Blood Dragon City Academy, Pill Hall.
Standing at the entrance, one could smell wafts of medicinal fragrance.
Bu Wuchen looked in through the doorway. An elderly man with an unrestrained appearance lay sprawled in a grand armchair on the teaching platform, sipping liquor and eating peanuts.
Compared to the other instructors, the old man before him was undoubtedly much older.
And this fellow was actually drinking and eating in class?
Judging by the expressions of the students below the platform, they all seemed long accustomed to it...
As it turned out, alchemists were scarce talents to begin with;
throughout all of Blood Dragon City, only the alchemists retained by the three great Lineages possessed the ability to teach and train others.
Thus, Blood Dragon City Academy's Pill Hall had only three instructors in the true sense of the word, and people often addressed them as "Master"!
Moreover, they had all been specially invited by the academy and enjoyed an exalted status within it;
one could say that, apart from the dean, the Pill Hall's masters could essentially disregard everyone!
Bu Wuchen chuckled inwardly. Ha, these so-called Pill Hall "masters" really are a breed apart.
I hope his abilities measure up to his willfulness...
Still, with my system letting me use cheats, how strong this old man is really doesn't affect me.
All I want is to learn a few pill formulas;
then use the Pill Hall's furnaces, alchemical fire, medicinal ingredients, and such to get some hands-on practice refining pills.
With that thought, he stood politely at the entrance and knocked on the doorframe. "Student Bu Wuchen pays his respects to the Pill Hall Master."
Even after he finished speaking, the old man on the platform did not so much as raise his eyelids.
Instead, a student turned around of his own accord and shot Bu Wuchen an arrogant glare. "What are you here for?"
"Shouting and making a racket-where are your manners?"
"Uh..."
Taken aback by the student's abrasive tone, Bu Wuchen wondered whether this fellow was the "class monitor."
He had never expected schools in this world to have a position called "class monitor" too!
Heh, that old man certainly knows how to put on airs, sitting there without a word and playing the lofty expert while sending a "class monitor" out to challenge me...
Bu Wuchen would hardly stoop to arguing with a lackey like this. He said mildly, "I'm here to apply to become a Pill Hall student."
"Oh?"
The student raised an eyebrow and looked Bu Wuchen up and down.
He saw that Bu Wuchen's clothing showed no sign of wealth;
and judging by the academy armband he wore, he was only a "beginner-class student."
Thus, the contempt in his expression emerged without the slightest concealment. "Heh, you came empty-handed just like that? You really don't know any of the rules!"
He made no attempt whatsoever to avoid suspicion with those words.
Bu Wuchen was utterly dumbfounded.
Holy shit, this Blood Dragon City Academy's Pill Hall is even more brazen about demanding bribes than those unscrupulous teachers in my previous life!
Then the young man continued his mockery. "Since when did even weak little chickens from the beginner class have the ambition to apply to the Pill Hall?"
"You're merely in the Savage Martial Realm. You can't even cloak your body in Mystic Qi, so there's no way you could control alchemical fire to refine pills!"
"Get going. Stop standing there being an eyesore."
Bu Wuchen had only broken through to the Qi Observation Realm Seventh Layer the previous night.
Upon returning to the academy today, he had headed straight for the Pill Hall and had yet to take the "Mystic Power Test"!
Thus, judging by the armband everyone was required to wear upon entering the academy, he really was a beginner-class student...
"Uh, I'm actually pretty capable."
Bu Wuchen shrugged. "How about giving me a chance to try?"
Those words did catch the old man's attention.
He raised his head, glanced at the youth in the doorway, and suddenly found him somewhat familiar.
So he asked, "What did you just say your name was?"
Bu Wuchen answered truthfully. "This student is Bu Wuchen."
"Bu Wuchen?"
The old man suddenly rose to his feet, his gaze sharpening. "The Bu Wuchen who fought a wager match against Lin Zhuxian yesterday?!"
"That's right."
Bu Wuchen nodded emphatically.
He secretly rejoiced. Hehe, to think I've already become this famous after yesterday's fight!
Look, even a "Pill Hall Master" is beside himself with excitement at hearing my name!
Yep, getting into the Pill Hall is in the bag!
Just as Bu Wuchen was basking in delight, a sudden sound jolted his ears-
"Hmph!"
The old man barked coldly and fiercely, "I have one word for you: scram!"
"Remember this: as long as I remain the Pill Hall's chief master, you can forget about setting even half a foot in this place!"
"Get the hell out!!"
Following that sudden tirade, the other students in the class began jeering, some to fawn over him and others simply to kick a man while he was down-
"Tch, beginner-class trash. Why don't you piss yourself a mirror and take a good look at what you are?"
"Exactly! Someone like him actually dreams of entering the sacred grounds of the Pill Hall? What a joke!"
"Speaking of which, if you hadn't cheated yesterday, how could you possibly have beaten Senior Lin?"
"Exactly. He really thinks he's somebody!"
After his initial bewilderment, Bu Wuchen had caught on-
that old man was clearly targeting him deliberately!
The man held a lofty position and great authority, free to decide the fate of everyone applying to become a Pill Hall student!
How laughable that Bu Wuchen had thought he would make a "stunning entrance";
that the teachers would praise him as a genius and countless fellow students would worship him madly!
Who would have thought this would be the outcome?
So what if your skill in alchemy could astound everyone present?
A single, casually spoken sentence from someone in power could deny you even the chance to show yourself, however capable you were!
Just then-
"Ding-dong! God-Level Choice System successfully triggered. Host, please choose from the following options." "Option one: straighten your back and angrily fire back. If this place won't have me, somewhere else will!" "Reward for this option: instantly master the formulas for five common pills, including the 'Healing Pill' and 'Qi Recovery Pill,' and increase the host's alchemy skills by five layers!"
"Option two: put on a servile face and shamelessly beg to know why he is treating you this way. Promise that you can correct whatever you have done wrong." "Reward for this option: one piece of Weakling-brand tooth-sticking gummy candy."
Ha, does this even need thinking about?
Option one, obviously!
Even without a system reward, I couldn't put up with this anymore!
Bu Wuchen gave two cold chuckles. "Heh heh, a self-important old dog leading a whole nest of frogs at the bottom of a well who know nothing but bootlicking."
"So this is what the academy's renowned Pill Hall is really like?"
"How disappointing!"
"Whoever wants to stay in this garbage dump can stay. I won't be keeping you company..."
With that, he turned crisply and walked away.
Perhaps because everyone in the Pill Hall, from top to bottom, was accustomed to lording it over others in the academy, they had always been the ones berating people, and no one had ever had a turn berating them;
for a moment, they all seemed to have been cursed senseless, each standing dumb as a wooden chicken...