Kang Zhaoming found Miss Luan's phone number and dialed it directly.

"Elder Kang?" Miss Luan's voice came through the line. "Why are you calling me? Is it about those two test subjects?"

"Oh, let's set those two aside for now—that's not urgent. There's something else I'd like to consult you about, Miss Luan!" Kang Zhaoming could not have cared less whether Mian Lao and Zhao Guangyin lived or died; they were not his father, after all. What held his attention now was the first-grade automatic cauldron.

"What is it?" Miss Luan asked.

"I was wondering, Miss Luan—do you happen to have any experts on your side skilled in cracking computer programs and electronic circuits?" Kang Zhaoming inquired.

"Oh? What do you mean by that, Elder Kang? What are you planning to do?" Miss Luan asked.

"It's like this. I'm sure you've heard the rumors flying around the martial world about the first-grade automatic cauldron, Miss Luan?" Kang Zhaoming asked.

"Indeed, I've heard of it. But that thing has nothing to do with us. Our center's research is oriented toward science and technology—a completely different path from these pills," Miss Luan said.

"Heh heh, there's something you don't know, Miss Luan. This first-grade cauldron is high technology!" With that, Kang Zhaoming gave Miss Luan a detailed account of the general situation surrounding the first-grade automatic cauldron.

"If what you say is true, then this thing really might be an electronic product. But what's your purpose in telling me all this?" Miss Luan countered.

"It's like this: I'd like to invite you to step in personally, Miss Luan, and help us crack and replicate this first-grade automatic cauldron. Would you be interested? Naturally, we'll share the profits equally!" Kang Zhaoming said in invitation.

"Oh? If I understand correctly, if I simply bought a cauldron myself and then replicated it, wouldn't I be able to keep all the profits to myself? Why would I need to cut you in?" Miss Luan countered.

"That... Miss Luan, you know as well as I do that this cauldron requires not only superb computer and electronic skills but also alchemy knowledge—and our Xuandan Sect and Five Luminaries Sect are the authorities in that field! Besides, your sales channels can't possibly be as formidable as ours, can they? Can a product launched by the Xuandan Sect be the same in nature as one launched by the Fire Wolf Gang? Tell me, which one would those ancient sects trust?" Kang Zhaoming said hurriedly.

"What you say does make sense. Let me think it over..." Miss Luan nodded, then sank into thought. Kang Zhaoming did not dare disturb her and waited quietly for her answer.

After roughly three to five minutes, Miss Luan spoke again. "I can agree to your proposal. However, this thing won't be so easy to crack and replicate. We'll provide the technical support; you'll handle manufacturing and sales. Profits split fifty-fifty!"

"Fifty-fifty..." Kang Zhaoming was slightly taken aback. Wasn't that asking for a bit too much? He would have to seek Ancestor Xuanchen's instructions. So he said, "Very well, I'll consult him. But do you have someone of that caliber on your side?"

"My boyfriend is an expert in computers, but he's busy with other matters right now and can't return for the time being. However, he has a personal disciple named Dr. Benjamin II, who is also highly skilled in computing and can assist you with the research and development," Miss Luan said.

"Good! I'll go report to Ancestor Xuanchen right away." Having received a definite answer, Kang Zhaoming hurried toward Ancestor Xuanchen's room.

He knocked and entered Ancestor Xuanchen's room, only to find that Ancestor Xuanzhen and Tianchan Bian were no longer there. Kang Zhaoming was not surprised, though—Ancestor Xuanzhen and Tianchan Bian had never gotten along well with Ancestor Xuanchen.

"Father-in-law, I've just called Miss Luan, the one behind the Fire Wolf Gang. She can send over an expert in this field to help us study and crack the first-grade automatic cauldron—but on one condition: the profits must be split fifty-fifty!" Kang Zhaoming said.

"Fifty-fifty. That's asking for quite a lot." Ancestor Xuanchen frowned slightly upon hearing this. But Miss Luan was no pushover like the heads of those ancient sects, to be squeezed at will. Since Miss Luan had proposed this split, it was essentially non-negotiable; any attempt to change it and she would very likely terminate the cooperation. That would be more loss than gain for Ancestor Xuanchen—after all, she was the only one he could find at the moment. Even if Ancestor Xuanchen could recruit people in the secular world for his own use, training talent and building a laboratory would still take time. By the time production began, the market would be nearly saturated—where would the big profits be then? The cauliflower would already be cold!

So, faced with Miss Luan's exorbitant demand, Ancestor Xuanchen had no choice but to nod and say, "Fine. Tell Miss Luan you agree—fifty-fifty it is. But her people must come as soon as possible!"

"Understood. I'll go tell Miss Luan right away!" Kang Zhaoming nodded, then went off to call Miss Luan back.

After receiving Kang Zhaoming's reply, Miss Luan wasted no words and directly dispatched her boyfriend's student, Dr. Benjamin II, to find Kang Zhaoming.

Benjamin II was indeed a formidable man. After picking up the cauldron and glancing at it only briefly, he roughly explained its working principle. "Inside this cauldron there should be a single-chip microcomputer that adjusts the intensity of the flame according to a time curve, in order to achieve the purpose of alchemy. To be honest, now that we know the principle, we could actually manufacture one ourselves."

"Manufacture it?" Ancestor Xuanchen frowned. Had he not thought of replicating a similar device before? But an alchemist refines pills by relying on his own perception of the pill's form to adjust the intensity of the alchemical flame at any moment—and that was merely a feeling. Who could record the flame's intensity while refining pills? Moreover, the intensity of the flame was only one's personal sensation; if asked to state exactly how intense the flame was, Ancestor Xuanchen himself could not say!

What was more, there was the coordination of time and temperature to consider. A single deviation and the pill would be ruined—and this involved some complex functional curves. After days of observation, Ancestor Xuanchen had discovered that this first-grade automatic cauldron was not as simple as it seemed!

True, it could refine pills automatically. But every alchemist's control of the alchemical flame and temperature had subtle deviations. With an alchemist's perceptiveness to accompany them, such deviations would not cause any consequences in actual pill refinement, because every alchemist corrected them by feel while refining. (To be continued.

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