After speaking, Master Mo puffed out his chest and held his head high, his nose in the air, as he arrogantly waited for Su Mo’s response.
’With so many precious materials at stake, Su Mo wouldn’t dare waste them. He’ll have no choice but to kneel, apologize to Master Jia and me, and beg us to perform the alchemy.’
Master Jia also put on an air of importance.
He admitted he had underestimated Su Mo. The young man’s strength had indeed exceeded his and Master Mo’s expectations.
’But so what?’
’Without their help, Su Mo simply couldn’t refine the Fourth-Grade Elixir he needed.’
’In the end, the elixir would be destroyed, and he would likely die with it.’
They had seen plenty of powerful experts in the past. They were all incredibly arrogant at first, but in the end, they all had to bow their heads and beg for their help.
’Su Mo would surely be no different.’
However, Su Mo replied coolly, "I don’t think much of your offer."
Hm?
Master Mo stared at Su Mo, his face a picture of astonishment and his eyes filled with disbelief.
’Su Mo isn’t begging them?’
Master Mo snapped angrily, "Su Mo, are you really going to waste all these priceless materials for the sake of your pathetic pride?"
Su Mo retorted, "These materials are all mine. Whether I waste them or not doesn’t seem to be any of your business, does it?"
"That’s not acceptable!"
Master Mo insisted, trying to stop him.
Master Jia sputtered in a rage, "This is a sacrilegious waste! It’s a sin! You’ll incur divine wrath! You... you... Master Lu, I refuse to let you perform this alchemy."
"This..."
The Valley Master of Medicine King Valley looked troubled.
Su Mo said, "Ignore them. Open the furnace and light the fire."
"Yes!"
The Valley Master took a deep breath, turned to Master Mo and Master Jia, and said, "Since you two are unwilling to help, please stand aside. Do not disturb Elder Su’s alchemy."
’More than worrying about the alchemy failing, he was curious about whether Su Mo was an Alchemist at all.’
’Or what grade of Elixir Pills he could possibly refine.’
’As for wasting the materials... Medicine King Valley had plenty of Thousand-Year-Old Purple Spirit Ginseng and Ten-thousand-year-old He Shouwu in stock.’
’The Extreme Yang Spirit Stone and the Ancient Divine Beast Bloodline were harder to come by.’
’But with enough time, they could always be found again.’
"What? You’re telling us to stand aside?"
Master Mo and Master Jia wore looks of utter disbelief.
The Valley Master nodded. "That’s right. I’m doing this for your own good. If you offend Elder Su, I’m afraid I won’t be able to protect you. Therefore, I have no choice but to offend you now."
The Valley Master clearly held Su Mo in higher regard than Master Mo and Master Jia. After all, Su Mo was his master.
If his master ordered him to die at midnight, he wouldn’t dare live a second past.
Master Mo fumed, "Lu, you’re the one who said it! We won’t be lifting a finger today. Let’s just see how you manage to refine a Fourth-Grade Elixir."
"When things go wrong, don’t you come begging for our help," Master Jia added furiously, leaving no room for negotiation. "At that point, we wouldn’t help you even if you got on your knees!"
Ordinarily, having been slighted like this, the two would have turned and left.
However, they did no such thing. Instead, they sat down in a corner and closed their eyes, pretending to rest.
They wanted to watch with their own eyes as Su Mo’s alchemy failed and he came crawling back to them.
Su Mo didn’t drive them away.
’Let them stay if they want.’
’As long as they didn’t disturb his process of refining the Nine Dragon Venerable Pill, it didn’t matter.’
"Elder Su, I’m opening the furnace!"
After preparing the Earth Fire, the Valley Master opened the Pill Furnace. He picked up the Thousand-Year-Old Purple Spirit Ginseng that was sitting nearby, ready to begin the alchemy.
However, Su Mo stopped him. "Don’t. Let me."
"You’ll do it?"
The Valley Master was astonished and quickly tried to dissuade him. "Elder Su, the process of refining Elixir Pills is extremely complex. You have to control the heat and grasp the precise moment of pill formation. One wrong move and the entire effort will be for nothing..."
"Exactly. That’s why I have to do it myself,"
Su Mo said coolly.
Now the Valley Master was completely at a loss.
It was one thing for Su Mo to refuse help from Master Mo and Master Jia, but now he didn’t even need him.
’But this is Su Mo’s first time performing alchemy!’
’He has no experience whatsoever.’
’Something is bound to go wrong.’
Master Mo sneered, "Heh, Master Lu, your brown-nosing skills are terrible. You tried to suck up to him and it backfired completely. Careful you don’t get kicked in the nuts and end up a cripple for it."
Master Jia said coldly, "If he wants to do the alchemy himself, then let him. If something goes wrong, no one can blame you. What are you so afraid of?"
The Valley Master shook his head helplessly.
Though he had no faith in Su Mo’s chances, he didn’t dare disobey his command and could only step to the side.
At that moment, Su Mo picked up all the medicinal ingredients and tossed them into the Pill Furnace all at once.
The three men were dumbfounded.
’Is this alchemy?’
’This is clearly just a barbecue.’
’No, even a barbecue isn’t done like this!’
Master Mo laughed scornfully. "Kid, do you even know the first thing about alchemy? You’re supposed to add the ingredients one by one, refining them carefully to remove impurities. You just threw them all in! They’ll be burnt to a crisp in a moment!"
Master Jia said impatiently, "Master Mo, why waste your breath on him? If he were capable of listening to you, would you even be sitting here right now?"
"Sigh..."
The Valley Master sighed.
’Just as I thought. Su Mo is a complete amateur.’
’So many precious materials, all thrown into the Pill Furnace... all wasted by Su Mo.’
Su Mo said coolly, "You two idiots. If you don’t know what you’re talking about, then shut up."
Hearing this, Master Mo and Master Jia grew even more furious.
Who did he think they were?
They were renowned Fourth-grade Alchemy Masters! In their lifetimes, they had successfully refined over a hundred batches of Fourth-Grade Elixirs.
Countless experts had knelt and begged them for a single batch of elixirs, and even then, they wouldn’t necessarily agree to help.
And now Su Mo was claiming *they* didn’t understand alchemy?
Master Mo was about to explode with rage, his chest heaving. "Fine! Today, I will personally watch and see just how you refine a Fourth-Grade Elixir."
"Fine by me. Make sure you open those eyes of yours wide."
Su Mo agreed casually and began to form a series of hand seals, executing the Nine Dragon Alchemy Technique from the Nine Dragon Supreme Medicine Manual.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
In an instant, over a dozen powerful clusters of Soul Power erupted from Su Mo. He directed them into the Pill Furnace, where they enveloped all the ingredients, refining each of them in separate, controlled zones.
"What? Is that Soul Power? There are over a dozen clusters!"
"Could it be some kind of Secret Technique?"
Master Mo and the others were completely stunned. They had never seen anyone possess such immense Soul Power. It was simply unbelievable.
For an Alchemist, Soul Power was the foundation of alchemy.
Only with powerful Soul Power could one perfectly control the temperature of the flames, refine the ingredients, and eliminate their impurities.
As for understanding medicinal properties...
...that could be mastered simply by reading enough books. The same went for Alchemy Techniques; one just needed enough practice to become proficient.
These latter two aspects could be compensated for through hard work. But Soul Power... that was different.
No wonder Su Mo had thrown all the ingredients into the Pill Furnace at once. He could perfectly control the heat for all of them simultaneously.
Master Jia said, still unconvinced, "Soul Power is important, sure, but this is his first time performing alchemy. His technique is bound to be terrible."
"Exactly!"
Master Mo agreed. "If his Alchemy Technique is poor, even if he manages to produce an elixir, its quality will be extremely low. It will never meet the standards of a Fourth-Grade Elixir."
Hearing their conversation, Su Mo was left speechless.
’Is it really so hard for them to admit that someone else is talented?’
’Do they have to be so petty?’