Dawn had barely broken. The first rays of sunlight slipped through the cracks in the shack, illuminating Chen Ling's peaceful face as she slept. Her fever had subsided, and a faint rosy color had returned to her cheeks.
Chen Kai rose to his feet, sensing the Qi in his dantian fully replenished after a night of meditation. The purification last night had drained every last drop of his energy, but after cultivating the Eternal Dragon Emperor Heart Sutra for several hours, he'd not only recovered completely but felt his foundation at the third level of Qi Condensation growing more stable.
"One month," he whispered to himself. He had one month before the cold energy in Ling'er's body returned. He couldn't afford to waste a single day.
He pulled on his filthy rough linen robe -- even though his body was clean, he had to maintain his appearance as the clan's "trash." He slipped out of the shack, bringing along the few copper coins he'd painstakingly saved over three years. It was everything he had. Enough to buy steamed buns for a week.
Today, he was betting it all.
His destination was the Chen Clan's Treasure Pavilion. It was the clan's central trading hub, where disciples could purchase pills, herbs, weapons, and cultivation techniques.
As he crossed the outer courtyard, he drew the usual attention. Disciples doing their morning training stared at him with disgust and contempt.
"Look, the trash crawled out of his hole." "Disgusting. Why do the elders still let him live here?" "Maybe he's here to beg for scraps again."
Chen Kai ignored them. Head bowed, shoulders slightly hunched, mimicking the defeated posture he'd worn for three years. But beneath his disheveled hair, his eyes were sharp as a hawk's.
The Treasure Pavilion was a magnificent two-story building near the center of the compound. Even from outside, the rich aroma of spiritual herbs hung thick in the air.
When Chen Kai stepped inside, a young attendant guarding the door immediately barked at him. "Hey! Get out! This isn't a place for beggars like you. The kitchen's around back!"
Chen Kai raised his head slightly, showing his wooden disciple token -- the lowest quality, marking his status as a manual laborer. "I'm here to buy something."
The attendant laughed mockingly. "Buy? With what? The filth on your clothes?"
"That's enough, Li. Let him in. If he's got money, we serve him. If not, throw him out." An older voice came from within. A shrewd-looking middle-aged man, Manager Zhou, was wiping down the counter.
Chen Kai entered, ignoring the disgusted stares from several training disciples who were browsing. The pavilion was filled with shelves lined with jade bottles, dried herbs, and gleaming weapons.
He went straight to the lowest-tier counter, where first-grade spiritual herbs were sold.
"I want to buy Morning Crystal Grass," Chen Kai said quietly.
Manager Zhou raised an eyebrow. Morning Crystal Grass was the most basic herb, used to make the lowest-grade Qi recovery pills. "You want to buy that? You know the price, right? Five copper coins per stalk."
Five copper coins. An outrageous price for a low-quality raw herb. Chen Kai knew the market price was only three coins. The manager was clearly gouging him.
Without a word, Chen Kai placed five copper coins on the counter. Every last coin he had.
Manager Zhou smirked. He scooped up the coins and lazily grabbed the most wilted, dullest stalk of Morning Crystal Grass from the pile, then tossed it onto the counter. "Take it and go."
Chen Kai picked up the herb. But he didn't leave.
"What else?" Manager Zhou's irritation was showing.
"I'm also here to sell something," Chen Kai said.
The entire pavilion went silent for a beat, then erupted in laughter. "Sell? Hahaha!" "What's he gonna sell? That blunt axe of his?"
"So noisy this early in the morning!"
A familiar, arrogant voice rang out from the second floor. Chen Wei, flanked by two lackeys, descended the stairs. He wore a new silk robe and looked well-rested. Clearly, yesterday's incident at the ravine hadn't affected him at all. He didn't even know his two thugs had "failed" to kill Chen Kai.
When he spotted Chen Kai, his eyes widened in shock before twisting into fury. "You--!" He couldn't believe Chen Kai was still alive. Those two bastards must have botched it!
"Oh, look who it is. Our clan's trash," Chen Kai said flatly, throwing Chen Wei's own favorite words right back at him.
Chen Wei's eyes narrowed to slits. "How dare you speak to me, you dog? You should be--" He caught himself, realizing he couldn't bring up the Spirit-Severing Ravine in public. "Seems yesterday's beating wasn't enough to teach you a lesson."
"Young Patriarch Wei," Manager Zhou hurriedly greeted him with a respectful bow. "How can I help you?"
"I'm here to pick up my Qi Condensation Pills," Chen Wei said, shifting his gaze away from Chen Kai as if looking at him any longer would dirty his eyes. Then he noticed the herb in Chen Kai's hand and laughed. "What's this? Morning Crystal Grass? Don't tell me... hahaha... don't tell me you're trying to learn alchemy, trash? You can't even cultivate -- how could you possibly control alchemic fire?"
"That's none of your business," Chen Kai said. He turned back to Manager Zhou. "I want to sell... medicinal essence."
Manager Zhou snorted. "What essence? Dirty river water?"
Chen Kai didn't answer. He moved to an empty corner of the pavilion, sat cross-legged on the floor, and placed the Morning Crystal Grass he'd just purchased in front of him.
Everyone watched, confused. "What's he doing?" "Is he... meditating?"
Inside his mind\, Emperor Yao's voice erupted\, seething with rage. *"Fool! What are you doing?! You're going to demonstrate the Nine Essence Purification in front of these ants? This Emperor's technique is not for public spectacle!"*
*I need a way in\,* Chen Kai thought as he closed his eyes. *And this is the fastest way. Don't worry -- they're too stupid to understand what I'm doing. All they'll see is the result.*
Chen Kai blocked out every stare in the room. He placed both palms over the wilted Morning Crystal Grass.
He drew a breath. He activated the Eternal Dragon Emperor Heart Sutra.
Wusss!
The spiritual energy in the pavilion -- far denser than in his shack -- surged toward him.
The disciples around him felt the shift. "Wait... that's... Qi fluctuation!" "He's... he's cultivating?"
Chen Wei's eyes went wide with shock. He sensed the energy clearly. "Qi Condensation! Level... Level Three! Impossible! How is this possible?!"
*Yesterday this trash clearly had no cultivation at all! He must have been hiding it this entire time!*
Manager Zhou was equally stunned, the smirk on his face frozen solid.
Chen Kai didn't care. He focused his Qi, forming a pale golden vortex in his palms that enveloped the herb. He activated the Nine Essence Purification.
Hsss...
Foul-smelling black smoke poured from the Morning Crystal Grass, far more than what the Jade Dew Herb had produced yesterday. This low-grade herb was packed with impurities.
Chen Kai expertly squeezed out every last trace of filth. Then he reversed the Qi vortex, crushing the herb and separating its essence.
WUSSS!
A clean, pure herbal fragrance -- far more potent than the raw herb -- swept through the entire pavilion. The aroma was so pure that everyone who breathed it in felt their minds sharpen.
The disciples stood frozen. Chen Wei clenched his fists so hard his knuckles went white.
Chen Kai completed the final hand seal. *Merge!*
In his palm, a soybean-sized drop of clear green liquid formed, glowing with a soft light.
He opened his eyes. His face was slightly pale from the exertion, but his gaze was razor-sharp. He stood and walked back to the counter.
Manager Zhou stared at the liquid in Chen Kai's hand, eyes bulging. He couldn't find words.
"Manager Zhou," Chen Kai said, his voice calm. "You mentioned being interested in purchasing essence. This is Morning Crystal Essence. Purity... at least ninety percent."
"Ninety... ninety percent..." Manager Zhou stammered. He knew the Qi Condensation Pills that Chen Wei had just collected were made from essence with only seventy percent purity!
"Let me see!"
A hoarse voice came from the back room. An old man in a gray robe, his hair disheveled and eyes red from lack of sleep, walked out. This was Elder Liu, the Chen Clan's only official alchemist.
He seized Chen Kai's hand and examined the essence closely. His eyes grew wider and wider.
"This... this... the purity is at least ninety-three percent!" Elder Liu exclaimed. He stared at Chen Kai as though seeing him for the first time. "Boy... how... how did you do this? What purification technique is this?"
Chen Kai calmly withdrew his hand. "Forgive me, Elder. That's a secret I stumbled upon by chance. The question is, is the pavilion interested in purchasing it?"
"Of course we're interested!" Elder Liu snapped before Manager Zhou could speak. "A single drop of essence at this purity... is worth at least... three silver coins!"
Three silver coins! That was the same as three hundred copper coins!
Chen Kai had turned five copper coins into three hundred in less than fifteen minutes.
The entire pavilion erupted.
"That trash... is an alchemist?" "Three silver coins! Good heavens!"
"Wait!" Chen Wei shouted, his face red with rage and envy. "Elder Liu, he must have stolen it! This trash can't possibly purify herbs! He's tricking you!"
Elder Liu fixed Chen Wei with a cold stare. "Young Patriarch, are you blind? I, and everyone here, watched him purify that low-quality raw herb with our own eyes! Are you questioning my judgment?"
Chen Wei fell silent, but his eyes blazed with murderous intent toward Chen Kai.
Chen Kai ignored him. "Three silver coins," he said to Elder Liu. "A fair price. But I'm not just here to sell this."
"Oh?" Elder Liu was very interested now.
"I can make more," Chen Kai said. "Much more. But I've run out of money for raw materials. However, if the pavilion were willing to supply low-quality raw ingredients that aren't selling..."
Elder Liu's eyes lit up. He understood exactly what Chen Kai was proposing. The Chen Clan had mountains of low-grade herbs that were useless and rotting away in storage.
"You mean..."
"You provide the raw materials," Chen Kai said. "I purify them into high-quality essence. We split the profits. Say... fifty-fifty?"
"Seventy-thirty!" Elder Liu barked. "Seventy for us, thirty for you! We're the ones taking the risk!"
"Sixty-forty," Chen Kai countered calmly. "Sixty for me. You're only providing worthless materials. I'm providing a technique beyond price."
"You--!" Elder Liu wanted to argue, but his eyes drifted to the essence in Chen Kai's hand. Purity that high... he couldn't achieve it himself!
"Fine! Fifty-fifty!" Elder Liu declared. "Deal!"
He tossed Chen Kai a small pouch of silver coins -- payment for the first batch of essence -- and a jade token.
"This is the pavilion's alchemist token," Elder Liu said. "Take it with you. Come to my private alchemy chamber this afternoon. We'll discuss the details. Don't be late!"
Chen Kai caught the pouch and the token. He nodded.
Without sparing a glance at Chen Wei, whose face looked ready to explode, Chen Kai turned and walked out of the Treasure Pavilion.
He left with a pouch full of silver and, more importantly, a new alliance.
He had proven his worth. The trash who could only chop wood had become an alchemist the clan desperately needed.
The first step of his revenge had begun.
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