Chapter 356 – Life 92, Age 16, Martial Disciple 1

Ever since our lesson on energy control, I had been hesitant to return to the Hall of the Herb Lord since I hadn’t wanted to spend any more time around Jon than necessary. This strategy of avoidance, however, had failed. The very first time I had left my apartment, I had walked straight into an encounter with him.

This might have been a coincidence, but I had a hard time believing that. Instead, I chose to believe that his blessing was doing its best to pull us together.

Part of me wanted to just teleport away and leave this city far behind. Now that I had a map of the Western Island, I could make an informed choice about where I wanted to go and what I wanted to do. However, I was worried that this could be seen as giving Jon a ‘win.’ If I allowed my fear of Jon’s blessing to chase me away, it could be said that he had defeated me, and I didn’t want to give his blessing any opportunity to reward him for my actions.

So, instead, I chose to go on about my life like normal and act as if Jon didn’t even exist. Jon’s blessing appeared dangerous, but as long as I never challenged him directly, I doubted that he would be able to pose much of a threat. After all, at the end of the day, the man was only a Martial Disciple, and as long as I never competed against him, he shouldn’t have any way to steal my blessing.

With this in mind, the day after reading about the history and politics of the Western Island, I headed back to the Hall of the Herb Lord to resume my duties as one of its servants. I had been hoping that my return would go both unannounced and unnoticed, but the moment I entered the building, an arm wrapped around my shoulder.

“Brother Fang, you’re here. Perfect timing!” Jon’s voice was cheerful, but as he looked me up and down, I saw a flicker of annoyance in his eyes. “Why are you back in your peasant costume? This won’t do at all. Brother Fang, those fancy robes were a much better fit.”

I shrugged free from Jon’s embrace and dipped my head to him. “I am here to sweep floors and clean out pill furnaces. Expensive silks are not suitable for such dirty jobs.”

Jon shook his head vigorously. “No, no, no. Any other day, you might have a point, but today is special. A Pill Lord is here! He’s looking to take one of us servants as his apprentice. If you want to catch his eye, you need to look your best.”

Saying this, Jon reached into his storage bag and pulled out a set of freshly cleaned and pressed robes. “Hurry and put these on. Then, we can go upstairs and greet the Pill Lord.”

I couldn’t help but stare at Jon’s ripped, sweat-stained shirt. The idea of him telling me to dress more appropriately was… I couldn’t help but shake my head.

Then, I processed what he had said and truly considered it. Why would Jon want to pull me into a meeting with this Pill Lord? I had yet to display any real aptitude for alchemy. Was he planning to use this as a way to compete against me? Was he trying to get an easy win?

Sadly for him, I had no desire to become the disciple of some random Lord. I did need to learn more about the intricacies of this continent’s alchemy, but chaining myself to a low-level Rank 4 alchemist wasn’t the right way to go about that.

I lowered my head to Jon. “You should go without me. A Pill Lord would have no interest in someone like me, but I am certain that they will be impressed by your skill in energy control. I will stick to cleaning pill furnaces and taking things one step at a time.”

“Wait… What—”

Jon’s face morphed into a look of shock, but I didn’t stick around to discuss things further. I just turned and headed to the Assignment Hall on the second floor.

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With everyone having gone to meet the Pill Lord, the Assignment Hall was rather empty. The receptionists still sat behind their desks and chatted freely with each other as they awaited visitors, but the groups of servants and apprentices who normally filled the place were entirely absent.

This suited me just fine. With everyone else off trying to please that Lord, I was able to pick up a mission and leave without anyone getting in my way.

My pleasant day of toil and drudgery didn’t last long, however. Not fifteen minutes after I entered a storage room to begin cleaning its furnaces, the door opened, and a powerfully built ‘Nine Rivers’ man in richly dyed black silks stepped inside to join me. Behind him, a large number of servants and apprentices were gathered in the Hall’s corridors.

A quick check in energy vision confirmed my suspicion that this man was Jon’s Pill Lord, but why had he come here?

After taking a moment to study me, the Pill Lord smiled and nodded his head. “Yes, perfect. This is exactly what I need in an apprentice. Someone who is willing to put in the hard work that’s needed to learn and advance. Not someone who just sits around all day waiting for handouts.”

The servants behind the Lord bristled at this comment, and one stood out to challenge it. “My Lord, don’t let that child fool you. He’s the worst servant in the entire Hall. He has failed with both alchemy and cultivation. His nothing but trash—”

Before anyone could react, the Pill Lord whipped around and slapped the speaker so hard that he flew backward and crashed into the wall. “Those who do not know should not speak. I see great promise in this child and have chosen to make him my disciple. I will not allow anyone to insult him.”

The Pill Lord gave off a dignified and righteous demeanor, but his words felt hollow. His statement about not allowing anyone to insult me rang true, but his statement about seeing great promise in me was entirely empty.

The Pill Lord turned back to me and smiled. “Disciple, what is your name?”

Knowing I didn’t have any choice but to answer, I cupped my fists and bowed. “Su Fang.”

“Excellent. Disciple Fang, I will take you as my personal disciple. You will no longer need to perform these menial tasks. Instead, you will spend your days learning everything that I can teach you about alchemy.”

Instantly, the crowd behind the Pill Lord burst into shocked whispers, but while they discussed my ‘great fortune,’ I dropped my head and tried to figure out what was going on.

I didn’t believe for a second that this Lord actually wanted to take me as his disciple. Nothing about the way he spoke or acted showed any actual interest in me. So, why was he making this offer? What was the point? Was he being directed by his blessing? Maybe, but if so, then why did I detect hints of disdain in his voice?

I couldn’t answer these questions, but in the end, none of it really mattered. I had no desire to take this man as my ‘master.’

Again, I cupped my fists and bowed. “Apologies, Lord. I do not feel that I am suitable for such a position.”

The Pill Lord just blinked at me, but the people in the crowd behind him weren’t so sanguine. “What!? Are you crazy?”

After taking a moment to recover, the Pill Lord plastered a smile on his face and nodded. “As expected of someone whom I have taken a liking to. You are not swayed by the promise of titles or honors. Very well, I shall accept you as my… nominal disciple.”

“My… Lord…”

The Pill Lord grimaced, and I saw him twitch his head to the side, as if wanting to look for someone in the crowd. “My apprentice. From now on, you will be my apprentice. Do not try to protest. I will talk to the Hall’s administrators. From now on, you will be assigned to work directly under me. You may not think yourself worthy of such a position, but I know better. You have a bright future ahead of you.”

Without giving me a chance to protest, the Pill Lord turned on his heels and forced his way through the crowd behind him.

Once he was gone, the servants that he had left behind all gave me dirty looks, but no one was willing to challenge a Lord’s apprentice.

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After I finished cleaning out the pill furnaces, I returned to the Assignment Hall and reported the completion of my task. After noting this down, the attendant then informed me of my new duties as the apprentice of ‘Lord Yong.’

Upon finally hearing the Pill Lord’s name, I knew that I had been set up. I just didn’t know why.

After I left the Hall and started walking back to my apartment, Jon ran up to me and threw an arm around my shoulder. “Fang, I just heard about you being selected as the Pill Lord’s apprentice. Congratulations.”

I kept my eyes focused on the path ahead of me. I was worried that if I turned to look at the man, I might not be able to maintain a façade of civility. “The Pill Lord’s name is ‘Yong.’ Can I assume that you played a part in my selection?”

Jon waved a dismissive hand. “No, no. Not at all. I might have mentioned you to my cousin, but the choice to make you his apprentice was entirely his own. He really sees something in you. Without knowing how much latent talent you possess, it’s hard to know how far you will be able to rise, but he is certain that you will at least be able to become a Master Alchemist. Possibly even a Grandmaster.”

Jon’s words were filled with encouragement, but hidden beneath them was a layer of malice. What was his goal? What was he trying to accomplish?

I glance to the side. “Jon, just tell me. Why? Why are you doing this?”

He patted me on the back. “Fang, I genuinely believe that you have the wealth of talent hidden within you. I am certain that, given the right opportunities, you will be able to grow far faster and higher than anyone believes possible. My cousin might hesitate to say that you can become a Grandmaster, but there is no way that Grandmaster is your limit. I want to do everything I can to help you shine as brightly as possible.”

Most of Jon’s words rang true. That last sentence, however, was completely false.

From what I could tell, it seemed like Jon was trying to sabotage me. Maybe his ‘cousin’ would attack me. Maybe he would poison me. Maybe he would just give me poor guidance.

What was I going to do about it?

Again, I considered teleporting away, but Jon had already made a move to ‘attack’ me. If I teleported away now, it would almost certainly count as my loss.

Channeling the power of my soul, I created an avatar deep in the bowels of my inner world.

“System, if I teleport away. Will Jon’s blessing grant him a reward for defeating me?”

Cost 10 billion credits.

“Purchase.”

Purchase confirmed. 237,955,112,181,273 credits remaining.

Yes. Yong JinZhan’s blessing has assigned him a mission related to your continued presence in Proud Eagle City. If you were to teleport away now, his mission would be considered a success. He would receive an A+ rating along with a commensurate reward.

“What is his mission?”

The cost of that information cannot be calculated at this time.

Back in the real world, I couldn’t help but clench my jaw. Then, I turned to Jon and smiled.

“Thank you for your assistance. I look forward to studying alchemy under Lord Yong.”