Its value exceeded one hundred and fifty Spirit Essence.
Dan Xiong Hai was even more straightforward, directly gifting Zhou Xun one hundred Spirit Essence. That was truly a lavish gesture.
As for the gifts from the dozen or so neighbors and Lan Song, they added up to more than sixty Spirit Essence.
What surprised Zhou Xun was the middle-aged man surnamed Gao. Their relationship was not particularly close, yet he had given a congratulatory gift of fifty Spirit Essence. That was a grand gift indeed.
The last box he opened was the wooden casket gifted by Hong San.
Lifting the lid, he saw a pale green stone the size of a goose egg, with the texture of jade, lying quietly inside the box.
The moment the stone appeared, the Spiritual Qi within a foot of it stirred slightly.
"Spirit Stone!"
It was a Low-Grade Spirit Stone. If exchanged, it would fetch at least one hundred and five Spirit Essence.
This was the first time he had obtained a Spirit Stone since crossing over. Before this, he had only used Spirit Essence.
Holding it in his palm, he sensed the pure Spiritual Qi contained within the Spirit Stone.
Zhou Xun suppressed the urge to refine it and put it away.
Besides, the cultivation effect of a Low-Grade Spirit Stone was at most half that of a Qi Induction Pill.
He was not extravagant enough to cultivate by refining Spirit Stones.
All the congratulatory gifts combined amounted to more than four hundred and ten Spirit Essence.
It was wealth Zhou Xun had failed to save up even after many years in this world.
Yet merely being selected by Danbao Pavilion had caused his fortune to multiply several times over.
This made Zhou Xun look forward even more to his life at Danbao Pavilion.
Soon, the third day arrived. Zhou Xun tidied himself up carefully before heading out.
Today was the day he was to report to Danbao Pavilion.
Danbao Pavilion, entrance to the South Court.
By the time Zhou Xun arrived, people had already begun checking in.
The registration line had split into two rows.
One was for apprentices, while the other was for menial workers.
Cultivators passing by looked at the two long lines with envy.
Ahead of Zhou Xun stood a boy with an honest face and somewhat dark skin.
Zhou Xun vaguely remembered that his name was Wang Erniu.
"Big Brother, I'm Wang Erniu. I'm here to report in today too!"
Seeing Zhou Xun studying him, Wang Erniu gave him an honest smile.
"I am Zhou Xun. Greetings, Fellow Daoist Wang." Zhou Xun offered a salute.
The boy's simple, guileless smile naturally inspired fondness.
Since he was joining Danbao Pavilion this time, he intended to make a few friends.
Anyone selected by Danbao Pavilion was no ordinary person and was worth associating with.
"Big Brother, just call me Erniu. That's what everyone in my village calls me!" The boy waved his hand, seemingly a little uncomfortable with the title Fellow Daoist.
"Very well. Then I'll call you Erniu from now on." Zhou Xun readily went along with it.
The two then began chatting.
Though calling it a chat was not quite right. Wang Erniu did all the talking, while Zhou Xun listened.
Perhaps the boy had never met anyone so patient and willing to listen to him. He poured out his entire background like beans spilling from a bamboo tube.
Wang Erniu had been born in a village called Wang Family Village.
The village lay deep within the mountains, and communication with the outside world was exceedingly difficult.
Ever since childhood, he had lived the life of a cowherd.
Until one day, when he was fourteen,
he happened to save an Elder who had been severely injured—a Rogue Cultivator at the third layer of Qi Refinement who had come here while pursuing a demon beast.
While recovering from his injuries, the Elder had taught Wang Erniu a cultivation technique, merely hoping to give it a try.
By coincidence, Wang Erniu possessed exceptional talent and succeeded in cultivating it in one stroke.
The Elder had drifted through life alone, without children or family, and his cultivation had remained stuck at the early stage of Qi Refinement.
Encountering someone with Wang Erniu's excellent aptitude, he was overjoyed.
He immediately accepted Wang Erniu as his legacy disciple and taught him the methods of cultivation.
Afterward, he even took Wang Erniu out of the village to live on the outskirts of Red Leaf Square.
When Danbao Pavilion began recruiting apprentices, the Elder told Wang Erniu to give it a try. Unexpectedly, he was selected.
Hearing this, Zhou Xun's heart stirred.
"Erniu, did you say you only began cultivating at fourteen?"
"Yes!" The boy nodded.
"Then how old are you this year?"
"Seventeen!" the boy answered honestly.
"He reached the third layer of Qi Refinement after cultivating for only three years. His Spiritual Root aptitude must be quite high—at least above average for a Medium Spiritual Root, perhaps even a Superior Spiritual Root!"
Zhou Xun guessed.
As he pondered this, it soon became Wang Erniu's turn to register.
"Name?"
"Wang Erniu."
"Channel a thread of spiritual power into this!"
Wang Erniu obediently did as instructed, sending a thread of spiritual power into a bamboo-tube-shaped magical artifact.
After confirming that it matched, the person in charge nodded, gave him a green token, and had a servant lead Wang Erniu inside.
When it was Zhou Xun's turn, the process was the same.
Zhou Xun passed as well.
The servant led Zhou Xun through a corridor to a courtyard spanning more than ten zhang.
"Young Master, please wait here," the servant informed him softly before leaving the way he had come.
Looking up, Zhou Xun saw that quite a few people had already gathered in the courtyard. They were all those who had been ahead of him in line.
Wang Erniu and Wei Shangyi were both there.
However, everyone stood quietly and respectfully, not daring to speak loudly.
At the front of the crowd stood a dignified middle-aged man. It was Lin Zhishan.
The middle-aged man seemed to sense Zhou Xun's gaze and looked over at him.
Seeing that it was Zhou Xun, he gave a nearly imperceptible nod.
Zhou Xun was surprised by this.
He did not seem to know this First Elder Lin.
Could it be that he was actually a kind man, and his imposing air was simply the result of holding a high position for a long time?
With a trace of bewilderment, Zhou Xun found a place and stood waiting.
Before long, all the apprentices had arrived.
Lin Zhishan cleared his throat and announced in a clear voice:
"Young friends, on behalf of Danbao Pavilion, I welcome you all to join us!"
"You will study here for half a year. After six months, there will be an assessment, and fifteen of the best will be selected as apprentices!"
"During your studies, your compensation will be half that of a formal apprentice: twenty Spirit Essence per month!"
"Danbao Pavilion will naturally provide the pill furnaces and earthfire needed during your studies. However, you must prepare the materials needed for pill refinement yourselves."
"For the first half year, you will mainly study medicinal theory, pill-refining techniques, fire-control arts, and the like. You will not begin refining pills until the final month, so the expense will not be too great."
"Once you formally become Pill Refinement Apprentices, such basic expenses will amount to nothing." The middle-aged man gave a brief explanation.
"Of course, should you wish to learn new pills, you can only obtain the required Pill Formulas and materials by exchanging contribution points!"
"One final reminder: the pill-refining arts learned within Danbao Pavilion must not be passed on to outsiders. Violators will be hunted by Red Leaf Square!"
After the middle-aged man finished speaking, he released the aura of a late-stage cultivator. Everyone was startled.
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