Chapter 371: Pill Refining Mastery

371. Chapter 371 Pill Refining Mastery

"It really does seem to be that Grandmaster from the Black Market, huh?"

In the Lian Dan Shi, Jiang Cheng thought to himself.

However, his heart didn't stir at all.

After all, the two have little interaction, and although he joined the Black Market, he hasn't caused any trouble for those who attend the Black Market Auction.

Not to mention, the other party came here only because Gu Zhangkong invited them.

He'd better keep his focus on refining alchemy.

Unconsciously, several hours passed.

With the new batch of pills emerging, the Panel's skill with Awakening Pill reached Proficient level.

The Experience Bar increased by threefold.

Jiang Cheng digested the extra information in his mind, studied a bit more, and started refining pills again.

One hour.

Two hours.

After nearly three hours, the medicinal power in the furnace was completely exhausted.

A faint smile appeared on Jiang Cheng's face.

Although the refining took a long time, the result was still worth it.

Inside the furnace, there were seven High-grade Awakening Pills and three Top-grade Awakening Pills.

The Experience Bar jumped directly by 7.65%!

That means, if he refines twelve more batches, his Alchemy Technique will reach Mastery level.

If he truly reaches Mastery, Jiang Cheng feels that spending a bit more time and effort to make a batch of top-grade Awakening Pills would be no problem.

In fact, to reach Proficient to Mastery might not require twelve batches; ten could suffice, because as Experience Value rises, his Alchemy Technique improves, and the numbers of High-grade and Top-grade pills per batch will also change.

Each batch will grant increasingly more Experience Value.

"If Gu Dage learns of this, he'd probably be very pleased."

Jiang Cheng looked at the pills in the furnace.

This batch, containing only three Top-grade Awakening Pills, already fetched three million on the market; adding seven High-grade Awakening Pills at thirty thousand each brings the total to five million one hundred thousand.

The cost of ten portions of ingredients was only five million.

That means his current pill refining is no longer a loss per batch; it turns a deficit into profit. Though the earnings are modest—a small surplus—the later batches yield increasingly larger profits.

Moreover, now that he can produce Top-grade Awakening Pills, he no longer needs to spend money buying them from the Inner City District; he can simply consume what's before him, and even if he uses a trick, Gu Zhangkong likely won't notice at a glance.

But as soon as those thoughts arose, Jiang Cheng dismissed them.

After all, people treat him with integrity, so he must treat others with integrity.

Moreover, given Gu Zhangkong's nature, if he truly wanted to take some Top-grade Awakening Pills, he could just say so; the latter would most likely not refuse, so there's no need for any underhanded means.

"Wait a little longer."

Jiang Cheng's mouth twitched upward.

When his Alchemy Technique reaches Mastery, ten portions of ingredients will yield a batch of Top-grade Awakening Pills, netting five million in profit.

If he raises his request again, Gu Zhangkong will agree even more readily.

Time quickly passed to evening.

When Gu Zhangkong saw that today's refined pills included Top-grade Awakening Pills, his breathing became rapid.

"Jiang Lao Di, is this something you refined? Has your Alchemy Technique broken through again?"

"Yes."

Jiang Cheng gave a slight smile.

"The Alchemy Technique for Awakening Pill is much harder, but it still shares some similarities with the Second Grade An Shen Pill; once you find the key, it's not difficult."

Gu Zhangkong took a deep breath.

He just took the words as mere talk.

Otherwise, why did Xu Hai and his group struggle for so long even to refine Second Grade An Shen Pills? People are different.

After tallying the pills, he inhaled a cold breath again. Because the value of these pills was roughly equal to the cost of the ingredients, even slightly higher.

No loss now.

That instantly made him feel the pressure on his shoulders lighten considerably.

What if Jiang Cheng's Alchemy Technique continues to improve?

His hand couldn't help but tremble slightly.

"Jiang Lao Di, didn't you say this morning that you'd guide others on refining alchemy in a couple of days? Should we postpone a few days? Or I could spend some money to invite others to come and give them some pointers?"

"It's fine."

Jiang Cheng laughed, "I'll go then. If someone else goes, they might not be very happy, and the person you invite may not be fully dedicated."

Of course, there's another point.

Unless that person's mastery of the An Shen Pill is also perfect, otherwise their skill won't surpass his.

"Indeed."

Gu Zhangkong heard this and felt a surge of emotion.

He was also afraid of wasting Jiang Cheng's time, yet the latter still responded.

"Jiang Lao Di, rest assured, as long as I, Gu Zhangkong, have a mouthful, you'll have one too."

He patted Jiang Cheng's shoulder and said seriously.

Jiang Cheng gave a firm nod.

This sentence, compared to me taking a bite and you taking a sip, is not the same; or rather, the gap is too large.

However, he keeps that thought inside and will wait until Alchemy Technique reaches Mastery before dealing with it.

Three days passed peacefully.

The bothersome matters in the two people's hearts did not occur.

The wind is calm and the waves are still.

In the first two days, Jiang Cheng spent the time alone refining pills.

The Experience Value provided by one furnace of pills rose from about 7‑8% to about 9‑10%.

On the third day, Jiang Cheng kept his promise, spending a day to give the other alchemists a proper lesson.

When they left, everyone looked like they had benefited greatly; in a few more days, the Black Market's monthly profit could rise considerably again.

On the fourth day, in the afternoon.

On the Panel, the Experience Bar of Alchemy Technique finally completed, reaching the Mastery Realm.

Jiang Cheng again absorbed and digested the information in his mind, and began refining pills.

This time, he spent a little over three hours before achieving great success.

In the furnace, ten pills, without exception, were all Top‑grade Awakening Pills.

"Not bad."

Jiang Cheng's face showed a hint of a smile.

As a cost, each furnace takes a rather long time; four furnaces a day is the limit.

After Mastery, the Experience Bar is about five times what it was before; refining one Top‑grade Awakening Pill can increase the Experience Bar by 0.3%, ten pills per furnace raise it by roughly 3%.

Over thirty furnaces can make Alchemy Technique break through again.

The bad news is that at this point, pill quality has reached its limit, with no room for further improvement.

At most, as Experience Value rises, the time to refine one furnace changes from a little over three hours to three hours, then to a little over two hours, eventually about two hours.

Regarding this, Jiang Cheng has no solution; the higher the pill quality, the longer the refining takes, even if Alchemy Technique is complete, the required time remains the same.

Fortunately, profit has risen to a very considerable level.

Each furnace refined yields five million profit; at four furnaces per day, daily profit reaches twenty million!

(End of chapter)