"Congratulations, Immortal Lord Zhao! My heartfelt congratulations!"
"Five pills in this batch: one with three markings and four with two."
"A ninety-percent success rate! You truly are the unrivaled master alchemist of our Tai Chi Hall, blessed with tremendous fortune."
Only after the furnace opened and the pills were finished did Chen Yang dare offer his congratulations.
He wished he could pour out every word of praise he knew in a single breath.
In truth, he himself was sick of hearing these flattering greetings. If he had not heard them fifty times, he had heard them thirty.
"Heh heh heh..."
Zhao Xun's formerly dark expression vanished.
In its place came gratified pride.
"You really do have a sweet tongue, boy. That was quite pleasant to hear."
"May your auspicious words bring me luck, and may the next two furnaces yield pills as well."
"Heh heh heh..."
Chen Yang gave another awkward laugh.
It seemed he had praised him too soon again.
There were still two furnaces left unopened.
Why couldn't I keep this wretched mouth shut?
"Apply some Pain Relief first, then hold on a little longer."
Zhao Xun flicked his sleeve, and a small bottle flew out.
"Thank you for the medicine, Immortal Lord. I will do everything I can to hold on and witness the successful opening of the furnaces."
Chen Yang caught the little bottle with both hands.
He had no idea what miraculous medicine it was.
Yet moments after he drank it, the blisters on his face neither hurt nor itched anymore.
Perhaps Zhao Xun's luck had arrived, or perhaps he had chosen the right auspicious day and hour.
Or perhaps he truly possessed extraordinary talent for alchemy.
Both of the remaining furnaces yielded pills.
The two furnaces produced six Origin Vein Pills in total: two with one marking, two with two markings, and two with three markings.
Spirit Pills were divided into ten grades.
Each grade was further divided into four minor tiers.
These were one marking, two markings, three markings, and four markings.
Body Tempering Pills were the most basic Spirit Pills. Strictly speaking, they did not qualify for a grade.
Origin Vein Pills, however, were genuine graded Spirit Pills.
Those with one or two markings were first-grade Spirit Pills, while those with three or four markings were second-grade Spirit Pills.
A single three-marking Origin Vein Pill was worth as much as all the preceding Spirit Pills combined.
They were prepared specifically for those at the ninth level of body tempering who were ready to advance to meridian opening.
Second-grade Origin Vein Pills were the true purpose of Zhao Xun's alchemy session today.
One of his young disciples had reached the ninth level of body tempering and needed an Origin Vein Pill to help him advance.
Everything before this had merely set the stage and created the atmosphere, serving as practice.
"Immortal Lord, my admiration for you is like a surging river, flowing without end."
"Six Origin Vein Pills from two furnaces, with two of them even being second-grade Spirit Pills! You truly are the brightest star of our Tai Chi Hall."
Chen Yang piled on the flattery again.
It left Zhao Xun feeling rather pleased.
A brilliant flower of a smile bloomed across his old, crisscrossed face.
"You may be a little lacking in virtue, boy, but you certainly know how to say pleasing things."
"Your past transgressions are wiped clean. I will never mention them again."
"Thank you, Immortal Lord! Allow me to kowtow to you."
Chen Yang no longer cared that the other five servants were present. He lifted his robe and knelt.
He gave Zhao Xun three solid, resounding kowtows.
The sword of Damocles hanging above his head was finally gone.
From this day forward, his name was clean. No one could call him a guilty man anymore.
"Senior Brother Zhao, congratulations!"
"Chen Yang, you finally did something good, boy. You didn't hold up Senior Brother Zhao's alchemy. Merit deserves a reward."
Zhou Xiaotian, who had remained in the hall waiting for good news without taking a step away, hurried over with a chuckle and offered his congratulations loudly.
"Thank you, Steward Zhou. Allow me to kowtow to you as well."
Chen Yang did not begrudge the effort and gave Steward Zhao another three kowtows while he was at it.
"Get up."
Zhao Xun still wore a smile.
He turned toward the others standing nearby.
"I have also taken note of your contributions, boys."
"As I said just now, everyone will be rewarded. Take these loose spirit coins and buy yourselves some wine."
As he spoke, Zhao Xun took a pouch of loose spirit coins from his ring and tossed it to Chen Yang.
"Thank you for your reward, Immortal Lord."
Like the others, Lin Shisan also kowtowed to express his thanks.
"Come, Senior Brother Zhao. Your celebration banquet has long since been prepared."
"You must let your junior brother show his appreciation this time."
"Heh heh heh... good, good, good... better to accept than stand on ceremony. We brothers won't stop drinking until we're drunk!"
As Zhao Xun turned, he caught sight of Lin Shisan again, his head lowered and his back bowed.
He smiled and said, "Dark-skinned boy, you brought good luck. I'll ask for you again the next time I refine pills."
"Chen Yang, I'm reserving him. Have this dark-skinned boy serve as my mascot again next time. I like the sight of him."
"Heh heh... certainly, certainly... next time, without fail..."
Chen Yang felt worse than if he had been crying.
He had originally planned to find an excuse to kill Lin Shisan once they returned.
Now look what had happened: Zhao Xun had reserved him.
It was the equivalent of giving Lin Shisan a life-saving talisman.
Killing Lin Shisan would certainly bring trouble down on his own head.
He had only just removed that sword of Damocles. He had no wish to hang it back up.
"Allow me to kowtow to you. I will do my utmost to serve as a good mascot."
Lin Shisan's brow furrowed briefly before he immediately knelt and kowtowed in thanks.
He was no fool.
Naturally, he also understood that this was, at the very least, a life-saving talisman.
A mascot it was, then. That was far better than lying stiff as a corpse.
Only moments ago, he had been wondering how to escape Chen Yang's demonic claws.
Now Zhao Xun had given him the status of a mascot, securing his little life for the time being.
"This dark-skinned boy has good manners. One look tells you he's studied and knows proper etiquette."
Zhou Xiaotian echoed Zhao Xun with a word of praise.
Before Steward Zhao could act, he had already taken a scroll from his ring and tossed it toward Lin Shisan's chest.
They had both lived more than half their lives, and their eyes were keen and clear.
Zhao Xun had plainly seen that Chen Yang would harm Lin Shisan and had given Lin Shisan a life-saving talisman in advance.
Zhou Xiaotian saw it and understood, so he naturally took the initiative to offer goodwill in support of Zhao Xun.
As for the reason, he did not know, nor did he need to.
"Take it, dark-skinned boy. This is Senior Brother Zhao's reward for you."
"Work hard and do not slack off. Don't disappoint Senior Brother Zhao."
"I will remember."
Lin Shisan instinctively reached out and caught it.
Before he could finish kowtowing his thanks, Zhao Xun and Zhou Xiaotian had already left the Pill Court side by side.
They were gone.
His gamble had paid off, and his little life was saved-
and he had even received a scroll.
At that moment, Lin Shisan's feelings were tangled and difficult to fathom.
It was like a dream.
The reversal had come far too quickly. Even a schoolteacher would not have dared turn things around like this.
"We respectfully bid farewell to Immortal Lord Zhao and Steward Zhou."
Chen Yang led the five of them in respectfully seeing Zhao Xun and Zhou Xiaotian off.
Even though the two men had long since disappeared from sight.
The proper courtesies could not be neglected.
Only then did Lin Shisan straighten his back, his gaze falling on the yellowed scroll in his hands.
Five large characters stood out clearly on its cover: "Tai Chi Body Tempering Manual."
After a while, Chen Yang sent all four of the others away.
As for distributing the spirit coins they had been rewarded, he did not mention a single word.
Although the men remained silent, their hearts were as clear as polished mirrors.
Having worked under Chen Yang for so long, they knew his character inside out.
Chen Yang would undoubtedly withhold every last spirit coin from this reward and pocket them all himself.
Yet however unwilling they were, they dared not say anything. They kept their words bottled up inside.
Watching the other four leave one after another, Chen Yang immediately walked up to Lin Shisan.
"Lin Shisan, you really are a lucky boy."
"Not only did you avoid dying, you even got yourself a cultivation manual scroll."
"Let me see what fine thing Steward Zhou gave you."
Without allowing any argument, Chen Yang reached straight over with both hands to snatch it.
Startled, Lin Shisan shuddered and stepped back.
He wanted to refuse, but feared Chen Yang would turn hostile on the spot.
So here in the Azure Cloud Lineage, here in the Servant Hall, they'd even snatch things by force if you wouldn't hand them over.
"If you want it, Boss Chen, I'll offer it to you as a token of respect."
With a respectful expression, lowered eyes, and a submissive manner, Lin Shisan presented the scroll with both hands, voluntarily giving it to Chen Yang.
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