104 Pill Concocting At The Speed Of Shock, Cool Berries (1/2)
As Latoya felt heat start condensing atop Jam's hand, she hurriedly covered the ”busted pill” with her energy and watched as a scorching yang flame blinked in and out of existence. Jam noticed that a certain someone didn't want his worthlessly imperfect pill gone, so he didn't spend much time or energy burning away at Latoya's energy.
The moment he dispelled the energy powering his yang flame and the pill's image was visible, a dark shadowy hand snatched it out of Jam's hand and the owner of said hand glared at him as if he had just killed her parents.
Latoya hissed at Jam ”What do you think you're doing?! This is a near perfect fucking Tier 6 Shedding Pill! DO YOU KNOW WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF ANY OF THE FEMALE ELDERS KNEW OF YOUR ATTEMPTED SIN?!”
Jam clicked his tongue, saying ”It's not even perfect… I don't want anything I make that isn't perfect, out in circulation.”
”You what? Do you even know the value of these things?” The veins on Latoya's head were so tense Jam could see them pulse every time his words further angered her.
”According to guidelines for selling pills in the academy… Tier 6 Shedding Pills would go for about 10 million spirit stones within the sect and 15 million outside the sect.” Naturally, if cultivators with expertise in the various secondary occupations sold their creations within their respective sects, they would sell it at a ”loss” when compared to the market value. But, in return, they would earn certain favors from their peers and make connections.
”You fool! That's the price for normal low-tier Tier 6 Shedding Pills! Don't you know how hard concocting consummate-tier pills...” It then hit Latoya, that Jam hadn't partaken in any alchemy competitions. He only been in the academy for a couple weeks before leaving for the Titanic Beast Mountain Range, leaving him with no time to learn from a master either…
She thought back to when she first met him, after he create perfect Energy-Gathering Pills as newbie alchemist in just two dozen or so tries. 'This idiot… He's probably only made perfect pills throughout all his career thinking that to be the standard...'
As the thought flashed through her mind, Latoya took a deep breath and calmly tried explaining how normal alchemist and the pill market moved. She said ”Ok Jam, I'll explain it to you so you don't look like an idiot at the Gathering… First and foremost, what I'm about to tell you is also true for inscriptionists, and spiritual cooks. All three of these professions make items that are graded with the standard, only the principle changing: the principle for pills being pill purity, the principle for talisman's being accuracy, and the principle for spiritual meals being infusion rate.
NORMALLY, alchemist that make pills at the highest level for their rank create between trash-tier pills that just barely form at 50% purity, to intermediate-tier pills at 79% purity. Only on lucky days will normal, let's say Tier 2 Alchemist, create a high-tier Tier 2 Energy-Gathering Pill. Usually, only Alchemist attempting to create pills one tier lower than their rank will make high-tier pills. Alchemists attempting to create pills two tiers lower than their rank can expect to make peak tier pills. And Alchemist attempting to create pills three tiers lower than their rank ”might, perhaps, maybe, once in a blue moon, if their luck has transcended reality twice over and then some” create ONE consummate-tier pill within their batch of pills concocted. Do you understand?”
”It's really hard to make consummate-tier pills.”
”Good~ Now, back to our previous topic. You see this ”garbage pill” you almost incinerated? This worthless 99% purity Tier 6 Shedding Pill would definitely earn you well over several dozen billion spirit stones if you offered then to the female Sages around our academy. If by some misfortune, the pill managed to descend into a mid-level world with only Saints… You could expect a full out war between most factions...”
”Ok?” Jam didn't really care. These were just some rather worthless cosmetically altering pills, which he didn't even need thanks to his Regeneration. Any scar left on his body from an arduous battle would heal itself eventually; at least that applied all the way down to his musculoskeletal system with his Bone Realm body cultivation. In the future, when he reached the Organ Realm, his whole body would, in most cases, be able to revert back to its most perfect state even if it were dealt horrific injuries.
Jam took the rest of his ”standard” consummate-tier pills and shoved them in Latoya's hands. As he acted like a bigshot, he said ”Well, this was just a test and these pills are kind of worthless to me. So~ if you would, please take them in exchange for some Tier 6 & 7 herbs so I can begin training under your tutelage.”
Latoya blanked out for a second, before smiling as she said ”It's good that you're looking out for your future and getting Tier 7 herbs now~”
However, her smile quickly cracked into mild disgust as Jam said ”Future? I'm going to use them right now. Tier 6 is too easy...”
She really wanted to curse him out right there and then for being too arrogant, but when she looked at the facts… Sure Jam was nothing but a ”rookie” Saint Master level cultivator and he had just recently made that advancement. But, he effortlessly made an almost perfect batch of Tier 6 pills. Even as a Tier 9 Alchemist herself, she couldn't guarantee making five perfect Tier 6 Shedding Pills every time.
Tier 7 might be the normal scope pills Saint Gods could make, but Jam's soul was clearly not under pressure when making Tier 6 pills; he might just be able to make Tier 7 pills if he worked at it. As Latoya day-dreamed of Jam storming the Gathering as a Saint Master, creating Tier 7 pills. ”Heh...” a bit of drool escaped her mouth…
And thus began a training montage for Jam to make Tier 7 pills… Actually, that didn't happen. Instead, because Tier 7 was within the realm of possibilities for Saints, Jam struggled to create perfect batches for Tier 7 pills once or twice for common pills, then upwards of five whole times, before mastering what was left of traditional alchemy. It took him less than three days to completely re-restock the pills he never got to use, and by then there was literally nothing Latoya could argue for making her precious little money maker stick by her side.
She was already contemplating suicide when around the time Jam showed her his pace of making hundreds of consummate Tier 7 every hour. However, that depression and feeling of her life being a waste quickly melted away after Jam started exchanging some of his pills for more materials.