Ding-Character Room

The clothing of Qingyuan Sect's pharmacists differed from that of Formal Disciples. No longer dressed entirely in green, they wore white-and-blue garments unique to pharmacists. Their status was a step above that of Formal Disciples.

The most obvious difference was the sect's level of regard. If special circumstances arose and a choice had to be made between a Formal Disciple and a pharmacist, the sect would certainly choose the pharmacist.

In Yang Chan's eyes, Zhao Qiyang was also a hidden source of trouble. To prevent any special circumstances from arising, Yang Chan became a pharmacist first, leaving no room for a choice.

One had to be steady—so steady that one did not even give others the chance to choose.

When Yang Chan brought his Alchemist Token to Xu Gaocen, Xu Gaocen was equally surprised. He had not expected Yang Chan to pass the pharmacist examination so quickly.

Xu Gaocen had originally thought highly of Yang Chan's talent in alchemy. He felt that if Yang Chan had been a little better at handling people and affairs, he might very well have given Yang Chan the pharmacist training slot last time.

Although Yang Chan had ultimately obtained a pharmacist training slot through the sect's reward.

After offering a few words of congratulations, Xu Gaocen assigned the Ding-character room to Yang Chan.

A pharmacist's duties differed from those of an Alchemist Assistant. They were assigned entire buildings directly, where they treated injured Qingyuan Sect disciples, prepared medicine packets, and handled other matters.

Pharmacists made diagnoses, then wrote prescriptions for Alchemist Assistants to gather and prepare the medicine. After some time, they would conduct follow-up examinations. They did not need to remain at the patient's side at all times, leaving them some free time in between.

The task of preparing medicine packets was assigned by the pharmacy's chief, Xu Gaocen. Medicine was generally prepared every other day, and compared with an Alchemist Assistant's duties, this task was much easier.

The more formidable the abilities one possessed, the greater one's autonomy—and the greater one's gains.

When Yang Chan returned to the pharmacy, Sun Qi Wu, Shu Yu, and the others looked as though they had seen a ghost. Yang Chan's white-and-blue pharmacist robes and the Alchemist Token at his waist both made it clear that he had passed the pharmacist examination and become a pharmacist.

They, as Alchemist Assistants, had the greatest say in how difficult it was to become a pharmacist. They all knew how complicated the skills required for the pharmacist examination were. To master them, one had to grind away with time, studying without cease, before success was even possible.

Shu Yu and the others in particular had already been Alchemist Assistants for several years, yet they still had not passed the pharmacist examination. During the examination, if one's accumulation fell even slightly short or one made a mistake, it was an immediate failure. There was no second chance; one could only wait another year for the next pharmacist examination.

When preparing again for the pharmacist examination, they had to frantically make up all kinds of pharmacist-related knowledge, spending an enormous amount of time.

Take Chu Mo, Xu Gaocen's former Alchemist Assistant. Even after his cultivation broke through to External Refinement, he still failed the pharmacist examination. Naturally, he no longer continued wasting time on the path of a pharmacist.

In the end, this world spoke through martial strength. Qingyuan Sect had become Qingzhou's overlord not because it had many pharmacists, but because it possessed Qingzhou's strongest experts and many Internal Refinement Grandmasters within the sect. Those were the key.

"Yang Senior... Alchemist Yang, you passed... passed the pharmacist examination... No, congratulations to Alchemist Yang for passing the pharmacist examination."

Seeing the changes in Yang Chan, Sun Qi Wu spoke haltingly. Only at the end did he manage to say it properly and smoothly.

"Junior Brother Sun, are you stuttering?"

Yang Chan smiled at Sun Qi Wu, finding it rather amusing.

He probably was not the only one looking like this. The others were likely much the same, since the news was so unexpected.

"No, it was just too surprising."

Sun Qi Wu shook his head and hurriedly replied.

"From now on, your Senior Brother here is the pharmacist for the Ding-character room. I spoke with Pharmacist Xu, and you'll be working with me in the Ding-character room for the time being."

Yang Chan said with a smile.

"Oh, and you few as well."

Yang Chan turned to look at the several Alchemist Assistants beside Sun Qi Wu, who had previously worked with him.

Having worked with them before, he naturally knew their abilities, and it would save him the time of familiarizing himself with others.

After Yang Chan mentioned the matter to Xu Gaocen, Xu Gaocen did not refuse.

"Thank you, Alchemist Yang."

After coming to their senses, the few of them hurriedly spoke.

This was also a good thing for them. From now on, they only needed to oversee the Ding-character room rather than all the wards. As long as they handled matters properly, they would not need to stay up through the night.

No one liked staying up late, especially women.

Seeing this, Shu Yu wanted to speak, but stopped herself.

Their relationship had already become rather strained when they competed for the pharmacist training slot. Besides, she could not bring herself to lower her head.

"No need to thank me. The Ding-character room's duties aren't light either."

As Yang Chan spoke with a smile, his gaze caught a malicious look coming from afar.

His senses were sharp, especially when it came to malice.

Following the direction from which he sensed that malice, Yang Chan saw Zhao Qiyang. The man was watching him with a gloomy expression, clearly extremely displeased that Yang Chan had become a Junior Alchemist.

Now that the two were both pharmacists, their status stood on the same level. Moreover, Yang Chan had become a Junior Alchemist at such a young age, making Qingyuan Sect value him even more.

Zhao Qiyang had originally intended to wait for a while before using his status as a pharmacist to cause Yang Chan trouble, but that was no longer possible.

Now, he could only resort to other methods.

The more talent Yang Chan showed as a pharmacist, the more Zhao Qiyang had to eliminate him. Whether for revenge against Qingyuan Sect or to avenge Zhao Ziqing, he had to do so.

Only by getting rid of Yang Chan could he set his mind at ease and let Zhao Ziqing rest in peace.

He had already received word that Zhao Ziqing had been publicly executed by Qingyuan Sect. Many Moles lurking within Qingyuan Sect had died alongside him.

This was Qingyuan Sect's attitude toward traitors within its ranks: kill them all, leaving not a single one alive.

If anyone found clues about a traitor and reported them, they could also receive a reward from Qingyuan Sect. This not only made the sect's Formal Disciples far more proactive, but even Steward Disciples joined in. Some Steward Disciples even hid themselves at night, and some truly did discover Moles lurking within Qingyuan Sect, earning generous rewards.

What Zhao Qiyang cared about, however, was that after Zhao Ziqing was executed, his corpse had been thrown into a mass grave, leaving him unable to rest in peace even after death.

Zhao Qiyang had no way to do anything about it. He could only heap all his hatred upon Qingyuan Sect and upon Yang Chan, the chief culprit. He wished he could eat Yang Chan's flesh, drink his blood, and leave him without a burial place.

He had such thoughts, but over the past few days, he had not dared make any moves at all. He too was under surveillance. Clearly, his previous attempt against Yang Chan had failed and instead drawn attention, bringing suspicion upon him.

For his own safety, he did not dare take any action during this period. Otherwise, if he were discovered, he could only follow in Zhao Ziqing's footsteps, without even the chance to avenge Zhao Ziqing.

From then on, the Zhao Family's bloodline would be cut off.

That was not something he wished to see.