Chapter 10: The Alchemist

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio  Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The method Jiang Chen was going to practice was called the “Devouring Sky Formula.” It was easy to tell by its name that it’s a sky level method. The method this body practiced before was only a black level.

I believe I can achieve the Gathering Yuan State with the help of this sky level method.

“Young Master, I’ve brought you the Gathering Qi Pill.” A maid came to him with a jade bottle in her hand. Not until this moment did Jiang Chen recall that this was the award of the winter hunt. Five Gathering Qi Pills for five general level beasts.

“Just in time. Give it to me.”

Panaceas have seven classes, from one to seven—the higher the better. The Gathering Qi Pill was class one. In the Sacred Zone only children from poor families would take it. But from the reaction of the Jiang Mansion, it seemed this ordinary class one panacea was a precious resource.

“Hum.” Jiang Chen took the bottle, tipped one pill onto his palm and frowned. “Who is in charge of refining panaceas in the mansion?”

“Young Master, how noble those alchemists are! It’s impossible for the Jiang Mansion to have them. We usually prepare medicinal materials by ourselves and then go to the Whitewater City to invite an alchemist over to help us refine panaceas.”

“I see.”

Powerful forces needed huge amounts of panaceas, so they usually had their own alchemist. But the Jiang Mansion didn’t have one and had to employ one from outside. They must have spent lots of money on that.

Nevertheless, the alchemist they employed wasn’t good at all. Maybe he was just irresponsible because the alchemist didn’t have to worry about the materials, and he had already gotten paid, so he just allowed himself to do a bad job.

Jiang Chen could tell just from one look how many raw materials of the five Gathering Qi Pills in his palm could have been used to refine class two panaceas. It was a waste to have used these materials to refine class one panaceas. Of course, the advantage of doing so was that the success rate of panacea refining could be guaranteed.

People of the Jiang Mansion totally had no idea of this. They were appreciating the alchemist even though they were cheated.

Was it simply because he was unskilled that he used higher-class materials to refine or was he making fun of the Jiang Mansion? Probably the former, since the latter did the alchemist no good. It’s such a waste to take these pills.

Jiang Chen felt it was necessary to do something. He told the maid, “Fetch me a basin of water. I want well water.”

“Sure.”

The maid didn’t know what he was going to do, but she didn’t hesitate. Soon a basin of fresh water was brought to Jiang Chen. Jiang Chen closed his fist with the five Gathering Qi Pills in his palm and put the hand into the water. With his eyes closed, he started to guide the spirits of the universe to gather in his fist.

Little by little, his palm started to glisten weakly. In the meantime, there were precipitates overflowing through his five fingers. When he finished, the pills in his hand became one size smaller, as though a layer of useless impurities had been removed.

How easy it is!

Jiang Chen didn’t turn them into class two panaceas, since that would require an ability to refine out of thin air. He only enhanced the quality of the panaceas. The quality of each class of panaceas differs by the ability of alchemists and the quality of medicinal materials. For example, first-class average panacea, first-class super panacea, first-class genuine panacea and first-class holy panacea.

Although the alchemist misused the materials, he refined the average panaceas successfully. Jiang Chen enhanced them to the super class, one of them even genuine class. Jiang Chen, who was about to enhance his state, was delighted to see this result.

…

Seven days later, Jiang Chen, who locked himself in his room to practice, smiled knowingly when he heard horses whinnying from the yard. Then he heard Fan Tu’s cheerful laugh.

Fan Tu pushed the door open to let himself in. He said, “Hahaha, Young Master, the fist method you gave me is amazing. I punched the hell out of that Li Hong only by a smattering practice of it.”

Jiang Chen wasn’t surprised to hear it.

“One hundred Fiery Dragon Horses. Now we have something to boast. And the winter life will be much easier.” Fan Tu started to admire his young master.

“Uncle Fan, pick a good one for me. I happen to be in need of a mount.”

“No problem. Trust me. I’ll pick a good one for you.” Fan Tu thumped his chest to assure him and went to pick a horse right away.

He heard another piece of news in the afternoon. Gao Yue, who went to ask for help, had come back. Hopefully there is some good news, Jiang Chen thought.

Jiang Chen went to the main hall of the east courtyard to receive Gao Yue. He knew right away that things didn’t go well when he saw Gao Yue’s face.

Mother is so easy to read. Jiang Chen asked while he was thinking, “What happened, mother?”

Gao Yue would rather not tell him. She looked sad, angered, and extremely helpless, “Son, your mother is so useless.Alas!”

Jiang Chen knew that his mother was lachrymose. Fortunately the maid Cher couldn’t keep a secret.

“Cher, you tell me.”

“Young Master, the Su’s are so loathsome!”

As expected, Cher couldn’t hold herself anymore and erupted in angry words. She started to accuse the Su’s. It shouldn’t have been a difficult thing for Gao Yue to ask for the Su’s help.

“At first we didn’t see the lord of the Su Mansion. Su Qian took us to a side hall and we waited there for a full hour.Then a man came and claimed that he was Su Qian’s boyfriend. He asked us not to trouble Su Qian and said that the current east courtyard was casting beyond the moon. At first, Lady and I thought Su Qian came up with this idea because she wanted a disengagement. So we wanted to meet the lord of the Su Mansion so that we could talk it over and keep on good terms. However, that Su Qian drove us out of the door directly!”

Su Qian was Jiang Chen’s fiancée. That woman used to show much respect to Gao Yue when she came to the Jiang Mansion and used to be a sugar sweet girl. The way in which she treated Gao Yue only proved this saying: cats hide their claws.

The Su’s wanted Jiang Chen to be their son-in-law since he had a powerful father and was the Jiang Mansion’s successor. But by then, he had lost one of them, and was losing the other. The Su’s were not fools. How would it be possible for them to marry their daughter to Jiang Chen? It was logical that this had happened.

Jiang Chen felt very sorrowful when he heard his mother not only failed to get help, but also got humiliated. It was fine for them to be mean, but they were too heartless.

“In the end you didn’t see the lord of the Su Mansion?”

“No. But their lord sent us two letters on our way back. It says in one letter that Su Qian is too young to be thoughtful and they hope Lady wouldn’t mind. But since the cards have been laid on the table, they expect a good ending. As long as we sign the disengagement agreement, they will come to lend us a hand for the sake of the old days.”

Jiang Chen squinted. “The disengagement agreement?”

The engagement was something big. A verbal or a unilateral disengagement didn’t count. To break the engagement, it would require the two interested parties to sign the paper.

“So it was not only Su Qian’s idea, but the whole Su family’s idea. But the Su’s are not very powerful in the Hundred Thousand Mountains. Why would they have had the nerve to refuse the Jiang Mansion in such a terrible manner?” This was what Jiang Chen didn’t understand.

“Young Master, Su Qian also celebrated her Pulse Invigorating Ceremony. It turned out she had great potential. Many powerful forces and powerful people have offered them the olive branch. The Su’s are rising rapidly.”

“Cher!” The silent Gao Yue suddenly shouted at her.

Jiang Chen was confused about his mother’s reaction for a second and then realized why. “Doesn’t matter. Even if she has the holy pulse, I won’t mind.”