Chapter 434: Applying

Glancing at the broken Pill Cauldron for another few seconds, Yi Chen turned back towards the main building on top, which was calligraphed with the name ’Pill Hall ’ in energetic strokes.

’Let’s get to business then.’

With this thought, he soon made his way inside the Pill Hall. Just like the exterior, the interior was also extremely pleasing to the eye, which made Yi Chen feel a little safer.

’Looks like there won’t be any unexpected blasts in here...’

He muttered inwardly while looking around at the magnificent interior that was decorated with several antique-looking showpieces next to the walls and had a calming sky-blue flooring that was extremely pleasing to the eye.

"Ah, there’s the reception," he muttered under his breath, seeing the black reception table behind which an Inner Sect Disciple was sitting and going through some sheets of paper.

’Oh? He seems to be my age...’ Yi Chen thought curiously, sensing that the disciple looked similar in age to him.

===== Status ======

Name: Xu Tuan

Age: 47 years.

Strength: 220

Cultivation: Third Qi Absorption Stage

Nature: Water

Remark: A Mid-Grade Pill Apprentice

==================

"I-I... guess not," He muttered lightly as a forced smile formed on his face the very next moment as he started making his way towards the man.

However, despite Yi Chen’s proximity and the clear sound of his footsteps as he was making his way towards the receptionist, the man didn’t bother to look at him even once, completely immersed in the book he was reading.

It was only when Yi Chen came to a stop right next to the table and was about to call out to him that the man reluctantly raised his head from the book that was lying on the table and looked at Yi Chen.

"What do you want, brat?" he asked, not caring to hide his annoyance the moment he realised that Yi Chen was just an Outer Sect Disciple.

"Greetings, Senior..."

Not taking his attitude to heart, Yi Chen greeted the disciple with an ingratiating smile and said, "...I’m a newly joined Outer Sect Disciple, and I’m here to take Pill Refining as my Occupation."

Hearing those words, the Inner Sect Disciple just silently looked at Yi Chen for a couple of seconds before reaching for a sheet of paper and handing it to Yi Chen.

"Fill it up and give it to me." With that said, he didn’t bother with Yi Chen anymore, focusing all his attention back on the book which he was previously reading.

’Well... they don’t seem to have the best service, it seems.’

With those thoughts, Yi Chen took the paper and, taking the quill from the table, started filling in the required details with as much care as possible.

The details asked for were mainly his personal details, cultivation, qi nature, room number and the sort.

The only section that seemed important was the one which asked whether Yi Chen wanted to register for the bi-weekly Pill Refining classes conducted by a Tier 3 Pill Refiner or not.

The subscription fee was a bi-weekly payment of two hundred contribution points or eight hundred high-grade spirit stones, which he was required to pay after filling the form.

"Senior, I’m done with filling the application." Yi Chen said, drawing the receptionist’s attention, who, after glancing through the application form, muttered, "You’re going to pay by contribution points or spirit stones?"

"Contribution points,"

Yi Chen answered the very next moment, and upon hearing this, the receptionist instructed Yi Chen to send the required contribution points to the identification bead that was registered under the name of the Pill Hall.

"Congratulations, you’re now a member of the Pill Hall. The bi-weekly classes, as the name suggests, will be held every two weeks, and the next class is scheduled to happen in ten days’ time.

The venue is the Enlightenment Pavilion, which is the building just behind the Pill Hall. The timings of the class will be put on the board outside the building a day before the class, so make sure you don’t miss it. You understand?"

"Y-Yes." Yi Chen nodded while carefully listening to the man’s words and asked, "Then... what about the other facilities which the Pill Hall has to offer apart from the classes? Can you please brief me on those as well, Senior?"

"Yes..." Letting out a sigh, the receptionist answered, "There’s an Herb Store where you can buy all the required herbs that you’ll be needing for Pill Refining. There you can either sell the herbs you possess or put them up for sale as well.

Just beside that is an Item Store where you can buy all the required apparatus that you would be needing for processing the herbs to create the final pill. Naturally, Cauldrons would also be available there.

You’ll be able to find regular and earth-ranked cauldrons in there. Since you have just started and still haven’t registered yourself as a Pill Apprentice, you’ll only be required to make mortal pills in order to become one, so just buying a regular Pill Cauldron for now will suffice.

Finally, we have several Private Pill Refining rooms for rent, which provide a suitable environment for pill making. The per-day rental charges are 10 contribution points or 40 High Grade Spirit Stones.

It’s one of the best facilities the Pill Hall has to offer, so whenever you think you’ve gained enough theoretical clarity, you can start practising the pill-making process inside one of those."

’That old man must have been inside one of those rooms earlier...’ Yi Chen thought of the old man whose Pill Cauldron had exploded through the roof earlier.

That’s all there is to it. Any other questions?"

The receptionist asked after ensuring that he had covered most of the important things that Yi Chen needed to know for now.

"Um...are these Pill Refining Rooms really safe? What if we encounter an accident or face some outside disturbance while refining?" Yi Chen asked in order to make sure that spending money on it wouldn’t be a waste.

"Ah, you must have heard the Pill explosion that happened just a few minutes ago. Accidents like that are a common occurrence, so appropriate formations have been placed inside each room to ensure that you won’t be disturbed because of external voices... I believe I answered all the questions you had, right?"

The man’s eyes narrowed into a glare as he asked this question, not trying to hide the fact that he was reaching his limits.

"Y-Yes. Thank you for your help, Senior." Yi Chen subtly bowed with a forced smile, saw this reaction, and took his leave the next moment.

Once out, the first place he visited was naturally the Item Store, where he inquired about all the things that would be required for pill making.

’Damn...there’s so much I need to buy.’ Yi Chen thought, looking at all the apparatus that was up for sale, which gave him the feeling as if he was back in his chemistry laboratory.

’If only the rental rooms came pre-filled with all these items...’ Yi Chen sighed in frustration as he bought all the required items, including a regular cauldron, spending a total of fifty contribution points.

With that done, he went to check out the Pill Refining Rooms just out of curiosity.

Even though he had read more than two hundred books on various subjects with regard to Pill Refining, he still wasn’t confident enough to be able to attempt things practically.

"Well... this is more spacious than I thought," he muttered to himself while looking at the interior.

There was a contraption built into the floor that was capable of creating uninterrupted flame, and its intensity could easily be controlled. The cauldron was supposed to rest on top of it.

Apart from that, on one end of the room there was even a bed for resting, a wide table, and even a shelf containing books on all the important pieces of information that one might look for when refining.

"That’s the sole idea here, Junior Brother," the Senior, who was showcasing the room to Yi Chen, said with a smile and continued, "The more comfortable and spacious the room is, the more willing we will be to spend time here, as it will help us focus better, isn’t that right?"

"Yes... Senior Brother’s right." Yi Chen thought with a contemplative expression while staring at the room.

"Then why doesn’t Junior Brother book it right now? We have only three free rooms remaining for today, so if you don’t hurry, then it might just be taken by someone else," the Senior nudged with a friendly smile.

"Well... I still need to work more on my theoretical knowledge as I’m not very confident in testing things out practically. I think by another week I would have enough confidence, so I’m planning to book the room at that time." Yi Chen explained why he didn’t need to book one right now.

However, listening to his words, the Senior just shook his head and said, "That’s where you got this wrong, Junior Brother. Since you haven’t attended any special classes until now, it’s natural that you won’t know it, so let me tell you.

For Pill Refiners like us, the greatest insights we get aren’t from reading tens of those books which are available in the library, but instead from reading just enough to practically try out the knowledge we’ve read in those books.

It’s only when we try it out ourselves that the knowledge truly becomes ours, irrespective of whether the final result was a success or a failure. While following this method, your progress rate would also be a lot faster compared to just reading the theory."

The Senior, who was also a Pill Apprentice, explained in a patient manner.

"So that’s how it is. Thank you for your help, Senior Brother," Yi Chen thanked him with a smile and soon booked a Pill Refining Room for a day.

"A good decision." The Senior Disciple nodded while thinking of the extra commission he would receive because of Yi Chen.

’Well, it’s not like I lied... though,’ he thought with a wide smile as he handed the room’s key to Yi Chen.