Days passed by in a blur with nothing noteworthy happening. Xiao Yun had spent most of the time studying, but even he got bored out of his mind after a few days. When he had finished the books, he had nothing to do—no internet, no games, nowhere to go.
Also, if he went for a stroll around the dorm for the fourth time today, he would get baked like a sweet potato by the scorching sun.
A few days passed in the same dull manner until the second lesson of the week started. That had Xiao Yun crying out of happiness that he finally had something to do. He grouped up with Le Xing and some fellow disciples he had gotten to talk to these days. They all chatted while walking to where the lesson started.
The building they arrived at looked like something straight out of an ancient Chinese academy—towering wooden pillars, curved tiled roofs, and walls lined with intricate calligraphy. It was the sect's equivalent of a school, but Xiao Yun couldn't help but feel like he had stepped into a historical drama.
As the disciples were ushered in by a teacher, Xiao Yun sat on a cushion at a low table that held a smooth black cauldron. After everyone settled down, the teacher, a man with too much energy, explained to the class what they were going to be doing.
"Okay, class, I hope everyone of you has had a wonderful day. My name is Laoshi Bai, and today we are going to do the basic steps of making a pill."
Everyone, and Xiao Yun included, was surprised that they were diving in headfirst into making pills. They had thought the teacher would lecture a little more.
The teacher saw their questioning gazes and laughed.
"Let's be honest. Learning as you go is what my class consists mostly of. So while you guys are forming the pills, I'm going to explain it step by step. Even if your first pill is not going to be 100% perfect because you don't have your full attention on the pill, it still is a pill… if it's usable, that's a different matter."
This teacher was a carefree man, though the last sentence came out very roughly. Not wanting to teach in a boring way by just lecturing, he taught in a way that allowed everyone to interpret it in their own style.
Xiao Yun had a similar teacher in the modern world. He was very nice and outgoing while still getting his job done.
The teacher continued.
"You'll still learn more like this, and in your own time, you can focus with the knowledge you already have on what you need to do. So do your best to listen."
After the teacher encouraged everybody, they started to get a little more confident.
The students were handed herbs. Xiao Yun looked at these herbs and recognized them as ingredients for a low healing pill that dispels some minor colds. It was probably the easiest pill for a beginner to make.
Though his question was, who the hell would buy this pill? It would make no money.
They were probably low on the market, except for the common folk buying them, which was also rare because magic pills were very expensive—costing a few gold that could fund a whole common family for a year. And did they really need to buy this healing pill if it only treated simple colds? Even rich folks wouldn't buy this pill, looking down on it. This was a total rip-off of a pill.
Xiao Yun's train of thought was:
'This is a total scam at this point. Just give me some Tylenol. I am not paying that much money.'
Though he only said that in his mind, having been looking so intensely at the herbs that the teacher even noticed.
"Okay, put your herbs into the cauldron."
Everybody did as instructed by the teacher, then they started.
"You have to use your spiritual energy. You're probably wondering how you can do that. You have to close your eyes and focus. Keep your mind clear."
As everybody closed their eyes, a group didn't feel anything, and another group started to feel the spiritual energy. Xiao Yun was in the group that felt nothing.
Xiao Yun grimaced in his mind.
'I didn't get the Wi-Fi signal.'
He tried and tried to focus more and more, then got really frustrated. Xiao Yun then realized he had to have patience, so he kept his eyes closed and relaxed, clearing his mind of distractions.
And before he knew it, he felt a cool sensation invade his body. Though it was cold, it was not unwelcome.
While Teacher Bai was observing the disciples' progress, he saw that Xiao Yun's spiritual energy was more powerful than the others. He was a fine young bud, thought the teacher.
After that, the teacher's smile disappeared, his expression turning serious after seeing that everybody had gotten it.
He started explaining every step to the students, only going to the next step after everyone had gone through it.
Everything had been going smoothly. The smell of herbs wafted out to every corner in the room. It was pleasant—until Xiao Yun smelled a smoky scent of burning. He immediately turned his head back to see that a disciple had ruined or burned his pill. The teacher just smiled and handed the disciple another set of herbs.
"And this is why we let the newcomers use the strong cauldron, so we don't have any more explosions. Elder Guo has probably explained the burnt eyebrow situation from last time."
Xiao Yun took another detail out of this explanation as he was starting to separate the mixtures and purify the liquid inside the cauldron. There are different levels of cauldrons.
He had wondered how much cauldrons and herbs would cost after he remembered the cost of pills. He knew they had to be expensive. While the person he possessed, of course, had money because he had entered the most prestigious sect, he still wasn't a rich young master. He was an orphan that worked for everything he had.
So Xiao Yun needed a way to make money. His first thought was to consult with Zhang Wei. Maybe they could go out to make money. That guy had a good poker face and business skills.
While Xiao Yun was thinking all this, he still had all his attention on the pill. Though his mind strayed, he still kept most focus on the real task he was doing.
He was on the last step—condensing the pill. This step took energy from him. Xiao Yun felt his energy being sucked out, but not to an extreme extent—it was just bearable enough.
Finally, a light blue pill popped out of the cauldron, emitting a soft, pleasant fragrance. Xiao Yun immediately sealed it in a glass container so it wouldn't lose its potency.
Xiao Yun smiled to himself, wiping the sweat off his forehead. It felt extremely rewarding getting a good final result.
When he looked around himself, he realized he was the first one done. He sat there waiting for everybody to finish.
The teacher came to him and beamed.
"Good job! An excellent pill on the first try."
Xiao Yun was embarrassed by the compliment, but also very proud, though he didn't want to show it because he didn't want to seem like a cocky bastard, like a certain Shen family second young master.
He said,
"Thank you,"
and lowered his head. Teacher Bai chuckled at his shy actions and went to see how the other disciples were doing.
After class was dismissed, they were all handed a certain amount of herbs for the month. This amount was what they were going to get every month, along with a low-quality cauldron, which made Xiao Yun's suspicions correct: there were different levels of cauldrons.
Xiao Yun, after getting dismissed, looked around everywhere as if searching for something or someone.
"Le Xing, do you know where the martial artists are doing their lesson?"
Le Xing looked surprised at the question but then answered,
"They are on the other side of the building because it seems that the mages and martial artists, though encouraged to stay together, stay separated due to a competitive relationship."
Xiao Yun replied,
"Yeah, somebody seemed to have said that to me, but I know somebody in the martial arts department, and I want to meet them for something."
Le Xing saw he was trying to be secretive about it and told him the way.
Xiao Yun immediately started walking toward the martial arts side.