Chapter 75: Do You Even Understand Alchemy?

“Hey, Jiang, you—”

Xu Xiang rolled up his sleeves and stepped forward to argue.

He had long despised Jiang Cheng; they were all men of the martial world, none with a gentle disposition, and today, humiliated before others, he felt his face burn with shame as head of this pharmacy.

“Xu younger brother, calm down.”

Li Rui grabbed Xu Xiang before he could advance.

Xu Xiang finally stopped.

He had just told Li Rui to be patient, yet he himself couldn’t hold back.

He took a deep breath:

“Li Tangzhu, you saw it—this man has the stubbornness of a mule.”

Xu Xiang sighed helplessly.

He had held the position of pharmacy head for some time and knew Jiang Cheng’s nature well: if he refused to refine, he refused—no one, not even the deputy commander, could change his mind.

Yet this stubborn fool was a master alchemist; without Jiang Cheng, the pharmacy would become nothing but a middleman selling medicines, a laughingstock to the other six halls.

Li Rui said he wanted to try again.

Jiang Cheng spoke one sentence, then stared intently at the pill in his hand for a long while.

He muttered under his breath: “Wrong, wrong.”

He looked every bit the alchemical fanatic.

Although the Qinghe branch pharmacy had seventh-rank pills, those were sent from the main branch.

In all of Qinghe, the most skilled alchemist could barely produce eighth-rank pills—and even then, in minuscule quantities—so Jiang Cheng was already among the very top tier of alchemists.

Otherwise, they would never have tolerated his arrogance.

An alchemist capable of crafting eighth-rank pills was just as sought-after as an eighth-rank martial cultivator.

So even though Xu Xiang was furious, he dared not lay a hand on him.

Just as Jiang Cheng was muttering to himself—

Li Rui suddenly spoke: “The heat control is off. If you refined thirteen breaths longer, the pill’s efficacy would increase by thirty percent.”

Jiang Cheng’s eyes lit up:

“Thirteen breaths—yes, thirteen breaths!”

He had refined this Yang Pill countless times, strictly following the formula, yet the results were always subpar.

He had pondered for days.

Still could not find the reason for failure.

Now, someone had spoken the truth in one sentence.

Jiang Cheng finally took a serious look at Li Rui: “You’re… the Tangzhu of Tianyi Hall? You understand alchemy?”

He remembered Xu Xiang introducing Li Rui just now.

Li Rui shook his head: “I don’t understand alchemy, but due to my cultivation technique, my eyesight is sharp.”

Jiang Cheng immediately became interested.

Alchemy, beyond understanding herbs and their properties, hinges critically on controlling heat during refinement.

But the furnace walls block the view inside.

Heat control relies entirely on experience.

This Tianyi Hall Tangzhu didn’t know alchemy, yet he could perceive the pill’s condition and accurately name the refinement time.

Such eyesight was extraordinary.

Based on his years of alchemical experience, Jiang Cheng judged that Li Rui’s thirteen-breath estimate was ninety percent correct.

Jiang Cheng stood up, unusually composed: “What pill did you say you wanted refined?”

Li Rui’s lips curled slightly.

Got him.

Technical specialists like this could only be won over by offering them real help in alchemy.

Clearly,

He had succeeded.

Most alchemists could only judge by smelling the pill’s aroma or opening the furnace—both methods were inaccurate and risked leaking spiritual energy.

Li Rui had the Spirit Eye.

So he could directly observe changes in spiritual matter.

Just now, the quantity of spiritual matter had dropped sharply in an instant—undoubtedly the moment for pill formation.

He could pinpoint it within half a breath.

Such terrifying heat control was irresistible to any alchemist.

“I’d like to ask Elder Jiang to refine a batch of pills for me. I’ll provide the spirit herbs—any type, as long as it’s a spirit pill.”

“Done.”

This time, Jiang Cheng abandoned his earlier refusal and agreed instantly:

“But I have one condition.”

“Say it.”

“I won’t take payment for labor—just have you come to the alchemy chamber every day to assist me. In return, you can have any pills I refine for free.”

Xu Xiang’s eyes widened in surprise.

Jiang Cheng was so proud; even when he agreed to refine, his labor fee was usually over a hundred silver taels—but now he refused silver entirely, asking only that Li Rui stay in the alchemy chamber.

“Truly, one must have a special skill.”

Unexpectedly, it was Li Rui who refused: “No. I’m busy. I’ll come once every seven days.”

Jiang Cheng frowned: “Seven days is too long. Three.”

Li Rui turned without hesitation: “Tangzhu Xu, no need to trouble you further. Farewell.”

The turn of events came too fast.

One moment Li Rui was pleading for help, the next he was walking out the door.

Seeing Li Rui truly leave,

Jiang Cheng panicked.

Alchemists were rare, but people with Li Rui’s eyesight were rarer still.

With Li Rui’s help, he might even refine a seventh-rank spirit pill.

He couldn’t let this slip away.

“Fine. Seven days it is.”

Li Rui paused, turned with a smile: “Deal.”

This bargaining tactic—like haggling over hay—worked anywhere.

Jiang Cheng blinked.

“Damn.”

He suddenly wondered if he’d been had.

But since he’d spoken, he couldn’t take it back.

Xu Xiang stared, dumbfounded.

Elder Jiang, who never let anyone get the better of him in the branch, had just been completely outmaneuvered by Li Rui.

What followed was much simpler.

Li Rui first thanked Xu Xiang for the introduction, promising to speak well of him before Assistant Regional Commander Zhang.

After Xu Xiang left satisfied,

He handed Jiang Cheng the spirit herbs he’d acquired from the black market.

He also offered: if Jiang Cheng was willing to refine immediately, he could freely watch the heat control for an entire night.

Under the overwhelming power of the words “free of charge,”

Jiang Cheng quickly plunged into refining.

Li Rui had to admit: Jiang Cheng truly had talent in alchemy.

“Worth cultivating.”

Alchemists like Jiang Cheng brought many benefits once befriended, so Li Rui paid even closer attention to the heat control.

Of course, the main reason was that the pills in the furnace were his own.

At dawn,

A pale streak of white appeared on the horizon.

Boom!

A sound like bursting bamboo echoed through the alchemy chamber.

“Success!”

Jiang Cheng joyfully lifted the furnace lid.

Six round pills, each the size of a thumb, pitch-black and shimmering with strange golden luster, rested quietly on the central tray.

Jiang Cheng picked up the pills, held them to his nose, and sniffed for a long while.

Overjoyed.

The strength of this batch of Strong-Body Pills had increased by at least thirty percent compared to previous attempts.

The medicinal herbs remained unchanged, and so did the alchemical technique.

By controlling variables, it was easy to determine that these three-tenths were all Li Rui’s achievement.

“Here.”

Jiang Cheng handed all the pills straight into Li Rui’s hands.

Not a single coin taken.

Of course, he wasn’t empty-handed—he had recorded the precise timing of successful pill formation, and his alchemy had improved considerably.

This was worth more than a whole batch of pills.

Li Rui stared at the six spirit pills in his hand.

He felt it was unreal.

Then he cursed inwardly:

“Unscrupulous middleman!”

(End of Chapter)