Top Soldier Pursued by a Beauty

The old man grabbed Zhao Dong's arm, and a thread of Spiritual Energy flowed into his body.

After a moment of probing, the old man's brow furrowed slightly, his expression growing grave.

Zhao Dong was completely bewildered. What on earth is this old man trying to pull?

"You..."

Just as Zhao Dong started to speak, the old man fixed his solemn eyes on him. A hint of astonishment mingled with his serious gaze.

"You do have some talent. A good seed for Alchemy."

"It's a pity you're a bit too old. It's rather late to start learning Alchemy now."

Hearing this, Zhao Dong just smiled. He pulled his arm from the old man's grasp and laughed. "It's not too late at all, because I already know Alchemy."

"What? You know Alchemy?"

The old man, already surprised, now looked utterly astonished.

"Wait here!"

The old man hurried into the inner room, and a moment later came the sound of things crashing to the floor. After a short while, he reemerged, covered in dust and holding a pile of medicinal herbs, which he dumped next to the Pill Furnace.

Pointing at the herbs on the ground, he said, "You can use these herbs to refine whatever you like. No matter how many pills you make today, you can take them all with you."

Zhao Dong was overjoyed.

Although the herbs on the ground weren't particularly rare, they were far from common. There were more than enough to refine the Healing Pills he urgently needed, as well as pills to restore Spiritual Energy during combat.

"Are you sure I can take everything I refine?" Zhao Dong asked in surprise.

"Of course!" the old man said, his eyes narrowing. "But if you don't actually know Alchemy and end up wasting my herbs, you'll have to compensate me for their full value!"

"No problem!" Zhao Dong agreed instantly.

How could he refuse such a great opportunity to get free pills? Besides, the old man didn't seem to harbor any ill will, giving him even less reason to decline.

The Pill Furnace was ignited, and the heat of the flames intensified.

Looking at the Red Iron Elixir Furnace before him, which was clearly an extraordinary item, Zhao Dong was suddenly reminded of the Spirit Iron Elixir Furnace he had been forced to leave behind in Qing Yu's cave abode.

That was a real treasure! In a few days, when I go to the Blood Sect, I have to get that furnace back no matter what!

Gathering his thoughts, Zhao Dong immediately began the Alchemy process.

Refining mere Healing Pills was child's play for him.

In just half an hour, a batch of small, aromatic black pills appeared in the Pill Furnace.

The old man rushed over to the furnace, his eyes wide with even greater shock.

"Although these are just common Healing Pills, the quality is exquisite! They're completely free of impurities, and the yield is over ninety percent!"

"You have to be at least a Three-Star Alchemist!"

As he spoke, the old man turned to Zhao Dong and asked gravely, "Who are you? How could you possess such profound skill in Alchemy!?"

"I'm just a Loose Cultivator with no significant background," Zhao Dong said nonchalantly. "You don't need to overthink it. As for the Alchemy, I couldn't afford pills when I was younger, so I tried refining them myself and just happened to have a knack for it."

"Is that so?"

The old man was clearly unconvinced, squinting as he tried to find a crack in Zhao Dong's story. However, even after scrutinizing him for a long time, he couldn't detect any sign of dishonesty.

So young, yet so powerful. To have explored the Alchemy Dao on his own and achieved such mastery... If this young man were properly guided, his future accomplishments would be limitless!

Thinking this, the old man smoothed over his shocked expression, stroking his beard with a light chuckle. Adopting the posture of a transcendent master, he said, "Young man, this old master sees that you have an extraordinary constitution. You are a rare Alchemy prodigy, the kind seen only once in a century. But without guidance, you'll be like a river without a source; you won't be able to go far. Today, I shall be magnanimous and accept you as my disciple. I will guide you through your confusion and help you on your path to godhood. So why haven't you knelt to thank your master yet!?"

What the...? Is this guy an idiot? He just comes up and demands I become his disciple? Is he joking? This is absurd.

Zhao Dong waved a dismissive hand, grabbed the pills from the Pill Furnace, and turned to leave.

Seeing him about to walk away, the old man was dumbfounded. He quickly jumped in front of Zhao Dong, pointing at himself as he exclaimed, "Hey! An expert of my caliber is offering to take you as a disciple, and you're refusing?"

"I'm refusing!"

"Damn it! Can't we talk this over?"

"No!"

"Why not? Didn't you yourself call me an expert? Being accepted by an expert is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for you!"

Opportunity my ass. You seemed unreliable from the start, and you seem even more unreliable now!

Zhao Dong stared coldly at the old man before him. Though half a head shorter, the man was on his tiptoes, trying desperately to sell himself.

Zhao Dong did think the old man was an expert, but what kind of expert acted so bizarrely? He figured it was best to keep his distance from such an unreliable character.

And so, ignoring the old man's attempts to stop him, Zhao Dong took another step toward the exit.

However, just as he was about to step outside, six stern-faced men blocked the doorway.

"Zhao Dong?"

The scar-faced man in the lead stared at Zhao Dong, his expression grim. With a single glance, Zhao Dong felt the cultivation fluctuations of a ninth-level Great Grandmaster radiating from him.

An expert!

Zhao Dong's expression changed as he looked at the others. Besides the leader, a short man was also a ninth-level Great Grandmaster. The other four were all seventh-level Great Grandmasters. Such a force could easily steamroll some second-rate families.

Zhao Dong frowned. "Are you from the Xiao Family?"

"You've got some insight, kid," the man sneered, his gaze arrogant.

Their origins weren't hard to guess. In the entire Provincial City, few factions could dispatch so many experts. However, the only ones who would use such a force to corner him were the Xiao Family and the Blood Sect. But if the Blood Sect were making a move, Mu Yu would have definitely notified him. Since she hadn't, it had to be the Xiao Family.

Zhao Dong's face darkened. "You dogs from the Xiao Family are relentlessly annoying."

"Kid, I'll let you talk tough for a little while longer." The leader cracked his neck and said ominously, "When I have you pinned under my boot, we'll see if you're still so bold!"

As he finished speaking, the short man stepped forward with a vicious grin. "Why waste breath on a dead man? Let's just twist his head off and report back!"

"Alright!" the tall man nodded in agreement.

With that, they began to gather their Spiritual Energy, ready to strike.

"Hold on!"

Zhao Dong held up a hand. "If we're going to fight, let's take it outside. Don't break anything in the old man's shop."

"Heh, quite the considerate one, are you?" the tall man said with a sinister grin. He then led his men outside, where they waited, staring coldly at Zhao Dong.

Zhao Dong paused for a moment, took a deep breath, and slowly walked out.

The old man raised an eyebrow, watching Zhao Dong's retreating back with a knowing look.

This kid... he's about to lose his head, yet he's still worried about my rundown little shop? How interesting.

With that, the old man grabbed his recliner, a handful of sunflower seeds, and his old, yellowed ceramic teacup before settling down at the shop's entrance.

"Kid, give 'em hell! I'm rooting for you!"