Chapter 300: Courtesy Demands Reciprocity

A ripple of nervousness inevitably stirred within Song Tian's heart.

A Top-grade Blood Qi Pill was a rare treasure in the truest sense; no one would ever feel they had too many of them.

Yet at this moment, Song Tian was plunged into deep distress.

He racked his brains, running through everything he possessed in his mind, only to discover with sorrow that he truly could not find a single item worth presenting that would be sufficient to exchange with Lu Yu for such an incomparably precious Top-grade Blood Qi Pill.

After all, a single Top-grade Blood Qi Pill was worth 100,000 Contribution Points; if converted into worldly cash, that was a full 100,000 yuan.

For an ordinary Transformation Energy Martial Artist, this sum might not be considered small, but for the even more powerful Lu Yu, it likely appeared somewhat insignificant.

"One or two?" A look of surprise appeared on Lu Yu's face.

"One or two is enough?"

"Ah?" Song Tian was stunned for a moment, unable to grasp the deeper meaning in Lu Yu's words for a time.

"Branch President, do you still remember when I first joined the Branch, you gave me an extra bottle of High Grade Blood Qi Pills in the name of the Branch?"

Song Tian's heart gave a violent jolt.

Could it be...

The corners of Lu Yu's mouth lifted slightly as he said with a smile, "Although that bottle of High Grade Blood Qi Pills was nominally from the Branch, in reality, it was you, Branch President, who paid out of your own pocket. So after we return, I will give you a bottle of Top-grade Blood Qi Pills directly; it can be considered a fair exchange."

"This... is this really okay?" Song Tian could hardly believe his ears.

One had to know, this was a Top-grade Blood Qi Pill!

Let alone a bottle, even just two pills were worth an entire bottle of High Grade Blood Qi Pills.

"Branch President, do I look like I'm joking?" Lu Yu said, feeling somewhat between laughter and tears.

"No... you don't." Song Tian replied, stammering.

At this moment, his heart was both deeply moved and secretly rejoicing.

Back then, his generous gift of a whole bottle of High Grade Blood Qi Pills to Lu Yu had indeed been an act of investment.

When others in the Association joined, he had similarly given an extra bottle of Blood Qi Pills in the name of the Association, though the quality was only Middle Grade.

Now, facts proved that his investment foresight back then had been quite precise.

"Branch President, actually there is one more thing I would like to ask for your help with," Lu Yu said, seizing the opportunity.

"Little Brother Lu, just say it!" Song Tian said hurriedly, "As long as it is within my, old Song's, power, I will absolutely not refuse."

"Branch President, don't be so serious; it's actually not a particularly difficult matter." Lu Yu then explained his idea of adding an Alchemy Furnace.

"So that's it." Song Tian smiled, feeling a bit embarrassed, "I thought it was some major event. Don't worry, Brother Lu, I will arrange this as soon as I return. At the latest by tomorrow, there will be an extra Alchemy Furnace in the Alchemy Room."

"Mm, then I'll trouble you, Branch President." Lu Yu nodded.

One must eat a meal one bite at a time; he planned to first try refining two batches of pills simultaneously.

If he could handle that with ease, it wouldn't be too late to add another Alchemy Furnace then.

It was just that he didn't know if the space in the Alchemy Room was sufficient; if not, he would just knock through a wall.

"By the way, Branch President," Lu Yu said with a smile, as if suddenly remembering something, "Just one bottle of Top-grade Blood Qi Pills shouldn't last very long, right?"

"This... it should last for a period of time," Song Tian replied with a bitter smile.

At his current Realm, he could basically digest one High Grade Blood Qi Pill a day.

If it were a Top-grade Blood Qi Pill, he would consume about one every two days; calculated this way, a bottle of Top-grade Blood Qi Pills would be enough to sustain him for about twenty days.

As for after twenty days, the headquarters might have already increased the production of Top-grade Blood Qi Pills, though it would likely still be difficult to buy.

"How about this," Lu Yu said slowly after pondering for a moment, "While I am still at the Association for this period, if you, Branch President, or Brother Chang and the others want Top-grade Blood Qi Pills, you can bring medicinal materials of equivalent value to me."

"For example, if one Top-grade Blood Qi Pill is worth 100,000 yuan, if you want me to help refine it, you must bring 100,000 yuan worth of Blood Qi medicinal materials. If you want a whole bottle, you must bring 1,000,000 yuan worth of materials. What do you think of this?"

"Brother Lu, you... are you serious?" Song Tian was so excited that his body trembled slightly.

"Mm." Lu Yu responded softly, his tone steady and firm, then continued, "We are all people of the Association, and from the same Branch at that; we see each other every day, so this little matter is nothing to me. However..."

Speaking to this point, he held up two fingers, shook them in the air, and continued, "I can help refine at most two batches of Top-grade Blood Qi Pills a day; I hope you, Branch President, understand."

"Good! Good!" Song Tian agreed without hesitation.

Having a daily limit was completely reasonable.

After all, Little Brother Lu was already a Martial Artist in the Vein Refining Realm, and a Refining Pulse Realm Mid-Stage one at that.

Next, not only did he need to focus on his own cultivation, but even if he were to refine pills, it would mainly be True Qi Pills.

Being able to spare time to help everyone refine Top-grade Blood Qi Pills was already extremely rare.

Let alone two bottles, even if it were only one, or even half a bottle, Song Tian would feel flattered.

"Brother Lu, after we return, I will tell Chang Lei and the others this good news; they will definitely be grateful to you beyond words."

"Branch President, you are too polite; this is just a small favor," Lu Yu said with a smile.

He did this partly out of the camaraderie of belonging to the same Branch.

On the other hand, this was a steady, profitable business.

With the extra medicinal materials, he could refine finished products for his relatives to use, saving himself the trouble and expense of buying them.

As they spoke, the two had already arrived at the Base.

Lu Yu returned to the Alchemy Room alone to continue refining Blood Qi Pills.

He estimated that by the afternoon, or at the latest by dusk, he would be able to use up all the remaining medicinal materials. By then, the permissions would surely have been unlocked.

He would then be able to turn his energy to refining True Qi Pills.

As for Song Tian, after parting ways with Lu Yu, he stood in place and pondered for a moment, then took out his phone, quickly found the contact information for Chang Lei, Kang Yuan, and a few others, and dialed them one by one.

Once the calls were connected, without waiting for the other party to ask, he said in an unquestionable tone, "Come to the conference room immediately, there is an important matter." After saying this, he hung up the phone decisively.

Not long after, everyone arrived at the conference room one after another. As soon as Kang Yuan entered the door, he couldn't help but complain loudly, "Branch President, what on earth is it? I was just training with great enthusiasm, and you called, but when I asked what was going on, you wouldn't say. You had me worried sick."

"That's right, Branch President, I hadn't even had time to ask clearly before you hung up the phone."

"Exactly, exactly." The Yang brothers echoed in agreement.

"Alright, enough with the chatter." Jiang Yao frowned, cast a glance at them, and said in a stern tone.

"The President said on the phone to drop what we are doing and come to the conference room immediately, which means this matter is certainly not simple, so everyone stop complaining and patiently listen to what the President has to say."

"That's right." The usually composed Chang Lei nodded; his gaze was like a torch as he swept it across the crowd, but he did not see Lu Yu, and a sense of doubt could not help but well up in his heart as he asked:

"President, did little brother Lu Yu not come? Or did you forget to notify him?"

Once he brought it up, the others also realized it.