After the pressure cooker lid was opened, four antidotes lay inside.
"Clearly, it was successful, why didn’t it explode?" Ruan Hao said as he carefully picked up the antidotes one by one and put them into his palm, observing them meticulously.
After repeatedly examining the antidotes several times, he murmured in a low voice, "Indeed, the quality is far inferior to the ones Miss Gu produced, and the pill success rate is much lower too."
He took a small porcelain bottle, put the antidotes inside, placed it on the table beside him, and fixed his gaze back on the pressure cooker, his eyes filled with determination, "I must continue working hard and strive to achieve an explosion soon."
As he said this, he clenched his right hand into a fist and held it to his chest, cheering himself on, "Come on, Ruan Hao, you can do it!"
After motivating himself, Ruan Hao began preparing the materials, planning to refine another batch.
Suddenly, his phone rang in his pocket.
Hearing the ringtone, Ruan Hao wanted to ignore it, but worried that the caller might have something important to say, he took out the phone.
He rummaged in his pocket for a moment, took out an old-fashioned mobile phone, glanced at the caller’s name, and saw it was Lu Yuanjiang. A hint of confusion crossed Ruan Hao’s eyes.
Their relationship wasn’t particularly good; although they had exchanged numbers, they rarely kept in touch. Why was Lu Yuanjiang suddenly calling him today?
With a heart full of doubts, he pressed the answer button.
As soon as he answered, he heard Lu Yuanjiang’s hearty and casual voice, "Xiao Ruan, it’s me, Lu Yuanjiang."
His energetic voice carried a hint of a smile.
"Hello, Alchemist Lu." Ruan Hao greeted formally.
After Ruan Hao’s greeting, Lu Yuanjiang couldn’t wait and asked, "Xiao Ruan, have you advanced?"
Ruan Hao didn’t expect Lu Yuanjiang to ask this question suddenly, so he replied blankly, "Huh? No... I don’t think so."
"Oh? Really? Have you tried refining?" Lu Yuanjiang asked this question upon hearing Ruan Hao’s response.
Without waiting for Ruan Hao to answer, he continued on his own, "Last night, I couldn’t sleep, tossing and turning, so I got up and tried refining a few batches of elixir. Guess what happened?"
This time, after asking, Lu Yuanjiang remained silent, waiting for Ruan Hao to inquire.
It took Ruan Hao a moment to react, and he asked blankly, "What happened?"
"I successfully refined elixir for both Fourth-order Middle Stage and Fourth-order late stage, refined five batches, all successful, and my pill success rate reached 50%."
Lu Yuanjiang’s tone was filled with obvious joy.
Ruan Hao was first surprised upon hearing what Lu Yuanjiang said, then belatedly congratulated him, "Well, congratulations."
His congratulations were sincere, mixed with some surprise and envy.
Until today, he and Lu Yuanjiang were both Fourth-order Primary Stage alchemists, and their pill success rates were both 40%.
Now, Lu Yuanjiang had suddenly become a Fourth-order late stage alchemist, with his pill success rate reaching 50%; how could Ruan Hao not be surprised and envious?
"Thank you." Lu Yuanjiang said, somewhat embarrassed by Ruan Hao’s congratulations, though the joy in his voice did not diminish.
Ruan Hao listened and did not say anything further.
Apart from teaching students how to refine elixirs or discussing alchemy, he truly didn’t know how to interact with people.
Both sides were quiet for a few seconds. Ruan Hao thought that Lu Yuanjiang was about to hang up the phone, but then he suddenly asked, "Xiao Ruan, did you try refining elixir for Fourth-order Middle Stage or Fourth-order late stage last night?"
After returning to their respective houses last night, it was already late, but Lu Yuanjiang couldn’t sleep, so he spent the night refining in the alchemy room.