Chapter 4762 — Eyes Grown Dim with Age

"This isn't some heavenly treasure, Master. Just open it and see for yourself!" Huo Yudie urged, pressing her eagerly.

With a helpless shake of his head, Liu Ziqi did as she said and lifted the lid. One glance at what lay inside, and the grand figure of Chenjiao Academy was struck dumb, blurting out in astonishment, "Thunder Profound Pills? Three of them?"

"That's right! Now we don't have to bother with that odious Ren Zhongyuan anymore, do we!" Huo Yudie clung to Liu Ziqi's arm and wrinkled her nose in smug delight. Those three Thunder Profound Pills Ren Zhongyuan had dangled were at best an expected gain—whether they ever arrived was another matter entirely—whereas here and now were three genuine pills in hand, a difference as vast as heaven and earth.

"What is the meaning of this? Die'er, where did you get these?" Liu Ziqi demanded, still shaken. Her first reaction upon seeing the Thunder Profound Pills was not joy but alarm; she had assumed her disciple had taken the Thunder Profound Vine and secretly traded it to Ning Xuefei for pills already refined.

In all the Western Isle, the only person with the means to produce three Thunder Profound Pills and close ties to Huo Yudie was Ning Xuefei, the princess of the Western Isle. The two girls had grown thick as thieves these past days—they even shared a bed at night.

True, these were strategic resources; strictly speaking, not even Ning Shanghe, the Isle Lord of the Western Isle, could dip into them lightly, and Ning Xuefei was the last person who would commit so grave a mistake. Yet a young girl, acting on a hot-headed impulse for the lifelong happiness of her dear friend, might well have pulled off some deception under everyone's nose...

At that thought, Liu Ziqi broke into a cold sweat. Whatever else happened, she must return those three Thunder Profound Pills as quickly as possible; otherwise, if the truth ever came out, there would be no explaining it away.

But Huo Yudie's next words stopped her dead in her tracks: "Wei Zhao refined them all!"

"Wei Zhao? He's an alchemist? A seventh-rank alchemist? How could that be?" Liu Ziqi was utterly dumbfounded, staring into Huo Yudie's eyes in disbelief. She thought her precious disciple must be joking, yet Huo Yudie's expression plainly told her it was all true.

"Yes! Wei Zhao never said a word about it before—isn't he amazing?" Huo Yudie's face was full of pride and happiness.

"Is this real? He actually refined three Thunder Profound Pills in one go, and formed them so quickly?" Liu Ziqi still could not conceive of it. That Wei Zhao was a seventh-rank alchemist was already beyond imagining; but even if that were true, there was no way he could have refined three Thunder Profound Pills so fast. How long had it been? A day and a bit at most, by the loosest reckoning.

"Wrong—not three, eight!" Huo Yudie corrected.

Thud! Liu Ziqi nearly toppled over, barely catching herself on the table, an expression beyond description on her face as the corner of her mouth twitched: "Eight?!"

"Yes. And I asked for three of them," Huo Yudie nodded.

Looking at Huo Yudie's earnest expression, then at the three Thunder Profound Pills in her hand, Liu Ziqi could not resist pinching herself. Only then was she finally certain she was not dreaming, and she gazed at her precious disciple, speechless.

Not because Huo Yudie had asked for too little—to trade such a meager bit of Thunder Profound Vine for three Thunder Profound Pills was an unthinkably good bargain! No sweeter windfall could be imagined.

Most seventh-rank alchemists would count themselves well satisfied to get back a single Thunder Profound Pill, and even then it would cost all manner of supplementary materials and tens of thousands of spirit jade in fees for their trouble!

As for Ren Zhongyuan's side, he had sworn up and down that he could deliver three—but the price was tantamount to selling Huo Yudie to him, a cost far beyond what a few tens of thousands of spirit jade could ever measure.

Liu Ziqi could not help but be shaken. Formidable in strength, peerless in talent, and able to refine eight Thunder Profound Pills with ease in a single day—Wei Zhao was simply defying the heavens!

No wonder Ning Shanghe held him in such favor. She had to admit her own judgment fell far short of her old friend's. She had heard Ning Shanghe speak of Wei Zhao's marvels again and again, and still she had underestimated the young man, had even nearly driven Die'er to lose him. At the thought, Liu Ziqi's face burned with shame—she felt she would not dare show her face in public again...

"Master, are you all right?" Huo Yudie blinked at Liu Ziqi's flushed cheeks.

"Oh, I'm fine." Liu Ziqi gave an embarrassed smile, then collected herself enough to ask, "For Wei Zhao to refine eight Thunder Profound Pills, he must have used up all his own Thunder Profound Vine as well, surely?"

The guess was entirely reasonable. If that much Thunder Profound Vine of Huo Yudie's could yield eight pills, Thunder Profound Pills would be as common as cabbages—when had such pills ever been so cheap and so plentiful?

"No, it was only my Thunder Profound Vine. His hasn't been touched at all. If he refined all of his too, he said he could make at least another thirty-two..." Huo Yudie shook her head.

Thud! This time Liu Ziqi could not even steady herself on the table, and instinctively pitched forward—the great luminary of the Eastern Continent Academy nearly went sprawling to the floor. Had Huo Yudie not been quick enough to shove a stool beneath her, she would have taken a nasty fall.

"Thirty-two?" Seeing Huo Yudie nod again and again, Liu Ziqi was now consumed with regret—not over Ren Zhongyuan's bargain, but over that moment when those two young rascals had produced photographs to prove Huo Yudie and Wei Zhao had lain together in the trial grounds. If only she had acknowledged it outright on the spot, how much better things would be!

True, it would have dented her disciple's reputation a little, but there would have been no real loss at all—she could simply have decreed that Huo Yudie marry Wei Zhao, and no one could have said a word against it. Then Ning Shanghe would never have had the chance to snap up such a prize of a son-in-law for nothing!

"Ah! A blunder! What a colossal blunder!" Liu Ziqi stamped her feet and beat her breast again and again. Had Huo Yudie not been present, she would have been tempted to slap herself twice across the face.

Liu Ziqi, oh Liu Ziqi, you truly have grown old—so old your eyes have gone dim!

Bad enough that your cultivation has ceased to advance—must your judgment fail you too? You nearly ruined your own disciple's lifelong happiness. If word of this ever got out, how would you ever show your face again!

Watching Liu Ziqi's expression of unending regret, Huo Yudie could not help but hide a smile behind her hand. She had no idea what her master was thinking, but one thing at least was plain: Wei Zhao now stood higher in her master's regard than words could say, and Ren Zhongyuan would never have anything to do with this matter again! (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please come to Qidian () to cast