Cooperation with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect

"I can provide top-tier spirit plants; I wonder if your sect has any interest?"

Hearing this, Ning Fengzhi became quite interested.

As the wealthiest sect, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had business chains spanning the entire continent, long ago expanding beyond mere treasure appraisal.

Their presence could be felt in almost every industry.

"Of course I am interested. May I ask what grade of spirit plants Dean Chen intends to provide?"

For the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, the quality and grade of herbs were what mattered; as long as the quality was high and the effects potent, they had ways to market them at a premium.

"Please, take a look."

Chen An retrieved two sealed spirit plants from his Storage Ring, one red and one blue.

"The red one is Blood-Vitalizing Grass, which accelerates a spirit master's recovery. It can be used for both internal and external injuries, depending on the pharmaceutical processing, or it can be ground into powder and taken with water. The blue one is Soul-Returning Grass, which significantly restores spirit power; I suggest it be processed into pills."

These two items were among the most basic and commonly used types, but having been grown in the academy's Herb Garden, they were significantly stronger than spirit plants of the same quality, type, and effect found elsewhere.

"Let me take a look."

Even if the introduction sounded ordinary, as long as the effects were good, the quality high, or the price low and volume large, he could work with it.

He still needed to inspect them personally; this was his old trade, after all. He summoned his Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda to begin the appraisal.

As he sensed them, his pupils gradually constricted, and he stared at the two spirit plants before him with a look of growing astonishment.

"Dean Chen, I would like to ask, how many of these two spirit plants can you provide each month?"

He was now very eager to finalize this partnership.

The quality was absolutely impeccable; in his view, a single plant possessed three times the efficacy of an ordinary one, and it was highly compatible with other ingredients.

Chen An raised his palm upon hearing this and held up five fingers.

"Five plants?"

Five was a bit low. If they lowered the efficacy, they could produce 300 to 400 pills; if they matched the market standard, it would likely be around 800.

But there was no need for that; doing so would negate their advantage.

It was acceptable to him; at worst, he could just buy them back for the sect disciples to use without diluting the potency.

To his surprise, Chen An shook his head and said.

"Five hundred of each, plus two hundred of a slightly lower quality."

In truth, the yield could be even higher, but Chen An was simply lazy; harvesting that many already took him half an hour.

Moreover, he had to check them for issues, which to him felt like applying for unpaid overtime after clocking out.

With that, he casually took out two more of the same spirit plants that were clearly a grade lower.

Even at a glance, one could tell that these rejects were still far superior to the mainstream medicinal plants on the market.

"Five hundred? And two hundred of the secondary grade?"

He had been stunned when he heard five hundred; five hundred plants meant over forty thousand pills, not to mention the secondary-grade ones.

It was certainly enough, and the profit margins were absurdly high, so much so that one could hear a gulp in his throat.

"I have some finished pills here, made primarily from these two plants. Would you like to try them?"

Chen An was feeling quite satisfied; it was rare to see such an expression on the face of a sect master as knowledgeable as Ning Fengzhi.

He was even more curious to see what expression he would make after seeing the pills he had crafted himself.

"These pills?"

The spirit power did not leak out; only by probing inside could one discover the vast amount of spirit power contained within.

Ning Fengzhi looked up at Chen An, his face full of disbelief, as the pharmaceutical technique used for these pills could be called legendary.

He estimated the effects were more than ten times stronger than he had initially projected.

"Dean Chen, may I hire you to refine medicine? I will pay any price."

He was now thoroughly impressed by Chen An; such skill was among the best he had ever encountered among pharmacists.

Chen An waved his hand, repeating his previous sentiment; he had no desire to do such work and waste his time.

"I have no interest."

He only pursued the path of medicine to teach his students in the future; he had no interest in becoming a professional pharmacist.

"What a pity."

Ning Fengzhi sighed inwardly, composed himself, and pulled a dagger from his robes to scrape off a bit of powder, using the most conventional method to verify the effects one by one.

Watching the wound on his palm heal instantly, he let out a sigh of admiration and took a deep breath to steady himself.

"Dean Chen, for the blood-vitalizing ones, I can offer 10 Gold Soul Coins per plant, and for the spirit power ones, I can offer 13 Gold Soul Coins each."

This price was higher than the market rate, but business was all about give and take.

"Regardless of the variety, 25 Gold Soul Coins per plant."

It was a pity that Chen An was no old fox in the marketplace; he had ultimately called out a price that was too low.

"Deal, but I don't want low-quality goods."

The moment the words left his mouth, Chen An knew he had asked for too little, but since things had reached this point, there was no use in regretting it; instead, he had gained some experience.

Thus, he was able to answer with a smile.

"Pleasure doing business with you."

Both men knew this was merely the first collaboration, and there would be more to come in the future.

With the matter of the spirit plants concluded and the contract formally signed, both of them were in excellent spirits.

Closing a deal within the rules—doing something like this occasionally served as a little embellishment in life, which was quite interesting.

They were now on their way to find the student Chen An had mentioned. As for why it was Zhu Zhuqing, it was entirely because Luo Xiaoshi had entered the Heart-Forging Hall; according to him, he had been feeling a bit strange lately and wanted to go to the Heart-Forging Hall to temper himself.

Chen An would not stop such a good thing; he was too happy to even consider it.

"Hey, Dad!"

Ning Rongrong was very happy to see Ning Fengzhi appear in the academy, but she immediately became unhappy because she felt a lot of pressure; her little head was filled with the thought that her father had come to discipline her.

She then decisively lunged toward Sword Douluo and called out obediently.

"Grandpa Sword."

Regarding such things, Ning Fengzhi could only feel helpless. What else could he do? He just had to spoil his own daughter.

The worries he had before arriving vanished completely. Seeing that Sword Douluo had no particular reaction, he understood.

"Dean Chen, where is the student you mentioned?"

Seeing Ning Rongrong rush toward Sword Douluo, Ning Fengzhi decided to get down to business. After all, to him, if Chen An could prove he taught well, it would be a tremendous help to the sect.

"Zhuqing."

After Chen An called out and beckoned, Zhu Zhuqing understood and finished her practice, coming before Chen An.

"This is my eldest disciple..."

He briefly introduced her background, concealing the matter of the ten-thousand-year spirit ring. Ning Fengzhi understood; for Zhu Zhuqing to rise eight levels in one year, her spirit power was thick and her foundation solid.

Setting aside her innate talent, Chen An's help must have been significant; medicinal baths were indispensable, and besides that, there must have been special meals. According to Ning Fengzhi's understanding, what Zhu Zhuqing had been practicing just now was not something from the Zhu Family.

"Will the other students receive the same treatment?"

Both were shrewd men; they knew the difference between taking on a disciple and taking on a student.

Chen An considered it for a moment and answered earnestly.

"Sixty percent."

This sixty percent was still a conservative estimate by Chen An, because there was only one factor of difference: whether he was teaching them personally.

Hearing this number, Ning Fengzhi found it incredible. No one on the continent could guarantee the growth of every student while facing so many of them; in ancient times, this would have been enough to earn the title of Sage Teacher.

"Impressive."

Ning Fengzhi looked at the surrounding students; Chen An had no reason to lie to him, so he was convinced.

Just as they were chatting happily and finalizing the terms of their cooperation, they heard a cry of surprise from Sword Douluo.