Task

"?????" Lu Nan looked at Su Wan's expectant face, his head full of question marks.

"Senior Sister, you jest! With my meager skills, I'd only make a fool of myself!

"If Senior Sister wants to learn, you can ask the Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters of Spirit Pill Peak.

"Even the Elders and Peak Lord should not be difficult to approach, given Senior Sister's status!"

"Everyone at Spirit Pill Peak says I'm not suited for Alchemy!!" Su Wan said angrily.

Lu Nan froze and looked her up and down. "If I remember correctly, Senior Sister's Spiritual Root is ice and water attribute, right??"

"Yes!!!"

"Then Senior Sister truly isn't suited for Alchemy.

"To become an Alchemist, one must have either a Fire attribute or fire and Wood attributes."

Through the Inherited Memory, Lu Nan had learned quite a few things as well.

To become an Alchemist or Artifact Crafter, one's Spiritual Root had to possess a Fire attribute.

To become a high-grade Alchemist, one had to possess both fire and Wood attributes.

On top of that, one needed formidable soul power.

That fifth-grade Alchemist had been a genius with top-grade dual Wood and Fire attributes.

"Junior Brother, you're saying that too!!!!" Su Wan stared at Lu Nan with wide eyes.

He merely shrugged. "I'm only speaking the truth!!!"

"You still owe me two favors!!!" Su Wan suddenly said.

The corner of Lu Nan's mouth twitched. He knew what he was about to face.

"I want you to teach me Alchemy. That counts as one favor!!!"

"You really aren't suited for Alchemy!!! How about choosing something else??" Lu Nan said with a bitter smile.

Su Wan remained unmoved. "This one!!!"

"No!! I'm still only half-baked myself; I can't teach you!

"If you truly want to learn, go to Spirit Pill Peak!!"

"Junior Brother, do you want to go back on your word???" Su Wan fixed her gaze tightly on Lu Nan.

Before he could speak, she added, "If you refuse, I'll tell everyone all about you!!"

"Junior Brother has hidden himself for so long. You don't want to be exposed either, do you???"

"You..." Looking at Su Wan's smiling face,

Lu Nan rubbed his forehead. "I can teach you, but I have three conditions!!"

Su Wan's eyes lit up. "Say them!!"

"First, if I teach you, then I won't owe you any favors.

"Second, I'll only be responsible for teaching. Whether you can learn it or not has nothing to do with me.

"Third, you cannot expose me. You cannot tell anyone anything about me.

"If you agree, I'll teach you!!"

Lu Nan listed his conditions one by one.

"Fine! I agree!! But you can't fool me either!" Su Wan frowned and said solemnly.

"Of course! I'll teach you to the best of my ability!!"

"Deal!!!"

Su Wan looked at Lu Nan expectantly. "When will you start teaching me???"

"Tomorrow!! I'll make some preparations first!" Lu Nan thought for a moment before answering.

"Alright! I'll come again tomorrow!!!"

As she spoke, Su Wan put away her things and left the Book Collection Pavilion.

Looking at the empty, silent Book Collection Pavilion, Lu Nan let out a faint sigh.

He returned to his post once more and sat down cross-legged.

Only when the sun set did he close the Book Collection Pavilion and return to his room.

How should I teach her??

Sitting cross-legged on his bed, Lu Nan pondered for a moment before coming up with an idea.

Tomorrow, he would first test that girl's theoretical knowledge. If it was passable, he would teach her practical work.

If it was not, he would have her study the theory first.

He then closed his eyes...

As the morning sun rose, someone appeared right on time.

"Junior Brother! I'm here!!" Hearing the commotion outside, the corner of Lu Nan's mouth twitched.

Why did this person seem like she had become someone else entirely?

Where had her former quiet aloofness gone???

He got up, opened the door, and welcomed Su Wan inside.

"My lodging is humble. I hope Senior Sister will not mind!!"

"When do we begin??" Su Wan waved her hand to show she did not care.

"How much do you know about Alchemy??"

At those words, Su Wan recounted everything she knew. After listening to her explanation,

Lu Nan immediately had a clear idea. "Senior Sister, I suggest you first solidify your theoretical knowledge."

He then named several related books,

"Senior Sister, first thoroughly master these books. Once you have, I'll teach you the rest."

After a pause, he added, "I can't guarantee that you'll learn it. Do you still want to study??"

"I do!!!" Su Wan nodded firmly.

"Then alright! Go back and thoroughly master these books first, then come find me!!"

Su Wan froze, then eyed Lu Nan suspiciously. "Are you fooling me??

"Did you just make up some excuse to brush me off?"

Lu Nan said nothing. He took out a blood-red herb from his Ring.

"What is this???"

Hearing this, Su Wan carefully examined the herb before her. After a long while, she shook her head. "I don't know!!"

"This is Blood Vein Grass, one of the main ingredients of the first-grade Qi and Blood Pill."

After Lu Nan finished speaking faintly, he looked at her. "You can't even recognize all the medicinal herbs. How are you supposed to refine pills???"

This time, Su Wan did not retort. Her face flushed slightly. "Sorry!! I'll thoroughly master the books before coming back."

She then turned and ran out of the Book Collection Pavilion. Seeing her leave, Lu Nan breathed a sigh of relief.

I finally fooled her away. I should have some peaceful days ahead!!!

Just as he had expected, during the following month,

Lu Nan lived quite comfortably. Every day, aside from standing watch at the Book Collection Pavilion, he cultivated.

"Huff!" Another new day arrived, and Lu Nan opened his eyes.

After exhaling a breath of stale air and tidying himself up, he headed for the Task Pavilion.

He was going to submit his Book Collection Pavilion guard duty mission. The three-month term had ended.

The mission handover went smoothly. Afterward, Lu Nan did not take on another mission.

Instead, he planned to rest for a few days. He had just put away his token and was about to leave.

The discussion at his side, however, made him stop in his tracks.

"I heard this Patrol Mission is extremely dangerous. The previous few Senior Brothers never returned.

"They're probably dead more likely than not. We'd best not touch it!!"

"Patrol Mission??" This reminded Lu Nan of the mission Fang Rongxuan had mentioned not long ago.

He wondered whether it was the same one and quickly walked over to the notice board.

He searched rapidly, until his gaze finally settled on a mission in the upper right corner.

Mission description: Within the territory of the subordinate Wang Family clan, large numbers of mortals and cultivators have been frequently disappearing.

Mission requirements: Investigate the cause, number, and circumstances of the disappearances. Only disciples at Qi Condensation Layer Three and above may accept it.

Teaming up is recommended!

Mission reward: One hundred contribution points.

Seeing this, Lu Nan narrowed his eyes. Thinking carefully, Fang Rongxuan had not appeared for over a month.

At first, he had assumed Fang Rongxuan was in seclusion cultivating, but now it seemed there might be another reason.

"Wang Family?? Qi Condensation Layer Three!"

Muttering to himself, Lu Nan quickly turned and left.

He headed straight for the Assessment Hall. It was time to raise his status.

"Senior Sister, may I ask what the assessment process is??" Upon arriving at the Mission Hall, Lu Nan looked around.

Spotting a woman in green robes who appeared relatively free, he paused before walking toward her.

The woman looked up at the sound, and her eyes immediately lit up. "Junior Brother, are you here to assess your strength??"

After seeing Lu Nan nod, she pulled him toward a bronze-colored stone stele at the side.

"Junior Brother, you only need to inject your spiritual power into it.

"The corresponding stars on the stele will light up. One layer corresponds to one star!"

"Thank you, Senior Sister!" Lu Nan thanked her.

He quickly approached the stone stele and placed his hand upon it.