Uncle-Master, Please Help Us

Chapter 39: Su Yin Refines Pills (1)

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Musing at heart, Su Yin was about to speak about all of the problems he had perceived in order to pass the other party’s test when he saw Alchemist Ming Yu glance over with a clouded look on his face. “Enough, no need to go on!”
He first made contact with Alchemy when he was 11-years-old, and he has studied it for more than 50 years. This profession had long been integrated into his life.
He had always believed that he had great talent and brilliant refinement skills. But he had never thought that everything he had done so far were nothing but mistakes in another person’s eyes.
He was afraid that if he continued to listen, his belief would collapse and he would end up not knowing how to refine pills anymore!
“It’s useless regardless of how much you say! No one will know if it’s true or not. No one will be able to determine it either, unless… unless you are able to refine pills according to what you have said!”
Alchemist Ming Yu gnashed his teeth as he spat these words out and sneered.
The other party’s words made sense, but his words might not be suitable to Alchemy.
After all, there was a huge gap between theory and practice. Unless he was able to refine pills, and his products are of a higher grade than his own—everything that he had said so far would all be nothing but empty talk.
“Me?” Su Yin wryly laughed as he shook his head. “I have never refined pills before…”
“You’ve never done it before? And you dared to make such irresponsible remarks? If you cannot put it into practice, all of the so-called mistakes that you have caught would be castles in the air, all false!”
Alchemist Ming Yu sneered and stared at Su Yin as if he was looking at a clown.
Chen Xiaoyue who was at the side also breathed a sigh of relief.
That made sense too.
He could say as many theories as he liked, but they would be nothing but mere fallacies if they couldn’t be put into practice!
I thought that he was a pro.
But it turns out that he was just a troll… I was almost fooled!
“Everything I’ve said fits the medicinal theories and the medicinal properties of the herbs that I have mentioned, so how could it be false?” Su Yin frowned.
Alchemist Ming Yu laughed coldly. “Since Teacher gave you his jade token, I hope that you truly are a talent. Not just someone who only knows how to run his mouth! If all that you can do is spout nonsense, then please return the jade token to Teacher!”
“Don’t ruin the reputation that Teacher painstakingly established for a hundred years, and ultimately become a subject of ridicule because he misjudged a talent and was deceived by you!”
You aren’t even an apprentice and had willfully commented about me… how bold of you!
Since you only know how to speak nonsense, then let me show you incompetent you are. I will let you understand the complexity of things. Don’t you go around fooling people with Teacher’s jade token and ruining his reputation in the process!
“I can give it a try, but…” Su Yin responded. By the looks of it, if he didn’t refine pills today, the other party would definitely not leave him alone. Su Yin pondered for a moment before he continued, “I can only do the first three steps. I have no idea how to form the pill!”
Prescribing, refining the herbs, and even kindling a flame was something that he could probably do with what he had learned in the Forbidden Grounds. The final step—forming the pills—was the problem.
He had no cultivation base, nor was he able to manipulate pill aura.
But if push comes to shove, and he had to refine till the end.
He could only adapt to the circumstances!
“Then, let’s begin!” Alchemist Ming Yu waved his hand.
Knowing that he wouldn’t be able to refuse, Su Yin didn’t say anything anymore as he walked over to the shelves where the medicinal herbs were stored. He took with him the same medicinal herbs that Alchemist Ming Yu had used earlier.
Su Yin had long obtained photographic memory after having learned the 36 skills back in the Forbidden Grounds. The way how the medicinal herbs that Alchemist Ming Yu used earlier should be handled appeared in his mind as if it was a series of images.
He picked out the herbs with similar properties and those that would only neutralize each other with their properties. The original 30 plus medicinal herbs that he had taken from the shelves have been brought down to 20.
Then, he sorted the remaining herbs once more. In the end, some of the medicinal herbs were left with some of their leaves, some with only their roots, while the majority of the medicinal herbs had a part of their bodies plucked off.
“He wants to refine Spirit Gathering Pills with that amount of herbs?”
Alchemist Ming Yu grinned scornfully.
The remaining amount of medicinal herbs on the other party’s table after the process of sortation wasn’t even a fifth of the amount that I had used in my refinement earlier.
Was he really going to refine pills?
Was he joking?
He was about to watch how the other party would make a fool of himself when he saw that the youth who was done with selecting the herbs had stopped. A slightly embarrassed voice sounded, “Do you have firewood here?”
“Firewood?”
“Yeah, I’ll be using that to kindle a flame!”
“You want to use firewood to… to refine pills?”
Alchemist Ming Yu and Chen Xiaoyue almost passed out.
The highest temperature that one could achieve with firewood was only a few hundred degrees Celsius at best…
And he was going to use firewood to refine pills?
Was he pulling our leg?
Earlier, both of them have been slightly convinced with some of Su Yin’s theories. But now, it seemed that everything he had said was pure rubbish!
“Pills still come from herbs. Their melting points aren’t that high. The effect of using firewood to kindle a flame may not necessarily be worse than using charcoal!” said Su Yin.
To be honest, the main reason why he said all of these was that he had no cultivation base and was unable to control flames made by charcoal. In contrast, he was already familiar with firewood after having used it for so many years.
Manipulating the flame that it could produce was still something that Su Yin could easily do.
“We do not have any firewood available, but we don’t need that table over there anymore. If you must, then you can chop it up and use it as your firewood!” Alchemist Ming Yu casually pointed out a random table. He didn’t seem to have any hope in Su Yin anymore.
Since this fellow wanted to make a fool of himself, then Ming Yu was going to grant his wish.
Once he disgrace himself it would be easier for me to explain to Teacher that he had brought in a fool instead of a talent…
“All right!”
Su Yin turned around and made a sidelong glance at the table.
It was indeed made out of pure wood.
Su Yin heaved a sigh of relief and shook his wrist. A hatchet appeared in his hand.
“…”
Covering her eyes, Chen Xiaoyue almost couldn’t bear to watch anymore.
This person’s clothing and mannerism made him seem like he was some kind of a Young Master from a huge clan. But in the end, he was carrying a hatchet with him and was even once a chef?
Big brother, just what exactly do you do for a living?
Why did it feel like the more I look at him, the more he didn’t seem like he was an expert?
Instead, it felt like he was a servant that did all sorts of odd jobs for a living…
Alchemist Ming Yu was speechless alongside Chen Xiaoyue.
Firewood and a hatchet… If someone like this could succeed in refining pills, then he would twist his head off and let the donkeys kick it!
Just as their thoughts ran wild…
The youth close to them made his move.
The hatchet in his hand shook and turned into a streak of sharp white light.
Buzz!
A light hum resounded in the room. The table was immediately shattered and turned into several piles of firewood in varying thicknesses.
“This is… swordsmanship?”
The mocking in Alchemist Ming Yu’s face abruptly froze.
His pupils constricted till it was the size of a wheat’s awn. His words of mockery seemed to have gotten stuck in his throat.
He was no longer able to say them anymore.
What kind of swordsmanship was able to chop that wooden table into so many pieces in an instant with such consistent thickness—without the use of true essence?
Even a powerhouse at the Immortal Temple Realm from the Immortal Guardian Sect would barely be able to do such a thing!
“Could it be that he wasn’t just an ignorant and a presumptuous person who only knew how to speak nonsense but a true expert?”
An idea soon appeared in Alchemist Ming Yu’s mind. He couldn’t help but shiver at the thought.
Earlier, I assumed that the other party was just speaking nonsense since he had no cultivation base. But now that his swordsmanship was actually this brilliant, was it really possible that such a person would speak nonsense?
Chen Xiaoyue was also stunned, cold sweat ran down her spine.
Fortunately, I hadn’t frankly expressed my disdain to the other party earlier when I saw that he had no cultivation base. Otherwise, how could I possibly escape his hatchet when it was used against me?
Su Yin was unaware of the two’s emotional turmoil. He had just finished chopping some firewood for his use, and he was holding his chin in thought.
“A table that is a finished product is simply much easier to chop than the trees outside. I only used a tenth of my strength, yet they came out so neatly… not bad!”
He proceeded to carry all the firewood he had gathered in front of the tripod furnace. Prepping the medicinal herbs, Su Yin was troubled once more.
“What do I do with the step of forming the pill? If I don’t think of a way now… I don’t think that I’ll be able to refine the pills later!”
Without a cultivation base, he had no idea how to condense the pill aura from the medicinal herbs. If he couldn’t condense the pill aura, he wouldn’t be able to form the pill. This was indeed a difficult problem whose solution—Su Yin still couldn’t see.
But all of a sudden, he thought of an idea.
“Wait… What if I have an item similar to a pill? Then, in forming the pill. I could just guide the pill aura of the medicinal herbs into that item, would it work?”
After deliberating for a moment, Su Yin turned his wrist and a bag of flour appeared in his palm.