outside world. However, now it all belonged to Lu Zhen.

"Poor Huang family," he mused. "They had the opportunity to rise to power with these treasures and become the overlords of the town. However, as a dutiful son-in-law, I'll consider these treasures as my wedding gift."

Lu Zhen couldn't help but chuckle as he contemplated how the old man's son had managed to stumble upon such a treasure trove. He wasn't concerned about the Huang family seeking retribution because they were preoccupied with nursing their wounds and preparing for the inheritance cave tournament.

Furthermore, their suspicions were vague, and they couldn't be entirely certain that Lu Zhen had acquired the treasures from the cave. If that were the case, the Huang family's ancestor would have personally intervened instead of sending the young girl.

To be certain, Lu Zhen decided that he would pay a visit to the old man and his son after he had finished dealing with the current matters.

After washing his face with cold water and feeling refreshed, he turned his attention to the study of formations for the first time. However, as he delved into the subject, he found it incomprehensible. The writings appeared as gibberish to him, making no sense at all.

While he could understand the basic concepts of circles and images, it didn't come to him as naturally as alchemy did. The study of formations felt unproductive and confusing.

"Well, what was I expecting? People literally spend their entire lives devoted to them but barely get any results. How would I get any results after just seeing it for a moment?" Lu Zhen could bet that if he hadn't acquired the alchemy skill, he would have to suffer like ordinary people while practicing martial arts.

He had no delusion that he was a super genius or something; he was just a normal, ambitious man who had transmigrated to this world with a cheat.

With that thought, Lu Zhen put the formation and the barrier book aside and started to read the alchemy book again, occasionally skimming through the art of war book to refresh his memory.