Chapter 4828 — Isn't That Not Enough?
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 3
"So by that reckoning, doesn't that mean the great families are bound to win?" Wei Zhao asked. Since the chief alchemist of Morning Star Academy was their ally, when it came to high-grade pills, the other merchant guilds—the Hong Clan Merchant Guild included—would find it very hard to compete with them, and come auction day they were bound to steal the show.
"Not necessarily," Old Chai said, shaking his head. "It's true the great families have latched onto the academy's chief alchemist, and true they'll have no trouble getting their hands on high-grade pills. But if they put pills refined by Morning Star Academy's own alchemists up for auction, that's hardly any feat at all. If the academy favored the great families because of that, wouldn't it just be slapping its own face?"
"Ha, using the academy's own pills to props up the great families, letting them carry those pills to the grand auction and sell them right back to Morning Star Academy—if word of that got out, people would laugh their teeth out. The academy's higher-ups shouldn't be capable of quite that much stupidity." Wei Zhao nodded, unable to hold back a laugh.
"That's just the logic of it. Even so, the great families are still the heavy favorites this time. Beyond the academy's alchemist, they have other channels of their own. Word has leaked out that they've prepared a set of ten Golden Pills of Infant Convergence for this auction!" Old Chai sighed, the envy on his face impossible to hide.
No wonder he envied them. Here in the East Continent's Yellow-Tier sea region, the Golden Pill of Infant Convergence was a genuine flagship pill; the vast majority of academy disciples in these parts were accomplished Golden Core and Nascent Soul cultivators, all of whom could make use of it, so its price naturally rose with the tide. Especially as a set of ten placed at auction—it was absolutely certain to fetch a sky-high price.
"Only ten Golden Pills of Infant Convergence?" Wei Zhao smiled faintly at that, then startled the room: "Then we'll auction five Thunder Mystic Pills."
"Huh? Say what?" Old Chai and Cui Mingshan were struck dumb, exchanging looks of disbelief, half convinced their ears were playing tricks on them.
Wei Zhao smiled and, without a word, drew from his robe the Thunder Mystic Pills he had refined back at Xiangyun Academy, laying them out one by one before the two men. With every pill he set down, Old Chai and Cui Mingshan gasped a cold breath; by the time all five were arrayed in a row on the table, the pair had gone utterly still, frozen like statues.
"What's the matter? Not enough?" Wei Zhao glanced at them.
"No... no..." Old Chai and Cui Mingshan waved their hands again and again.
As branch shopkeeper and deputy shopkeeper, they were men who had seen their share of the world. For Wei Zhao to produce five Thunder Mystic Pills in one go was already a stroke of heaven-defying extravagance; compared with this, the great families' ten Golden Pills of Infant Convergence were not even in the same league, their value simply incomparable.
In the East Continent's Yellow-Tier sea region, the Golden Pill of Infant Convergence counted only as the aspiration of ordinary disciples, while the true elite disciples were all striving toward the Mystic Ascension realm. The Thunder Mystic Pill alone was the pill they dreamed of, the thing they would pay any price to obtain.
"Still not enough? That's no problem. Hurry out and fetch some pill-refining materials—while we have the chance, I may as well refine a few rare ones. Beauty Pills and the like, bring materials for those too. Quick, now." Wei Zhao gave his instructions.
"Ah? Beauty Pills? You can refine pills of that grade too?" Old Chai and Cui Mingshan were now thoroughly stunned. They had had no idea that Wei Zhao was an alchemist at all—and a rare seventh-grade alchemist at that. He could go and be the academy's chief alchemist, surely!