Defective Cauldron Becomes Treasure Cauldron

Leo Bo was also busy refining pills in the Grand Alchemy Hall. When he saw Grace happily walking out with her finished pills, he shot her a suspicious glance, then sneaked after her.

Grace pretended not to notice and brought her freshly refined pills to Vice President Liu. She asked, "President, could you take a look and tell me how the quality is? Do you think there's a chance for a reward?"

Vice President Liu took one pill, sniffed it, and was instantly dazzled by its rich, lingering aroma.

"You made these pills yourself?"

"Yep, just finished them!" Grace replied.

"May I taste just a little?" Vice President Liu asked.

"Of course!" Grace said. "Try as much as you want—there'll be plenty more soon."

Vice President Liu nodded and popped a Qi Condensation Pill into his mouth.

The moment he swallowed, his eyes went blank and he froze in place.

"Well?" Grace asked.

Vice President Liu slapped his thigh in excitement. "Amazing! This is the best of the best! I've never seen Qi Condensation Pills of such high quality in my entire life!"

"Really?" Grace beamed. "Does that mean I get a reward?"

"If all three hundred Qi Condensation Pills you submit are this good, the reward is yours for sure!" Vice President Liu said. "But how did you do it? Did you use some kind of treasure cauldron?"

Grace glanced around, pretending not to notice Leo Bo, and whispered, "There's a defective cauldron in the Grand Alchemy Hall. Its exhaust system was blocked! I used that cauldron to refine the pills."

"You made these with a defective cauldron? No way!" Vice President Liu gasped.

"Well, I actually studied cauldron forging," Grace said. "I tweaked the exhaust system a bit, and I never expected it could produce pills of such high quality!"

"Really? You're incredible—turning a junk cauldron into a treasure!" Vice President Liu stared at her in awe.

"Hehe! I'm heading back now! That little cauldron can only handle fifty pills at a time. I need to keep refining, or I'll run out of time!"

"Go on, hurry!"

So Grace bounced away, full of energy.

When she got back, she instantly burst out laughing.

Her defective cauldron had already been swapped out!

"Hey! Isn't this the cauldron I just used?" Grace shouted. "Who took my cauldron?"

The other alchemists in the hall kept quiet.

One of them, though, gave her a subtle hint with a nod.