Provincial Library

But because her child would also be taking the martial arts exam in the next two years,

her pill output had greatly decreased.

Nowadays, those who could obtain top-grade Qi-Concentrating Pills on the local market were all outstanding talents who had shown promise during middle school, among the best of the fifth turns of Essence Tempering.

This was also why the state placed such heavy support on the alchemy profession.

"Then how about this? In my personal capacity, I can temporarily grant you the qualifications of a senior alchemist. You will receive an alchemy furnace, ninth-rank pill formulas, and benefits such as the association's internal channels for purchasing medicinal ingredients."

Lu Chun laid out the terms. "In exchange, over the next three months, you must provide the association with ten top-grade Qi-Accumulating Pills each month. Once that period is over, you can become a genuine senior alchemist."

"Furthermore, after you become an official alchemist, you must register under the Golden City Alchemist Association branch. As long as the pills you refine are above high grade, the city branch will have priority purchasing rights. Naturally, the city branch will follow market prices for those pills. What do you think?"

Under the current circumstances, the emergence of any alchemist capable of refining top-grade pills would be of immense help to the development of local martial artists.

The reason Chen Wu's Qi-Accumulating Pills had a market was that top-grade Qi-Accumulating Pills could both increase true qi and contained no pill toxicity.

In the absence of Qi-Concentrating Pills, they were a decent substitute.

Moreover, the Alchemist Association had state-established channels for purchasing medicinal ingredients. From the place of origin directly to the association, the transportation costs in between were lower, so the prices were naturally far more favorable than those on the market.

Only those who became "senior alchemists" or passed the examination to become "ninth-rank alchemists" could purchase the raw materials for alchemy at such discounted prices.

Ninth-rank alchemists had been discussed before, so there was no need to elaborate further. One had to pass a rigorous examination to obtain that rank.

As for becoming a senior alchemist, it was a qualification certification granted by the Alchemist Association to alchemists who persisted in alchemy and achieved certain results but had not passed the rank examinations.

To obtain this certification, one had to meet the following requirements:

First, sell the Alchemist Association five portions of pills of at least medium grade every month.

Second, maintain this process for three years.

As long as those two conditions were met, one would be considered one of the Alchemist Association's own and enjoy the same benefits as an official alchemist.

They could wear a green alchemist robe, purchase the alchemy materials they needed at internal prices, and gain free access to ninth-rank pill formulas.

If Chen Wu obtained the qualifications of a senior alchemist, it would be equivalent to receiving the treatment of a ninth-rank alchemist. Not only would he receive an alchemy furnace and ninth-rank pill formulas for free, but he could also purchase the medicinal ingredients needed for alchemy at extremely low prices.

The only thing he found regrettable was that the medicine-frying wok he had just bought had been used once and would never be used again.

Chen Wu agreed to President Lu's conditions without the slightest hesitation. "I accept."

Providing ten top-grade Qi-Accumulating Pills every month meant one hundred pills.

For others, that might be somewhat difficult. But for him, it was no more than half an hour's work.

With the help of the three souls, Chen Wu could cultivate martial arts while simulating alchemy, which would also benefit the path of spirit refinement after entering the ranks.

"Alright, student. Come with me to complete the procedures first."

With Lu Chun, the branch president, leading the way, the procedures were not complicated.

He only needed to present his student ID and enter his home address and personal phone number into the database.

After everything was done, President Lu congratulated him with a beaming smile. "Congratulations, student. From today onward, you are a senior alchemist of our Alchemist Association."

"At the beginning and middle of every month, the association will send someone to your residence to purchase the pills. When the time comes, just keep an eye on your phone calls and text messages. If you have any questions, you can also learn about them through the Alchemy Cauldron app you downloaded. As long as you enter your identity information, you can access the association's internal network, where the relevant procedures are listed. If you wish to deliver ahead of schedule, you can also contact us through the app. The association will send a designated person to make the purchase..."

President Lu explained the specific operating procedures of the Alchemy Cauldron app and how to communicate with the association.

After committing this important information to memory, Chen Wu asked, "President Lu, can I convert twenty thousand of my payment into points?"

President Lu raised his brows. "You can, but twenty thousand can only be exchanged for 2 points. Alchemist Chen, are you sure you want to exchange it?"

After becoming a senior alchemist, Chen Wu was already qualified to be addressed as an "alchemist."

Chen Wu nodded. "I'm sure."

This was also the main reason he had chosen the path of alchemy.

"Points" were an exchange mechanism established by the Republic, a measure of contribution to the country that money could not buy.

Ways of obtaining them included, but were not limited to, refining pills, hunting ferocious beasts, apprehending criminals, and many other kinds of tasks.

They could be used to exchange for martial arts manuals, rare flowers and exotic herbs, strange treasures, money, and more from the state.

Among those options, exchanging points for money was the most unwise choice.

Truly smart martial artists would choose to accumulate their points and use them to exchange from the state for resources that strengthened themselves or treasures that could save their lives.

In short, points could be said to be a martial artist's most important asset.

As a high school martial arts exam candidate, Chen Wu had pitifully few ways to obtain points.

The most direct method was to place within the top one hundred in the grade during the midterm and final exams each year of high school.

Those ranked fifty-first through one hundredth could receive 0.5 points; those ranked thirty-first through fiftieth could receive 1 point; those ranked eleventh through thirtieth could receive 2 points; those ranked fourth through tenth could receive 3 points; and those ranked first through third could receive 4 points.

As someone who had remained at the bottom throughout his second year of high school, Chen Wu was grateful there was no system for owing points.

Otherwise, he had no idea how much he would owe.

By becoming an alchemist and refining pills, he could directly convert his earnings into points. This was one of only two ways Chen Wu knew of to obtain points.

After exchanging his points and purchasing a batch of ingredients for Qi-Accumulating Pills and Qi-Concentrating Pills, Chen Wu left the Alchemist Association and headed toward his next goal.

After walking for less than ten minutes, Chen Wu arrived at the provincial library.

As the provincial library of Liangzhou Province, it still had quite a few visitors even on a weekday.

Among them were some ranked martial artists who had come to exchange for martial arts manuals.

After entering the library, Chen Wu followed the administrator's guidance to an AI server. After a simple realm test using an instrument, the computer screen displayed the following text, accompanied by an AI-generated female voice.

"Operator has reached the fourth turn of Essence Tempering and meets the conversion requirements established by the Republic. Please select the conversion cultivation technique you desire. If you have any requirements, please select them in the filter column.

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