The Herb King

"Ten times the value of the ingredients?" Brian stared at Aethelwolf with a smile. He didn't know where he got his confidence from, but according to the information he has about Aethelwolf, he is the kind of man who doesn't speak empty words.

Aethelwolf nodded his head. "If you are worried, you can watch the refining process. The banquet will take a few hours so it wouldn't matter if the host is gone for thirty minutes." If he managed to convince Brian, he would gain the recipe of Soul Eclipse for free and he would even get the Soul Jade if the refinement process is successful.

Brian chuckled at his words. He then took out the ingredients for the Soul Eclipse and said. "I trust you, Sir Aethelwolf. Truthfully, I planned to meet with you after the banquet to have you check this ancient recipe, but I heard that you urgently need a Soul Jade, so I took my chance." After taking out all the ingredients, he stared at Aethelwolf and muttered. "I will wait for your good news in the banquet hall. Just send Henry if you are done refining the pill."

Aethelwolf nodded his head. "Sure. Just leave it to me."

Brian smiled and left the room.

Aethelwolf took out the Moonlight Frost Cauldron and sorted the ingredients. He then studied the ancient recipe with furrowed eyebrows. "Oh? The person who made this recipe has some skills. These ingredients require delicate extraction and one simple mistake could bring a negative impact on the resulting pill. It might even lead to failure. Only the most skilled Level 4 Alchemist can refine this pill." He mumbled to himself as he cleaned his cauldron. This was a habit that he had in his past life as a doctor. He would feel uncomfortable if the items he uses are not clean or improperly sterilized.

"I should use my Black Pill Fire to make this pill." He muttered as he started to extract the nutrients in the ingredients.

In the past few days, he noticed that the refinement process is a lot smoother if he uses his Black Pill Fire. Furthermore, the resulting pills are also of high quality.

If he use a Golden Pill Fire to refine the Soul Eclipse, he would only be able to produce one pill since the quality of the ingredients was not great. However, if he uses his Black Pill Fire, he was confident that he could make two pills!

Aethelwolf carefully extracted the nutrients from the ingredients. He didn't even let a single drop go to waste. After extracting everything, he poured the liquefied nutrients inside the cauldron. He stirred the mixture with the help of his world essence. He made sure that the mixture was thoroughly combined.

He didn't follow all the steps in the recipe because he noticed that some parts could be simplified.

If Brian knew that he didn't even follow the steps in the ancient recipe, he would certainly smack Aethelwolf's head. No Alchemist would dare to casually change the steps of a pill recipe that they were unfamiliar with. However, Aethelwolf was defying all logic by doing that and there wasn't even a look of hesitation in his eyes. He even had the time to pause the refinement process and lit up a cigar for himself!

"The guy who made this recipe is a genius, but he needs more training. This part right here is unnecessary and it would consume too much world essence and time if I follow the steps he noted down." He clicked his tongue before blowing sweet-scented smoke into the air. He then flicked the spent ashes into an ashtray before putting the cigar in between his lips.

After the mixture was heated to a certain temperature, it slowly formed into two small spheres. Just as he had expected, he was able to form two pills.

Seeing this, he took another puff on his cigar as he controlled the temperature of his Black Pill Fire. He then slowly decreased the heat and adjusted the flow of world essence inside the Moonlight Frost Cauldron.

Soon, two silver pills in the shape of spheres could be seen inside the cauldron.

He let the pills rest for a minute before he took them out. "He only needs one pill, right? In that case, I'll take the other one." He chuckled as kept the pills inside his storage space.

Aethelwolf cleaned up his cauldron using a clean cloth. After everything was cleaned, he stepped out of the room and saw Henry standing outside. He looked bored out of his wits, but he immediately flashed a smile when he saw Aethelwolf coming out of the room. "Sir Aethelwolf, I heard from Sir Brian that you were refining pills. Is there anything I can help you with?" He asked.

Aethelwolf patted Henry's shoulder and replied with a beaming smile. "It's done."

"Eh? It's done? That fast? I thought that refining pills would take an hour at least. It's not even thirty minutes yet..." He stared at Aethelwolf in shock. He then composed himself and said. "In that case, I'll inform Sir Brian that you have already refined the pill."

Aethelwolf nodded his head. "Let's go together."

"Alright." Henry led him to the premiere seats where the most notable figures of the Leone Empire were seated.

Aethelwolf saw the second prince chatting with some people. He also saw Julie who was reading a book in silence. 'She's reading the book here?' He chuckled when he saw this. The girl must have been too eager to learn the information inside the book.

"Henry, go and inform Sir Brian that I have refined the pill. I have to greet His Highness first." Aethelwolf said to Henry before walking in the direction of the second prince.

"Your Highness." Aethelwolf cupped his fists at the second prince.

Prince Calvin immediately turned his head when he heard the familiar voice. "Sir Aethelwolf! I've been looking for you around the banquet hall!" The prince smiled and walked towards Aethelwolf.