Chapter 168: Chapter 168: Like Looking at a God, A Sheng of Favor, a Dou of Enmity

"Pharmacist Yang, that’s amazing! You’ve succeeded in refining again."

Just as Yang Chan arrived at the Medicine Hall and Pharmacy, Zhao Yi came over to greet him with great enthusiasm. He knew that Yang Chan had successfully refined another batch of First Revolution Nourishing Viscera Pills just yesterday.

This elixir is very difficult to refine. Even after succeeding once, the failure rate for a second attempt remains very high.

The fact that Yang Chan could successfully refine it again demonstrated his formidable alchemy skills and proved his first success wasn’t just a fluke.

Although refining elixirs is a matter of skill, it’s not unheard of for someone to get lucky and succeed by chance, only to fail every subsequent attempt. Such cases have certainly happened before.

Once could be a coincidence, but a second time is not.

"The Earth Fire was stable this time, so the refining process went much more smoothly," Yang Chan replied with a smile.

He couldn’t avoid such social pleasantries, of course, and engaging in them could save him a lot of trouble.

Aloof people draw unwanted attention and end up isolated. That was hardly a risk for him, though; these days, even people just passing by would offer him a smile and a word.

Ever since he started successfully refining elixirs, the number of smiling faces around him had grown. This was especially true after he refined the First Revolution Nourishing Viscera Pill. People would even take the initiative to greet him, hoping to leave a good impression. As this became more frequent, Yang Chan grew to understand their motives perfectly well, but he didn’t mind.

It was fine, as long as they bore him no ill will. Otherwise, he would have to be careful.

’People’s desire for revenge is a powerful thing. I saw that clearly with Wang Sheng. So, if I ever run into someone hostile like him again, I should find an opportunity to eliminate them. It would be best if they died silently, without a trace.’

After becoming an Intermediate Pharmacist, several new formulas had appeared in his mind. Some were for poisons, others for elixirs. These would be his next goals.

High-Level Elixirs like the Three Revolutions Nourishing Viscera Pill and the Five Revolutions Nourishing Organ Pill were more suitable for those practicing Inner Refining of the Lungs and Spleens, and their medicinal effects were far superior.

For Yang Chan, this meant they naturally contained far more Potential Points, and they represented the direction of his future efforts.

After learning how many Potential Points the First Revolution Nourishing Viscera Pill provided, Yang Chan set himself another small goal: to refine an elixir that offered more than one Potential Point. That way, he could accumulate Potential Points even faster.

His Daily Potential Point Collection had now broken past three, so naturally, Yang Chan’s next target was even higher.

"Successfully refining the First Revolution Nourishing Viscera Pill isn’t just a matter of heat control. The most important factor is your alchemy skill," Zhao Yi said in a flattering tone.

He genuinely admired Yang Chan’s alchemy skills. Yang Chan had started attempting the Lantian Jade Refining Pill later than him and had spent less time on it, yet he had succeeded. Very few people could accomplish such a feat.

Then, a while later, when Yang Chan started preparing to refine the First Revolution Nourishing Viscera Pill, many people said he was being overly ambitious. They thought he should first read more books on pharmacology and get promoted to Intermediate Pharmacist. After all, the First Revolution Nourishing Viscera Pill was considered difficult to refine even among Intermediate Pharmacists.

As everyone had predicted, Yang Chan’s first attempt was a complete failure. Some people even sneered at him in secret, though no one dared to say anything to his face.

His ability to refine the Lantian Jade Refining Pill already placed him far above most Basic Level Pharmacists, so no one was stupid enough to say anything to his face. Furthermore, Yang Chan was considered one of Medicine Hall Master Gu An’s proteges; only an idiot would mock him.

Zhao Yi had watched what Yang Chan did after that failure. He saw him search for various books, take meticulous notes, and analyze his findings. He personally witnessed Yang Chan fill pages with notes, all of them related to refining the First Revolution Nourishing Viscera Pill.

His level of dedication far surpassed that of most people, but even so, nobody believed he could actually succeed.

After all, if an elixir like the First Revolution Nourishing Viscera Pill could be mastered through sheer effort alone, the Cyan Yuan Sect wouldn’t have only ten Intermediate Pharmacists, and the elixir itself wouldn’t be nearly so precious.

Then, after all that effort, when Yang Chan attempted the refinement again, everyone assumed he would fail. To their surprise, he was next seen taking a finished First Revolution Nourishing Viscera Pill to the Medicine Hall’s courtyard to trade for more ingredients. It was rumored he even had a large sum of Contribution Points left over; he had made an absolute fortune.

And those who could achieve such a thing were even rarer.

Because of this, Zhao Yi looked at Yang Chan as if he were gazing upon a god—a god of alchemy. He desperately wished he could possess such an ability himself.

In Zhao Yi’s eyes, Yang Chan was like the protagonist of a novel. He succeeded precisely when everyone thought he couldn’t. The only things he lacked were a flamboyant personality and a ’my fate is my own, not for the heavens to decide’ kind of spirit. Instead, he seemed perfectly friendly and could strike up a conversation with anyone.

He didn’t talk much, but he seemed like a good, reliable person.

He had asked for advice about alchemy on multiple occasions, and Yang Chan had always answered patiently, which only improved his opinion of him.

"I heard you’re preparing to refine the Lantian Jade Refining Pill again, Pharmacist Zhao. How are the preparations coming along?"

Yang Chan smiled and changed the subject. He had heard enough flattery for one day and had no desire for more. He was, however, genuinely interested in Zhao Yi’s own preparations.

He knew that Zhao Yi wanted to refine the Lantian Jade Refining Pill in order to break through to the External Refining Steel Realm. His cultivation was just shy of the threshold, and he needed to rely on medicinal power for the final push.

If he succeeded in refining it himself, he would have enough elixirs to break through to the External Refining Steel Realm, with plenty to spare.

This was a personal matter. The only help Yang Chan was willing to offer was answering any questions the other man had; he wouldn’t go out of his way to help further.

’A small favor earns gratitude, a large one creates an enemy.’ He had no desire to cultivate a foe through his own kindness.

’When interacting with others, one needed to maintain a certain distance. The help I can offer should be limited to what a friend might do, and no more.’

"I’m still in the middle of preparing. Thanks to your reminders, Pharmacist Yang, I’ve prepared a great deal this time. I’m very confident I can succeed."

Zhao Yi was full of confidence as he spoke of the matter.

He had failed many times and now understood all the ways it could go wrong. He also had a clear picture of the path to success. This time, he was aiming straight for that path. He had even run through countless mental simulations, all to guarantee a successful refinement.

"Well then, let me congratulate you in advance on your successful alchemy, Pharmacist Zhao."

Yang Chan couldn’t tell if Zhao Yi was being blindly overconfident or if he truly had it in the bag, so he could only offer his best wishes. That was all he could do at the moment.

"Thank you for the good omen, Pharmacist Yang."

Zhao Yi was overjoyed to hear this. He believed he would definitely succeed in refining the Lantian Jade Refining Pill this time and become one of the elites among the Basic Level Pharmacists. If he could then catch the eye of Medicine Hall Master Gu An, he might even be able to travel to White Jade City for the Pharmacist Exchange Conference. With that, his chances of becoming an Intermediate Pharmacist would be even higher.

This was also an important reason why he was so determined to refine the Lantian Jade Refining Pill.