"Not bad!"
The Ink Master took it, opened the box for a glance, and gave his assessment, "Now, our Purple River Pill Shop has one more Pill Master!"
He had also confirmed Lin Changheng's status as a Pill Master.
Lin Changheng revealed a smile as well.
"Unflustered by honor or disgrace. Very good. Keep it up."
The Ink Master didn't hold back his words of praise, then said, "In half a year, we will return to the Xu Family. It will be a good opportunity for you to focus on Alchemy and advance."
"Half a year? By then, won't the 'Great Reclamation' have begun?"
"Correct." The Ink Master thought for a moment, then revealed another piece of news. "Originally, we could have gone back in three months, but the Purple River District is going to be abandoned. The clan has decided we will all pull out at once, saving us the trouble of running back and forth."
Lin Changheng was suddenly startled by this news.
The Purple River District had flourished for decades. Five years ago, it began to show signs of decline and started to wither. The Xu Family had already withdrawn one Pill Master, and now they were going to abandon it completely?
'And this "abandonment" surely isn't just one family's decision, but a joint abandonment by many factions!'
Before he could ponder it in detail, the Ink Master continued, "Your status is different now, so there's no harm in telling you these secret matters. You can also prepare in advance."
After speaking, the Ink Master turned to leave. Before he left, he didn't forget to return the Long Wooden Box to Lin Changheng, believing it held special meaning for him.
Lin Changheng accepted it with a smile. 'All I know is that this is worth two Lower Grade Spirit Stones!'
But in his heart, he was wary of the upcoming changes in the Marketplace and became even more determined not to step outside of it.
...
The news quickly spread within the Xu Family's Alchemy Shop and began to disseminate discreetly throughout the district.
Within three days, everyone in the Purple River District knew that the Xu Family's Alchemy Shop had a new Entry Tier Alchemist, one who had been promoted from an Alchemy Apprentice.
Lin Changheng also finally received a reply from the Xu Clan's internal affairs.
Just as the Ink Master had suggested, Lin Changheng's previous apprentice benefits were retained, but his duties were canceled.
And they had sent over two clan apprentices with some foundational knowledge to be his assistants.
Then came the main point: the Alchemy profit-sharing arrangement.
Lin Changheng was required to refine ten batches of Red Flame Pills each month. Each batch would be five pills, with the materials provided by the shop. He needed to submit a quota based on a fifty percent Pill Success Rate.
Whatever was left over, no matter how much, would belong to Lin Changheng himself.
He could sell them to the shop at market price or use them for his own Cultivation.
For the first month, starting now, a lower success rate would be acceptable to allow him to practice.
"What do you think?"
The Ink Master raised his teacup, took a sip, and asked for Lin Changheng's opinion.
"I accept the clan's arrangement."
Lin Changheng quickly did the math. At his current Alchemy level, refining five pills in one batch was right at the limit of his ability.
Ten batches of Red Flame Pills a month meant fifty pills.
Based on his enlightenment-boosted mastery of the Alchemy Dao, his understanding of the Pill Formula, his grasp of techniques, and his core practical skill in Fire Control, his Pill Success Rate would be extremely high as long as he was careful and avoided any accidents. He would produce almost no Wasted or Inferior Pills.
Handing over fifty percent, Lin Changheng could still net twenty-five Red Flame Pills.
A Red Flame Pill's market price was two Spirit Stones, so that was fifty Spirit Stones.
Adding his apprentice subsidy of three Spirit Stones per month, that was fifty-three Spirit Stones in his pocket!
One month's earnings, when converted, was equivalent to his entire income from the past year and a half.
'No wonder they say Alchemy is a mountain of gold, and Alchemists are the ones who dig it. The efficiency of earning Spirit Stones is just too astonishing!'
But he wouldn't expose the full extent of his abilities either.
After all, to have such a high Pill Success Rate so soon after becoming an Entry Tier Alchemist was far too shocking. It might attract malicious intent and prying eyes from both within the clan and the Outer World, which would be disastrous.
Incidents of being captured and imprisoned as a Pill Slave were not uncommon.
A few years ago, a genius Talisman Master from the Purple River District had vanished mysteriously outside the Marketplace, disappearing off the face of the earth, never to be seen again!
Lin Changheng could bear the title of Pill Master, but as for the "Genius Alchemist" moniker? 'They build you up just to tear you down. Better to pass on that!'
He already had a plan. Outwardly, he would control his Pill Success Rate to around sixty percent. He would sell that extra ten percent of Elixirs to the shop in exchange for Spirit Stones.
The remaining forty percent would have to be hidden.
He would keep a portion for his own use to accelerate his Cultivation and then find an opportunity to sell off the rest.
...
"Excellent."
Seeing that Lin Changheng's mentality hadn't drastically changed with his sudden shift in status, the Ink Master nodded. "Then we'll proceed as planned."
Next,
he called over two young people, a man and a woman with unfamiliar faces.
The man was named Xu Liucai, the woman Xu Liuli.
They were, of course, the two new Alchemy Apprentices sent by the Xu Family.
"You pick one."
the Ink Master said cheerfully, letting Lin Changheng choose first.
"I'll take him."
Without much thought, Lin Changheng directly ignored the female apprentice, who had a delicate, girl-next-door feel and was staring at him with wide eyes. He pointed to the male apprentice with the honest and simple face.
"Alright."
Likewise ignoring the expressions on the two apprentices' faces, the Ink Master smiled nonchalantly.
...
A month passed quickly.
Lin Changheng finished performing the Medicine Combination Pill Technique and walked out of the other, reopened Alchemy Room. Seeing the door open from the inside, Xu Liucai, who was standing guard, quickly rose and bowed. "Master Lin."
"Go on, watch the furnace fire carefully."
With a smiling instruction, Lin Changheng entered a small room on the first floor of the shop that had been newly cleared out for him.
Originally, the Ink Master had planned to partition off half of his second-floor cultivation room for Lin Changheng to rest and cultivate in, but he was decisively refused.
He had strongly objected on the grounds that a disciple cannot share a hall with his master.
So, a separate room was set up for him on the first floor.
On the surface, the Ink Master acted indifferently and even criticized Lin Changheng for being too pedantic, but deep down, he was very pleased, feeling that he hadn't taught the wrong person all these years.
Therefore, when Lin Changheng proposed that the new apprentices might not be able to handle the Wasted Pills properly, and since their time in the Purple River District was short anyway, it would be better for him to take care of it himself, the Ink Master agreed without hesitation.
'He's probably just thinking of using the Wasted Pills to cover up his real Pill Success Rate a little. What else could he be up to?' the Ink Master guessed internally.
Besides, anything beyond the fifty-percent submission quota was his to deal with as he pleased anyway.
So he stopped managing it and entrusted the entire matter of the Wasted Pills to Lin Changheng.
He even gave him the Wasted and Inferior Pills from the Wood Element Pill refinement.
"Huh?"
Lin Changheng froze, staring at the stack of Long Wooden Boxes that had appeared out of nowhere in front of him.
He was nearly overwhelmed by this unexpected joy. His face twitched as he tried his best to restrain himself, using his dazed expression as a cover. But the Ink Master just chuckled, saying a bit sheepishly, "Well then, Changheng, how about you dispose of the Wood Element Pills as well?"
'Something seems off...'
'He's being sheepish?'
'Does the Ink Master think my surprise stems from being unhappy about having an extra burden pushed on me?'
'My god, as if!'
"Changheng is willing to share the Ink Master's burdens!"
But on the surface, his expression tightened, and he put on a look of someone ready to charge through a mountain of blades or a sea of fire, immediately agreeing.
He was afraid the Ink Master would overthink it and take back the offer.
"Good, good, good! This old man really didn't misjudge you!"
The Ink Master's face bloomed into a grin, and his hearty laughter passed through the floorboards, clearly audible on the first floor, causing the assistants and the Shopkeeper working there to look at each other in confusion, wondering why Mo Keqing was so happy...