King Alchemist Bu's eyes were complicated — the initial fury and grievance slowly giving way to a kind of powerless surrender. He knew that the gap between himself and the young King Alchemist before him was simply too vast.
The other man's vision, his strength — forget about himself, King Alchemist Bu; even if his deceased master were to come back to life, he still wouldn't be enough for the other party to crush with a single finger.
Before such a colossus, King Alchemist Bu wanted to cling to some shred of dignity, but he found he could do nothing at all.
With a miserable expression, he walked over to the trash bin, his eyes rimmed with red, and picked up the defective pill. He gently wiped it clean, as though polishing his most treasured possession. Only after it was spotless did he carefully tuck it away.
This was a relic left by his master. Even if it was trash, King Alchemist Bu didn't want it thrown in the garbage.
Although it was indeed a defective, trash-quality pill, for King Alchemist Bu it might be a keepsake worth dying to protect.
For such sacred devotion, Jiang Chen felt his earlier actions had perhaps gone too far.
He gently tapped the table, fixed his gaze on King Alchemist Bu, and spoke slowly: "Old Bu, perhaps this pill holds a special meaning for you — a token of your master's lineage. I apologize."
Hearing this, King Alchemist Bu was somewhat surprised and looked up at Jiang Chen. He clearly hadn't expected this arrogant King Alchemist Zhen to actually apologize.
"My apology isn't because the pill itself is anything remarkable," Jiang Chen said calmly. "It's because the devotion you've placed in it is genuinely admirable."
King Alchemist Bu gave a bitter, wretched smile. "The winner takes all — insult me however you like. After all, old Bu has already lost so completely he hasn't even got his underpants left."
Jiang Chen looked at King Alchemist Bu's face and saw that the arrogance and defiance were completely gone. All that remained was the helplessness of someone who had been thoroughly crushed.
"The Great Mystery Dream-Crafting Pill — it brings one into a dream state through the pill, and within that state, it can temper the divine sense, repair it, and elevate it to a higher realm. No matter what damage the divine sense has suffered, this pill can heal it. Truly miraculous. The pill itself is a genuine top-tier creation. Unfortunately, this particular pill was a failed attempt at refining it."
Jiang Chen spoke with calm authority.
King Alchemist Bu was stunned and couldn't help asking: "You understand how to refine the Great Mystery Dream-Crafting Pill?"
Jiang Chen smiled faintly. "If I didn't, how could I recognize it at a glance? The Great Mystery Dream-Crafting Pill was the pill I used to practice with when I was ten years old."
Jiang Chen said this lightly.
But these words made the muscles on King Alchemist Bu's face twitch involuntarily. This was the kind of comparison that could drive a man to despair.
A pill he used to practice with when he was ten?
Was the Great Mystery Dream-Crafting Pill really that insignificant? A pill his esteemed master had spent a lifetime studying without mastering — and this King Alchemist Zhen had used it to practice when he was ten?
As everyone knew, pills used for practice were just common, run-of-the-mill stuff.
Was this King Alchemist Zhen really so extravagant at ten? So impossibly talented?
"Would you like to learn?" Jiang Chen looked at King Alchemist Bu with a half-smile, his expression full of meaning.
King Alchemist Bu desperately wanted to refuse with pride and dignity, but the moment that thought flickered through his mind, he felt it would be a sin.
He couldn't help but nod, but then his old face flushed crimson. He felt like a child drooling over a lollipop, while the other party was the creepy uncle dangling candy to lure kids.
"You don't want to?" Jiang Chen's smile was even more shameless, making you want to punch him right in the nose.
King Alchemist Bu said bitterly: "King Alchemist Zhen, if you were trying to toy with old Bu, then you've succeeded. This Great Mystery Dream-Crafting Pill — it was a regret my master carried to his grave. Before he died, he instructed me that I absolutely had to perfect the Great Mystery Dream-Crafting Pill and refine a true version of it."
Jiang Chen nodded slightly. "This particular Great Mystery Dream-Crafting Pill has the right basic framework. But there are far too many errors in the details. With this refining method, you couldn't produce one even in ten lifetimes."
"What?"
Jiang Chen smiled, fixing his gaze on King Alchemist Bu. "Don't doubt it. You've lived over a thousand years, haven't you? You've spent no small amount of time on this Great Mystery Dream-Crafting Pill. Any results?"
King Alchemist Bu shook his head dejectedly. Though the truth was harsh, he was too proud to lie.
Jiang Chen looked as though he'd long expected this, and held up three fingers: "Study under me, and I guarantee you'll master it in three days."
"Three days?!" King Alchemist Bu was completely dumbfounded. He almost wondered if there was something wrong with his ears. Master it in three days?
This wasn't learning to eat or learning to walk — how could you guarantee mastery in three days?
Alchemy was vast and profound. What kind of pill could you master in three days?
"You don't believe me?" Jiang Chen chuckled. "My Hundred Revolution Marrow Refining Pill — if I had you teach it, how many days do you think it would take you to teach a student?"
King Alchemist Bu thought for a moment, then said with a defeated air: "Probably about a month or so."
At this point, King Alchemist Bu's eyes suddenly sharpened: "Can you really teach me to refine the Great Mystery Dream-Crafting Pill in three days?"
"Three days is a conservative estimate. If your comprehension isn't bad, I think a day and a half might suffice." Jiang Chen smiled.
King Alchemist Bu felt his brain couldn't quite keep up.
A day and a half?
Something his master had never been able to figure out in a lifetime — he could learn it in a day and a half? If his master knew, he'd probably be so furious he'd come back from the dead!
After a long internal struggle, King Alchemist Bu finally made up his mind and declared in a loud voice: "King Alchemist Zhen, as long as you teach me the Great Mystery Dream-Crafting Pill and fulfill my master's dying wish, old Bu's hundred-and-some pounds of flesh are yours to command from now on. Willingly and wholeheartedly — I will never disobey you in the slightest."