"You kid, you really stole the show today. Don't forget to treat me to a meal, you promised ages ago and still haven't."
Ning Xiuying walked over, saying with a delicate laugh.
Ning Fa immediately replied, "Sister Xiuying, don't worry, I remember our agreement clearly."
As he spoke, Ning Fa subtly glanced at Ning Xiuying's ample chest.
Ning Xiuying caught Ning Fa's inappropriate gaze.
She immediately recalled their previous joke: if Ning Fa became a First-grade Middle-rank Pill Master for the family, she'd consider letting him "practice" on her.
Ning Fa was clearly hinting at this.
Ning Xiuying's pretty face flushed. She gave him a charmingly fierce look before turning to leave.
Liu Qinghui, who was walking over, froze. Being as observant as she was, she also noticed Ning Fa's hidden glance.
For some reason, a trace of shyness and annoyance rose within her.
But she showed no change in expression, smiling softly and charmingly, "Ning Fa, congratulations. We can exchange alchemy experiences more often in the future."
Ning Fa looked at her, his heart stirring, and he thought of that half Jade Pendant.
He said with a smile, "Sure, we can definitely 'exchange' notes properly."
Liu Qinghui's willow eyebrows twitched. She seemed surprised by Ning Fa's accommodating attitude.
The smile on her cherry lips deepened slightly, and then she left without further words.
"Little Fa, come with me. Now that you've been promoted to a First-grade Middle-rank Pill Master for the family, there are some things I need to explain to you."
Wei Chengzong walked over, his face beaming with enthusiasm.
Ning Fa nodded and followed Wei Chengzong to a side hall.
Wei Chengzong personally poured Ning Fa a cup of fragrant tea, his face ruddy and beaming as he said, "Little Fa, your performance today truly opened my eyes. I am far inferior, and your future achievements will surely be limitless."
Looking at the overly enthusiastic Wei Chengzong, Ning Fa's expression was a mixture of amusement and something else.
Wei Chengzong acted as if he hadn't noticed. He then took out two items that gleamed with spiritual light from his storage bag.
One was a small, hexagonal, dark green token, engraved with two faintly glowing green bamboos.
The other was a palm-sized white robe, also with two green bamboos on the right chest.
Wei Chengzong smiled, "Little Fa, now that you are a First-grade Middle-rank Pill Master for the family, you naturally need to switch to the corresponding Alchemy Hall Token and standard robe. Please hand over your old token."
Ning Fa nodded and took out his old token.
Wei Chengzong then cast two Hand Seals at the two tokens.
The new hexagonal token suddenly emitted a bright dark green light, and a line of numbers appeared in the lower left corner.
"330."
These were Ning Fa's current contribution points, earned from refining pills beyond the quota over the past few months.
If he hadn't focused on refining the Three Yuan Pill for the last three months, his contribution points would have already exceeded five hundred.
Then he could have exchanged it for the "Travelogue of Yun Songzi" that he had been longing for.
But he figured it wouldn't take too long.
Seeing Ning Fa put away the new token and robe, Wei Chengzong stroked his beard and smiled, "Then let me tell you about your current salary and benefits. According to family regulations, the standard treatment for a First-grade Middle-rank Pill Master is five hundred Spirit Stones annually, plus two hundred family contribution points."
"Of course, if you exceed the family's alchemy tasks, you can also receive additional Spirit Stones and family contribution points. Furthermore, when purchasing pills from within our Alchemy Hall or exchanging for treasures in the family treasury, you will have priority and enjoy at least a 10% discount."
Ning Fa's lips curved into a smile.
The status of a First-grade Middle-rank Pill Master was indeed vastly different, and the family's benefits had suddenly soared.
Even ordinary late-stage Qi Condensation clansmen like Ning Xiuying were far behind in terms of such treatment.
At this moment, Wei Chengzong seemed to remember something and quickly added, "Oh, right. The Third Elder just transmitted a message to me before he left. Little Fa, your family benefits will be directly calculated according to the treatment of a quasi-First-grade High-rank Pill Master."
"That means a salary of eight hundred Spirit Stones annually, plus three hundred contribution points, and you will enjoy at least a 15% discount when exchanging for treasures in the family treasury."
Ning Fa was a little surprised. This Third Elder was truly generous.
It seemed his guess was correct; the Third Elder was indeed showing him goodwill.
Wei Chengzong continued, "Little Fa, your main task now is to refine the Three Yuan Pill. This pill is very important to the family, as most of our clansmen are in the early to middle stages of Qi Condensation. Every extra bottle of Three Yuan Pill refined might help a clansman advance to the late stage of Qi Condensation sooner."
"The Spiritual Materials for the Three Yuan Pill are precious. The family can provide you with ten to fifteen portions of Three Yuan Pill Spiritual Materials per month. Your requirement is that the pill formation rate cannot be lower than 20%. If you can exceed 30%, the family will reward you with thirty Spirit Stones and twenty family contribution points for every additional Three Yuan Pill."
Ning Fa showed no surprise and nodded, indicating his agreement.
The value of the Three Yuan Pill far exceeded that of the Essence Replenishing Pill, costing around sixty Spirit Stones per pill.
A bottle of five Three Yuan Pills would cost around three hundred Spirit Stones.
Moreover, it was often in high demand and short supply.
Usually, any extra Three Yuan Pills that appeared in the Alchemy Hall would be immediately exchanged by clansmen.
Of course, the Spiritual Materials for the Three Yuan Pill were also very precious, with one portion costing at least sixty to seventy Spirit Stones, and the main Spiritual Materials were often out of stock.
Even for a Foundation Establishment Family of Ning Family's size, they could only obtain ten to twenty portions of Spiritual Materials per month.
At this moment, Wei Chengzong took out three white jade slips from his storage bag. He smiled and said, "Two of the jade slips record the [Golden Marrow Pill] and the [Jade Su Pill]. I believe you know these two pills. They are also the two pills one must learn to become a first-grade mid-rank Pill Master in the family. Little Fa, you should take some time to learn these two pills."
Ning Fa nodded.
He naturally knew these two pills; they were a mid-rank healing pill and a spirit-replenishing pill, respectively.
The Ning Family's standards for Pill Master advancement were very practical.
It mainly depended on the mastery of pills for improving cultivation, healing, and replenishing spirit.
Pills for improving cultivation were not strictly required due to their higher difficulty, with a high success rate being a bonus.
However, for healing and spirit-replenishing pills of the corresponding rank, one must meet the standards to advance.
This was because the demand for these two types of pills was very high, and they could save the lives of clan members at critical moments.
Wei Chengzong pointed to the last jade slip and said, "This is the catalog of first-grade mid-rank pills possessed by our Pill Hall. With your current authority, Little Fa, you can choose three additional pill recipes. Take a look."
Ning Fa unceremoniously took the jade slip and placed it on his forehead.
A full half an hour later, Ning Fa removed the jade slip.
He pondered for a moment and said, "Then I will choose the [Spirit Ascension Pill], the [Meridian Protection Pill], and the [Precious Flower Paste] recipes."
Wei Chengzong was not surprised. These three pills were considered the most valuable first-grade mid-rank pills in the catalog.
Especially the Spirit Ascension Pill, which was also a pill for improving cultivation, and its efficacy was even comparable to the Three Yuan Pill.
However, due to its overly potent effects, it had a certain impact on a cultivator's body.
Coupled with the rarity of its spiritual materials, which even surpassed those of the Three Yuan Pill, it did not hold the same status as the Three Yuan Pill.
The other two pills were also well-known healing pills.