I Can Control Resources

It contains not only the recipes for medicinal pills, but also the art of Alchemy!

Let me give you a simple example. Say you have ten sets of attribute raw materials. Your goal is to refine all of them into medicinal pills.

However, even with the recipe, you’d be lucky to successfully refine two of those ten sets of attribute raw materials yourself. That’s the success rate for an average person.

But some people from the clans and noble families can raise that success rate to forty percent!

So, what would you do in that situation?

You’d give them your attribute raw materials to refine. Even if they take a cut, it’s still a better outcome than doing it yourself!"

Li Tiannan concluded with a sigh, "Attribute raw materials are just too rare. Even the Federation Government can’t afford to waste them. So, we have no choice but to rely on the clans and noble families. That makes giving them some necessary support in terms of policy inevitable."

"So, you’re saying that the clans and noble families control the Alchemy recipes and techniques, which makes it impossible for the Military Department to compete with them?" Gao Neng naturally understood the implication.

The Military Department is directly managed by the Federation Government.

And while the Military Department is responsible for guarding the City of Hope, it actually has fewer resources than the clans and noble families.

"More or less. However, the Human Alliance currently has a common enemy. And while the clans and noble families don’t handle day-to-day defense, in truly high-level combat, their people suffer the most casualties. It’s as they say: the greater the power, the greater the sacrifice," Li Tiannan said with a nod.

"..." Gao Neng fell silent.

"I’m not telling you all this to criticize the clans and noble families. I’m just telling you that it’s impossible to become the Speaker of the Supreme Council without their support!" Li Tiannan finished, then added, "And by the way, to this day, there has never been a precedent of someone from the Military Department becoming Speaker!"

"All because the people from the clans and noble families know Alchemy?" Gao Neng looked at Li Tiannan.

"That’s right!" Li Tiannan confirmed.

"What if I told you I know Alchemy, too? Would you believe me, Master?" A smile touched the corners of Gao Neng’s lips.

"..." Li Tiannan froze for a moment, then burst out laughing. "Hahaha, I believe you. Hmm... I really do believe you. Because I know Alchemy, too!"

"You know how, too, Master?" Gao Neng was genuinely surprised this time.

"Of course I do! For low and mid-rank pills, my success rate is over forty percent. Did you think I was just going to tell you that? When it comes to Alchemy, I’d be considered a mid-rank Alchemist." As he finished, a rare look of pride appeared on Li Tiannan’s face.

For a moment, Gao Neng was completely dumbfounded.

’A Strongest like Li Tiannan only has a forty percent success rate when refining low and mid-rank medicinal pills?’

’And more importantly, this guy is acting all high and mighty with just a forty percent success rate?!’

Gao Neng subconsciously glanced at his Attribute Panel. A value was written there in plain sight: Alchemy Success Rate, 100%?

’Yep, this thing definitely isn’t fake!’

"Alright, I’ve made myself clear. You can forget about being the Speaker. But if you want to be a Division Commander, I can pull some strings for you!" Seeing Gao Neng’s silence, Li Tiannan assumed he’d come to his senses.

"Division Commander?" The title reminded Gao Neng of someone he had met once at the Eastern Capital Military Academy: Shen Ning’Er’s uncle, Division Commander Shen Fei.

As he was lost in thought, Li Tiannan extended a hand toward him.

It was practically in his face.

Gao Neng was utterly baffled.

"What? Trying to back out of our deal? Even blood brothers keep clear accounts, let alone a master and his apprentice! Don’t think for a second I don’t know how much loot you hauled out of the Demon Abyss. We agreed—a sixty-forty split, my favor!" Li Tiannan was not being the least bit courteous; his tone was dead serious.

"Sixty-forty? Sigh... alright. This is a huge loss for me. I only got a hundred and eighty stalks in total, so I guess I can give you a hundred." Gao Neng nodded, preparing to take the hit.

"A hundred stalks?! Do you take me for a blind man, or did you forget I went down there myself? Twenty thousand meters into the Demon Abyss, and you cleaned the place out! Now you’re telling me you only got a hundred and eighty in total? I’m telling you right now, if you don’t give me six hundred stalks, you’re not walking out that door today!" Li Tiannan roared at the top of his lungs.

"Six hundred stalks?!" Gao Neng jumped in surprise.

’He’d gathered over twenty-three hundred stalks in total. Li Tiannan was demanding a sixty-forty split, yet he was only asking for six hundred? This master of his... was a bit naive.’

"Five hundred, at least!" Seeing Gao Neng’s expression, Li Tiannan quickly reconsidered. ’He probably got around a thousand stalks, so asking for six hundred might be a bit much.’

But then again, Gao Neng had lowballed him with an offer of one hundred.

He figured...

’My cut should be at least three or four hundred stalks!’

"Master, you don’t really have any use for these low-rank attribute raw materials, do you?" Gao Neng asked, wiping at some non-existent sweat on his brow.

"What do you mean, no use? I can trade them for mid and high-rank materials," Li Tiannan replied offhandedly.

"Oh... And how many can you get in exchange?"

"Based on the going rate, five hundred low-rank stalks should get you at least... ten mid-rank stalks. If you’re lucky, maybe fifteen. Wait a minute, what’s all this about low-rank stalks? Don’t tell me you didn’t find any mid-rank ones down there, you brat! Do you really take me for a three-year-old?!" Li Tiannan was starting to get angry.

"Don’t be angry, Master. How about this... I’ll give you thirty mid-rank stalks. What do you say?" Gao Neng smiled, extending an olive branch.

"Thirty mid-rank stalks?!" Li Tiannan’s eyes instantly lit up.

"That’s right. And not only will I give you thirty mid-rank raw materials, I’ll also give you another twenty pieces of Magnetic Crystal Ore. How does that sound, Master?" A smile played on Gao Neng’s lips.

"You brat, did you hit a jackpot of mid-rank materials or something? Tell me, how much did you really get from the Demon Abyss?" Li Tiannan lunged toward him.

"Master, are you forgetting? I have evolution energy."

"..." Li Tiannan’s hand froze. His gaze on Gao Neng gradually brightened. "You little rascal... that stunt you pulled at the council meeting today... don’t tell me it was real?"

"Of course it was real," Gao Neng nodded.

"Really?"

"Mhm, really."

"So... you’re saying you’re going to use your evolution energy to evolve thirty mid-rank raw materials and twenty Magnetic Crystal Blocks for me?" Li Tiannan was finally convinced.

"That’s more or less the idea," Gao Neng didn’t deny it.

"Good! Then it’s a deal. I’ll come get them after you’ve evolved them. And don’t even think about running off, you brat!" Li Tiannan grinned. Fifty mid-rank items versus five hundred low-rank ones—any fool would know which was the better deal.

’As expected, I won’t lose out on this deal!’

Li Tiannan was overjoyed at the thought.

With a flick of his hand, he prepared to head out.

But just as he was about to leave, Gao Neng’s voice sounded from behind him again.

"You don’t really think there’s such a thing as a free lunch in this world, do you, Master? If I recall correctly, you just said that even blood brothers keep clear accounts. And you’re just my master!"

"Hmm?!" Li Tiannan stopped in his tracks.

"I need you to help me arrange a little event, Master." Gao Neng cut right to the chase, stating his condition.

"A little event? What kind of little event?" Li Tiannan’s eyes narrowed. ’Knowing Gao Neng and the price he was willing to pay, this ’event’ would be anything but little.’

"Didn’t Speaker Wu and Governor Yun say they were going to get me a laboratory? To have me use my evolution energy to create a batch of mid and high-rank attribute raw materials first."

"Yes, what about it?"

"I’ve thought it over, and I think Speaker Wu and Governor Yun are right. I should make some contributions to the Alliance. So, I’ve decided that instead of using this evolution energy for my own training, I’m going to use it all to evolve attribute raw materials first."

"If you do that, your training speed will likely be affected. Are you sure?" Li Tiannan naturally understood what Gao Neng was implying.

"I’m sure. There’s just one small problem. I might evolve a rather large quantity of materials all at once. And as you know, Master, the longer attribute materials sit around, the more of their inherent attribute energy dissipates."

"Hmm... that is indeed a problem." Li Tiannan nodded, his eyes narrowing again. "So, you want me to find a few Alchemists ahead of time?"

"Not a few. I want you to gather all the top Alchemists from the clans and noble families. Every last one of them, preferably!" A brilliant smile spread across Gao Neng’s face.