Complete one practice method every day

"you!"

The maid was somewhat annoyed. "Miss meant well, not wanting the pharmacy to suffer internal strife, you..."

"Xiao Cui".

Chen Yuqing gently stopped him, but her gaze did not leave Chen Yue's face.

She looked at Chen Yue for a moment, then finally nodded, her tone returning to calm: "Since Master Chen says it's a misunderstanding, then it is a misunderstanding. I only hope that in the future, such words that easily lead to misunderstandings will not be heard again in the pharmacy. We must know that only by working together can we overcome these difficult times."

"What Steward Chen said is absolutely right." Chen Yue cupped his hands in greeting.

Chen Yuqing said no more and turned to leave with her maid.

Chen Yue then approached Lin Quan, saying, "Master Lin, I've known Liu Jing since we were young, and he seems quite reliable. His journey to the medicine market is fraught with uncertainty. Could you please ask to transfer him to the alchemy room? Perhaps your influence, Manager Chen, and Miss Yu Qing could pull some strings."

Lin Quan looked at Chen Yue, remained silent for a moment, sighed, and nodded: "Alright, I'll talk about it tomorrow."

However, Liu Jing did not appear in the alchemy room the next day.

Lin Quan's expression was rather unpleasant. He went to find Chen Yuqing in person, and when he returned, his gray eyebrows were tightly furrowed.

"This new girl is really tight-fisted. She says the medicine shop is indeed short-staffed, and since Liu Jing has already made the decision, it's not convenient to change it. Even my old face isn't of much use anymore."

Chen Yue's heart sank. Lin Quan was one of the pillars of the pharmacy, a senior alchemist. In the past, when he asked for an apprentice to help him, the manager would always agree.

It's quite intriguing that Chen Yuqing doesn't even give Lin Quan much face these days.

Liu Jing was eventually escorted by two cold-faced guards, along with several other apprentices, carrying thin bundles, and disappeared through the back gate of Huichuntang, heading towards the medicine market outside the city.

Chen Yue stood under the moon gate of the small courtyard of the alchemy room, watching their departing figures until they were completely out of sight before slowly withdrawing his gaze.

He turned and looked at the silent alchemy furnace in the courtyard, its fire burning quietly in the morning light, illuminating his expressionless face.

At that moment, Chen Yuqing's calm yet cautionary words from that day pierced his mind: "At this time of year, only knowing how to refine pills is not as effective as fists, and they can't protect us either."

At the time, it seemed like she was using the situation as an excuse to make a fuss. But now, seeing Liu Jing's powerless fate, Chen Yue felt a sense of sympathy.

Alchemy is a skill, a valuable ability to acquire resources.

But in the face of true power, in the face of unreasonable tyranny and a chaotic world, this skill is as fragile as paper.

It cannot protect those it wants to protect. In fact, if it is not strong enough, even this skill may become the source of trouble, just like the alchemists in Chen Yuqing's family who were kidnapped by the rebels.

Power is the greatest asset in chaotic times, and the foundation upon which one can stand up and speak.

This realization brought with it an even stronger desire to improve its capabilities.

For the next ten days, Chen Yue's life was streamlined to the extreme: refining pills, cultivating, digesting the medicinal effects, and then cultivating again.

He pushed the cultivation of the Mountain Collapse Technique to an unprecedented intensity. Every time his blood and qi surged along that unique path, he could feel his muscles and bones hissing.

Ten days passed, and the experience bar for the Mountain Collapse Technique on the panel rapidly advanced, crossing a hurdle and stepping from the Lesser Completion stage to the Greater Completion stage (10/900).

The changes brought about by the Mountain Collapse Technique at this stage are significant.

The most direct manifestation of this is the renewed increase in pure strength. Now, when he throws his punches and kicks, the sound of the wind is deep and resonant, and when he stomps his feet, it seems to make the stone slabs beneath his feet tremble slightly.

Compared to when he only practiced Iron Mountain Fist, Chen Yue felt that his strength had increased by at least 20%. He even suspected that, in terms of brute force alone, he might not be inferior to a martial artist who had just entered the Flesh Refining Realm.

Of course, true martial artists at the Body Refining Realm have much stronger and tougher bones and muscles than those at the Skin Refining Realm, and their blood and qi are more refined. Their power generation techniques and endurance are worlds apart. But in terms of strength alone, he has barely touched the threshold.

The progress in alchemy was equally astonishing.

This was thanks to Lin Quan's complete sharing of knowledge and Chen Yue's own crazy practice. Lin Quan seemed to be aware of the situation and carefully taught him the complete formulas for the Body Tempering Pill and the Yuan Strengthening Pill, as well as his secret techniques for controlling fire and condensing pills.

Chen Yue began to try refining these two higher-level pills in his small alchemy room.

Handling each medicinal herb by hand, personally controlling every subtle change in the heat, experiencing firsthand the fusion of medicinal power and the thrill of the moment the elixir is completed... the depth of understanding gained from this hands-on practice is completely different from simply observing someone operating in the forest.

The experience points from the panel settlement were like an explosive surge. The Body Tempering Pill steadily progressed to the minor completion stage (100/600), while the Qi Strengthening Pill made even greater progress, reaching the major completion stage (30/900).

To the outside world, Chen Yue carefully concealed the fact that he could reliably refine the Qi-stabilizing pill.

This kind of pill is quite valuable; it's an excellent item for martial artists above the Body Refining Realm to consolidate their foundation and nourish their vital energy, making it too conspicuous.

He would only use his share of the silver every two days, under the pretext of studying alchemy formulas, to buy a batch of medicinal materials needed to refine the Qi-Strengthening Pill from the pharmacy. Thanks to his status as an alchemist, he enjoyed a 50% discount, making the cost manageable.

In his small alchemy room, thanks to his understanding and control over the Great Perfection Realm of the Qi-Strengthening Pill, Chen Yue could reliably produce two pills per batch. After refining them, he did not sell them, but instead took one pill daily.

Compared to the Blood Activating Pill, the Qi Strengthening Pill is far more potent.

Once the pill enters the stomach, it transforms into a warm and mellow heat current. Unlike the Blood-Activating Pill, which directly stimulates the flow of qi and blood, it slowly permeates the limbs and bones, nourishing the muscles, bones, and skin deep within, strengthening the foundation and enhancing the origin.

Each time I take it, I feel as if I can hear a buzzing sound coming from deep within my body.

With one Qi-stabilizing pill every day, combined with the perfected Mountain Collapse Technique, Chen Yue's daily cultivation experience points surged from 9 to 15!

The cultivation speed has almost doubled!

With such lavish resources and his own relentless hard work, Chen Yue's martial arts realm advanced at an astonishing speed.

On the panel, the experience bar for the Skin Refining Realm was nearing its end, reaching (261/300). At the current rate, he would be able to attempt to enter the Body Refining Realm in at most three more days!

Just over a month ago, Chen Yue was still an apprentice being bossed around in the backyard. Now, however, he has quietly stood at the threshold of the Body Refining Realm.

Once he breaks through, he will be considered a formidable figure in the entire Youlin County, capable of serving as a guard leader like Li Lie, and truly possessing some power to secure his livelihood.

Life is like a game of chess, and the universe is unpredictable.

Just as Chen Yue was focusing on his crucial sprint, ripples from the outside world once again swept into the small world of the pharmacy.

That day, several apprentices from the backyard who had been sent to distribute porridge outside the city gathered in a corner and whispered among themselves when they returned.

"Hey, did you guys see that? A new porridge distribution tent has been set up in that open space east of the city. What a grand setup! And that porridge... it smells really thick!"

"The porridge is thick! I heard they can even get eggs there!"

"Eggs?! Really? You can get eggs for porridge these days?"

"It's absolutely true! A cousin of mine told me that those people were very kind. They said they were just taking pity on the disaster victims and were spontaneously providing relief, doing good deeds..."