"Cough, cough."
Hearing Yi Chongyue speak, Fan Yunsong, who had been about to tease Chen Shuangbai some more, promptly swallowed his words. He made a face at Chen Shuangbai, and the two turned around.
"Take out the pills you two refined."
The two did as instructed. Yi Chongyue pressed the index and middle fingers of his right hand together, and pale cyan Law Power surged from them, drawing a Water Cloud Pill from each of the two jade bottles.
He gave them a brief look, and a smile appeared on his face.
"To produce so many pills on your first successful refinement, you truly have quite a bit of talent."
Chen Shuangbai looked over.
He had produced eight pills, while Fan Yunsong had produced ten.
After first checking the number of pills, Yi Chongyue began evaluating their quality.
Pill quality was roughly divided into four categories: impure, standard, superior, and exquisite.
Law Power from Yi Chongyue's fingertips wound around the two pills. A clear light seemed to flicker in his eyes as he examined them thoroughly, inside and out.
"Yunsong, the ten pills you produced have made me see you in a new light, but their quality leaves something to be desired."
"Three impure pills, six standard ones, and one that barely reaches the threshold of superior quality. You must have been too hasty during the spirit-fusing step, and your grasp of the heat and the rhythm of Spirit Power is still lacking. You need more practice in the future, and you must pay particular attention to those points."
Hearing this, the pride on Fan Yunsong's face faded a little. He said to Yi Chongyue with utmost respect, "This disciple understands. Thank you for your guidance, Master Yi."
Yi Chongyue nodded and turned his gaze to the pill Chen Shuangbai had refined.
"Eight pills are acceptable, and their quality is somewhat better than Yunsong's. There's only one impure pill and seven standard ones. The medicinal properties were refined very thoroughly, and the pill-condensing step was decent too. You seemed quite practiced at it."
"Shuangbai, you did very well too."
As a teacher, Yi Chongyue had never been stingy with praise for talented disciples.
After praising them both, Yi Chongyue added, "Both of you did very well. That you could succeed once in ten attempts was a pleasant surprise to me too."
With that said,
He tapped the treasure pouch at his waist, and two Jade Slips landed in front of them.
"Detailed Explanation of Fire Control will give you a deeper understanding of controlling the heat. This has always been a weak point for those who practice our Jade Spring Water Method Pill Refining Technique, so you must practice it diligently. Understand?"
"This disciple understands."
"As for the other one, open it and take a look, both of you."
Chen Shuangbai glanced at Yi Chongyue, not quite understanding what this pill arts instructor was keeping in suspense. Still, he would not harm him, so Chen Shuangbai unfolded it and found a line of large characters at the very beginning-
"Annotations on Fair Hands Divide the Stars-Yi Chongyue."
Chen Shuangbai was startled. He turned to look at Fan Yunsong beside him and found the same expression on his face.
Yi Chongyue was very pleased with his two disciples' expressions. Smiling, he asked, "A little surprised, are you?"
Chen Shuangbai's eyes rolled, and he raised his hands in salute. "May I ask, Master Yi, did the sect do this deliberately?"
Fan Yunsong had also caught on and looked at Yi Chongyue with shining eyes.
"Indeed."
Yi Chongyue stroked his beard with an air of composure and smiled. "Otherwise, why would you think it was hidden in a Book of Tending Medicines handed out so casually?"
"It was precisely because the sect did it on purpose, to see whether there were any gifted pill refiners among the outer disciples."
"So that's how it is..."
Understanding dawned on Chen Shuangbai.
That explained some of his earlier doubts.
A Book of Tending Medicines was handed out to everyone who accepted the general duties issued by the Expenditure Hall on behalf of Jade Dew Hall. He had also handled copies belonging to fellow disciples who had accepted the same task, and there had been no difference.
So it had been deliberate all along.
"Senior Brother Fan, did you also learn Fair Hands Divide the Stars from this Book of Tending Medicines?" Chen Shuangbai asked.
Fan Yunsong could not help but laugh wryly.
"I thought it was a fortuitous opportunity and planned to keep it under wraps until I could astonish everyone with a single feat. So you learned it too, Junior Brother Chen?"
The two exchanged a glance, then shook their heads and laughed.
Indeed, as a major sect of the Jing Kingdom that had stood for nearly three thousand years, how could the Jade Spring Sect be a mediocre sect that failed to cherish its disciples, no different from a demonic sect?
The little secret he had thought he possessed had probably been plain as day to the sect's higher-ups all along...
Seeing that the two youngsters had been shocked enough, Yi Chongyue also felt it was about time and casually dismissed them. Before they left, he added, "For now, your cultivation is most important. Remember, pill refining assists cultivation; it must not turn the guest into the host."
"Go back and find the proper balance between the two. If there is anything you don't understand, you can leave me a message through your disciple jade tokens. When I have time, I will answer each question for you."
With that said,
The disciple jade tokens on the two of them rose into the air and floated over to Yi Chongyue. He took a purple jade token from his waist and made a stamping motion toward each of their tokens.
That was how they exchanged contact information.
It had to be said that the Jade Spring disciples' jade tokens were incredibly useful within the Jade Spring Sect's sphere of influence.
It was said that a capable member of the sect had modified them, and that they relied on the sect's grand formation. As for the mysteries behind them, those were beyond the understanding of a Qi Refining Stage disciple.
Skills classes in the cultivation world were naturally unlike schooling in the mortal world, where one had to attend every day. They depended more on talent and steadfastness.
Chen Shuangbai and Fan Yunsong walked out of Fate-Seeking Valley together, both feeling that things finally made sense.
"Senior Brother Fan, are you going back to continue refining pills?" Chen Shuangbai asked.
Fan Yunsong shook his head. "Master Yi was right. Pill refining assists cultivation; cultivation doesn't exist for the sake of pill refining. I need to go back and cultivate first, then refine pills when I have time."
Chen Shuangbai nodded in agreement.
Fan Yunsong slapped Chen Shuangbai on the shoulder and said with a wink, "I thought before that you looked as calm as a flat lake but had ravines hidden in your chest. Turns out you're much like me, keeping so many tricks up your sleeve."
"Haha, the same goes for you."
Fan Yunsong was openhearted and had often helped Chen Shuangbai in pill arts class.
Through their repeated interactions, the two had developed quite a friendship.
He was a disciple from the previous intake and came from Jade Province in the Jing Kingdom, the very province where the Jade Spring Sect was located.
Chen Shuangbai came from Qing Province.
As an aside,
The Jing Kingdom had one prefecture and nine provinces.
Jinghua Prefecture was the capital of the Jing Kingdom, home to the imperial family and the center of the court.
The Jade Spring Sect held Jade, Qing, and Feng Provinces exclusively, while the remaining provinces-Yuan, Cang, Yang, Wu, Ling, and Sha-fell within the spheres of influence of the other four great sects.
So, in a sense, the Jade Spring Sect could be called the foremost sect in the Jing Kingdom.
Fan Yunsong came from the Fan Household of Jing Valley in Jade Province, a cultivation lineage founded outside the sect by Jade Spring disciples. It was considered a vassal of the sect, and because of his talent, his lineage had sent him to the parent sect to cultivate.
After chatting for a while, the two went their separate ways.
Fan Yunsong's cave abode was on another peak. Chen Shuangbai, meanwhile, made another trip to the Expenditure Hall and bought three more pieces of cold jade to replace those around the bird egg when he returned.