A Worthy Student

"Refine another batch of Qi Blood Pills."

Zeng Defang instructed the Handyman to fetch a set of Herbs for the Qi Blood Pill and handed them to Chen Fei.

Chen Fei did not refuse. He cleaned the pill furnace, prepared the Herbs in a simple manner, then tossed them into the furnace. Compared to his unfamiliarity just now, Chen Fei's movements were slightly more practiced this time.

At the same time, Chen Fei corrected one or two of the alchemy mistakes he had deliberately displayed earlier. Those one or two corrections made Zeng Defang's eyes brighten 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 took out the Qi Blood Pill inside.

Compared to the first Qi Blood Pill, this pill appeared somewhat rounder, and there were fewer Herbs that had failed to fuse.

In the eyes of a layman, this Qi Blood Pill might not look any different from the previous one, but in Zeng Defang's eyes, the difference between the two was worlds apart.

Zeng Defang looked at the Qi Blood 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. Chen Fei had refined two batches of Qi Blood Pills right before Zeng Defang, and his improvement was obvious.

This proved beyond doubt that Chen Fei's talent for alchemy was truly rare. At the very least, in all his years at Qingzheng Medical Center, Zeng Defang had met only a handful of people whose talent could compare with Chen Fei's.

Of course, it was still too early to call Chen Fei an alchemy prodigy. After all, he had only refined a simple Qi Blood Pill. But Chen Fei was already talented enough for Qingzheng Medical Center to cultivate him and allow him to learn through trial and error.

If Chen Fei could continue refining other pills successfully in the future, just as he had refined the Qi Blood Pill, then Qingzheng Medical Center would truly have struck gold.

"You're very impressive. I never expected that you could really refine a Qi Blood Pill just two days after seeing the Pill Recipe."

Zeng Defang wore a genial smile as he said, "But don't get arrogant. These two Qi Blood Pills still have many flaws. You need to practice diligently before you can refine Qi Blood Pills better."

"Thank you for your affirmation, Old Zeng." Chen Fei rose and cupped his hands.

"Continuing to work as a Guard would bury your talent. I'll explain things to Steward Cui. From now on, you can refine pills here with me. First, master the Qi Blood Pill thoroughly, then move on to refining other pills."

"Thank you for promoting me, Old Zeng!"

A smile also appeared on Chen Fei's face. His goal had finally been achieved, and his Silver Taels now had a source.

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

Although Zeng Defang had been the one to submit the request, it was truly difficult for Cui Sanjie to believe that a Guard—who had previously been only a Handyman, at that—could refine pills.

But seeing was believing. No matter how unbelievable it was, Cui Sanjie had to admit that Chen Fei possessed a talent for alchemy, and a remarkably excellent one at that. Since this was the case, Cui Sanjie naturally had no reason to reject Zeng Defang's original proposal.

The news that Chen Fei had become an Alchemist spread throughout the entire Medical Hall in less than half a day, leaving everyone dumbfounded.

An Alchemist! This was a craft that relied tremendously on talent.

When it came to martial cultivation, if one person out of ten might succeed in learning, then with alchemy, perhaps not even one person out of a hundred would emerge.

Thus, in Qingzheng Medical Center, 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. He had gone from Handyman to Alchemist, accomplishing a two-level leap in just a few days and making countless people envious and jealous.

Moreover, they had heard that Chen Fei's talent for alchemy was exceptionally outstanding, enough to alarm Zeng Defang and Cui Sanjie. Anyone could imagine it: after looking at a Pill Recipe for only two days, he had managed to figure things out on his own and successfully refine a pill.

If this talent was not considered outstanding, then what was?

Previously, many people had waited to see Chen Fei make a fool of himself, treating his affairs as after-dinner gossip. But now, they absolutely did not dare to discuss him that way anymore, afraid that Chen Fei might hear them.

Chen Fei naturally did not have much authority yet, but who knew how far he might grow in the future? To offend someone like him just for the momentary pleasure of running one's mouth was simply not worth it.

Not only could they no longer afford to offend him, they even had to think of ways to curry favor with him. What if Chen Fei truly rose to prominence in the future?

"Damn it, that Mud Leg's luck is actually this good!"

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

"I heard Old Zeng thinks highly of him."

A Guard spoke in a low voice, not daring to casually discuss Chen Fei alongside Pu Liao as they had before.

"Hmph!"

Pu Liao snorted coldly. He glanced at the people around him and, seeing that they did not echo his words, rose and left immediately. 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 level higher than theirs.

Relying on his seniority and his Flesh Refining Realm cultivation, Pu Liao could disregard Chen Fei to a certain extent, but they did not dare to do the same.

On the second day, Chen Fei no longer stood guard in the front hall. Instead, he seriously refined pills inside the Pill Room, while Zeng Defang stood to the side and personally corrected 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 the talent he had displayed that had dazzled Zeng Defang.

Although he had pushed things a little too far, fortunately, the result was satisfactory. Chen Fei could not bring himself to reject Zeng Defang's goodwill, so he listened attentively to Zeng Defang's explanations while correcting one or two of those mistakes during his next attempt at alchemy.

When Zeng Defang saw that his teaching was producing excellent results, he became more and more excited as he taught, his face glowing red.

This was what it meant to be a teacher. When one encountered a genius-like disciple who understood everything with a single point of guidance and never needed to be told twice, the sense of accomplishment was immense.

Zeng Defang had not experienced this feeling in far too many years. At this moment, watching Chen Fei improve with every batch of pills he refined made him even happier and prouder than when he himself refined a difficult pill.

"Very good. This Qi Blood Pill has already fused all the Herbs. Although the Fusion is still not quite proper, it has improved tremendously compared to before."

Zeng Defang looked at the pill in his hand, his face filled with smiles. The satisfaction in his eyes as he looked at Chen Fei grew stronger as well. In his heart, Zeng Defang had already begun treating Chen Fei as half a disciple.

"It's all thanks to Old Zeng's excellent teaching."

Chen Fei timely delivered a flattering remark, making Zeng Defang's smile grow even more radiant.

This student is teachable, this student is teachable indeed!

Chen Fei wore a smile. Although that sentence had been flattery, Zeng Defang's skill was indeed impressive. The Panel showed that the Qi Blood Pill's progress had risen by more than ten points, which was proof enough.