Chen Tu felt his blood boil slightly from surrounded by all these disciples. Although their attention wasn't directed at him, their concentration was somewhat contagious, especially to someone with a keen sense like Chen Tu.

Furthermore, being capable of reading normally now allowed Chen Tu to understand the Supply Office's operation and overall structure.

As a faction with three cities and more than twenty town-level settlements affiliated to them, the Blood Refining Grotto had responsibility over the commoners concerning their safety, protection, and interest.

This means there would be over a thousand types of requests posted on the Assignment Board for the disciples to participate in. There are all kinds of assignments available, ranging from the smallest reward of a few Spiritual Replenishing Pills to some that pay hundreds.

Obviously, the Blood Refining Grotto supported this practice. But a stable flow of manpower was necessary to keep the operation ongoing. Hence, nothing was better than allowing the grotto's disciples to participate and obtain their reward.

After all, a faction cannot solely rely on its own internal operation to feed its disciple. Furthermore, a bird eventually had to leave its nest and venture outside. And there's nothing better than using this way to temper the disciples while they're young.

Of course, the Blood Refining Grotto would be responsible for the disciple's safety upon completing their mission. To these fledglings, the grotto would forever be their safe sanctuary.

The worker returned precisely after fifteen minutes. And to make it easier to talk to one another, he led Chen Tu to one of the few tables nearby.

"Junior, we've done with the pill inspection. Are you ready for the result from our finding?" the worker asked. The initial six pill bottles had now turned into three wooden boxes. Needless to say, the Grain Pellets were transferred into these boxes accordingly.

The three boxes also mean that Chen Tu's Grain Pellets come in three different gradings.

"Yes, senior. Please go ahead." Chen Tu nodded and patiently waited for the worker to continue.

"Out of the fifty-six Grain Pellets we received, thirty pills met our standard requirement. As for the remaining Grain Pellets, twenty of them were below the standard, and six were evaluated to be Two-Star Grain Pellets."

"Based on the rate we're offering, four below standard equals a Spiritual Coin. Two for regular pills and one coin for each Two-Star Pill. The total would come to twenty-six Spiritual Coins. If you agreed to sell them to our Supply Office, please let me know." said the worker.

His approach can be said to be extremely professional to Chen Tu. At the same time, it seems that Chen Tu had once again overestimated his ability.

Although there are indeed a few Two-Star Pills amongst the Grain Pellets, Chen Tu was devastated by the twenty below-standard pills. He had no idea that that number was almost half the grand total.

If he were to evaluate his overall performance with this result, he would barely pass.

"Yes, senior. Please process the payment for me." Chen Tu politely nodded at the worker while keeping his sorrow to himself. The payment had been prepared prior before he came out. Hence, after recounting the Spiritual Coins in front of Chen Tu, he completed the transaction between them.

Chen Tu couldn't believe that he actually made a loss in his first pill sales. But this kind of result can be considered quite positive to a newcomer. After all, who in this world, unless they're born as a genius alchemist, could ensure they'll start profiting from the start?

Not even Elder Wei Xuan and the other Alchemist in Inner Grotto could make it happen. As a matter of fact, managing to earn back a third of the cost is already considered doing well for a freshman.

Not having a reason to linger here anymore, Chen Tu left the Supply Office and headed to the Worldly Treasures Pavilion again. Needless to say, the reason for his visit is evident.

After going around a few stalls, Chen Tu again left the pavilion with twenty sets of ingredients. After offsetting the item with what he left, Chen Tu only spent eighteen Spiritual Coins to purchase what he needed.

But instead of going to the Training Hall again, he simply grabbed a few steamed buns with fillings from the canteen and returned to his room.

That night, Chen Tu studied the Pill Formula and adjusted them according to his understanding. He also meditates by executing a cycle of Sun and Moon Condensation Art to remove the fickle emotion inside him.

Although he was still far from completing the cycle, Chen Tu felt he could do so after achieving the fifth level of the Body Tempering Layer. Executing a rotation of the Sun and Moon Condensation Art also temporarily heightened Chen Tu's Spiritual Sense. 

This allowed Chen Tu to notice things he didn't see from the Five-Colored Spiritual Grains and Hundred-Year Mountain Yam.

(Hmm?)

Chen Tu smiled. He couldn't believe that his heightened sense actually helped him in a breakthrough in understanding the ingredients.

The next morning, Chen Tu skipped working in the Spiritual Garden. After breakfast, Chen Tu went straight to the Training Hall and queued for his turn to rent an Alchemy Room.

"What tier level, and for how long?" the worker asked.

Chen Tu immediately asked for a Lower-Tier room again, with six hours limit. After paying a Contribution Token as his fee, Chen Tu was given a wooden token with [nine] written on the surface.

After stepping inside the room, Chen Tu immediately arranged the equipment at his convenience. The charcoal was lit and left on the fireplace to start firing the cauldron.

The two primary ingredients to refine the Grain Pellet were also taken out and portioned accordingly. But this time, there's something different about the Five-Colored Spiritual Grains and Hundred-Year Mountain Yam.

If a passerby saw the state of Chen Tu's ingredients, they would probably scold him for not being adept at preserving his Spiritual Herbs correctly. But that was, of course, their own opinion.

As the person using these ingredients, how could Chen Tu be unaware of their condition? Since he had already brought them here, naturally, Chen Tu already intended to use them as it is.

(Alright! Let's start!)

Chen Tu was full of confidence this time. And instead of preparing the Five-Colored Spiritual Grains as instructed in the Pill Formula, Chen Tu went with his own method and put everything into the pot!

This wasn't refining!

It's cooking!