Chapter 74: Mediocre

The question piqued the elder's interest after Xia Xuan-Xuan opened her mouth. Apparently, even the elder couldn't help but feel curious about Chen Tu's answer. But at the same time, he can't ask this question openly.

After all, he was an elder. Someone who stood at least a few levels above them in alchemy and cultivation.

Wouldn't it hurt his pride slightly to ask a junior about something he should know better?

Luckily, there's a Xia Xuan-Xuan in the group. While her talent is neither good nor bad, she has this social commonsense that could make everything work. Hence, she was the elder's icebreaker, always the first to hear and know everything.

Chen Tu didn't respond to Xia Xuan-Xuan's question instantly. Still, everyone here could see that Chen Tu's gaze was currently pointed at the pill mold.

This reaction from Chen Tu can be partially translated to "look at the result yourself!"

He stayed silent and observed the mold until it was completely cooled. Then, instead of inspecting the Grain Pellets inside, Chen Tu delivered the loosened case to the elder's verdict.

As the most experienced individual here, how can he not have the right to reveal the result? But simultaneously, this little expectation made his heart beat a hint faster. It wasn't enough to make his heart palpitates faster but slightly was better than nothing.

**Clank...**

The upper casing was removed to reveal eight beautiful medicinal pellets with a solid outer appearance. None of them differed in weight, size, or even texture, indicating the care given in the pouring process.

Unless one had plenty of experience in doing this, it would be difficult for them to maintain this level of accuracy. Furthermore, a slight difference would affect the overall result. Even the easiest-to-refine pill will lose effectiveness if the dose of medicine isn't at its golden ratio.

The difference wouldn't be at a mere 10 or 20%, but an entire pill worth of effectiveness. This was also why a Two-Star Pill had twice the medicinal value and continuously increased to tenfold worth.

"Xiao Tu..." the elder called.

"Yes, teacher." Chen Tu immediately responds to the elder.

 "You've refined a pot of good pills." the elder throws his praise at Chen Tu for his excellent display of skills. But again, he hasn't told them the result, correct?

"Teacher!!!" Did this teacher of hers do this on purpose to tease her? Xia Xuan-Xuan was already impatient here. It should be her turn to get an answer, but it was delayed repeatedly to build tension.

"Alright, alright. This lass..." the elder clicked his tongue. But feeling it would not be satisfying enough if he didn't continue, he added another sentence to tease her.

"You'll have a hard time getting a good marriage if you always behave like this." said the elder.

"TEACHER!!! YOU'RE BULLYING ME!" Xia Xuan-Xuan wailed. Of course, it's as fake as it could be.

"All the Grain Pellets passed the standard evaluation, and two reached the threshold for Two-Star Pill. If Xiao Tu's skill is a little better, it is possible to have three of them becoming Two-Star Pills." the elder said.

This explains why the elder decided to drag this out a little longer. Wouldn't it become mediocre if he answered their curiousness too hastily?

Of course, this was merely an initial inspection.

A proper test still needs to be done on them before they're graded by a qualified appraiser. And only the pill that has been graded by one would be fit to be sold openly in all affiliated stores.

In this case, the affiliated stores are naturally those opened, manned, and protected by disciples and graduates from the Blood Refining Grotto.

Everyone here was happy until Li Sheng Jie, and Peng Yiyuan forgot what they wanted to ask. Nevertheless, it wasn't something concerning. And with the time getting late, they excused themselves one after another.

After all, everyone here still had other personal matters to be done in a day. Even Qin Lei had his time fully occupied. He could only refine the Pure Spiritual Beast Essence after applying for a short break.

Everyone else left except the elder and Chen Tu ten minutes later. As for why Chen Tu stayed, there's naturally a reason for it. And one of them was because he had yet to hear what the elder had in his mind.

Naturally, the elder knew why Chen Tu was still here. This was precisely why he was in his deep thought earlier to measure how feasible it could be in case the elder made a decision. But regardless of goodwill, it was still too early for him to judge Chen Tu on his alchemy skills.

After all, the Grain Pellet was the only Pill Formula Chen Tu was capable of. Unless he mastered at least three recipes, it would be hard for the elder to endorse Chen Tu on the Grain Pellets.

Of course, the reason is that this is simply a Grain Pellet. Even if the recipe was groundbreaking, it was merely one of the four entry-level pills that can be found everywhere. Perhaps even the least experienced trainee could successfully refine one to two pills in ten tries.

Hence, this created a bigger contrast in between. To some, perhaps the Grain Pellet is something not even worth picking up after they fell onto the ground.

Still, this doesn't mean Chen Tu should give up and go for something more reputable, like Spiritual Replenishing Pills or Spirit Desertification Pills. After all, a teacher knew his disciple the most, and even if Chen Tu was extremely talented, this was still too early for him.

"Xiao Tu, I have a suggestion you might be interested in. Do you want to try it?" after giving it a thought for a while, the elder suggested something else to create a path for Chen Tu to step on. This might be a blessing between those with a teacher and those who don't.

"Disciple is willing to try." Chen Tu bowed at the elder and earnestly showed his willingness to try. He was the fourth elder's disciple and would eventually follow his guidance in alchemy, so what is there to consider?

"Alright then. I want you to refine ten Two-Star Pills from the four entry-level recipes. Once you're done, I will grant you a slightly proper Pill Formula to try."

"If you could do it, perhaps you will be the next superstar in the Outer Grotto." the elder said.