Zachary acted as if he didn't hear Benjamin's words. Angered by Zachary's arrogance, Benjamin extended his arm to block Zachary. "The Pill Hall isn't for just anybody. If I remember correctly, you haven't completed even one daily quest. You have no contribution points to exchange for pills at all. Just get out of here and don't shame yourself!" he said while staring straight into Zachary's eyes.
"I don't have contribution points from daily tasks, that's true. But that is not the only way to get pills," Zachary calmly replied.
"Are you saying that you've got herbs? You've got to be kidding. You didn't even go to the Herbal Mountain. Where did you get the herbs?" Benjamin asked, surprised at Zachary's response.
"That is none of your business," Zachary said slowly in a scornful tone as he walked past Benjamin.
Benjamin stared at Zachary's back as he walked away. Anger simmered in his eyes. In his heart, he murmured to himself, 'Is he just pretending? How could he possibly get any herb? Well, let's see what tricks he's trying to play.'
Zachary squeezed through the crowd until he reached the exchange table. He then opened the cloth bag in his hands and poured the herbs inside the bag onto the table.
The disciples that worked in the Pill Hall, as well as the other disciples present were all surprised when they saw the herbs that Zachary brought out. There were a total of nine herbs on the table from Zachary's bag. The amount seemed impossible!
"How... How is that even possible? Where did he get all of those herbs? I asked the disciples to stop him from going into the Herbal Mountain. He couldn't go to other mountains as well. Where did he get the herbs from?" Benjamin asked in disbelief. His eyes were wide open as he stood agape in awe.
"Please check these for me. How many pills can I get for these herbs?" Zachary asked the disciple in charge of the pill exchange while he acted as if nothing happened around him.
"Let me see here..." The disciple snapped back to reality and started to appraise the herbs that Zachary brought them.
He gasped in shock as he appraised the herbs on the table.
"First-grade Mysterious Energy Flower. First-grade Dragon Sunflower. My goodness! These are all first-grade herbs of Scarce Level!" the disciple exclaimed, unable to contain his excitement and surprise.
The Pill Hall fell completely silent at the disciple's declaration.
All the other disciples present looked at Zachary as if he was a bizarre creature that was supposed to be extinct. They couldn't figure out how he was able to gather that much herbs of such high quality.
Benjamin, unable to believe what he had just seen and heard, dashed towards the disciple and shouted to him, "Are you sure? Check it again! Are those herbs really of Scarce Level? Aren't those supposed to be garbage?"
"Benjamin, if these herbs are garbage, then the herbs that the other disciples collected would be even worse than garbage," replied the disciple.
Benjamin's face turned dark as he stared at Zachary.
Zachary stared back at Benjamin with an arrogantly insulting smile.
The disciple checked the herbs brought by Zachary again and then appraised their overall value for trade. Since all the herbs were of high quality, they were worth two pills each. Zachary's herbs were enough to trade for eighteen first-grade white cultivation-aiding pills.
The disciple gave Zachary two bottles. Each bottle contained nine pills.
"Even if you get lucky enough to get so many first-grade white cultivation-aiding pills, you will not pass the selection for formal disciples. Trash like you won't be able to stay in the Welkin Sect!" Benjamin said jealously.
"Are you jealous, Benjamin? There's no need to be jealous. I can give you one if you want." Zachary took out one first-grade white cultivation-aiding pill and threw it at Benjamin.
Benjamin merely watched the pill fly towards him and fall to the floor. He never dared catch the pill for he knew that it would bring him shame. His face became bright red as anger almost overwhelmed him. He wanted to tear Zachary apart.
And since the first-grade white cultivation-aiding pill was a valuable item to other disciples, they jumped at the pill on the floor and competed with each other to grab the pill.
Zachary walked casually towards the door. The noise of the disciples fighting to get the pill on the floor drowned the sound of his footsteps as he exited the room.
"Damn that Zachary! Fuck him!" Unbridled wrath overcame Benjamin; anger frothed on his lips. As soon as Zachary was gone, Benjamin shouted at the disciples who fought for the pill on the floor, "What do you think you're doing? Didn't you hear that the pill was for me?" Benjamin roughly shoved the disciples at the Foundation Establishment away, picked up the pill and walked away angrily.
When Zachary returned to his treehouse, he took out one cultivation-aiding pill. It turned into liquid as soon as it entered his mouth. The liquid quickly dispersed from his meridians to all the cells in his body. It wasn't martial energy, but it was a form of essential energy that was encased in the cultivation-aiding pill. The essential energy could be refined into martial energy before it could be absorbed by his body.
Zachary then refined the essential energy. It took him four hours to refine one first-grade white cultivation-aiding pill.
"It appears that I have to spend a few days to refine all the pills." Zachary raised his eyebrows, took a deep breath and nodded to himself as he tried to count the total number of days that he'd need.
The selection drew nearer as the minutes turned to hours and the hours turned to days. Zachary knew that he needed to work extra hard to pass the selection.
A few brief days later, the selection began.
The training ground was flooded with people. Hundreds of disciples of the Welkin Sect gathered for the annual formal disciple selection. It was an assessment for all disciples at the Foundation Establishment. If they successfully passed the selection, they would become formal disciples of the Welkin Sect.
A few elders sat at a high platform on the front-end of the training ground. They had bright, sharp eyes and all had a strong aura around them.
At the center sat Lewis, the leader of the Welkin Sect. His inner garment was made of silk, and was black and white in color. And his outer garment was a loose, blue robe. His white hair made him out as an aged man, but his face looked lively, suggesting that he was vital and vigorous. A strong aura of Imperial Level radiated from him, and it amazed the disciples present.
On each side of Lewis sat two old men. Each of them wore a robe of different color. They seemed to be as equally vigorous as Lewis was. They were the stewards of the Welkin Sect, and they were all at the King Level. Steward Smith, who was ranked the fifth in all stewards, stood at the center of the training ground. He was the one who was assigned to examine the disciples.
"The selection will now commence. When your name is called, come to center of the training ground." After the announcement was made, came the selection.
A disciple's name was called. He walked towards Smith.
"You can start." Smith motioned to the disciple.
The disciple started to radiate martial energy from his body. A thin layer of green light surrounded his body. Though his martial energy wasn't particularly strong, it was still considered decent for a disciple at the Foundation Establishment.
"Original martial speed. Ninth grade of Foundation Establishment. Qualified!" Smith announced loudly to everyone present.
The disciple jumped up in joy, feeling relieved that he passed.
The selection went on in a similar manner until half of the disciples had completed going through the selection. Some were happy that they passed while some were heartbroken that they failed.
One of the disciples facilitating the process called out another name, "Zachary Zi!"
Silence followed after the name was called. No one seemed to step forth at the sound of that name.