In the Ancient Zenith civilization, alchemy was a rare profession. One needed a wealth of knowledge, as well as a great number of resources, to support oneself. The major factions and sects were usually the only ones that could afford to sponsor alchemists.
It was impossible even for talented alchemists to pick it up as soon as they began to refine medicinal pills. They could only familiarize themselves during the process of medicinal pill refinement. That was how they got elevated their capabilities.
Meanwhile, it was a great expense for one to refine medicinal pills each time. Everything cost a lot of money, including the alchemical furnace, laboratory, medicinal pill recipes, herbs, and all sorts of inherited methods. Not just anyone could afford to provide that.
It was the same in modern society. Although herbs could be planted on a large-scale and alchemical furnaces could be mass-produced with modern technology, the number of alchemists was even lower than during the period from the Alchemy Emperor's memories.
The reason for this was that modern alchemists did not have all their knowledge. In reality, it was not only alchemy that this happened to. Even the information on Martial Dao was incomplete as well. It was because humans had only excavated a portion of the ruins of the Ancient Zenith civilization for the moment. The Martial Dao knowledge that was deciphered from the ruins could not compare to the time when the Ancient Zenith civilization was flourishing, the time when many Emperors battled in Chu Yunfan's inherited memories.
Even so, the standard of Martial Dao in modern times was not to be scoffed at. On the contrary, it was constantly improving, and there were always new ruins being excavated. More and more information from the Ancient Zenith civilization was being uncovered.
Therefore, the top human powerhouses were advancing at a stunning speed. Every ten to a hundred years, an elite powerhouse would break through to a brand-new stage. They would soon discover cultivation methods suitable for one to do so.
When the Kunlun Era had just begun, only powerhouses in the military could reach the Qi Sea Stage, but everyone could get there now. As long as one vigorously cultivated for decades, even the least talented person could break through to the Qi Sea Stage.
The discovery of the alchemy system came much later compared to the Martial Dao system. The information had only been organized into a system 200 years ago. Therefore, although the Federation government supported the research with all of its might, its development was still relatively slow. To Chu Yunfan, who possessed the Alchemy Emperor's memories, the standard was low. It was far from the peak of the Ancient Zenith civilization.
That was not even comparing it to the genius Alchemy Emperor, the master of the field, in Chu Yunfan's mind.
In the Federation, the Alchemist Association handled many matters related to alchemists. It was considered a semi-official association. Although the Federation government paid and provided for it, the association's president was the legendary alchemist, Du Qingtao, who was known as the Alchemy King.
Du Qingtao was a free man among the people. He did not work for the Federation government. His alchemy skills were unparalleled throughout all humanity for the moment. Any of the medicinal pills that he refined would be fought over by countless wealthy people.
The pills he refined had helped numerous powerhouses, so quite a few of them owed him a favor. Nobody dared to offend him for fear of facing the wrath of the great number of powerhouses supporting him.
Additionally, he was a Martial Dao powerhouse himself. Although Du Qingtao was not the strongest of them, he would always be chosen as one of the most influential people by the Federation government every year.
Even the government was scared of the Alchemist Association that he led, so they dared not interfere with his business.
The alchemists who joined would usually enjoy great benefits, including supplies of all sorts of herbs for pill refinement. They also had a large variety of ancient medicinal pill recipes. Given that it was a massive force, countless alchemists would flock to the association.
Of course, not every alchemist would join the Alchemist Association. This was because, although there were a number of benefits, there were various restrictions as well. Some alchemists founded their own companies and made their own fortunes through them. Some worked for the Federation government, the Saint Lands, organizations, companies, and so on.
Whether one decided to join the Alchemist Association or not, one would need to obtain the qualifications to be one. This meant they had to pass the test given by the Alchemist Association.
Without passing the association's test, one could not even rent the alchemical furnace.
If one was to work in the private sector, the Federation government, or some big companies, even without the Alchemist Association's certification, they could purchase their own alchemical furnace and sufficient herbs to refine medicinal pills.
Chu Yunfan did a little research on the way home that day. According to the documents given by the Alchemist Association, the certification was divided into categories, namely alchemy apprentice, alchemy trainee, alchemist, and alchemy expert. Meanwhile, each category was divided into beginner-level, intermediate-level, and advanced-level. Apart from the three levels, Du Qingtao was the only one who had reached the Alchemy King level.
There were many registered alchemy apprentices as the qualifications for that category were relatively simple. They only had to master the refinement of a couple of simple medicinal pills. The Body Refining Pill was one of them.
Of course, although the recipe was said to have been widely available, the success rate of refinement differed between individuals. Naturally, Du Qingdao, the Alchemy King, had a success rate of 100% when refining Body Refining Pills. Conversely, an apprentices success rate was less than 10%, very low by any measure.
For one to level up from an alchemy apprentice to an alchemy trainee, they would need to have at least a hundred pill refinement attempts. That would cost at least a million coins, which was beyond the means of ordinary people.
To even achieve the 10% success rate of an alchemy apprentice, one would need to go through many attempts at hands-on pill refinements.
There were only three to five students from the No. 13 High School that Chu Yunfan went to who had obtained the alchemy apprentice license.
All of those students came from wealthy families!
His good friend Gao Hongzhi had enough wealth to support him in alchemy, but that was not his ambition. Not everyone had the talent for refining medicinal pills.
That was not just for the lesser-known No. 13 High School. Even the top schools like Calm Ocean City's No. 1 High School only had a small portion of people who obtained the alchemy apprentice license. It was just that there were more of them than in the No. 13 High School, and they were of better quality.
Thus, those who obtained the alchemy apprentice license when they were still in high school were prized students. All modern universities had a faculty of alchemy that specialized in training those with the talent for it. Anyone who graduated from an alchemy faculty would be in great demand everywhere they went. The Federation government, the military, and the Nine Saint Lands needed such talents.
High school students that got the license were practically guaranteed a spot in an ordinary university's alchemy faculty. It was a bonus if the pay managed to get into one of the top ten schools.
It was said that there were some students from the top schools in Donghua City who had obtained the alchemy trainee license when they were still in high school. They would assuredly pass the exam for the top ten schools' alchemy faculties. Having such unique talents at a professional level would make them desirable to the Federation government.
Meanwhile, most alchemists were wealthy or quickly became so. Even if they were poor before, they would grow rich overnight after becoming an alchemist. It was possible for a regular person to become an alchemist. It was just that it was clearly much more difficult for them compared to those who were born into wealthy families.
Du Qingtao was one of the outstanding ones. He was born poor, and he chanced upon an inheritance from the Ancient Zenith civilization. He started on the path of an alchemist and eventually became the famous Alchemy King.
Since founding the Alchemist Association, he promoted many reformations in the alchemy world, giving opportunities to numerous commoner alchemists who were struggling. Although most of the alchemists were born rich, the number of commoner alchemists was growing gradually. They were not to be underestimated.
Most importantly, virtual alchemy software was launched on the virtual network. Relying on the conditions and situations of simulated alchemy on the network, even commoners could learn basic alchemy.
It was only virtual and could not compare to the speed of hands-on practice. However, it was enough to determine whether one had the talent. If someone was talented, the Alchemist Association would pay attention to them no matter their financial situation. The talented ones might even be trained by the Alchemist Association. A lot of large companies and groups would recruit people in that manner.
Although these people were nobodies, the major factions were willing to provide them with sufficient resources to advance. That being said, the price was signing an employment contract with their sponsor. After they graduated, they would need to work for them.
It might be the only way for the commoners to stand out!
Although it was plainly unfair, such an opportunity was the best option available to the commoners.
Due to the virtual alchemy software, the potential apprentices could take the test on the virtual network instead of dropping by the Alchemist Association themselves.
There was no restriction as to what kind of medicinal pills they wanted to refine in the future, at least for alchemy apprentices. Those who did not obtain the license would be illegal and were not protected by the Federation government.
Meanwhile, the test for trainees would have to be done at the Alchemist Association, since an alchemy trainee was considered an official alchemist. It was different for alchemy apprentices, given that they were just beginners after all.
Chu Yunfan got the virtual glasses used for the virtual network in the Kunlun Era. It was a necessity for everyone in modern society, just like a personal computer in the Common Era.
Of course, he was using the old version from ten years back. It was said that the latest version could have the network terminal equipment installed under one's skin, allowing one to surf the virtual network anytime.