The First Time Triggered the Guarantee

Wang Teng circled the shelves and took ten sets of ingredients for Blood Surge Pills.

After sitting on the meditation cushion, he took out the medicine cauldron. Instead of immediately lighting a fire, he picked out some herbs and stored them in his storage ring.

Some of the herbs in this batch were ingredients for Qi-Recovery Pills and Combined-Strength Pills.

What Wang Teng was doing was not considered excessive in the alchemist profession.

After all, every pill formula was an alchemist's secret. To keep others from figuring it out, they would sometimes mix in other herbs when purchasing ingredients as camouflage.

"I just mixed in a tiny little bit more." Wang Teng smiled.

Now that the herbs were ready, he could finally try refining the pill formula rewarded by the system.

Over the past few days, he had constantly simulated the process in his mind and was extremely familiar with every step.

"With the effects of the Blood Surge Pill, it'll be enough to cause a stir in Wu Tan City." Wang Teng looked forward to it.

Words appeared out of thin air before his eyes.

[Main Quest: Legend of the Medicine God—Make a Name in Wu Tan City! Current Progress: 30%]

Wang Teng calmly accepted the current result.

After all, the Blood-Clotting Powder had been produced by Yao Chen. What grade of alchemist was he? And what insignificant nobody was Wang Teng?

Trying to expand his influence through Return Spring Powder alone would be far too arrogant.

Wang Teng gently shook his head, casting aside those messy thoughts and focusing on the medicine cauldron before him.

The medicine cauldron was dark red and had three vents on its body.

This cauldron had once been used by his teacher, Liu Jiang, before being passed down to him. In terms of grade, it had barely reached the first tier.

Ordinary medicine cauldrons usually had only two fire vents. Those cauldrons were generally for novice alchemists.

The more fire vents there were, the greater the demand on one's soul power.

When Wang Teng had refined Return Spring Powder before, he had used only two fire vents. But refining Blood Surge Pills this time was completely different. He needed to use all three vents at once.

Whoosh!

Wang Teng mobilized the Dou Qi within his body, and a ball of orange-yellow flame surged from his palm.

When he had first begun refining medicine, his flame had been pale yellow. That color represented an absolute beginner.

Generally speaking, the more powerful an alchemist was and the higher their grade, the darker their flame would be.

The flames rushed into the medicine cauldron through its three fire vents. The cold cauldron rapidly heated up, its color deepening and brightening until it gradually revealed a gemstone-like luster.

Wang Teng closely monitored the temperature changes. "Now."

He grabbed a medicinal herb and tossed it into the cauldron. The flames surged and wrapped around it.

Sizzle, sizzle!

The herb twisted and shrank, transforming into a clump of liquid.

The second herb, the third herb...

More and more medicinal liquid accumulated inside the cauldron. Wang Teng's expression remained calm, but a trace of delight appeared at the corner of his eyes.

Though this was clearly his first time refining Blood Surge Pills, he did not feel the slightest unfamiliarity or hesitation.

Every step, every stage, every moment felt incomparably familiar.

Using cheats feels so damn good!

Wang Teng could not help wanting to cheer out loud.

Return Spring Powder was one of the pills he had refined the most. Even after refining it on and off for several years, he had never experienced the feeling he had while refining Blood Surge Pills now.

Half an hour later, he had extracted the essence from every herb.

Wang Teng tossed a blood-red crystal into the medicine cauldron. It was the magic core of a Berserk Tiger, a genuine first-tier magical beast.

Among the ingredients for the Blood Surge Pill, it accounted for more than half the cost.

To refine this magic core, Wang Teng continuously scorched it with flames for nearly an hour.

I have to get the Samadhi True Fire! A sense of urgency arose in his heart.

The cultivation technique Wang Teng practiced had been provided by his teacher, Liu Jiang. It was a low-grade Profound-tier fire-attributed cultivation technique.

The quality of the pill flame it condensed was above average, comparable to the beast flame of a first-tier magical beast.

Even so, melting a first-tier magic core took a great deal of time and consumed more than half his Dou Qi.

Wang Teng rested for one minute, then controlled the flames and guided the clumps of medicinal liquid to merge together.

In theory, this was supposed to be the most crucial step. Yet in actual practice, it was far less difficult than he had imagined.

So much so that after Wang Teng successfully merged the medicinal liquids, he let out a soft cry of surprise.

Cheats really are amazing!

After coming back to his senses, Wang Teng sighed inwardly once more.

The rest was simple. He only needed to control the temperature to condense the medicinal liquid, then divide it into equal portions and wait for the pills to take shape.

"One, two, three... ten pills. This batch can practically be considered perfect." Wang Teng was astonished after counting them.

He had not expected to trigger the guarantee on his very first refinement and complete a perfect-grade batch of Blood Surge Pills.

[Blood Surge Pill: Proficiency +8]

[Fire Control +10]

[Perception +15]

[Compounding +12]

The void twisted, and words appeared.

Wang Teng took one look and beamed with joy.

Refining a single batch of Blood Surge Pills improved his professional skills more than refining Return Spring Powder ten times.

It was perfectly normal for the proficiency increase to be smaller. After all, his Blood Surge Pill refinement had already reached the mastery level, and every aspect of it was close to the limit.

To raise its proficiency to the perfect level, he could only keep refining it and slowly accumulate progress.

"I won't even need to refine all the Blood Surge Pills before my professional skills reach the advanced level." Wang Teng's personal information appeared before his eyes.

Host: Wang Teng

Profession: Alchemist

Realm: Nine-Star Dou Fighter

Professional Skills:

Fire Control (Intermediate): 577/1000

Perception (Intermediate): 613/1000

Compounding (Intermediate): 558/1000

Mastered Pill Formulas:

Return Spring Powder (First Tier): 196/10000 (Mastery)

Strength-Storing Pill (First Tier): 25/1000 (Proficient)

Insect-Repelling Powder (First Tier): 78/100 (Skilled)

Detoxification Pill (First Tier): 98/100 (Beginner)

Energy-Lifting Pill (First Tier): 22/100 (Skilled)

Qi-Recovery Pill (First Tier): 1/10000 (Mastery)

Blood Surge Pill (First Tier): 9/10000 (Mastery)

Combined-Strength Pill (First Tier): 1/10000 (Mastery)

...

Wang Teng did not know whether it was merely his imagination, but ever since binding to the system, he had progressed faster than before whenever he refined Return Spring Powder.

Every refinement brought gains. Sometimes more, sometimes less, but he improved every single time.

Could the system also increase intelligence?

He could not help but smile. Then he gathered his thoughts, closed his eyes, and regulated his breathing to restore his Dou Qi.

With the boost from the Soul-Eating Insect, his soul power consumption had decreased significantly. After restoring a little Dou Qi, he felt that he could refine another batch of Blood Surge Pills.

After nineteen years of hardship, Wang Teng had bound the system. Not only did he not dare slack off, he had instead become even more diligent.

He wanted to grow stronger far too badly.

Being a nobody at the roadside in a fantasy world did not feel good. One careless mistake, and someone might kick him to death.

Before long, a fragrant scent drifted from the medicine cauldron.

Wang Teng opened his eyes and waved his hand. Ten pills flew out and landed in a jade bottle.

Every one of them looked naturally formed, round and plump, with a faint sheen on their surfaces. They looked less like pills and more like gemstones.

"Did I really refine these?" Wang Teng began to doubt himself.

Even if his teacher, Liu Jiang, refined first-tier pills, obtaining such quality would depend on luck.

After sealing the bottle, Wang Teng lit the fire again to warm the cauldron—no, warm the furnace—and tossed herb after herb into it.

The firelight illuminated Wang Teng's handsome face. His gaze was focused and serious as he watched the flames dance within the medicine cauldron.

Under such all-consuming concentration, time swiftly passed. Before anyone realized it, night had fallen outside.

The elders and core members of the Jia Lie Clan stood at the entrance, holding their breaths and not daring to speak.

Clan Chief Jia Lie Bi paced back and forth without stopping, his gaze occasionally turning toward the tightly shut door. Several times, he wanted to step forward and knock, only to force himself to stop.

"It's been a whole day. Master Wang Teng still hasn't come out. Could the medicine refinement be going badly?" Jia Lie Ao muttered softly.