Sect Leader's Rise to the top!

Kai could only watch as the old man stood by respectfully with his hands clasped in front of him. After he had re-introduced himself, he apologized to Kai for not recognizing such a 'magnificent talent' and even for asking him to go on such a dangerous errand.

Kai quickly understood the old man's motives when he started asking more questions about his alchemy methods and whether or not Kai had a secret family technique. Kai wasn't lying when he said that he used the basic alchemy method to craft the pills.

The only difference was that he used Qi-Rotation on the finished pills to increase their quality. He obviously wouldn't share this information freely, so he packed up his pills before the old man had a chance to ask more questions.

"Are there any other Master-Alchemist in Huang City?", Kai asked carefully.

The old man was now a lot more respectful and even remained standing while Kai was still seated, which actually made Kai a bit uncomfortable.

"Yes, there is one currently in the employ of the Twin-Lions Sect. He is from the southern part of the continent and was traveling around when the sect made him a generous offer to host him for a few years...".

Kai left the building while scratching his head in deep thought. He had asked the old man a lot of questions to try and figure out the benefits of being a Master-Alchemist. From what he now understood, the main benefit was in who he could work with.

A sect like the Twin-Lions sect was willing to spend an absurd amount of resources to keep a Master-Alchemist in-house for just a few years.

Working for a sect went against Kai's need for independence so this was still out of the question. However, not joining a deterrent power like the Twin-Lions sect would invite danger to him since those with less upright morals could try kidnapping him to force him into a life of pill crafting.

Before Kai left, he made sure that the old man would keep this information to himself under the promise that he would still try to look for the rare herbs in the pocket dimension which made the old man happy. Kai walked away while sighing at the trouble that he had caused for himself.

"I guess things can't always go the way I want", He thought while walking down the street. "Well, I'll just need to get strong enough to deal with whatever comes my way!". Kai thought as he subconsciously started to run down the street. He had a lot to do and not much time to do it in. First, he would need to upgrade his manuals. At first, he wanted to avoid buying materials to save as much money as possible, but at this point, Kai felt that he had little choice but to spend openly.

Kai made a quick detour at home before he made his way over to the Auction house which had previously belonged to the Lee family. The outside structure remained the same, but the banners and signs had changed and now read "Song Family Auction House". The Guards were also different, now wearing sturdy-looking armor with purple accents, yet the people didn't seem to care and went about their shopping as per usual.

"Song family...", Kai mumbled while walking into the building. He remembered that the Song family were the ones who had bought his Qi crystal for 50 times its worth, netting him just about 50,000 gold coins from that one exchange.

"Didn't they also offer me a favor?...", Kai thought as he hid his sinister smile behind his mask. He walked straight up to the second floor. Kai thought the security would try to stop him but instead, they welcomed him in and even opened the doors for him.

"Mr. Kai, thank you for giving us a visit!", said a woman in a purple dress waiting at the entrance of the second floor. The second floor was the VIP area where only high-quality items could be found.

"My reputation obviously precedes me". Kai said while walking down one of the isles and inspecting the glass cases full of items. The woman quickly followed behind him.

"Indeed, we were under strict instructions to welcome you if you showed up.". Said the woman with a small smile.

"I see...well, I'm looking for items of high quality, preferably [Grade-3]".

Kai knew that he didn't have nearly enough money to buy [Grade-3] items but he had a plan.

The woman seemed surprised but quickly signaled for the nearby attendants to approach. She whispered something into their ears and they ran off.

"Please follow me to the waiting room. The items you have requested will be delivered there soon". Kai followed the woman into the well-decorated room where he was served tea. A few minutes after they had arrived, a knock was heard on the door, which the attendant quickly opened.

A woman in an alluring purple dress walked into the room confidently. She had a smile on her face and flicked her hair playfully as she walked. Kai recognized her but did not know her name. This was the woman from the Song Family who had bid on his Qi-Crystal and given him the open-ended favor.

"Mr. Kai, I'm glad you have visited us, I am Song Fei. It is a pleasure to finally meet you in person", She said as she sat across Kai. She crossed her legs which exposed quite a bit of skin through the slit of her dress then licked her lips lightly.

"Isn't she trying a bit too hard to be sexy?" Kai thought while looking at the woman. She was clearly beautiful, but he had seen hundreds of beauties in this world already, so one more really did nothing for him. Kai acknowledged her with a nod then introduced himself.

"Kai..."

"..."

After the momentary awkward silence, an attendant came into the room while carefully pushing a tray with three glass cases on it. inside the cases were three very distinct objects.

"[Grade-3] goods are always in high demand no matter what they are, so we seldom have any in stock. Luckily we recently got a shipment from our family expedition. These three items are what they brought back". Song Fei explained as the tray was placed in front of Kai.

"The first is the horn of a [Blood Rhino] which is a high-grade [Grade-3] beast. They said the creature had died after a battle for territory. Right after its death, the team worked quickly to secure some parts before other creatures came to feed. Unfortunately, they could not secure the core in time"

Kai analyzed the item as she spoke.

[Blood Rhino Horn] [Grade-3] [Qi 1033]

Kai nodded his head. The description matched what they had said which proved that it was genuine. Kai wondered just how much Qi the beast had to have had when it was alive if just its horn had this much Qi.

"The next two items are cores from [Grade-3] beasts. As you may be aware, creatures at [Grade-3] have a chance to generate a beast core. The more powerful the beast, the more valuable the beast core would be.

The first core is from a [Thunder-Fin] which is a low-ranked [Grade-3] beast. The second core is from a [Mist-Walker], which is a mid-ranked [Grade-3] beast.

[Thunder-Fin Core] [Grade-3] [ Qi 1320]

[Mist-Walker Core] [Grade-3] [ Qi 2029]

Kai wanted them all.

These were guaranteed D-Rank manuals, which would be a massive boost to his power no matter what he got. Judging by the cool-sounding names, the skills had to be good which made Kai want them even more, but there was still the issue of cost.

"How much for everything?" Kai asked which prompted a strange look from Song Fei.

"...Well, as you may be aware, [Grade-3] beasts aren't easy to find. Also since this would be a direct sale, We would need to ask for a minimum of 40,000 gold coins for the horn.

The [Thunder-Fin Core], I can give to you for 70,000 gold coins, and the [Mist-Walker Core] I can agree to 90,000.

The total would be 200,000 gold coins. I can then give you a 10% discount since you're buying all three. This will bring your total down to 180,000 gold coins. What do you say, pretty good deal huh?". Song Fei asked with a sweet smile.

"Yes well...are you willing to accept a trade?.", Kai asked while trying his best to hide the cracking in his voice. He knew it would be expensive but this was just ridiculous.

"Sure!", She said, while she eagerly waited to see what he wanted to trade.

Kai pulled out a porcelain pill bottle and placed it on the table. "I can trade 100 Superior Grade [Basic Healing Pills]. Will this be acceptable?", Kai asked as nonchalantly as possible.

"100 [Basic Healing Pills]?...well I don't think....wait, did you say Superior Grade?!", She asked as she stood up from her chair in absolute shock, quickly grabbing the pill bottle. She opened it up and took a small whiff before quickly closing it again.

"You said you have 100 of these right? can you tell me who crafted them?!". Song Fei was becoming hysterical but then quickly composed herself when she saw Kai sitting there in silence. She made sure that the door was properly closed before going back to her seat and clearing her throat.

"Ehm, well...100 [Basic Healing Pills] usually wouldn't be enough, but as a favor to you Mr. Kai, I am willing to accept. Can you disclose the origins of the pills?. We would love to do more business with the esteemed Master-Alchemist!". Song Fei said with some excitement.

"Unfortunately, I cannot say, but I will pass on the message...". This answer crushed Song Fei's excitement instantly, but she immediately recovered when Kai presented the remaining pills, all at the superior grade.

"Incredible, this is just incredible. This is big...no huge... no it's massive!. Anyone capable of creating this many, we need this person!", Song Fei mumbled to herself as she inspected each pill bottle carefully.

Kai on the other hand was surprised that his little plan had worked so easily. He had actually been willing to trade all 1000 superior grade pills that he had, but she ended up accepting his first offer so easily.

Based on Old Lao's description, 100 Superior [Basic Healing Pills] should only be worth 10,000 gold at most, yet Kai had just been able to trade them for a whopping 200,000 gold worth of materials!.