A Teachable Child

"Refine another batch of Blood Qi Pills."

Zeng Defang instructed a servant to bring over another set of ingredients for Blood Qi Pills and handed them to Chen Fei.

Chen Fei did not refuse. He cleaned the pill furnace, simply processed the ingredients, then tossed them into the furnace. Compared to his earlier unfamiliarity, his movements were now somewhat more practiced.

At the same time, Chen Fei corrected one or two of the alchemy mistakes he had deliberately displayed earlier. Those one or two corrected mistakes made Zeng Defang's eyes brighten slightly as he watched from the side.

As time passed, a faint medicinal fragrance drifted from the pill furnace. A quarter of an hour quickly went by. Chen Fei opened the lid and removed the Blood Qi Pills within.

Compared with the first Blood Qi Pill, this one appeared rounder, and there were fewer unfused ingredients within it.

To an outsider, this Blood Qi Pill might not have looked much different from the previous one. But in Zeng Defang's eyes, the difference between the two was worlds apart.

Zeng Defang looked at the Blood Qi Pill in his hand, then raised his head to look at Chen Fei. The appreciation in his eyes could no longer be concealed.

People were always willing to believe what they saw with their own eyes. Before Zeng Defang, Chen Fei had refined two batches of Blood Qi Pills, and his improvement had been obvious.

All of it proved that Chen Fei's talent for alchemy was indeed rare to see. At the very least, in all his years at Qingzheng Medical Hall, Zeng Defang had encountered very few whose talent could stand alongside Chen Fei's.

Of course, it was still too early to call Chen Fei an alchemy prodigy. After all, Blood Qi Pills were only a simple kind of pill. But Chen Fei was already more than worthy of Qingzheng Medical Hall investing resources in him and allowing him room to make mistakes.

If Chen Fei could continue refining other pills as successfully as he had refined Blood Qi Pills, then Qingzheng Medical Hall would truly have found a treasure.

"You are quite good. I never expected that just two days after seeing the pill formula, you would already be able to successfully refine Blood Qi Pills."

With a gentle smile on his face, Zeng Defang said, "But do not grow arrogant. These two Blood Qi Pills still have many flaws. You must practice diligently before you can refine them better."

"Thank you for Elder Zeng's recognition." Chen Fei rose and cupped his hands.

"Continuing as a guard would bury your talent. I will speak with Manager Cui. From now on, you will refine pills here under me. First, thoroughly grasp Blood Qi Pills, then move on to refining other pills."

"Thank you, Elder Zeng, for your promotion!"

A smile could not help appearing on Chen Fei's face. His goal had finally been achieved. Now, he finally had a source of silver.

An hour later, Chen Fei refined another batch of Blood Qi Pills in front of Cui Sanjie, leaving Cui Sanjie both surprised and delighted.

Although the request had been made by Zeng Defang, a guard—one who had previously been nothing more than a servant—being able to refine pills was truly difficult for Cui Sanjie to believe.

But now that he had seen it with his own eyes, however unbelievable it was, he had to admit that Chen Fei possessed a talent for alchemy, and an outstanding one at that. Since that was the case, Cui Sanjie naturally had no reason to reject Zeng Defang's earlier proposal.

News of Chen Fei becoming an alchemist spread through the entire Medical Hall in less than half a day, leaving everyone's jaws on the floor.

Alchemist—this was a Skill that placed extreme demands on talent.

For martial arts cultivation, if one out of ten people might achieve something, then with alchemy, perhaps not even one person out of a hundred would emerge.

Thus, within Qingzheng Medical Hall, an alchemist's status was far beyond that of a guard.

As a result, Chen Fei's standing within the Medical Hall rose once again. From servant to alchemist, he had made a two-step leap within just a few days, drawing the envy and jealousy of countless people.

Moreover, they had heard that Chen Fei's talent for alchemy was exceptionally remarkable, enough to alarm Zeng Defang and Cui Sanjie. Thinking about it, after merely two days of studying the pill formula, he had managed to figure things out on his own and successfully refine pills.

If that did not count as outstanding talent, then what did?

Many people had originally been waiting to see Chen Fei make a fool of himself, even treating his affairs as gossip to discuss after meals. Now, however, they absolutely did not dare talk about him that way anymore, afraid that Chen Fei might hear of it.

Chen Fei naturally held no real power yet, but who knew how far he might grow in the future? Offending such a person merely for a moment's pleasure of the tongue was simply not worth it.

And now, not only could they not offend him, they had to consider how to curry favor with him. What if Chen Fei truly soared to great heights someday?

"Damn it, how could that mud-legged bastard have such good luck!"

At the wine table, Pu Liao slammed the cup in his hand heavily onto the tabletop, producing a dull thud.

"I heard Elder Zeng thinks highly of him."

One of the guards spoke in a low voice, not daring to casually discuss Chen Fei alongside Pu Liao as before.

"Hmph!"

Pu Liao snorted coldly. Looking around at the others and seeing that none of them echoed his words, he rose and left outright. He might as well not drink this wine; the more he drank, the more stifled he felt.

The other guards exchanged glances, not knowing what to say. An alchemist's status in the Medical Hall was indeed a notch above that of guards like them.

Relying on his seniority and his Muscle Tempering Realm cultivation, Pu Liao could ignore Chen Fei to a certain extent, but they could not afford to do the same.

The next day, Chen Fei was no longer standing guard in the Front Hall. Instead, he diligently refined pills in the Pill Chamber while Zeng Defang stood beside him, personally correcting the mistakes Chen Fei made during the refining process.

Chen Fei was somewhat surprised. He had not expected Zeng Defang to value him so highly. It was probably because the talent he had displayed had astonished Zeng Defang.

Though he had pushed a little too hard, the result was fortunately satisfying. Chen Fei could hardly reject Zeng Defang's goodwill, so he listened carefully to Zeng Defang's explanations and corrected one or two of those mistakes during his next refinement.

Seeing that his teachings were producing remarkable results, Zeng Defang grew more excited the more he taught, his whole face glowing red.

This was what it meant to be a teacher. When you encountered a genius-like disciple who understood at a single point and needed no second explanation, that feeling was immensely fulfilling.

Zeng Defang had not experienced such a feeling in many years. Now, watching Chen Fei improve each time he refined pills made him even happier and prouder than refining a difficult pill himself.

"Very good. In this Blood Qi Pill, all the ingredients have already fused together. Though the fusion is still not quite proper, compared with before, you have improved greatly."

Zeng Defang looked at the pill in his hand, his face full of smiles. His gaze toward Chen Fei also grew increasingly satisfied. In his heart, Zeng Defang had already begun to regard Chen Fei as half a disciple.

"It is because Elder Zeng teaches well."

Chen Fei offered a timely bit of flattery, making Zeng Defang's smile grow even more radiant.

A teachable child, a teachable child indeed!

Chen Fei wore a smile. Though his words just now had been flattery, Zeng Defang's skill was indeed exceptional. The panel showed that the progress of Blood Qi Pills had increased by more than ten points, which was proof enough.