Chapter 415: The Meaning Behind It

Chapter 415: The Meaning Behind It

Jenna stood outside the workshop, feeling slightly puzzled as no one had emerged for quite a while. The young Magic Pharmacists had indeed been sent over as assistants. While there was some hope that they might learn from his techniques, it wasn’t an absolute requirement. If Zheng Yichen had spoken up and asked them to leave, they would have stepped aside without question.

Making Magic Potions wasn’t just about knowing the ingredients. Many potions used the same materials, but the ratios and steps could be entirely different. So when Zheng Yichen listed the ingredients needed, Jenna wasn’t particularly thrilled. Knowing the ingredients of a formula meant little; cracking the full recipe would still take a lot of time. Besides, they had already figured out some of the materials.

Zheng Yichen’s actions simply sped up the process. Once the Fixation Potion formula was truly deciphered, it might no longer be a top secret anyway.

That was why Jenna grew genuinely curious when Zheng Yichen didn’t send the assistants away after so long. She had assumed they were only there to help handle materials—some potion ingredients required extra preparation before use. Those steps weren’t highly skilled but were tedious and complicated.

“Lady Jenna…” A young Magic Pharmacist walked out of the workshop. At first, he didn’t notice Jenna and took a couple of steps with his head down before finally spotting her.

Seeing his dazed expression, Jenna ignored his initial oversight and went straight to her question. “He didn’t mind you watching?”

“Uh… no.” The young Magic Pharmacist shook his head firmly, still looking somewhat lost.

“So, what did you learn?”

“Well… I started deeply doubting everything I’ve learned before.” The young Magic Pharmacist spoke with visible frustration as he recounted what he had witnessed. After listening, Jenna herself felt a bit stunned. Zheng Yichen’s method of making potions was… unconventional, to say the least. He actually mixed Fixation Potions using Base Potions?

Did that mean there wasn’t just one Fixation Potion formula? Could that be why their progress in cracking it had stalled—because they had been using the wrong approach all along?

Regardless of how effective Zheng Yichen’s method was, the idea alone felt refreshingly new. Jenna even noticed many unique techniques. Not all Elixir Formulas were publicly known; various factions kept their potion recipes closely guarded. Even if other factions had similar formulas, such knowledge rarely spread into completely open circles.

As long as only a few held the knowledge, it wouldn’t significantly impact interests. But once made public, it would greatly affect many factions. Take the Fixation Potion, for example—even if Zheng Yichen’s formula were cracked, the faction that succeeded wouldn’t casually share it.

Doing so would not only offend Zheng Yichen deeply but also raise the question: why should they freely give away something they worked so hard to uncover? Wouldn’t that be pointless?

However, formulas weren’t always perfectly kept secret—otherwise, terms like “cracking” or “stealing” wouldn’t exist. But if one used Zheng Yichen’s method, splitting a formula into several parts, preparing separate Base Potions, and then mixing them in specific ratios to create the desired potion, keeping it secret would become much easier!

Even production requirements could be lowered. The more ingredients a potion required, the harder it was to make. With fewer materials, even less skilled Magic Pharmacists could contribute. Breaking down one high-difficulty task into several medium-difficulty tasks seemed highly feasible. After all, high-level Magic Pharmacists were far rarer than mid-level ones—the ratio was much more extreme than 1:100!

This method would also simplify secrecy, especially against theft. Steal the formula? Fine, but try stealing all the Base Potion recipes at once. Otherwise, incomplete information would be useless. Moreover, once mixed into the final potion, the Base Potion components couldn’t be reverse-engineered.

Still, Jenna had some doubts about whether this approach would actually work. But after glancing at the Fixation Potions in the box the young Magic Pharmacist carried, her doubts vanished. The potions inside were indeed Fixation Potions, and their color indicated high quality.

As for deception, she didn’t believe all the young Magic Pharmacists sent over could be lying in unison!

After dismissing the Magic Pharmacist, Jenna fell into thought. From the account she heard, Zheng Yichen’s method was highly efficient. One high-difficulty production took much longer than several lower-difficulty ones, and success rates increased as difficulty decreased. In relative terms, this method could save a significant amount of time.

The real question then arose: with such a unique approach, how did one split an Elixir Formula to achieve this?

This opened up another research direction. Of course, now that they knew this theory, they could study known Elixir Formulas. What Zheng Yichen accomplished, even if through Talent alone, could be replicated by gathering many Magic Pharmacists for research.

Once achieved, it would revolutionize normal potion production. Even if quality didn’t improve, productivity would increase greatly. High-level Magic Pharmacists were hard to come by, but low-level ones were plentiful!

Though referred to as “half a day,” Zheng Yichen completed the required number of Fixation Potions in about five hours. After all, he only needed to prepare the Base Potions. The somewhat repetitive mixing of Base Potions could be left to the assistant Magic Pharmacists.

One fundamental skill of a Magic Pharmacist was precise control over material ratios. Base Potions counted as “materials” too. If they couldn’t handle such a simple task, they might as well quit being Magic Pharmacists and become Warriors instead.

By the end of half a day, Zheng Yichen had produced 233 bottles of Fixation Potion. It wasn’t that he couldn’t make more or speed up to reach 250, but when he hit 233, he unconsciously stopped.

“It’s over…” The young Magic Pharmacists in the workshop murmured blankly. They probably wouldn’t get any sleep tonight—not just shocked by Zheng Yichen’s unique skills, but also frightened by his incredibly high success rate.

So far, Zheng Yichen’s error rate was below 1%, and even that was intentional. Though “intentional”… was still somewhat challenging.

“Whew… I’m exhausted.” Rubbing his arm for show, Zheng Yichen spoke with clear fatigue. Making potions consumed not only Mana but also Spiritual Power. After finishing, Zheng Yichen headed straight to the Potion Department’s rest area. Regardless of tiredness, resting now was the right move. Producing 233 potions non-stop, even using a method some might call “cutting corners,” would still leave anyone drained.

But if he remained energetic afterward, people would wonder: How are you so remarkable? How can you be this amazing? You’re only human!

“He actually finished.” Jenna felt unsettled and shaken upon hearing the news. If Zheng Yichen were some old master, she would simply admire his skill. But Zheng Yichen was young—not someone who had lived long and maintained a youthful appearance through sheer power. So him accomplishing this alone was truly astounding.

Now that Zheng Yichen was resting, she saw no reason to disturb him. As Zheng Yichen had anticipated, resting after such an effort was perfectly normal. Through this action, he successfully avoided much trouble. When Achille received the potions, he inquired about Zheng Yichen’s condition from the delivery person.

Learning that Zheng Yichen was so tired he had fallen into a deep sleep in the resting area, Achille nodded slightly and temporarily set the matter aside. It wasn’t that he considered Zheng Yichen unimportant—quite the opposite. Being able to produce more than the required Fixation Potions in half a day alone warranted greater attention. From this perspective, it was no surprise that the Fate Witch had taken notice of Zheng Yichen—even interacted with him directly.

He possessed not only outstanding Talent in creating potions but also incredibly strong production skills, achieving what seemed nearly impossible.

“Still not perfect, though.” In the resting area, Zheng Yichen lay with his eyes closed, thinking to himself. While repeatedly preparing Base Potions, he had entered a somewhat numb rhythm and overlooked details—like using Mana-restoring potions to assist during the process. But he had gotten too carried away and forgotten.

Ah well… might as well act as if he were naturally gifted. After all, this persona probably wouldn’t last much longer—at least not for now. But giving up entirely?

How could he just abandon his true appearance? Even if he couldn’t use it temporarily due to exposure, he planned to revive this image in the future, no matter what others thought. For now, he needed to quickly elevate his importance before the Undying Witch incident was fully resolved. That way, if his identity were exposed later, he could still project a unique image!

This dragon… belonged to the “family-friendly” faction.

As for the Dragon Clan’s plans, Zheng Yichen figured that since conflict with them was inevitable sooner or later, why worry about their schemes now? The only regret was lacking enough strength to single-handedly defeat the entire Dragon Clan and make them acknowledge his identity.

“Alright, that concludes today’s summary.” In a Conference Room, Jenna reported all the information gathered about Zheng Yichen, including his special technique.

After her report, the room fell into brief silence. Jenna was one of the heads of the Magic Department—a high position. But here, compared to the senior figures present, she seemed somewhat out of place. She was only attending this meeting because of matters related to Zheng Yichen.

After all, he had single-handedly filled the Sanctuary Church’s shortage of Fixation Potions here at the Border Great Wall. Such an accomplishment naturally drew their attention.

Even though she could enter the Conference Room, her report on Zheng Yichen wasn’t the first item—it was placed rather late on the agenda. The ripple effects of the Undying Witch incident were massive, keeping the Border Great Wall extremely busy. Many matters needed discussion in meetings.

“This new technique indeed holds great potential and could be very useful for development.” A high-ranking official pondered for a moment before speaking. Anyone in such a position had to possess sharp insight. Though the technique seemed unconventional, its value was undeniable. “Only the Undying Witch herself knows what impact her actions will bring. Besides actively responding, we must prepare as much as possible for the future.”

“Indeed, we can develop this further. This method could mobilize low-level Magic Pharmacists to the greatest extent.” Another senior official chimed in. This one had direct ties to the Potion Department, so he understood the approach more clearly. At first glance, it might not seem groundbreaking, but no one had thought of it before. Breaking conventions wasn’t something everyone could easily do.

After a moment of thought, he continued, “In fact, this convention-breaking technique could even become a new form of legacy… Yet he used it openly in the Potion Department without any attempt to hide it. You all understand what that implies, right?”

No one else spoke. They all knew: openly using the technique meant he didn’t mind the Border Great Wall’s Potion Department learning it. Moreover, afterwards, he made no additional demands—suggesting a contribution without strings attached… probably!

“In that case, we shouldn’t offer nothing in return. We’ll discuss this matter later. For now, Jenna remains in charge of matters concerning him.” Another senior official stated. Thinking Zheng Yichen wanted nothing? Those in their positions wouldn’t entertain such naivety. Even if Zheng Yichen truly sought nothing, they would assume he had some unspoken needs.

Besides, Zheng Yichen had arrived with troubles of his own. Even if those troubles wouldn’t truly affect the Border Great Wall, the situation here allowed Zheng Yichen to temporarily set aside his concerns. Thus, his actions carried a hint of… enthusiastic hinting.

But since Zheng Yichen had shared his unique technique, even if he did have troubles, now that they knew about this method, they wouldn’t mind stepping in slightly to help resolve Zheng Yichen’s issues. Why?

Was it wrong for the Border Great Wall to help someone who had made a significant contribution with a minor problem? He hadn’t done anything heinous; his troubles stemmed purely from his Talent. If anything, that made helping him even more justified!

Given his clean record, assisting someone who contributed greatly to the Border Great Wall was reasonable. Providing a better environment for a highly Talented individual was also reasonable. No one could argue otherwise.

However, priorities mattered. As long as Zheng Yichen stayed within the Border Great Wall, no one would dare cause trouble for him here. So his issues didn’t need immediate handling. They could wait until after the Undying Witch incident concluded and Zheng Yichen was about to leave.

Once Jenna finished her report, there was no need for her to remain in the Conference Room. The topics to follow weren’t for her ears. Leaving the meeting, Jenna didn’t feel particularly joyful. Being entrusted with this task might seem like an opportunity to gain visibility among senior figures—a Quest that, if done well, could lead to promotions and raises.

In reality…

Well, better focus on doing it properly. Jenna pondered briefly, setting aside her minor frustrations. What others might eagerly seek, she had obtained effortlessly. No point overthinking—just do it well. Zheng Yichen was quite agreeable, and he had shown willingness to “exchange ideas” with the Potion Department. Starting with this novel technique seemed perfect.

Zheng Yichen had already revealed this method—a great beginning. For anything else they needed to learn, they could take their time over the next few days.