"Lord Gu Ni, this young fellow Xiao wishes to sell some pills, so sorry for the trouble of asking you to appraise them."
Manager Liu explained respectfully to Gu Ni.
Then he introduced him to Xiao Yu. "Young fellow Xiao, this is Master Gu Ni, a Second-Rank Alchemist and also a Three-Star Da Dou Shi."
Gu Ni was Wutan City's only Second-Rank Alchemist. He was also the head of the pill department sent by headquarters in the Imperial Capital to oversee the Mittel Auction House in Wutan City. Naturally, Manager Liu could not compare to him.
Gu Ni sized up the youth before him, but aside from his handsome looks, he could discern nothing else.
"Young friend, where are the pills? Once I have appraised them, I can offer you a fair price."
Xiao Yu took the two jade bottles out of his robe again and handed them to Gu Ni. "These are the pills I wish to sell. Sorry for the trouble, Master Gu Ni."
Gu Ni nodded and accepted the jade bottles. Then he took out the pills, wrapped them in Dou Qi, and carefully examined them with his senses.
Assessing a pill's medicinal effects was a required lesson for every alchemist. But Xiao Yu had no teacher and had never studied alchemy systematically. He had managed to refine pills entirely through his own experimentation.
Thus, he did not know how pills were ranked, only what their effects were.
As far as he could sense, the three pills he had refined were incomparably pure. Even if someone swallowed them every day, they would leave no pill poison in the body. This was most likely due to his Lightning Pill Tempering.
Their effects were remarkably good as well, though they did little for him as a nine-star Peak Dou Master. Thus, he believed these three pills were at least first-rank pills, and could qualify as mid-grade or even top-grade.
Gu Ni was still appraising them, but the pride on his face faded, slowly giving way to shock.
"These three pills are actually this pure? What sort of alchemist could refine pills to such perfection?!"
After a moment of astonishment, Gu Ni was willing to stake his reputation on it: the alchemist who had refined these three pills was either fourth-rank or fifth-rank!
Only an alchemist of the fourth rank or above could refine Second-Grade Pills to such purity. No, no—even a fourth-rank alchemist could not necessarily achieve this.
Indeed, the pills Xiao Yu had refined had reached the second rank. Producing Second-Grade Pills from ingredients meant for first-rank pills was even more frightening than Gu Ni imagined.
Noticing that Xiao Yu was watching him, Gu Ni came back to his senses, a rarely seen smile appearing on his face.
"Your three pills have reached the second rank, young friend. The auction house can purchase them for forty thousand each. What do you think?"
Forty thousand each?
Xiao Yu had never expected that some low-grade medicinal ingredients would allow him to refine Second-Grade Pills, much less ones worth forty thousand each.
In his original plans, fifteen thousand for a single pill would have been the absolute limit. He had not expected such a delightful surprise.
He was very satisfied with forty thousand. Even the Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid refined by Yao Lao had fetched only forty thousand gold coins at auction. What more could he ask for?
The Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid was a second-rank medicinal liquid usable during the Dou Qi stage. Xiao Yu's two cultivation-accelerating pills, on the other hand, could only be taken by a Dou Zhe or above. Their effects diminished considerably at the Dou Shi level, and above six stars, those effects were practically negligible.
"Of course."
Xiao Yu gladly accepted this very "reasonable" price.
Gu Ni smiled and nodded, then gave Manager Liu beside him a meaningful look.
Manager Liu understood and immediately instructed a servant to prepare a Crystal Card holding one hundred and twenty thousand gold coins.
Xiao Yu hurriedly stopped him. "Manager Liu, I still need to buy some things. You can settle everything together once I'm done."
Gu Ni perked up as well. This was an excellent opportunity to befriend Xiao Yu, and he naturally would not let it slip by. After all, behind the youth stood an alchemist who might be fourth-rank or higher-someone even headquarters in the Imperial Capital would treat as an honored guest.
"What would you like to buy, young friend Xiao? Medicinal ingredients?"
Xiao Yu nodded. "That's right. I need some medicinal ingredients. I'd also like to ask your auction house about pill formulas, and buy some books on pill refining while I'm here."
The auction house had all these things, but Gu Ni was somewhat puzzled. With a fourth-rank alchemist behind him, why would Xiao Yu need to collect pill formulas?
Every high-ranking alchemist was a walking library of pill formulas.
He also wanted books on alchemy. Had his teacher not taught him?
Xiao Yu noticed Gu Ni's confusion as well. To discourage him from probing further, he could only lie. "My teacher has yet to teach me anything about pill refining. He merely gave me three pills to use as funds."
"He said I would only qualify to become his disciple if I could become a First-Rank Alchemist on my own, without anyone's help..."
After saying this, Xiao Yu even pretended to smile bitterly. If he was going to put on an act, he had to see it through.
"Well..."
Gu Ni was left speechless. Becoming an alchemist through self-study alone, without anyone's guidance-how difficult that would be!
And only someone with such talent could enter that man's tutelage. Just what rank had the alchemist behind Xiao Yu reached?
The more he thought about it, the more terrifying it seemed. That alchemist was probably someone the entire Mittel Family would be unwilling to offend.
"That esteemed master's requirements are indeed demanding. But since he has taken an interest in you, young friend, you must have something exceptional about you. I believe you will certainly be able to become his disciple," Gu Ni consoled him.
For a mysterious high-ranking alchemist to impose such demanding requirements on him, this young friend Xiao had to be extraordinary. Befriending him early would cost nothing.
Xiao Yu pretended to regain his confidence. "Thank you for your kind words, Master Gu Ni. I will certainly work hard to become my teacher's disciple."
Gu Ni smiled and nodded. "It is good that you have such determination, young friend Xiao. As for the medicinal ingredients, pill formulas, and alchemy books you want, I will give the instructions now and have them brought to you as soon as possible. Please wait a little while."
"Sorry for the trouble, Master Gu Ni."
"Oh, I have yet to ask the names of these three pills."
"These two are Qi-Nourishing Pills my teacher refined, which accelerate cultivation. This one is a Body-Tempering Pill, which tempers the body."
After waiting for two hours, Xiao Yu received a Storage Ring.
"Master Gu Ni, what is this?"
Gu Ni stroked his beard and smiled. "This is a gift from the auction house, young friend."
Xiao Yu hurriedly declined. "This is too valuable, and I don't have the money to buy it. Please take it back, Master Gu Ni."
"There is no need to refuse, young friend. It is merely a low-grade Storage Ring. You may consider it the auction house's investment in you."
"Your future achievements will surely be limitless. This is simply the auction house befriending you in advance and sowing the seeds of goodwill."
"If you still feel uncomfortable accepting it, then give the Mittel Auction House priority whenever you have more pills to sell. Consider this Storage Ring an advance reservation fee."
Gu Ni had already asked Manager Liu about Xiao Yu. After learning that Xiao Yu had carried the medicinal ingredients and Medicine Cauldron out last time, and noticing that there was no Storage Ring on his hand, he had come up with this idea.
A low-grade Storage Ring cost only one hundred thousand gold coins, which was nothing to him. When it came to wealth, none of Wutan City's three great families could match him individually.
Spending one hundred thousand gold coins to befriend someone whose future achievements would be at least those of a third-rank alchemist was well worth it. He could also express goodwill toward that mysterious high-ranking alchemist. There was no loss in it.
Even if this Storage Ring accomplished nothing, the Mittel Auction House could afford it.
That was how investment worked. There were risks and returns. If he misjudged someone, that was his own responsibility.
Hearing this, Xiao Yu stopped declining and cupped his fist in thanks.
"In that case, I will shamelessly accept it. If I have any spare pills in the future, I will certainly give the Mittel Auction House priority."
Any further fussing would only make him seem affected.
After Xiao Yu left, Manager Liu stepped up beside Gu Ni and whispered, "Lord Gu Ni, should we investigate...?"
It was a Storage Ring, after all, and Manager Liu still had some reservations.
Gu Ni naturally understood what he meant and immediately shook his head. "No need. An alchemist capable of refining pills of such quality is someone even headquarters cannot afford to offend. We can only do our best to befriend the alchemist behind this youth. Even if it proves useless, we must not make an enemy of him!"
Manager Liu was not an alchemist, so naturally, he did not understand what these pills truly represented.
Even Gu Ni himself struggled to refine pills with half the purity of these three.
Of course, even Xiao Yu had not imagined that Lightning-Fire Pill Refining could purify pills to such a degree. Otherwise, he would not have led Gu Ni to mistakenly believe that he had an alchemist of the fourth rank or above as his teacher.
Before you continue