Chapter 723
Pleasant Cooperation, 2 Merit Points! Alchemy Pavilion Temporary Transfer
'That's it?'
Zhang Lingshan looked puzzled.
Although I have never refined any artifacts before, I've seen pigs run even if I haven't eaten pork. This is clearly just an artifact prototype, all form and no substance. How can it be considered a success?
Putting everything else aside, at the very least, artifact patterns should be engraved on it. You know, even artifacts forged in the mortal realm are engraved with artifact patterns.
Is the celestial realm inferior to the mortal realm?
"Won't the design be engraved on it?"
Zhang Lingshan couldn't help but ask.
Pei Daoming was in a good mood and smiled for once, saying, "Engraving patterns is something only silver-level weapon refiners are qualified to do. Bronze-level weapon refiners are considered successful if they can condense a weapon blank into shape."
"I see."
Zhang Lingshan nodded.
Pei Daoming enveloped the artifact embryo with his divine sense and sent it into the teleportation slot, whereupon the artifact embryo immediately disappeared.
Then, Pei Daoming said with a smile, "You two did a good job."
As he spoke, he waved his right hand, and the light mark on the door immediately disappeared. No one knew how he contacted Jiang Yan, but Jiang Yan immediately pushed the door open and entered, cupping his hands and saying, "Congratulations, Master Pei, on your success!"
"Haha."
Pei Daoming laughed loudly, "These two assistants you found are excellent. You deserve a great reward."
"Thank you, Master Pei."
Jiang Yan was overjoyed and immediately bowed.
Pei Daoming asked, "How long has it been?"
Jiang Yan said, "Three months and two days."
Upon hearing this, Gu Nanxiang immediately looked at Zhang Lingshan.
According to Zhang Lingshan's previous statement, if it exceeds three months, he should be paid more. I wonder how Pei Qishi will pay him more.
Two days later.
Upon hearing this, Pei Daoming smiled slightly and said, "Zhang Huogong, according to the agreement, I have to give you extra money. How much do you think would be appropriate?"
Zhang Lingshan cupped his hands and said, "Master Pei has seen my performance. He will give me whatever value he deems me to be."
"I think you're great."
Pei Daoming gave Zhang Lingshan a deep look and said, "Two thousand merit points, what do you think?"
Gu Nanxiang was taken aback.
It was only two days over, yet they gave me two thousand merit points? That's way too much.
According to this ratio, if it exceeds ten days, should we give 10,000 merit points?
Although Zhang Lingshan's refining was indeed quite good, more stable and precise than Gu Nanxiang's, it's not worth that much.
"Thank you very much, Master Pei. If you ever need my help in the future, I will be the first to volunteer."
Zhang Lingshan cupped his hands in greeting.
Two thousand merit points, that's very generous. This Pei Qishi is quite good. Not only did he contribute his weapon-refining techniques, but he also gave Zhang Lingshan so many benefits. It can be considered as giving Zhang Lingshan his first start-up capital.
I must thank the other party for enabling me to improve so much in such a short time.
and so.
If the opportunity arises in the future and someone comes to Zhang Lingshan for help, Zhang Lingshan will never refuse.
I did manage to secretly learn their weapon-forging techniques, so I'm practically a disciple. I owe them a favor, and I have to repay them.
However, Zhang Lingshan didn't need to voice these thoughts; he could simply keep them to himself.
"hehe."
Upon hearing Zhang Lingshan's words, Pei Daoming smiled slightly and said, "If I have the chance, I will definitely look for you again. However, we should meet on the fourth floor then."
"Thank you for your kind words, Master Pei. I will ascend to the fourth level as soon as possible and follow in your footsteps."
Zhang Lingshan said.
"Haha."
Pei Daoming laughed loudly.
He was indeed in an unusually good mood, laughing more today than he had in the previous ten years.
Jiang Yan knew that this weapon-refining experience would be very rewarding for Pei, bringing him one step closer to becoming a silver-level weapon refiner.
but.
Since Pei Qishi has already successfully crafted a water-based magic weapon, he will no longer be crafting any more water-based ones, and therefore will no longer need Zhang Lingshan.
Just as Pei Daoming said, if Zhang Lingshan is needed to help with weapon forging again in the future, it will only be on the fourth floor.
"Gu Nanxiang, your performance was also good, but it was a bit worse than Zhang Lingshan's, and you also extracted fewer materials. I'll give you two thousand merit points, how about that?"
Pei Daoming looked at Gu Nanxiang and asked calmly.
Gu Nanxiang quickly said, "Thank you for giving me this opportunity, Master Pei. Assisting Master Pei in refining weapons will also be of great benefit to me, and I am willing to accept."
"very good."
Pei Daoming reached out and took the identity bronze tokens from Zhang Lingshan and Gu Nanxiang. Then, he transferred two thousand merit points from his own identity bronze token to their respective tokens.
"Thank you, Master Pei."
The two men took back their identity tokens, bowed to each other, and then watched Jiang Yan burn the contract before taking their leave.
Stepping outside, Gu Nanxiang forced a smile.
Although she also received two thousand merit points, Gu Nanxiang felt that she had lost out, because Zhang Lingshan initially received two Flame Crystals and one Divine Sense Crystal, while she only received one Divine Sense Crystal.
In total, it's equivalent to losing two Flame Crystals, which is two thousand merit points.
We were supposed to be assisting Master Pei together, but I ended up getting two thousand fewer merit points. Isn't that a huge loss?
Although Zhang Lingshan performed better, he shouldn't have been so far behind in terms of merit points.
Moreover, the reason Zhang Lingshan performed well was because he had refined two Flame Crystals and Divine Sense Crystals in advance.
If Gu Nanxiang had also obtained two more Flame Crystals in advance, she could have done as well as Zhang Lingshan, or even better!
and so.
No matter how she calculated it, Gu Nanxiang felt that she had been taken advantage of, taken advantage of terribly.
He only regretted that he wasn't as audacious as Zhang Lingshan, who dared to bargain with Master Pei. Otherwise, he would have been the one to reap the greater benefits.
"Mr. Gu, it was a pleasure working with you this time. If there's an opportunity in the future, let's work together again."
Zhang Lingshan smiled and cupped his hands in a respectful gesture.
Gu Nanxiang returned the greeting with a cupped hand, forcing a smile, and said, "Let's cooperate again if there's an opportunity."
She thought to herself, "You've gotten a great deal, of course you're happy."
If it's next time, I don't want to cooperate with you, lest you take advantage of me again.
Although Gu Nanxiang knew that this benefit was earned by Zhang Lingshan himself and had nothing to do with her.
Even if it were someone else, they would only get this much in the end, and might even get less if the refining failed. However...
I understand, but I'm still annoyed.
It's not scarcity that's the problem, but inequality.
We were all refining weapons together, but I got fewer merit points, and I'm not even allowed to be unhappy about it?
Zhang Lingshan was unaware of Gu Nanxiang's thoughts; if he had known, he would have given her a mocking smile.
Even a fool could see that Pei Daoming was intentionally trying to curry favor with me, Zhang Lingshan, this great genius. He recognized my extraordinary abilities when I refined the Flame Crystal and the Divine Sense Crystal, and that's why he wanted to befriend me and gave me so many more merit points.
If it weren't for your good fortune, Gu Nanxiang, to be assisting Pei Daoming alongside me, and if Pei Daoming hadn't wanted to embarrass you too much, you wouldn't have been given the same two thousand merit points as me.
Otherwise, with your inconsistent skill level, expecting two thousand merit points is just wishful thinking.
Giving you a thousand is already too much.
After saying goodbye to Gu Nanxiang, Zhang Lingshan immediately found Song Yi, intending to apply for a weapon-refining room with him and refine weapons together.
Having just learned the weapon-refining techniques from Pei Daoming, Zhang Lingshan was eager to try them out and see how much he had actually mastered.
Anyway, I have enough merit points now, so I'm not afraid of wasting them.
Moreover, with my current skill level, I will accumulate more and more merit points in the future, and it will be much faster and faster. Applying for a month's use of the weapon-refining room with a mere three hundred merit points is nothing.
but.
Before he could find Song Yi, Manager Zhao Chuanying had already found him first.
"Zhang Lingshan".
Zhao Chuanying stepped in front of Zhang Lingshan and said, "The Alchemy Pavilion wants to borrow you to be the fire-tending boy for a top-level alchemist. Are you willing?"
"what!?"
Zhang Lingshan was taken aback.
Why did the Alchemy Pavilion suddenly appear, and why did they specifically request to borrow me there, especially since I'm a gold-level alchemist?
what's the situation?
Am I, Zhang Lingshan, really that famous now?
Is there a trap here?
Can I refuse?
Zhang Lingshan asked cautiously.
Zhao Chuanying smiled upon hearing this and said, "Are you sure you want to refuse? This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. If you go to the Alchemy Pavilion and successfully refine pills with the help of that top-tier alchemist, you can enjoy the elixirs, which will allow your strength to advance by leaps and bounds."
Zhang Lingshan said with difficulty, "But with my meager skills, I'm afraid the probability of failure is even higher. If I offend a top-notch alchemist because of this, I'm afraid I'll be doomed."
"Hahaha."
Zhao Chuanying laughed loudly: "You're so young, yet you think so much. You're one of our Weapon Refining Pavilion members. No matter how powerful that Gold Medal Alchemist is, can he kill you? He's just temporarily transferring you there. If you succeed, it will benefit you. If you fail at alchemy, it's not your responsibility. You can go back to our Weapon Refining Pavilion and continue being a fire-tending boy. Who can do anything to you?"
"this--"
Zhang Lingshan hesitated slightly, knowing that even if he didn't want to, it was no use. Since the Alchemy Pavilion had specifically named him, he had no choice but to go.
After all, he was in the Weapon Refining Pavilion. The reason the Pill Refining Pavilion found him was because the Weapon Refining Pavilion sent him there.
and so.
Zhao Chuanying asked himself if he was willing, but the person in charge was good-tempered and polite. Did he really think he could refuse?
“Manager Ying, out of all the bronze-level fire-tending boys on the third floor of our weapon-refining pavilion, you actually thought of me first, bestowing upon me such a great opportunity. I, Zhang Lingshan, truly do not know how to repay you.”
Zhang Lingshan, having abandoned his previous hesitation and difficulty, now spoke with a grateful expression.
Zhao Chuanying chuckled and said, "Haha, no need to thank me. This good thing is definitely yours. No one else would be qualified to take it. Besides you, there is another person who is also an acquaintance."
As they were talking.
Zhao Chuanying then waved and said, "Gu Nanxiang, now that you've exchanged the items, come over here and let's go together."
"Yes, Steward Eagle."
Gu Nanxiang rushed over immediately, her face full of respect.
When Zhang Lingshan saw her, he immediately understood what was going on.
Of all the three floors with so many bronze-plated fire-starting boys, how did they manage to find just the two of them, especially since they were found not long after Pei Qishi came out of his room?
It seems that Pei Daoming's success in refining the weapon caught the attention of the Weapon Refining Pavilion, which then noticed the two water-elemental fire-starting boys who were his assistants.
With their skill level, there aren't many fire-starting boys on the entire third floor, and even fewer with water-based abilities.
The reason they specifically sought out these two is probably because the Alchemy Pavilion was short of two water-type fire-starting boys, and they borrowed these two to help them refine water-type elixirs.
When it comes to alchemy, Zhang Lingshan knows more about it than weapon crafting.
Therefore, he felt that calling it a water-based elixir was inaccurate; it should be a pill that the other party had refined, which just happened to need water to balance it, perhaps because its fire element was too pungent.
Whatever the reason, the two of them were only seconded to help with the fire, and there's no point in them thinking about it anymore.
Just do your job of tending the fire well.
but.
Zhang Lingshan suddenly realized a problem and couldn't help but ask, "Manager Ying, why were we borrowed as gold-level alchemists? Shouldn't we be bronze-level alchemists? Here at the weapon-refining pavilion, we're only qualified to refine for bronze-level weapon refiners. How could we be qualified to tend the fire for gold-level experts?"
Upon hearing this, Gu Nanxiang immediately took it to heart and listened attentively.
While I envy Zhang Lingshan's courage to ask questions of anyone, I can't help but admire his quick thinking, sharp wit, thoughtfulness, and insightful ideas.
When Manager Ying approached me and told me I would be seconded to the Gold Medal Alchemist position, I hadn't thought of any of this. Instead, I felt honored and happy.
Just like when she was having her weapon crafted by Master Pei, when he promised to lend them divine sense crystals in advance, she only thought about whether or not to accept them, and never considered borrowing more.
Thus, it can be seen that Gu Nanxiang is not only clumsy with words, but also slow-witted, which makes people even more envious of this young woman.
"That's a good question. I don't know either. It's probably because their alchemy pavilion has different rules. After all, I don't know how to refine pills, so I can't explain it to you in detail."
Manager Ying gave a perfunctory reply, then said, "Alright, they specifically requested that you be seconded over. I'm just following orders. Let's set off now. Stop talking nonsense. If they get impatient, you two will have to put up with their attitude."
"I'd also like to exchange for two more Flame Crystals."
Zhang Lingshan said, "This request isn't unreasonable, is it? Sharpening the axe won't delay the work of chopping wood."
"You boy!"
Zhao Chuanying's eyes widened, startling Gu Nanxiang so much that she couldn't help but shudder, thinking that Zhang Lingshan was doomed.
It's one thing to haggle with Master Pei, but you dare to haggle with Steward Ying? Are you out of your mind?
However, Zhao Chuanying did not react, but said, "I will count to ten and exchange it back for me immediately. If you are even a step too slow, I will break your legs."
rub.
Before Zhao Chuanying could even utter the word "one," Zhang Lingshan had already rushed into the exchange hall, quickly placed his identity copper token into a slot, and instantly spent two thousand merit points to exchange for two flame crystals.
then.
In the blink of an eye, they were back.
At this point, Zhao Chuanying had only counted to six.
"good."
Zhao Chuanying nodded and said, "Then come with me. After leaving the weapon-refining pavilion, don't stray more than ten feet from me, or I won't be able to protect you." (End of Chapter)