Surprise (2-in-1)

Yang Haogu sat down at the stone table, took out a water cup, and took a sip of water:

"Actually, the Exhibition Match at the Alchemist Conference is, in essence, a performance, and doesn't have much competitive element. However, this time it's been given a lot of attention in China. Huang Xuan's departure and the hype from the Japanese media have given this Exhibition Match a lot of political significance..."

"The competition format for the Exhibition Match match isn't strict. All participating Alchemist will each create a potion, and the competition's judging panel will select the five most outstanding Alchemist. The selection criteria are based on a combination of the potion's grade, rarity, and purity. Generally speaking, a perfect quality 1st-tier, level 10 potion, even if it's not a rare recipe, is perfectly sufficient."

Bai Xiaowen nodded. It seemed that he should have no problem passing the first round of selection.

Yang Haogu continued, "After that, it will be a competition between these five Alchemist, which can be considered the final."

"The five Alchemist selected in the first round will create another potion. These five potions will serve as five test questions. The Alchemist must solve the problems based on the potions created by the others, either by creating an identical potion but with higher purity, or by creating a potion of a higher grade. The scores generated from these five attempts will determine who wins this Exhibition Match."

At this point, Yang Haogu concluded, "If you choose a common Tier 1 Level 10 Enhancement Potion in Exhibition Match, even if you create a perfect one, it will be difficult to win first place."

Bai Xiaowen frowned and said, "I've never actually made a potion that's higher than level 10 of tier 1."

Yang Haogu nodded. "Yes, a Tier 1, Level 10 potion is the highest-level potion that Awakened Ones can use. Above that is the Tier 2 potion category, which is for Evolver. The formula for this kind of potion is extremely rare. Do you know why?"

Bai Xiaowen thought for a moment, then cautiously said, "I have a guess, but I dare not say it."

Yang Haogu glanced at Bai Xiaowen with some surprise, then smiled slightly and said, "It seems you also know about the secrecy rules... That's right, the formula for Evolver, which are Tier 2 potions, is classified as confidential. Revealing this level of formula to others will be punished by the Spirit Realm Rules. Depending on the level and rarity of the formula, a certain amount of Psionic Points will be deducted..."

Bai Xiaowen breathed a sigh of relief; Master Yang was indeed aware of the confidentiality rules.

"Could an ordinary person memorize the formula for a Tier 2 potion? Or could it be widely distributed through printing?" Bai Xiaowen's imagination ran wild.

If ordinary people could memorize the formula, it could be spread through widespread instruction. In any case, ordinary people and Quasi-Awakened don't care about the deduction of Psionic Points, and the most severe punishment under the Spirit Realm Rules is nothing more than being rejected by Psionic Particles and being permanently barred from entering the Spirit Realm —which doesn't matter to ordinary people either.

Mass printing makes things much easier. For example, Bai Xiaowen learned about the formulas and standard production processes for Tier 1 potions from mass-printed pharmacology books.

Here's a brief explanation: the standard production process for Tier 1 potions was developed by Alchemist through trial and error. Based on the final purity, they fine-tuned the proportions of medicinal materials and the production steps time and time again, making the result closer and closer to 100%. From this, they "derived" the optimal ratio and steps, which is the standard production process.

To give an analogy, it's similar to Newton's derivation of the law of inertia—every object, when not acted upon by an external force, will always maintain a state of uniform motion in a straight line or remain at rest. However, Newton could not completely eliminate friction; he only arrived at this conclusion by repeatedly reducing friction to make the ball roll further and further.

These precious fruits of hard work would have been treasures of knowledge kept secret in ancient times. However, in today's world of advanced media and information explosion, pharmacy, as an emerging discipline, sees a flood of papers published every day, and countless Alchemist exchanging ideas has become the norm. Working in isolation will only make one fall further and further behind the times.

Bai Xiaowen tried many times, strictly following the standard production process in the book to prepare the medicine, but the purity could never reach 100%, and even 99% was rare.

This shows that there is still room for improvement in the standard production process, and Bai Xiaowen, with his Insight Talent, is the most suitable candidate.

Bai Xiaowen simply lacked sufficient knowledge of pharmaceutics, pharmacological properties, and principles. He also lacked the patience to spend a lot of time optimizing a small part of the standard production process—even though it was a shortcut to publishing papers.

Upon hearing Bai Xiaowen's outlandish idea, Yang Haogu shook his head. "First of all, the formula for a Tier 2 potion can only be recorded on spiritual energy items, such as alchemy notes obtained during explorations of the Spirit Realm. Mass printing would only result in blank paper. As for ordinary people, they have no way of accessing confidential information, so it's impossible for them to be used as a medium for widespread dissemination."

Bai Xiaowen nodded. Indeed, if the Spirit Realm Rules were so easily bypassed, classified information would be readily available on Earth today, especially top-secret intelligence known only to high -Advanced Awakened.

There's a reason why second-tier potion recipes are less common: those who teach them are punished by the Spirit Realm Rules, having a certain amount of Psionic Points deducted.

"Master Yang, could you teach me some standard procedures for making Tier 2 potions? I'm willing to pay any amount of Psionic Points required by the Spirit Realm Rules and penalties." Bai Xiaowen felt a glimmer of hope; he knew Yang Haogu wouldn't tell him these things for no reason.

Yang Haogu chuckled, squinting his eyes as he said, "The Qiao Family girl has already mentioned that she hopes I can teach you some Tier 2 recipes, and she wants to pay me the corresponding Psionic Points in advance. I will definitely teach you, but there's no need for the Psionic Points. I'm so old, and I'm not going to venture into the Spirit Realm. Do you think I can take so many Psionic Points to my grave? You're Combat Department awakened one; Psionic Points are more useful to you."

Bai Xiaowen's heart skipped a beat. Qiao Rui was actually willing to go to such lengths for him? This probably couldn't be explained by mere initial attraction. Although Bai Xiaowen was a bit narcissistic, he didn't believe his charm was so great that Qiao Rui would fall in love at first sight.

Perhaps the Qiao Family really values this Exhibition Match. As long as it increases their chances of winning against Huang Xuan by even a little, sacrificing some Psionic Points is nothing.

"Thank you, Master Yang." Bai Xiaowen put aside any other thoughts and sincerely expressed her gratitude to Yang Haogu.

Yang Haogu right. Even Evolver would treat a master potion maker like him with courtesy. As for Advanced Awakened seeking his potions, he would probably be no stranger to them, and he certainly wouldn't lack Psionic Points.

Whether they are Awakened or Evolver, when seeking medicine, they wouldn't use Seed Mark Earth's currency; Psionic Points are the real hard currency.

Those less pure and more common Enhancement Potion can be bought with Earth currency because they are relatively easy to make. However, it is normal to use Psionic Points to purchase Perfect-Tier Enhancement Potion that are of high purity and grade.

Occasionally there are exceptions, such as the Super God Potion Shop's auction events held to attract customers, where one bottle is auctioned off per week and settled in Earth currency.

However, this settlement method will change after the business gains popularity, and will revert to settlement using Psionic Points. Super God Potion Shop already has a corresponding plan for this.

Yang Haogu smiled and waved his hand, saying, "There's no standard process for making Tier 2 potions. I've prepared a few unconventional, high-level recipes and will demonstrate the process for you. If you can learn these recipes, you should be able to put up a fight against Huang Xuan..."

Next, Bai Xiaowen followed Yang Haogu to learn the second-tier potion formula.

Yang Haogu's original requirement for Bai Xiaowen was merely to memorize the formulas and preparation steps for a few uncommon medicines, since three days was too short a time.

But soon, Yang Haogu discovered that this young man was different... Specifically, Bai Xiaowen had completely mastered the course that was originally planned for three days in just one afternoon...

"Such an enviable memory; it goes beyond just photographic memory."

Watching Bai Xiaowen perfectly Replication his potion-making process using the same materials, Yang Haogu exclaimed, "You're practically a Replication machine... If you abandoned Combat Department and focused on becoming Alchemist, you'd definitely achieve unprecedented success."

However, Yang Haogu also knew that Bai Xiaowen had talent in combat and would not give up on developing his Combat Department. He only sighed and did not try to persuade him further.

However, over the next two days, Yang Haogu began to consciously teach Bai Xiaowen the principles of combining high-end medicinal herbs, as well as valuable experience in the actual pharmaceutical process. Bai Xiaowen himself had memorized many pharmacology books and his basic knowledge was not bad, so he could fully digest and absorb the advanced content taught by Yang Haogu.

In just a few days, Bai Xiaowen felt that his knowledge of pharmacy had improved a lot. His secondary profession, Alchemist, had actually increased by more than half in experience, and was already close to the threshold of level 6 Alchemist.

Bai Xiaowen then realized that Alchemist could level up not only by accumulating experience points through making medicine, but also by receiving guidance from masters, which was more efficient.

Of course, this was also the first time Bai Xiaowen received instruction from Yang Haogu, which led to a leap in experience growth. Later, the rate of experience growth slowed down somewhat.

It's like putting a sponge in a bowl. At first, it absorbs water very quickly, but as the water level drops, the absorption rate will definitely be slower than at the beginning.

The influence of a master is not only about imparting knowledge, but also about inheriting and cultivating a spirit. In his studies, Bai Xiaowen gradually came to understand Yang Haogu's style in pharmacology: serious and rigorous. Whether it was a high-grade or low-grade medicine, he would concentrate fully and strive for excellence to do his best.

Bai Xiaowen developed a genuine and profound interest in pharmaceutics.

"Thank you for your guidance these past few days, teacher," Bai Xiaowen said sincerely. "If you need anything in the future, please let me know."

Yang Haogu was amused by Bai Xiaowen's serious attitude. "Alright, what could a peaceful old man like me possibly have to do? I appreciate your kindness. Tomorrow is the Exhibition Match match, so do your best."

"I will defeat Huang Xuan," Bai Xiaowen said.

Yang Haogu nodded slightly, then sighed softly, "Huang Xuan... is also a pitiful person. It is said that there is always something hateful about a pitiful person, and the reverse is also true in most cases... Don't be too attached to it. This is a great era, don't have too much nationalistic sentiment."

Bai Xiaowen smiled and said, "What the teacher said is true. I am not a nationalist, but if someone wants to slander China, I am still willing to stand up and do my part."

Yang Haogu smiled.

The International Alchemist Exchange Conference and Youth Exhibition Match were held at the Seven Trees Stadium.

Colorful flags fluttered inside the venue that day.

Bai Xiaowen waited in the backstage contestant area. This time, in addition to his costume, he wore a Alchemist's robe with a national flag pattern on his left chest.

Bai Xiaowen also met Zhou Ziwang, who was chatting with Ke Caijin.

The two "Little Bai" still felt somewhat distant from Bai Xiaowen. These days, Bai Xiaowen had been receiving special training from Master Yang Haogu and hadn't had much interaction with the two of them.

From Ke Caijin and Zhou Ziwang's perspective, Bai Xiaowen was rationally considered to lack real ability. He had only studied pharmaceuticals for less than a year, focusing most of his energy on the Combat Department; his actual level was questionable. However, from another angle, if Bai Xiaowen's abilities were mediocre, how could he have received such a strong recommendation from the Qiao Faction and the favor of his teacher Yang Haogu?

Mystery is the aura surrounding Bai Xiaowen.

Bai Xiaowen was idly flipping through a book on basic pharmacy when a staff member suddenly approached her.

"Hello, Mr. Bai. Someone came backstage looking for you, saying they are your friend."

Bai Xiaowen followed the staff over, Opening Gate, and found that it was actually Li Shuyi, Xiang Hui, Chen Guowei and other teammates from Jinghai University, and even Yan Xiaoxin had come.

"Why are you here? I spoke to you on the phone yesterday. I was told I'd be back with the team after today's Exhibition Match," Bai Xiaowen said, surprised.

"We're here to cheer you on," Yan Xiaoxin said with a smile. "Missing one day of training won't matter..."

"You didn't even say hello. I could have gotten you some good seats," Bai Xiaowen said.

"We all discussed it and unanimously decided to give you a surprise," Li Shuyi said with a light laugh. "After Senior Qiao Rui found out, she specially arranged seats for us inside the venue."

"Okay... you've only kept your feelings from me, huh?" Bai Xiaowen said with a smile. He was still very happy about his friends' arrival; it was quite a surprise.

"Go, Lao Bai! Crush them all!" Chen Guowei shouted, waving his fist.

"Do you think this is a boxing ring?" Xiang Hui rolled his eyes at him.

Li Shuyi quietly leaned closer and whispered in Bai Xiaowen's ear:

"What exactly is your relationship with Senior Qiao Rui? Why did you act like siblings as soon as you met, and why were you so enthusiastic about arranging tickets for us... Her team is our enemy this weekend."

Bai Xiaowen blushed and said, "It's nothing, I'm confused too."

Li Shuyi snorted twice, "I'll interrogate you later... Now, focus on the competition."