Chapter 15 - Chapter 15: Chapter 15: Apprentice?

“Elder Hao, I really am not confident I can refine the Soothing Pills, you better find someone else,” Xu Shangao said, his face showing struggle.

The young man in a red robe, Hao Rulong, snorted coldly, an iciness lacing his tone, “For today, I’ve chosen you. I’ll be dropping my words here. Three days from now, I’ll come to collect the pills. If you can’t refine them, don’t blame me for being impolite.”

Having said this, Hao Rulong turned, walking away without even a glance at Fang Lin.

After Hao Rulong left, Xu Shangao’s spirit dampened further. Seeing Fang Lin, he could only force a smile.

Fang Lin asked, “What happened? Who was that man just now?”

Xu Shangao replied, “He’s Hao Rulong, an official disciple of the Martial Sect. He has requested me to refine a batch of Soothing Pills for him. But how could I possibly accomplish such a task? He is clearly trying to make things difficult for me.”

Fang Lin pondered for a moment and nodded, “So, he’s an official disciple of the Martial Sect. No wonder he seems so arrogant.”

Xu Shangao sighed deeply, “Those official disciples from the Martial Sect often request us, the official disciples from the Pill Sect, to refine pills for them. This would usually be a good thing, but ever since I became an official disciple these past few years, I’ve only refined pills for the Martial Sect disciples twice. Both cases involved relatively low-level pills, not particularly challenging. Yet, Hao Rulong insists I refine the Soothing Pills for him. He clearly intends to cause me trouble.”

Through Xu Shangao’s detailed account, Fang Lin understood that official disciples from the Martial Sect often sought official disciples from the Pill Sect for pill refining. They also needed to compensate the Pill Sect disciples appropriately. This sort of transaction had developed into a tradition between the two sects.

The more pill refining assignments one handled, the more renowned they became within the Pill Sect, but to refine pills for the Martial Sect disciples, one must possess solid alchemy techniques. Lower rank disciples like Xu Shangao could only refine some simple pills. As for Soothing Pills, which were almost considered top-grade in first-class pills, he was unable to refine them.

Hao Rulong, however, insisted that Xu Shangao must refine a Soothing Pill for him. His intention to provoke was clear. Once Xu Shangao failed to refine a Soothing Pill after three days, Hao Rulong would spread the word. Xu Shangao would lose face among the official disciples of both the Pill Sect and the Martial Sect. Even if his skills improved in the future, no one would ask him to refine pills anymore.

Fang Lin looked at Xu Shangao, somewhat amused, “Elder brother, did you offend someone?”

Upon hearing this, Xu Shangao thought of someone. His face filled with anger, he said, “It must be Lin Xu! He must bear a grudge from the bet he lost to me. He absolutely asked Hao Rulong to cause me problems and make me lose face!”

Fang Lin nodded, then with a smile asked, “How do you intend to deal with it, Elder Xu?”

Upon hearing this, Xu Shangao drooped and answered, “What else could I do? I absolutely cannot refine the Soothing Pill currently. I guess I’ll just have to swallow the humiliation.”

Fang Lin gave a sarcastic smile, “Elder Xu, do you not know who I am? Do you think I’d let you be humiliated?”

At Fang Lin’s words, Xu Shangao’s eyes lit up. He caught hold of Fang Lin’s shoulders, akin to a drowning man clutching at a straw.

“Brother Fang, if you can refine the Soothing Pill, please help me,” Xu Shangao pleaded.

Fang Lin gave a sly smile, “Aren’t there still three Soothing Pills left that I gifted to Elder Xu? Just give them to Hao Rulong when the time comes, right?”

Xu Shangao’s face turned slightly awkward, “I’ve already consumed one of the three. The remaining two aren’t enough to meet the demand.”

Having said that, Xu Shangao pitifully looked at Fang Lin and again pleaded, “Brother Fang, my good junior disciple, considering my pitiful state, could you please refine another batch of Soothing Pills for me? I absolutely won’t let you down.”

Fang Lin swatted away Xu Shangao’s hand irritably and said, “Nobody asked me to refine pills, they asked you. You should do it yourself.”

Xu Shangao was on the verge of tears, “But I can’t do it! Dear junior disciple, could you please help me? Considering our shared hardships as co-disciples, please help me one more time.”

Seeing Xu Shangao’s pitiful state, Fang Lin decided to stop teasing him, “I can help you, of course, but in six months, I’ll be leaving. What will you do if someone tries to trouble you again? I’ll help you this time, but you also need to devote yourself to studying the art of pill refining. I’ll try to help improve your skills within six months.”

Upon hearing this, Xu Shangao was overjoyed and expressed his endless gratitude to Fang Lin.

Fang Lin waved his hand dismissively, “Enough with the useless chatter, you should start your apprenticeship.”

Upon hearing this, Xu Shangao was taken aback. He lifted his head, his face full of surprise.

Fang Lin’s face was solemn, without a trace of jest.

“Junior Fang, what did you just say?” Xu Shangao asked cautiously, thinking he had misheard.

“Apprenticeship,” Fang Lin said, his tone concise and powerful.

A look of confusion crossed Xu Shangao’s face, “My dear junior disciple, I don’t think an apprenticeship is necessary, right? After all, I am your elder brother.”

Fang Lin looked at Xu Shangao, remaining silent. He walked straight into the pill refining room, leaving a dazed Xu Shangao outside.

With a nervous heart, Xu Shangao waited for four hours, until he saw Fang Lin emerging from the room, holding a jade bottle in hand. He passed it to Xu Shangao.

“I already refined the pills for you. You should think things over. I’ll be leaving in six months. From then, everything is up to you,” Fang Lin said lazily before heading back into his own room.

Xu Shangao stared at the jade bottle in his hand. Subconsciously, he opened the stopper to peek inside, revealing eight round pills that emitted a gentle fragrance.

Xu Shangao carefully sealed the bottle, undecided. After a moment, he gritted his teeth and arrived at Fang Lin’s door.

“Disciple Xu Shangao, greeting master!” Xu Shangao solemnly spoke, then knelt before Fang Lin’s door.

Fang Lin opened the door, seeing Xu Shangao kneeling seriously on the ground, he grinned and said, “Why are you being so serious? It was just a joke.”

“···”

Xu Shangao almost bounced off the ground. Since when did this constitute a joke? He had gone to great lengths to mentally prepare himself and even knelt, only to be told it was a joke?

Seeing the livid look on Xu Shangao’s face, Fang Lin knew he must be very frustrated. Fang Lin waved his hand, and a jade slip fell into Xu Shangao’s hand.

“This is the Alchemy Heart given to me by Elder Mu Yan. I have no use for it, so I am giving it to you. I hope you can benefit from it,” Fang Lin said.

After some thought, Fang Lin handed over a book to Xu Shangao, “This was given to me by that old guy Zhao Dengming during today’s Pill Array class. I’m giving it to you as well.”

Xu Shangao, holding the jade slip in one hand and the book in the other, looked incredibly excited.

“How can I accept these?” Xu Shangao shook his head.

Fang Lin smiled and said, “Don’t refuse. These aren’t of any use to me, but you could certainly use them. After all, I’ll only be here for another six months. With these two items, I believe you might have a shot at becoming a middle-level disciple.”

Upon hearing this, Xu Shangao stopped resisting and gratefully accepted the two gifts, storing them away with an excited expression.

As a low-level disciple, Xu Shangao didn’t have the access to enter the Pill Pavilion to read alchemy books, let alone possess an elder’s Alchemy Heart. These two gifts from Fang Lin were extraordinarily precious to him.

“Brother, you are truly my lucky star!” After saying this, Xu Shangao couldn’t wait to return to his Pill Refining Room to investigate Alchemy Technique.

Fang Lin closed the door and locked it. He was preparing to consume the Soothing Pill to enhance his cultivation to the Human Origin Third Level.

While he was in the Pill Sect, pill refining was the most important thing, but he couldn’t neglect his cultivation level. Only with sufficient cultivation level could he have the confidence to accomplish anything.

With a cultivation level of Human Origin Second Level, he was considered extremely weak among the Pill Apprentices. Pill talents like Kang Lu were said to have reached the Human Origin Sixth Level, but only Kang Lu himself and a few others knew for sure.

Even Lu Xiaoqing had a cultivation level of Human Origin Fourth Level. Because Fang Lin’s cultivation level was low, Lu Xiaoqing often made fun of him.

“Three Qi Nurturing Pills should be enough to elevate me to the Human Origin Third Level, but because I’m practicing the Nine Cauldron Skypassing Spell, I must consume a pill cauldron to advance my cultivation, which is quite troublesome,” Fang Lin murmured as he practiced.

The Qi Nurturing Pills turned into a clear stream and circulated rapidly within Fang Lin’s body, making him feel extraordinarily comfortable.

“Sigh, I really don’t like this feeling of starting from scratch. If I were still in the Pill Saint Palace, just a couple of pills would have allowed my cultivation level to skyrocket,” Fang Lin sighed while recalling his time in the Pill Saint Palace.

In a blink of an eye, three days had passed. While Fang Lin was still refining inside, Hao Rulong, who had visited three days ago, arrived early.

“Xu Shangao, have you refined the Soothing Pill I asked for?” Hao Rulong asked coldly.

Hao Rulong was a Martial Sect disciple and considering his not so weak strength among the Martial Sect disciples, naturally, he held Xu Shangao, a low-ranking Pill Sect disciple, in contempt.

If it weren’t for the fact that Lin Xu had offered him a big reward, Hao Rulong wouldn’t have bothered to come and give Xu Shangao a hard time.

“Xu Shangao, Xu Shangao, it’s because you offended Lin Xu that he asked me to come. You can’t blame me.” Hao Rulong chuckled to himself, seemingly convinced that Xu Shangao couldn’t refine the Qi Nurturing Pill.

Who would have thought that Xu Shangao would remain calm and silent, simply taking out a bottle of pills.

“The pills are here. Brother Hao, please take them,” Xu Shangao said with a faint smile.

Hao Rulong was surprised, he received the pills with some suspicion, and opened the bottle, indeed, it contained Qi Nurturing Pills.

“This is strange. According to Lin Xu, there’s no way Xu Shangao could refine the Qi Nurturing Pill. So how did this happen? Has Xu Shangao been hiding his talents?” Hao Rulong was taken aback, his pre-planned speech was of no use now, and he looked somewhat uncomfortable.

“What’s the matter, Brother Hao? Are you not satisfied with the pill?” Xu Shangao asked deliberately.

Hao Rulong grunted and turned to leave with the pill.

“What? Is Brother Hao not going to give me my payment?” Xu Shangao called out to Hao Rulong.

Hao Rulong turned back and glared at Xu Shangao, slightly embarrassed, “I didn’t bring it with me today. I’ll compensate you tomorrow.”