Chen Chuan’s heart skipped a beat, but he remained calm on the surface. "If I fail, I am willing to be Senior Sister’s errand boy from now on, at your beck and call."
"Good! It’s a deal!" Fearing he would back out, Ye Linger immediately agreed.
Her little face was full of the pride of a successful scheme.
She could already see the scene of Chen Chuan dejectedly following behind her and calling her Senior Sister.
Watching the two of them settle such a bet in just a few words, Murong Xuan couldn’t help but rub his forehead, feeling a massive headache coming on.
The Pill Hall would likely know no peace from now on.
"In that case, Chen Chuan, watch closely. I will first demonstrate the refining of a Green Spirit Pill for you."
Murong Xuan walked to a bronze Pill Furnace, his expression becoming focused.
He channeled the Earth Fire, warming the furnace, adding herbs, tempering, fusing the liquids, and condensing the pills.
His movements were as smooth as flowing water, carrying a unique sense of beauty.
Before long, the Pill Furnace vibrated slightly, the lid opened, and three round, translucent pills emitting a faint green light flew out, landing in the jade bottle in his hand.
"Three Green Spirit Pills, all of Advanced quality." Murong Xuan handed the pills to Chen Chuan for inspection.
Chen Chuan took them and carefully sensed the medicinal power contained within.
At the same time, his mind rapidly replayed every step Murong Xuan had just taken.
With his Prodigy Comprehension Ability, he not only completely memorized the entire process,
but even keenly noticed a tiny, minute hesitation when Murong Xuan was controlling the Earth Fire transitions.
And before condensing the pill, the timing of the medicinal liquid Fusion seemed like it could be half a point more precise.
"Did you see clearly?" Murong Xuan asked.
"I saw clearly." Chen Chuan nodded, his eyes filled with confidence.
"Hmph, putting on an act. You can learn it just by watching once? In your dreams!"
Ye Linger muttered softly from the side.
She was just waiting to see the joke of Chen Chuan blowing up the furnace or refining a pile of dregs.
Chen Chuan said no more, walked to another Pill Furnace, and took a deep breath.
He channeled the Earth Fire; his movements were a bit stiff at first.
But they quickly became smooth and natural, as if he had practiced them thousands of times.
Fire control!
Adding herbs!
Extraction!
Every step precisely replicated Murong Xuan’s demonstration.
In fact, in some details, he appeared even more harmonious and at ease.
Murong Xuan’s originally calm gaze gradually became tinged with astonishment.
The look on Ye Linger’s face, which had been waiting for a good show, slowly froze, dissipated, and finally transformed into disbelief.
"How... how is this possible?"
"There’s actually... actually a pill fragrance already?"
Ye Linger’s small mouth hung open, wide enough to fit an egg.
Finally, accompanied by a slight hum, Chen Chuan skillfully slapped the Pill Furnace, and the lid opened.
Three perfectly round pills, their surfaces surrounded by a layer of misty green light, shot out and were steadily caught by him in a jade bottle.
As the pills settled in his hand, a medicinal Qi that was even purer and fresher than the ones Murong Xuan had refined wafted out.
Murong Xuan flickered to his side, took the jade bottle, and poured out the pills for a careful inspection.
He saw that these three Green Spirit Pills were a lush, dripping green, and on the bodies of the pills, an extremely faint cloud pattern was vaguely visible.
Murong Xuan’s voice carried a hint of a tremor as he suddenly looked up at Chen Chuan, his gaze like he was looking at a monster:
"Pill Cloud Patterns... these... these are top-grade Green Spirit Pills."
"Your first time performing Alchemy, and not only did you succeed, you even refined top-grade quality."
"Chen Chuan, you are truly a once-in-a-millennium Alchemy genius."
Ye Linger also leaned in, and seeing those top-grade Green Spirit Pills with cloud patterns, she was completely stunned.
She stood there blankly, her mind a complete void.
She remembered how many times she had failed back then just to refine an Advanced quality Green Spirit Pill.
Yet this guy before her had only watched once, and on his first try, he refined a top-grade pill that she still hadn’t managed to produce.
Chen Chuan winked at the still-dazed Ye Linger and reached out with a smile. "Senior Sister Ye, that will be five hundred thousand gold tickets, please."
Ye Linger snapped out of it, and seeing Chen Chuan’s smug smile, her face turned various shades of green and white, her heart filled with both shock and indignation.
But Ye Linger had always been one to accept her losses and would never back out of a bet.
She huffily pulled a thick stack of gold tickets from her Storage Ring, counted out five hundred thousand, and slapped them heavily into Chen Chuan’s hand.
"Take it! Hmph, it’s just a Grade One pill, nothing special."
The more she thought about it, the angrier she got, especially seeing Chen Chuan’s unmasked joy as he took the gold tickets. It provoked her into blurting out:
"If you’re so capable, try refining a Grade Two pill."
"If you can refine a Grade Two pill after watching it once, this Senior Sister will give you another five hundred thousand gold tickets."
Another five hundred thousand!
Chen Chuan’s eyes lit up, and he immediately confirmed that this Senior Sister Ye was definitely a hidden little rich girl.
It seemed his target for earning gold tickets could be focused primarily on her.
"Sure, as long as Elder Murong is willing to demonstrate a Grade Two pill once more, this Disciple is willing to try."
Chen Chuan agreed readily.
"You!"
Seeing him agree so bluntly, Ye Linger was instead left speechless.
But since the words were already out, she could only brace herself. "Braggart! I don’t believe you can succeed in one go even with a Grade Two pill."
Meanwhile, Murong Xuan looked at the confident Chen Chuan.
Recalling his perfect, almost monstrous first Alchemy attempt, his heart wavered for the first time.
Perhaps this kid could truly do it?
If that were true, then the Primordial Holy Land was truly about to produce a True Dragon.
He looked at the two of them, who were like bickering roosters, and sighed helplessly.
The Pill Hall would likely become even more lively in the days to come.