Chapter Seven: Talent

The experience value for the Qi Blood Pill had indeed increased by 1 point, and Chen Fei felt a slight sense of relief. The insights in his mind regarding the refining of the Qi Blood Pill had indeed increased somewhat.

He finished the Stir-fried Pig Liver on the plate in a few bites. Chen Fei had only put a few pieces of pig liver into the pot. After all, no one had said how much Stir-fried Pig Liver was required, so Chen Fei naturally chose the lesser amount.

Based on the amount he had bought earlier, Chen Fei could still make Stir-fried Pig Liver dozens of times. But dozens of times still would not be enough to raise the Qi Blood Pill to Proficient Level.

Chen Fei carefully cut off a tiny piece of pig liver and tossed it into the pot. He wanted to see how much Stir-fried Pig Liver was needed for the Panel to acknowledge it.

A moment later, a piece of Stir-fried Pig Liver barely the size of a fingernail came out of the pot. A smile appeared on Chen Fei's face as another bit of insight regarding the Qi Blood Pill surfaced in his mind.

Chen Fei looked at the remaining pig liver. Hundreds of practice sessions were already enough!

Brimming with drive, Chen Fei threw himself into making Stir-fried Pig Liver with roaring enthusiasm, completely losing himself in the process.

An hour later, all the pig liver had been fried, and Chen Fei was getting somewhat sick of eating it. After all, it was all Stir-fried Pig Liver, and Chen Fei's cooking skills were indeed rather ordinary.

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

With Proficient Level Qi Blood Pill Refining, he could guarantee that every batch of Qi Blood Pills would be successfully refined, without any furnace explosions or ruined pills.

The only issue was that he still could not perfectly guarantee the pills' appearance. But if he sold them, there should not be much of a problem.

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

Chen Fei pondered slightly. Compared to a Handyman, a Guard was undoubtedly subject to far fewer requirements. They were no longer required to hand all additional earnings over to the Medical Hall. If such a rule really existed, the Guards would probably all flee.

However, if a Guard had something relatively valuable, it was still best to sell it to the Medical Hall. The Medical Hall would not mistreat its Guards. But something like a Qi Blood Pill definitely did not count as valuable.

What Chen Fei hesitated over was whether displaying his Pill Refining Art would make him stand out too much.

"I'll sell them to the Medical Hall!"

After thinking for only a moment, Chen Fei made his decision. It was merely a Qi Blood Pill, after all. Moreover, only by displaying a certain amount of value in moderation could he make the Medical Hall pay him a little more attention.

Chen Fei was currently a complete outsider among the Medical Hall's Guards.

This world was dangerous, and Chen Fei had already experienced it firsthand on Pingyin Mountain. If there were any dangerous missions later, the cannon fodder would definitely be sent in first.

Outsiders could easily become cannon fodder.

"I'll first display Beginner Level Qi Blood Pills. After some time, I'll display Proficient Level ones. That won't seem too exaggerated."

Chen Fei settled on a strategy, tidied up the place, and hurried back to the Medical Hall, where he found Zeng Defang in the Pill Room.

"Just leave the Pill Recipe on the table."

Zeng Defang glanced up at Chen Fei before lowering his head to the medical text in his hands again. He thought Chen Fei had returned to give back the Pill Recipe.

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

Chen Fei placed the Pill Recipe down and said with a smile.

"Hm?"

Zeng Defang's brows furrowed slightly as he looked at Chen Fei, a trace of displeasure in his expression. "I believe I told you a few days ago that the Medical Hall will not provide Herbs to you for free."

"Yes. I'll pay for a portion of the Herbs for Qi Blood Pills and refine them on-site. I hope Old Zeng can offer me some guidance." Chen Fei cupped his hands.

"I'm busy. Find someone else to guide you."

Zeng Defang curled his lips. This kid was simply baffling. He had looked at the Pill Recipe for two days and was already claiming that he could refine Qi Blood Pills. Who did he think he was?

And he wanted Old Zeng to watch him refine them? Did he think Old Zeng had that much free time?

Besides, someone had used this exact ploy several years ago to ingratiate himself with them. The result had been a refinement so disastrous it was almost unbearable to watch.

Thus, Zeng Defang had no intention of paying Chen Fei any mind. He had originally felt that it was not easy for Chen Fei to rise from Handyman to Guard and had even felt a trace of pity for him, but it had now vanished completely.

"Old Zeng, I have no reason to joke about something like this, nor do I intend to make fun of you."

Seeing Zeng Defang's expression, Chen Fei immediately guessed what he was thinking and said sincerely, "When I refine them later, if you notice anything wrong with my technique, you can stop me at any time. Would that be acceptable?"

Zeng Defang was an old hand at the Qingzheng Medical Center. If he gained Zeng Defang's approval, no one else would question him. If Chen Fei wanted to establish himself in the Medical Hall and obtain more resources, befriending Zeng Defang was a fairly good path.

Moreover, Zeng Defang was famous for being cold on the outside but warm-hearted within, and he was willing to support promising juniors. Otherwise, Chen Fei would not have gone this far.

Zeng Defang looked at Chen Fei. Seeing his serious expression, he could not help softening a little.

"Fine. Refine one batch. I'd like to see exactly what level you're at."

"Thank you, Old Zeng!"

A smile appeared on Chen Fei's face. He took out a portion of Herbs for Qi Blood Pills from the bundle on his back and sat down in front of a pill furnace.

Chen Fei cleaned the pill furnace, lit the fire, and added the Herbs with movements that were slightly clumsy.

Zeng Defang's brows furrowed slightly. Chen Fei's technique was too unfamiliar, not looking like someone who knew how to refine pills at all. But considering that he had only obtained the Pill Recipe two days ago, it seemed understandable. At least, there was nothing wrong with the basic steps.

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

Proficient Level Qi Blood Pill Refining was equivalent to the skill of an Alchemist who had refined pills for several years. From the moment the Herbs entered the pill furnace, everything fell into Chen Fei's rhythm.

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

There were only a few types of Herbs for refining Qi Blood Pills, so the changes in their medicinal properties were actually not that numerous. Once he mastered these changes, he had mastered the result of producing pills in every batch.

However, Chen Fei could not display Proficient Level skill now. That would be too much. Thus, when changes arose in the pill furnace, Chen Fei deliberately failed to adjust them in time.

This would affect the pills' quality without causing the furnace to explode, making it a minor error that could be tolerated.

Zeng Defang watched Chen Fei. He had started with suspicion, then felt a slight surprise, and now was somewhat dumbfounded.

There were naturally still many flaws in Chen Fei's refining process. If those flaws appeared in another experienced Alchemist, they would have to be pointed out, criticized, and corrected.

But for a newcomer like Chen Fei, who had only been exposed to the Pill Recipe for a few days, this was completely normal. In Zeng Defang's eyes, Chen Fei's performance was already astonishing.

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

Zeng Defang took an involuntary step forward and looked at the Qi Blood Pill Chen Fei handed him.

The pill was not perfectly round, and the medicinal fragrance still carried the scent of some Herbs that had not fully fused. But none of that changed the fact that it was a Qi Blood Pill.

Zeng Defang raised his head and stared seriously at Chen Fei. His first thought was that Chen Fei had refined Qi Blood Pills before. But that thought was immediately rejected.

How could a Handyman have refined them before?

So, did this Chen Fei truly possess extraordinarily strong talent in Pill Refining Art?