Xiao Zhan's Request!

"Sister Ya Fei, please have someone guard the door!"

"Master Guni, if you're free, would you stay?"

Chen Yang sat cross-legged, pressed his right hand against the mouth of the cauldron, and turned to Ya Fei and Guni.

"Understood!"

Ya Fei nodded and turned to leave first.

Guni, meanwhile, was stunned again.

He had not expected Chen Yang to let him stay and watch him refine pills today.

"Master Guni, are you free?"

Chen Yang turned and smiled at him.

"Free, of course I'm free!"

Guni hurriedly nodded.

Forget having other matters today—even if his wife were giving birth, he would have to stuff the baby back in first.

A child could be born again, but if he missed the chance to watch a Third-grade Alchemist refine pills, it would truly be gone forever.

"Good. Then come closer. I'll teach you while I refine."

The moment Chen Yang said this, Guni was completely dumbfounded.

Being allowed to stay and watch was already Chen Yang's generosity, but teaching him...

"Chen Yang, little... no... Master Chen Yang, I... I..."

Guni was so flustered that he could barely form a coherent sentence.

"Alright, save your excitement for when you can refine a furnace of Third-grade Pills on your own!"

Chen Yang waved his hand, then circulated his Dou Qi into the medicine cauldron and began refining.

"Yes, Master!"

At that moment, Guni no longer regarded Chen Yang as a business partner, but directly as his teacher.

"Watch carefully. Don't get distracted. Look at my technique!"

"The greatest difference between second-grade and third-grade is..."

Chen Yang's words pulled Guni's focus back.

The alchemy process was tedious, but to Guni, it was like rain after a long drought. The whole person greedily absorbed the knowledge Chen Yang imparted.

His talent for alchemy could only be called ordinary. After more than half a lifetime, he was still merely a Second-grade Alchemist.

However, age had its advantages. Having immersed himself in the realm of Second-grade Alchemists for many years, his foundation was exceptionally solid.

Although the limitations of his inheritance had kept him at the Second-grade Alchemist level for years, with the guidance of a renowned master, becoming a Third-grade Alchemist was not impossible.

Refining Wind Spirit Pills was nothing difficult for Chen Yang.

The main issue was that refining the Level Three Magical Core was somewhat troublesome, taking around half an hour.

The remaining steps combined took only a little over an hour.

Including his explanations to Guni along the way, one Wind Spirit Pill emerged successfully from the furnace after two and a half hours.

"It's done!!!"

"Congratulations, Master!"

Guni looked at Chen Yang in delight, quickly took out an exquisite jade bottle from his storage ring, and placed the pill inside.

"I wonder how talented Xiao Zhan is. I might as well refine another one!"

"This time, I won't explain. Watch carefully!"

With a Mysterious Tier High-Grade Cultivation Method and the cultivation of a Nine-star Great Dou Shi, refining a Third-grade Pill consumed some of Chen Yang's energy, but it was practically negligible.

After taking a small sip of the tea Guni handed him, Chen Yang opened another furnace while the medicine cauldron was still hot.

"Guni understands!"

Guni nodded and continued staring with full concentration. He was unwilling to even blink, afraid of missing any detail.

The second batch skipped the step of heating the cauldron, and since Chen Yang did not explain anything this time, it was completed in less than two hours.

"Clap, clap, clap!"

Chen Yang clapped his hands, rose to his feet, stretched his legs, and looked at Guni. "How was it? Do you have any questions about refining Third-grade Pills?"

Guni came back to his senses, took out a small notebook, and raised his questions one by one. Chen Yang answered each of them in turn.

Once Chen Yang had finished, Guni carefully stored the little notebook in his storage ring as if it were a treasure. Then he looked at Chen Yang uneasily, seeming to want to speak but hesitating.

"If you have something to say, say it!"

Chen Yang walked to the table and sat down. Guni hurried over to pour him tea, then gathered his thoughts and said nervously:

"Master, Guni knows that his talent is poor and that he is not qualified to become your disciple!"

"But..."

"But Master has indeed taught Guni alchemy."

"Guni wishes to ask... in Wutan City, may Guni have the honor of calling you 'Teacher'?"

After speaking, Guni lowered his head and looked at Chen Yang, terrified of offending him and making Chen Yang think he was pushing his luck.

"Fine."

"It's rare for you to have such sincerity. Call me whatever you wish."

Chen Yang shook his head, took a sip of tea, and nodded.

"Thank you, Teacher!"

"Thank you, Teacher!"

Guni immediately bowed deeply, overwhelmed with excitement.

"Alright, go find Ya Fei and give her the pills. I believe she understands better than either of us how to maximize their value!"

Chen Yang waved his hand, signaling that Guni could leave.

"Yes, Teacher!"

Guni nodded excitedly, then turned and ran off like a young lad.

"Well... I ended up taking in an old disciple."

"But that isn't bad either."

After resting for a moment, Chen Yang got up and took a stroll outside, also getting a look at an auction in this other world.

Most of the items at the auction had been transported by Mittel from the Imperial Capital and were considered rare goods in Wutan City.

But to Chen Yang, they were all rather ordinary.

There were no major figures at the Auction House either. Most were representatives of the Three Great Families, as well as patriarchs of smaller clans or commanders of Mercenary Groups. Their strength generally ranged from High-level Fighters to Low-level Masters.

After watching for a little over half an hour, Chen Yang returned to his Small Courtyard and continued Open Furnace Alchemy.

He still had materials for two batches of Qi Replenishing Pills and three batches of Wind Spirit Pills. When medicinal materials were kept in a storage ring, they were merely medicinal materials. But once refined into pills, they became resources—Gold Coins.

With that thought, Chen Yang instructed the guard outside to watch the door, then sat cross-legged and continued refining pills.

This refinement session lasted until the afternoon.

At this moment!

Inside a private room at the Mittel Auction House.

"Miss Ya Fei, Master Guni, may I ask why the two of you summoned Xiao Zhan here?"

Xiao Zhan, dressed in luxurious gray robes, sat on the chair. His thick brows were slightly furrowed, and his face showed both impatience and confusion.

"Since we invited Patriarch Xiao here, naturally it is for something good!"

Ya Fei looked at Xiao Zhan, then glanced toward Guni.

Understanding her meaning, Guni took two jade bottles from his storage ring and placed them on the table.

"This..."

Xiao Zhan was puzzled, unable to tell what the two of them were planning.

"Patriarch Xiao Zhan, this pill is called the Wind Spirit Pill, a Third-grade Pill. After a Wind Attribute Da Dou Shi takes one, it can raise their cultivation by one star or increase their Cultivation Speed for one month."

"If the first pill does not raise your cultivation, then taking the second will definitely increase it by one star!"

"Patriarch Xiao Zhan, are you interested?"

Guni pointed at the two jade bottles on the tabletop and smiled at Xiao Zhan.

"There is actually such a pill?"

Before Guni had even finished speaking, Xiao Zhan's breathing had already quickened.

He was currently a Five-Star Great Dou Shi, while the patriarchs of Wutan City's other two great families were only Four-Star Dou Grandmasters. (In the Original Work, when Xiao Yan returned to Wutan City before his second ascent to the Misty Cloud Sect, those two had only then become Five-Star Great Dou Shi. At this point, Four-Star Dou Grandmasters was reasonable!)

If he broke through to become a Six-star Great Dou Master, then even if he could not unify Wutan City, Jia Lie Bi and Ao Ba Pa, those two old guys, would at least have to treat him more politely in the future.

His authority within the clan would also rise another level.

"Huff..."

Thinking of this, Xiao Zhan took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.

"Miss Ya Fei, Master Guni, Xiao Zhan thanks you both for thinking of him and inviting him here alone!"

"Please name your price. Xiao Zhan absolutely will not haggle!"

There was more than one Wind Attribute Da Dou Shi in Wutan City, yet Ya Fei and Guni had summoned him alone. That favor alone was worth far more than simply not haggling!

"Patriarch Xiao is straightforward, so Ya Fei will not waste words!"

"The two pills together cost 170,000 Gold Coins!"

Ya Fei looked at Xiao Zhan and gave the price they had prepared long ago.

"Good!"

Xiao Zhan nodded and took out a Purple Gold Card from his storage ring.

"There are 200,000 Gold Coins here!"

Ya Fei nodded, accepted the Purple Gold Card and checked it, then handed Xiao Zhan 30,000 Gold Coins in change along with the two Wind Spirit Pills.

After receiving them, Xiao Zhan hurriedly opened one bottle and took a sniff. He immediately felt that the circulation speed of his Dou Qi had increased by ten percent.

"May I ask, Miss Ya Fei and Master Guni, did this pill come from the Imperial Capital?"

Xiao Zhan put away the pills and cautiously asked the two of them.

"It did not."

"I know Patriarch Xiao has always been troubled by your son's talent. When Ya Fei returns, I will mention it to that master!"

"If that master is interested, I will notify Patriarch Xiao!"

Ya Fei smiled at Xiao Zhan.

"Understood, understood!"

"When Xiao Zhan came today, his expression was poor. I hope you two will not take offense!"

"It is simply that at today's testing ceremony, my son Xiao Yan was still stuck at the Third Stage Dou Disciple!"

"Sigh..."

Xiao Zhan sighed, then continued:

"If that master has a way to resolve my son's talent problem, Xiao Zhan is willing to pay any price. I ask you two to please inform him!"

"Xiao Zhan shall take his leave!"

With that, Xiao Zhan turned and departed.

After a moment of silence, Ya Fei and Guni also sighed.

They knew of Xiao Yan from the Xiao Family as well.

When Ya Fei had first arrived in Wutan City, Xiao Yan still possessed his talent. An eleven-year-old Dou Zhe—throughout the Jia Ma Empire, even the entire Northwest Region, he had been one of the finest geniuses.

But now...

"We should still tell Teacher about this. What if he's interested?"

Guni said to Ya Fei.

"Alright..."