Feng Hao just chuckled softly. The three men's reactions were just as he'd expected. After all, it was already incredibly impressive for someone his age to be an Alchemist, let alone one who could refine something as precious as an Experience Pill.
"Young man, can you truly refine Experience Pills?" Dongfang Wuji asked, his eyes shining.
"I have no reason to deceive you," Feng Hao said with a light chuckle and a nod. His gaze swept over the three men before he continued, "I know the three of you Patriarchs didn't come here in person just for Tier One Experience Pills. Please, speak freely."
The three men exchanged glances, feeling that the young man before them was an utter enigma.
Dongfang Wuji spoke again. "To be perfectly honest, we are indeed here for high-tier Experience Pills. Might I ask if your master is capable of refining Tier Five Experience Pills?"
"Tier Five?" Feng Hao feigned a moment of surprise. He hadn't expected all three of them to be level 50 experts. 'As expected of the Patriarchs of great families.' "With my master's skill, that's naturally not a problem. It's just the matter of materials...?"
Nanyuan Bo exclaimed in delight, "Name your price for the materials! As long as the pills can be refined, that's all that matters."
"In that case, I won't be modest." A sly smile touched the corners of Feng Hao's mouth. "The primary ingredient for an Experience Pill is a Magic Beast Crystal Core. A Tier Five Experience Pill naturally requires a Tier Five Crystal Core. The other supplementary materials are nothing special."
"Tier Five Crystal Cores?" Even for Patriarchs of great families, their faces clouded over with worry upon hearing this.
After all, Tier Five Crystal Cores could only be obtained by killing magic beasts of level 50 or higher. They had a wide range of applications, so their market price was perpetually sky-high. In a small place like Rongcheng, Tier Five Crystal Cores were even more scarce.
"How many Tier Five Crystal Cores would be required?" Xiyue Feng asked thoughtfully.
"Based on my master's current alchemy skill, the success rate is at least thirty percent. Therefore, three Crystal Cores are needed to refine one furnace batch, which should yield about five or six pills." Feng Hao said, frowning as if deep in thought, but inwardly he was sneering.
'What a joke. With my Ninth-Level Alchemy Techniques, refining a Tier Five pill has a one-hundred percent success rate, and each batch yields at least ten pills.'
Hearing this, Xiyue Feng and the other two were pleasantly surprised. This was far better than they had imagined.
"The grandmaster's skills are truly extraordinary! In that case, the Dongfang Family will take the lead and request one furnace batch of Tier Five Experience Pills from your master. In addition to the Crystal Cores, we will pay an extra fifty thousand Level 1 Magic Crystals," Dongfang Wuji was the first to declare.
"The Nanyuan Family will do the same," Nanyuan Bo added gruffly.
"Same here." Xiyue Feng nodded with a smile, then added with some hesitation, "Young man, I don't suppose you have any Tier One Experience Pills on hand? My younger girl at home is driving me mad pestering me for one."
"That's right, young man! Our families have many juniors. Do you have any more Tier One Experience Pills?" the other two asked, their eyes full of expectation.
"Well... I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you," Feng Hao said, looking slightly embarrassed. "However, you're all welcome to place a long-term order with my Miao Medicine Tower. We can be flexible on the price."
"That would be wonderful! I'll have my family's steward come tomorrow to discuss the details," Nanyuan Bo said, fully satisfied.
Dongfang Wuji and Xiyue Feng both nodded, clearly in agreement.
"A pleasure doing business with you," Feng Hao said, his eyes filled with delight.
"Indeed, a pleasure doing business with you!" The three men also broke into hearty laughter.
With the deal struck, both sides were overjoyed. After a few more pleasantries, the three Patriarchs took their leave.
But just before he left, Xiyue Feng suddenly stopped. He gave Feng Hao a deeply meaningful look and asked, "Young man, that Spatial Ring on your hand looks a bit familiar. Might I ask where you got it?"
Feng Hao instantly broke into a cold sweat. 'Of all the things to forget! After all that planning...' He could only bite the bullet and reply, "I found it at a street stall a while back. Why? Do you recognize this ring, Senior?"
"Perhaps I was mistaken," Xiyue Feng said with a faint smile before taking his leave.
Once he confirmed Xiyue Feng was gone, Feng Hao finally breathed a sigh of relief. He gave a wry, helpless smile. 'Looks like I'll have to find time to get a new Spatial Ring. Stolen goods are stolen goods, after all.'
He turned to see Miao Feng sitting at the table, trembling from head to toe, clearly overcome with excitement.
"Master, are we going to be rich? That's five million Magic Crystals from each family!" Miao Feng's eyes were practically sparkling.
"How many times have I told you? If you're going to hang with me, you need to learn to stay calm. It's just five million Magic Crystals. What would you do if I told you we could also skim six or seven Tier Five Crystal Cores for free? You'd probably die of excitement, wouldn't you?" Feng Hao said, his gaze playful.
"Ah!" Miao Feng cried, leaping to his feet. In utter disbelief, he stammered, "Six or seven Tier Five Crystal Cores? I must be dreaming!"
'Sigh... an apprentice is just an apprentice. So unworldly.'
Feng Hao let out a long, soft sigh. Adopting the air of a transcendent master, he clasped his hands behind his back and headed for his room upstairs, leaving Miao Feng to his uncontrollable excitement.
'To be honest, Magic Crystals didn't really mean much to Feng Hao. In his eyes, they were no different from game currency. He recalled his days dominating the game *Mage*; he'd had more money than he could ever spend.'
「The night passed without incident.」
The next morning, it was obvious Miao Feng hadn't slept well. He was wandering around the shop with dark circles under his eyes, helping with odd jobs, and only perked up when the business managers from the three great families arrived.
The three managers were all seasoned veterans of the business world. Feng Hao had to negotiate relentlessly just to secure a reasonably satisfactory price for the orders.
In addition, the Tier Five Crystal Cores and the fifty thousand Level 1 Magic Crystals were now in his possession, which was a great relief.
After concluding their business, he dispatched Miao Feng to go purchase various materials. Feng Hao then had the Miao Medicine Tower to himself. Fortunately, business was good, so he didn't feel lonely.
He had gotten several books from Miao Feng a few days prior, so he could use his spare time to learn more about the history and lore of the Ancient Cang Realm.
By noon, the sun was scorching, and the crowds on the streets began to thin. Few customers came into the shop. As for Miao Feng, he likely wouldn't be back before dark, since the procurement list was long and varied.
He ate his fill at the small eatery next door before returning to the Miao Medicine Tower. There, he leaned back leisurely behind the counter, reading the *Annals of Ancient Cang*.
Time trickled by, until a furtive figure slipped inside, shattering the tranquility.
"Hey, you! Hand over the Experience Pills, now!"
Feng Hao looked up in surprise to see a cute young girl standing defiantly before the counter. Her skin was as white as snow, her face as lovely as a flower. Dressed in a cherry-red princess gown that enveloped her budding figure, she stood with her hands on her hips, looking as exquisite as a porcelain doll.
"Well now, little miss, are you here to rob me?" Faced with such an adorable girl, Feng Hao couldn't help but tease her.
The girl's face scrunched up. "Cut the nonsense!" she said imperiously. "Hand over the Experience Pills, or I'll smash this rundown shop of yours to pieces!"
"And what might this young lady's name be?" Feng Hao asked with a playful smile.
"I am Xi Yueyao," she declared, proudly tilting her head up as if to say, 'And I'm a big deal'.
Feng Hao was taken aback. "Oh, so you're from the Xiyue Family. Does that mean Xiyue Frost is your older sister?"
"Hmph!" Hearing Xiyue Frost's name, the little girl grew even bolder. "Since you know of my sister's reputation, hurry up and hand over the Experience Pills! Watch out, or I'll have my sister come beat you up."
"..." Feng Hao was left speechless. 'From the looks of it, this kid is used to throwing her sister's name around to get what she wants.'
As for Xiyue Frost, the beauty from the Otherworld, Feng Hao had heard a thing or two about her recently. She was supposedly a genius student at the Rongcheng Mage Academy, possessing both power and looks, and hailed as Rongcheng's number one "Ice Beauty."
This was also one of the reasons someone had been willing to pay a high price for her used undergarments.
In fact, it was because of that very incident that he had escaped a perilous situation right after arriving in this world and met his benefactor, Lin Luo.
"Come on, tell me! Where did you hide the Experience Pills?"
When Feng Hao didn't respond, Xi Yueyao began to search the place herself. Like a little mouse foraging for food, she scurried here and there, tirelessly hunting for the Experience Pills.
Feng Hao couldn't help but chuckle. "You can stop looking, kiddo. The Experience Pills are long gone."
"I don't believe you! You definitely hid them!" Xi Yueyao said, her cheeks puffed out in a pout.
"Why would I need to hide them?" Feng Hao laughed in spite of himself. "Besides, your father has already placed an order with the Miao Medicine Tower. We'll be delivering Experience Pills in a few days."
Xi Yueyao bounced over to him. "I'm not waiting that long!" she huffed. "If you don't give me an Experience Pill, I'll punch you!"
"But I really don't have any," Feng Hao said, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
"Liar! I know you do."
"And how would you know that?"
"Hmph, hmph!" Xi Yueyao snorted smugly, then offered an utterly exasperating reason. "I dreamed about it last night."
"..." Feng Hao was at a complete loss for words.
Seeing his disbelieving expression, Xi Yueyao grew visibly annoyed. "I'm this cute," she said with a pout, "so my dreams are definitely real."
"Okay, you win."
Feng Hao felt like he'd been smacked in the face by a tidal wave of cuteness. They were on completely different wavelengths.
He turned and ducked into the Alchemy Room to refine a batch of Tier One Experience Pills. With his past experience and the help of his game interface, he succeeded quickly. Although producing only six pills was a bit of a waste of materials, it was a small price to pay to deal with Xi Yueyao.
The moment he emerged from the Alchemy Room, Xi Yueyao bounced over, eyeing him suspiciously. "What took you so long? Were you up to no good in there?"
"I swear, I wasn't up to anything. Here, these are the Experience Pills you wanted." Feng Hao said, holding out four of them to her.
Xi Yueyao snatched them and immediately stored them in her Spatial Ring, as if afraid he'd take them back. Her gaze, however, was fixed on the remaining two pills. Her eyes darted about as she pouted, "Those two are mine, too."
"Uh, you can only take five Tier One Experience Pills at most. Any more won't have an effect," Feng Hao explained.
"I don't care! I want them!" Xi Yueyao whined.
"Fine, fine! You can have them all, alright?"
"Hmph! That's more like it."
Xi Yueyao was finally satisfied. Batting her big eyes and humming a little tune, she looked utterly pleased and smug.
"So, your little highness, can you leave now?" Feng Hao asked, his expression pained.
"This place stinks of medicine. I wouldn't want to stay here anyway." Xi Yueyao was about to leave in high spirits, but she stopped at the doorway. Pouting, she said, "You're not so bad, you know. I'll give you a gift."
With that, to Feng Hao's astonishment, she pulled out two silver-black daggers. "Daddy gave me these for self-defense last year. Here, you can have one."
"Oh, I couldn't possibly accept that," Feng Hao said, feigning politeness.
"I'm giving it to you, so take it! This is the first time I've ever given anyone a gift. You're not allowed to refuse," Xi Yueyao huffed.
"In that case, it would be rude not to accept." Feng Hao rubbed his hands together excitedly and took the silver-black dagger, secretly overjoyed.
"Hmph!" Xi Yueyao let out a habitual, delicate snort and skipped away.
Feng Hao toyed with the silver-black dagger, growing more pleased with it the longer he looked. He scanned it with his Divine Sense and quickly retrieved its stats:
[Dark Moon Dagger] (Tier One)
Damage: 25
Dark Force Amplification: 12
Sharpness: 18
Weight: 10
'It even has a Dark Force Amplification attribute! Good heavens, this was an absolute steal!' Feng Hao marveled. Materials related to Dark Force were incredibly rare. Even though it was just a Tier One dagger, the 12% Dark Force Amplification ability alone meant it could sell for hundreds of thousands of Magic Crystals.
'Then again,' he wondered, 'how did that kid know I like using daggers?'