Jia Ma Empire, Misty Cloud Sect.
"Elder Gu He, a genius from the Alchemist Guild wishes to see you."
A disciple of the Misty Cloud Sect reported to Gu He.
"A genius?" Liu Ling raised an eyebrow and asked with interest, "How much of a genius?"
"Uh..." The Misty Cloud Sect disciple looked embarrassed.
Seeing the disciple's expression, Liu Ling smiled.
As Gu He's disciple, he knew that hardly any alchemist could call themselves a genius before him. Being a so-called genius was merely the threshold for meeting him.
Following Gu He, he had met far too many geniuses, but every one of those geniuses, without exception, called him a genius.
"That... that person is thirteen years old, and a First-Grade Alchemist," the Misty Cloud Sect disciple said awkwardly, looking at Liu Ling.
At those words, the smile on Liu Ling's face instantly froze.
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"
"To become a First-Grade Alchemist, you first have to become a Dou Zhe. Throughout the history of the Jia Ma Empire, how many people have reached Dou Zhe at thirteen?"
"Besides, you need time to learn about medicinal ingredients, then learn to refine pills after becoming a Dou Zhe. At thirteen years old, how is that possible!"
Liu Ling protested. He had thought being a genius was merely the threshold for meeting him, but before a thirteen-year-old First-Grade Alchemist, he had become the threshold!
"Quiet. As an alchemist, what you must avoid most is impatience and agitation."
Just as Liu Ling was stamping his feet in anger, Gu He's voice rang out, calming his agitation.
"It's impossible anyway."
Liu Ling muttered, making Gu He shake his head.
Still, Gu He said nothing about it. A thirteen-year-old First-Grade Alchemist had shocked him too. Fortunately, Liu Ling had drawn the Misty Cloud Sect disciple's attention, or he would have lost his composure as well.
"Where is he? Take me to see him."
"Teacher..." Liu Ling's heart lurched. Faced with a thirteen-year-old First-Grade Alchemist, he was unsure whether he could retain his position as Gu He's disciple.
After all, the gap between them was simply too vast. Leaving everything else aside, Liu Ling felt that reaching Dou Zhe at thirteen alone was probably beyond him.
"Don't overthink it. Since I accepted you, you are naturally my disciple. There is no need to concern yourself with others. Just do your best."
After offering Liu Ling a word of reassurance, Gu He left the pill-refining room.
"You are that thirteen-year-old First-Grade Alchemist?"
Gu He looked at Su Yun, somewhat surprised.
They had thought a thirteen-year-old First-Grade Alchemist should at least be a youth who looked around fourteen. Yet never mind fourteen—he would have believed it if someone said the youth before him was twelve.
"Yes."
Su Yun nodded. An eight-year-old First-Grade Alchemist would be a genius even in the Central Plains. Here, that went beyond genius: people would declare it absolutely impossible, assume someone was deceiving them, refuse to believe it at all, and ultimately refuse to meet him.
Thus, Su Yun had given an older age.
"May I see your alchemy?"
"Of course. What would you like me to refine, Grandmaster Gu He? But let me say this first: I don't have the ingredients and recipes for some first-tier pills with me, so I may have to trouble you, Grandmaster Gu He."
"No problem. A first-tier Power Accumulation Pill, then."
Without bothering to ask whether Su Yun had the ingredients, Gu He took out a pill recipe and three sets of ingredients and handed them over.
"Please wait a moment."
Su Yun accepted the ingredients, took an ordinary medicinal cauldron from his Storage Ring, and began refining the pill without another word.
Although Su Yun had no wood attribute within him, his soul power was stronger than that of an ordinary First-Grade Alchemist, allowing him to soften the flames as an ordinary alchemist with a wood attribute would.
At the same time, the might of the Black Flame Purple Cloud Eagle's beast flame compensated for the shortcoming in the strength of Su Yun's flames. Through his stronger flames and soul power, he forcibly made up for the role of the wood attribute.
Although this meant twice the effort for half the results, with a considerable gap between his own soul power and his actual alchemist tier, Su Yun was at least an alchemist now and could refine pills.
Before long, Su Yun had refined the first-tier Power Accumulation Pill, and thanks to the flames, its quality was quite good.
"Grandmaster Gu He, please."
Su Yun offered the pill, but Gu He shook his head.
"Keep it. A thirteen-year-old First-Grade Alchemist, and you succeeded on your first attempt. Once you reach Dou Shi, you will certainly be second-tier—perhaps second-tier at the very least. I truly wonder who could have taught a monster like you."
Gu He shook his head, but asked nothing further. "Tell me, what did you seek me out for?"
Su Yun did not rush to speak, instead taking a jade case from his Storage Ring.
"I would like to make a trade with you, Grandmaster. Use this first, and I'll name my price afterward. As for the price, feel free to bargain it down. We can negotiate."
Restricted by his own strength, Su Yun was actually in quite a passive position when dealing with Gu He, but fortunately, this was Battle Through the Heavens.
Moreover, in the original story, Gu He had not even gotten angry after Xiao Yan tricked him out of the Green Lotus Core Flame, and afterward, he had never once considered seizing it by force.
Apart from the matter involving Yun Yun, his character could be considered quite good at all other times. Thus, even in a somewhat passive position, Su Yun reckoned he could obtain what he needed.
"What is this?" Looking at the Soul Bone inside the jade case, Gu He frowned. He had never seen such a thing.
"A Soul Bone. As the name suggests, it is a special beast bone that enhances soul power. Fusing with it can increase your soul power. You can inspect it first, Grandmaster."
Hearing this, Gu He hesitated no further. His soul power swept over the skull several times, and after confirming that there were no restrictions on it, he used a thread of Dou Qi to fuse with it.
"Not bad. This is a fine item. Name your price."
"One Sixth-tier Magical Beast Magic Core, three Dou Ling Pills, three Fifth-Tier Magical Beast Magic Cores, three Fifth-Tier Pulse-Protecting Pills, five Three-Pattern Green Spirit Pills, and the recipe for the Three-Pattern Green Spirit Pill."
"Also, Grandmaster Gu He, I have no medicinal ingredients on hand, so you will need to provide those yourself. That is my price. What do you think, Grandmaster Gu He?"
Gu He closed his eyes, silently sensing his current soul power, then shook his head.
"That price won't do. I can offer one sixth-tier magic core, five Dou Ling Pills, five fifth-tier magic cores, five Fifth-Tier Pulse-Protecting Pills, and ten Three-Pattern Green Spirit Pills. As for the recipe, that will have to come a little later. I need to write it out, so I cannot provide it right away."
Su Yun froze. He had seen people haggle before, but this was his first time seeing someone haggle the price upward.
Seemingly noticing Su Yun's confusion, Gu He spoke. "Treasures that can enhance soul power are far too rare. Though things like Dou Ling Pills are precious, I can refine them myself. Especially after absorbing this Soul Bone, refining them will be even easier."
"Previously, my success rate when refining Dou Ling Pills was low. But after absorbing the Soul Bone, with my current soul power, my efficiency in refining Dou Ling Pills will double. All told, even after giving you these things, I am still getting the better bargain."
"How about this? I will also owe you a favor. If you need it, I can help you once, regardless of the cost."
"In that case, thank you."
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