Chapter 420: Bad Thing? This is Good!

Chapter 420: Bad Thing? This is Good!

Jenna watched the unmoving Zheng Yichen, the corner of her eye twitching slightly. This arrogant tone wasn’t there a few days ago. What was up today? What’s wrong with him?

“You shouldn’t be this stubborn. While your method might be effective from a faction’s perspective, the impact on an individual is too severe,” Jenna advised him. She didn’t want to see a talented Magic Pharmacist shunned by the collective because of his extreme actions.

“Those who get sucked in are just unable to resist temptation. They can’t see their own depth. For truly talented individuals, this method might be useless. But for the untalented Magic Pharmacists, this is a new path!” Zheng Yichen countered. “Although I came up with that method, I also study and research step-by-step at other times. Now that I try to share this publicly, it’s one thing if they don’t understand, but causing an uproar? Let them make as much noise as they want. Question it? I am the most successful case. What right do they have to question it? Leaving this circle doesn’t mean I can’t survive. Let those questioning bastards take a blood oath before the River Styx—swear never to use the Magic Potions I developed in their entire lives.”

Jenna was speechless. Zheng Yichen’s words poked right at the sore spot of Magic Pharmacists. Whether it was the Mana Enhancement Potion, which temporarily boosted one’s Mana limit with no side effects, or the high-demand Fixation Potion… many Magic Pharmacists honestly couldn’t bring themselves to take such a blood oath and swear off using it forever…

Especially the Fixation Potion!

Therefore, Zheng Yichen didn’t need to worry about starving even if the entire Magic Pharmacist circle shunned him. Even if the Magic Pharmacists didn’t support his research, a large group of Professionals would. They didn’t care about unconventional theories. For them, as long as a Magic Potion worked, it was fine. Anything else? What did any of that matter to them?

“Sigh, just think it over carefully,” Jenna shook her head slightly. Zheng Yichen had already made his stance this clear; further persuasion was pointless. After that, the matter exploded into a full-blown controversy. The most heated place was the Magic Weapon Forum, filled with posts like ‘How are you so awesome?’ Some questioned it and explained the long-term impact of this method on Magic Pharmacists, even using phrases like ‘poison the mind’.

Others, however, relished the spectacle, eager to see how things would unfold. Zheng Yichen, using his forum alt ID ‘Baiyi Fa’, also outlined the pros and cons of this method. He stated very clearly: Those who cannot resist temptation and control themselves should give up any hope of significant achievement. How many truly successful people indulge themselves recklessly?

Don’t only look at the bad side; look at the good too. Wasn’t he himself an example? Those with good Talent didn’t need this. But for Magic Pharmacists with poor talent, who never stood much chance of standing out anyway, this method offered a new path. Was that really a bad thing for those with an already dim future?

Things couldn’t really get worse for them. If you can’t become a genius, try becoming a prodigy instead. Was having an extra opportunity really a bad thing?…Well, even if that was sort of stating the obvious, it was enough to divide that collective of Magic Pharmacists. Zheng Yichen wouldn’t truly ignore the matter and let it evolve in the worst possible direction. That might lead to some troublemakers claiming a certain alien race had ill intentions once his true identity was exposed.

He wanted this method to be established as ‘legitimate’ and ‘feasible,’ like Magic and Arcane Arts. Strictly speaking, Arcane Arts were also an unconventional way of using Magic, relying on particular methods to grant unique characteristics. While Magic was inaccessible to those lacking the aptitude, many Arcane Arts could bypass that requirement.

The consequence for those lacking the prerequisites, however, was often burning out all their Spiritual Power, Soul, or even their physical body. Yet now, Arcane Arts were widely accepted, seen as nothing unusual. Zheng Yichen didn’t expect his admittedly somewhat problematic research method to be embraced without reservations, but he aimed to convince the majority that this method wasn’t conceived with malicious intent.

Truthfully, Zheng Yichen truly harbored no ill will. As others inevitably cracked the secrets of his Magic Potions through their own research, his methods would eventually be exposed. For now, the primary goal was generating hype for himself—good, positive hype that positioned him ‘for the people’.

Zheng Yichen’s sticky post didn’t last long at the top, but it was seen by many browsing the Magic Weapon Forum. The first to seriously consider it were the untalented Magic Pharmacists. These Magic Pharmacists were painfully aware of their own limitations. Poor talent often brought harsh self-awareness. They knew exactly what their future held: becoming mere ‘workers’ for some merchant house, producing low or mid-tier Magic Potions, lost in the sea of others like them.

The chance to become someone whose name people instantly recalled when mentioning a Magic Potion, immortalized in history or biographies? Completely out of their reach. Yet, the reason they worked so hard studying Magic Pharmacology wasn’t purely for love of the craft; factors like fame and fortune were inevitably involved.

Indifferent to that? Who was truly indifferent? Only those who never worried about resource supply or back-end support, free to immerse themselves solely in the joy of developing new Magic Potions! And those pharmacists—which among them lacked fame?

So, they also wanted to strive and work hard. But their talent was limiting. No matter how hard they tried, their achievements and support just wouldn’t increase. They naturally hit a dead end. The further you progressed as a Magic Pharmacist, the more resources you devoured. Zheng Yichen’s words resonated deeply with them.

That was right! Their life’s peak was already set; there was no lower to sink. So, why not try this unconventional method? Accumulating knowledge and talent-driven research didn’t help them much. Genius was out of reach. Becoming a prodigy was still unlikely, but at least possible! Besides, this method leaned heavily on luck too. Even if they couldn’t become prodigies, what if fortune favored them, leading them to successfully innovate a decent Magic Potion?

That was still better than being a Magic Potion-making machine for a lifetime.

And those nagging talented or well-connected Magic Pharmacists? Why didn’t they act like Zheng Yichen suggested? They already had paths through traditional accumulation and research—so quit trying to claim this new method and its potential opportunities! Protest all you want, but keep your hands off this approach!

Gradually, two factions emerged surrounding the method Zheng Yichen promoted. One group of Magic Pharmacists began shifting their stance, voicing support for it… Regarding this shift, many veteran Magic Pharmacists and those with ulterior motives felt helpless. They couldn’t possibly influence all the untalented Magic Pharmacists—their numbers were vast and uncountable.

How to exert that influence? The obvious way to halt their defection was offering them a universally visible new hope. But that was impossible. So, they had to watch events unfold. Even some who initially lost their cool started reconsidering after calmly reading Zheng Yichen’s post… and found it quite reasonable.

Elite talents like themselves, who consistently outperformed their peers, genuinely didn’t need this method. Becoming addicted to it meant you lacked ability. Raging against it, fiercely questioning and rejecting it… felt almost like admitting personal inadequacy… Er, that was unacceptable! So pharmacists like them started wavering in their stance.

Furthermore, trying the method even slightly revealed its novelty… Naturally gifted Magic Pharmacists didn’t need to rely on it. But what if, when facing a bottleneck or difficulty in future research, this method proved useful? A lever to pry open a stubborn lid that other tools wouldn’t budge… who knew, it might just break through.

They didn’t need to apply it throughout an entire research process. Just using it on specific, stuck points within a normal research project to overcome previously unsolvable problems could still boost innovation success rates—unlike untalented pharmacists who just had to gamble on pure luck. Hmph~ Even an unconventional method like this could yield true results if used properly.

Alright, thinking it over this way, the method wasn’t worthless trash. Though it could poison beginner Magic Pharmacists, there were points worth considering.

Thus, while the position of the untalented Magic Pharmacists shifted rapidly, some highly talented ones also began changing their stance. The pharmacists still clinging hard to opposition felt increasingly awkward. Especially those who hadn’t pulled back in time after realizing the implications: Should they admit to lacking ability and poor self-control, fear the method might hurt them, hence blindly rejecting this technique? Or… find some other excuse to dodge the issue and slip away?

“Holy… It could actually go this way?!” Within the Containment Barrier, Gale sat beside Oss, dumbfounded as he read the latest developments on the Magic Weapon Forum. They’d been closely following the stir Zheng Yichen caused these past few days. The speed at which the pharmacists’ tune shifted left him utterly stunned. And all this change fundamentally began with that post by the ID ‘Baiyi Fa’.

“Yeah… Even if something looks negative at first, if it genuinely brings tangible benefits to many people, its imperfections tend to be gradually accepted,” Lena commented, cradling her Magic Weapon Summoning Book. She glanced around. Operating within the Containment Barrier alongside such powerful teammates granted unparalleled freedom. Corrupted Creatures that dared to approach within several hundred meters either got shot down by arrows of light or exploded by orbs of energy. Yet, even amidst this dominance, the barrier’s environment severely hampered scrying Magic. They still couldn’t reliably pin down the Undying Witch’s location. It was high time for him to shine again.

Lena looked meaningfully at Oss… A sudden chill ran down his spine.