Talent

The Blood Qi Pill's experience value had indeed increased by 1 point. Chen Fei let out a slight sigh of relief. The insights in his mind regarding the refining of Blood Qi Pills had indeed grown a little.

He quickly finished the Fried Pig Liver on the plate. Chen Fei had not put many pieces of pig liver into the pan to begin with. No one had said how much pig liver had to be used for Fried Pig Liver, so naturally, Chen Fei chose the smallest amount possible.

Based on the amount he had bought earlier, Chen Fei could still fry pig liver several dozen more times. But several dozen attempts would not be enough to raise the Blood Qi Pill to the Proficient Level.

Chen Fei carefully cut off the tiniest piece of pig liver and tossed it into the pan. He wanted to test how much Fried Pig Liver was needed before the panel would acknowledge it.

A moment later, the Fried Pig Liver, barely the size of a fingernail, came out of the pan. A smile appeared on Chen Fei's face as another sliver of insight concerning Blood Qi Pills surfaced in his mind.

Chen Fei looked at the remaining pig liver. More than a hundred rounds of practice would be enough!

Filled with motivation, Chen Fei threw himself into frying pig liver with blazing enthusiasm, completely forgetting himself.

An hour later, all the pig liver had been fried. Chen Fei was getting a little sick of eating it too. After all, it was all Fried Pig Liver, and his cooking skills truly were rather mediocre.

But that was secondary. The most important thing was that the Blood Qi Pill displayed on the panel had already reached the Proficient Level.

At the Proficient Level, refining Blood Qi Pills meant that every batch could be guaranteed to succeed, without any possibility of the furnace exploding or the pills turning to waste.

The only issue was that the quality of the Blood Qi Pills could not yet be perfectly guaranteed. Still, there should not be much trouble selling them.

"Should I sell them to the Medical Hall, or to another shop in the market?"

Chen Fei pondered slightly. Compared to menial workers, courtyard guards undoubtedly faced far fewer restrictions. They would no longer be required to hand all additional earnings over to the Medical Hall. If such a rule existed, the courtyard guards would likely have all run away long ago.

Still, if a courtyard guard possessed something relatively valuable, it was best to sell it to the Medical Hall. The Medical Hall would not shortchange its guards either. But something like Blood Qi Pills definitely did not count as valuable.

What Chen Fei hesitated over was whether revealing his alchemy skills would make him stand out too much.

"Sell them to the Medical Hall!"

After thinking for only a moment, Chen Fei made his decision. They were merely Blood Qi Pills, after all. Besides, only by displaying some value in moderation could he make the Medical Hall pay a little more attention to him.

Among the Medical Hall's courtyard guards, Chen Fei was currently nothing more than a complete fringe figure.

This world was dangerous. Chen Fei had already experienced that firsthand on Pingyin Mountain. If there were dangerous assignments in the future, the cannon fodder would certainly be sent in first.

And fringe figures were the ones most likely to become cannon fodder.

"I'll first display Blood Qi Pills at the Beginner Level. After some time, I'll reveal the Proficient Level. That won't be too exaggerated."

Having settled on his strategy, Chen Fei simply cleaned up the scene, then hurried back to the Medical Hall and found Zeng Defang in the Pill Chamber.

"Just put the pill formula on the table."

Zeng Defang looked up at Chen Fei, then lowered his head again to the medical book in his hands. He assumed Chen Fei had returned to give back the pill formula.

"Elder Zeng, I tried refining Blood Qi Pills over the past two days, and I succeeded."

Chen Fei set down the pill formula and spoke with a smile.

"Hmm?"

Zeng Defang frowned slightly and looked at Chen Fei, a trace of displeasure in his expression. "I should have told you a few days ago that the Medical Hall will not provide medicinal ingredients for you free of charge."

"Yes. I will pay to buy one set of ingredients for a Blood Qi Pill and refine it here. I hope Elder Zeng can offer me some guidance." Chen Fei cupped his hands.

"I don't have time. Find someone else to guide you."

Zeng Defang curled his lip. This brat was simply absurd. He had looked at the pill formula for two days and was already claiming that he could refine Blood Qi Pills? Who did he think he was?

And he wanted this old man to watch him refine pills? Did he think this old man had nothing better to do!

Besides, someone had used this same trick years ago to cozy up to them. Yet once he actually started refining, the result was simply unbearable to behold.

Thus, Zeng Defang had no intention of paying Chen Fei any attention. He had originally felt a trace of pity for Chen Fei, believing it had not been easy for him to rise from a menial worker to a courtyard guard. But that sentiment now vanished without a trace.

"Elder Zeng, there is no need for me to joke about such a matter, nor do I intend to make a fool of you."

The moment Chen Fei saw Zeng Defang's expression, he guessed what the other man was thinking. He said earnestly, "When I begin refining later, if Elder Zeng sees anything wrong with my techniques, you may stop me at any time. Would that be acceptable?"

Zeng Defang was an old hand at Qingzheng Medical Hall. With his recognition, no one else would question Chen Fei. If Chen Fei wanted to gain a foothold in the Medical Hall and obtain more resources, building a good relationship with Zeng Defang was a fairly good path.

Moreover, Zeng Defang was known for having a cold face but a warm heart. He was willing to support promising juniors; otherwise, Chen Fei would not have gone this far.

Zeng Defang looked at Chen Fei. Seeing the seriousness in Chen Fei's expression, his heart softened somewhat.

"Fine. Refine one batch, then. I'd like to see what skill you truly possess."

"Thank you, Elder Zeng!"

A smile could not help appearing on Chen Fei's face. He took out a set of ingredients for a Blood Qi Pill from the bundle on his back and sat before a pill furnace.

Chen Fei somewhat clumsily cleaned the pill furnace, lit the fire, and added the ingredients.

Zeng Defang frowned slightly. Chen Fei's techniques were far too unpracticed; he did not look like someone who could refine pills at all. But considering that he had only obtained the pill formula two days ago, it was understandable. At the very least, there were no issues with the basic steps.

Though the first few steps were unskilled, Chen Fei remained calm.

A Proficient Level Blood Qi Pill was equivalent to an alchemist who had refined pills for several years. From the moment the medicinal ingredients entered the furnace, everything fell into Chen Fei's rhythm.

Every minute change within the pill furnace was within Chen Fei's expectations and responses.

There were only a few types of ingredients needed to refine Blood Qi Pills, so the changes in their medicinal properties were not especially numerous. Once those changes were mastered, the outcome of producing pills in every batch was mastered as well.

However, Chen Fei could not display Proficient Level skill right now. That would be going too far. Thus, when some changes arose in the pill furnace, Chen Fei deliberately did not adjust in time.

This would affect the pills' quality, but it would not cause the furnace to explode. It was a minor mistake that could be tolerated.

As Zeng Defang watched Chen Fei, his initial suspicion gave way to slight surprise, and now he was somewhat stunned.

Chen Fei's refining process naturally still contained many flaws. If such flaws appeared in another experienced alchemist, they would warrant being singled out for criticism and correction.

But for a newcomer like Chen Fei, who had only come into contact with the pill formula a few days ago, they were perfectly normal. In Zeng Defang's eyes, Chen Fei's performance at this moment was already astonishing.

A quarter of an hour later, as the pill furnace lid opened, a wisp of medicinal fragrance drifted through the Pill Chamber.

Zeng Defang involuntarily stepped forward and looked at the Blood Qi Pill Chen Fei handed over.

The pill was not perfectly round, and the medicinal fragrance still carried traces of unmixed herbal scents. But none of that changed the fact that this was a Blood Qi Pill.

Zeng Defang raised his head and studied Chen Fei seriously. The first thought that surfaced in his mind was that Chen Fei had refined Blood Qi Pills before. But he immediately rejected that thought.

How could a menial worker possibly have refined them before?

So did this Chen Fei truly possess extraordinary talent in alchemy?