Chapter 43: Scrutiny

“Discovered the Origin Bow Technique. Spend one tael of silver to simplify the Origin Bow Technique?”

“Simplifying Origin Bow Technique… Simplification successful… Origin Bow Technique → Mixing Noodles!”

It was another completely unexpected simplification result. Chen Fei blinked. What was the connection between this bow technique and mixing noodles? Did they both have a single "tendon"?

But noodles aren't tendons.

Chen Fei grimaced and rummaged through his food reserves, but found no noodles. However, this was an easy problem to solve; he could just have the Zhao family send some over tomorrow.

In the eyes of the Zhao family, Chen Fei was currently a "golden worker." If he wanted to eat some noodles, they would certainly fulfill that request.

Since he couldn't grind proficiency for a while, Chen Fei took out the medicinal ingredients he had obtained for the Spirit-Light Pill today.

The proficiency for the Spirit-Light Pill was still a bit away from Great Perfection; he estimated it would take a few more days to complete. However, refining the Spirit-Light Pill was already no problem at all, and his yield was quite high.

Nowadays, when Chen Fei refined a batch of Spirit-Light Pills, he would get at least two, and with good luck, three. Therefore, in the black market, exchanging one set of ingredients for one Spirit-Light Pill plus a six-tael silver subsidy was, for Chen Fei, another highly profitable deal.

Ultimately, mastering a skill was equivalent to mastering the code to wealth.

The higher the skill level, the more massive the wealth. If he were any other alchemist whose Spirit-Light Pill level was only at the Proficient stage, they would truly only be able to produce one pill per batch and could only earn that meager subsidy.

The next afternoon, after hearing Chen Fei's request, the Zhao family sent over a crate of noodles.

Mixing noodles, refining pills, and practicing internal strength—Chen Fei's schedule was once again fully packed. Meanwhile, Chen Fei began waiting for news from Chi Defeng's side.

Due to the activity of the anomalies, the frequency of the rebel army gathering to march toward Mount Pingyin had increased. It seemed this rebel force truly intended to manage Pingyin County thoroughly.

Perhaps as a result of the rebels' efforts, the anomalies in Mount Pingyin were beginning to decrease; they were no longer appearing in the dense, murderous clusters seen at the beginning.

The attitude of the people in Pingyin County toward the rebels seemed to have improved slightly; after all, ordinary people were terrified of anomalies. But Chen Fei was not happy, because the "bone-deep cancer" lingering on his arm had not decreased in activity.

In fact, as time passed, it was slowly strengthening.

If he didn't know that his own words carried little weight and that he had no evidence, Chen Fei would have truly wanted to report the situation. Unfortunately, those rebels would not believe a mere little alchemist.

*Clack!*

In the courtyard, a hanging wooden stick swaying slightly was shattered by one of Chen Fei's arrows.

Chen Fei put down his longbow. He had easily practiced the Origin Bow Technique to the Great Perfection realm. As for mixing noodles—well, it never said how many noodles had to be mixed at once.

Chen Fei was very straightforward: he mixed one noodle at a time. That crate of noodles allowed him to grind his proficiency straight to the cap. It was just that he had eaten too many mixed noodles lately, and they were a bit salty.

As for the power of this bow technique, it was quite mediocre. After all, the simplification only cost one tael of silver; one could tell just from that how basic this technique was.

In terms of horizontal comparison, it was similar to the Jishan Fist he had learned previously.

Chen Fei was quite satisfied. After all, in just a few days, he had gone from a complete novice to an archer who could hit whatever he aimed at. With such efficiency, what was there to complain about?

There were two other bow techniques left. According to Chen Fei's estimate, he could complete their training in about five or six days. At that time, he would seek to purchase a better longbow, marking the completion of this stage of training.

Night, the black market.

"This is for today."

Chen Fei placed the Grass-Returning Pills and Spirit-Light Pills on the counter. The stall owner checked them briefly and accepted them with a face full of smiles, while giving Chen Fei silver and five sets of Spirit-Light Pill ingredients.

Chen Fei packed his things and turned to leave. Not long after exiting the black market, he stopped.

"Excellency, the Master has an invitation. Would you do us the honor?"

Several men in black surrounded Chen Fei, their blades glinting with a chill under the moonlight.

Chen Fei's expression remained calm. Given the current environment, he had expected trouble when selling pills in the black market. After all, a "wild" alchemist was a highly coveted prize right now.

Ideally, they would just kidnap him and force him to refine pills for them at all costs.

"It's too late. Let's make it another day."

As soon as Chen Fei's voice fell, he appeared in front of them, his blade—used for identity disguise—slashing toward the people before him.

"Break his legs, but do not harm his hands!"

As if they had long expected Chen Fei not to comply, the man in black gave the order, and several blades slashed directly toward Chen Fei.

A smile appeared on Chen Fei's face. As the Heart-Clearing Formula was activated, everything in his surroundings seemed to pause slightly in his perception.

The next movements of all five men in black were completely exposed to Chen Fei's eyes. A sense of total control emerged in his heart.

Chen Fei's long blade seemed to flip casually. Amidst the spreading劲气 (internal energy), the five men suddenly let out pained groans, and the weapons in their hands fell uncontrollably.

The five men were terrified. They instinctively retreated while clutching their wrists, only for sudden, sharp pain to erupt in their calves as blood sprayed out.

"Ah!"

This time, the five could no longer hold back; they cried out loudly and all collapsed to the ground.

Chen Fei laughed loudly, his figure flickering as he vanished from the spot.

Regardless of which faction these people were sent by, or whether there were others watching from the periphery, Chen Fei's goal of intimidation had been achieved.

His purpose was to make those great families understand that this alchemist was not easily controlled. An alchemist of such cultivation could turn against them if one wasn't careful; it would be safer to stick to the current method of cooperation.

Chen Fei had long anticipated this, and to differentiate himself from his original identity, he didn't even use a sword.

If one wants to make money, one must always take a little risk.

"Good eyesight, mediocre saber technique."

Not far away, Ling Hanjun watched Chen Fei's moves and shook his head slightly.

"Let's follow him. This person's disguise technique is extraordinary; I couldn't even see his original face. If you provide a portrait, he might be able to see something," Xing Wenxiang said from the side.

"Alright!"

Ling Hanjun nodded, and the two of them blurred into motion, chasing after Chen Fei.

Just as Chen Fei was about to shake off the small tails behind him, he suddenly felt two extremely fast figures rushing toward him. Chen Fei frowned slightly, wondering if he should use his movement technique to shake them off directly, when he clearly saw Ling Hanjun's face.

In the black market, these two hadn't covered their faces at all—they were bold indeed!

Several thoughts flashed through Chen Fei's mind. The possibility of his original identity being discovered was the first to be ruled out, and the aura of Ling Hanjun and his companion did not seem like they were here to kill.

Chen Fei hesitated for a moment and decided to see what the two wanted. Primarily, if he wanted to continue trading in the black market, he wouldn't be able to avoid these two men.

A moment later, Ling Hanjun and Xing Wenxiang arrived before Chen Fei.

"Pardon the intrusion, we have a request."

Xing Wenxiang cupped his hands toward Chen Fei, while Ling Hanjun scrutinized him from the side.

Height, gaze, facial features—nothing matched. Of course, if one practiced disguise techniques to a microscopic level, all of these could be changed, but very few people knew how.

Furthermore, the movement technique this person had just displayed was vastly different from the person from that night; it was much more elegant and agile, completely a different style. It was nearly impossible for a rogue cultivator to improve their movement technique to such a degree in a short period.

Ling Hanjun withdrew his gaze and handed over a portrait from his robe.

(End of Chapter)