The council chamber fell silent for a moment. The taciturn duke raised his head, unmistakable surprise flashing in his eyes.
His surname was Zhao. His ancestor had been a founding hero of the Heaven Dou Empire. The title had survived down to his generation, but more than half his fief had been stripped away.
He had earned his seat here not through his ancestors' legacy, but through his eight thousand private soldiers and two border cities that had yet to be consumed by war.
He had met plenty of alchemists. Those old enshrined masters at Heaven Dou City's Imperial Hospital, the Support System Soul Masters of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect—which of them did not look down on everyone else?
But who could produce so many pills in such a short time?
Two thousand Essence-Nurturing Pills, one thousand Soul-Restoring Pills, and five hundred Barrier-Breaking Pills.
This was not alchemy. This was a fucking production line.
Duke Zhao's gaze lingered on Ge Duo for a moment. She did not even lift those perpetually half-lidded, deep green eyes, as though the numbers she had just announced amounted to nothing more than a batch of freshly steamed buns.
He withdrew his gaze, a decision forming in his mind.
I absolutely must cultivate good relations with this woman.
Old General Qin gave Ge Duo a long look. A rare trace of solemnity rose in his eyes, which the years had left somewhat clouded.
He had lived most of his life and seen far too many people boast until flowers seemed to rain from the heavens, only to produce nothing of substance in the end.
But Ge Duo was different. When she recited those numbers, her tone was as flat as someone reading a menu. She was not showing off or bluffing. She was