It was like his fifty-year-old wife demanding her due, frantically draining his True Qi.
This phenomenon...
...made him overjoyed instead of panicked.
"What a flame!"
He was so excited he could barely contain himself. He poured his energy into the Hundred Refinements Furnace, and in an instant, the array patterns on it flared with brilliant light, struggling to stabilize the Pill Furnace's internal structure.
With a sufficient supply of True Qi, this flame was actually showing signs of pushing the Hundred Refinements Furnace to its limits.
After an unknown amount of time...
"POP!"
The lid of the Hundred Refinements Furnace popped open on its own, and the entire Alchemy Room was filled with a refreshing and intoxicating medicinal aroma.
One breath would refresh the mind and spirit.
Two breaths, and you'd never feel tired again.
"Your Highness, Your Highness!"
Tributor Zhang's voice trembled. "Top-grade! Top-grade! Your Highness, I... I've finally refined a Top-Grade Elixir..."
And this wasn't just barely top-grade, but an outstanding specimen even among top-grade elixirs. Even those old monsters from the Zhu Clan couldn't guarantee this level of quality for every furnace of Qi Cultivation Pills.
But as he spoke, he realized something was off.
He excitedly bowed to Zhu Li. "Thank you, Miss Zhu Li, for making this possible!"
Zhu Li was also flustered. "No, you don't have to! I didn't do anything!"
"Hold on with the pleasantries!"
Zhao Ci waved his hand, then looked at Tributor Zhang. "If our Pill Workshop's other Alchemists used this flame and the Hundred Refinements Furnace, what grade of pills could they produce?"
Tributor Zhang pondered for a long while before replying seriously, "At least three of them should be able to refine Top-Grade Qi Cultivation Pills. The other Alchemists participating in the Gongdan Conference should be able to refine mid-grade pills!"
Zhao Ci frowned slightly. "Only three? Isn't that a waste of our Tributor Zhu's flame?"
Zhu Li: "..."
'When did I become Tributor Zhu?'
'This Zhao Ci is definitely up to no good.'
'But... but he called me Tributor Zhu!'
'It was the first time in her life someone from a Pill Workshop had called her a Tributor. To the Zhu Family, she had always been a useless little good-for-nothing who couldn't do anything right.'
For a moment, she felt a little dizzy.
Tributor Zhang looked slightly embarrassed. "Your Highness! Tributor Zhu's flame is indeed powerful, but it's a bit too explosive. To master it completely requires an extremely strong Fire Control Ability. It would be no easy task for the Alchemists in our Pill Workshop to control it."
"Alright..."
Zhao Ci nodded slightly, though he wasn't disappointed. Raising the average quality by a whole grade was already a significant achievement.
Zhu Li was completely bewildered. Although she had never become an Alchemist, she had always paid close attention to Alchemy.
If it was as Tributor Zhang said, then while the average quality of Xiang's Pill Workshop still couldn't compete with the Zhu Clan, it could easily join the upper ranks. At least in terms of Qi Cultivation Pill quality, it would be on par with the Yang Clan.
Moreover, the key issue wasn't the pill quality, but the terrifying production volume. Just thinking about it made her feel that this Gongdan Conference was going to be absolutely cutthroat.
'But all of this was based on one important condition... I would have to join Xiang's Pill Workshop.'
'What am I going to do?'
While she was agonizing over her dilemma, Zhao Ci had already courteously seen Tributor Zhang and Li Fugui out the door.
"Tributor Zhu!"
"Hm? Ah?"
Zhu Li quickly shook her head. "Zhao... Zhao Ci! I really can't join Xiang's Pill Workshop..."
But Zhao Ci just smiled. "Don't worry! I won't force you. I'm a businessman, not some kind of gangster. As long as we can have an exchange of equal value, why would I force you to stay? I said it before: you can repay what you've received from me with your wages."
"Phew..."
Zhu Li let out a long sigh of relief. From the moment she saw the information on the Yu Xin Flame, she knew that what Zhao Ci really coveted was her talent for Alchemy.
For a moment, she was a little touched. "You're actually a pretty good person! The Fire Manipulation Pill was two thousand one hundred taels. I just need to help you improve the quality of a few furnaces of pills, and we'll be even. It's no big deal!"
"No, no, no!"
Zhao Ci shook his head. "The Fire Manipulation Pill was two thousand one hundred taels, that's true. But what about the Fire Control Fragment for the Yu Xin Flame? Never mind just memorizing it; I think you've already mastered it. We can't just not put a price on that, can we?"
Zhu Li was instantly dumbfounded. "Uh, th-th-this... You can't put a price on that!"
Zhao Ci's smile was incredibly enthusiastic. "Actually, there is a way to calculate it. Let's think about it this way: with a flick of your finger, you can raise an elixir's quality by a full grade. That increases its average price by thirty to seventy percent. Multiply that by the production volume... I don't need to spell out how much that's worth, do I?
Of course, the main credit goes to you for being born with the Yu Xin Flame. The fragment I gave you was just an aid.
Let's say it's a seventy-thirty split of the credit, in your favor!
Assuming you live for another hundred years, and we calculate based on the output of an ordinary Pill Workshop...
That equates to fifty years of extra profit. Thirty percent of that is mine, which comes out to fifteen years.
Our Xiang's Pill Workshop is about five times the size of a small, ordinary Pill Workshop, so we'll just divide that by five.
Really, you only need to help Xiang's Pill Workshop refine pills with all your effort for three years.
You're only seventeen now. Trading three years for a brilliant future... that's a fantastic deal!"
Zhu Li's face went pale as she listened. "It is a fantastic deal, but if I do it for three years, the Zhu Family will beat me to death!"
'She genuinely thought Zhao Ci was being more than fair.'
'He had even reduced her "sentence" from a hundred years down to three.'
'But...'
"It's that serious!"
Zhao Ci wore a worried expression. "You don't have to be so afraid. I actually have a way for you to do this without betraying the Zhu Family."
Zhu Li was instantly delighted. "Really? What is it?"
Zhao Ci smiled. "You just have to pretend you never saw those fragments and never use them again. I know you've already learned them, but we're friends, after all. As long as you don't use the technique, I'll consider it as you never having taken advantage of me."
"Uh..."
Zhu Li felt as if her world was collapsing. Those fragments had given her hope of finally turning her life around.
'To never use them again... what was the difference between that and having a mouth but not being able to eat?'
'What kind of cruel torture was this?'
Zhao Ci added with a solemn expression, "You're just returning something that doesn't belong to you. It's not that painful, really. Zhu Li, even though we just met, I really admire you. There are too few people who dare to say they'll go through life without owing anyone a thing. For that alone, I respect your integrity!
As for the Fire Manipulation Pill, it's not that expensive. Just help us refine a few furnaces of pills, and we'll be even.
Once you walk out that door, as long as you don't use the Fire Control Fragment and don't speak of what happened here today, you won't owe me a single thing!"
Zhu Li: "..."
'The corners of Zhao Ci's mouth twitched, fighting back a grin. Zhu Li's bizarre train of thought had interrupted his rhythm earlier, but her promise to repay her debt, followed by her returning the pill even after drooling over it, proved that she had an incredibly strong moral compass.'
'Combined with another, more important reason, he had dared to be ruthless and bring her directly into this.'
'This little trick of his... was useless against villains.'
'It only worked on the virtuous.'
'And as it happened, Zhu Li was one of the virtuous.'
"It's just a shame..."
Zhao Ci added regretfully, "A shame that you've lost your chance to become an Alchemist!"
Her heart suddenly trembled at his words.
And text reappeared above her head.
[Zhu Li's Current Wish]: To become an Alchemist. Wish Reward: Insight +1000, Stealable Talent: Yuxin Flame Seed.
Zhao Ci's gaze sharpened.
'I've been waiting for you!'
~~~~~~~
Two chapters today, over 6,300 characters in total, which is like three chapters for other authors.
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