Scrutiny

"Primordial Archery Technique discovered. Spend one tael of silver to simplify the Primordial Archery Technique?"

"Primordial Archery Technique simplifying... Simplification successful... Primordial Archery Technique → Tossing Noodles!"

Another utterly unexpected simplification result. Chen Fei blinked. What did this archery technique have to do with tossing noodles? Did they both involve a single strand?

But noodles were not tendons either.

Chen Fei grinned and rummaged through his stored food, but found no noodles. Still, that was easy to solve. He could have the Zhao Family send some over tomorrow.

To the Zhao Family now, Chen Fei was a golden worker. A request to eat some noodles would certainly be fulfilled.

Unable to grind proficiency for the moment, Chen Fei took out the ingredients for the Light Spirit Pill that he had obtained today.

The Light Spirit Pill was still some distance from Great Perfection. It would probably take a few more days to complete. But he already had no trouble refining Light Spirit Pills, and his output was not low.

Whenever Chen Fei refined a batch of Light Spirit Pills, he produced at least two. If he was lucky, he could get three. Thus, in the Dark market, exchanging one set of ingredients for one Light Spirit Pill, along with a subsidy of six taels of silver, was another highly profitable deal for Chen Fei.

At the end of the day, mastering a skill was the same as holding the password to wealth.

The more advanced the skill, the greater the wealth it brought. If other alchemists only possessed Proficient Level Light Spirit Pill refinement, they truly could only produce one pill per batch and earn nothing but that hard-earned subsidy.

The next afternoon, once the Zhao Family heard Chen Fei's request, they directly sent over a whole basket of noodles.

Tossing noodles, refining pills, cultivating Internal Energy—Chen Fei's schedule became full once more. At the same time, he began waiting for news from Chi Defeng.

Because of the strange creatures' increased activity, the rebel army had begun gathering to head for Pingyin Mountain more frequently. This rebel force seemed to truly intend to properly manage Pingyin County.

Perhaps due to the rebels' efforts, the strange creatures on Pingyin Mountain gradually began to dwindle. They were no longer emerging in such dense numbers to kill people as they had at first.

The people of Pingyin County seemed to have softened somewhat toward the rebels. After all, ordinary people were deeply terrified of strange creatures. But Chen Fei was not happy, because the bone-attached sore coiled around his arm had not become any less active.

Moreover, as time passed, it was slowly growing more active.

If he had not known that his words carried little weight and that he had no evidence whatsoever, Chen Fei would truly have wanted to report the matter. Unfortunately, those rebels would not believe a mere alchemist.

Smack!

In the courtyard, a lightly swaying wooden stick suspended in the air was shattered by Chen Fei's arrow.

Chen Fei lowered the longbow in his hand. He had easily cultivated the Primordial Archery Technique to Great Perfection. Tossing noodles had never specified how many noodles he had to toss at once.

Chen Fei was straightforward about it, tossing one noodle at a time. That entire basket of noodles had directly pushed his proficiency to the limit. The only problem was that he had eaten so many tossed noodles lately that things had become a little salty.

As for the power of this archery technique, it was quite ordinary. After all, it had only cost one tael of silver to simplify, which showed just how basic the technique was.

In a horizontal comparison, it was like the Extreme Mountain Fist Chen Fei had learned back then.

Chen Fei was quite satisfied. In just a few days, he had gone from a complete novice to an archer who could hit whatever he aimed at. With such efficiency, what was there to complain about?

There were still two archery techniques left. By Chen Fei's estimate, he would finish cultivating them in another five or six days. Then he would buy a better longbow, and this stage of his cultivation would be complete.

Night. The Dark market.

"This is today's."

Chen Fei placed the Revival Pills and Light Spirit Pills on the counter. The stall owner inspected them briefly, then accepted them with a beaming smile, handing Chen Fei silver as well as five sets of Light Spirit Pill ingredients.

Chen Fei packed up his things and turned to leave. He had not gone far from the Dark market before stopping.

"Sir, my master invites you. Would you honor us with your presence?"

Several men in black surrounded Chen Fei, the blades in their hands glinting coldly beneath the moonlight.

Chen Fei's expression remained calm. Given the current circumstances, he had expected trouble to come from selling pills in the Dark market. After all, an unaffiliated alchemist was now a prized delicacy.

The best outcome for them would be to tie him up and force him to refine pills for them with his life on the line.

"It's too late tonight. Another day."

As Chen Fei's words fell, he had already appeared ahead of them, the blade he used to disguise his identity slashing toward the man before him.

"Break his legs. Don't hurt his hands!"

As though they had anticipated Chen Fei's refusal, the men in black acted at the command, their blades chopping straight toward him.

A faint smile appeared on Chen Fei's face. The Serene Heart Incantation activated, and everything around him seemed to pause slightly within his perception.

The next movements of all five men in black were laid bare before Chen Fei's eyes. A feeling of complete control rose within him.

The long blade in Chen Fei's hand seemed to turn casually. As force spread through the air, the five men suddenly groaned in pain, their weapons slipping uncontrollably from their hands.

Terror filled their hearts. Clutching their wrists, the five instinctively stepped back—then a sharp pain abruptly tore through their calves as blood burst forth.

"Ah!"

This time, the five could no longer endure it. They cried out loudly and all fell to the ground.

Chen Fei laughed aloud, his body springing away as he vanished from the spot.

No matter which side had sent these people, or whether others were watching from farther out, Chen Fei had already achieved his goal of intimidation.

He wanted those great clans to understand that this alchemist was not easy to control. An alchemist with such cultivation could bite back if they were careless. Their current method of cooperation was far more secure.

Chen Fei had anticipated this long ago. To distinguish himself from his original identity, he did not even use a sword.

If one wanted to make money, one always had to take some risks.

"His eyesight is good, but his blade technique is average."

Not far away, Ling HanJun watched Chen Fei's moves and shook his head slightly.

"Let's follow him. His Disguise Technique is impressive—I cannot even see his original face. If you show him the portrait, he may be able to notice something." Xing Wenxiang stood beside him and spoke.

"Alright!"

Ling HanJun nodded. Their figures flashed as they pursued Chen Fei.

Just as Chen Fei was about to shake off the few little tails following him, he suddenly sensed two extremely fast figures rushing toward him. His brows furrowed slightly. Just as he considered using his movement technique to throw them off, he clearly saw Ling HanJun's appearance.

In the Dark market, those two had not concealed their faces at all. Great skill made men bold!

Several thoughts flashed through Chen Fei's mind. He immediately ruled out the possibility that his original identity had been discovered, and the bearing of Ling HanJun and Xing Wenxiang did not suggest they had come to kill him.

Chen Fei hesitated briefly, then decided to see what the two wanted. More importantly, if he wished to continue trading in the Dark market, there was simply no way to avoid these two.

A moment later, Ling HanJun and Xing Wenxiang arrived before Chen Fei.

"Pardon the disturbance. We have a favor to ask."

Xing Wenxiang cupped his hands toward Chen Fei, while Ling HanJun beside him examined Chen Fei closely.

His height, eyes, and face—none of them resembled that person in the slightest. Of course, if someone had cultivated the Disguise Technique to exquisite subtleties, all of those could be changed, but very few people could do so.

Moreover, the movement technique this man had displayed just now differed enormously from that person's on that night. It was more graceful and nimble, entirely a different path. For a Rogue Cultivator to raise his movement technique to such a level in a short time was nearly impossible.

Ling HanJun withdrew his gaze and took a portrait from his robes.