From that day on, Lin Quan’s attitude toward Chen Yue underwent a complete transformation.
He no longer saw Chen Yue as just a deft-handed apprentice. When performing Alchemy, he began to casually point out the key steps.
"Pay attention. The furnace walls are turning bluish-green. This is a sign the fire is concentrating inward. It’s time to add the Achyranthes Bidentata."
"This Broken Vine must be simmered over a low flame. The timing is right only when its skin wrinkles and the medicinal juices from within begin to seep out."
"Before collecting the pills, you must focus completely. Sense the Medicinal Power within them becoming perfectly harmonious, like a pearl on a plate. Only then can you abruptly withdraw the fire. Otherwise, the Medicinal Power will easily dissipate." Lin Quan no longer just told him what to do; he was starting to explain why.
Chen Yue absorbed these invaluable pointers. During the daily settlement, the Alchemy Experience Points he gained began to rise.
Previously, by just observing, he could gain about 30 Alchemy Experience Points a day. Now, that number had doubled to 60, and sometimes even more.
「Five days later.」
"Chen Yue, today you will refine another furnace of Blood Circulation Pills." Lin Quan said, arms crossed, leaning against a rack of medicinal herbs with a look of anticipation on his face.
"Yes."
Chen Yue accepted the task. He lit the fire, warmed the furnace, added the herbs, controlled the flame, fused the ingredients, and solidified the pills...
This time, Chen Yue’s movements were noticeably smoother. While he wasn’t yet performing with effortless ease, the transitions between steps were no longer hesitant. His technique was also much more precise, and he had minimized the minor mistakes.
The furnace lid was opened.
Three crimson elixirs lay quietly at the bottom of the furnace. Their color was uniform, their surfaces glowed with a gentle, dark red luster, and they had reached the standard size.
The medicinal aroma was pure, carrying the distinct spicy scent of a Blood Circulation Pill.
Compared to the elixirs refined by Lin Quan, there was still a slight gap in their luster and the richness of their aroma. But to anyone’s eyes, these were three perfectly acceptable Blood Circulation Pills!
Lin Quan walked over and picked up one of the elixirs. He applied slight pressure with his fingertips and found its texture to be uniform. He held it to his nose and took a deep sniff, his eyes brightening slightly.
"Good!"
A smile couldn’t help but spread across Lin Quan’s face. "To be able to refine Blood Circulation Pills of this quality in just a few days! Chen Yue, your Talent for Alchemy far exceeds my expectations!"
He played with the three elixirs, growing more delighted the more he looked at them. These weren’t just three elixirs; they were proof that he had discovered a diamond in the rough.
That afternoon, Lin Quan left his small Alchemy Room courtyard and went straight to find Chen Lin, who was in the front hall checking the accounts.
Chen Lin was surprised to see Master Lin seek him out and quickly stood up. "Master Lin, what brings you here? Is the Alchemy Room short on something?"
Lin Quan waved his hand and got straight to the point. "Steward Chen, I’ve come today about that boy you sent over, Chen Yue."
Chen Lin’s heart skipped a beat. He thought Chen Yue must have made some mistake in the Alchemy Room and angered the master. He quickly said, "Was Chen Yue foolish and offended you, Master Lin? I’ll immediately..."
"Foolish?"
Lin Quan cut him off, his voice filled with undisguised admiration. "If he’s foolish, then all those other apprentices in the back courtyard must be complete idiots."
Hearing this, Chen Lin was stunned.
"That kid possesses an exceptionally outstanding Talent for being an Alchemy Master!"
Lin Quan spoke rapidly, clearly agitated with excitement. "After just a few days of observing my Alchemy, he succeeded in Pill Formation on his very first attempt a couple of days ago. The quality was a bit poor, but his method was correct. With just a little guidance from me, he was able to independently refine three Blood Circulation Pills of uniform quality today!"
Chen Lin’s eyes widened slightly. He looked at the incredibly excited Lin Quan, then thought of Chen Yue’s somewhat pale face.
’Chen Yue... an alchemy genius? He can already refine Blood Circulation Pills on his own?’
This news was even more shocking to him than when Chen Yue had suddenly broken through to the Skin Refining Realm and become a guard.
Inside the Alchemy Room, the furnace fire blazed, and the air was thick with the fragrance of herbs. Chen Lin stood to the side, watching Chen Yue methodically carry out each step. His technique was so smooth that even a layman like Chen Lin could see it was extraordinary.
THUMP!
The furnace lid was removed, and three crimson Blood Circulation Pills leaped onto the Jade Plate, spinning around. The elixirs were perfectly round, their medicinal aroma pure.
Chen Lin picked one up; it was slightly warm to the touch. Though he didn’t understand the Alchemy Dao, he had managed the apothecary for many years and had seen countless elixirs. This elixir was already good enough to be sold.
"Excellent!"
Chen Lin praised him repeatedly. He placed the elixir back on the Jade Plate, his gaze toward Chen Yue now completely different. "Chen Yue, from this day forward, you are officially promoted to an Alchemy Master of the apothecary!"
He would receive a twenty percent share of the sales from the elixirs he refined. The apothecary would cover the cost of all required medicinal herbs, firewood, and Pill Furnace wear and tear. At the same time, Chen Yue would still receive his monthly silver.
The news spread like wildfire, instantly reaching every corner of Huichun Hall.
In the back courtyard, the faces of the apprentices who had recently been mocking Chen Yue for his wishful thinking were now filled with disbelief and a sense of utter absurdity.
’He became an Alchemy Master?’
’That Chen Yue, the one they thought had only become a guard through a stroke of dumb luck, hadn’t been kicked out by Master Lin and had actually become an Alchemy Master instead? And in just over ten days?’
Envy, jealousy, regret, awe... In the end, all these feelings melted away into an almost instinctual urge to curry favor with the powerful.
’An Alchemy Master!’
That was a figure with a transcendent status in the apothecary, far superior to any ordinary guard.
For a time, no one dared to speak ill of Chen Yue behind his back anymore. Instead, there were all sorts of cautious compliments and attempts to get close to him and flatter him under various pretexts.
Liu Jing’s feelings were even more complex and difficult to describe. He was genuinely happy for his friend’s meteoric rise, but also held a sliver of hope that he might receive some help himself.
Chen Yue did not move out of Lin Quan’s small courtyard. Lin Quan took the initiative to clear out an empty room on the other side of the yard to serve as Chen Yue’s personal Alchemy Room.
This arrangement was exactly what Chen Yue wanted. He needed Lin Quan’s continued guidance to learn how to refine more types of elixirs.
As for Lin Quan, he already saw Chen Yue as a disciple. Keeping him by his side would allow him to better guide this piece of raw jade.
With Lin Quan’s meticulous guidance, Chen Yue quickly reached an expert level in refining Blood Circulation Pills. His Pill Formation rate and the stability of their quality improved dramatically, often drawing claps of praise from Lin Quan.
And once he was able to refine Blood Circulation Pills in large quantities, the Blood Circulation Pill Experience Points Chen Yue gained in his daily settlement skyrocketed. In just a few short days, he pushed his refining skill for this pill to the Realm of Perfection!
The Perfection Level skill for the Blood Circulation Pill gave Chen Yue a pleasant surprise: he could now produce four pills per furnace.
This output was even higher than that of Lin Quan, a veteran Alchemy Master. Normally, when Lin Quan refined a furnace of Blood Circulation Pills, he would stably produce three pills. Producing four required near-perfect control over the heat and the fusion of medicinal properties.
This meant that with the same amount of herbs and time, Chen Yue’s output was thirty percent higher than other Alchemy Masters’.
Each time Chen Yue performed Alchemy, he would directly put away the extra Blood Circulation Pill, not for sale, but for his own use.
Consuming one of his self-refined Blood Circulation Pills daily, the surging Medicinal Power would dissolve within his body, stimulating the Qi Blood generated from his Iron Mountain Fist practice. The effect was remarkable.
On his panel, his daily Cultivation growth points increased from the 7 points granted by his Perfection Level Iron Mountain Fist to 9 points. The time needed to break through to the Refining Flesh Realm was once again drastically reduced.