Chapter 17: Portrait

"What impressive movement techniques!"

Jian Liang's eyes brightened slightly. Just as he was about to continue speaking, he noticed Chen Fei was already sprinting desperately toward the mouth of the alley. With a cold sneer, Jian Liang prepared to give chase and finish him off, when suddenly, a sound erupted from the courtyard.

Frowning slightly, Jian Liang hesitated for a moment before turning and rushing back into the courtyard.

A moment later, Jian Liang stood atop the courtyard wall once more, his sleeve stained with fresh blood. He scanned the surroundings, but Chen Fei was nowhere to be seen.

Jian Liang remained expressionless. He felt as though he had seen that man somewhere before, but with such movement techniques, if he truly had, the impression would have been so profound that he shouldn't have forgotten.

Jian Liang frowned. As the night wind blew, the figure had already vanished from the spot.

A mile away, Chen Fei hid in a corner. Only after confirming that no one was pursuing him did he let out a small sigh of relief.

This luck was simply too excessive; to actually encounter this group of mountain bandits within the city. That household from just now was likely doomed. Facing those bandits, Chen Fei could barely protect himself, let alone save anyone.

"I got a bit too carried away," Chen Fei muttered to himself. Had his movement techniques not reached the Great Perfection stage—becoming almost instinctive—he wouldn't have been able to dodge Jian Liang's blade no matter what.

"My cultivation is ultimately too low." Chen Fei looked up toward the direction of the courtyard. "I need to keep stacking movement techniques. The two aren't in conflict; they actually complement each other!"

He didn't head straight to the black market. Tonight was unlikely to be peaceful, so Chen Fei planned to wait until tomorrow night to find that stall owner.

The next morning, when Chen Fei arrived at the medical clinic, he found the place in an uproar.

"What happened?" Chen Fei asked, puzzled.

"Last night, several wealthy households in the county were massacred. I heard blood was flowing all over the ground," Liu Jun whispered, approaching Chen Fei.

Chen Fei frowned. Last night, he had thought the bandits had only targeted one household, but it seemed they had come to the county to conduct a direct sweep.

"The county magistrate is furious and has issued a large bounty. Anyone who provides useful intelligence will be rewarded with one hundred taels of silver," Liu Jun continued, his eyes flickering with excitement. After all, one hundred taels of silver was undoubtedly a massive sum for people like them; whether they could see such an amount in their entire lives was a question in itself.

Chen Fei felt a momentary temptation but immediately suppressed it.

He could not afford to provoke that group of bandits yet. Furthermore, even if the magistrate promised one hundred taels, how much would actually be paid was an unknown, and it was more likely to lead him into danger.

However, simply letting it slide felt like letting the bandits off too easy.

Moreover, if no one suppressed those bandits, they would likely return to the county to commit crimes again after a while, and Chen Fei would still face the risk of encountering them.

After offering a few words of encouragement to Liu Jun, Chen Fei went to the pill room to begin refining Blood Qi Pills.

If he refined a few more batches today, he could raise his experience points for the Grass-Returning Pill to the Proficient level, allowing him to begin formal production.

Fifteen minutes later, the pill furnace was opened. Exactly five Blood Qi Pills lay inside. On his status panel, the experience for the Grass-Returning Pill increased by +5.

He calculated experience points based on the number of pills produced; if it weren't for this method, Chen Fei wouldn't have been able to raise his Grass-Returning Pill experience to its current level in just a few days.

After placing the Blood Qi Pills into a medicine bottle and giving the furnace a simple cleaning, Chen Fei began refining the second batch of Blood Qi Pills with undivided attention.

The third, fourth, and fifth batches followed.

Once all five batches were complete, Chen Fei couldn't help but exhale a long breath.

Even with Great Perfection in Blood Qi Pill refining techniques, continuous production was still mentally taxing. Chen Fei glanced at his panel, a smile appearing on his face.

[Alchemy: Grass-Returning Pill (Proficient 2/1000)]

"I can refine Grass-Returning Pills now!"

Because they valued Chen Fei's alchemy skills—and as a way to support his practice—the clinic specially provided him with one set of Grass-Returning Pill ingredients for free every day.

By now, five sets of ingredients had piled up at Chen Fei's feet. If all went well, he could obtain at least several Grass-Returning Pills in a short while.

Chen Fei regulated his breathing for the duration of an incense stick, then carefully cleaned the furnace and placed the ingredients into it one by one according to the recipe.

He was fully focused. Since this was his first time refining the Grass-Returning Pill, he treated every medicinal change within the furnace with utmost seriousness, making adjustments as needed.

Fifteen minutes later, a medicinal fragrance began to permeate the room, instantly overpowering the lingering scent of the Blood Qi Pills.

Twenty minutes later, Chen Fei opened the lid. A single pill lay quietly inside the furnace.

Chen Fei carefully took it out and observed the Grass-Returning Pill closely.

The outer surface of the pill wasn't perfectly smooth; upon closer inspection, there were tiny traces of ingredients that hadn't fully integrated. These flaws would affect the final efficacy of the Grass-Returning Pill, and if sold, the price would be slightly lower.

But these flaws could not hide the smile on Chen Fei's face.

Even if the medicinal effect was slightly inferior, it was still far superior to a Blood Qi Pill. If Chen Fei could consume one Grass-Returning Pill every day, the time required to break through to the Flesh-Tempering Realm would be drastically shortened.

The appearance of those bandits had made Chen Fei feel increasingly insecure.

Swallowing the Grass-Returning Pill, Chen Fei sat cross-legged on the floor and began to circulate the Wind-Suspension Breathing Technique. His expression quickly became as calm as a still pool, completely immersed in his cultivation.

After an unknown amount of time, Chen Fei woke. The fatigue from refining the pill had long since vanished, leaving him feeling refreshed and energetic. Looking at his panel, a smile involuntarily spread across his face.

[Realm: Skin-Tempering (593/1000)]

The Grass-Returning Pill had increased his cultivation points by a full 15. Previously, with his Great Perfection Wind-Suspension Breathing Technique and Blood Qi Pills, it would have taken Chen Fei nearly a month to break through to the Flesh-Tempering Realm.

Now, by switching to the Grass-Returning Pill, although he could only take one a day, it would only take half a month—cutting the time exactly in half.

To other martial artists, this reduction in time might seem insignificant, given that the price of a Grass-Returning Pill was dozens of times that of a Blood Qi Pill.

One Grass-Returning Pill: ten taels of silver. No cheating, no bargaining!

This half-month reduction was entirely built upon piles of silver; it was incredibly extravagant.

But as an alchemist, Chen Fei understood that the value of the ingredients used in the two pills differed by at most a factor of two; the rest was purely the value of the skill.

And now, Chen Fei had mastered that skill.

"If I want to amass silver quickly, it looks like I'll have to sell some Grass-Returning Pills in the black market."

Chen Fei pondered this, but his hands did not stop as he continued to refine more Grass-Returning Pills.

As night fell, the county magistrate's office was brightly lit. Suddenly, a pebble flew in, hitting the wall with a dull thud.

The bailiffs moved at the sound and discovered an envelope beneath the pebble. Inside was a portrait. Upon close inspection, it was a lifelike and vivid depiction of Jian Liang.

Miles away, Chen Fei—who had studied sketching in his past life—had already entered the black market and arrived at a book stall.

Half an hour later, Chen Fei left the black market. In the bundle behind him were ten basic movement technique manuals, one high-level movement technique manual, and one miscellaneous skill manual.

The miscellaneous skill was a Disguise Technique. Not only could it change one's appearance, but according to the manual, once practiced to a profound level, even one's physical build could be altered.

(End of Chapter)