Nie Li's Master?

Gu Yan and the others could currently make only one pill that enhanced Soul Power: the Soul Gathering Pill, whose effects were extremely limited. The three pills Nie Li had mentioned, which nourished Soul Power, had all been lost to time. Their effects were at least dozens, if not hundreds, of times greater than those of the Soul Gathering Pill.

During the Divine Empire era, the Soul Gathering Pill was only a low-grade pill. The Soul Nurturing Pill was a mid-grade pill, ten times as effective as the Soul Gathering Pill. The Soul Condensing Pill was a high-grade pill, a hundred times as effective. The Soul Tempering Pill was a top-grade pill, a thousand times as effective as the Soul Gathering Pill. Even Legendary-rank Demon Spirit Masters could benefit greatly from it.

As for the Crimson Flame Body Tempering Pill, a single pill was worth ten thousand gold. It could temper the body and greatly improve a martial artist's natural gifts. During the Divine Empire era, many martial artists had reached the Legendary Martial Artist rank thanks to the Crimson Flame Body Tempering Pill. Now, though, forget about Legendary Martial Artists—even Black Gold-ranked martial artists were a rare sight.

The Nine Revolutions Pill was even more legendary. As long as you had one, even if you suffered a life-threatening injury, taking it would keep you breathing, and you could slowly recover. It was a lifesaving pill!

Every year, countless martial artists and Demon Spirit Masters fought demon beasts and faced the threat of death. With the Nine Revolutions Pill, who knew how many lives could be saved!

"Does your esteemed master truly have the recipes for all five pills?" Gu Yan's voice trembled. He understood just how important these five pills would be to the City of Brilliance.

"Of course. My master has traveled across the entire Sacred Spirit Continent and is learned in many fields. He came to the City of Brilliance only a few years ago, but he prefers to stay out of the spotlight, so I handle everything on his behalf! Of these five pills, any alchemy apprentice of intermediate rank or higher can make the Soul Nurturing Pill. The Soul Condensing Pill requires an advanced alchemy apprentice. The Soul Tempering Pill and the Crimson Flame Body Tempering Pill require a Junior Alchemy Master, while the Nine Revolutions Pill requires an advanced Alchemy Master," Nie Li said.

"My esteemed master traveled across the Sacred Spirit Continent, and only arrived in the City of Brilliance a few years ago?" Gu Yan's heart stirred. No wonder he'd never heard of such a person in the City of Brilliance before. If someone like that could stay here, it would be an enormous asset!

"My master originally wanted to donate the recipes for these five pills to the Alchemist Association, but..." Nie Li paused slightly.

"But what?" Gu Yan grew anxious and rubbed his hands together without realizing it. He understood just how important these five pills would be to the City of Brilliance!

The City of Brilliance was in a precarious position. Demon beasts roamed everywhere in the Sacred Ancestor Mountain Range, especially the three powerful Legendary-rank Ice Snow Demon Beasts. Even Ye Mo couldn't deal with them. Fortunately, the three Ice Snow Demon Beasts were currently asleep. If they awoke, the City of Brilliance would be in grave danger.

There had been several times in the City of Brilliance's history when it had nearly been wiped off the map!

And Lord Ye Mo was growing old, with no new Legendary-rank Demon Spirit Master to take his place.

"My master needs a great deal of resources to continue his research into alchemy, and that requires a lot of Spirit Coins. So these five pills can't be given to the Alchemist Association for free. From now on, my master wants thirty percent of the money earned from selling these five pills. Does President Gu Yan have any objections? Even if my master takes thirty percent, the Alchemist Association will still make a profit of at least thirty percent," Nie Li said. Alchemy was enormously profitable; even a sixty-percent profit margin was considered low, and some pills brought in more than ninety percent.

"That's only fair!" Gu Yan hurriedly agreed. "Our Alchemist Association is willing to give your esteemed master fifty percent of the profits!"

He was kidding. These five pills had all been lost to time. If they could make them and put them up for auction, almost every pill would fetch an astronomical price. The profits would certainly be staggering. Even after giving away half, they would still make plenty.

If they really produced the Soul Tempering Pill, the Crimson Flame Body Tempering Pill, and the Nine Revolutions Pill, even Lord Ye Mo, the Legendary Demon Spirit Master, would come to buy them—let alone the Peak Families and Magnate Families! The wealth those great clans possessed was beyond the imagination of ordinary people!

Nie Li smiled faintly. "My master said he only wants thirty percent. If President Gu Yan is willing, you could set aside some money to support commoner children who want to study alchemy."

At Nie Li's words, Gu Yan paused, then immediately showed his admiration. "Your esteemed master is a highly respected elder. Please assure him that I'll take care of it. Supporting them in learning alchemy will also help expand the Alchemist Association's influence!"

Gu Yan had always wanted to strengthen the Alchemist Association's influence and reverse its steady decline, but they had never had enough people or money. With the five pills Nie Li had provided, they would make astonishing profits for some time to come and could finally afford to do it!

"As for the sales, your esteemed master can send someone to oversee them. If anything displeases him, we'll make immediate changes," Gu Yan said. It was only natural that they might not be trusted with such a large business.

"My master is leaving everything entirely in President Gu Yan's and Director Yang's hands. He trusts you both! Besides, I believe neither of you is short-sighted," Nie Li said with a faint smile.

"Of course!" Gu Yan nodded hurriedly. With an Alchemy Grandmaster entrusting them with this business, how could they not do their best? That Alchemy Grandmaster surely had far more recipes than just these few!

"All right, here are the recipes and methods for making the five pills. Please take a look, President Gu Yan," Nie Li said, handing him the recipes.

Gu Yan stared at them, stunned. He'd never expected that the herbs used to make these pills were so ordinary—some were even common household herbs. The cost was astonishingly low! Then he thought it over and understood. It was just like Purple Mist Grass. Before Nie Li had published that article, who would have guessed that a bundle of Purple Mist Grass worth one Spirit Coin could be so useful?

After glancing over the herbs, Gu Yan understood what the Alchemist Association needed to do next: stockpile as many of them as possible. The Alchemist Association wasn't united; its elders competed for power and profit. But as long as Gu Yan kept control of the recipes for the Soul Tempering Pill, the Crimson Flame Body Tempering Pill, and the Nine Revolutions Pill, his position in the association would be even more secure than before.

A moment later, Yang Xin brought over the certificate, medal, and robe for an advanced Alchemy Master.

"From now on, if you need anything, little brother Nie Li, just go to Director Yang. She'll make sure everything is taken care of for you!" Gu Yan said. With these recipes in hand, he planned to devote himself to alchemy for a while.

"All right." Nie Li nodded slightly.

"This robe is a little too big for you. Once your new one is ready, I'll deliver it to you myself. Where do you live? How can I get in touch with you in the future?" Yang Xin asked, looking at Nie Li.

"I'm an apprentice in the junior martial artist class at Sacred Lan Academy. You can find me there," Nie Li said after thinking it over.

At his words, Yang Xin's mouth fell open. Who could have imagined that Nie Li was only a student in the junior martial artist class? Thinking of Nie Li's astonishing knowledge, Yang Xin could only smile wryly. Having him remain in that class was a tremendous waste of his talent!

"If little brother Nie Li wants to enter Sacred Lan Academy's genius class, I can personally speak with the academy's principal!" Yang Xin said. As a director of the Alchemist Association, she held a very high status in the City of Brilliance. Sacred Lan Academy sent some of its students to the Alchemist Association every year.

"No need," Nie Li said with a faint smile. He had his own plans. The things taught at school had long since lost all appeal for him. He stayed at Sacred Lan Academy partly for Ye Ziyun, and partly for the few treasures hidden there!

Hearing Nie Li's words, Yang Xin understood. He was staying in the junior martial artist class because he was concealing his abilities, surely for some special reason.

"If there's nothing else, I'll be going. I'll come back to the Alchemist Association if I need anything," Nie Li said to Gu Yan and Yang Xin.

"All right. Director Yang, see little brother Nie Li out," Gu Yan said.

"Certainly." Yang Xin nodded.

With Yang Xin accompanying him, Nie Li headed for the Alchemist Association's exit. Gu Yan watched his figure disappear through the doorway. He looked at the recipes in his hands, then at the problems Nie Li had solved on the wall. It all felt like a dream, and the excitement in his heart refused to settle.

After Nie Li left, the entire Alchemist Association erupted.

The Junior Alchemy Masters discovered that someone had answered all the questions they'd written on the wall. They hurried back to check the answers, and the results left them stunned: the solutions were even better than they had imagined.

Everyone was shocked. Had President Gu Yan become an Alchemy Grandmaster during this time? He'd never been able to solve many of these problems before, so how had the answers suddenly appeared?

One by one, they wanted to ask President Gu Yan and confirm their suspicions. But to their disappointment, President Gu Yan had suddenly begun devoting himself to alchemy and was refusing all visitors. Director Yang, who had always been in charge of the Alchemist Association's affairs, had also started doing something strange: she was mobilizing the association's funds on a large scale to buy up all kinds of herbs. Many of those herbs were never used in alchemy and were practically weeds. They couldn't understand why Director Yang had sent people to buy them.

The Alchemist Association had suddenly begun purchasing large quantities of seemingly useless herbs, and the City of Brilliance's ordinary residents were excited too. Every day, many people went out into the wild to gather the herbs the association was buying. Though the prices were very low, they could still earn a little money.

All kinds of herbs streamed into the Alchemist Association, and every alchemy apprentice of intermediate rank or higher was summoned...