noffsinger Chapter 218 Headquarters of the Alchemist Alliance
Chapter 218 Headquarters of the Alchemist Alliance
The headquarters of the Alchemist Alliance is located in Xiangjiang City in the eastern part of Wei Kingdom.
Xiangjiang City is built along the river and is one of the largest cultivation towns in the surrounding countries.
The winding and long Cangnan River almost runs through the entire Wei Kingdom.
The spiritual veins within the city are actually quite ordinary; most of them are where ordinary alchemists from the Alchemist Alliance cultivate.
Alchemists of the sixth rank or above mostly live on Lingxiu Mountain, which has a higher concentration of spiritual energy.
Lingxiu Mountain possesses a high-grade spiritual vein, making it more suitable for advanced alchemists to cultivate, as well as for the cultivation of some rare spiritual herbs.
Ordinary alchemists who want to grow spiritual herbs can only rent spiritual fields at the foot of the mountain to cultivate them.
In the evening, in a Miaodanfang shop in Yuwei Lane, a young man sat in a chair, his brows furrowed, lost in thought, seemingly pondering something.
The boy's name was Song Shaokai. He was only seventeen or eighteen years old, but he was already a fourth-grade alchemist.
I currently work part-time at Miaodanfang here.
"Little Song, how's business today?" a portly old man asked with a smile.
"Manager Liu, recently many alchemists from the Alchemist Alliance have come here to witness the new president, plus other people who just want to join in the fun, so the number of customers is much higher than before!" Song Shaokai explained.
"Hmm, not bad, but, Xiao Song, hey, I have something to tell you!" Shopkeeper Liu Feng hesitated before speaking.
Song Shaokai immediately sensed something was wrong and asked in confusion, "Manager Liu, what is it?"
"A notice has been issued from the headquarters of Miaodanfang, requiring all Miaodanfang employees in Xiangjiang City to be at least fifth-grade alchemists!"
"You're only a fourth-grade alchemist right now. You might not be able to continue working here after a while!" Liu Feng said helplessly.
Liu Feng quite approves of Song Shaokai; he's hardworking, can endure hardship, and is always the first to arrive at the store and the last to leave.
What a pity, what a pity!
Liu Feng was also helpless. He was just an ordinary manager with limited power and could only obey the headquarters' arrangements.
After hearing what Manager Liu said, Song Shaokai felt a chill run down his spine.
I finally found such an easy and high-paying job as a clerk at Miaodanfang, why can't I do it?
With sales commissions and the sale of some self-refined pills, monthly income can reach two to three thousand spirit stones. For an ordinary Foundation Establishment disciple of a sect, monthly income is no more than one thousand spirit stones.
Moreover, there are internal prices for purchasing pills and spiritual herbs in the store, which can save a lot of spirit stones.
Therefore, joining Miaodanfang is one of the ideal jobs for countless young alchemists.
Seeing that he was about to lose everything he had, Song Shaokai asked, unwilling to give up, "Manager Liu, is there no way to turn things around?"
"Here's what I've done. I specifically requested an extension from headquarters, giving the veteran employee a month. If they reach the fifth-grade alchemist level after a month, they can still continue working at the store!"
"Otherwise, you'll have to leave on your own, but you'll receive some compensation," Liu Feng continued.
"A month?" Song Shaokai murmured.
"How about it? Are you confident?" Liu Feng asked.
"Well...maybe!" Song Shaokai said uncertainly.
Seeing Song Shaokai's lack of confidence in his answer, Liu Feng could only comfort him, "Good luck! What if you succeed? If there are no customers today, you should go home early and study the alchemy techniques carefully!"
"Manager Liu, I understand! I'll try to reach the fifth-grade alchemist level within a month!" Song Shaokai said, mustering his courage.
"Okay, go ahead and get busy!"
After Liu Feng finished speaking, he went into the inner hall to attend to his own business.
After watching Manager Liu leave, Song Shaokai deflated like a punctured balloon and slumped into his chair.
Advancing to the fifth rank of alchemist is not easy.
Song Shaokai came from Dongyang County, a small county on the outskirts of the Wei Kingdom. He had been very interested in spiritual herbs and elixirs since childhood.
Coincidentally, one year, a first-grade alchemist passed through the county where Song Shaokai lived and learned that Song Shaokai was exceptionally talented.
Therefore, the first-grade alchemist taught Song Shaokai the art of alchemy.
As expected, Song Shaokai lived up to expectations and soon became a first-grade alchemist, surpassing even the alchemist who taught him.
At only thirteen years old, he was already one of the top alchemists in Dongyang County.
At the age of fourteen, he participated in an alchemy competition held by the state government and easily won first place.
At the age of sixteen, he came to Hong Kong, the holy land of alchemists, to learn alchemy techniques.
At the age of seventeen, he finally became a fourth-grade alchemist.
Originally, Song Shaokai thought he was a genius at alchemy. After arriving in Hong Kong, his alchemy skills improved and his horizons broadened.
Song Shaokai suddenly realized that he was not a genius at alchemy at all, and that he was insignificant compared to those true geniuses.
Others can learn a fourth-order pill formula in just three days, but it takes me several months to even get the basics down to learning a fourth-order pill.
The gap is too big!
On the other hand, while fourth- and fifth-grade alchemists are not common elsewhere, in Hong Kong City, you could hit a bunch of them with a brick.
Thinking about all this, Song Shaokai was immediately devastated.
His alchemy skills have also begun to improve slowly, and he doesn't know when he can advance to the fifth-grade alchemist.
Song Shaokai actually has no confidence whatsoever in becoming a fifth-grade alchemist within a month.
During his time working as a clerk at Miaodanfang, Song Shaokai earned a good income, but his expenses in Xiangjiang City were also quite high.
First, there's the rent, which costs several hundred spirit stones every month. Adding in his daily expenses for cultivation and alchemy, Song Shaokai didn't save much spirit stone.
After all, Song Shaokai's family didn't have many spirit stones to support his cultivation; on the contrary, he needed to occasionally help his family.
Cultivation is difficult, so difficult, and without spirit stones, one can only feel anxious.
Song Shaokai knew that without enough spirit stones, it would be difficult for him to advance to the fifth rank unless he had an unexpected stroke of luck.
However, Song Shaokai still decided to make up his mind to spend more spirit stones on spirit herbs in the next month to study alchemy and give it his all. If he succeeded, he could keep his job.
I failed, so I can only find another job in Hong Kong.
With a plan in mind, Song Shaokai finally cheered up and prepared to go back.
"What? Ready to make a sample?"
An unfamiliar voice broke the silence of the small shop.
The person who arrived was Ye Xiaobai, who had rushed to the headquarters of the Alchemist Alliance in Xiangjiang City.
After making several inquiries, I finally found Miaodanfang in Yuwei Alley, thinking of buying some pills from the Alchemist Alliance's shop.
Earth-rank cultivation techniques and materials for crafting magic weapons are extremely expensive in terms of spirit stones.
Upon seeing Ye Xiaobai enter the store, Song Shaokai immediately stood up and excitedly said, "We haven't even opened for business yet. Senior, please feel free to ask if you need anything."
"I have some pills to sell! See how many spirit stones they're worth!" Ye Xiaobai said, tossing out some pills he usually refined.
Song Shaokai calmly began to examine the pills, most of which were grade three or four pills. When he saw the grade five Guiyuan Pill, Song Shaokai immediately realized that the person in front of him was at least a grade five alchemist.
Just as Song Shaokai was checking the pills, Ye Xiaobai suddenly remembered that he could sell more spirit stones by virtue of his status as an honorary elder of the Alchemist Alliance.
He then directly presented his identity token as the honorary president of the Alchemist Alliance.
Come to think of it, this seems to be the first time Ye Xiaobai has used his honorary president's identity token, and he is hoping that it will bring him a lot of benefits.