Chapter 440: Confirmation
Chapter 440: Confirmation
The moment Yi Chen heard everyone’s greetings, a grassy, floral scent of tulips filled his nose, and he turned to face the entrance, curiosity evident in his eyes.
"So, it’s Elder Ru Qi this time..." Fan Duan muttered under his breath the very next moment, causing Yi Chen to focus on the person entering the hall with even greater interest.
A woman draped in light blue robes had entered the lecture hall while being closely led by two of her assistants.
She carried a respectable air of authority around her, making it certain in one glance that she wasn’t someone to be taken lightly.
The hurried steps of her teaching assistants as they soon found a seat for themselves to settle in made her strict nature evident to Yi Chen.
’So, she’s one who’s going to be lecturing us today...’ Yi Chen thought in realisation, seeing her standing on top of the teaching platform; the next moment, before she could even say anything, Yi Chen called out her status panel.
==== STATUS PANEL ====
Name: Ru Qi
Age: 376 years
Strength: 670
Cultivation: First Core Building Stage
Qi Nature: Earth
Remark: A Mid-Grade Pill Master [Regenerate: 10,000 EXP]
====================
While Yi Chen was glancing through her status panel, he felt a tap from Fan Duan, who lightly whispered to him, "Elder Ru Qi is really thorough in teaching the basics, so you lucked out by attending the session today..."
"I see..." Yi Chen nodded in realisation when he heard this.
"Moreover, the woman and the man dressed in red and white who accompanied Elder Ru Qi just now...they both are core disciples who have just become Tier 3 Pill Masters a year ago and are under Elder Ru Qi’s guidance." Fan Duan added while gesturing behind him where the two disciples had gone.
’Core Disciples, huh?’ Yi Chen nodded in thought when he heard those words. This was his first time seeing core disciples, so he couldn’t help but grow curious.
After an Inner Sect Disciple has entered the Seventh Qi Absorption Stage, they are given an option to either become a Sect Elder or a Core Disciple.
If one chooses to become a sect elder, they’ll be provided the entire support of the sect in return for complete loyalty and obedience to the sect.
As for the ones who want to remain rooted to their clan and continue playing an integral role in its workings, they decide to become Core Disciples, as their movements won’t be restricted by the sect thereafter as they continue on their lives in both the sect and the clan.
Both sides had their own pros and cons, and either option could be chosen by the disciples depending on their circumstances.
However, the majority of the time, it was the disciples from the ten noble clans who chose to become core disciples instead of becoming a sect elder and devoting their entirety to the sect.
’I wonder whether the two of them belong to any noble clans or not?’ He thought to himself and was about to turn his head to check their status panel, but just then Elder Ru Qi’s voice spread across the entire class.
"Greetings, everyone. As many of you would already know, I’m Elder Ru Qi, and I’m one of the few Tier 3 Pill Masters that our Heavenly Azure Dragon Sect possesses. Today’s lecture will be distributed in two parts, both stretching for six hours.
The first part would be the morning session, which would be focused on newcomers and Pill Apprentices who don’t have much experience. As for the second part, it would solely be conducted for the High-Grade Pill Apprentices, so others are requested not to attend it, as knowing too much too early is the perfect recipe for disaster. Is this clear?"
Elder Ru Qi asked while smiling sweetly.
"Yes, Elder Ru Qi!"
Hearing their confirmation, Elder Ru Qi nodded and asked the very next moment, "So first of all, everyone who has recently taken up Pill Refining and is attending these bi-weekly lectures for the first time, raise your hands."
Hearing this question, Yi Chen soon raised his hand as his eyes went around the hall, only to realise he wasn’t the only one.
’So, there are so many?’
He thought while looking at the familiar faces of his batchmates. He had thought that most of them had already attended the previous session, which had happened while he was confined in the underground chamber.
’Well... on second thought, that’s only normal. They would have at most three days to collect 200 contribution points, which is surely an impossible task considering the types of missions that were available at the Mission Hall...’
He thought, thinking back to what Qin Yao and the rest had told him about their missions.
Meanwhile, Elder Ru Qi glanced at the several dozen hands that were raised and, after making a mental note of the number present, called one of her teaching assistants.
"Huo Yin, the next hour is entirely yours." Elder Ru Qi gestured towards one of her teaching assistants and made her way towards the back of the lecture hall.
Quite a few heads turned in Elder Ru Qi’s direction as she made her way to the back. However, there were a few exceptions among them.
One of them was naturally Yi Chen, who couldn’t help but frown the moment he heard the name.
’She belongs to the Huo Clan?’ he thought, with lines evident on his face as he saw a woman dressed in red and white robes walk right past him.
As she did so, their gazes momentarily locked for a millisecond, during which Yi Chen noticed a momentary confusion appear on her face.
Ignoring him, she soon made her way towards the teaching stage.
’Looks like she has no idea about me and my bad blood with Huo Xun...’ Yi Chen thought with narrowed eyes while glancing through her status panel.
==== STATUS PANEL ====
Name: Huo Yin
Age: 29 years
Strength: 420
Cultivation: Eighth Qi Absorption Stage
Qi Nature: Fire
Remark: Huo Clan’s Pearl [Regenerate: 10,000 EXP]
====================
’Huo Clan’s Pearl? Is it a title?’ Yi Chen thought, curiosity evident on his face.
Meanwhile, Huo Yin, who had already forgotten about her little exchange with Yi Chen, turned around to face everyone after making her way onto the teaching stage.
Letting out a deep breath, she started her lesson.
"I’ll be informing everyone about the basics which everyone of you must be aware of as Pill Refiners. Those who are already aware of these things may use this as a refresher. As for the new disciples for whom this is their first or second class, I would want you to pay close attention to each and every word of mine."
With that said, Huo Yin set the tone and started talking in detail about the basics of Pill Refining and the practical aspects one must be aware of before starting to refine their first pill.
Although she belonged to the Huo Clan, Yi Chen didn’t mind learning things from her at all and closely paid attention to her words.
’Yeah...so it’s just what he had mentioned.’ Yi Chen thought with a wry smile when he heard Huo Yin explaining the very thing which Fan Duan had just told him.
With what Fan Duan had just said confirmed, he felt like rushing back to his pill refining room and trying to refine the pills again.
However, he forcefully controlled that urge, taking the situation into account. A decision he became glad about just a few seconds later, as just then one of the disciples raised his hand to ask a doubt.
"Then Senior Huo Yin... can’t we just create an artefact which can measure the temperature accurately? It would end up becoming a great aid for us refiners who are just starting out..."
"An artefact, you say? Yeah, something like that might really be of help to you while refining the mortal pills."
An amused expression formed on Huo Yin’s face as she continued, "But like I just said, its usage would only be limited to the mortal pills; as the moment one starts creating immortal pills, the concept of temperature could no longer be considered accurate.
It couldn’t be called accurate even in terms of mortal pills, as two identical ingredients can never be the same when you observe them carefully. There will always be a few minor differences in them, and it’s these very differences which, when put together into a pill, change the temperature and other properties altogether.
While these changes are very minute for mortal pills, they become drastic when it comes to immortal pills. Which means that even when refining the same pill again, the temperature and other properties required won’t be the same at all!"
Huo Yin paused for a few seconds to let her words sink in before continuing.
"Therefore, instead of looking for ways to make your refining process simpler right now, do the required changes with the flame’s intensity right now when you’re refining just a mortal pill so that you become familiar with noticing the minute changes during the pill making.
It will greatly help you once you reach the Ninth Meridian Refinement Stage or higher, as you would then have the ability to use your spirit sense.
Once you reach that level or cultivation stage and have successfully become a Pill Apprentice, then in order to create an Immortal pill, you’ll have no choice but to use your spirit sense during the pill refinement process in order to observe all the minute changes in even greater detail.
So instead of taking this step as a challenge, you must see it as a first step that will make you used to observing the pill formulations more closely when they are taking shape, you understand?"
Hearing such a thorough explanation, not only the disciple who had asked the question but several others, including Yi Chen, couldn’t help but nod their heads when they heard her.
’Spirit Sense... Yeah, I should also try observing the insides of the cauldron using it while creating the pills next time,’ Yi Chen thought to himself while closely listening to the rest of the lecture, which was filled with small nuggets of practical knowledge which those hundreds of books didn’t prepare him for.
The class continued for a full hour before Elder Ru Qi, who had been busy answering the doubts of the Inner Sect Disciples, soon made her way towards the teaching stage. It was time for her lesson.