Chapter 453: Road to Pill Apprentice

The next morning, with only a small bag behind his back, he boarded a carriage straight towards the Jade City.

Two shadowy figures assigned by Zhou Mei’s father tagged along with Yi Chen to ensure his safety throughout the journey.

’Well, additional protection is always welcome,’ Yi Chen thought in a good mood while sensing the guards following his carriage discreetly.

Zhou Mei had already informed him about them, so when they greeted him at the sect’s exit earlier, he wasn’t taken by surprise.

A couple of hours later, the carriage made its way past the familiar streets of Jade City before finally stopping in front of a three-storeyed building with an eye-catching design.

"So this is the Supreme Pill Forging Guild’s branch..." Yi Chen muttered the moment his eyes fell on the building.

Yi Chen craned his neck to look at the three-storey-high building, which for the most part had a similar design to most large commercial buildings in the city.

However, what made Yi Chen still pause in his steps and crane his head all the way up was a large black cauldron the size of an enormous boulder erected right on top of the building, as flames constantly danced in the wind from underneath the cauldron, and the perfect image of a Cauldron being heated under the flames entered one’s eyes.

"Well, they sure know how to catch one’s attention," Yi Chen muttered with an impressed smile as his eyes soon fell on the black wooden plaque stuck just a little above the building’s entrance.

The words ’Supreme Pill Forging Guild’ were eligantly calligraphed on it in golden, eye-catching strokes.

’Let’s see how it is from the inside then,’ Yi Chen muttered inwardly in a curious manner as he soon made his way inside through a doorway large enough for two people to walk in shoulder to shoulder.

The moment his first step fell on the ceramic white flooring, Yi Chen’s gaze took in the vast hall decorated with several antique-looking artefacts on the walls and tables.

’Just from a glance, I can tell they are expensive as hell...’ he thought while turning his gaze towards his left, where a large number of shelves were blocking his view.

Each of those shelves was almost half a torso taller than Yi Chen and was filled with several books. The shelves were arranged in a pattern that created a maze-like structure for anyone exploring them for the first time.

On his left was a reception counter on the wall behind which a large portrait of a black cauldron under fire was drawn.

’Oh? So that structure above the building wasn’t just for show but in fact was a physical model of the guild’s emblem.’ Yi Chen’s eyes widened in realisation.

"Our guild’s emblem does leave a strong first impression, doesn’t it?" a woman who had been standing behind the reception counter all along chuckled, seeing Yi Chen’s gaze fixed on the portrait behind her since the moment he turned towards the counter.

"A-Ah, yes, hahaha," Yi Chen nodded in embarrassment, only realising now that his action had ended up placing the receptionist in an awkward position and said while scratching the side of his face, "I was a little too drawn to it and blanked on for a second there. My apologies..."

"It’s fine." The woman smiled in a pleased manner and asked the next moment, "So what is it that I can help you with, fellow cultivator?"

"Ah yeah, I’ve come here to register myself as a Pill Apprentice," Yi Chen stated the very next moment. At the same time, he glanced at the woman curiously.

’Is she also a Pill Refiner?’ he thought while calling out the woman’s status panel the very next moment.

==== STATUS PANEL ====

Name: Ren Xiaolan

Age: 26 years

Strength: 110

Cultivation: Eighth Meridian Refinement Stage

Qi Nature: Fire

Remark: A disciple of the Golden Lion Sect [Regenerate: 10,000 EXP]

====================

’Golden Lion Sect? ... But why is she working here as a receptionist? Does the guild also assign its members such tasks?’ Yi Chen frowned, with subtle curiosity evident on his face, but it was still not enough to make him ask her directly.

Meanwhile, hearing that Yi Chen had come here for registration just as she had already anticipated, she took out a form from underneath the counter and handed it to Yi Chen.

The next moment, she gestured towards the fountain pen on the counter and said, "Please take your time and fill it in carefully,"

’Pill Apprentice Registration Application’

Yi Chen muttered the heading of the page in his mind before reaching for the pen and scribbling down the required details soon after.

Curiously checking Yi Chen’s details on the form, the receptionist raised her brows when she realised which sect he belonged to.

"Ah! So, you’re a disciple of the Heavenly Azure Dragon Sect. I also tried to apply for it a few years ago but unfortunately failed..." she said the very next moment.

"Oh? That must have been tough..." Yi Chen answered with a bitter smile on his face, which prompted the receptionist to share more about her experiences, as rapport was soon built between them.

’Ah, so she’s not a pill refiner...’

Yi Chen thought in realisation after hearing her words.

The Supreme Pill Forging Guild, like other institutions, would give out missions to various sects, and their disciples could take up those missions to earn spirit stones or contribution points in exchange.

"To think it’s only been a little more than a month since you’ve joined your sect and you’re already here trying to become a Pill Apprentice... even by the standards of Heavenly Azure Dragon Sect, don’t you think it’s still a little too quick?"

She asked when she learned how long it had been since Yi Chen joined the sect.

"Well... I was already introduced to the basics before joining the sect, so actually it’s not that short," Yi Chen lied with a forced smile the very next moment, not wanting to go through the hassle of explaining everything to her.

"Ah, that makes more sense now." She nodded her head in realisation the very next moment as she received the filled form from Yi Chen’s hands.

Glancing through the details once to spot errors, she soon looked at Yi Chen and said while gesturing towards the bookshelves on the other side.

"The written examination will begin in an hour’s time, so you may revise your basic pill refining concepts over there or come back here later."

"Thank you."

Yi Chen nodded with a smile and soon entered the maze of bookshelves.

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