Rise of The Anti God

Rhea knew a lecherous person like Tristen would concoct beauty pills first, probably to beguile the women with it.

Damien could only concoct Rank 4 Pills at most since he was in Tristen's body. Even if he somehow manifests Fallen Flames, it would be nowhere as powerful compared to when he manifests them in his original body since the amount of his soul essence in Tristen's soul plane was too little.

Also, because of that, his pills wouldn't be Supreme Tier and would reach only 90% potency at most. But that potency level was already considered excellent in this empire, so he wasn't bothered by it.

And even if he hypothetically concocted Supreme Tier Pills, it would only put too much attention on him and might raise suspicions.

Still, if he wanted to, he could just have himself concoct some Rank 5 Pills during the night in his original body and have them sent over to the palace so that he could accept them as Tristen.

Rhea felt that if Tristen was able to concoct some amazing pills for the empire, then his value in the eyes of the emperor should instantly skyrocket and might even exceed his previous reputation.

Since Alchemist Azrael made his pills exclusive to the Xeton Empire, they could only bitterly watch them hoard them and sell them at exorbitant prices.

But they had no idea that the reason the price was so astoundingly high was that Damien put it that way.

Of course, how could Damien not think about what Rhea was thinking?

He replied in an aggrieved tone, "Mother, you think too low of me. How could I forget about the needs of the empire?" Damien took out a blue-colored pill and said, "This pill could effectively raise the strength of our soldiers by about 10% for a limited amount of time. And even after the pill loses its effectiveness, there won't be any backlash except that they can't take another of these for an hour."

Rhea, with a baffled gaze, took the blue pill from Tristen's palm and inspected it closely like a curious cat.

She could feel the potency of the pill just from inspecting it since it was more than the ones she usually took.

The pills with the best potency were usually reserved for the emperor or the ones who deserved it.

Why would the emperor give her high-quality pills for nothing?

Her gaze towards Tristen seemed as if she was looking at a treasure trove. Who knows, she can maybe get him to make some exclusive pills that were only available to her, especially ones like the beauty pill.

She obviously didn't want this beauty pill to end up in the hands of the other concubines and get more attention from the emperor.

Still, this blue pill in her hand, from the empire's perspective, was way more valuable than the beauty pill since it could raise the strength of their soldiers by 10%.

What did this mean? It meant that if the Gale Empire soldiers were facing a setback in emergency situations, they could take this and instantly make a comeback since even a 1% difference in strength could influence the victory.

And in case the empire went to war against another empire, this 10% boost in their strength could cause a significant impact on the other side. The best part was that there would be no backlashes except a cooldown period.

Unconsciously her lips began to arch into a beaming smile, thinking about how their life was going to change since Tristen was no longer useless.

Even if Tristen's cultivation didn't improve in the future, his value wouldn't come down since he would be doing more extraordinary things for the empire from the inside.

To become an emperor, just being strong is not enough. There should be sufficient qualities to make people support and stay beside the emperor.

In other words, an emperor should always have strong and influential loyal people who can provide him aid at times of need so that he doesn't have to do everything by himself.

And if Tristen continued to help grow the empire through his alchemy, then naturally, many strong and influential people would join together to support him.

Since there would be no one else who can concoct these pills like Tristen, there wouldn't be any other person who could threaten Tristen's status.

So, even if his cultivation lacks, he could make it up for it through his alchemy prowess. He could be the heart of the empire that strengthens and rules the empire from the inside.

He need not go into battles or wars himself just to prove his worth. His name would be enough to keep the empire's enemies on their toes, not knowing what kind of astonishing pill he would concoct next.

Of course, Rhea knew that no one would think of an expert alchemist having the qualifications to become an emperor.

However, she felt that once the emperor and people saw what Tristen could do, their opinions and beliefs would falter.

Rhea already started to devise many plans in her mind in the blink of an eye, while Damien could only see a stupid smile on her face.

"Mother? What are you smiling for?"

Hearing Tristen's confused voice, Rhea stifled her smile and cleared her throat, feeling a bit embarrassed for daydreaming before her son.

She then looked at Tristen with a gentle gaze as if he was a precious treasure that needed her protection and said, "Tristen, my son, it seems like you slacking in your cultivation for the past few months was worth it. I thought you were purposefully frolicking around...but to think that you were hiding such a shocking thing from me. Sigh, you really surprised your mother."

She subtly pocketed the blue pill and said, "Tristen, don't worry now. Let your mother handle everything. All you have to do is focus on concocting more amazing pills like this. With your current cultivation, it seems like your limit is Rank 4 Pills which is good enough. Once your cultivation rises, your status will increase too."

Damien narrowed his gaze and said, "I can actually concoct Rank 5 Pills too, but there is one big problem."

"What?! You can even concoct Rank 5 Pills? Are you serious?" Rhea asked with whites showing around her widened eyes.

There was good reason for Rhea's surprise since the gap between Rank 4 and Rank 5 was significantly huge, including in one's status and influence.

Even if a person's cultivation satisfies the requirement to concoct a Rank 5 Pill, it wouldn't necessarily mean that they would be able to concoct one. It would depend on a lot of factors.

And if Tristen were really able to concoct a Rank 5 Pill, then it would mean that he can even help strengthen the core strength of the imperial army, including the commanders and other generals.

Damien sighed and gestured to her to calm down and said, "Didn't you hear me? I said there's a huge problem."

Rhea took a deep breath and asked with wrinkled brows, "What problem?"

Damien put up a strained expression and said, "I take too much time to concoct one. Probably even hours. That old master taught me a special yet slow method to increase the limits of my Etheric Flames so that I can jump rank."

Rhea gave a widened smile, "That's fantastic! He even taught you such a special method? It seems like he did take a liking to you."

But the next second, Rhea's expression became serious and continued, "But you can never tell this to anybody else, not even your father, understand?"

Damien gave a slightly confused look, to which Rhea rolled her eyes and replied, "Look, if your father comes to know that you hold such a special method to jump ranks while concocting, then you might be taken advantage of! It's better to brush it off as your own talent so that nobody can do anything to you. Otherwise, people might even kill you just to steal that method from you."

Damien feigned an understanding expression while nodding. Since Tristen wasn't that sharp, he had to put up with it.

He put up a wide smile and said, "Mother really thinks about me."

"Of course, I do! Other than me, who else will protect you? Listen, the only person you should trust is me. Always inform me before you do anything that could affect the empire. I only have your best interests in mind, so don't hide anything from me, okay?"

Damien shrugged, "Of course. Otherwise, would I even tell you about all this stuff or even give the beauty pill to you?"

This time Damien didn't tamper with the pills he had given to Rhea, and they definitely would be effective just as he said without any side-effects since he had to convince the emperor about his alchemy prowess.

Rhea felt a bit worried, thinking whether she hurt his feelings by downplaying his trust towards her. However, she harrumphed and said, "Isn't that because you have been cornered? You already experienced how things have been going against you recently, and that forced you to pull out your ace cards. Sigh, anyway, you keep on concocting more of this blue pill while I deal with your father. Don't go and create unnecessary trouble. You understand me clearly, right?"

Rhea couldn't help but stress again since she knew that Tristen was a troublesome character who wouldn't stay in one place.

Damien wobbled his head sideways in a frustrated manner and said, "Fine, fine. Now let me concoct in peace."

He somehow pushed Rhea to leave, and as he closed the doors, Damien smiled, thinking that things had been going just as he planned...maybe even better.