Half a Year

"Were all these refined by that boy?"

"Yes, Family Head."

"But he's only attended one lesson, and it hasn't even been half a month, has it?"

"Thirteen days, to be precise."

"Good heavens. What is the Wu Family thinking?"

Han Chi looked at the three finished medicinal products before him: Blood-Stopping Powder, Wound-Healing Pill, and Qi Recovery Pill.

He was no Alchemist, but he could still tell a thing or two about the quality of a Medicinal Pill.

These three products were hardly the finest, but they were well above a passing grade.

After watching the process just once, the boy had taken only thirteen days to refine all three, and their quality was quite good!

With talent like that, he had to be considered a genius Alchemist, didn't he?

Yet this genius wasn't a member of the Han Family. The mere thought made Han Chi's heart ache.

What he understood even less was what on earth the Wu Family was doing.

Wasn't using a genius like this as bait a little too extravagant?

And according to the Han Family's investigation, not one of the Wu Family's younger generation had a talent for alchemy—except Wu Bai.

Could it really be that the boy simply wasn't favored?

What kind of parents could be so heartless?

No, they weren't just heartless. They had to be fools to do something like this...

Han Chi couldn't fathom what the Wu Family was thinking, but now that this genius had come to the Han Family, they could forget about getting him back.

Two years ago, a member of the Hong Family, which shared Tianbei City with the Han Family, had joined the Wind Lightning Northern Pavilion.

The Han Family was already weaker than the Hong Family. At a time like this, they couldn't afford to let any opportunity slip away!

"Has the boy asked for anything?"

"He wants to try refining higher-grade Medicinal Pills."

"Give him what he needs. But tell him that, in exchange for the Pill Formulas and Medicinal Herbs for higher-grade pills, he must use Soul Power to produce complete Pill Formulas for the ones he's mastered."

"Yes, Family Head."

A while later, Han Chi sat alone, looking at the medicinal products before him. A thought suddenly occurred to him.

"Should I introduce Little Yue to that boy?"

Elsewhere, when Wu Bai learned of the Han Family's terms, he quickly produced three Pill Formulas inscribed with Soul Power.

In return, he received three higher-grade Pill Formulas: the high First-Rank Qi-Enhancing Powder (the one Xiao Yu had given her younger brother to use against Xiao Yan at the coming-of-age ceremony), the Second-Rank Pulse-Protecting Pill, and the Third-Rank Qi Gathering Powder.

(Based on its effects and value, Qi Gathering Powder was classified as Third-Rank. After all, Fourth-Rank pills included the Purple Heart Barrier-Breaking Pill and the Green Spirit Pill, which could raise even a Da Dou Shi's cultivation by two stars. Qi Gathering Powder only secured one's advancement through the Dou Qi stages, so it certainly didn't belong in the Fourth Rank. But even the Second-Rank Alchemist at Mittel in Wutan City couldn't refine it in the original story, making Third-Rank a reasonable classification. Although it was said at the time that at least a Fourth-Rank Alchemist was needed to refine it, that was because the Qi Gathering Powder in question was of exceptional quality. Yao Chen had refined it himself, which was why Ya Fei and the others said so.)

Time flew by.

Half a year had passed since the day Wu Bai left the Wu Family.

Wu Bai's youthful figure moved through the Han Family's courtyards without anyone stopping him.

He went straight to a courtyard reserved for direct descendants of the Han Family. A cool-looking young woman with long silver hair soon emerged.

If the Han Family's young men had seen her, they would have thought they were seeing things.

The aloof goddess of their family, who seemed above all worldly concerns, had actually smiled at an outsider. She had even brought him into her room and sat down with him for tea.

And Han Yue was a stickler for cleanliness!

"Sorry for the trouble, Miss Yue."

"It's no trouble."

After that brief exchange, Wu Bai left the courtyard under Han Yue's gaze.

A few minutes later, Han Yue went out as well.

"Father."

"Little Yue. Is something the matter?"

Han Chi paused his work and looked at Han Yue.

"Yes, Father. Wu Bai successfully refined Qi Gathering Powder."

As she spoke, Han Yue took a small jade bottle from her Storage Ring and placed it on the desk.

Han Chi picked it up. The moment he removed the stopper, he caught a faint medicinal fragrance.

He tipped the bottle, and a smooth, pale-green Medicinal Pill the size of a longan rolled out.

Its quality didn't look particularly good, but there was no mistaking the medicinal power within it. Plenty of people would pay two or three hundred thousand Gold Coins for it.

"Qi Gathering Powder... He really succeeded!"

Han Chi marveled under his breath. It suddenly felt unreal.

Half a year.

In just half a year, a boy who hadn't even known his own Dou Qi attribute had become a Third-Rank Alchemist!

"Whew... What did he ask for this time?"

"The same thing as last time. Besides that, he wants a Fire Seed."

"Mm. Take him the Flame Tiger Fire Seed later. As for the Pill Formulas, let him choose for himself. As long as he can reproduce a Pill Formula, he may look at any of them."

Han Chi waved a hand. The pressure from the Hong Family left him no room for arrogance.

He was willing to make a big bet on this genius Alchemist, whose background he knew inside out!

When there was no other choice, all one could do was pray that one's opponent made a spectacular mess of things at the crucial moment.

But given a choice, who wouldn't want control over their own fate?

"All right, then I'll—"

"Wait. Little Yue, close the door. There's something I want to discuss with you."

Click. The door shut.

Two minutes later, Han Yue emerged and headed straight for the Han Family's storeroom.

"Half a year, and I'm only a four-star Dou Zhe. My talent for cultivation really is nothing special."

After leaving Han Yue, Wu Bai returned to his courtyard and found himself comparing his talent for alchemy with his talent for cultivation.

They were worlds apart!

They really were worlds apart. The difference couldn't have been more obvious.

Wu Bai had no doubt that, at this rate, the greatest limit on his alchemy would be his own Dou Qi cultivation.

Fortunately, his teacher had obtained a Low Earth Tier Cultivation Technique for him. It gave him several times as much Dou Qi as others at the same level, enough to spend freely.

If he had been using a Yellow Tier Cultivation Technique instead, refining even one Second-Rank Medicinal Pill would have been a struggle.

The best way to improve his cultivation talent was to take high-grade Medicinal Pills.

The problem was that neither Wu Bai's current cultivation nor his alchemy had reached that level.

To reach that level, he needed to raise his cultivation.

And to raise his cultivation, he needed...

It was a vicious circle.

As things stood, Wu Bai's only choice was to keep working at it, little by little.

Fortunately, he was still young. He had some time.

Just as Wu Bai was about to resume training, his teacher's voice sounded in his mind.

"That young lady is here. She's brought a sixth-rank Fire Seed."

Wu Bai's eyes lit up.

As Wu Bai was about to head straight out, the Yellow Springs Demon Saint teased him:

"She's brought the Fire Seed right to your door, and you're not even going to invite her in for tea and a chat? You're just going to send her away?"