Tang Min's words were far more tempting than any reason to teach the next generation. Although the alchemists present were all devoted to the sect, who didn't have their own thoughts? When it came to their own interests, they naturally paid more attention.
Other alchemists also had some ideas. They didn't steal or rob, and they could glean some information from trivial matters, which was of great benefit to their alchemy practice.
Tang Min continued, "Furthermore, after the alchemy forum is established, we can use it as an excuse to gather some members of the sect to conduct internal alchemy exchange meetings. Don't you have any questions you want to ask Qi Zhiheng? For example, how to refine better quality pills? You don't think so, but I'm always hoping to refine top-grade pills."
Everyone's breath hitched. The temptation of this top-grade pill was too great. Tang Min was right. Moreover, it was a win-win situation. They had been refining pills for many years and might have some insights into the art that Qi Zhiheng had not heard of. It might not be without benefit to Qi Zhiheng.
After some discussion, the group agreed to Tang Min's idea. Of course, their agreement alone wasn't enough; Qi Zhiheng also needed to agree.
Tang Min then decided to find time to talk to Qi Zhiheng. He knew that Qi Zhiheng wanted the spiritual vein, and as long as he had this as a bargaining chip, Qi Zhiheng would probably be happy to share some alchemy insights with the disciples of Danfeng.
Qi Zhiheng sat in the alchemy room, engrossed in reading a storybook, while a group of disciples below him were focused on refining pills.
Although he was reading a storybook, his divine sense was constantly monitoring the situation in the alchemy room. What Qi Zhiheng was most satisfied with about these disciples was their obedience. Since he began teaching them, they had never caused him any trouble. He often praised them for this, hoping they would continue to maintain this standard and not cause him any trouble. He also frequently tried to indoctrinate them, saying that if they caused him trouble, he might get annoyed, and if he did, he wouldn't want to teach them anymore and might even dismiss them. Therefore, apart from questions about alchemy, the disciples dared not approach Qi Zhiheng with trivial matters.
One by one, people's pills were completed. Qi Zhiheng asked the disciples who had finished refining the pills to bring them up first so that he could check them.
Qi Zhiheng only checked the number of pills produced, then the quality of the pills, and then recorded the pills produced by these disciples, waiting for the other disciples to finish refining them.
Qi Zhiheng did not select disciples solely based on their performance in this alchemy session, but rather considered their past performance, including their cultivation progress.
He greatly favored disciples who made rapid progress in their cultivation. Those with good cultivation aptitude were more likely to reach the Foundation Establishment stage earlier, thus increasing their chances of becoming a Level 3 Alchemist.
Therefore, he mainly selects disciples based on their progress in alchemy and cultivation from the time they entered the sect until now, and also considers their character as observed in daily life and the results of their alchemy practice.
When the ten official disciples were selected, some were quite bewildered. They wondered why they had been left out when some of the others were not as skilled in alchemy as they were. Some people raised questions about this!
The disciple who raised the question was sixteen years old and named Zhang Ruosheng.
Qi Zhiheng didn't hide anything: "This alchemy isn't the only criterion for accepting disciples. I've considered many aspects. What I need is a disciple who can improve the fastest and become a second-level alchemist the fastest. Although your alchemy quality is above some of theirs, your progress has been extremely slow since you first joined my sect. You've even been overtaken by some less capable people. You need to reflect on this. Another point is that your cultivation progress is far too slow. How long have you been stuck at the fifth level of Qi Refining? You haven't made any progress at all. How long will it take for you to reach the Foundation Establishment stage?"
When Zhang Ruosheng's cultivation level was mentioned, his face turned slightly red. His cultivation progress was indeed very slow, but there was a reason for that. Other disciples had pills to take, so their cultivation levels naturally increased very quickly.
He himself received quite a few pills, but he consumed relatively few, giving most of them to his beloved, which is why his cultivation progressed so slowly. Now that his master had pointed it out, he couldn't refute it, since he was the one who gave the pills to others.
Qi Zhiheng had a certain understanding of his disciples, which was thanks to his third disciple, Feng Yuanyi. Feng Yuanyi was well-liked and knew a lot about everyone's situation. He had an objective evaluation of the people he interacted with. Although he did not agree with Zhang Ruosheng's matter, he had no right to tell him not to give the pills to others. After being ignored twice, he stopped trying to displease him.
Qi Zhiheng didn't know what kind of person the other person's sweetheart was, but he was very unhappy that he had delayed receiving the spiritual vein because of someone else, but he wouldn't interfere.
After being reprimanded by Qi Zhiheng, Zhang Ruosheng admitted his mistake and promised to keep quiet and focus on his cultivation in the future. However, a thought suddenly struck him: perhaps he could keep half of the pills for himself later. Knowing that he had missed the chance to become a formal disciple because of his slow progress, it would be a lie to say he didn't regret it. But it would also be a lie to say he had no resentment towards Qi Zhiheng. He was still clearly superior to the other formal disciples, so why wasn't he chosen?
Qi Zhiheng had no time to guess his thoughts. After quickly dividing the students into three classes, he led ten disciples to a separate alchemy room.
Qi Zhiheng instructed the ten disciples to sit down, then had Feng Yuanyi sit next to him, and said to the people below, "I have only accepted three formal disciples so far. As for the ten of you, I will not arrange them in order. Whoever can become a second-level alchemist first will be my fourth disciple."
The ten disciples were a little excited. They were all eager to try their luck and compete for the title of the fourth disciple!
If an alchemist could enter the Dao of Alchemy, they could draw spiritual energy from alchemy. Unfortunately, entering the Dao through alchemy was not easy, and none of his disciples had reached that level yet. Qi Zhiheng didn't want to waste spiritual herbs on his disciples, as they wouldn't increase their cultivation. It was better to train their refining techniques to be more precise.
After Qi Zhiheng explained the rules for accepting disciples, someone asked, "Master, is there a reward for the first person to become a Level 2 Alchemist?"
Qi Zhiheng thought for a moment and said, "Yes, your master will personally prepare generous gifts. As long as you can become second-level alchemists, you will receive a gift. However, the gifts will be of progressively lower quality, so you will have to work harder from now on."
A cheer erupted from below.
Qi Zhiheng gestured for everyone to be quiet: "Next, you should practice refining diligently. Whoever is the first to refine a full-bodied pill containing a top-grade pill will receive pills for cultivating soul power and refining spiritual power, allowing you to quickly accumulate the resources to become a level two alchemist."
The pill for refining spiritual energy that Qi Zhiheng mentioned was a later improved version, much better than the ones he had previously taught his disciples. However, the difficulty of refining this pill was also a level higher. It was estimated that none of the people present could refine a top-grade pill, so Qi Zhiheng did not intend to teach it to them. Other pill toxins were easy to remove, but the toxins in this Cleansing Pill could not be removed by the Cleansing Pill. In order to prevent these disciples from damaging their foundation by consuming pills with impurities, he did not intend to hand over the pill.
After hearing Qi Zhiheng's words, all ten disciples were eager to try, each one looking full of energy.
Although he was told that he could only focus on cultivation when he was able to refine top-grade pills, Qi Zhiheng did not want to waste his current time. Every day, he would still have his disciples spend an hour training their soul power and spiritual power.
Qi Zhiheng also planned to hold an apprenticeship ceremony for Ye Hanyuan, but it conflicted with the sect leader's birthday celebration. He could only report it first and consider the matter after the sect leader's birthday celebration.
Not long after, Tang Min approached Qi Zhiheng and told him about their plan to establish an alchemy lecture hall, asking if he was interested in participating.
Qi Zhiheng really didn't want to do this extra work, but before he could refuse, he heard Tang Min mention that an internal alchemy exchange meeting would be held.
Qi Zhiheng was still young. Although he did have some talent in alchemy, the experience of these alchemists who had been practicing for hundreds of years was invaluable. He had gained profound insights when he heard the alchemists at the Shenmu Sect share their opinions last time. For a moment, he was unsure whether to agree or not.
Seeing his hesitation, Tang Min dropped another bombshell: if Qi Zhiheng agreed to become a lecturer, Tang Min would be willing to give him a low-grade spiritual vein during the month Qi Zhiheng taught.
Qi Zhiheng really wanted to complain about Tang Min's stinginess; couldn't he have given him a mid-grade spiritual vein? But even a low-grade spiritual vein would have been enough to tempt him.
The Firewood he planted consumed a lot of spiritual energy. Qi Zhiheng had already spent a lot of spirit stones to nourish the Firewood seedling. With Yang Yitian's talisman array, the seedling grew quite fast and consumed spirit stones without restraint. Fortunately, there were enough spiritual veins in the space, which prevented Qi Zhiheng from becoming penniless again. Therefore, he planned to bury the spiritual veins that Ye Hanyuan obtained when he became a second-level alchemist near the Firewood. However, it was obvious that this was still not enough. Tang Min's offer was somewhat tempting, making him hesitate.
Tang Min naturally noticed his hesitation and didn't rush him to give an answer: "Think about it carefully yourself. I'm not in a hurry. Right now, I just have this idea. Even if we want to realize it, we have to wait until after the sect leader's birthday banquet before we can officially finalize it."
Qi Zhiheng breathed a sigh of relief. He nodded and replied, "Peak Master, rest assured, I will consider it carefully. After the Sect Master's birthday celebration, I will definitely give you an answer."
Having achieved his goal, Tang Min got up and went back.
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