Chapter 87: Chapter 87: Technological Innovation
"The Gathering Profound Pill is the same. A Martial Artist who takes a low-grade Gathering Profound Pill and cultivates for one day gets the effect of two days of normal cultivation. With a mid-grade one, a day becomes three. With a high-grade one, a single day is equivalent to five."
At this, Zhou Huarong gave a wry smile. "These three types of Pills... the Alchemist Association can refine all of them. It’s not even impossible for us to sort them into high, mid, and low grades. But the Wang family has one huge advantage: price..."
"Take the Blood Restoration Pill for example. The Wang family’s price for a low-grade Blood Restoration Pill is eighty Profound Coins each. A mid-grade one is one hundred and fifty Profound Coins, and a high-grade one is three hundred Profound Coins."
"If our Alchemist Association were to sell our Blood Restoration Pills at those prices, we’d barely make a crafting fee on the high-grade ones. On the mid-grade ones, we’d break even. As for the low-grade ones, we’d actually lose money."
"The reason the Wang family’s Pills are so cheap is because they have their own medicinal gardens dedicated to growing the herbs for these three Pills. Furthermore, the Wang family’s Alchemists have an extremely high success rate. Under their assembly-line-like operation, they’ve suppressed their costs to an incredibly low level."
"The only reason we still hold ten percent of the low-end market is because of niche products like the Antitoxic Pill and the Clearing Fire Pill—markets the Wang family hasn’t touched, allowing our Alchemist Association to occupy them."
Zhou Huarong explained the Wang family’s actual situation to Ye Xuan in meticulous detail.
After hearing the explanation, Ye Xuan, though deeply annoyed with the Wang family, had to admit their assembly-line operation was indeed impressive.
They precisely segmented the low-end market, then used numerous methods like cost compression, assembly-line production, and personnel control to push their Pill prices down to a point of extremely high value for money.
At these prices, the Wang family still profited, while others could only make a small margin or even lose money. In this way, they seized complete control of the entire low-end market in one fell swoop.
Just imagine, under these circumstances, what Alchemist outside the Wang family would still bother refining these three types of Pills?
When their success rate and high-quality yield were high, they could barely scrape by with a tiny profit on high-grade Blood Restoration Pills. But the moment their high-quality yield became average, it was a pure loss. Who would continue refining then?
Faced with such a situation, any other Alchemist—even the most powerful Alchemist in the entire Liuyun Kingdom—would be at a complete loss, utterly helpless.
But Ye Xuan? How could a problem like this possibly stump him?
In an instant, at least seven or eight methods to crush the Wang family surfaced in his mind.
Thinking of this, Ye Xuan suddenly smiled. "Chairman Hua, Steward Zhou, our Ye family is also preparing to enter the Pill market. And as it happens, the three types of Pills we’re preparing to launch are exactly the same as the Wang family’s."
"The Ye family is entering the Pill market with the exact same products as the Wang family?" The two men were completely bewildered, unable to process it for a moment.
Ye Xuan nodded. "Let’s say the three types of Pills our Ye family launches are twice as effective as the Wang family’s, yet cheaper. How much of the low-end market in Blue Moon City do you think our Ye family could capture then?"
"Twice as effective, but even cheaper? Is this for real?" Steward Zhou shot to his feet, his face flushed with excitement as he panted heavily. "If you can really refine something that good, the Wang family’s Pill shops will be out of business in minutes! Who would still go to them?"
"Young Master Xuan, you can’t be joking, can you? How could a Pill with such effects possibly exist in this world?" Hua Luoxuan, however, was more rational, his eyes wide with disbelief.
As a Third Grade Alchemist, he knew very well that the Blood Restoration Pill, Qi Recovery Pill, and Gathering Profound Pill were three very mature formulas. The Wang family’s methods had already optimized these three Pills to near perfection and squeezed the costs down to the absolute minimum.
Unless there was some kind of technological revolution, the scenario Ye Xuan described was simply impossible.
’But to revolutionize the formulas for three mature Pills... could Ye Xuan really do it?’
Hua Luoxuan was certain that he himself couldn’t do it. Not just him—even if you gathered all the court Alchemists of the Liuyun Kingdom, led by the kingdom’s number one Alchemist, they still wouldn’t be able to develop such a thing.
Steward Zhou’s excited expression froze. "Young Master Xuan, you weren’t just joking about all that, were you?"
Ye Xuan said coolly, "Do I look like I’m joking?"
"This..."
Hua Luoxuan and Zhou Huarong glanced at each other. If any other Alchemist had told them this, they would have dismissed him as an idiot. But this was Ye Xuan, and that changed everything.
If such a Pill truly existed, crushing the Wang family would be absolutely effortless.
"I only have one demand: crush the Wang family. Make it so they can’t sell a single Pill in Blue Moon City, and their whole family ends up begging on the streets."
Ye Xuan harbored absolute killing intent toward the Wang family. Since they had already made a fatal move against him, he wouldn’t mind pulling them out by the roots.
"Young Master Xuan, if we can really refine the three types of Pills you mentioned, forget just one Wang family! We could sell these Pills throughout the entire Liuyun Kingdom, and even to the surrounding Thirteen Countries! We’ll make every other family selling these three Pills go begging!"
"Very good. In a moment, I’ll bring out the refining method and the pill formulas. The Ye family has no Alchemists, so the Alchemist Association will provide them. Our Ye family will provide the medicinal herbs and the method. As for the profit split, let’s do sixty-forty. The Ye family takes sixty percent, the Alchemist Association takes forty."
"What? That low?" An odd expression appeared on Zhou Huarong’s face, and the words slipped out before he could stop them.
Usually, in an Alchemy collaboration, the party providing the Alchemists takes the lion’s share. Often, the Alchemists take seventy to eighty percent, leaving only twenty to thirty percent for the herb provider. Ye Xuan’s proposed split was simply outrageous.
"What, Steward Zhou? Do you disagree?"
"AHEM." Zhou Huarong waved his hands frantically. "Young Master Xuan, you must be joking. A sixty-forty split... how could I possibly have an opinion on that?"
In any case, he wasn’t the one in charge of the Alchemist Association. Before he could finish his sentence, Zhou Huarong suddenly felt a chilling aura wash over him. The Alchemist Association’s Chairman, Hua Luoxuan, was glaring at him with a murderous look.
Zhou Huarong wanted to cry. ’Why did I have to run my mouth? Whether I agree with Young Master Xuan or not, I don’t have the authority to decide. In the end, it’s all up to the Chairman. And look, Chairman Hua is clearly angry. He must think the split is too low.’
While he was trembling with fear, Hua Luoxuan smacked Zhou Huarong hard on the back of the head. "You bastard! You don’t know how to appreciate a favor or repay kindness! How dare you negotiate prices with Young Master Xuan? If he hadn’t guided you, would you have broken through to become a Second Grade Alchemist?"
This tirade left Zhou Huarong stunned. ’What does the Chairman mean by this?’
Hua Luoxuan then declared righteously, "Young Master Xuan, a sixty-forty split is too disadvantageous for the Ye family! If we can truly produce such a Pill, it should be at least seventy-thirty. To be blunt, even at seventy-thirty, our Alchemist Association would still be benefiting greatly."
Hua Luoxuan was a smart man. If they couldn’t produce such Pills, then so be it. But if they could, it would absolutely overturn the entire low-end Pill market of the Liuyun Kingdom. At that point, forget seventy-thirty; even at eighty-twenty, he would be raking in an immense fortune.
’Besides,’ he thought, ’the smaller the Alchemist Association’s share of the profit, the better my image will be in Young Master Xuan’s eyes. If he offers a bit more guidance down the line... what is mere money compared to the great Dao of Alchemy?’
Soon, the two parties reached a verbal agreement.
A moment later, Ye Xuan produced the pill formulas and the refining method.
The pill formulas had some subtle variations from the standard ones. Ye Xuan explained that only the core members of the Ye family would know the exact differences; the Alchemist Association would simply receive the pre-mixed medicinal herbs.
Although Ye Xuan trusted Hua Luoxuan and Zhou Huarong, he didn’t know the other Alchemists in the Association. To prevent any leaks, he had to make this decision.
Furthermore, Ye Xuan’s refining method was completely different from the conventional approach.
After seeing the specific refining method, both men were stunned.
It was a method that involved multiple Alchemists working together, with the number of cauldrons used varying according to the number of Alchemists.
According to the description, with enough people, it was even possible to refine dozens of cauldrons of Pills at once.
Not only did the quantity increase significantly, but the refining time was also drastically reduced. Under normal circumstances, refining one cauldron of Blood Restoration Pills took one hour.
But with the new method, it only required less than half an hour—a reduction of at least fifty percent.
This wasn’t just a different refining method; it was a complete technological revolution.
If Ye Xuan’s refining method could truly be implemented, then any First Grade Alchemist could refine a daily quantity of these three Pills that was double or even more than what the Wang family’s Alchemists, who had been immersed in the craft for over a decade, could produce.
Even though Hua Luoxuan and Zhou Huarong had personally seen Ye Xuan refine three different cauldrons of Pills at once, they still found it somewhat hard to believe.
’Could this refining method really succeed?’
Ye Xuan, of course, paid no mind to their doubts. He didn’t concern himself with the specific business collaboration either, instead handing over the terms and other documents to his uncle, Ye Zhanxiong, who arrived later.
That very night, the Ye family and the Alchemist Association formally signed a letter of intent for their cooperation.
The moment they signed the agreement with Chairman Hua Luoxuan, Ye Zhanxiong and the others felt as if they were in a dream.
’It feels so surreal. The Ye family hasn’t even moved our estate over yet, and we’re already preparing to enter the Pill market in Blue Moon City? And our partner is none other than the prestigious Alchemist Association!’
’My nephew is simply heaven-defying.’
Although Ye Zhanxiong’s head was spinning with confusion, his actions were decisive and without hesitation.
A message was sent back to Cyan Mountain Town via messenger hawk. Three days later, the first batch of medicinal herbs had already arrived in Blue Moon City.
As the collaboration was about to begin, Ye Xuan made one firm demand: the core aspects of the refining process had to be controlled by either Hua Luoxuan or Zhou Huarong.
