After eating a bowl of spirit rice porridge, Zhou Xun left for West Square.
By the time he arrived, quite a few cultivators had already gathered there. They stood in groups of two or three, either conversing in low voices or standing alone.
A platform roughly one zhang high and half a mu in area had been erected in the center of the square. Several antique-looking chairs sat atop it, though no one occupied them yet.
It seemed registration had not begun. Zhou Xun casually chose a corner and waited quietly.
"Little brother, we meet again!"
A deep, resonant voice sounded beside him, like an ancient chime bell.
Zhou Xun looked up and saw an Elder dressed in somewhat tattered clothes yet still vigorous and spirited, smiling as he greeted him.
Judging by his features, he was the very Elder Zhou Xun had asked for information here a month ago.
"What a coincidence. I never expected to encounter you here again, fellow Daoist!" Zhou Xun cupped his hands in salute, smiling.
Zhou Xun had a rather favorable impression of this warmhearted Elder.
"Eh? Little brother, you have actually broken through to Qi Condensation Level 3. I presume you intend to contend for a Pill Refinement Apprentice position. Congratulations indeed!" The Elder's gaze flickered slightly as he cupped his hands in congratulations.
"I was merely fortunate. After learning the news that day, I exhausted my entire fortune to purchase a Qi Induction Pill and wagered everything on one attempt. I never expected to truly break through. Otherwise, I really would not have known how to live from then on!"
Zhou Xun gave the excuse he had prepared long ago.
The pill workshop had records of Zhou Xun purchasing a Qi Induction Pill. If he claimed he had broken through with the aid of a pill, others would only think his luck had been good.
"You left in such a hurry that day to purchase a Qi Induction Pill?" the Elder asked in surprise.
"Indeed." Zhou Xun nodded.
"With opportunity before you, you decisively gambled your entire fortune. Little brother, you are certain to achieve great things in the future!" Appreciation filled the Elder's eyes.
"You flatter me, fellow Daoist. My head was merely overheated for a moment. That Qi Induction Pill cost me all my savings, and even now, when I think back on it, I still regret it greatly!" Zhou Xun put on an annoyed expression.
"Hahaha, little brother, you do not know this. Since that day, the price of Qi Induction Pills has soared, reaching nearly eighty Spirit Essence at its peak!"
"If little brother regretted it afterward and returned the pill, you could even have made a tidy profit!" The Elder stroked his beard and laughed.
"After hearing that, I truly do feel a little regretful!" Zhou Xun could not help but smile.
"Little brother, you truly are an interesting fellow. This old man's surname is Xiao. And yours?"
"My name is Zhou Xun!"
"Zhou Xun." The Elder repeated his name and nodded faintly.
He then took his leave.
"This old man has urgent matters to attend to. When we meet again, I shall have a good chat with Brother Zhou!"
Zhou Xun also cupped his hands in farewell.
Yet a trace of puzzlement rose in his heart.
Their two encounters had both been chance meetings, so how could the Elder be so certain they would meet again? Zhou Xun shook his head and stopped dwelling on it.
Just after the hour of the snake, a sudden gong rang out from the platform.
Everyone in the square raised their eyes. Several figures leaped onto the platform, led by a square-faced middle-aged man of around forty with an imposing bearing.
"I am Lin Zhishan, a serving elder of Danbao Pavilion. I shall preside over today's recruitment assembly!"
Danbao Pavilion was a Lin family enterprise and also the largest pill shop in Red Leaf Square.
Although Grandmaster Yun Ku was Danbao Pavilion's chief Pill Refinement Master, he was not a member of the Lin family, but rather its guest elder.
It was said that his surname was Xiao. Decades ago, he had been pursued to the vicinity of Red Leaf Square and saved by the Lin family's First Elder. He had thus joined the Lin family as a guest elder.
Under Grandmaster Yun Ku's leadership, Danbao Pavilion had risen in just a few short years from an ordinary pill shop to the largest pill workshop in Red Leaf Square.
By now, Danbao Pavilion had even opened a branch in White Cloud Immortal City, ten thousand li away. The Lin family had likewise climbed from last among the Four Great Clans to its current position of second, surpassed only by the Wu Family.
And Lin Zhishan was Grandmaster Yun Ku's eldest disciple, a first-rank high-grade Pill Refinement Master and a great expert at Qi Condensation Level 9!
"Wasn't Lin Zhishan assigned to oversee Danbao Pavilion's branch in White Cloud Immortal City? Why has he returned now?"
Those with well-informed sources began discussing it.
"It is said that Lin Zhishan was an orphan and was not valued within the Lineage. Grandmaster Yun Ku, with his discerning eye for talent, discovered his aptitude for pill refinement, accepted him as a personal disciple, and taught him the art of pill refinement. That was how he came to be where he is today!"
"Exactly. Lin Zhishan serves Grandmaster Yun Ku as if he were his father. He must have learned of Grandmaster Yun Ku's breakthrough and returned personally to offer congratulations!"
"A kind master and a filial disciple—truly a fine tale for the ages!"
"This assembly will recruit ten apprentices and thirty laborers."
"For Pill Refinement Apprentices, applicants must be under eighteen years old and at least at Qi Condensation Level 3. We will then select twenty candidates from among them."
"After half a year of training, we will choose the best ten as true Pill Refinement Apprentices!"
"As for Spirit Contract Laborers, applicants must be under thirty and at least at Qi Condensation Level 3, or under eighteen and at least at Qi Condensation Level 2! We will directly select thirty candidates and sign contracts with them!"
"Those interested may register below the platform." Lin Zhishan pointed downward.
Zhou Xun hurriedly focused his gaze and saw several temporary wooden sheds set up before the platform.
Long banners hung from the tops of the sheds, bearing words such as "Pill Refinement Apprentice" and "Spirit Contract Laborer."
Long queues had already formed in front of the sheds.
Zhou Xun chose a queue for Pill Refinement Apprentices and joined it.
"Zhou Xun, you came to register too!"
The moment he stopped, a familiar voice came from behind him.
Zhou Xun hurriedly turned to look.
It was Wei Shangren.
Beside him stood a handsome young man in his twenties, whose features resembled Wei Shangren's by seventy or eighty percent. He was Wei Shangren's elder brother, Wei Shangli, a first-rank talisman master.
Zhou Xun had served as a laborer at Mystic Talisman Pavilion for years, so naturally, the two knew each other.
"So it is Brother Wei. What brings you here? Could it be that you too wish to switch to the Lin family and become a Pill Refinement Apprentice?" Zhou Xun asked with a faint smile.
"Brother Zhou jests. My second brother and I merely came to accompany our third brother as he registers!" The handsome young man showed no irritation at all and casually explained. His gentle tone made one feel as though bathed in a spring breeze.
Yet the trace of viciousness hidden deep within his eyes did not escape Zhou Xun's divine sense.
"Greetings, Talisman Master Wei!"
This man will not be easy to deal with. A hint of vigilance flashed through Zhou Xun's heart, but his expression remained unchanged as he smiled and returned the salute.
He then looked toward the youth beside Wei Shangli, whom Zhou Xun had never seen before.
With red lips and white teeth, he bore five or six parts resemblance to Wei Shangli.
He has already reached Qi Condensation Level 3 at such a young age. His aptitude is extraordinary. I must be all the more wary!
Wei Shangli's third brother respectfully bowed to Zhou Xun as well.
"Brother Zhou, I have often heard my brothers mention your name. Now that I have met you, you truly possess an extraordinary bearing! Once we become fellow Pill Refinement Apprentices, I shall need much guidance from you!"
His words seemed to reveal extreme confidence in passing the selection.
Zhou Xun felt rather disgusted upon hearing them, much like facing one of those pretentious sweet-talkers from his previous life.
However, he remained impassive and smiled faintly. "Of course, of course!"
Afterward, the group chatted pleasantly, as though they were old friends reunited after many years.
Soon, the people ahead had finished registering, and it was Zhou Xun's turn.
"Name?"
"Zhou Xun!"
"Cultivation?"
"Qi Condensation Level 3!" A faint gleam appeared in the middle-aged steward's eyes. Clearly, he was using the Heaven's Eye Technique.
The Heaven's Eye Technique was a spell cultivators used to judge another's cultivation. However, one could generally only see the cultivation level of cultivators in the same realm. If the other person's cultivation greatly exceeded one's own, or if they practiced a high-grade breath-concealing technique, it would be impossible to see clearly.
Next, the man asked Zhou Xun about his residence, birthplace, and life experiences.
When he heard that Zhou Xun had lived in Red Leaf Square since childhood, the middle-aged man's expression immediately became friendlier.
This man was clearly a local loyalist.
Grandmaster Yun Ku's fame had spread far and wide, and this recruitment assembly had drawn many cultivators from distant places who had come in admiration to register.
Counting them up, they outnumbered Red Leaf Square's local cultivators by more than half.
This had always displeased the middle-aged steward.
Thus, he often showed no pleasant expression toward cultivators from elsewhere.
"You are quite good. At seventeen, you have already progressed beyond the halfway point of Qi Condensation Level 3. You are unlike those cultivators who temporarily broke through with the aid of pills."
"Moreover, you grew up in Red Leaf Square and come from a clean background. You will basically have no problem being recruited this time!"
As he spoke, the middle-aged man recorded something in the register, then marked it with a large check.
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