Chapter 233: Chapter 232: A Bit of an Accident (Please Subscribe)
The alchemy process has officially begun.
Even knowing that two great figures from the headquarters were watching, Chen Fan’s heart remained calm and undisturbed.
On one hand, his inner strength was profound enough.
What about True Essence Realm Martial Artists?
One day, he would reach that realm and even surpass it.
On the other hand, though he did not dare to claim his Qi-Blood Pill refining skills were the best in the world, ranking in the top three was a certainty.
Elder Tang, projected in front of him, was naturally not included in these comparisons.
"This young man named Chen Fan is indeed extraordinary," Chang Fei thought to himself as he observed Chen Fan’s actions.
Because of his status, even those few brilliant youths in the association couldn’t help but act unnaturally around him.
Of course, there was one exception, that kid Ling Yu.
The guy was indeed a genius, one in a million. Even he had to admit that being surpassed by Ling Yu was just a matter of time.
But precisely because of this, except for the president, Ling Yu held a lofty attitude towards others in the headquarters, even behaving arrogantly in front of him.
He couldn’t help but worry that this guy might suffer a major setback one day.
Neither of these two attitudes was desirable.
In contrast, the young man in front of him was unmoved by honor or disgrace. This was the truly admirable mindset.
Time ticked away.
The initially indifferent Elder Tang also became highly focused.
As the saying goes, "Amateurs watch the show, experts watch the technique."
This young man indeed had some skills.
What puzzled him was that some steps, which could be skipped, were executed meticulously by him. Conversely, some crucial actions, which could directly affect the pill quality, were ignored...
"Can he really refine a whole furnace of Top-grade Qi-Blood Pills this way?"
Elder Tang frowned deeply, expressing strong doubt.
However, everyone remained silent from beginning to end as if they didn’t exist.
In the blink of an eye, several more minutes passed.
"It looks like it will be over in another three or four minutes."
Elder Tang stared fixedly at the alchemy furnace.
In three minutes, the answer would be revealed. If the result wasn’t as Xia Tian and the others had claimed earlier, they would face consequences.
But just then, a muffled sound came from the furnace.
"What!"
Elder Tang exclaimed, eyes widening.
The Anshan City Branch members, including Chen Fan, raised their heads and looked at him puzzled.
"Elder Tang, what happened?"
Chang Fei asked urgently, glancing at the furnace.
That sound just now came from the furnace, right?
It’s said that when the elixir forms, a sound would come from within the furnace.
Could it be that Elder Tang could judge the quality of the elixir just by the sound?
Elder Tang ignored Chang Fei and looked at Chen Fan, pointing at the furnace, "Did your elixir form?"
"Yes."
Chen Fan glanced at him, with a faint smile, "Do you think the time is off?"
Elder Tang was momentarily speechless.
"According to the association’s pill formula, one furnace of elixir takes fifteen minutes. With my improved formula, it takes twelve minutes." Chen Fan explained.
Behind him, Xia Tian and the other two exchanged glances, secretly realizing that not only had the pill quality improved, but so had the efficiency.
Elder Tang’s lips twitched, humming in displeasure, "Fine, then open the furnace. I want to see what quality this batch of elixirs is."
"Brother Chen, please." Chang Fei’s tone was quite polite.
"No problem."
Chen Fan stepped forward, opened the forge lid, and took out the still-steaming elixirs but hesitated in his movements.
"Brother Chen, what’s wrong?"
The originally cheerful Xia Tian and the others suddenly felt their hearts leap to their throats.
Could it be that something went wrong?
Chang Fei also became a bit nervous.
Did he fail?
If it was a failure, that would be terrible.
While he could stay and watch Chen Fan refine another batch, what about Elder Tang?
Elder Tang’s lips curled into a sneer, thinking that a pill formula couldn’t be modified lightly. Even a minor change could result in vastly different outcomes.
Not to mention reducing the original fifteen-minute process to twelve minutes.
"It’s nothing."
Chen Fan shook his head with a bitter smile, "This alchemy process was mostly successful. There was just a small unexpected issue."
"Mostly successful?"
"A small unexpected issue?"
Everyone looked bewildered by Chen Fan’s contradictory statements.
If it was successful, why was there an unexpected issue?
Chen Fan didn’t elaborate and brought the still-steaming elixirs to everyone.
"Hiss..."
Sun Wei, Xia Tian, and the third person collectively gasped, their faces soon filled with excitement.
Top-grade!
All were Top-grade Qi-Blood Pills!
Brother Chen, stable as always!
"!!!"
At the headquarters, Chang Fei’s eyes also widened with intense joy on his face.
Even across a screen, he could see at a glance that the quality of the Qi-Blood Pills was top-grade!
What did this mean?
This meant that what Xia Tian and the others had said was true. The young man named Chen Fan had indeed improved the pill formula, raising the probability of producing Top-grade Qi-Blood Pills to one hundred percent.
"How is that possible?"
Elder Tang felt as if he had been hit by a giant bell, causing his head to ring.
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten—ten whole Top-grade Qi-Blood Pills!
An entire furnace of Top-grade Qi-Blood Pills!
How did he do it?
"Brother Chen, you’re amazing." Xia Tian sighed in relief and couldn’t help but give a thumbs up.
"I knew Brother Chen could always be relied on," Sun Wei remarked with a smile.
"Brother Chen, you mentioned an unexpected issue earlier. What did you mean?" Ye Ling asked curiously.
"Yes, I remember you said the process was mostly smooth but with a small issue. I see you have a whole batch of top-grade pills. What went wrong?" Xia Tian glanced at the pills again.
Chen Fan knew it was time to test his acting skills.
To be honest, he hadn’t expected there to be a Celestial Grade Qi-Blood Pill this time...
But this might not be a bad thing. He could use this to raise the price.
He frowned and pointed at one of the Qi-Blood Pills, "Seniors, haven’t you noticed that this pill is slightly different from the others?"
"Slightly different?"
Everyone quickly looked,
including Chang Fei and Elder Tang on the screen.
"It does seem different!" Ye Ling’s eyes widened, "It’s similar in size but darker in color, more concentrated, and seems to have a thin membrane on the surface."
"What? A membrane?"
Elder Tang was nearly terrified at the mention.
Chang Fei’s body shook as if hearing something monumental.
"Yes, Brother Xia, look, isn’t there a thin membrane on the surface?" Ye Ling pointed at the Celestial Grade Qi-Blood Pill.
"Indeed." Xia Tian nodded, "There is a thin membrane, and I feel the medicinal power within this pill is stronger than the other nine. Brother Chen, what’s going on?"
Chen Fan shook his head with a bitter smile, "I don’t know either. This is the first time I’ve encountered this situation. That’s why I said there was a small unexpected issue."
"Really?"
Xia Tian was also puzzled.
It seemed like a good unexpected issue?
But he didn’t know for sure.
"It’s not an accident."
At this moment, Chang Fei’s voice came from the screen.
"Brother Chen, if I’m not mistaken, you may have just refined a Celestial Grade Qi-Blood Pill."
"What? Celestial Grade Qi-Blood Pill!"
"Celestial Grade!"
"Celestial Grade?"
Xia Tian and the others were extremely excited.
Chen Fan quietly sighed in relief. In that case, he wouldn’t have to overact.
"Celestial Grade? President, you mean I’ve refined an elixir of higher quality than Top-grade Qi-Blood Pills?"
He acted surprised.
"Indeed." Chang Fei looked at Chen Fan, "Above top-grade is celestial grade. Even the Awakened Association seldom refines Celestial-Grade Qi-Blood Pills."
He took a deep breath, revealing that although his face was calm, his heart was in tumult.
"One Celestial-Grade Qi-Blood Pill is equivalent to the effect of six or seven Top-grade Qi-Blood Pills. The absorption rate for Martial Artists is as high as 90%. Brother Chen, you’ve given us an enormous surprise."
Silence.
Xia Tian and the others looked at Chen Fan again.
For average Qi-Blood Pills, the absorption rate for Martial Artists was only 30%, with the rest expelled from the body.
Moreover, if it was low-grade, impurities would accumulate in the meridians, severely affecting future cultivation, so taking low-grade pills was almost like cutting off one’s future prospects.
Many had no choice.
If given a choice, who wouldn’t prefer top-grade pills? They contained very few impurities, almost negligible, with an absorption rate of 50%.
That’s impressive indeed.
With an absorption rate of over 70%, top-grade Qi-Blood Pills were highly coveted. They were thrilled just to get a bottle occasionally.
Who knew there was a celestial grade, superior to six pills!
More importantly, a 90% absorption rate was nearly equivalent to 100%!
Chen Fan’s formula not only increased the probability of top-grade pills to 100%, but also made celestial-grade Qi-Blood Pills possible!
"I see."
Chen Fan finally realized.
This time he wasn’t acting.
It was his first time knowing that elixirs had an absorption rate, 90%—indeed, celestial-grade quality was not the ultimate.
However, this didn’t matter to him.
Because he could absorb 100%.