"Why the hell are you on my favorite spot again? Are you doing this on purpose?" Wang Yun asked. He looked annoyed but didn't go to the extent as before. Perhaps, the pain from his broken nose last time still haunts him. And that experience made him behave much smarter this time.
"Is he an acquaintance of yours, junior brother?" Qin Lei raised his tone a notch higher while asking. As someone older than everyone present, with the strength of an eighth-level in the Body Tempering Layer, is there anyone Qin Lei had to be afraid of?
Unless anyone from the Outer Grotto's top ten makes their appearance, nobody is capable of threatening Qin Lei exist here.
Furthermore, Chen Tu and Qin Lei were the fourth elder's Unofficial Disciples. Only this status alone, it'll be enough to protect them from any minor punishments, such as fighting, bullying, and extortion.
Unless it was a mistake that endangered people's lives or a twisted morality act, the problem they caused is often overlooked.
After all, who are they? Those like Chen Tu and Qin Lei were members of an elder's faction. And their number is limited, barely fifty people. If these fifty individuals here don't qualify for such exceptional treatment, who did?
At one point, these people are considered the supporting pillar of the disciples in Outer Grotto, their role models, and obstacles to overcome.
"This guy is Wang Yun, senior brother." Chen Tu introduced him to Qin Lei. His tone doesn't seem to be too enthusiastic, as if it was a bother for him.
"What kind of tone is that? You sounded like you're forced to call some illegitimate child your brother." Wang Yun wanted to yell at Chen Tu, but the thought and pain lingering from the broken nose made him quit the idea.
Because Chen Tu and Qin Lei had no intention of surrendering the table, he could only grab a seat beside Chen Tu. At the same time, his followers took the table beside theirs.
Needless to say, it would be foolish to get into a fight again. And nobody here wanted to be publically shamed again for being unable to win against a fellow third-level cultivator in a five-against-one battle.
"I had to say, brother Wang... Why are you insisting on sitting here?" Chen Tu asked. The canteen had over a thousand tables, with six seats that came along. That equals accommodating six thousand disciples at one time. Usually, two to three rounds are enough to feed ten thousand disciples in this Outer Grotto.
But this Wang Yun is deadly set on this seat here.
(Is there a secret on the table?)
Chen Tu guessed. Of course, it was plain curiosity. He wouldn't degrade himself to check the table to verify these meager interests.
"What do you know? It's because our Outer Grotto's Jade Beauty, Lady Feixue, seating spot was behind your senior brother." Wang Yun replied with a face full of fulfillment. Of course, only three other unattractive female disciples are using the table now.
"Jade Beauty, Liuli Feixue?" Qin Lei felt that he remembered the name before. "I think I remember that there's someone with that name pestering our senior brother Tang..." he added, unsure of his suspicion.
(Instead of cultivating, they spend their precious time thinking about girls. How old are they? Eleven?)
Chen Tu chuckled while shaking his head sideway. But a hint of regret came in succession after he caught the sight of someone walking towards their table. It was as if the star's brilliance and flower fragrances followed her wherever she walked past.
The sight was almost too bedazzling for them to look at until she joined the three other female disciples for breakfast. Even after she sat down, the staring of the other male disciples was still attached to her until they realized they were embarrassing themselves.
Needless to say, her looks and shape are indeed too impressive. From when she appeared to the point she sat down, she retained all 100% of people's attention until those people realized themselves. Even Chen Tu was taken aback by her attractiveness.
There was still a faint hint of fragrance where she walked past.
"Is she the one you called Jade Beauty?" Chen Tu asked, not realizing that his voice was a little loud. His question was like an act of provocation to the rest of the male disciples here. In a blink of an eye, everyone was staring at Chen Tu with killing intent.
(How dare this stupid junior address senior sister Feixue's name so disrespectfully?)
They thought, not realizing that their behavior was akin to a puddle of frogs craving a taste of the swan's flesh. At the same, they failed to recognize their insignificance and weakness. And, of course, they had this fake chivalry of not allowing anyone else except themselves to tarnish the beauty's reputation.
As the one being at the core of their attention, these small scuffles naturally wouldn't cause Liuli Feixue to pay attention to them. Unless that person is someone she admires, like Tang Yun Long.
Furthermore, as the one said to be the most stunning beauty of Crimson Flame City, what kind of praise and provocation had she not seen and heard before?
"Alright. Continue to enjoy your beauty." Chen Tu patted Wang Yun's shoulder and was ready to leave the table with Qin Lei. Liuli Feixue was beautiful, but not enough to deviate Chen Tu's attention from working hard for his precious Contribution Tokens.
"Are you sure you're leaving? In that case, quickly get the hell out of here." Wang Yun waved his hand outward, like shooing two flies away. Chen Tu couldn't help but chuckle at Wang Yun for his obsession with beauty.
By ignoring the gaze of the others, the senior and junior brother made their way to the Supply Office and waited for Ting Wei.
After half an hour of waiting, Ting Wei finally came. The trio then entered the office to collect today's materials for the pill refinement and hurried over to the elder's workshop.
To their surprise, it seems that the elder had something to do today and had delegated the task of refining pills to Tang Yun Long before he left. Hence, instead of the elder, they had the chance to witness this eldest senior brother of theirs displaying his skills today.
"Let's go. I have something else to do later and couldn't spare too much time here." Tang Yun Long said.
"Oh, before I forget... I've yet to introduce myself to you two properly, correct?" Tang Yun Long stopped what he was doing and moved to Chen Tu and Qin Lei's side. The key was still stuck on the workshop's door, only a turn of a key away from unlocking it."I am the elder's first disciple, Tang Yun Long. You can call me whatever you're comfortable with." Tang Yun Long said. His friendliness surprised Chen Tu and Qin Lei, as this was their first meeting.One must also know that this senior brother of theirs wasn't a nobody in this Outer Grotto. He was the fourth in the top ten list and was said to have the highest chance of being recruited into the Inner Grotto."Junior Qin Lei (and Chen Tu) greets eldest senior brother." the two quickly cupped their fists and slightly bowed at Tang Yun Long. Worthy of being the only Official Disciple of Elder Wei Xuan, Tang Yun Long's cultivation is at the peak of the Body Tempering Layer.His foundation strength could be comparable to an early Spiri
The pill refinement process immediately began once Tang Yun Long was satisfied with his inspection. Because he had the habit of refining the pills with intense flame, the eldest senior brother added half a stalk of Spirit Calming Grass to solidify his refinement results.As this would be Chen Tu's first time observing the process of refining a Spiritual Replenishing Pill, Tang Yun Long favored him a little more."Crimson Marble Fruit!" Tang Yun Long said and grabbed the ruby-like fruits within a tray. This Spiritual Herb usually comes in a big and small pair. The former tasted sour, while the latter had a sweeter flavor.These fruits held no value from eating them raw. But the thing is different after cooking. The medicinal extract inside the fruit would strengthen tenfold after processing them.From many Alchemists' records, this miracle is due to the chemistry between bigger and smaller fruit. Like Yin compensating for Yang, the mixture doesn't equal two, but three or more.Hence, t
As this was Chen Tu and Qin Lei's first, they had difficulty interpreting the reason behind their happiness. They ended up as the two odd ones in the group for a while.Of course, that's something understandable.After all, this was their first time helping out in the process of refining a Spiritual Replenishing Pill. Although the recipe's difficulty didn't differ too much from the Spirit Desertification Pill, this is still an actual Lower-Tier formula.Furthermore, that was one of the most essential medicinal pills in the Bronze-Grade Category.Simply being knowledgeable wasn't enough for a group to succeed on their first try. Factors like preparation, skills, and luck also had to be accounted for. Also in question was their qualification, as there are no titled-alchemist amongst them.Not even Tang Yun Long, who had been studying for years under Elder Wei Xuan, had the qualification to take the examination."Supposedly, this is your first time seeing everyone so excited after refin
How could the Heavenly Alchemist Association's reason for existence is for an insignificant reason like this? That would be a blatant disgrace to the founder and ancestors of all alchemists!The association's sole existence was to preserve the alchemist's heritage, allowing it to be inherited over the millennia! Furthermore, this mentality doesn't only exist in the eyes of the alchemist but many other factions across the continent."Xiao Tu... Let this eldest senior brother give you some advice. Of course, if you're willing to listen." said Tang Yun Long. He doesn't appear to be offended by Chen Tu's words but shows interest."This junior brother is willing." Chen Tu cupped his fists together in reply. Since this senior brother had already opened his mouth, what else he had to say?"Good." Tang Yun Long nodded happily after hearing Chen Tu's reply. As he was in a good mood today, he decided to enlighten him a little."First, you'll need to differentiate the disparity between an assign
The trio patiently waited around the cauldron for it to reach the ideal fire temperature. When the time was ripe, everyone immediately closed the distance and tossed the Spiritual Herb each person was responsible for into the pot.They had one responsibility here.Chen Tu was to extract the Medicinal Essence from the Crimson Marble Fruit. Qin Lei, on the Burial Root, and Tang Yun Long are responsible for both Spirit Calming Grass and Highland Flower.Thanks to his elementary achievement in the Alchemic Refinement Flame, Chen Tu could participate in this while being a mere third-level Body Tempering cultivator. He also had to thank the Crimson Marble Fruit for its stable Medicinal Content.As for Qin Lei, he had no mastery over the Alchemic Refinement Flame, but his efficiency didn't lose to Chen Tu. As an eighth-level Body Tempering cultivator, he had almost triple the amount of Spiritual Energy compared to Chen Tu.This difference helps narrow the differences between them. The time d
Since everyone here was meticulously picked by the elder in person, was there any point for them to fight amongst each other? Wouldn't that go against the elder's intention in the first place, then?Most importantly, the elder wasn't blind or a fool!"Xiao Tu, what about you tell this teacher what creative idea you had earlier? Let me see if there's anywhere to improve." said the elder."Disciple obeys!" Chen Tu nodded and straightened himself. Using the same way he explained things earlier to the other two, Chen Tu discussed his idea with their teacher. At the same time, he added a few risque factors he found out from their first failure.In the meantime, Qin Lei handed the money from delivering the pills yesterday to the teacher. Out of delight, they were given ten Contribution Tokens in return. After all, no teacher would treat their own disciple miserably.If their stinginess was exposed to the outsider, won't that ruin the elder's reputation?The elder then revealed a delighted e
Naturally, the young uns protested. But the elder still kicked them out of his workshop ruthlessly. At the same time, it wasn't hard for them to notice their teacher's kindness hiding behind his mean action.Having no other option, the trio made their way to the canteen for their dinner. And with Tang Yun Long accompanying them, the group obviously didn't have to eat what was offered on the ground level.As a part of Outer Grotto's top ten disciples, Tang Yun Lang had the privilege of eating for free on the first floor. And his juniors, Chen Tu and Qin Lei, naturally bathe in his benevolence.With the eldest senior brother taking the lead, he ordered six dishes altogether, with three meat and three vegetable options. Without Tang Yun Long, this dinner would have cost them twelve Contribution Tokens.Twelve tokens... That's equivalent to a hundred and twenty Spiritual Coins outside. This amount alone is more than enough for a table of food, wine, and women in any nearby downtown or cit
"Alright, both of you. Take care of yourself until we meet next time." Tang Yun Long said to them before returning to his place. Unlike regular disciples, those in the top ten rankings were given their own courtyards to stay in.These buildings usually have plenty of conveniences, such as their own kitchen, garden, training square, storage room, and many more. Even if what they needed wasn't there, they could simply request it to be added.But most importantly, was the richer Spiritual Energy in the surrounding. As the ten accommodations were constructed for their comfort, an Energy Gathering Formation Array was set up here to make it more livable.They could hardly be any disturbance here, which was all the disciples could ask for because it allowed them to enter seclusion at any time.The place was also assigned to regular disciples to maintain. As long as necessary, the assisting disciples would be here to handle the matter with food, cleanliness, purchase, delivery, and safety. As