Chapter 46

She is currently the first person from the Zhongdu Military Academy besides the principal.

This Half-Step Supreme of the Nature Department is capable of killing Ninth-Grade Supreme.

She is her personal disciple; no one else can even dream of becoming one.

Li Yaowan was always one step ahead of others. She swung the small abacus at her waist and said, "Then you will be my assistant disciple."

The other professors chimed in, offering exorbitant fees. "Li Yang, you may not know this, but a minor in this field will only allow you to learn the Second Grade Realm). Further learning will require paying hefty patent royalties..."

Not only Li Yang, but everyone else also gathered around to listen.

In fact, it's not just minor students; students in the Pill Department also have to pay patent usage fees. After all, developing alchemical formulas is not easy and requires a lot of investment. If they could be used freely, then eventually no one would bother to develop them.

Of course, patent protection also has an expiration date. Many First Grade- and Second Grade prescriptions are no longer restricted and can be freely used by students.

After explaining the patent royalties, the professor added, "Li Yang, since you'll be my minor student, you'll only need to pay 10% of the patent royalties for the pill formulas under my name!"

Several other professors also made similar promises and demonstrated the quantity and quality of their prescriptions...

Li Yaowan, however, didn't mention any of this. Instead, she stared at Li Yang with her small eyes and precisely retorted, "I acquired the 716 Research Institute more than twenty years ago; it used to belong to the Agronomy Department."

Li Yang: "!"

She looked at the little old woman who really didn't look like a kind person.

Li Yaowan didn't say much, only asking her, "Li Yang, would you be interested in becoming my assistant disciple?"

Li Yang stared at her intently, then slowly smiled, "It is my greatest honor."

Li Yaowan doesn't look like a good person, nor does he act like one.

But she is undoubtedly a smart person.

One of the biggest advantages of being a smart person is that as long as the interests can be agreed upon, things are easy to handle.

Li Yang has ulterior motives regarding the Pill Department, and Li Yaowan also has ulterior motives towards her. As long as their interests do not conflict, they can cooperate and achieve a win-win situation.

The professors were still persistent, but Li Yaowan grabbed Li Yang's hand and said, "Come to my office, I have a minor student contract there."

Li Yang was taken away by her just like that, leaving the group of people in the assessment room looking at each other in bewilderment.

The students, especially those taking the assessment, were completely baffled. One tentatively asked, "Teacher, may I become your student?"

The professor said, "My minors receive 500 merit points per year."

The student exclaimed in surprise, "Teacher, I..."

The teaching assistant from the Pill Department, realizing his misunderstanding, explained with a smile, "Young man, if you wish to become an assistant student under Professor Sun, you'll need to submit five hundred merit points each year."

Student. "???"

In the end, Professor Sun picked up Xi Yu, sighing, "First Grade Middle Stage, not bad at all..."

If he hadn't witnessed Li Yang's Grade One High Stage purification efficiency, he would have been overjoyed to have found Xi Yu, this treasure.

Now...

He felt a void in his heart, his mind filled with thoughts like, "How could Li Yang have been snatched up by the Agronomy Department? She was clearly the Heavenly Fortune Bearer of their Pill Department! Is the Heavenly Dao truly destined to destroy our Central Capital Pill Department?!"

As for Xi Yu, his face was deathly pale, and he was swaying precariously, looking just like a pitiful little guy who had been cheated out of 50 merit points.

His ambition to humiliate Li Yang was extinguished before it could even ignite.

-

Li Yang was very cautious. As soon as she was out of everyone's sight, she cried out in her Spirit Sea, "Teacher, teacher, Quinoa is calling for the teacher!"

Lady Sunflower said disapprovingly, "Quinoa sounds awful, change the name."

Li Yang: "?"

Si Kui said, "Little Pear Blossom."

Li Yang: "Not domineering enough!"

Si Kui: "Big Pear Blossom."

Li Yang: "..."

She almost got led astray by her teacher, so she quickly pulled herself back and said, "The code name doesn't matter. Just pick whichever you think is better. It's like this, I'm being dragged to Professor Li Yaowan's office right now. Are you familiar with this Professor Li Yaowan?"

Si Kui: "What? 'You're finished,' Professor?"

Li Yang: "Uh..." She wrote those three words directly in her Spirit Sea.

Si Kui thought for a moment before saying, "It's Li Yao, isn't it?"

"Li Yao?" Li Yang asked quickly, "Teacher, do you know her?"

Si Kui said, "Yes, she was also on the front lines during the great war against the Fenglie Clan 28 years ago."

Li Yang pricked up her ears and asked, "Is she friend or foe?"

"Neither friend nor foe, but she values Pill Department highly and won't harm you under my nose."

Si Kui paused for a moment before continuing, "Back then, she volunteered to go to the front lines because her personally taught disciple was killed by a Seventh-Grade Master from the Fenglie Clan. To avenge her disciple, she self-destructed her natal alchemy furnace. Although she killed that Seventh-Grade Master, she was forever barred from becoming Master herself."

Li Yang: "!"

Looking at the hunched old woman in front of her, she couldn't believe that she would ruin her future for her disciple.

The two had arrived outside a gleaming, golden office.

On the office door was a couplet: the first line read, "Refining medicine is not as good as refining gold"; the second line read, "Saving the world is not as good as saving the market"; and the horizontal inscription read, "Money is my dear mother."

Li Yang: "..."

The two entered the office, Li Yang was almost blinded by the light.

The outside of the office was already glittering with gold, and the inside was even more tangible, embodying the phrase "glittering with jewels."

Li Yaowan looked at Li Yang with burning eyes and said, "Li Yang, could you refine the Star-Attracting Pill one more time in front of me?"

Li Yang saw right through her thoughts. She wasn't curious about the purified Star-Attracting Pill at all; she clearly wanted to know about the "Heavenly Fortune" within her.

If not now, when?

Li Yang smiled and said, "Teacher Li, why don't you take me on a tour of our 716 Research Institute first?"

Chapter 46

You could tell whether someone was good or bad the moment Li Yang opened her mouth.

Li Yaowan had already seen through this eighteen-year-old boy during the assessment that he was not someone to be easily fooled.

Li Yaowan said, "The research institutes of each department are all top-secret locations. As a minor student, you should, in principle..."

Li Yang didn't waste any time, saying, "If I can't enter the research institute as a minor, then Professor Li, you're busy. I'll go ask the associate professor who offered the highest price..."

Li Yaowan's small eyes widened, his abacus clattering at his waist. In the blink of an eye, he was in front of Li Yang, holding her hand, and said "affectionately," "Logically, it shouldn't be possible, but we're so compatible, aren't we? I'm a very sentimental person, so I'll definitely take you to 716 Research Institute."

"Why not seize the day? Shall we go now?"

"Why don't you refine one Star-Attracting Pill first, so we can further deepen our relationship?"

"How about this," Li Yang suggested, devising a compromise, "I'll purify the Star-Attracting Pill at 716 Research Institute."

Li Yaowan: "..."

For the first time in her life, she felt she had met a formidable rival.

Li Yang smiled and said, "Professor Li, what do you think?"

Li Yaowan's small eyes darted around, and she put on a smile again, saying, "Alright, let's go to 716 Research Institute first."

Li Yang understood the implication in her words.

So what if she went to 716 Research Institute?

I'm just going to take a look.

Li Yang really just wanted to take a look. Her information network was limited, and all she could confirm was that her research institute had been acquired by the Pill Department. As for which professor had made the acquisition, she didn't know.

Just because Li Yaowan says yes, does that mean it definitely is?

I need to verify it to be sure.

Once Li Yaowan went to 716 Research Institute and saw Li Yang's position there, he would have a basic understanding of the situation.

The two then left the gleaming office and headed towards 716 Research Institute.

From this geographical perspective, 716 is quite far from the Pill Department, but it's also not next to the Agronomy Department.

The research institutes of various departments are very scattered. Firstly, they were not planned in such detail when they were first built. Secondly, the institutes also change hands. For example, the 716 Research Institute used to be the Department of the Agronomy Department, but now it is the Pill Department.

The research institute is a three-story building with a large area, surrounded by a protective net. Entry requires swiping a special access card.

As soon as Li Yaowan approached, the teaching assistant guarding him immediately saluted. "Professor Li!"

Li Yaowan nodded and led Li Yang into the research institute.

They didn't swipe their cards, and no one checked their identities, which speaks volumes about Li Yaowan's status within the research institute.

Upon entering, there was a large hall where many researchers in white coats were walking around. They were all very busy, but they were very organized. Occasionally, someone would bump into Li Yaowan and they would salute and greet him.

Li Yaowan nodded to each of them, asked a few questions, and then led Li Yang to an office on the second floor.

This is clearly Li Yaowan's office, because the couplets and horizontal scroll are exactly the same as those in his previous office.

Li Yaowan's gaze grew even more intense as he asked, "Li Yang, can you begin refining the Star-Attracting Pill now?"

Li Yang was a woman of her word; she nodded and replied, "Okay."

Li Yaowan quickly pulled out a low-quality pill from his pocket, then shoved the documents and files on the table to the ground, clearing a clean and tidy surface. He then said to Li Yang, "Please."

You can tell she's very eager.

Li Yang was also quite curious about his so-called "Heavenly Fortune," wondering if this alchemy master could see anything about it.

The inferior pills on the table were exactly the same as those in the examination hall.

The elixir was riddled with impurities; removing it was like picking out each grain of millet from a rice jar mixed with rice.

Li Yang picked up the inferior pill, but instead of immediately using it, she looked up at Li Yaowan.

The shifty-eyed old woman was intently staring at the pill in her hand, her small eyes gleaming with a faint golden light, clearly indicating that she had activated some kind of Star Skill to enhance her eyesight.