As soon as he arrived at the alchemist guild, Long Chen tried to go to Yun Qi's refining room. But he was stopped as soon as he entered the inner division.
The alchemist guild was divided into inner and outer divisions; the outer division was open to the empire. The examinations to become an alchemist were all held in the outer division.
However, the inner division was the true alchemist guild. Last time, Long Chen had only managed to enter the inner division for his test because grandmaster Yun Qi had been leading the way, so naturally, he hadn't been blocked back then.
"Unqualified people cannot enter the inner division."
The guard in front of the door was a youngster not much older than Long Chen. He was wearing medicinal apprentice robes, and his expression was arrogant as he looked down on Long Chen.
Long Chen faintly smiled and flashed his tablet to him. He then walked right in under his shocked expression.
Seeing his arrogant expression change so quickly to shock, Long Chen couldn't avoid being somewhat pleased.
It seemed that the old him had been suppressed for just too long. Now that he could finally raise his head, he had started to become undisciplined and selfish. But he knew inside that he didn't have time to waste on such petty things.
When he entered the inner division, Long Chen slapped his forehead; he had forgotten to ask whether grandmaster Yun Qi was even present. If he wasn't even here, wouldn't this entire visit have just been a waste?
Just as he was regretting it, a young lady walked past him. Without even thinking about it, he stopped her and asked, "Excuse me, do you know where grandmaster Yun Qi is?"
That young lady had been walking with her head down, and she appeared slightly irritated to be stopped out of nowhere. Raising her head, she saw a thin and weak youngster looking at her. She coldly said, "Why are you looking for grandmaster Yun Qi?"
Long Chen became slightly distracted. This woman was extremely pretty; she might not be comparable to Chu Yao and Meng Qi, but she was definitely a rare beauty that could only be found one every thousand miles.
But although she was pretty, her gaze caused people to feel a bit unwell. Her gaze contained an unconcealed arrogance that made it difficult for people to feel well about her.
"I just want to know where grandmaster Yun Qi is. Can this young miss tell me?" Long Chen might be a bit displeased inside, but he still continued asking very politely.
"Just who are you? Why are you looking to see grandmaster Yun Qi?" she guardedly asked.
Being questioned twice instead of being answered, Long Chen shook his head and no longer bothered with her. He went deeper in to look for someone else to ask.
"Hey, I'm asking you a question. Why are you so rude?" She became angry when he didn't reply despite her asking twice.
Long Chen only just took a couple of steps before turning to look at her. "You're here for medicine right?"
"What?" she asked distractedly.
"You must have a mental illness, so don't run around all over the place."
Long Chen's cold reply had just rung out, and he was just turning to leave, when unexpectedly, a strong gale appeared behind him. Her palm charged toward his heart along with an angry shout.
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"Brat, you're asking for death!"
Long Chen was quite startled inside; that lady had appeared weak and frail, but her attack caused wind so powerful that it made it difficult for him to breathe. She was shockingly at the peak of Qi Condensation.
As for the palm attack she sent towards him, it contained her absolute strength.
Because all of Long Chen's spiritual energy was hidden within his FengFu Star, he appeared like a very weak scholar. Even ordinary Qi Condensation cultivators would be heavily injured by such a palm. If he really was a normal mortal, it would be very possible for him to die. This uncalled for attack was extremely vicious.
Since Long Chen was already irritated with her, he also didn't hold himself back and sent out a kick.
Bang!
Before her palm could even reach Long Chen, his kick smashed into her stomach and sent her flying back.
The woman was sent several meters back before colliding into a drying shelf for medicinal ingredients. The tall shelf collapsed, and all the ingredients on it tumbled down and buried her beneath them.
With an angry roar, the medicinal ingredients exploded out as she rushed out, her hair a complete mess and covered in traces of medicinal powder.
"Die!" Flames were practically shooting out of her eyes and the aura around her body exploded out. Slamming her hands together, a golden ripple appeared from her hands and she rushed towards Long Chen.
Long Chen cursed his bad luck at encountering such a brutish woman. How did he end up encountering such a lunatic today?
This attack was clearly a Battle Skill with extremely great power. Seeing that she wanted to take his life, Long Chen's face turned cold.
He had a Pill God's soul, and so he had some superficial battle experience from that. But describing it as superficial was only in regards to a Pill God.
She was really just an ant to him. His 'superficial' experience was more than enough. Having such an experience gave him great skills, and handling her was a piece of cake.
The only reason she wasn't injured from his kick was because he hadn't suffused any spiritual energy into it. But she wasn't grateful for this and instead wanted to kill him.
Killing intent gradually condensed within Long Chen. Seeing this woman charge at him, he might not kill her, but if she dared to come at him, Long Chen would teach her an unforgettable lesson.
"Stand down!"
A cold shout suddenly rang out. That crazy woman immediately seemed to have been struck by lightning and didn't dare move an inch.
"Master," she hastily called out respectfully.
The person who had arrived was surprisingly grandmaster Yun Qi. Long Chen was shocked. This crazy woman was actually his apprentice?
Grandmaster Yun Qi shook his head. "I've already said that I, Yun Qi, will never accept an apprentice in this lifetime. You wasting your time hanging around here is useless."
"Master, I'm a weak woman. I've traveled thousands of miles in order to study pill arts from you and I've already stayed at the alchemist guild for three months. Do you really think I'm not sincere enough?" said the woman somewhat aggrievedly.
"You can go back from where you came," said the unmoved grandmaster Yun Qi indifferently.
"No, I won't leave! You can refuse me every day, but I'll stay here until you finally accept me," replied the woman stubbornly.
"Up to you. But remember, physical force is not allowed within my guild. If you break this rule again, I'll expel you," said Yun Qi coldly.
He then turned to Long Chen and said, "Come with me."
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Long Chen was dazed for a moment. So this crazy woman actually wanted to study pill refining with Yun Qi, but Yun Qi was not the slightest bit tempted.
Seeing her bitter gaze, Long Chen suddenly realized that she had mistakenly assumed him to be another person wanting to have Yun Qi as a master, and that was why she had questioned him.
Long Chen shook his head. Who would dare take such an apprentice? Following behind grandmaster Yun Qi, the two of them entered a training room.
Once they entered the training room, Long Chen quickly bowed and said, "Sorry, this youngster was disrespectful."
Yun Qi smiled slightly. "No matter. That wasn't your fault. I saw everything that happened. But you really do cause me great shock. You were able to kick a peak Qi Condensation expert flying without the slightest spiritual energy. I also saw that you didn't use even half of your strength; otherwise, that girl would definitely have been heavily injured. You really hid yourself deeply."
Long Chen was startled; apparently, he had underestimated grandmaster Yun Qi. As expected, this old fellow was extremely sharp. For a moment he didn't know how to reply.
"Child, everyone has their own secrets. This is nothing. However, a person like you cannot waste his time. Otherwise, such a great talent will be completely wasted." Grandmaster Yun Qi seemed to hint some kind of deeper meaning.
Long Chen quickly realized that grandmaster Yun Qi was trying to tell him that he hoped Long Chen would focus all his attention on the cultivating the pill path.
"Many thanks for the reminder, grandmaster. Long Chen understands."
No matter how he put it, grandmaster Yun Qi definitely had good intentions for him. Whether he took his advice or not, this kindness was appreciated.
"I heard yesterday that you used just three strokes of a blade to kill a half-step Blood Condensation expert. Is it true?" asked grandmaster Yun Qi.
"Yes, it's true." Long Chen could only nod. But at the same time, some doubt arose within him. Back then, he had been completely surrounded by soldiers; according to common sense, no one else should know about it.
As if seeing through Long Chen's doubt, grandmaster Yun Qi smiled and said, "People from the imperial family came to investigate here yesterday, asking if Long Chen really was one of our alchemists. I told them yes, and I also said you were my student. They then disappeared."
Long Chen couldn't help being stunned that the grandmaster Yun Qi who personally said he would never take an apprentice would take this moment to recognize him. He was naturally extremely moved. "Many thanks, teacher."
"Hehe. It wasn't much. My symbol is something that only has value if used, so feel free. In addition, a student is not the same as an apprentice." Grandmaster Yun Qi calmly smiled.
Although calling him his student took just a slight effort from grandmaster Yun Qi, but to Long Chen, it was incredibly helpful.
With grandmaster Yun Qi as his support, he now had a huge trump card available. He would be able to stand with his back much straighter now.
"Child, I've also learned a bit about your circumstances. The alchemist guild has its own rules, and we are unable to involve ourselves in secular battles, so I can only help you this much," sighed grandmaster Yun Qi.
"Grandmaster, you've done so much for this little one that I cannot thank you enough. As for the battles in the secular world, I will handle them myself," smiled Long Chen.
With the reputation of grandmaster Yun Qi behind him, his affairs would become much more convenient. The safety of the Long estate would also rise by a great deal.
Although the alchemist guild wouldn't interfere in battles that didn't involve them, as long as Long Chen really became a part of it, he would still gain the alchemist guild's protection.
Once Long Chen gained enough strength of his own and didn't need the alchemist guild's protection, then he could personally resolve the heavy fog surrounding the mystery around him.
Although he had some clues now, he didn't dare to take action right now. Maintaining the current situation was the best choice for him.
"So why did you come here today?" asked Yun Qi.
Only now did Long Chen remember his true purpose of coming here. "This youngster wishes to buy some medicinal ingredients on credit with the guild, and once I refine them into pills, I will pay it back."
Withdrawing medicinal ingredients on credit was quite common for alchemists within the guild. They would be able to pay it back easily with medicinal pills the next time. This was a good deal for both alchemists and the guild.
With the guild's tablet, he was able to buy medicinal ingredients at a discount, but at the same time, he had a duty to first sell his refined pills to the guild. This was the agreement struck when the guild handed him the tablet.
"You can refine pills?" Yun Qi was somewhat shocked.
"I would like to ask some pointers from teacher." Long Chen smiled just slightly, but that smile was full of confidence.