Ya Fei looked at Yao Chen before her, feeling puzzled.
She wondered if this Alchemist really was a Fifth-grade Alchemist. If so, that would be incredible.
After all, even Pill King Gu He, whose fame resounded throughout the Jia Ma Empire, was only a Sixth-grade Alchemist.
For a Fifth-grade Alchemist to appear in a small place like Wutan City—how could Ya Fei not be shocked and thrilled?
So her resolve only grew stronger.
"I have to do everything I can to build a good relationship with this Alchemist. Whatever he needs, I'll do everything in my power to provide it!"
"Can you help me get these medicinal ingredients?" Yao Chen asked, looking at Ya Fei.
After all, Ya Fei had the Mittel Family behind her. These ingredients were precious, but not impossible to obtain.
"Of course, Mr. Yao. Please rest assured. I'll do everything I can, and I'm sure I can gather all the ingredients within seven days," Ya Fei said excitedly.
Over the next seven days, Ya Fei used every means at her disposal and managed to secure most of the ingredients.
But a Fifth-grade Monster Core wasn't so easy to get.
So she made a special trip to the Imperial City of the Jia Ma Empire and visited the Mittel Family.
She finally managed to obtain a Fifth-grade Monster Core, but faced plenty of doubt and opposition from within the family.
"What? Your tiny Wutan City is no more than a speck of land, and it actually has a Fifth-grade Alchemist? Ya Fei, you're not making this up, are you?"
Though many in the family voiced their doubts, Ya Fei firmly told them:
"If that gentleman can't refine a Fifth-grade Pill and deliver it to our Miteer Wutan City Auction House, I'll pay any price."
Ya Fei had complete faith that Mr. Yao wouldn't disappoint her.
"Fine. You said it. We'll go to Wutan City for the auction then. I'd like to see whether that tiny speck of land really has a Fifth-grade Alchemist."
"Even in the Imperial City of the Jia Ma Empire, a Fifth-grade Alchemist would rank among the very best, second only to Master Gu He."
"Would an Alchemist of that caliber deign to stay in a backwater like Wutan City?"
Many members of the Mittel Family expressed their doubts.
As for Miteer Tengshan, his expression had grown solemn as well.
If what Ya Fei said was true, he would have to make a point of befriending that Alchemist.
The man might bring substantial benefits to the Mittel Family. They had to prepare in advance.
By the tenth day, Ya Fei had already left the Imperial City and returned to Wutan City.
She personally handed Yao Chen the last ingredient—the Fifth-grade Monster Core.
Then she said to him:
"Mr. Yao, these are all the ingredients you need to refine the Fifth-grade Pill. I've gathered everything. I even made a special trip back to the Imperial City, to the headquarters of our Miteer Auction House."
"I went out of my way to obtain an extremely precious Fifth-grade Monster Core, and for it, I faced plenty of doubts from my family."
"I only hope you can successfully refine this Fifth-grade Pill."
"Then, I believe no one in my family will have anything left to question."
What worried Ya Fei was that even though this Alchemist's skill was superb,
and he had already reached the level of a Fifth-grade Alchemist,
this was still a Fifth-grade Pill.
Refining one was difficult. If he failed, she would have no way of finding a second Fifth-grade Monster Core.
So he had to succeed on the first try. There could be no failure.
Though Ya Fei knew that was asking a lot,
in a sense, she was gambling.
If a Fifth-grade Pill really appeared at the auction house she managed,
it would surely cause a sensation throughout the Jia Ma Empire, and draw the attention of the Mittel Family behind her.
But if he failed, she would have to bear the weight of everyone's doubts.
She would have wasted an extremely precious Fifth-grade Monster Core, and afterward, it would be hard for her to hold her head up in the family.
All the effort she had put into Wutan City over the years would go down the drain.
Though Ya Fei wasn't entirely confident, she was still willing to believe.
"Mr. Yao, I'm sure you won't disappoint me."
After leaving the Miteer Auction House, Yao Chen went straight to the back mountain of the Xiao Clan.
It was quiet there, and no one would come to disturb him.
It was the perfect place to refine a Fifth-grade Pill.
Once he reached the clan's back mountain, Yao Chen took all the ingredients needed to refine the Fifth-grade Pill, the Heavenly Nourishing Gold Pill, out of his Storage Ring.
He prepared to begin refining.
Though it was also a Fifth-grade Pill, the ingredients for the Heavenly Nourishing Gold Pill were much easier to gather than those for the Spirit Recovery Purple Pill, let alone the Sixth-grade Obstacle Breaking Pill.
Its effects might not be as obvious as those of the Obstacle Breaking Pill.
But it could still restore most of the strength lost when someone's Dou Qi had been sealed for some reason.
Xiao Yan was astonished. He was utterly shocked.
He murmured to himself:
"I never thought Master could refine Fifth-grade Pills!"
"Could it be that Master was a Fifth-grade Alchemist or higher when he was alive?"
Xiao Yan muttered to himself, suddenly recalling something from earlier.
Yao Chen really had said that Pill King Gu He of the Jia Ma Empire was nothing but a fart.
So Xiao Yan thought:
"No wonder Master was so dismissive and contemptuous when I mentioned Pill King Gu He, the most famous Alchemist in the Jia Ma Empire."
"If Master really is a Sixth-grade Alchemist or higher, then it makes sense that he looks down on Pill King Gu He, who's only a Sixth-grade Alchemist."
Xiao Yan was thrilled.
He couldn't believe his teacher was this powerful. It seemed he had absolutely made the right choice in becoming his disciple.
Yao Chen spent an hour
refining the Heavenly Nourishing Gold Pill, a Fifth-grade Pill, then placed it in his Storage Ring.
"All done. The Fifth-grade Pill, the Heavenly Nourishing Gold Pill, is ready. I can take it to the Miteer Auction House and hand it to Ya Fei to auction," Yao Chen said.
Then he set off at once, heading toward the Miteer Auction House in Wutan City.
Once he successfully sold the Fifth-grade Pill, he would complete his mission and receive the reward.
As they walked, Xiao Yan was deeply astonished.
If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he never would have believed it.
Even Pill King Gu He, a Sixth-grade Alchemist, probably couldn't refine a Fifth-grade Pill so easily, could he?
Xiao Yan had been worried at first.
There was only one set of ingredients. If the refinement failed, they would be done for.
The ingredients were so precious; if the refinement failed, the Fifth-grade Pill would be out of reach.
He hadn't expected his teacher to succeed on the first try, and so quickly and effortlessly, with such ease and confidence.
Before long, Yao Chen arrived at the Miteer Auction House.
There, he saw Ya Fei sitting in a red qipao.
"Mr. Yao, we only just parted. What brings you here? Did the Fifth-grade Pill fail to refine?" Ya Fei felt a chill run down her back.