Very soon, the names of all fifteen people were announced.
Wei Shangyi was not among them.
At this moment, Wei Shangyi had lost the mind to keep listening.
He only wanted to quickly find his elder brother and see how to remedy the situation.
On the other hand, Zhou Xun felt quite pleased, as everything was progressing as he envisioned.
Becoming an Alchemy Apprentice, breaking through to Tier One Alchemist after a few years, he could thereby access a large amount of Spirit Medicine to enhance his Spiritual Root Talent.
Then, further breakthroughs in Middle-Stage Qi Refining, Late-Stage Qi Refining, and even Foundation Establishment Stage would follow.
Everything was falling into place logically.
"Congratulations to everyone for officially becoming Alchemy Apprentices of the Pill Treasure Pavilion!"
Lin Zhishan smiled slightly and began to introduce the benefits for apprentices at the Pill Treasure Pavilion.
"The first benefit of becoming an Alchemy Apprentice is that your monthly salary will rise to 40 Spirit Essence!"
This was much higher than Zhou Xun's 30 Spirit Essence salary when he worked as a Spirit Contract Servant at Miaofu Pavilion.
From a purely numerical perspective, the difference might seem small.
However, as a Spirit Contract Servant, one had to work from dawn till dusk, exhausting oneself for those 30 Spirit Essence.
Whereas an Alchemy Apprentice only needs to complete basic alchemy tasks to earn those 40 Spirit Essence.
Moreover, they joined the Pill Treasure Pavilion not for the 40 Spirit Essence monthly income,
but for the promising future of becoming an Alchemist.
"The second benefit is that the library of our Pill Treasure Pavilion will be open to all of you!"
"You must know, our Pill Treasure Pavilion has not only collected Tier One High-Grade Alchemy Inheritance, but also Tier Two Inheritance. As long as your Contribution Points are sufficient, you can redeem them!"
As soon as Lin Zhishan finished speaking, the crowd immediately fell silent.
Even a single Tier One High-Grade Alchemy Inheritance is enough to create a Tier One High-Grade Alchemist.
Such an alchemist would be treated as an honored guest even by Foundation Establishment Cultivators.
Not to mention the Tier Two Inheritance.
That is a treasure at the Foundation Establishment Stage.
It shows the pill pavilion's great investment this time.
"The Pill Treasure Pavilion's wholehearted effort to nurture alchemical talent is precisely my opportunity!" Zhou Xun thought to himself.
Master Yun Ku, now a Tier Two Middle-Grade Alchemist, is considered a top figure in a place like White Cloud Immortal City, with True Pill Powerhouses residing there.
The saying goes, it's good to rest in the shade of a big tree.
"The opportunity must not be missed!"
Others shared similar thoughts.
Grasp the opportunity, and maybe one could become someone like Master Yun Ku.
The newly appointed alchemy apprentices had faces flushed with excitement.
While the fifteen who were not selected looked on enviously.
Especially Wei Shangyi.
He kept regretting:
"If I had participated in the assessment step by step, I might already be like them, becoming an Alchemy Apprentice now!"
Thinking of the Tier Two Alchemy Inheritance made his heart bleed.
"After talking about benefits, it's time to discuss your obligations," Lin Zhishan shifted the conversation.
"As members of the Pill Treasure Pavilion, the first and most important rule is that you must not disclose what you've learned to anyone, not even other alchemy apprentices!"
"Anyone who violates this will have their cultivation abolished and be expelled from the Pill Treasure Pavilion!" As he spoke, he released the aura of a Late-Stage Qi Refining Cultivator.
Everyone became alert.
Without cultivation in the survival-of-the-fittest Red Leaf Square, the consequences were self-evident.
"The second rule is that each of you needs to complete the tasks assigned by the pavilion each month. Of course, if you have spare time, you can take on other tasks, all of which can earn Contribution Points!"
"As for the uses of Contribution Points, I don't need to repeat, do I?"
"Of course, it's to exchange for Tier Two Inheritance!" Everyone shouted in their hearts.
Lin Zhishan looked at the excited expressions of the crowd, unfazed.
Then he turned and left, before leaving he gave Zhou Xun a subtle encouraging glance.
After this, Zhou Xun started his mundane daily life of alchemy.
...
A year later.
Zhou Xun had fully integrated into the Pill Treasure Pavilion.
Among the fifteen alchemy apprentices, three had successfully advanced to Tier One Low-Grade Alchemists.
Zhou Xun was not among them.
For him, a mid-level ranking suited his situation better.
It kept him under the radar while still receiving normal training.
...
At home in Luliu Lane, inside the cultivation room.
Zhou Xun, dressed in a white robe, sat cross-legged.
Before him was a stalk of Spirit-Attracting Grass.
A year had passed, and he could clearly feel that the essence of the previous Spirit Gathering Grass had completely integrated.
This time, he specifically purchased a stalk of Spirit-Attracting Grass to enhance his Spiritual Root.
Zhou Xun operated the Spring Condensation Scripture, and quickly extracted the Spirit-Attracting Grass Essence.
Then he guided it towards his body.
This time, the light points smoothly integrated.
Zhou Xun once again experienced that feeling of "ascension."
The difference was, this time the feeling was extremely weak, barely better than nothing.
Zhou Xun frowned slightly, his complexion looking quite poor.
The improvement this time was far from ideal.
Then he operated the Nourishing Essence Technique, and indeed the conversion efficiency of Spiritual Qi had almost no improvement. Were it not for his keen senses, he might not have noticed the subtle differences.
Having spent the equivalent of one hundred fifty Spirit Essence on Spirit Medicine.
Yet his Spirit Root had nearly no improvement.
Regarding the outcome, Zhou Xun had two guesses:
The first, the Spring Condensation Scripture enhances Spiritual Root Talent effectively only the first time, and subsequent effects are negligible, which Zhou Xun least wanted to see.
The second, the tier of the Spirit-Attracting Grass is too low, and can no longer provide substantial improvement to Middle-Grade and above Spiritual Roots.
This possibility is the highest, as he previously encountered this phenomenon when enhancing Grain Avoidance Pill, where the more essence absorbed, the less noticeable the improvement.
Only by using higher-grade Spirit Medicine Essence can significant enhancement continue.
However, regarding the Spiritual Root, whether this is the case remains to be verified.
"Up next, I still need to earn more Spirit Stones to purchase high-level Spirit Medicine!" Zhou Xun sighed.
Over the past year, by selling Grain Avoidance Pills and Energy-Introducing Pills, he had amassed a fortune of roughly forty Spirit Stones.
Among Middle-Stage Qi Refining Cultivators, he was considered upper-middle class.
Yet, for buying Spirit Medicine, it was still insufficient.
His last enhancement of Spiritual Root used a Tier One Top-Grade Spirit Gathering Grass, priced higher than many Tier Two Spirit Medicines.
"If I still want to enhance my Spiritual Root, I probably need at least Tier Two Spirit Medicine to see significant effect," Zhou Xun speculated.
Yet at Hundred Treasures Tower, the cheapest Tier Two Spirit Medicine also costs over a hundred and fifty Spirit Stones.
This far exceeded Zhou Xun's budget.
"If it doesn't work out, then I'll wait a few years before purchasing. Thankfully, my current Middle-Grade Spiritual Root is barely sufficient,"
Zhou Xun comforted himself.
...
Another half year passed.
Zhou Xun ranked fifth and successfully entered the tier of First Grade Alchemist.
According to the original plan, Zhou Xun did not intend to enter the tier so soon.
However, to earn enough Spirit Stones sooner, he had to put some of his elixir selling activities openly, and by doing so, the status of an Alchemy Apprentice became somewhat low.
"Ranked seventh during assessment, now fifth, the progression speed increased a bit but remains within reasonable range!"
Soon, the news of Zhou Xun's advancement gradually spread, the Pill Treasure Pavilion gained another Entry Tier Alchemist.