"An alchemist!? We have an alchemist!?" The Outer Sect’s Contribution Hall erupted into whispering. Everyone was looking at Ye Ming as if he were a god descended from Heaven.
’...’
He was a bit spooked by what he saw. He was certain that the reaction was exaggerated, but he was wrong. Everyone was staring at him, like they were trying to carve his face into their memories.
"This is unexpected." From behind the counters, another quite old voice spoke. Moments later, like a ghost, someone stood in front of Ye Ming.
"E-Elder Jiang!" Shocked disciples exclaimed in disbelief that such a big shot was in the Outer Sect’s Contribution Hall.
’Oh shit, Jiang Tianyu.’ Ye Ming was no different; he nearly gawked at the elder before him.
Before the Alchemist was Jian Tianyu, a member of the Jiang family that runs the Sect; he was the uncle of the current Sect Master and grandson of the Ancestor Jiang.
An Early Houtian- the current stage he was in, no one really knew, but he was a real Houtian. That speed... Ye Ming couldn’t even follow him!
"Relax, everyone, this old man is here to see this young man. Might I see your Sect Token?"
The Farmer boy slowly nodded as he fished out his Sect Token and handed it over to Elder Jiang.
"Hmm, Ye Ming. If I recall correctly, you scored quite high in the Spiritual Talent Test, but your cultivation talent was below average.
Interesting..." The old man stroked his beard as he returned the Token to the Disciple. He looked at him from top to bottom.
Clearly, he was looking for the best ways to exploit this situation in Jiang’s family’s favour.
"Yes... This disciple looked for ways to fix that situation, which led to trying out Alchemy."
"Hohoho, so you’re natural at it. Wonderful news." The Elder nodded, then looked at the gawking girl at the counter.
"Pay the full price from now on. Anytime Ye Ming comes to exchange, pay him the value, understood?"
"Y-Yes! Elder Jiang!" The girl bowed, and the other hall members did the same.
What Ye Ming saw in person was the classic currying favours trope he had read many times in the books.
"Thank you, Elder Jiang."
"No need to thank me; this is the least I can do for someone with your unique talent."
With that said, the Elder simply disappeared. Ye Ming wondered what this would lead to. He knew that the Alchemy Association is a very big and influential group.
To the point that very few sects have an alchemist of their own. That is because of something called a monopoly.
They recruit everyone who has talent for it. That means that they could approach him soon.
’I do wonder what it is going to lead to?’
"Ummm... Apprentice Ming, the three pills that you brought are valued at 300 Qi stones and three thousand contribution points." The girl at the counter said, surprised and a bit uncertain. She double-checked the items’ value.
"..." Ye Ming was baffled to hear that amount! 300 stones!? It took him years to gather 10 stones! But that is because of how shitty the tasks were and his below-average cultivation!
The Farmer boy with shaky hands took a considerable-sized bag, and the points were marked on his Sect Token.
"...Umm...thank you. Can I see what kind of items I can exchange my points for?"
"Of course! Please, take a look."
The girl smiled brightly as she offered him a thick book.
This book reminded him of those books back in his old world, when you could order by phone to buy things before online delivery was a thing.
He could see this book in the same way.
As he took it, he walked away and sat down in the lobby area. However, it was a bit hard to focus with so many eyes on him.
Especially the females. It’s like he ascended into stardom right before their eyes, and now they all want a piece of him.
Not that he minds; after all, he doesn’t see himself as something like those main characters who desire godhood because someone offended them.
Hell, he might spend his whole life in this Sect because there is no reason to leave. Sure, he might travel to see the sights.
But apart from that, there are no actual ambitions he has. Maybe at some point?
’Hell, being rich and having a harem is the most common thing to do.’
He pondered for a second before checking the book’s contents.
’Let’s skip pills; I can make those.’
Ye Ming skipped a large chunk of the book, followed by an even bigger chunk of swords, then he skimmed through formations, copies of advanced Sect Arts that cost a considerable amount of points and qi stones.
He wasn’t interested in those at the moment.
No, he checked the prices of herbs. Especially higher-grade ones, like Heavenly Qi Grass; if he could get those, he could accelerate his cultivation to the Foundation Realm in a matter of days.
But sadly, none of that was for sale. His sect barely deals with raw ingredients; that stuff is sold to the Alchemist Association.
’Hmm...’
Since the stuff in the book was basic, he could issue a job, and people could collect raw materials for him.
Once he reached that conclusion, he skipped the raw materials altogether and moved on to accessories.
’Storage rings... yes, I need one!’
His eyes ended up on a cool-looking blue ring. It cost a whopping 1000 Qi Stones and 10 thousand contribution points.
With a small smirk, he decided what to get.
So he brought the book back to the girl. He was about to leave, but the girl curiously asked, ignoring her current customer, in favour of Ye Ming, who had become a ’bigshot’.
"Did you pick anything you like, Apprentice Ming?"
"Yes, I will return after making more pills." He waved his hand while walking away. He had things to do, a storage ring to get!
~~~
In the Sect Master’s Hall, in the Core Sections of the Cloud Sword Sect, Jiang Tianyu arrived to bring the news about the Alchemist.
"So we got one, once more." Cloud Sword Sect Master Jiang Tianhong commented as he saw three pills before him on the table.
"Indeed. It has been fifty years since the last Alchemist appeared in our Sect." Jiang Tianyu said to his nephew. Recalling the previous alchemist that appeared in their sect quite well.
"...So we got another chance to remove ourselves from their influence." Jiang Tianhong said with a frown.
"For now, we need to suppress any information from leaking to the outside world."
"That would be difficult. Alchemists are very valuable assets to any power. This is like trying to hold sand between fingers." Jiang Tianyu said with a frown.
"Indeed, that is why... call Mengxue." The Sect Master said to the attendant, who nodded and left the room.
"...You are going to use Xue’er..." Jiang Tianyu realised the angle.
"Xue’er is my daughter; having an Alchemist as her husband would propel her to be the next candidate for the Sect Master’s position and get accepted by the Elder Council."
’He still wants her to become Sect Master. Her talent is decent but not as good as Jiang Longtian.’
While the Jiang Family rules the Cloud Sword Sect, the next Sect Master is decided through pure strength. That means that a non-Jiang can become Sect Master.
This is Cloud Sword Sect, after all, and not a family or clan where a single surname reigns supreme.
"That is assuming he accepts such a proposal and is not seduced by the Alchemist Association. I doubt we can offer anything for inspiring Alchemist." Jiang Tianyu sighed. He might have wanted to curry favour, but he recalled how well it had gone last time.
Chen Ling sold the Sect without even blinking and joined the Alchemist Association. The last time Jiang Tianyu looked up Chen Ling, he was a peak Houtian existence.
"We leave that to Mengxue."
With that said, the pair waited for the Sect Master’s daughter to arrive.
Less than five minutes later, there was a knock on the door.
"Father, you wish to see me?" A polite female voice spoke from behind the door.
"Enter, Mengxue."
The door opened, and a girl dressed in Core Sect robes walked in. She had long black hair, a sharp aura around her and a serious gaze. If Ye Ming were here, he would call her a ’Sword Waifu’.
Though there was ambition in her eyes, this girl was the Sect Master’s daughter, who desired to take over as the Next Sect Master, or in this case, the Sect Mistress.
"...Father, Grand Uncle." The girl greeted the pair with a small bow.
"Mingxue, an alchemist, has appeared in our Sect."
This bombshell of information caused her to look at him with wide eyes.
"He is your age; this is an opportunity you cannot miss if you desire to take the top spot from Jiang Longtian."
Just mentioning her cousin made the girl frown.
"...But Father... doesn’t the Alchemist Association recruit Alchemists... what could I possibly offer—" Mid-sentence, she realised and stopped in her tracks. She looked down at the floor, processing what she just learned.
"You think this could work?" After a couple of moments, she asked, not sure.
"It depends on you, Xue’er." Jiang Tianyu smiled a bit as he assured her.
"He is young and has just learned that he has a natural talent for the art.
If it doesn’t, you can bring your companions. They wouldn’t mind, would they?" her Grand Uncle explained from what he saw.
Jiang Mengxue slowly nodded. Having a personal alchemist? Who could make expensive pills whenever she requested?
Just from that alone, she would save hours, if not days, to cultivate longer; she could reach the Foundation Realm, then defeat Jiang Longtian in a matter of seconds, and secure her position as top contender as the Next Sect Master!
"I will try my best, Father, Grand Uncle." With that said, the Sect Master’s daughter left the room.
She has no time to waste...
But then she stopped in her tracks as embarrassment washed over her.
"...Umm... what was his name?" She poked her head back into the room as she forgot to ask who she was supposed to pursue.
"Ye Ming." Jiang Tianyu chuckled as he said the name. His grandniece’s behaviour amused the old man. The girl is a bit too obsessed. But that helps in her cultivation.
"My thanks, Grand Uncle." She swiftly left the room after embarrassing herself.
~~~
Ye Ming swiftly returned to his house and began to make more of the Rank 1 pills. He still had a decent amount of herbs to make a bulk and sell them off.
Enough to buy a space ring and keep some Qi stones afterwards.
’Let’s see if I can keep some pills for myself as well.’
For the next couple of hours, he spent making Qi Gathering pills. He used the whole stash he had been gathering for months.
In total, over thirty pills came out of it.
He decided to sell ten pills, which would leave him with one thousand three hundred Qi Stones from the first batch he sold: a thousand to spend on a space ring and three hundred as spare stones.
It will be enough to hire a decent number of cultivators to gather more herbs for him.
’In fact... if I do it the way they made me do, I would be making enormous profits from the Sect.’
Ye Ming smirked as he collected the pills and was ready to leave his small house.
He wasn’t expecting a company of girls waiting for him outside his house.
It wasn’t just any company, but a group of gorgeous females, with the one at the front being a Core Disciple.
’Isn’t that... Jiang Mengxue? The leader’s daughter? What the hell! Did Jiang Tianyu go to her the moment he left the Contribution Hall?’
For a second, he was worried about what she could possibly want so suddenly. He didn’t prove himself yet! The elder didn’t even check his talents!
What if he stole them? Was the small fire trick enough? Well, this is a righteous Sect; stuff like stealing, killing and pretending to be someone is literally death.
So yeah... only an idiot would do those things.
"Are you Ye Ming?" The leading girl asked politely. She didn’t look overbearing or too proud.