Chapter 9

Li Xiaoyong himself knew about the feud between the two families. Seeing so many Zhang family disciples suddenly appear, and their overall strength surpassing their own, his expression turned grave.

Li Mo had no interest in a verbal confrontation. The situation was clear enough; the four of them were already exhausted and had no strength to compete with Zhang Shiliang’s group.

Moreover, it was obvious that Zhang Shiliang and his group had been lying in wait nearby. They waited until the last moment to suddenly release their arrows, aiming to divide the spoils.

He asked directly, "What do you want?"

Zhang Shiliang smiled arrogantly and said, "Do I even need to say? I killed this fire bull leader, so the bull’s core naturally belongs to me. As for you, you did put in some effort, so I’ll give you the hide and fur."

"You..." Li Gaoyuan’s eyes widened with rage.

This fire bull leader was something they had fought hard to kill, and now they could only get the hide and fur. This was simply a humiliation.

"What’s wrong with me? Don’t you want to test your skills against me?" Zhang Shiliang looked at him with disdain. "With your mid-stage Rock Formation Realm, do you even have the right to fight me?"

"You..." Li Gaoyuan was so angry he could hardly speak.

Li Mo gave him a look, shook his head, and signaled him not to argue further.

Li Xiaoyong and his sister also knew their strength was insufficient, so they had to endure the humiliation.

Zhang Shiliang waved his hand triumphantly, and the Zhang family disciples rushed forward, cutting open the bull’s belly to retrieve the core.

This core was even larger than that of a regular fire bull. If sold on the market, it would fetch at least two to three hundred taels, but now they could only watch as it fell into others' hands.

Throughout the process, Zhang Shiliang stood with his hands behind his back, looking at the four of them with a disdainful expression.

After the Zhang family disciples took the fire bull’s horns and some of the armor, they left with a swagger.

Zhang Shijiu walked a few steps, then stopped and turned to sneer, "Li Mo, see you at the enrollment ceremony! You’d better pray you don’t run into me, or you’ll be in for a rough time!"

With that, he laughed and followed the group.

After Zhang Shiliang and his group were out of sight, Li Gaoyuan stomped his foot in anger and cursed, "Zhang Shiliang is truly too much!"

Li Xiaoyong said in a deep voice, "Brother Gaoyuan, don’t be angry. As long as we train hard, we will surely settle this score one day!"

Li Mo’s expression was calm, but a cold light flashed in his eyes.

He, a first-class alchemist of the Shangtian Kingdom, had been robbed of the core by a few young upstarts.

Even if it was only worth a few hundred taels, it was a humiliation he could not tolerate.

He would reclaim this debt with interest, but he also deeply understood that with his current low cultivation, such an event could happen again at any time.

To rise above others, he needed to train ten or a hundred times harder.

After that, the four of them returned.

By the time they returned to the county city, it was already evening. They went directly to the Li family pharmacy in the eastern part of the city, which was Li Gaoyuan’s family business.

The price they received for the materials from the savage beasts was higher than the market price, giving them an extra dozen taels, which made Li Xiaoyong and his sister very happy.

After staying for a while, Li Mo took some herbs, and the four of them returned to the Martial Arts Academy.

Back at the academy, they turned in the head of the elite fire bull and received a task reward of forty taels and forty honor points each.

Ten taels of silver per person was a considerable reward. Adding the other materials they sold, they had over fifty to sixty taels, plus a pile of savage beast cores, making it a bountiful harvest.

After bidding farewell to Li Xiaoyong and his sister, Li Gaoyuan took out the cores they had obtained and gave half to Li Mo, a total of eight.

Li Mo said, "I am currently injured and may not be able to refine the pills for ten to fifteen days, so I need to find an alchemist at the Alchemy Academy to help me refine the pills."

"I’ll go with you," Li Gaoyuan said.

"There’s no need. You need to rest and heal after the hunt," Li Mo said.

The two then parted ways. Li Mo made his way to the north gate of the Martial Arts Academy.

Just outside the north gate was the Alchemy Academy, separated by a wall. On one side of the north gate was a bulletin board area, densely covered with various notices.

There were notices for proxy refining, urgent requests for certain herbs, selling spirit treasures, and more.

Li Mo walked and looked, and in a corner of a bulletin board, he found a note with elegant handwriting: "Proxy refining of all high-difficulty Yellow-grade pills, guaranteed to be of superior quality, price to be discussed."

Li Mo smiled. The confidence in this person was evident, reminding him of his own youthful confidence.

To guarantee that high-difficulty pills would all be of superior quality, this person must be a third-grade Yellow-grade alchemist.

If this person truly had such skill, he could use their help.

Entering the Alchemy Academy, Li Mo followed the location on the note to a quiet courtyard in the north.

This residential area consisted of individual houses, exuding a sense of nobility and grandeur.

To live in such a courtyard, unlike Li Mo, who shared a room with another person and lived in a small courtyard with a dozen people, this person must be from a prominent family in the county.

Looking at the corner of the door, there was a wooden sign with the name: Su Yan.

The four major families of Wuxing County were Xu, Su, Zhang, and Li. This woman must be from the Su family.

The door was unlocked, and Li Mo pushed it open.

Inside was a quiet courtyard. On both sides were many potted plants, each carefully pruned.

A wind chime hung from the eaves, tinkling softly in the breeze, sounding very pleasant.

As he admired the scenery in the courtyard, footsteps sounded from the corridor, and a beautiful young woman appeared.

She was only about fourteen or fifteen years old, with a face as delicate as jade. Her eyebrows were like willow leaves, her eyes like stars, her hair in a fairy bun, and she wore a fairy dress, a true beauty.

Seeing the name Su Yan, Li Mo had guessed it was a woman, but he didn’t expect her to be so young and beautiful.

Her beauty could rival that of court ladies, and if she were a few years older, she would be a national beauty. With her noble demeanor, she would surely captivate all men.

Li Mo was not averse to women, but in his previous life, he had been devoted to alchemy.

Such beauty was worth appreciating, but what Li Mo valued more was her talent.

To have the ability of a third-grade Yellow-grade alchemist at such a young age was remarkable.

Compared to martial arts, alchemy required even more talent. Generally, one would start learning medicine at the age of five, and even with good talent, it would take several years to reach the first-grade Yellow-grade level.

But in martial arts, one could reach the early Qi Condensation Realm in just a year.

From the first-grade Yellow-grade to the second-grade Yellow-grade, it took even longer, and reaching the third-grade Yellow-grade by the age of thirty was quite normal.

He quietly observed the young woman in detail.

To Su Yan, this seemed very impolite.

She came from a noble family and had never been stared at so boldly by a man.

She frowned slightly and asked, "Are you here to request a pill?"

Li Mo slowly withdrew his gaze and smiled, "What grade are you in alchemy?"

"Third-grade Yellow-grade," Su Yan replied coolly, her slightly raised lips showing a hint of pride.

"Indeed, third-grade Yellow-grade. At such a young age, your talent is indeed remarkable," Li Mo praised softly.

But to Su Yan, this praise sounded very grating. If it were an elder, she might have been pleased.

But this young man, who was about her age, was speaking to her as if he were an elder.

However, she had good manners and, though displeased, did not get angry. She asked, "What pill do you want to refine?"

Li Mo smiled and replied, "Xuan Ji Pill."

Su Yan nodded slightly, "I can help you refine this pill. You provide the herbs, and I guarantee at least four pills per batch, with one being of superior quality."

"Four pills per batch, and you can guarantee a superior quality pill? Do you really have that skill?" Li Mo was somewhat surprised.

He knew the difficulty of refining the Xuan Ji Pill. For a third-grade Yellow-grade alchemist, producing two or three pills per batch was normal. For this young girl to claim four pills and a superior quality pill was unexpected and made him consider taking her as a disciple.

Besides alchemy, Li Mo also loved collecting treasures, and talent was the greatest treasure. This girl’s talent was not inferior to any of his other disciples.

However, he was currently busy improving his own cultivation and had no time for this. He could only give her some guidance and see how she developed.

"We can write it down in black and white. If I fail, I will refund your silver," Su Yan replied coldly, her words filled with pride and confidence.

Li Mo asked, "What technique do you use to refine the pills?"

"Seven-star Fire Refinement Technique," Su Yan replied.

Li Mo nodded. He knew the difficulty of the Seven-star Fire Refinement Technique. If this girl had mastered it, her talent was indeed remarkable. He asked, "Can you refine a superior quality Xuan Ji Pill?"

Su Yan’s expression changed slightly. Her noble status meant that many people were honored to have her help refine pills. She had never been questioned so much, and to demand a superior quality pill was truly arrogant and ignorant.

She replied irritably, "In the entire academy, no third-grade Yellow-grade alchemist can refine a superior quality Xuan Ji Pill! Unless you go to a Mystic-grade alchemist, but the cost would be much higher, and success is not guaranteed."

Li Mo smiled, sensing her displeasure.

Indeed, for ordinary martial disciples, obtaining a superior quality Xuan Ji Pill was a great fortune. His pursuit of a superior quality pill was somewhat nitpicky.

However, in the path of alchemy, only nitpicking could lead to constant progress!

He was not afraid of angering Su Yan and continued, "I have one more condition."

"What condition?" Su Yan asked, trying to be patient.

"I want to be present during the refining process," Li Mo said.

Su Yan did not refuse. They agreed on the price, wrote down the terms, and checked the herbs and their quantities before moving to a side room.

Su Yan started the fire and refined the pills. Her delicate hands moved, and the flames under the furnace naturally split into three streams.

Li Mo watched quietly, saying nothing.

As time passed, half an hour quickly went by, and the first step of the refining process, the liquefaction, was about to end.