Chapter 12: The Terrifying Rate Of Pill Refining

“No, no, Miss Shuang Jiang, I didn’t mean that. This place is not small, and I’m used to living alone, but it’s nice to have you as company.”

Su Jingzhen hurriedly explained, sensing that Shuang Jiang’s tone was not friendly.

He had just been testing her, and if she really left because of this, it would be a loss.

Shuang Jiang let out a soft hum, but didn’t pursue the topic further.

She then asked, “Are you going to refine a pill? I saw the situation at your school, do you need my help in dealing with those people? It’s a way to repay you for saving my life.”

As she spoke, there was a hint of expectation in her eyes.

Although she had taught Su Jingzhen some alchemy knowledge yesterday, it was still not enough to repay the debt of gratitude.

If she helped him solve his current predicament, it might be enough to clear the debt.

And then she could leave without any further obligations.

She estimated that, in her current state, it wouldn’t be difficult to quietly take out a Qi-refining Stage cultivator.

“Ah?” Su Jingzhen was stunned, looking at Shuang Jiang, and then smiled: “No need, I should be able to handle these things myself.”

He naturally understood Shuang Jiang’s intentions.

What he wanted now was to keep Shuang Jiang by his side.

Shuang Jiang was an incredible leg up, and even if she wanted to repay him, it wouldn’t be worth using on someone like Chen Chong.

Shuang Jiang nodded lightly, not forcing the issue.

She had just been momentarily excited, and Su Jingzhen’s refusal didn’t make her want to take action.

But she thought about the two notebooks he had given her last night.

She didn’t want to owe him too much, either.

At least she didn’t want Su Jingzhen, a kind and foolish person, to die unnecessarily.

Shuang Jiang continued, “I can’t think of how you can deal with the hidden dangers with your current cultivation level. Perhaps your situation is more dangerous than you think.”

She knew that Su Jingzhen must not have discovered the assassins last night.

“Your current Qi-refining Initial Stage cultivation is weak and vulnerable in the cultivation world. You can’t really think that the woman who came yesterday will always be able to protect you, can you?”

Shuang Jiang’s words were laced with sarcasm.

Su Jingzhen, who had just moved the alchemy furnace to the center of the quiet room, frowned again upon hearing this.

It was normal for Shuang Jiang, with her cultivation level, to be able to sense some things that he didn’t know about.

“What do you mean, Miss?” Su Jingzhen’s expression turned slightly serious.

Shuang Jiang’s lips curved up, but the smile pulled on her facial injuries, making it look quite unpleasant.

She said, “Literally, if I weren’t here, you might have been a corpse last night.”

Su Jingzhen’s heart skipped a beat.

Although he hadn’t known Shuang Jiang for long, he knew her personality, and even if she wanted to repay him, she wouldn’t intentionally try to scare him.

“But what can I do? Although I can try my best to defend myself, the reality is that I’m not in control of everything. I can only do my best, and the outcome is not up to me.”

Su Jingzhen’s words were extremely sincere.

Shuang Jiang, however, fell silent.

She was used to looking at problems from a high perspective, but she had neglected the fact that this was the lower levels of the cultivation world, where many people were like Su Jingzhen, unable to control their own fate.

She let out a soft sigh.

At the same time, Su Jingzhen was stunned.

【Empathy +2】

【Empathy +2】

He hadn’t expected that his casual words would cause such a drastic change in Shuang Jiang’s emotions.

And he had gained 4 points again?

【Remaining usable points: 71】

He was excited, but seeing that Shuang Jiang didn’t intend to speak again, Su Jingzhen lightly patted the alchemy furnace.

His mood quickly calmed down.

These 4 points were an unexpected surprise today, but his top priority was still alchemy.

He started a fire, sensed the medicinal materials, and followed the steps, and Su Jingzhen’s face returned to its usual calm state.

Shuang Jiang sat on the stone bed, silently watching.

She could see that Su Jingzhen, after entering his focused state, was different from yesterday.

She saw Su Jingzhen carefully placing the medicinal materials into the alchemy furnace, controlling the miniature array on the furnace to manipulate the flames.

Each step looked a bit rough, but there were no major mistakes.

And there was no repeat of yesterday’s failure from the start.

Before long, a faint medicinal aroma wafted through the quiet room.

“Did it really succeed?”

Shuang Jiang was slightly surprised.

Su Jingzhen patted the alchemy furnace, and a rough, elliptical Qi-replenishing pill flew out.

“It’s a defective product!”

Su Jingzhen excitedly presented it to Shuang Jiang, as if showing off.

In a small place like Linjiang City, a defective Qi-replenishing pill was still sellable.

Although the defective Qi-replenishing pill had some drawbacks, it still had a certain medicinal effect, and there were always people who didn’t care about their own foundation.

This thing could also save lives at critical moments.

Su Jingzhen estimated that this defective Qi-replenishing pill could be sold for two lower-grade spirit stones, and the cost of the medicinal materials was only one lower-grade spirit stone, so he was already making a profit.

“Uh-huh.”

Shuang Jiang nodded emotionlessly, still looking aloof.

【Empathy +2】

But the sudden increase in points still revealed her emotions.

Su Jingzhen saw that his remaining usable points had increased to 73, and he knew that Shuang Jiang must have acknowledged him.

His confidence was boosted even more.

The excited emotions were quickly suppressed, and he looked at the remaining nine medicinal materials, entering that state again.

In the following time, the quiet room was filled with the aroma of medicinal materials.

An hour later.

Su Jingzhen had used up all the remaining nine medicinal materials.

Three defective products, six successful ones!

Adding the first one, all ten medicinal materials had succeeded without a single failure!

The fire in the furnace died out, and Su Jingzhen looked at the neatly arranged ten Qi-replenishing pills, feeling a sense of wonder.

Accompanied by this was an overwhelming joy.

Being able to refine Qi-replenishing pills with such a high success rate marked his official debut as an alchemist!

Pills are divided into nine grades, and Qi-replenishing pill is just the lowest grade. Hence, Su Jingzhen was only a first-grade alchemist.

But from this moment on, his status was incomparable.

Though not completely turning the tables, at least the problem of spirit stones could be solved solely by selling Qi-replenishing pills.

【Empathy +2】

【Empathy +2】

【Empathy +2】

Returning to his senses, Su Jingzhen just noticed that there had been three changes in points during the alchemy process.

【Remaining available points: 79】

“Congratulations, I didn’t expect you to refine pills so quickly, and your success rate… seems a bit exaggerated…”

At this moment, Shuang Jiang’s voice sounded, with a hint of surprise.

In her opinion, discounting the four subpar pills, a sixty percent success rate was still terrifying.

After all, Su Jingzhen was just a rookie yesterday.

“This kid’s talent in alchemy is truly exceptional, and he’s still like a raw gemstone. If I introduce him to her, he might become a great talent.”

As Shuang Jiang thought like this, her perception of Su Jingzhen changed again.