Chapter 4945 — Alchemy Failure

"Speak freely, there is no harm in it." Liu Ziqi was slightly taken aback. Given her ties with Huo Yudie, Wei Zhao ought to have addressed her as Aunt Liu to sound more familiar; suddenly calling her Dean Liu could only mean this concerned a grave matter between the two academies.

"Pray go on, Master Lin," Li Ren said, likewise puzzled.

"In my view, since Morning Proud and Morning Star were originally one body, and there is no irreconcilable hatred between them, I would presume to ask Chairman Zhuang to step forward as a peacemaker, so that the two academies may shake hands and make peace from this day on. What do you two think?" Wei Zhao said with great solemnity.

Liu Ziqi fell silent for a moment at these words, and quickly grasped Wei Zhao's deeper intent. Reconciling the two academies' feud was merely a pretext; his true aim was to let Morning Proud Academy seize a share of the advantage while the chance was there. If he were the one to raise the matter, Zhuang Yifan could not possibly play favorites and back only Morning Star; Morning Proud Academy would inevitably secure a place for itself as well!

Neither Morning Star nor Morning Proud was weak in foundation. In the years before the split, theirs had been the foremost academy in the Yellow-rank sea region; it was only because they had gone their separate ways that their strength had been so grievously sapped.

Even so, the two academies' strength could still rank among the first class. If they truly could shake hands and make peace, and with the full support of Zhuang Yifan, the Alliance Chairman, restoring their former glory would be no difficult feat. When that day came, the likes of Thunderstrike Academy and Dingcheng Academy would have to stand aside.

"I have no objection on my side," Liu Ziqi said, nodding without the slightest hesitation. Though many among Morning Proud Academy's upper echelons still nursed grudges over the events of those years, none who had risen to such a station failed to know which way the wind blew. Before solid, tangible gain, no one would cling to an old grievance—to do so would make one a traitor to Morning Proud Academy.

"And what say you, Libation Li?" Wei Zhao turned to look at Li Ren.

"This..." Li Ren looked awkwardly at Wei Zhao, then at Liu Ziqi, and said with a bitter smile, "The two academies stand to gain from union; personally, I am a hundred times in favor. But this is a matter of great moment, hardly something a mere libation like myself can decide. At the very least it would have to be submitted to Dean Ling for approval. I must beg Master Lin's and Dean Liu's pardon."

"By reason and propriety, this matter should indeed be left to Dean Ling to decide in person, as Libation Li says. But this chance must not be lost. Once it slips by, it will not be easy to prevail upon Zhuang Yifan to step forward again." Wei Zhao mused for a moment, then struck the table and declared, "Very well. I shall overstep my office and decide this on Morning Star Academy's behalf. Dean Ling is a man of great understanding; I trust he will not object."

"Then I thank you, Master Lin!" Li Ren at once echoed his assent. A mere libation like himself had no right to decide a matter bearing on the academy's future, but Wei Zhao was different. Given his ties to the three giants of Morning Star and the backing of his various strengths, even if Ling Yuanqing learned of it he would not blame him—he would only be grateful.

In truth, it would not have mattered had it been Wei Zhao; even if his undeserving disciple Qing Xuanzi had settled the matter on the spot, Ling Yuanqing would not have blamed him. After all, the man was a pillar of the academy—and besides, the affair did Morning Star Academy no harm. Only a fool would object!

"Since that is settled, I shall go refine the pill first; we can all head over together when the banquet comes." Wei Zhao said a word to the company, then rose and departed with the chest of precious spirit herbs Zhuang Yifan had brought, leaving the others to go on drinking tea and chatting.

The two academies shaking hands and making peace was a matter of great consequence touching every side. Liu Ziqi and Li Ren would have to hash out a draft between them first. As for Huo Yudie, Wang Xinyan, and Huang Xiaotao, the three women had long since slipped away for a private whisper; there is always endless talk among women, especially when they share a common subject in Wei Zhao.

Arriving at the alchemy chamber specially fitted out aboard the treasure ship, Wei Zhao took but a moment to settle his mind before impatiently making the attempt. This was his first time refining a Xuan-rank pill, and he could not help feeling somewhat uneasy and tense.

Yet once he brought out the Shennong Cauldron, installed the alchemy-artifact peripheral that Han Jingyi had sent him, and had everything in readiness, Wei Zhao's state of mind abruptly went still. A heart as placid as an old well is the minimum requirement for alchemy; if the mind is unsettled, one may as well not even fire the furnace—the odds of success would be zero in any case.

This alchemy session was unlike those before. Previously Wei Zhao had only to follow the prompts on the tablet and keep feeding in true qi of the requisite intensity, but this time there was an extra step: he had to control the attributes of his true qi. The Earth-Solid Pill required only metal-, wood-, and earth-attribute true qi; if Wei Zhao carelessly carried all eight attributes at once, then even if he succeeded by luck, what came out would not be a proper Earth-Solid Pill.

The step itself was not difficult. For true Xuan-rank alchemists, the challenge lay in flawlessly simulating the other attributes of true qi; Wei Zhao had no such trouble at all. He needed only to hold three attributes in check, and everything else proceeded as before, by foolproof rote operation.

Everything seemed to go smoothly. Wei Zhao felt not the slightest hint of the difficulty proper to refining a Xuan-rank pill; from first to last he was effortlessly at ease. But when at the end he opened the Shennong Cauldron to look, there was nothing inside but a heap of dregs.

Failure! The result was not unexpected; Wei Zhao had been mentally prepared for it, which was why he had used only a single portion of materials this time. The trouble was that, by his own alchemical experience, he had no idea where the failure had occurred.

Fortunately, there was the alchemy-artifact peripheral. After this first failure, the computer began automatically correcting the alchemical curve just past. The new curve looked at first glance no different from the old, but a closer look revealed fine adjustments in many details.

At these adjustments made by the computer, Wei Zhao wore an expression of profound awe at things he did not understand. He was not, after all, a Xuan-rank alchemist who had climbed the ladder properly step by step; he could not begin to see why these adjustments were made, much less what effect they would have.

Still, Wei Zhao did not need to understand them fully. He had only to follow the computer's prompts and feed in true qi; so long as that went without deviation, everything else was the Shennong Cauldron's business, and he could not interfere at all.

In theory, the Shennong Cauldron fitted with its peripheral was a universal alchemical artifact, for even if it failed the first time, it could keep optimizing by adjusting the alchemical curve—the second time failing, then the third, then the fourth, right up until success at last...

But such universality was only theoretical; in practice it was unreliable. After all, when it came to Xuan-rank pills, the spirit-herb materials were already exceedingly rare treasures of heaven and earth! (To be continued.)