Zhi You and Long Tian entered the city. The first things Zhi saw were stores and buildings. The place looked like a market district. People were selling and buying goods. Some of the goods were books, weapons, pills, portions, beast parts, etc. It looked like anything could be found here.
Long Tian walked past without sparing the people and items a second glance. He stopped when he got to a place named Genesis Inn. He walked in and headed straight to the upper floor. It seemed he already had a room in the inn. Zhi You barely got the chance to take in his surroundings because of how fast Long Tian was walking.
They got to a door, Long Tian opened it and walked in. Zhi You followed.
When Zhi You entered, he examined the room. There was a bed by the window that could only fit one person. There was a mat in the middle of the room and a table with a chair facing away from the bed. The room was neither big nor small, it was just right for one person.
Long Tian pulled out the chair and sat down, facing the still standing Zhi You. He took a good look at the short black-haired, blue-eyed boy dressed in oversized clothes in front of him.
"Zhi You!" Long Tian suddenly said.
Zhu You was startled, but he still responded, "Yes!"
"I don't know where you came from or why you chose to come up to me. However, I happen to be a Grade 3 alchemist and I'm looking for a disciple, the chances of finding someone with the lowest alchemic talent is 1 in 10,000. If you have decent alchemic talent, I wouldn't mind taking you in. However, before I go into more detail, I want to test your alchemic talent. But if you are lying about anything you said before, this is your last chance to leave, otherwise, if you are still going to waste my time, I will kill you." Long Tian said with a serious expression.
Zhi You didn't know what to do or say. He didn't have anywhere to go, he was stranded in a new world. Although he is the cause of this situation, he still had no choice but to find a starting line in the world. From what he knew about cultivation worlds, this is a world where only the strong survive. This chance IS his starting line.
Zhi You nodded. He didn't know what an alchemic talent is or how it's determined, but he should have a little of it, even the lowest level of alchemic talent should be fine.
Long Tian nodded and brought out a clear crystal that slowly turned orange.
"This is called an alchemical crystal, it's the only known item that can determine one's alchemic talent. It has five colors it could change to and each color corresponds with a level of alchemic talent. From lowest to highest; the color red means Master level, orange means Grandmaster level, yellow means King level, green means Emperor level, and blue means Sage level." Long Tian explained. "As you can see I have a grandmaster-level talent."
"Why does alchemic talent matter?" Zhi You asked.
"Alchemic talent dictates an alchemist's success rate and concorting speed. To be honest, anyone could become an alchemist, the problem is that if you don't have at least a master level talent studying and learning alchemy is a waste of time and resources." Long Tian replied.
"Why?"
"Because a master level talent guarantees at least a 40 percent chance of success when concorting. Any talentless than master level barely has a 15 percent chance of success." Long Tian patiently explained.
"That's enough question, for now, hold this crystal." Long Tian tossed the crystal to Zhi You.
Zhi You was getting nervous, but his face displayed a calm expression. He caught the crystal. He held the crystal with both hands for a couple of seconds before the crystal showed a reaction. The crystal slowly turned Red! Zhi You was surprised, relieved, and excited. Long Tian's eyes widened and a smile was on his face.
Then the crystal turned Orange!!
Then Yellow!!!
Green!!!!
Long Tian quickly got up to inspect the crystal in Zhi You's hands, excitement written all over his face. Who would have thought that a random kid he met would have an Emperor level alchemic talent.
As Long Tian was inspecting the crystal, he noticed the crystal was green with some spots of blue. This means Zhi You's talent was bordering the Sage level. Long Tian couldn't be happier.
"Zhi You, huh? Free spirit." Long Tian murmured.
Zhi You wasn't surprised the old man could figure out the meaning of his name. For some reason when thinking of a name this name came to him.
Long Tian thought for a while with his hand on his chin, pulling his long beard now and then. "Zhi You, will you be willing to become my disciple? Not only will I teach you everything I know about alchemy, but I will also provide resources and guide you on your cultivation." Long Tian finally said.
Zhi You was dazed, but for a different reason. He still couldn't believe he had an Emperor level alchemic talent. Hearing the old man's words snapped him out of his daze. He smiled already knowing his answer.
"Zhi You greets Master!" Zhi You kowtowed. He assumed kowtowing would be the right action to do in this situation. And judging from his new master's expression, he did the right thing. If he ever goes back to his previous world, he will have to thank the author of every cultivation novel he read.