"He appeared?"
Lu Xun turned to look at his good friend.
"Un, Liu Shi and the others happened to be paying a visit today, and Emperor Shen Zhui came along with them. Not too long later, the three master teachers came out, and their attitude was extremely respectful. It seems like this Yang shi is a master teacher, and his rank is even higher than Liu Shi and the others..."
Wang Chao revealed the news he knew.
"Higher than Liu Shi... Doesn't that mean that he is a 2-star master teacher?" Lu Xun's eyes lit up. "Hurry up and make preparations, we'll pay a visit as well..."
This was the opportunity he had been waiting for. If Yang shi were to take a fancy to him, he would definitely be able to soar into the skies.
"Un!" Wang Chao nodded his head. Then, a bitter expression appeared on his face. "If this news spreads, there will be many people who wish to pay a visit to Yang shi. I'm afraid that we won't be able to get a chance to do so!"
"Furthermore, you should have heard of Yang shi's rules. If you wish to pay a visit, you have to pay three million gold bills. Otherwise, you won't even be able to enter the door... Even if our old master can fork out that much money, I'm afraid that we..."
Even though they were star teachers, their monthly salary was only two to three thousand gold coins. To fork out three million... was undoubtedly a pipe dream.
Putting aside paying a visit to Yang shi, just this condition alone was enough to stop them.
"Don't worry, I've already thought it through!" Lu Xun smiled confidently. "Even though it is a written rule that one has to pay three million gold coins to pay a visit, in consideration of their reputation, it is impossible for them to pay it openly. That is to say... As long as we don't say it out loud, it shouldn't be exposed!"
"You mean … to fish in troubled waters and sneak in? That doesn't seem too good... The other party isn't a fool. If we don't pay, we probably won't even be able to enter the door! "
Hearing his good friend's words, Wang Chao was taken aback.
"It's not sneaking in, but... making use of our identity as star teachers, we can bypass this stage. With just the two of us, who in the kingdom wouldn't give us some face? As long as we can find a suitable candidate and submit our resumes, the rest will be easy! "
"Master teachers also wish to take in apprentices. We are famous teachers in the entire Tianxuan Royal City, so we fit the criteria. As long as we write a name scroll and show him the fruits of our teaching, he might be happy and agree to our request. At that time, the so-called three million gold coins will be useless. What we need to do now is to send the name scroll. As for the gold coins, it doesn't matter at all!"
"This..." Wang Chao blinked his eyes.
"If one wants to become a great teacher, not only must one be strong, the most important thing is to be able to educate students. We have so many students, and with such an outstanding curriculum vitae, it won't be a problem for us."
At this point, Lu Xun's eyes glowed with excitement. "If it comes down to it, I can invite him to watch the Teacher Evaluation a few days later to see how I crush Zhang Xuan. By then, upon seeing how outstanding I am, he might be happy to accept me as his apprentice..."
"That makes sense... Based on our status as celebrity teachers, it should be easy for us to submit our resumes. Maybe we don't even have to pay!" Wang Chao finally reacted.
The Teacher Evaluation this time is a good opportunity. If Master Teacher Yang Xuan were to attend, he would surely take Lu Xun in as his apprentice. As long as he succeeds, there will be hope for Zhang Xuan.
"That's it. Let's get ready and pay a visit …"
Without any hesitation, Lu Xun made the necessary arrangements.
… …
Apothecary Guild.
Guild Leader Ouyang, Apothecary Chen Xiao, Apothecary Bai Ming, and more than a dozen other apothecaries stood in the courtyard respectfully.
Hu!
A violent gust of wind blew and a massive aerial savage beast slowly descended from the sky.
An elder stood on top of it. Before the savage beast could reach him, he stepped lightly on the ground and landed steadily.
"Paying respects to Apothecary Hong Yun!"
Guild Leader Ouyang and the others stepped forward.
Apothecary Hong Yun was a famous 2-star apothecary in the kingdom.
"Un!" Apothecary Hong Yun nodded his head. Raising his eyebrows, he asked, "Where is that Zhang Xuan?"
"Apothecary Zhang... shouldn't be in the capital, that's why he didn't come..." Guild Leader Ouyang said awkwardly.
Zhang Xuan had been staying in the kingdom's Book Collection Vault for the past few days. After leaving, he changed his appearance and went to his residence. Putting aside him, even Zhao Ya and the others might not be able to find him.
"Preposterous!" Apothecary Hong Yun waved his hands grandly. With a steeled face, he spoke authoritatively, "Even though Pill Debate has been passed down since ancient times, it has its own unique rules. This time, other than delivering the Unravel Yin Pill and Colossal Rhinoceros Blood that you want to buy, I am also here to assess this Zhang Xuan. If he doesn't fulfill the conditions, I will strip him of his qualifications."
"Yes!" Guild Leader Ouyang nodded his head.
"Bring me the Record Crystal from that day. If I find any malpractice, everyone who participated in the Pill Debate will be punished!" Apothecary Hong Yun's eyebrows shot up, carrying an indisputable authority.
"Yes, Apothecary Hong Yun. This way please..." Guild Leader Ouyang hurriedly led the way.
Soon, he arrived at the location where the Pill Debate was held and took out the Record Crystal.
"Activate it!"
Sitting on his seat, Apothecary Hong Yun picked up the cup of tea that he had just poured and looked at him impassively.
Guild Leader Ouyang didn't say much. Instead, he infused his zhenqi into the Record Crystal. In an instant, the Record Crystal glowed, and the content of the recording was displayed once more.
It was the recording of Zhang Xuan entering the room.
"This is Zhang Xuan? Guild Leader Ouyang, you should be an elder of the guild, why are you so muddle-headed? How could he possibly succeed in the Pill Debate at such a young age? "Seeing that Zhang Xuan wasn't even twenty yet, Apothecary Hong Yun's eyebrows shot up.
Of those who dared to participate in the Pill Debate, which of them hadn't studied pill forging for several decades? At the very least, they would be in their fifties or sixties. Yet, this person isn't even twenty yet... What can he possibly know?
Clearly, the other apothecaries were intentionally going easy on him!
"How about this, as long as any apothecary here dares to forge a pill before me, regardless of what method he uses, I will be able to point out the name of the method and the errors in the forging process. As long as any one of the apothecaries feels that there is something wrong with the method, I will admit defeat immediately..."
Zhang Xuan's voice sounded from the Record Crystal.
"Frivolous!" Apothecary Hong Yun sneered coldly, "Even I don't dare to guarantee that I can point out the errors in a 1-star apothecary's pill forging. How can an apprentice like him be able to do so? You must be joking... He really doesn't know how high the heavens are! "
The Record Crystal continued to play, and soon, the scene of Apothecary Meng Yan forging appeared. Zhang Xuan pointed out that the killing intent emanating from his chest made it difficult for the Tranquil Heart Pill to work.
"When this Meng Yan was forging pills, his heart was flustered and he didn't calm his mind. It isn't surprising that he could see through it..."
Upon seeing this, Apothecary Hong Yun hesitated for a moment.
As a 2-star apothecary, his eye of discernment wasn't something that Guild Leader Ouyang and the others could match up to.
When Apothecary Meng Yan was forging the Tranquil Heart Pill, his state of mind was unstable and he was flustered. As such, it wasn't difficult for him to forge a failed pill.
After which, Apothecary Chen Xiao began.
"Death aura? This... Apothecary Chen Xiao was forging pills too quietly. I could only tell that something was amiss, but I wasn't able to tell that he was on the verge of death... "
Apothecary Hong Yun was perplexed.
The other 1-star apothecaries thought that Zhang Xuan had investigated the crowd before coming to this conclusion. However, he was different. As a 2-star apothecary, his eye of discernment was extremely sharp. Even though his words weren't as accurate as Zhang Xuan's, he was still able to see through Meng Yan and Chen Xiao's state of mind.
After which, Cheng Jiang.
After which, Bai Ming.
"This cauldron is seven chi and three cun tall and three chi and two cun wide. It was forged by a 3-mo craftsman of the Stone Well Workshop seven years and three months ago..."
"The thickness of this cauldron is slightly more than one cun. For heat to seep through it completely, it will take an incense's time and thirty-four breaths..."
In the Record Crystal, Zhang Xuan spoke with confidence and wisdom in his eyes.
"This..."
Apothecary Hong Yun no longer felt the rage from before. Instead, he widened his eyes and stared fixedly at the Record Crystal.
As a 2-star apothecary, he had come into contact with higher ranked apothecaries. He had also heard their conversations before. It seemed that before forging pills, one had to have a clear understanding of the cauldron's specifications before one could forge pills of higher quality using the corresponding method.
All along, he had thought that this was something far away from him. Never in his dreams did he expect that an apprentice would be able to speak of it so clearly.
"Reporting to Apothecary Hong Yun, after the incident, I took a look at the dossier on this cauldron and compared it in detail. Regardless of whether it is the height, weight, thickness of the cauldron, the forging time, the number of times it has been moved, or what kind of pill it has been forged... Apothecary Zhang Xuan's words are completely accurate!"
"We have also conducted an experiment on it. Indeed, it takes an incense's time and thirty-four breaths for the heat to seep through the cauldron without any error..."
...
By the side, Guild Leader Ouyang explained.
Actually, even without his explanation, Apothecary Hong Yun, who spent his days forging pills, had a rough idea of the other party's words.
"... As a result, 13% of the medicinal effect was lost for nothing.
"The medicinal effect wasn't fully activated. I lost 14%. Failure!"
...
"This... This... This is impossible!"
Hearing Zhang Xuan's series of 'failures', Apothecary Hong Yun's body stiffened and he clenched his fists tightly.
"According to the sequence that Zhang Xuan said, we have done another test on it. The percentage of the medicinal effect that he said is completely accurate. This is the record of our test. Apothecary, you can take a look at it..."
Guild Leader Ouyang took out a book and passed it over.
Since it was a Pill Debate, it was impossible for it to end so easily. After Zhang Xuan left, Guild Leader Ouyang and the other apothecaries worked overtime to test all of the data that Zhang Xuan said. The result left them dumbfounded. To think that... it was exactly the same, there wasn't the slightest error.
"This..."
Flipping through the records, Apothecary Hong Yun felt a little frenzied.
The apothecary's signature was on it, and the timing of every single step was recorded clearly. It was impossible for it to be faked.
With just a glance, he was able to remember the steps of throwing in the forty-seven medicinal herbs, the reaction that each of them would produce, as well as the loss of medicinal effect...
The heck, is he still human?
Apothecary Hong Yun contemplated for a moment and couldn't help but shake his head. Even at his level, it was impossible for him to achieve such a feat.
Continuing on, it was the normal procedure of the Pill Debate. The apothecaries asked questions.
"... Coincidentally, there is one in our guild's basic tier book collection vault. It's on the upper left of the 27th row..."
On the Record Crystal, Zhang Xuan smiled faintly. With a wave of his hands, he recited the name and location of the book.
"These books... I seem to have seen them before. They are just as he said..."
Apothecary Hong Yun's breathing hastened.
He might not have been able to verify what Zhang Xuan had said previously, but in terms of pill forging, his knowledge far surpassed that of Guild Leader Ouyang and the others. He had read most of the books that the other party had recited, and the contents... were identical.
Honestly speaking, upon hearing that the Tianxuan Kingdom Apothecary Guild had allowed a fellow who wasn't even twenty to become an official apothecary through Pill Debate, he was infuriated.
He thought that Ouyang Cheng and the others must have gone easy on him.
This was precisely the reason why the headquarter had sent him over to reassess the matter.
On the way here, he had already thought of how he could find flaws in the book and reassess it so that Zhang Xuan would fail the test and be stripped of his apothecary license. However, he didn't expect that he would be dumbfounded before even finishing reading through the entire Record Crystal.
If the contents on the Record Crystal weren't a show and had really happened... This Zhang Xuan's understanding of pill forging was way too deep...
"... Apothecary Wu Xiao's 《Pill Cauldron Maintenance》, Apothecary Zhao Qian's 《Important Matters to Pay Attention to in Pill Forging》, Apothecary Niu Xuan's 《Miscellaneous Matters》, Apothecary Pang Bo's 《New Cauldron Maintenance》..."
On the Record Crystal, Zhang Xuan continued to speak. His every movement carried an air of elegance.
"I have read these books as well. What he said is completely... correct!"
"... Correct!"
"... Correct!"
Apothecary Hong Yun's knuckles paled and his lips trembled non-stop.
He was intending to punish the other party, but before he could even finish reading through the Record Crystal, he realized that he couldn't find a single reason to do so...
"Guild Leader Ouyang, Apothecary Zhang Xuan is outside and seeks an audience..." An apprentice reported.
Dang lang!
Alarmed, the teacup in Apothecary Hong Yun's hand fell to the ground, shattering into pieces.
Turning around, Zhang Xuan saw a listless fellow with bloodshot eyes and droopy eye bags walking in.
PS: This chapter has 3,500 words, so I played for a while... Laoya continued writing the sixth chapter!! His monthly votes had already fallen to eighth place. Wuwuwu!
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