The following day, Yu Jinqi and Yu Tao arrived early in the morning at the gates of the Amber Lily Academy. Banners beside the gate proclaimed the conference on the recent Lunar Eclipse. Despite the fact that the banners would only be used for this single event, someone had taken the care to enlist the aid of an Artist to write large characters that carried a hint of the majesty and mystery of the eclipse, drawing the eye of many casual passersby in the Pilgrim's Ward.
To the young Alchemy Initiate, the bustling atmosphere felt both familiar and subtly different than any alchemy exchange he'd ever attended. Clearly, the Academy had invested significantly in promoting the event and the number of people who followed young research assistants on carefully guided tours easily outnumbered the attendees of any alchemy exchange Yu Jinqi had ever attended. Further into the academy campus, junior researchers had set up marketplace-like stalls where they traded in all manner of books, scrolls, and knowledge whether it pertained to the eclipse or not.
As they entered the Academy, Yu Jinqi found himself hovering even closer to his confident uncle among the throngs of scholars moving about. For the first time in nearly seven years, he was attending a formal function in plain scholar's robes rather than the robes of his Jade Cauldron Sect. The single flame outline on the end of his sash felt like an afterthought compared to the prominent placement of his status as an Alchemy Initiate on his sect robes but he could hardly complain when his uncle sported a similar sash with a single orange flame that proclaimed his status as an Independent Alchemist.
"You seem surprised Jinqi," Yu Tao said, allowing his eyes to roam over the enchanting figures of the scholarly fairies before turning to regard his nephew. "Didn't you know what kind of event you were proposing to visit?"
"Honestly, no," the young man said, trying to find a way through the crowd. "I asked a few of the senior brothers and sisters who recently passed their Novice exams if they knew when there would next be an Alchemy exchange with events for Initiates and Senior Sister An Qui mentioned this one. I, I mostly picked it because it was soon and I didn't want to give myself time to second guess my decision to venture out," he confessed.
"Well, remind me to thank Junior An Qui," his uncle said with a roguish smile. "This event is already turning out to be quite the feast for the eyes! We should hurry though, the lectures on Alchemy are all scheduled for the beginning of the day."
"Why did they schedule it this way, Uncle? Whenever the Jade Cauldron Sect hosts an Alchemy Exchange, the day always starts with the events for Initiates and Novices before anything important takes place. It seems odd to begin with lectures," Yu Jinqi said.
He was careful to stay close to his uncle as they filed into a lecture hall that could easily accommodate hundreds of people but seemed to only have a hundred or so alchemists even minutes before the lecture was supposed to begin. While Yu Jinqi never thought of himself as sheltered, being in the boisterous environment created by the Amber Lily Academy for their conference made him realize just how quiet and secluded his life in the Jade Cauldron Sect really was.
Outside of lectures where disciples didn't dare to speak for fear of offending their teachers, it was unusual for him to find himself in a group of more than a dozen people. Chaotic crowds like this hadn't been part of his life since entering the sect as a young man, and now that it was here, he found the atmosphere to be… unnerving.
"They're starting with the lectures because the day will end with an Auction," Alchemist Yu explained to his Nephew. "Jinqi, let me ask you something. How much would you spend for a Thundercloud Plum Blossom? And how much more would you spend for a Thundercloud Plum Blossom that bloomed during a Lunar Eclipse?"
"Um, Thundercloud Plum Blossoms aren't rare," Jinqi responded thoughtfully. "They're just difficult to harvest. I would expect that they could be purchased by the dozens for a tael of gold if they were collected from the ground after falling from the tree, or dozens for a single spirit crystal if they were picked directly. If they were picked during a Lunar Eclipse, it would require a cultivator to harvest them so even though they aren't rare, they are special. Maybe three times the price," he said, his voice hesitant and uncertain.
"And what could you do with those Lunar Eclipse Thundercloud Blossoms that you couldn't do with normal ones?" Yu Tao prompted.
"I don't really know," the young initiate admitted. Thus far in his studies, he'd never encountered a recipe that required ingredients harvested under such extraordinary circumstances. "I imagine they're used in special elixirs or pill recipes?"
"And that, dear Nephew, is why the lectures are first," Yu Tao said with a laugh, clapping his nephew on the shoulder. "You're almost a Novice. It's acceptable and expected that an Initiate is little more than a repository of information but a Novice must be able to apply their knowledge."
"What if I told you," Yu Tao began, easily falling into the familiar behaviors of a tutor. "That a normal Thundercloud Plum Blossom could be used in an elixir that improved a Brawler's chances of becoming a Soldier by one in fifty times, but that if you used a blossom plucked during the Eclipse, the elixir's potency would increase greatly, improving their chances of breaking through by one in ten times? Now, would you still value the blossoms from the eclipse the same way?"
"No! If I could use them to make such an extraordinary elixir, their value would be a hundred times what it would be if they were normal blossoms," Yu Jinqi said, easily seeing his uncle's point.
"Very few alchemists can learn more than ten thousand unique ingredients and recall them with ease," the older alchemist explained. "Most of us rely on ever-growing libraries to keep track of individual components and formulas." Yu Tao left out the fact that advancing cultivation reduced this need greatly.
While it was true that Master Alchemists could easily recall more than a hundred thousand unique recipes and Grand Masters even more, the truth was that most Alchemists never made it beyond the third stage. For Independent Alchemists like him, a vast library was indispensable.
"Right now, what the Amber Lily Academy is doing by presenting their research first thing in the morning is ensuring that everyone in this lecture hall knows the value of what is going to be auctioned this evening," Yu Tao explained.
"If they counted on us having done research in advance, a few experts might show up, hoping to pick up a bargain, but this way, many more people will compete for the precious ingredients they harvested," the older man concluded.
"But couldn't they gain the same benefit by holding the lectures right before the auction?" Yu Jinqi asked. In his experience, more senior alchemists became both grumpier and more miserly with their time as they aged and as their status grew.
No one wanted to tell a mighty Grand Master that they needed to wake up early to attend a lecture and it was all but insulting to tell them they needed to wake up early to deliver one. The early mornings were a time for the young and matters that weren't important, which is what made this early morning lecture feel so unusual.
"They could hold the lecture right before the auction, but the effect would be lesser," Yu Tao explained. "After the lectures, the alchemy exchange will offer a chance for Initiates and Novices to compete. Meanwhile, I imagine half of the attendees of these lectures will rush back to their sects to consult with their masters, and perhaps obtain funding for things to be auctioned in the evening," Yu Tao speculated.
"The alchemy exchange in the middle may have some goals of its own," he mused. "But it's a certainty that the schedule is designed to maximize their profits from their expedition. Remember this lesson well, Nephew. As an Initiate, the sect covers the vast expenses for you to learn your craft, but there will come a time when you need to carefully consider the cost of your concoctions and whether or not you can profit from them."