Alchemy—Spreading the Word

"Yes."

Xuan Jin's reply consisted of only one word.

Gu Ni frowned, finding this young man somewhat arrogant.

"May I ask what grade of alchemist you are, young friend? Do you have an Alchemist Guild badge?"

"No." Xuan Jin shook his head again.

Xuan Jin truly did not have a low-grade badge. The badge in his Storage Ring was a Seventh Grade Alchemist Badge issued by the Pill Tower.

This time, Gu Ni's expression completely darkened.

"Hmph, you dare call yourself an alchemist without a badge? Young man, the Miter Auction House is not a place for you to spout nonsense!"

Ya Fei, standing beside them, felt somewhat awkward and was just about to smooth things over.

But Xuan Jin smiled.

He did not argue with Gu Ni. He merely sat upright in his chair as an invisible, majestic force spread from his body.

This was not Dou Qi pressure, but pure Soul Power.

Gu Ni felt his head suddenly sink, as if a massive mountain were pressing down on him. Even his soul trembled.

He stared at Xuan Jin in horror, the arrogance on his face instantly replaced by fear.

He had only felt Soul Power of this intensity from the president of the Jia Ma Empire Alchemist Guild Headquarters!

That man was a genuine Peak Fifth Grade Alchemist!

Though Ya Fei was not an alchemist, she also felt an inexplicable palpitation, as if her very mind had been firmly seized by the other party.

She looked at Xuan Jin, and nothing but profound shock remained in her once-alluring eyes.

Xuan Jin withdrew his Soul Power.

The oppressive atmosphere in the reception room vanished at once.

Gu Ni gasped for breath, drenched in cold sweat. As he looked at Xuan Jin, he no longer dared show the slightest contempt.

"Se... Senior..."

His voice trembled, and even his form of address had changed.

Xuan Jin still wore that calm, unruffled expression.

"Do I qualify now?"

"Yes! Yes! Senior, you must be joking!"

Gu Ni hurriedly bowed, his attitude respectful to the extreme.

Ya Fei took a deep breath and forcibly calmed herself.

She knew that she might have encountered an extraordinary figure.

A mysterious expert so young, yet possessing Soul Power comparable to that of a Fifth Grade Alchemist.

"Young Master Xuan, please forgive our earlier offense," Ya Fei said apologetically, while secretly shooting Gu Ni a glare.

Xuan Jin waved a hand.

"It's nothing."

He looked at Ya Fei and stated his purpose directly.

"I need a quiet Alchemy Chamber, and I need you to auction a batch of pills for me."

"Of course, no problem!" Ya Fei immediately agreed. "But what grade of pills does Young Master wish to auction?"

Xuan Jin did not answer directly.

"Find a quiet room. The two of you can simply watch me refine pills from the side."

Refining pills on the spot?

Ya Fei and Gu Ni exchanged another glance, both seeing the shock in each other's eyes.

This mysterious Young Master Xuan intended to prove his strength before them!

"Alright! Young Master Xuan, please follow me!"

Ya Fei no longer hesitated. She personally led the way, bringing Xuan Jin toward the auction house's most confidential Alchemy Chamber.

She had a feeling that today, she would witness a true genius—a genius far beyond what the Jia Ma Empire could imagine.

Deep within the Miter Auction House stood a secret chamber built from special stone.

This was the auction house's most vital area. Normally, only Master Gu Ni was qualified to use it.

Ya Fei personally pushed open the heavy stone door for Xuan Jin.

"Young Master Xuan, it is absolutely quiet here. No one will disturb you."

Xuan Jin nodded and stepped inside.

At the center of the secret chamber stood a bronze Medicine Cauldron, with shelves of medicinal ingredients lining the side.

Gu Ni followed behind, looking somewhat uneasy.

He had completely lost his previous arrogance. Instead, he resembled an apprentice about to observe a senior refining pills, both nervous and expectant.

Xuan Jin glanced at the bronze Medicine Cauldron and shook his head.

With a flick of his hand, an ancient Medicine Cauldron, dark red throughout and covered in star-like patterns, appeared out of thin air and landed in the center of the chamber.

Boom!

The Medicine Cauldron struck the ground with a muffled sound, making the entire chamber tremble faintly.

An ancient, profound aura spread through the room.

"This... this is..."

Gu Ni's breath caught as he stared fixedly at the dark-red Medicine Cauldron.

Although he could not identify its origins, he could tell that his bronze cauldron was nothing more than scrap iron before this one!

Ya Fei likewise sensed its extraordinary aura. Covering her red lips, she felt a tempestuous wave rise within her heart.

Xuan Jin ignored their shock.

He walked up to the Medicine Cauldron and flicked a finger. A wisp of deep-blue flame leaped into it.

Sea Heart Flame!

The temperature in the chamber abruptly soared, and ripples appeared even in the air.

"Th-this could it be... a Heavenly Flame?!" Gu Ni truly cried out this time, his voice changing pitch.

If the Medicine Cauldron had merely shocked him, the appearance of a Heavenly Flame completely overturned everything he knew.

Heavenly Flames were treasures that alchemists dreamed of. Pill King Gu He of the Jia Ma Empire had reportedly spent years searching for one, yet repeatedly came up empty-handed.

Yet this young man actually possessed a Heavenly Flame!

Ya Fei was already speechless, her mind completely blank.

Xuan Jin did not pause. With a thought, the medicinal ingredients he had long prepared in his Storage Ring flew into the Medicine Cauldron in separate categories, like swallows returning to their nest.

His movements flowed as smoothly as clouds and running water, without the slightest delay.

Refining, fusing, condensing...

Every step was as precise as if copied from a textbook.

The deep-blue Sea Heart Flame was as docile as a kitten in his hands, and his control over the heat was exquisite to the utmost degree.

Very soon, a rich medicinal fragrance wafted from the cauldron.

"These are... the ingredients for Qi Gathering Powder! No, the ingredients are of higher age! And Purple Heart Barrier Breaking Pill ingredients too!"

Gu Ni's eyes widened as he muttered to himself.

He could tell that Xuan Jin was refining several kinds of pills simultaneously!

Dividing his attention, and every one of them was a Fourth-Grade Pill!

How was that possible?!

Immediately afterward, Xuan Jin added another batch of medicinal ingredients.

The instant those ingredients entered the Medicine Cauldron, an even more majestic energy fluctuation spread out.

The energy throughout the chamber became violent.

"Wind Hành Pill! Recovery Pill! And... heavens! Those are the ingredients for a Dou Ling Pill!"

Gu Ni's voice trembled.

Fifth Grade Pills!

These were Fifth Grade Pills!

A realm he could never reach even after exhausting his entire life was as simple as kneading dough in this young man's hands!

Although Ya Fei did not understand pill refinement, she could understand Gu Ni's expression.

From the way Gu Ni looked as though he had seen a ghost, she could guess just how earth-shattering what was happening before her truly was.

Time passed second by second...

"The pills are complete!"

Xuan Jin gave a low shout and struck the Medicine Cauldron from afar with his palm.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Several streaks of light shot from the mouth of the cauldron. He grabbed them in one sweep and placed them into jade bottles he had prepared beforehand.

A rich pill fragrance instantly filled the entire chamber.

Xuan Jin put away the Medicine Cauldron and the Heavenly Flame, then handed several jade bottles to Ya Fei.

"Please trouble yourselves with auctioning these."

Ya Fei mechanically accepted the jade bottles. They were warm to the touch, and she felt that what she held was not pills, but wealth capable of shaking the entire Jia Ma Empire.

Xuan Jin looked at her and continued.

"I came to Wutan City to travel and, incidentally, search for rare flowers, exotic herbs, or ancient objects."

"Miss Ya Fei may spread the word. If anyone can produce something that satisfies me, I can personally refine a pill for them. Anything below Fifth Grade is acceptable. If it is something that greatly pleases me, even Sixth Grade is not impossible."

"As payment, I only want half the profits from the auction."

"Sixth Grade! He said Sixth Grade! Could this Young Master Xuan be a Sixth Grade Alchemist?" Ya Fei was utterly shocked.

If this news were released...

She could almost foresee the entirety of Wutan City—no, the entire Northeast Province of Jia Ma Empire—going mad over it!

Suppressing the excitement in her heart, she gave Xuan Jin a deep bow.

"Young Master Xuan, rest assured. Ya Fei will certainly handle this matter properly!"

She summoned a trusted maid with a wave of her hand and whispered a few words into her ear.

After hearing them, the maid's face was also filled with shock. She did not dare delay in the slightest and immediately turned to leave at a brisk pace.

Gu Ni, standing beside them, had long been too shocked to speak. What had he just witnessed?

He had witnessed effortless, fluid multitasking in pill refinement. Fourth Tier Pills and Fifth Tier Pills required no more effort than lifting a finger before this master. Just where had such a genius come from?