Yan Tianhen couldn’t stop raising his eyebrows. He thought that if what Tong Zishu said was true, it would be amazing. In any case, he had to rely on his dad’s guidance when he first entered alchemy.
The disciples praised him one after another.
“Zishu, who knew that you were able to achieve today’s cultivation even under such difficult conditions? You’re really incredible.”
“I admire you so much. I still have a pill furnace in my hand. If you don’t dislike it, you can use mine.”
“Zishu, I was thinking before, you’re clearly the second ranked person in the examination. According to what you said, your contribution points are more than those of us, but why do you still live in that shabby house? So it was like this.”
When Mr. Li heard this, he couldn’t help but frown. “You didn’t rent a house?”
Tong Zishu nodded, and said with some embarrassment, “I wanted to use my contribution points to buy spiritual plants. There were too many spiritual plants in the sect that I wanted to buy but couldn’t afford. I didn’t want to give up those spiritual plants because of basic necessities of life.”
Mr. Li rarely revealed an affectionate expression. “You’re still a child. There will always be spiritual plants, but your own basic life necessities should be taken care of properly. This is very important. Well, come with me after class. I’ll ask if the academy can accommodate you and find you a job that can earn more contribution points.”
Tong Zishu was full of gratitude, saying, “Thank you, sir! Zishu will never forget your kindness.”
Mr. Li was very satisfied with Tong Zishu. Who didn’t like it when such a talented child studied hard and respected his teacher?
Next, Mr. Li lent his usual furnace to Tong Zishu. After Tong Zishu thanked him repeatedly, he took the spiritual plants handed down by Mr. Li and began refining Replenishing Qi Pills according to his request.
Replenishing Qi Pills as its name implied could nourish the Dantian Qi Sea and supplement one’s spiritual Qi. This was an auxiliary medicinal pill for recuperating the body. If it was refined well, one could regulate the Qi and blood and let the air flow through the body, which was usually beneficial to the circulation of internal energy.
Mr. Li asked the students to practice alchemy on the spot in order to find out their shortcomings one by one. Then he’d point out the direction for the disciples to improve.
The level of a Replenishing Qi Pill was not high, which was easy for Yan Tianhen, because he completed the schoolwork assigned by Mr. Li, so Mr. Li paid attention to him first. Mr. Li said, “Tianhen, you are the only student who has refined one hundred top-grade and high-grade medicinal pills. Why don’t you refine it on the spot so that your classmates can observe it?”
Yan Tianhen didn’t have stage fright, nor was he afraid of others stealing his techniques, so he said, “Sure.”
A moment later, a few people heard crisp sounds in the furnace. Yan Tianhen lifted the lid and drew the pills into his hand. He smiled. “It’s done.”
Yan Tianhen’s alchemy ability was extremely fast. From the beginning to the end of his pill refining, it was only two hours. Moreover, the medicinal pills in his hand were all top-grade!
Mr. Li nodded admiringly and said, “I heard that you were called the Little Pill King in the Nine Lands. Originally, I thought there was some exaggeration in your title, but it actually turned out to be true. Your alchemy level is so high and you’ve got an excellent alchemy skill. Now you just need to raise your cultivation and try more higher-level pills. Besides this, I’m afraid there’s not much I can teach you.”
It was extremely rare to earn such a high praise from Mr Li.
The disciples were envious and jealous of Yan Tianhen, and some of them felt bitter.
Yan Tianhen, however, smiled and looked at Mr. Li. “Mr. Li thinks too highly of me. There is no limit to learning and there are boundless methods to learn. I am afraid that my little tricks can’t enter Mr. Li’s eyes yet. I heard that Mr. Li once controlled hundreds of pill furnaces at the same time during the war between the North Land and the demons. You refined a thousand Nourishing Qi Pills at one time, saving countless soldiers. I can’t even begin to attain that level of ability.”
It was a battle with the demons nearly a hundred years ago. At that time, the Ling clan head was still alive and was galloping throughout the North Land’s battlefield with a red tasselled spear. He fought in the front lines, while Mr. Li refined medicinal pills in the rear, supplying the whole army with just one person. After the great victory, Li Weiwan became famous in the war and entered the ranks of the Pill Saints, thus going down in history.
Only after that, it was unknown why Li Weiwan chose to retire early. From then on, he stayed away from the secular world and entered Myriad Dao Academy to become an alchemist teacher. In the next fifty years, he never left Myriad Dao Academy again.
The scene of one person controlling multiple pill furnaces was exciting to think about.
When Mr. Li heard about his past glory, he just gave a faint smile and said, “Prince Ye can naturally do it as well. You only need to learn how to multitask.”
Yan Tianhen sighed, “Multitasking is not easy.”
Yan Tianchen’s alchemy process was completely seen by these disciples, but in fact, it was only a superficial look. In alchemy, although the hand seals were extremely vital, the matching internal meditation technique was the most important.
“Can you see the gap?” Mr. Li asked.
The disciples were silent at first. Then someone raised his hand and said, “Yan Tianhen’s technique is very smooth and steady. There is not a single mistake. I don’t think I can do it.”
Once one of them started, it opened a whole conversation.
“His hand seals are extremely rare. I have never seen them before.”
“His furnace seems to be of high grade as well, which can control the aura of spiritual plants to their maximum extent.”
“His pill fire and spiritual Qi output are also very consistent and proportional, as if they were measured out.”
After listening to them, Mr. Li nodded. “You’re right. Together with alchemy, pill fire, spiritual root, hand seals, internal meditation methods, pill formulas, spiritual plants, pill furnaces and so on are all important factors that determine the level of one’s alchemy, among which hand seals and mental methods are the most important, because the pill furnace, spiritual plants, and pill formula could all be changed, but only the hand seals and mental methods become the foundation for your alchemy.”
Speaking of this, Mr. Li paused and looked around the young disciples, saying, “All of the secret scripts in the sect’s library are open to the public. After class today, you can go to the library to find an alchemy technique or secret script suitable for you. Even if you already have a foundation, you can change them at any time.”
A disciple asked excitedly, “All the secret scripts are open to the public?”
Mr. Li nodded. “The secret scripts are written for people to see. It seems to me that there is no difference whether it is Divine Rank or Primary Rank. However, you should pay attention to the fact that the secret scripts do not mean that the higher the grade, the better. What suits you is the best; never aim too high.”
The disciples naturally agreed.
However, most people still thought in their hearts: Who would stupidly choose a Primary Rank if there are secret scripts at the Divine Rank?
Next, Mr. Li asked Tong Zishu to demonstrate.
Tong Zishu borrowed Mr Li’s furnace and it took only an hour to refine a batch of medicinal pills with it. It was just one less top-grade pill than Yan Tianhen.
The students couldn’t help but praise him and express their admiration for Tong Zishu.
Mr. Li commented, “Your technique is very suitable for your way of alchemy. Don’t be impatient. You need to be slow to achieve the ultimate goal so pay more attention in the future.”
Tong Zishu stuck out his tongue and said, “I was afraid of wasting my classmates’ time, so I was careless and got a little impatient. What teacher taught me, I will definitely remember it in the future.”
The classmates grew more fond of Tong Zishu.
In the rest of the time, Mr. Li also demonstrated an alchemy technique. The hand seals he used were all the basic hand seals, but one could still see that he was skilled, experienced, and better than Yan Tianhen — he was less wanton and more calm.
While listening to Mr. Li’s explanation and observing the details of his alchemy, Yan Tianhen showed a thoughtful expression from time to time.
After today’s class, it was already evening.
Several students left the teaching house with Tong Zishu.
A student said, “Zishu, I knew you were good before, but I didn’t expect you to be so good.”
“Yeah, I think you are much better than Yan Tianhen,” Another disciple said.
Tong Zishu modestly replied, “This is flattering me too much. All the medicinal pills Prince Ye refined are top-grade. I am far worse than him.”
“Who are you kidding?” The student who spoke up first sneered, “Although you were one top-grade pill less than him, your time was only half of his.”
“What’s more,” The first disciple sneered. “The medicinal pill he refined was not made for ordinary people like us. He refines pills specially for high officials and nobles.”
Several other disciples also made sneering sounds, which expressed their disdain.
Several disciples who had a good relationships with Tong Zishu came from poor alchemy families. They naturally didn’t value noble disciples like Yan Tianhen. This was the inevitable result caused by the gap between classes.
Tong Zishu couldn’t help but sigh. “In fact, the pills we’re refining now are sold everywhere, and all alchemists can basically make them. They won’t fetch good prices. However, if you refine pills for the nobility, you can quickly make a name for yourself and gain both wealth and status.”
Someone said with slight disdain, “Is it the pursuit of my generation to give alchemy to the nobility? We cultivate for immortality. How can we stick to the secular world in order to become immortal and holy? Speaking of which, that Yan Tianhen is nothing more than a layman who fell into the secular quagmire in the end.”
“That’s true.” Someone replied, “Although Prince Ye is a very good alchemist. But I think if Zishu had the same financial and material resources, his cultivation now would be much higher than Prince Ye’s. So thinking about it, Zishu is superior to him both in terms of mind and talent.”
“That must be right, otherwise, when they had their pill test, why was our Zishu the second and Yan Tianhen was only the ninth? I think he’s so proud of himself, but in reality, he’s nothing.”
Several disciples spoke out crazily against Yan Tianhen, saying that he was completely sheltered by his ancestors, and that he was arrogant, proud, and defiant, not putting anyone in his eyes. They criticized Yan Tianhen while praising Tong Zishu at the same time.
Suddenly, someone mentioned, “I heard that one day, Yan Tianhen wanted to rent a spiritual plant field and raise his own spiritual plants, but then happened to meet Huarong Sword Immortal. He threatened and lured Huarong Sword Immortal several times to rent a spiritual field on Penglai Island to him. Huarong Sword couldn’t stand his annoyance and finally rented him one.”
“Speaking of this matter, I also heard that Yan Tianhen went to Penglai Island every day of this month to bother Huarong Sword Immortal using such an excuse, as if he were visiting his own backyard. He doesn’t care about propriety at all.”
A disciple who had not heard about this said in surprise, “I didn’t expect that the distinguished son of King Ye would be so shameless. He’s already the second successor to the throne. Why does he have to curry favor with Huarong Sword Immortal, someone who’s outside of worldly matters?”