Chapter 101: Chapter 101: First Encounter with the Alchemist Alliance
Translator: 549690339
*Cough cough…*
Seeing Duan Qing about to crash into him head-on, Lu Yun coughed.
Duan Qing shuddered and came to his senses. Seeing that it was Lu Yun, he reined in his sorrow and a smile appeared on his chubby face.
“Sorry, sorry, I didn’t notice it was you, Junior Brother Lu.”
Immediately, he welcomed Lu Yun into the room.
After placing a plate of fruits and a pot of tea on the table and pouring a cup for each of them, he finally sat down.
“Senior Brother Duan, I saw you were distracted just now. What’s going on?” Lu Yun asked softly, setting his teacup aside.
“All, that’s a long story.”
Duan Qing let out a long sigh.
After slowly taking a sip of his tea and sighing again, he seemed to have trouble speaking.
To this, Lu Yun could only change the subject.
“Senior Brother Duan, I remember it’s been almost a year since you passed the ninth floor of the Myriad Phenomena Tower, right?”
At the mention of this, Duan Qing picked up his teacup and took a deep sip, the sadness in his brow deepening.
After a long silence, he reluctantly said, “It’s been almost ten months. I thought that after settling down for a while, I would be able to pass the tenth floor of the Myriad Phenomena Tower and be promoted to a disciple of the Star Palace.
But I didn’t expect the tenth floor of the Myriad Phenomena Tower to be so difficult – even after refining my True Qi three times, I still couldn’t pass.”
Upon finishing, Duan Qing silently lowered his head, seemingly too embarrassed to look at Lu Yun.
When Lu Yun joined the Martial Academy, Duan Qing had already passed the ninth floor of the Myriad Phenomena Tower.
Now, Lu Yun had become a Star Palace disciple, while he was still stuck in the same place.
Lu Yun took a sip of his tea and said, “Surely, that alone wouldn’t make you so distraught and lose yourself like this, Senior Brother!”
“Haha, Junior Brother Lu is indeed smart. Failing the tenth floor of the Myriad Phenomena Tower indeed can’t affect me that much…”
As he said this, Duan Qing no longer hid anything and recounted the full story to Lu Yun.
Duan Qing was a side-branch disciple of an aristocratic family in Spirit Martial Prefecture, and he was also considered a genius. At just nineteen years old, he had advanced to the True Qi Realm.
If only he could become a disciple of the Martial Academy’s Star Palace before twenty, he would receive the support of his family to help him continue to climb the martial arts ladder.
Whether or not he could obtain the support of his family wasn’t important. What mattered was that, from then on, the side branch he belonged to would gain the family’s attention and be allocated more resources.
Unfortunately, he was always stuck at the tenth floor and couldn’t be promoted to the Star Palace disciple position.
“All, ever since it was discovered that I have a Level 4 Innate Talent, my family elders have been pouring almost all resources into me, just hoping that I could lead our side branch to rise. Now, time is running out…”
Duan Qing bitterly laughed at his own powerlessness. He was completely different from his usual lascivious demeanor – he now bore more responsibility and helplessness.
“Senior Brother, don’t be like this. A family’s rise and fall is predetermined. You can’t force it. Just concentrate on cultivating and progressing, and don’t let external affairs affect your mindset.”
Knowing the ins and outs of the situation, Lu Yun said nonchalantly.
“I know this principle too. I just want to make a living by cultivating in the Martial Academy, but things aren’t always so easy.”
“Forget it, talking about these things will only increase our troubles.”
After finishing his cup of tea, Duan Qing asked Lu Yun, “Junior Brother Lu, you came here so late, is there anything you need my help with?”
Lu Yun nodded, and without further ado, took a Sumi Bag from his chest and handed it to Duan Qing.
“Hm?” Duan Qing took the Sumi Bag and asked, “Junior Brother Lu, what is this?”
“I want to dispose of this Sumi Bag and everything inside. Senior Brother Duan, you’ve been in the Martial Academy for so long and you’re also from an aristocratic family, you must know how to do this.”
“Okay, let me first see what’s inside.”
Duan Qing opened the Sumi Bag and took out the contents one by one.
It turned out to be a tiger-head broadsaber, a Rushing Thunder Sword Technique manual, and a spirit crystal.
“How many Contribution Points can I get if 1 exchange all of them?” Lu Yun asked.
“One spirit crystal can usually be exchanged for one hundred contribution points. As for the others, let me take a look for a while.” Duan Qing shook his head slightly, his gaze repeatedly examining the Rushing Thunder Sword Technique.
Lu Yun nodded and took his time drinking tea, sitting on a chair nearby since he was not in a hurry.
After a while, Duan Qing picked up the tiger-head broadsaber to examine it.
“Although this tiger-head broadsaber is not a True Artifact, it’s definitely top-notch among ordinary weapons. It should be worth seventy or eighty contribution points.”
After putting down the tiger-head broadsaber, Duan Qing picked up the Rushing Thunder Sword Technique again.
He opened it and looked at it for a dozen breaths of time before closing it and said solemnly to Lu Yun, “Junior Brother Lu, it’s okay for me to trade for this martial arts book. 1 am willing to offer fifteen spirit crystals.”
“This…” Lu Yun hesitated.
It wasn’t because he thought fifteen spirit crystals were not enough.
The Rushing Thunder Sword Technique was just a first-rate martial arts book, and Duan Qing’s offer of fifteen spirit crystals was considered fair value.
However, he did not need spirit crystals at the moment, and what he wanted was contribution points.
If he wasn’t in a rush to go out, he wouldn’t care about the spirit crystals, as he could travel to the county capital and buy what he needed there.
“If Junior Brother Lu needs contribution points, we can also exchange using contribution points. I happen to have some contribution points on me.” Duan Qing added.
“Sure, no problem.”
Lu Yun readily agreed.
“A Sumi Bag is worth three hundred contribution points in the Weapon Tower, but in a private trade, it’s at most worth two hundred and fifty contribution points.”
After that, Duan Qing put the tiger-head broadsaber and spirit crystals back into the Sumi Bag, and the Rushing Thunder Sword Technique was kept in his arms.
“Junior Brother Lu, I’ll take the Rushing Thunder Sword Technique first, and I’ll transfer one thousand five hundred contribution points to you. As for the rest, it may take some time before they can be traded.”
“That’s fine.”
Soon after, Duan Qing directly transferred one thousand five hundred contribution points to Lu Yun using his token, and the matter was temporarily resolved.
After taking back his token, Lu Yun asked, “Senior Brother Duan, do you know any way to get pill recipes?”
Duan Qing shook his head directly, “Even the lowest grade pill recipes are precious and won’t easily appear on the market. I am just a minor True Qi Realm disciple and not qualified to get in touch with such precious and scarce items like pill recipes.”
Hearing this, Lu Yun’s eyebrows furrowed, “Is there any other way?”
“Of course, there is more than one way,” Duan Qing said.
“Oh, tell me quickly.” Lu Yun seemed anxious.
Duan Qing didn’t beat around the bush and slowly said, “The first is to participate in auctions. Every year, the Spirit Martial Prefecture holds an auction where various treasures, including spiritual pills, cultivation martial arts, divine weapons, and so on, appear. Pill recipes also occasionally show up, but even the lowest grade pill recipes require at least dozens or even hundreds of spirit crystals.”
“That expensive?” Lu Yun was also taken aback.
“Of course. The lowest-grade First Grade pill recipe can only be used to refine First Grade pills, but this represents a kind of inheritance, the inheritance of alchemists. Once a family has a pill recipe, they have the opportunity to cultivate their own alchemist,” Duan Qing analyzed.
Lu Yun asked somewhat puzzled, “But that’s just a First Grade alchemist, what use is that?”
“A First Grade alchemist is indeed not very useful, but as long as one becomes a First Grade alchemist, they can register with the Dan Shi Alliance and become a member, enjoying various benefits from the alliance.”
“Dan Shi Alliance?” Hearing this name, information about the Dan Shi Alliance quickly surfaced in Lu Yun’s mind as if flipping through a book.
The Dan Shi Alliance is also considered one of Morigin’s official institutions.
However, the Dan Shi Alliance is not as rigid as the Sky Patrol Office or Observatory Hall. It is a more loosely organized institution with more freedom for its members.
The headquarters of the Dan Shi Alliance is in the Central Province, and it has branches in all states and counties.
Moreover, seventy to eighty percent of the pills in Morigin are from the Dan Shi Alliance.
Flying Spirit Martial Academy does not have any alchemists, and the pills in the Pill Medicine Building all come from the Dan Shi Alliance.
In each county, the Dan Shi Alliance’s status is similar to that of the Martial Academy, even higher than the Governor’s Mansion.
Withdrawing his thoughts, Lu Yun asked again, “Apart from auctions, what’s the other way to get pill recipes?”
Duan Qing smiled, “It’s very simple. Just find an alchemist to learn from, or simply seize it by force..”