!
The setting sun cast its golden glow over Tianxuan City.
When Li Ming and his group returned to the Li Family, they saw Li Lei waiting in the courtyard. Although Li Ming knew his father's worries were about something else, the caravan members felt it in their hearts.
Li Ming gave a simple report on the trip's situation, then introduced Zhao Li to Li Lei.
"Father, we're back. The trip was quite smooth, safe the whole way. This is Brother Zhao Li. He was heading to Holy Pill City, but due to an issue with the Spatial Wormhole, he was sent to the Tianmu Mountain Range. We met him on the way back and he came with us. I invited him to be our guest at the Li Family."
Zhao Li hadn't mentioned that he had encountered a Spatial Storm and escaped; he only said that for some unknown reason, he wasn't sent to his destination, which is why Li Ming said that.
Zhao Li secretly observed Li Lei. In his perception, Li Lei had the strength of a Peak Dou Emperor. Although he was considered a strong practitioner, to establish himself in Tianxuan City and control the lucrative Spatial Wormhole, there must be even stronger individuals within the family.
Hearing Li Ming introduce him, Zhao Li smiled, stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said to Li Lei:
"Greetings, Uncle. I was well taken care of by Brother Li on this journey. Here are two bottles of Qi Gathering Powder; please accept them. I'll be troubling you further."
Zhao Li took out two bottles of Qi Gathering Powder and handed them to Li Lei. It wasn't that he didn't have better things, but Zhao Li understood the principle of not flaunting one's wealth. Furthermore, for Pills like Qi Gathering Powder, if a family had younger generations, most wouldn't refuse them.
This action by Zhao Li further convinced Li Ming of his identity as an Alchemist, and that his rank might not be low.
A look of displeasure appeared on Li Lei's face, seemingly dissatisfied with Zhao Li's actions. He spoke to Zhao Li with a stern face.
"Brother Zhao Li, what do you mean by this? Are you treating me as an outsider? Quickly take them back."
Seeing his son's reaction, Li Lei didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He felt a pang of heartache, but more so, relief.
The drastic changes in the family have made my son mature.
While feeling emotional, Li Lei also spoke.
"Little Zhao, Ming'er is right. Don't treat us as outsiders. Just stay here at my Zhao Family with peace of mind. You should keep the Pills yourself."
Without waiting for Zhao Li to say anything further, Li Ming had the butler come and take Zhao Li to the guest room to rest.
Zhao Li was made a little uncomfortable by Li Ming's actions. He felt helpless, but he also knew that the father and son might have other things to discuss, so he didn't linger and followed the butler away.
Seeing this, Li Lei and his son exchanged glances and entered Li Lei's room together.
"Ming'er, did you see Senior Sun Xiaochuan on this trip?"
Li Ming's expression turned ugly, and his voice carried some anger as he lightly spat.
"I did see him, but when I told him about the situation, he was incredibly greedy. He immediately demanded half the profits from the Spatial Wormhole that we control. And to think he received protection from my Li Family; he's simply an ungrateful wretch, ptui."
Li Lei's heart sank when he saw his son's change in expression. Upon hearing the news, he sighed deeply, his body stooping slightly. However, he ultimately understood.
"Alas, he is the most likely Seventh-Grade Alchemist we can invite. Forget it, compared to your grandfather, letting five-tenths of the profit go is fine. If your grandfather perishes, my Li Family will no longer have the chance to control the Spatial Wormhole, and may not even be able to continue establishing ourselves in Tianxuan City. It's a pity, I don't know if I can break through to Dou Sect in this lifetime."
Although Li Ming was young, he was a sensible person and naturally understood that the Li Family could control such vast profits because of his grandfather's deterrence. If his grandfather perished, everything would be for naught.
Therefore, although he was disgusted by Sun Xiaochuan's ugly greed during this visit, Li Ming gritted his teeth and agreed to the conditions he proposed.
"Father, don't worry. That old scoundrel said he would come after he finished the matters at hand. With such vast profits and his greedy nature, he will definitely come."
Li Lei sighed, his spirits low. He didn't trust Sun Xiaochuan at all and instructed Li Ming.
"I hope so. You'll have to work hard for a few more days. Don't relax during these days either; continue searching for Alchemists. If he changes his mind at the last minute, we won't be completely unprepared."
Li Ming nodded in agreement. He could see that his father's thoughts were the same as his, but he also had a headache. Even in the Central Plains, the Central Region, and Holy Pill City, the Alchemist Holy Land, Seventh-Grade Alchemists were top-tier existences. How could they be so easy to find?
This is what it was like without strength; everything depended on others' expressions. Li Ming could only pray in his heart that everything would go smoothly.
"Alas, I hope there won't be any complications."
Just as he was about to withdraw, Li Lei called out to him and asked.
"The young brother you met on the road should also be an Alchemist, right? Do you know his background?"
Li Ming was stunned upon hearing this and furrowed his brow. Could Father be so desperate for an Alchemist that he's gone mad? Even relying on Zhao Li.
Li Ming had only invited Zhao Li to travel together because he happened to be going in the same direction when Zhao Li came to inquire about the location. Later, when Zhao Li inquired about Holy Pill City, he guessed he might be an Alchemist and thus intentionally befriended him. But given Zhao Li's age, he didn't think Zhao Li's Alchemy Technique could be very high.
"This child doesn't know. But he's so young, how high could his Alchemy Technique be? Father, you're grasping at straws. Don't worry, I will continue searching."
Upon hearing this, Li Lei also felt his son was right, but he thought more deeply.
"Ming'er, don't forget the Pills he was prepared to give away just now. That was Qi Gathering Powder. Although it's only Fourth Rank, he gave it away without any hesitation. Given his age, if he refined that himself, what kind of teacher do you think it would take to train such a person?"
Li Ming suddenly understood Li Lei's meaning and laughed, feeling admiration. Indeed, the older the ginger, the spicier it is.
"Thank you for your guidance, Father. This child understands."
If there were no other options, they could only place their hopes on this young brother they met on the road.
...
Under the butler's guidance, Zhao Li settled into the guest room. Naturally, he didn't know that Li Lei and his son were troubled by the old man's injuries, nor did he know that Li Lei had already set his sights on his teacher.
Zhao Li didn't know what to do in the room for a while. He leaned by the window, contemplating the next steps.
Zhao Li came to the Central Plains partly to see Old Yao of this era. He had a good impression of the handsome old man who was both a teacher and a friend in the novel, and it would be good to make his acquaintance. On the other hand, his Alchemy Technique had reached the Peak of Seventh Grade and was stuck in a bottleneck – not a bottleneck of Soul Power, but of Pill Formulas. Lin Lan's resources had been completely depleted by him.
Zhao Li's strength had been improving over the years, and his corresponding Soul Power had also been getting stronger. In the two years he spent idle at home, he had already touched the Threshold of Spirit Realm.
In the two years of training that followed, he even figured out a Primordial Spirit Cultivation Method. The speed of his Soul Power improvement didn't decrease but increased, and he had already completely stepped into the Spirit Realm, even nearing the Heaven Realm. However, he didn't have any Eighth-Grade Pill Formulas, and his Alchemy Technique no longer progressed as rapidly as before.
Zhao Li planned to go to Holy Pill City to check it out, join the Pill Tower, and "leech" off the Pill Tower to see if he could get some Eighth-Grade Pill Formulas for free.
Unexpectedly, this journey, due to a series of coincidences, brought him to Tianxuan City, which was an unknown distance from Holy Pill City.
Fortunately, there were still several years until the next Pill Convention, so Zhao Li wasn't in a hurry.
In recent years, because he lacked pill formulas, his progress had been slow, but Zhao Li hadn't been idle. He used what he had learned to try and create his own, but he hadn't achieved any significant results.
Thinking about his attempts and summaries over the years, Zhao Li sighed.
"Ah, even with my current Alchemy Technique, it's extremely difficult to create an Eighth-Grade Pill Formula on my own. There's still a considerable gap before I can truly be called an Alchemy Grandmaster."
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