The old man glanced at Damien and only had a stolid expression on his face even after seeing the strange disguise Damien had. He got up emotionlessly and asked,
"Which pill?"
Damien took out the Low Grade Rank 2 Sustenance Pill he had concocted before and handed it to the old man.
The old man had a bored expression seeing such a cheap pill and said, "We don't buy any pills below Rank 3, you may try selling it at the Imperial Ethereal Court."
Damien knew that only inexpensive trades take place in the Rising Sun Trading Guild but he didn't expect them to have such high standards.
But Damien didn't get discouraged and coldly said, "Why don't you take a good look at this pill first?"
The old man glared at the pill and took it from Damien's hands as he just didn't want Damien to waste his time anymore with a lowly pill. His expression was stiff but as he was inspecting the pill, his eyes showed slight surprise and suddenly widened, "Where did you get this pill from?" He asked Damien.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})"I concocted it." He calmly replied.
"You cannot be joking. This...this pill's potency is way off the charts. I have never seen anything like it." The old man was inwardly flabbergasted seeing such a potent pill. He had never seen any Rank 2 Sustenance Pill as potent as the one in his hand. Even the ones they sell would fall short in potency.
The potency of the pills they sell never goes below 70% but Damien's pill had a 100% potency. The difference might seem small but actually even the difference between 99% and 100% potency was huge.
As the potency of the pill increases, it has higher chances of getting assimilated perfectly and the effects are reflected in the body faster and completely. For a mere Sustenance Pill, it might not be a big deal if the potency is less; but if it was a life saving pill that could heal severe injuries then the difference in potency would be a big deal as the faster the effects of the pill takes place in the body, more the chance one can survive if they got a life threatening injury. In fact, it would also be more effective in healing injuries.
Concocting a 100% potent pill no matter which one, was only a myth among even top notch alchemists. Not even the Alchemist Society were ever able to concoct a 100% potent pill.
Which is exactly why the old man was awe-struck to see a mythical Supreme Tier Pill. There are different tiers for a pill based on their potency. Supreme Tier was the term alchemy experts coined if there ever existed a 100% potent pill.
A Flawed Tier pill would only have around 30% potency and would only be concocted by second-class alchemists or someone who overestimated their abilities. An Upper Tier pill would have at most 70% potency while a Top Tier pill would have a potency in between 70% and 90%.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})In order to concoct a medicinal pill, not only does it require the proper harvesting of the ingredients and the suitable refinement tools but also the proper heat control and crucial refining skills.
So, it was normal for the potency of the medicinal power to be reduced during this whole process. During the refinement process, it was impossible even for a top notch alchemist to practically avoid losing some of the medicinal power.
Which is why even an Upper Tier pill is considered to be of good standard, and why the Rising Sun Trading Guild was famed for only selling Top Tier Pills which were regarded as top notch items in the continent. Even the most talented alchemist in the Alchemist Society wouldn't be able to fully preserve the medical essence during the concoction of the pill. And those who can cross the 90% barrier in concocting pills in the continent can be counted in one hand.
But cultivators don't bother about the tier of a pill unless it was a pill that helps them breakthrough or a pill that can save their lives.
The old man's eyes quivered as if he was in a dilemma whether he could believe Damien's words. Because he wondered how such a prodigy like Damien would lay low if he can concoct Supreme Tier pills. But seeing how Damien was masking his identity, he thought maybe Damien was a rogue talented alchemist who didn't like to be in the spotlight.
"Also, I want to join the Alchemist Society and I am ready to take any test. Here's a recommendation letter from the Imperial Ethereal Court." Damien's next words completely overturned the old man's speculations as he saw Damien handing him a jade scroll before unsealing it with his ethereal energy.
The old man didn't respond but took the jade scroll and unfolded it. He was puzzled thinking who exactly Damien was to even get recommended by the Imperial Ethereal Court. He had heard of Oswin Rong, the Court Master of the Imperial Ethereal Court and he knew that Oswin Rong was very stingy when it came to giving out recommendation letters as he would only give it to the best of the best. Despite the kind look on his face, he knew that when it came down to business, Oswin Rong was very firm and strict about his standards.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})Reading the recommendation letter, he understood that Damien was at least a genius since it was signed by both Oswin Rong and the Vice Court Master, Nestor Rong. But he couldn't understand why the Imperial Ethereal Court would give away a genius like Damien to the Alchemist Society unless Damien was adamant about it.
He knew that be it either the Imperial Ethereal Court or even any other prestigious organization from other empires, they would try their best to entice Damien to join them if they knew about his ability to concoct Supreme Tier pills.
Of course, he knew that just because Damien concocted a Supreme Tier Rank 2 Sustenance Pill, it doesn't mean he would be able to concoct higher ranked Supreme Tier pills. But he was sure that even if he couldn't, given some time and training, he would be able to achieve it.
Since the recommendation letter was anonymous, Damien's name wasn't in the letter as it was an ethereal jade scroll which could only be opened by the owner's blood or ethereal energy. So even if he wanted he wouldn't be able to backtrack Damien's identity as the Imperial Ethereal Court gives out quite a few of anonymous recommendation letters occasionally.
Being unable to sense Damien's cultivation, he had no idea if he was dealing with a junior or a senior. But in his mind he was already imagining Damien to be a senior expert since he knew that the obscure aura of a cultivator would be slightly different if one was using a treasure to hide their cultivation.
So he thought Damien had a stronger ethereal cultivation than him unless he was using some top class treasure which made it hard for someone with his cultivation to sense any difference in Damien's obscure aura.
But he knew that such treasures would only be in the hands of the powerhouses of the other empires, so he instantly threw out the idea that Damien was a junior.
The old man's tone became a little respectful as he asked, "Sir, can I ask for your name? You can call me Elder Edward or Edward as you please."
Damien replied in a flat voice, "You can call me Azrael."
Elder Edward slightly smiled, "Sure, Mr.Azrael. I will arrange an exam to be conducted for you. But before that, allow me to finalize this transaction. I would need to speak with my superiors to decide on a price since this is a Supreme Tier pill. Hope you can understand, Mr.Azrael."
"No problem. Take your time." Damien replied in an airy tone but inwardly he was also excited to see how much more he could earn since he didn't expect that even the Alchemist Society couldn't concoct a 100% potent pill.
Previously he thought that the alchemy books from the imperial library didn't have much information about Supreme Tier pills because of how weak the Rong Empire was. That was why he decided to test out his luck by telling the old man to inspect his pill. But now he realized he underestimated the potency of the pill he concocted.
However, Damien was more interested in his ability to skip grades or even ranks when concocting pills and was looking forward to getting his Alchemist Badge right away.
Elder Edward soon enough came back with a slightly happy expression on his face. He said with a faint excitement in his voice, "Mr.Azrael, the Low Grade Rank 2 Sustenance Pills we sell are priced at 130 Green Spirit Stones. But we can give you 250 Green Spirit Stones for your pill. Is this acceptable?"
Damien immediately said in a low voice, "500 Green Spirit Stones and we ourselves have a deal. Otherwise we can continue with the examination."
