Alchemist Assistant

Yang Chan listened to Xu Gaocen's words and knew that the man was surely satisfied with all his answers. Having gone through countless interviews in the past, this sort of assessment was nothing more than child's play to him.

Assessments like interviews inherently had certain stock phrases that left no room for criticism. Used in an Alchemist Assistant assessment, they stood out even more.

Sure enough, after chatting for a while, Xu Gaocen took the initiative to ask him to become his Alchemist Assistant. At the same time, he explained to Yang Chan the monthly pay, the benefits of medicinal meals, and the advantages of receiving instruction on drug properties and pharmacological combinations.

Naturally, Yang Chan agreed to Xu Gaocen's invitation. He had already wanted to choose a Pharmacist who remained in the Qingyuan Sect, so that he too could stay within the sect and live more securely.

After seeing Yang Chan agree, Xu Gaocen told him to begin going to the Prescription Courtyard tomorrow, then informed him of the hours during which he would need to carry out tasks in the Medicine Hall.

A Pharmacist's duties in the Qingyuan Sect were not particularly heavy. Usually, they prepared medicine for ten days a month and could rest for twenty days, excluding those who voluntarily took part in medicine preparation.

Under normal circumstances, it was considered shift work, and one could arrange one's own schedule. Xu Gaocen had previously had several Alchemist Assistants by his side. One of them had succeeded in External Refinement and become an Elite Disciple within the sect, so he naturally no longer continued serving as an Alchemist Assistant. That was how this opening had come about.

Within the Qingyuan Sect, an Elite Disciple held a status equal to that of a Pharmacist. Naturally, they would not lower themselves to become an Alchemist Assistant. This was also the choice of most people, and entirely normal.

Even within the Medicine Hall, those who had mastered Raging Bull Strength were more eager to break through External Refinement than to become Pharmacists.

Those with decent talent could possibly break through External Refinement within four or five years after obtaining cultivation resources. For those of average talent, it would take even longer.

Yet within the Qingyuan Sect, becoming a Pharmacist took at least ten years as a baseline, often even longer. There were also people who never became Pharmacists before dying.

Accumulating all kinds of knowledge consumed an enormous amount of time, and it also depended on talent.

When Yang Chan walked out of the Assessment Office, he found that Du Xiaolin had already finished his assessment and was waiting for him there.

As Yang Chan walked, he thought about going to the Prescription Courtyard. His remaining ten-odd months of free time were gone, but in exchange, he had gained a more stable and safer task. It was not too bad.

Still, his schedule would have to change starting tomorrow.

"It's fine if you didn't pass. I spent three months on it and still failed. Just keep working at it. There'll be another chance for assessment in half a year anyway."

"Neither of us has to carry out sect tasks now, so we can spend more time studying the Medicine Scripture."

Seeing Yang Chan's expression, Du Xiaolin spoke to comfort him.

When he had taken part in this Alchemist Assistant assessment, he had known from the start that he would basically fail. His foundation was not solid enough yet.

However, this assessment had shown him what points to pay attention to in an Alchemist Assistant assessment. He had gained experience, which would make things easier next time.

In Du Xiaolin's eyes, it was perfectly normal for Yang Chan not to have passed.

"I passed the assessment."

Yang Chan replied.

"It's fine. Not passing is perfectly nor... You passed?"

As Du Xiaolin spoke, a look of astonishment suddenly appeared on his face. He stared seriously at Yang Chan and asked again.

This news was far too unexpected for him.

He had thought the two of them had come together merely to test the waters. Who would have thought Yang Chan was not testing the waters at all, but crossing the river in one go?

The result left Du Xiaolin stunned, and he looked at Yang Chan once more for confirmation.

"That's right, I passed. Pharmacist Xu asked me to go to the Prescription Courtyard tomorrow morning and help out under him."

Noticing Du Xiaolin's disbelieving gaze, Yang Chan nodded.

"That's impossible. I spent three months and still couldn't pass, yet you passed right away."

"Did Pharmacist Xu ask a lot of questions? I mean questions about common medicinal herbs."

A look of self-doubt appeared on Du Xiaolin's face before he asked.

He wanted to see whether the assessment questions had been different, or whether there had been some other reason.

"Quite a lot. He asked about three hundred and seventy-eight common medicinal herbs."

Yang Chan replied.

"So many? No wonder you were in there for so long."

Surprise appeared on Du Xiaolin's face, followed by understanding.

"Am I really that useless?"

The self-doubt on Du Xiaolin's face deepened further.

"Before I came to the Qingyuan Sect, I was a Herb Gathering Boy. I had already mastered most common medicines. This past month, I only needed to fill in some knowledge related to drug properties, so I spent relatively little time on it."

"Most of the questions Pharmacist Xu asked were about herbs I had already mastered."

Yang Chan comforted him, lest Du Xiaolin continue doubting himself.

The two had not known each other for long, but their relationship was much better than that of ordinary acquaintances. Given Du Xiaolin's diligence, if he spent a little more time on it, he would very likely become an Alchemist Assistant in the next assessment.

"So that's how it is. No wonder you came for the assessment today. This was the result of your earlier efforts—it was only right that you succeeded today."

Du Xiaolin nodded. This sounded normal. Otherwise, passing the assessment after just one month would have been far too absurd.

If I work hard for another half year, I'll definitely become an Alchemist Assistant too.

On the way back, Du Xiaolin continued toward the Medicine Hall's Scripture Depository. He wanted to persist in reading more of the Medicine Scripture and no longer be stumped by a Pharmacist's questions.

Yang Chan did not go with Du Xiaolin. Instead, he headed for the Martial Arts Courtyard within the Medicine Hall. Having passed the Alchemist Assistant assessment today, he decided to reward himself by not reading medical books for the day.

Du Xiaolin watched Yang Chan's departing back with silent envy.

He wanted to do the same. Only he himself knew how grueling it had been to read medical books continuously for three months.

As he watched Yang Chan's back, he felt so envious.

Du Xiaolin swore to himself that he would definitely pass the Alchemist Assistant assessment next time.

Medicine Hall Martial Academy.

The rankings of the six small groups had changed this month. Among them, Chu Mo, who had entered the sect five years ago, took first place in the Medicine Hall Monthly Assessment and received a box of Bear Gallbladder Skin Tempering Paste as a reward. With the aid of the Bear Gallbladder Skin Tempering Paste, he broke through to External Refinement: Bronze Skin and had already become an Elite Disciple of the Qingyuan Sect.

As Chu Mo became an Elite Disciple, the small group he had previously belonged to became the weakest in the Medicine Hall. It did not have a single person who had mastered Raging Bull Strength. Conflicts within the group were numerous, and it was on the verge of falling apart.

Some people went looking for Chu Mo, but after being promoted to Elite Disciple, he had immediately entered seclusion and saw no one.

Yang Chan instead thought of the Medicine Hall Formal Disciple Competition from half a month ago. Registration for the assessment had to be voluntary. At the time, Yang Chan had not yet mastered Raging Bull Strength, and he had also wanted to keep a low profile, so he had not registered.

Still, he had gone to watch. Even though everyone practiced only the Ox Demon Strength Fist, each person's fist techniques differed.

Some followed a vicious path, some a fierce and forceful path, while others pursued agile methods. They were all different, and thus the strength they displayed in battle also differed, each with its own characteristics.

They were all Formal Disciples now, so the differences were not yet too great. Once they succeeded in External Refinement and Jing Power cultivation was no longer affected, they would have new choices.