Chapter 89 - 87: Fancy Alchemy
Chapter 89: Chapter 87: Fancy Alchemy
Feng Hao couldn’t be bothered to argue with her. Actions spoke louder than words. Once he concocted the Body Refining Nutrient Liquid, Three-Punch Tyrant would be left speechless.
But he had to admit, rich kids were different. She had actually prepared six sets of materials. This was undoubtedly a huge blessing for Feng Hao. After completing the mission, not only would he earn 50 points, but he would also pocket four extra bottles of Body Refining Nutrient Liquid.
"Hey... why don’t you go about your business? Just don’t disturb me." Feng Hao turned to give his instructions, then retrieved a simple set of Alchemy Equipment from his Spatial Ring and skillfully began setting it up.
But Three-Punch Tyrant clearly had no intention of leaving. She plopped down on a nearby sofa and began to supervise him intently.
"Is that equipment the best you’ve got? It’s so shoddy. If you know you can’t do it, don’t force it. You’ll just end up wasting materials," Three-Punch Tyrant said, her face full of disdain.
Feng Hao’s movements faltered. He glanced at the equipment he had brought from the Miao Medicine Tower. It was indeed a bit primitive and low-grade. Any other Alchemist would definitely not dare to use such equipment for alchemy, as equipment had a huge impact on the process.
Of course, with Feng Hao’s alchemy skills, he could work miracles even with the crappiest equipment, so there was no need to get hung up on it!
"I don’t like the sound of that. You can question my equipment, but you can’t question my skill," Feng Hao said, frowning in annoyance.
Three-Punch Tyrant sneered, "That’s a joke. I’ve been around Five States City for years. What caliber of Alchemist haven’t I seen?"
"Hey, what kind of twisted logic is that?" Feng Hao asked, starting to get annoyed as he stopped his work.
Three-Punch Tyrant smugly crossed her legs, casually grabbed an apple-like fruit from the coffee table, and said while munching, "I’m a woman of the world. If an Alchemist—a profession that’s supposed to be high-paying—can’t even afford decent equipment, it can only mean one thing: his skills are so poor that no one is willing to give him money."
Feng Hao was momentarily stunned. ’She actually has a point,’ he thought. ’Looks like I’ll have to invest in a better set of equipment in the future.’
"Well? Did I hit the nail on the head?" Three-Punch Tyrant looked rather smug, her tone mocking. "If you’re not confident, then don’t even start. If you mess up, your Thief God Hall will have to compensate for the loss, and in the end, that loss will definitely fall on your shoulders."
"You have that little faith in my abilities?" Feng Hao asked playfully.
Three-Punch Tyrant put on a worldly-wise air, cleared her throat, and said, "Being able to capture me at only level twenty-one... your combat strength isn’t bad for a country bumpkin. As for your alchemy skills, hmm, I’d say you’re a fourth-level at best."
"Fourth-level? Heh!" Feng Hao smirked, casually placing two sets of materials on the alchemy table. He looked up and grinned. "Seeing as you were so generous with the materials, I’ll show you something flashy. Keep your eyes wide open!"
"Right. Keep up the act," Three-Punch Tyrant said, munching on her fruit with an expression like she was settling in to watch a good show.
Feng Hao didn’t bother saying anything more. With a light chuckle, he arranged all the materials, made a few simple adjustments to the equipment, and entered flashy alchemy mode.
Feng Hao’s hands moved as if they’d been wound up, a blur of high-speed, rhythmic motion. In the span of just a few breaths, more than half of the neatly arranged materials on the table vanished. At the same time, green smoke began to rise from the shabby Alchemy Furnace, and the refining vessels were already bubbling away.
Processing, refining, roasting, extracting—all the steps seemed to be happening at almost the same time...
In the next moment, Three-Punch Tyrant was completely stunned. The half-eaten fruit fell from her hand, landing on the floor with a THUD. She stared, dumbfounded, at the scene unfolding before her.
’Am I seeing things?’
Coming back to her senses, Three-Punch Tyrant rubbed her eyes hard. She couldn’t help it; the alchemy display Feng Hao was putting on was completely beyond her comprehension.
And while Three-Punch Tyrant was still in shock, Feng Hao had already finished processing and refining all the materials and was moving on to the mixing phase.
As a liquid concoction, the Body Refining Nutrient Liquid was much simpler to make than solid pills. However, because it was a grade-less medicine, its overall refining difficulty was still very high.
In the study of alchemy, medicines were divided into two categories: graded and grade-less.
Graded medicines were those with clearly defined ranks, such as the common Blood Recovery Pills and Qi Recovery Pills. Experience Pills also fell into this category. The main characteristic of these medicines was their clear-cut rank division—first-rank was first-rank, second-rank was second-rank, with quality being a separate consideration.
Grade-less medicines, however, were special. They had no clear rank divisions, only differences in quality.
Theoretically, any Alchemist from a Level 1 Alchemist to a Ninth-level Alchemist could refine a grade-less medicine. The key difference lay in the success rate. Before reaching level five of one’s Alchemy Techniques, the success rate was practically negligible. Therefore, only Alchemists who had studied pharmacology after reaching level five could be confident in refining grade-less medicines.
If graded medicines measured an Alchemist’s level, then grade-less medicines measured an Alchemist’s true skill.
This was also why, after Level 5, situations could arise where a lower-level Alchemist could completely outperform a higher-level one. The ability to refine grade-less medicine was the key!
As a perfectly well-rounded Ninth-level Alchemist, with the assistance of his game panel to boot, concocting the Body Refining Nutrient Liquid was naturally a piece of cake for Feng Hao. Moreover, the quality of what he produced would be absolutely top-tier.
At this point, Three-Punch Tyrant was already somewhat numb. She stared blankly at Feng Hao’s performance, not daring to make a sound.
"Alright, two bottles of Body Refining Nutrient Liquid, done."
Feng Hao let out a light breath, skillfully bottling and sealing the nutrient liquid. He subconsciously summoned his game panel to check the results. As it turned out, his alchemy skills hadn’t regressed in the slightest. He was very satisfied with the effects of the two bottles of Body Refining Nutrient Liquid:
[Body Refining Nutrient Liquid]
Quality: Perfect
Effect: After diluting in warm water, soak the entire body. Can effectively improve constitution and increase Basic Power. Long-term use can also enhance limb flexibility, thereby increasing movement speed and attack speed.
Potency: 3-5 uses (dependent on the user’s physical constitution)
’Not bad, not bad. High-quality Body Refining Nutrient Liquid really is different. It even has the effect of increasing both speed stats,’ Feng Hao marveled inwardly. He placed the two bottles of Body Refining Nutrient Liquid in front of Three-Punch Tyrant, his gaze playful. "Well? Still think my skills are lacking?"
"It’s impressive, sure, but I wonder about the quality..." Three-Punch Tyrant muttered. She hurriedly opened one of the bottles to take a whiff, and a look of delighted surprise spread across her face. "Oh my god, this is even better than the ones from the Black Market! How did you do it?"
Seeing Three-Punch Tyrant’s delighted expression, Feng Hao couldn’t help but feel a little smug. He smirked and said, "You wouldn’t understand even if I told you. What are you still standing there for? Give me the commission crystal."
"Okay, okay." Three-Punch Tyrant was overjoyed and certainly wasn’t going to give Feng Hao any trouble. She readily took out the commission crystal.
Feng Hao took the crystal, confirmed there were no problems, and turned to leave.
Three-Punch Tyrant was blissfully hugging the bottles when she suddenly thought of a serious problem. She hurriedly called out to Feng Hao, "Wait, weren’t there still four sets of materials left?"
"Don’t you know the rules? Any materials an Alchemist saves through their own skill belong to the Alchemist. Got it?" Feng Hao stopped and turned back, speaking irritably.
"I don’t care! You could have clearly made six bottles, but you only gave me two. This is embezzlement!" Three-Punch Tyrant said greedily.
Feng Hao rolled his eyes and started walking towards the door again. "You should be grateful. For a mere 50-point commission fee, you got a nutrient liquid made by me. If I wasn’t trying to earn points, I wouldn’t have bothered wasting my time."
"No way! You have to leave them for me, or I’ll go to the Thief God Hall and file a complaint against you!" Three-Punch Tyrant threatened.
"Tch. The commission crystal is gone. What are you going to do about it?" Feng Hao called back teasingly, then strode away with a loud laugh.
Realizing what had happened, Three-Punch Tyrant stomped her foot in frustration, her eyes filled with regret. "Argh! Why was I in such a hurry to hand over the crystal? Great, just great. Six bottles turned into two!"