Amidst the pin-drop silence of the Alchemy Hall, two men looked at each other with interest, sizing up the other's physical features and upfront demeanor.
The two were Old Man Guan and Zhao Wei.
Old Man Guan sat cross-legged on a platform at the end of the hall. His face was old but still brimming with vitality and exuberance. His ancient eyes seemed to have bore witness to the vicissitudes of countless alternations of the seasons.
He wore deep green robes embroidered with countless miniaturized versions of alchemical plants and a shiny, identity medallion - representative of his Sect's authority - hung on his waist.
The young man before him didn't look any different from other disciples, Old Man Guan noted casually.
He had a century of experience and he had seen all kinds of beautiful men and women especially when he had been a hot-blooded youth.
And he understood that being good-looking didn't mean that that sense of perfection couldn't necessarily be translated to one's innate talent.
Zhao Wei. That was the name the youngest elder, Hai Yun, had given him after he had inquired about the personal information of the disciple in question.
Old Man Guan had little interactions with Elder Hai Yun but he had been caught by surprise when the latter came to him with an unexpected recommendation.
Elder Hai Yun wanted him to reach or advise his student in the Dao of Alchemy.
How preposterous.
How unbecoming.
At first, Old Man Guan had felt that Elder Hai Yun was taking him for a fool.
Where was it written that any Tom, Dick, and Harry could easily learn Alchemy?
The Dao of Alchemy was as broad as the Martial Way!
It was only through calculated explanations and smooth coaxing from Elder Hai Yun that Old Man Guan came to understand the crux of the matter.
Elder Hai Yun's personal disciple probably thought that he could tackle anything after having a little bit of success in his Martial Path.
It was only after extorting, ahem, receiving various benefits from Elder Hai Yun for taking away some of his 'Pill-Concocting Time', did Old Man Guan relent to his requests.
As lucrative and profitable as Alchemy was, it really was a time-consuming and money-siphoning profession. For the untalented in the Dao of Alchemy, it would only leave them in despair and overwhelming depression after a failed venture.
Elder Hai Yun had consistently praised the young man as an unconventional genius and that had really caught Old Man's attention.
Will the supposed genius be legitimate or just a misconceived fraud? Old Man Guan wondered in curiosity.
"Do you think the world moves according to your wishes and intentions?" Old Man Guan didn't beat around the bush and immediately asked a question that came out rather harsh.
"Do you think the Dao of Alchemy is a joke as a Path?"
"Do you know how many geniuses I have seen go down the wrong path due to ignorance?"
Old Man Guan carefully observed the expressions on Zhao Wei's face and with his spiritual sense nothing could escape his perception.
He wanted to pressurize Zhao Wei with words and make him give up his simple outlook about the Dao of Alchemy. In addition, he was secretly trying to test him.
Contrary to what Old Man Guan was expecting, Zhao Wei didn't react negatively to his harsh tone and only bowed respectfully with his hands cupped.
"Esteemed Elder, how can a mere man like me control the way the world revolves? I acknowledge my inferiority in the face of the boundless Dao of Alchemy," Zhao Wei said in a meticulous tone, his voice neither hurried nor slow.
He was taking his own sweet time to answer the eccentric old man before him.
With his meta-understanding of Old Man Guan, how could he not know that the old man was merely testing his resolve?
"Elder, I am a scholar by nature and when it comes to knowledge, I normally show no bias or preference. All variations of the Daos that cultivators pursue are in essence the same as they are part of the Great Dao."
"There exists no strongest or most important Path, only the Path that leads the cultivator to self-actualization and conceptual understanding of their Self!" Zhao Wei finished with an innocent smile, his eyes blazing with unwavering determination and sky-high ambitions that could seemingly burn any obstacles to cinders.
Old Man Guan felt drawn into those pure and intelligent silver eyes. Such untainted, headstrong, fiery ambitions filled his aged mind with nostalgia. The handsome youngster's relentless aura somehow reminded him of himself when he had been a mere youth who thought he could tackle everything by pursuing the Dao of Alchemy.
'A scholar, huh? Such a person wouldn't be as ignorant as I had once thought.' Old Man thought as he absent-mindedly ran his chubby fingers down his thick brown beard.
'Maybe I should just give him a chance since Elder Hai Yun gave me some benefits. I have got nothing to lose anyway.'
''In fact, this would be my first time tutoring someone claiming to be a scholar - an avid knowledge seeker.' Old Man Guan reached his own conclusion after some thoughtful consideration.
"I will give you an opportunity and if you pass the test that I am going to give you, then I will be your temporary teacher." Old Man Guan stated.
"But if you fail, I will kick your ass so hard for wasting my time and enthusiasm!" Old Man Guan then warned as he leaned forward and pointed his chubby finger at Zhao Wei.
"I promise that you won't be disappointed, teacher!" Zhao Wei shamelessly declared with gusto.
"Hmph!" Old Man Guan snorted loudly, pretending to be dissatisfied.
"Don't be so sure of yourself!" And in an instant, his short figure blurred, and in the next moment, he appeared before Zhao Wei.
'So fast. It seems Old Man Guan isn't someone of the Ascended Realm like in the novel. How interesting!' Zhao Wei mused.
"There is a place we have to go first before testing if you are an authentic genius or just a fraud, young man." Old Man Guan smiled mischievously as he told Zhao Wei of the next course of action.
"Where are we going?" Zhao Wei asked curiously, his face as clueless as possible.
Of course, he already had an inkling of where things were heading.
He couldn't be more sure.
And if Zhao Wei was going to take that 'test' then the Array Master, Vice Head of the Clan Mission Division, was definitely going to be there.
Zhao Wei prepared himself psychologically since he was going to make these old geezers cough up blood, question their existence, and fight each other to take him as their disciple!
Pretty cocky, isn't it?
***
Moments later in the Outer Hall Division, testing grounds of the sect.
Inside an ancient building, two old men could be seen arguing passionately over something, more like somebody, since someone was standing before them.
And that person was looking at them in amusement like how a child would enjoy an abrupt fight between two cocks.
It was Zhao Wei and he had passed the Nine Picture Array by simply exceeding the expectations. Unlike the protagonist, he was establishing himself, rooting himself deep into both the Array and Alchemy Division.
How could he pass up such an excellent business opportunity?
'What a good show of camaraderie!' Zhao Wei felt like yawning as those two old geezers have been going at it for quite some time.
He was waiting for them to tire out before proposing a favorable solution for both.
All in all - [𝗠𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗣𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗱]!
***
//OnearmedImmortal//
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