The Advantage Is Mine—How Could I Lose?

Han Xian's subordinate stared in disbelief at the scroll Han Xian had taken out, his eyes filled with envy.

Sensing his subordinate's gaze, Han Xian chuckled. "More precisely, this is a complete Sixth-grade Pill Recipe that has never been viewed by anyone."

"Gulp." Han Xian's subordinate swallowed, and the envy in his eyes grew even stronger.

As everyone knew, once a pill recipe had been written down, an Alchemist only needed to scan it with Spiritual Power for all the refining methods to be recorded in his mind, with no possibility of ever forgetting them. However, pill recipes generally had one flaw: they could not be viewed by too many people.

For a pill recipe inscribed with Soul Power, when the first Alchemist scanned it with Soul Power, every detail of the refinement process within the recipe would be described with incomparable clarity. As long as the Alchemist had sufficient Soul Power, he would have a high chance of successfully refining that pill by relying on the recipe.

There would be no issue when the second Alchemist scanned it, and the third would be fine as well. But after a pill recipe had been scanned two or three times, it would no longer be as clear when viewed again as it had been the first time. The unclear portions would have to be filled in through the Alchemist's own understanding of alchemy.

Yet filling in the missing parts of a pill recipe through experience would greatly increase the chance of failure during refinement. That was why a pill recipe that had never been scanned by Soul Power was so precious.

Moreover, the pill recipe Han Xian had produced belonged to the Sixth-grade category. A Sixth-grade Pill Recipe that had never been scanned by Soul Power was, to an Alchemist, almost no less enticing than an Earth-tier mid-grade cultivation technique or Dou Skill.

"This pill recipe took my teacher two whole years to fully transcribe. It is for the Sixth-grade Pill, the Earth Core Body Tempering Pill. While it cannot directly increase one's strength like the Dou Ling Pill or Emperor Pill, it can improve the physique and condense Dou Qi. Furthermore, my teacher only discovered this recipe in an ancient tomb a few years ago and began copying it three years ago, so it is nothing like those common pill recipes found everywhere on the continent."

"Not only is this recipe extremely rare, but coupled with the pill's ability to Purify Marrow and Cleanse Essence, tempering the body, even ordinary Seventh-grade Pill Recipes cannot compare to the one in my hands."

"So, if I use this pill recipe to make a wager with that brat Su Luo, and I do not ask for a pill recipe in return, only some of the resources he can obtain after entering the Inner Academy, do you think he would be interested in betting with me?"

Han Xian sneered, sending chills through his subordinate's entire body.

"Boss, brilliant! Truly brilliant! Using a high-grade pill recipe comparable to a Seventh-grade one to wager against some resources after entering the Inner Academy—there's no way that brat won't get tempted."

Han Xian's subordinate gave him a thumbs-up. At that moment, he truly admired Han Xian's audacity.

One had to know that Han Xian had said only a portion of the resources, not all of them. If all the resources were involved, Su Luo really would not be so easily tempted.

But if Han Xian only wanted a portion of the resources Su Luo would gain after entering the Inner Academy, then things would be entirely different.

All the resources meant Su Luo could not afford to lose, and if he could not afford to lose, he would naturally not dare to gamble.

But if it was only a portion of the resources, then in Su Luo's eyes, it meant he had an opportunity to win big with a small stake, while the losses from failure would remain within an acceptable range.

This was the kind of situation most likely to make someone lose his head. If Han Xian's subordinate had not known that his Alchemy Skill was absolutely no match for Han Xian's, even he would have wanted to compete with Han Xian.

There was no helping it. When one could gamble five thousand and receive five million if he won, most people would harbor some urge to gamble, even if they knew the odds were low.

What was more, this was not an ordinary gamble. A contest of one's own Alchemy Skill was simply far too tempting for a young genius Alchemist.

With the recklessness of youth combined with greed for a high-grade pill recipe, Han Xian's subordinate truly could not imagine how Su Luo could possibly refuse.

"This can also be considered a lesson for that brat's youthful arrogance. At Jia Nan Academy, if you're a dragon, lie down for me; if you're a tiger, crouch for me. If you want to stand up, then crawl through my legs first."

Han Xian said confidently as he played with the pill recipe in his hand.

Han Xian knew that in another two or three years, there was a considerable chance his Alchemy Skill would no longer be Su Luo's match. But right now, as a Peak Third-grade Alchemist, he had absolute confidence in crushing Su Luo, whose Alchemy Skill was around the Mid Third-grade.

Peak Third-grade versus Mid Third-grade—Han Xian had only one thing to say: the advantage is mine. How could I lose?

With stakes Su Luo had no reason to refuse and the confidence to crush him himself, Han Xian immediately prepared to seek Su Luo out for a wager.

However, when he arrived at Su Luo's residence, he saw a sign hanging outside Su Luo's door: Refining Pills.

As a member of the Alchemist Department himself, Han Xian naturally knew what that sign meant. He understood full well what the consequences would be if he barged into Su Luo's room after seeing it.

An Alchemist could absolutely not be disturbed while refining pills. Even students from the same Alchemist Department were no exception.

"Ji Chen, wait here. The moment he comes out, go tell me."

"Huh? Boss, if I stay here, then you..."

Han Xian rolled his eyes at him and said irritably, "Of course I'm going back to rest. What, am I supposed to stand guard here with you? Resting and conserving my strength will make it easier to beat him later. What the hell is the point of staying here and watching him?"

Ji Chen: "..."

Ji Chen stood guard outside Su Luo's door for a full two and a half months.

During those two and a half months, Su Luo did not step out of his room even once.

Fortunately, the special treatment afforded to Alchemists also existed to some extent at Jia Nan Academy. Although Su Luo was only an Outer Academy student, his room was larger than even the rooms occupied by many Strong Ranking experts in the Inner Academy. This allowed Su Luo to handle all his food, drink, and other daily needs inside his room without spending much effort.

"Condense!"

Inside Su Luo's room, after two and a half months of practice, a Peak Third-grade Muscle Growth Pill began to form under Su Luo's control.

Attempting to imitate the techniques of that Fifth-grade Alchemist Elder, Su Luo carefully controlled the flames bit by bit, then slowly nourished the pill after it took shape. After more than an hour of work, he successfully condensed that Peak Third-grade Muscle Growth Pill.

Judging by its color, a Pill Pattern had astonishingly appeared on the pill.

"A Pill Pattern on a Peak Third-grade pill—this is my first time. Not bad."

After playing with the pill in his hand for a while, Su Luo placed it into a jade bottle. Then he stretched lazily, easing the strain of the past two and a half months.

"A Peak Third-grade Alchemist, and my Dou Qi has also reached the Peak Nine-star Dou Zhe level. At least these past six months haven't been wasted."

A smile rose on Su Luo's lips. Although he lacked Medicine Elder's Burning Blood, which was comparable to a Fourth-grade Pill, and could only rely on some Second-grade level Qi Sensing Pills to assist his cultivation, the crushing advantage of an Earth-tier low-grade cultivation technique over a Yellow-tier low-grade cultivation technique had allowed Su Luo to surpass Xiao Yan's cultivation speed, even while focusing primarily on alchemy rather than Dou Qi.

Taking out the Ice Spirit Flame Grass from his Storage Ring, Su Luo said, "It's time to break through the boundary from Dou Zhe to Dou Master."