Qi Condensation Pill

"Ugh, I'm exhausted."

Chen Zhuo felt worn out.

He really hadn't expected the lecturer to read straight from the slides in a specialized course!

It was like being back in a useless college lecture.

Back then, Chen Zhuo hadn't cared at all. He'd just played on his phone.

But now...

Chen Zhuo genuinely wanted to cultivate immortality!

That was why he'd taken the exam to qualify for a Spiritual Root implant, despite being a mortal without one.

No wonder the course was free.

Chen Zhuo let out a long sigh.

"Pill Appraisal is the art of analyzing and evaluating a pill's quality through one's senses and meridians, combining scientific methods with artistic perception..."

At the front of the classroom, the lecturer read from the slides without expression. This Foundation Establishment Cultivator was clearly here for the pay. He neither cared about conflicts between students nor whether they understood the lesson.

As far as he was concerned, each day he worked was another day's Immortal Dao Potential earned.

Chen Zhuo had listened attentively at first. Once he realized it was only an introductory lesson, he began browsing his Spirit Message Jade Slip under the desk, thinking about how to turn his loot from the Spirit Pearl World into actual Spirit Stones.

To be fair, he'd gained quite a haul from killing that Sinister Old Man yesterday.

There was a Storage Bag and a Black Net Magical Artifact, together worth a fifth of a Spiritual Root, plus physical Spirit Stones.

But on closer thought, the only things he could sell seemed to be those three and a half physical Spirit Stones.

Storage Bags were controlled goods and extremely rare. Selling one would make it easy for the authorities to notice him.

The Black Net Magical Artifact was probably worth only a hundred or so Spirit Stones. Selling it would be a shame, and Chen Zhuo needed it to defend himself.

Spirit Stones were controlled resources too, but Chen Zhuo had only three and a half. Converted into digital currency, they'd be worth roughly forty Spirit Coins. That was a decent sum to someone in the Early Qi Refinement or middle stages, but nothing remarkable to a Late Qi Refinement cultivator, much less an enforcement department with Foundation Establishment Cultivators on staff.

It was like privately selling a few things for tens of thousands of yuan in his previous life. No one would come after you over the taxes.

Technically, it was illegal, but nobody would investigate you over such a small amount.

Selling a Storage Bag, on the other hand, meant selling rare strategic supplies.

Selling the Black Net Magical Artifact was like selling a homemade gun without a license.

"Ah, Immortal Estate, why do you have to regulate everything so tightly?"

Chen Zhuo was miserable.

It felt like a billion yuan had fallen from the sky, only for him to discover he couldn't withdraw it.

Still, having it was better than nothing. He'd look for an opportunity later.

He didn't owe that much anyway, just 5,400 Spirit Coins. If he bought six Storage Bags from the Spirit Pearl World and resold them, he'd even have 600 Spirit Coins left over... assuming he could sell them.

Improving his strength came first!

Once he reached Foundation Establishment—no, even Late Qi Refinement—he could openly bring out a few things to sell without drawing an investigation.

Twenty years was plenty of time!

Just as Chen Zhuo was considering how to make sensible use of the Spirit Pearl World's resources, the lecturer at the front paused.

He glanced at the time displayed on the lectern. It was nearly time to go, and he'd earned another bit of extra pay, so he said, "All right, that's it for today's theory lesson."

"Next, let's do something practical."

At those words, the students who had been drifting off instantly woke up and looked toward the lecturer.

Chen Zhuo perked up too and listened closely.

Surely the practical work would be more interesting than listening to someone read slides?

"As everyone knows, our college trains a great many Alchemy Practitioners every year. During their training, these future Alchemy Practitioners produce countless pills."

As he spoke, the lecturer took out more than fifty little brown pills, his face still expressionless. "These are all monthly exam assignments made by tenth-year students in the Alchemy Department next door. They're Qi Condensation Pills."

"Qi Condensation Pills were fairly popular in ancient times, though they've been phased out in today's Immortal Estate. This batch contains both acceptable and unacceptable pills. Some have high levels of Pill Toxin, so under normal circumstances, they wouldn't reach the market."

Chen Zhuo couldn't help raising an eyebrow.

Pill Toxin was a thing?

But none of the other students seemed surprised. He kept his expression calm as well, as though Pill Toxin didn't concern him either.

"Under the Immortal Estate Junior Cultivator Management Regulations, the substandard pills should have been collected and destroyed," the lecturer said.

"But given the current shortage of resources, the Immortal Estate encourages conservation. So it's decided to use them for your practical assignment this month."

Chen Zhuo immediately had a bad feeling.

"Each of you will select one pill and write a detailed appraisal report."

"That's your monthly exam assignment," the lecturer said. "Your report must cover the types and quantities of Pill Toxin it may contain, as well as any adverse reactions it may cause if consumed."

"Submit your reports in thirty days. Students who pass will receive a reward of two Spirit Coins."

The Foundation Establishment lecturer yawned, then continued, "They are Waste Pills, so there will always be some adverse reaction. But don't worry. Something like a Qi Condensation Pill won't poison you to death. At worst, it'll damage your meridians and stop you from practicing Qi Refinement for a few days. Most likely, you'll just have abdominal pain, diarrhea, or disrupted spiritual energy."

With that, the Foundation Establishment lecturer swept his sleeve.

In an instant, the pills were distributed evenly among the students.

Wait, weren't we supposed to pick one ourselves?

Chen Zhuo stared at the brown Qi Condensation Pill in front of him, too drained even to complain aloud.

Once the pills had been handed out, the lecturer wasted not a second. He announced, "Class dismissed," and was the first to leave the room.

For a long while after he left, no one spoke.

A minute later, a student from the Innate Class said indignantly, "What the hell? That Qin—Mr. Qin is too greedy! My third uncle's nephew's neighbor's younger brother went to high school with someone in the Alchemy Department. He said the college charges five Spirit Coins for testing a pill. How did that turn into just two Spirit Coins by the time it reached us?"

"Be grateful. An upperclassman told me Mr. Zhou handled this for their class last year. He didn't pay them at all. He even charged them..." someone said consolingly.

"..."

The students with Innate Spiritual Roots were all well informed. They'd attended proper Immortal Estate high schools and had plenty of contacts, so they knew the rates inside out.

Alchemy had always burned through money. The students who came to the Pill Appraisal Department were generally the poorest in the college, counting mainly on "human experimentation" to earn money while they cultivated.

There was nothing inherently wrong with it.

They ate Waste Pills and gave the alchemists reports, letting them know what was wrong with the pills so they could improve them next time.

How was that not human experimentation?

Meanwhile, the Pill Appraisal students got Spirit Coins and a chance to take a pill for free. If its Pill Toxin wasn't too severe, they actually came out ahead.

Pill Appraisal really was a popular major.

Cultivators from poor families fought tooth and nail to get in. Back when Chen Zhuo was in the Mortal Class, Pill Appraisal had offered only three places!

Of Taiqing City's top three students, Liang Ningwan in first place and Chen Zhuo in third had both applied to this major. Only the student in second had gone to the Artifact Refining College.

Chen Zhuo sighed and put away the Qi Condensation Pill. Then he looked toward Liang Ningwan, who sat near the back.

Liang Ningwan came from a Foundation Establishment family. Now that she qualified for an Acquired Spiritual Root implant, surely she had a chance to enter cultivation's halls?

After a moment's hesitation, Chen Zhuo decided to offer her his Spirit Stones.

He'd see whether she could afford them.