Chapter 4840 — Please Take Me as Your Disciple

Besides, even a seventh-grade alchemist could never refine ten Great Restoration Pills in a single day—never!

"Who gave me the nerve? You'll find out in a day." Wei Zhao looked at him with a faint, ambiguous smile. "What are you dawdling for? Hurry up and bring out all the ingredients. Prepare me an alchemy chamber—we'll know the answer in a day."

"Fine, you said it yourself!" Qing Xuanzi immediately sent people off to make preparations, while Steward Hao was overjoyed—the academy's partnership qualification was now as good as secured for the Hong Clan Chamber of Commerce.

Apart from the dedicated auction grounds, the Morning Star First Tower was equipped with every amenity one could want. There were not only private guest suites but also any number of special-purpose sealed rooms like alchemy chambers. Once the ingredients were ready, Wei Zhao went straight into seclusion to refine the pills.

As for the rest of the crowd, they did not disperse. After all, this was only the first day of the Morning Star Grand Auction, and a whole series of events still lay ahead—in particular, a highly anticipated solo auction to be held in a few days. So everyone present would be lingering in Morning Star City for a while.

Apart from the Morning Star Academy's disciples, most of the others were staying right here at the Morning Star First Tower. Watching this spectacle was a matter of having the best seat in the house—who would pass up a free show?

The onlookers showed no sign of dispersing. Wang Xinyan and Huang Xiaotao had wanted to rush down at once to reunite with Wei Zhao, but with so many eyes and ears about, the Divine Nun of the Eastern Sea ultimately talked them out of it. Now that they knew Wei Zhao was with the Hong Clan Chamber of Commerce, waiting a little longer did not matter; better to let him finish this trifling business first.

Amid everyone's waiting, the day flew by in a flash. Qing Xuanzi, Chai Laoshi, and the rest kept watch at the door of the alchemy chamber, awaiting the moment it opened.

"Ha, everyone's here," Wei Zhao said in greeting as he opened the door and saw the crowd.

"How did it go?" Chai Laoshi hurried forward. This concerned the very survival of the Morning Star branch, and he was even more anxious than Wei Zhao himself. He dreaded some mishap along the way—after all, failed refinements were entirely normal, and even the most extraordinary alchemist was no exception.

"Hmph, need you even ask? Just look at his empty hands!" Qing Xuanzi and Steward Hao and the others sneered.

"Empty hands? Is your eyesight really that poor, gentlemen? Find yourselves a physician when you have a moment—an illness ought to be treated." Wei Zhao smiled indifferently, then with a flick of his hand suddenly produced a box of modest size.

When it was opened, a wave of gasps rose and fell all around. As for Qing Xuanzi and the others, their eyeballs might as well have dropped to the floor—no more, no less, exactly ten seventh-grade Great Restoration Pills!

Watching the disbelief on every face, Wei Zhao smiled without a word. He had still held something back—his luck this time had been rather good, and from ten portions of ingredients he had actually refined eighteen Great Restoration Pills. To avoid causing too great a stir, he had hidden away the extra eight.

Even so, Qing Xuanzi was utterly dumbstruck. Had those ten Great Restoration Pills been prepared in advance, that would have been one thing—but these plainly still carried warmth and pill fragrance, all ten unquestionably of superior quality, and refined within a single day. This was nothing short of a miracle!

"You... is this the legendary absolute success rate?" Qing Xuanzi swallowed with difficulty, looking Wei Zhao up and down anew in disbelief.

Absolute success—a hundred percent refinement rate. This was the realm nearly every alchemist pursued, regardless of grade. It was an eternal, unchanging dream.

"Absolute success?" It was the first time Wei Zhao had heard the term. But a moment's thought made it clear, and he said with perfect nonchalance, "Oh, that's easy enough. What's so strange about it?"

"Easy?!" Qing Xuanzi gave a start and nearly bit off his own tongue. He stared at Wei Zhao as though at some freak of nature. "I said absolute success—how could that be easy? I've never seen a single alchemist manage it. Aren't you afraid a strong wind will make you bite your tongue..."

Here Qing Xuanzi suddenly stopped short. The man was not merely boasting, after all—he had genuinely achieved absolute success. What was as hard as scaling heaven for himself might truly be child's play in another's eyes.

Seeing Qing Xuanzi frozen and silent, everyone assumed he was once again scheming up some way to squeeze the Hong Clan Chamber of Commerce—even Wei Zhao thought so. But when they saw what Qing Xuanzi did next, they were all struck dumb.

Thud! Qing Xuanzi abruptly dropped to his knees before Wei Zhao, his expression turning incomparably solemn and reverent. "Master above," he declared gravely, "please take me as your disciple!"

"What in the world? What kind of act is this?" Not only Wei Zhao but Chai Laoshi, Steward Hao—every soul in the hall—was left utterly stunned.

Even Ling Yuanqing's expression turned rather peculiar. His academy's chief alchemist had suddenly dropped to his knees before another man begging to become his disciple—such a bizarre spectacle he had truly never encountered. The man had been plotting against this very opponent moments ago; how had it come to such an absurd twist?!

Here was another one who flipped faces faster than turning a page! Watching Qing Xuanzi's expression, Wei Zhao could not help but twitch the corner of his mouth, and instinctively thought of Aotian Ba—except that creature would be chatting amiably one moment and suddenly turn on you and fling you into the sea, whereas this fellow before him was even more outlandish: in the thick of a vicious fight, he suddenly dropped to his knees...

Ignoring the strange looks from the crowd, Qing Xuanzi gazed at Wei Zhao with burning eyes and ventured cautiously, "If your disciple has not guessed wrongly, you must be a first-grade Mystic-Rank alchemist, are you not?"

By the ranking of alchemists, above seventh-grade Yellow Rank lay an entirely new realm—the legendary Mystic-Rank alchemist. Even a first-grade Mystic-Rank was a height no seventh-grade Yellow-Rank alchemist could ever hope to reach, one to be looked up to, never matched.

"Oh?" Wei Zhao gave him a look of unreadable meaning at these words, neither confirming nor denying on the spot.

"It must be so. Your disciple has seen no small number of seventh-grade alchemists, but not one could refine seventh-grade Great Restoration Pills with such speed—let alone ten in a day, I've never even heard of one in a day. And yours was absolute success besides. Apart from a first-grade Mystic-Rank alchemist, your disciple truly cannot conceive of any other possibility!" Qing Xuanzi declared with absolute conviction.

As the Morning Star Academy's chief alchemist, Qing Xuanzi was regarded by all as a figure of lofty, untouchable status—yet behind the glory lay a torment of colossal proportions, for he had been stuck at the seventh grade, without the slightest breakthrough, for over two hundred years now! (To be continued.)