Chapter 152: Nearly Eighty Percent

Mo Shouchen originally thought that for Chen Mu to refine medicinal herb essences using multi-tasking was already an extraordinary feat. Fearing that the purity of Chen Mu's extraction might fall short, he deliberately refrained from mentioning the seventy-percent standard requirement.

He felt that Chen Mu's move was somewhat bold, but his fire-control ability was an absolute freak of nature. As long as Chen Mu proceeded step by step in a normal manner, he would undoubtedly pass with ease.

Yet, he also felt that for Chen Mu to show off this stunt was somewhat reckless. While the technique was astonishing, the situation would become rather awkward if it failed to meet the purity standard. Therefore, to spare Chen Mu from losing face, Mo Shouchen simply chose not to bring it up.

He never expected that Chen Mu would take the initiative to ask Mo Shouchen and Xiang Ming to inspect the results, which caught Mo Shouchen somewhat off guard. Could this kid be this confident?

Seeing Chen Mu's completely unconcerned expression, Mo Shouchen raised an eyebrow. Could this kid really have managed to refine the purity of the medicinal herb essences to over seventy percent despite employing such a risky maneuver? He found it hard to believe, yet he harbored a flicker of anticipation that it might be true.

If it were true, he would definitely report this to President Hao Tianyi and recommend Chen Mu to Senior Huang Ru, having her personally teach Chen Mu the art of alchemy.

He believed that with Senior Huang Ru personally guiding Chen Mu in the knowledge of the Dao of Alchemy, Chen Mu would undoubtedly soon become a member of the Minghuan Chamber of Commerce. After all, countless people dreamed of becoming Fairy Huang Ru's disciple.

With this master-disciple relationship established, Chen Mu would be one of their own, and by then, the Chamber of Commerce would surely produce a second Huang Ru.

Though he thought of him as a second Huang Ru, Mo Shouchen's intuition told him that Chen Mu's future achievements would undoubtedly surpass those of Fairy Huang Ru. This was because Chen Mu's potential was simply too monstrous; as long as he dedicated himself to comprehending the Dao of Alchemy and reached a higher realm, surpassing Fairy Huang Ru would not be a difficult task.

However, such thoughts remained solely in his own mind and would never be spoken aloud. Once spoken, firstly, it might bring trouble to Chen Mu by abruptly making him some enemies; secondly, if utilized by individuals with ulterior motives, his words could easily bring unnecessary trouble upon himself.

Such troubles would mostly come from those who had long admired Fairy Huang Ru. If they learned that someone was comparing an unknown nobody like Chen Mu to the renowned Fairy Huang Ru of the alchemy world, they would undoubtedly become targets of public hostility.

Those who sneered would at least limit themselves to hurling a few curses, but certain young masters from powerful factions who pursued Fairy Huang Ru would not be so reasonable. For someone with such a profound background, wiping you out would be as easy as turning over a hand. Moreover, these people would certainly not target Chen Mu alone; they would also go after him as the speaker.

Therefore, to avoid bringing trouble to either Chen Mu or himself, Mo Shouchen firmly believed that Chen Mu's future in the Dao of Alchemy would undoubtedly surpass Senior Huang Ru's, yet he kept the matter buried deep within his heart and would never voice it.

Dismissing further thoughts, Mo Shouchen picked up the three jade bottles containing Chen Mu's medicinal herb essences and sniffed beneath their rims. A pungent, intoxicating fragrance of herbal essences rushed into his nostrils, leaving him momentarily dazed.

After all, the potent medicinal strength was somewhat overwhelming. Inhaling the dense essence primordial energy into his nasal cavity gave Mo Shouchen a sense of intoxication.

However, after shaking his head, he shook off the state and began a meticulous appraisal and investigation.

After employing various methods to conduct a thorough inspection, Mo Shouchen let out a helpless sigh. He was not sighing because Chen Mu's purity failed to meet the standard; rather, he was lamenting how monstrous Chen Mu truly was. The purity did not merely exceed seventy percent by a simple margin; it was astonishingly close to eighty percent.

Watching Mo Shouchen sigh and shake his head simultaneously, Xiang Ming grew somewhat anxious and said, "Old Ghost Mo, don't just sit there sighing to yourself! How is the purity? C-Could it be that he really didn't meet the standard? Alas... this kid clearly possesses such brilliant fire-control and extraction techniques, yet he had to be so reckless and pull off flashy stunts like simultaneous extraction. Young people are always so hot-headed. If he had just followed the proper steps one by one, this test would have been a breeze for him. Can't you bend the rules a bit, Old Ghost?"

Meanwhile, Yao Juanjuan, who had previously stood silently and dared not speak out, secretly breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing that Chen Mu's test had failed. After all, if Chen Mu were truly allowed to join the Minghuan Alchemy Chamber of Commerce, her own low standing within the Chamber in the future would be severely threatened.

Her goal was to enter the headquarters of the Minghuan Chamber of Commerce. However, with the existence of Chen Mu, it was very likely that the headquarters would set their sights on Chen Mu rather than her.

After all, the Chamber headquarters only absorbed the younger generation's absolute number one talent from each branch for key cultivation. She herself relied on her outstanding talent in the Dao of Alchemy to earn the moniker of the "Little Alchemy Maiden of Kun'an" in Kun'an City.

This title brought her endless glory, and she had always reveled in an environment where she was the center of attention and adored by others. She thoroughly enjoyed this feeling, and even felt that one day she might receive the praise and respect of the entire alchemy world, just like Senior Huang Ru.

Yet, Chen Mu's appearance filled her with a sense of crisis. She had originally assumed Chen Mu was merely a wild, unpolished rogue cultivator—not only poor and lacking in prime stones, but also fond of acting immature. That was Yao Juanjuan's first impression of Chen Mu.

Although Chen Mu still annoyed her, he had now made Yao Juanjuan view him with deep apprehension. She believed that her master and Old Mo could not be wrong in their evaluations; after all, they had no reason to spout nonsense for some unknown hillbilly.

It was just that Yao Juanjuan herself was utterly baffled, failing to directly perceive the sophistication of Chen Mu's extraction techniques and fire control. She would never admit that this was due to her own low skill level, and it was precisely because of this that she held a grudge against Chen Mu.

It felt as though standing before the two elders Mo and Xiang, she and Chen Mu were separated by more than just one realm. Yet, she was capable of refining high-grade Tier 2 medicinal pills and would soon be able to refine Tier 3 pills.

Could this Chen Mu manage to refine such pills? He had admitted himself that he could only refine Tier 1 pills. How could an alchemist of such caliber compare to her?

As Yao Juanjuan thought this, she overlooked one crucial fact: she had been immersed in the Dao of Alchemy since childhood, learning about various medicinal herbs and the insights of prominent mainland masters regarding alchemy almost as soon as she entered the Primordial Origin realm.

As for Chen Mu, the absolute limit of the time he had spent studying alchemy was merely a few months. He had started learning it last summer, and even then, his studies had been intermittent before stopping altogether due to other pressing matters.

With such a stark difference in study time, how could Chen Mu possibly compare to Yao Juanjuan right now? Yet one thing was certain: if Chen Mu were to devote even a little focus to the Dao of Alchemy, refining Tier 2 or even Tier 3 pills would be remarkably simple for him, and he would surpass Yao Juanjuan in no time. Therefore, Yao Juanjuan's thoughts were entirely a form of self-consolation to make herself feel better.

Hearing that Chen Mu had failed to meet the target, Yao Juanjuan's mood improved considerably, and she looked at Chen Mu with a gloating expression.

Originally, Yao Juanjuan would have disdained even casting a glance at Chen Mu, as she deeply despised such rustic rogue cultivators. However, she wanted to witness the embarrassed and awkward state of this country bumpkin, because she felt that this kid had been putting on airs in front of her as if he were someone remarkable.

Nevertheless, Chen Mu's face displayed no emotional fluctuation whatsoever. He merely sat quietly with his eyes closed, regulating the primordial energy he had just expended, acting as though this test had nothing to do with him.

While Yao Juanjuan gloated, Xiang Ming was growing rather anxious. After all, if Chen Mu could join the Chamber of Commerce, it would be an absolute godsend.

Putting aside their prior guesses about Chen Mu's identity, Chen Mu's own potential and talent alone warranted the Chamber of Commerce rushing to recruit him. Such a monstrous genius—why would they push him toward other factions instead of keeping him for themselves?

Mo Shouchen glanced at Xiang Ming and said with a wry, speechless smile, "Who said Chen Mu, my young friend, failed? I was shaking my head and sighing not because the young friend failed, but because I realized that we are truly growing old, and this era now belongs to the youth. Far from merely refining the herbal essences to seventy percent, from my observation, all three bottles of essence are barely a hair's breadth away from eighty percent. When I was in the Primordial Dan realm, I only reached the level of being able to purify up to eighty percent during the late stage of the Primordial Dan realm. Yet Young Friend Chen Mu is currently only at the early stage of the Primordial Dan realm, and what is more, he extracted three herbs that are extremely difficult to refine while multitasking, bringing their purity close to eighty percent. Such a dreamlike feat is something I truly would refuse to believe if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes."

Hearing Mo Shouchen's words, Xiang Ming froze for a moment before bursting into a strange, hearty laugh. "I thought you were sighing, Old Ghost, because Young Friend Chen Mu hadn't passed! To think he actually passed? You gave me a fright for nothing... You old ghost, next time clear things up before you start sighing."

At this moment, Xiang Ming's attitude and impression of Chen Mu had undergone a heaven-shaking transformation. Previously, he had regarded Chen Mu as an insignificant character who could easily be discarded. Even if he possessed some talent in alchemy, at most he would have to spend years lingering in the Chamber of Commerce before making a name for himself—and that was assuming the Chamber agreed to take him in and let him study alchemy there.

Yet Chen Mu's performance in the fire-control test had truly stunned him. Certain techniques in fire control and extraction displayed here were things even intermediate-primary alchemists like themselves could not achieve. Therefore, the moment Xiang Ming learned of Chen Mu's capabilities, the thought of keeping Chen Mu in the Chamber of Commerce to study took root in his mind.

As the talent Chen Mu displayed became increasingly exaggerated, Xiang Ming grew utterly bewildered. He swore that he and Mo Shouchen would spare no cost to keep Chen Mu in the Chamber of Commerce and strongly recommend him for membership.

They would even nominate Chen Mu to study under Senior Huang Ru, for only Senior Huang Ru was worthy of taking Chen Mu as a disciple.

Consequently, Xiang Ming's attitude toward Chen Mu grew increasingly warm and affectionate, looking at him almost as if he were his own biological grandson—a sight that made Yao Juanjuan stomp her feet with jealousy.

Of course, this was merely wishful thinking on the part of Xiang Ming and Mo Shouchen. Chen Mu had virtually no interest in becoming a disciple of Fairy Huang Ru. With Rou'er—a twenty-four-hour live-in mentor who was monstrously exceptional in both cultivation insights and the Dao of Alchemy—right by his side, how could he possibly need to seek another master just to study alchemy?

Chen Mu had come to the Minghuan Chamber of Commerce purely to earn prime stones and improve his proficiency in alchemy. These pursuits required vast resources, so having the Minghuan Chamber of Commerce provide resources would make things much easier for him.

Therefore, Chen Mu only wanted to do odd jobs within the Chamber to earn prime stones; he needed to amass enough travel expenses for the Misty Immortal Mountain. These expenses also included the costs of cultivation along the road. As for becoming Fairy Huang Ru's disciple, Chen Mu was truly uninterested.

Xiang Ming was overjoyed by the outcome. If Chen Mu could be persuaded to join the Chamber of Commerce, the future of the organization would undoubtedly reach unprecedented heights, and the emergence of a second Huang Ru was highly probable.

And so, Xiang Ming and Mo Shouchen began making pleasant conversation with Chen Mu, their tone exceptionally intimate, completely forgetting about Yao Juanjuan standing to the side.

Yao Juanjuan was utterly stunned by the outcome; she simply refused to believe that Chen Mu could have met the standard.

Consumed by jealousy and grievance, she remembered how her master had originally accompanied her to refine a Tier 3 pill, an endeavor that, under her master's guidance, held a high possibility of elevating her to a lower-grade senior alchemist in a short period of time.

Yet now, her master seemed as though he had been fed a love potion, with eyes only for Chen Mu's monstrous talent, completely casting aside the very purpose for which they had come here with his disciple.