10: Chapter 10 The Alchemy Competition (Part 2)

At this moment, because Chen Fan had been refining Medicinal Pills continuously, his face was somewhat pale, and he hurriedly consumed a Medicinal Pill to restore his Origin Qi.

Several hours later, with a clang, Wu Shouzhuo announced the end of the trial and began to carefully examine the Medicinal Pill refining results of each apprentice.

Because Great Elder Qin Yuanshan was present, he first went to Qin Lingxi.

"Not bad. You finished refining all three batches, and one of them is actually a Rank 1, Three-Mark Medicinal Pill. Your Aptitude is indeed outstanding." Wu Shouzhuo smiled and praised her repeatedly.

Upon hearing this, Great Elder Qin Yuanshan in the distance nodded repeatedly, feeling happy that his daughter possessed such talent for the Dao of Alchemy.

Wu Shouzhuo continued his inspection, but his expression gradually became solemn.

He discovered that the refining standard of the others had dropped sharply. Some had successfully refined all three batches, but they were only the worst, One-Mark Medicinal Pills.

Others were able to refine Two-Mark Medicinal Pills, but the remainder were only One-Mark, and some even had a batch of failed pills.

As for the refined Cultivator who had always looked down on Chen Fan, all three of his batches failed; he could be considered to have no affinity for the Dao of Alchemy.

Wu Shouzhuo's gaze slowly fell upon Chen Fan's side.

"You successfully refined all three batches; as a Matrilocal son-in-law, that is not easy. However, you refined them too quickly, and your mindset is a bit too impatient."

However, when he saw the Medicinal Pills clearly, his expression became strange and somewhat incredulous. He discovered that the Medicinal Pills the other party had refined were all Three-Mark.

Furthermore, he was the only apprentice who had simultaneously refined two types of Medicinal Pills.

"This, how is this possible?"

Wu Shouzhuo muttered to himself, picked up the Medicinal Pills to examine them closely, and even used his fingernail to gently scrape off some powder to carefully taste it.

After verifying, he was speechless for a long time. The quality of the Medicinal Pills was excellent; for an apprentice to be able to refine such pills was already very difficult.

"Did you really refine these?" Qin Lingxi was somewhat surprised and shocked.

Over the years, she had begun to make a name for herself in the Dao of Alchemy, and few apprentices of the same period could surpass her. She had not expected that a Matrilocal son-in-law who was not favored would have such achievements.

Only now did she realize that the other party had always been keeping a low profile and never sought to be competitive.

"Of course. These three batches of Medicinal Pills were successfully refined in full view of everyone." Chen Fan smiled faintly; he hadn't expected that his extraordinary performance would actually shock the other party so much.

"Very good." Wu Shouzhuo nodded repeatedly, his eyes filled with admiration.

He had already made a decision in his heart: he must nurture him well. One had to know that Three-Mark Medicinal Pills were considered quite good among low-Rank Disciples.

In this way, among the thirty Family Disciples in this batch at the Alchemy Hall trial, after the assessment, only five passed, and the one with the highest score was the Matrilocal son-in-law, Chen Fan.

Great Elder Qin Yuanshan had seen the entire process of refining the Medicinal Pills clearly, and a hint of unexpected surprise appeared on his face.

"Very good. It seems I really didn't choose the wrong person back then. Right now, he is only at the second layer of Qi Refining and already has such achievements. If his Realm improves, his future will be limitless."

"What a fine seedling for immortality!"

Great Elder Qin Yuanshan felt somewhat fortunate about his decision back then; who could have imagined that he had stumbled upon a success and found an Alchemist for the Family.

"Alchemist Wu, this time, my son-in-law Chen is the first place in the trial. His strength is obvious to all; do not miss out on such talent."

"The Grand Elder's words are absolutely correct. From today on, Chen Fan is the Family's Rank 1 Low Grade Alchemist."

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone was stunned, but they had no choice but to be convinced.

Great Elder Qin Yuanshan nodded slightly, his gaze falling softly on Chen Fan, and said, "Now that you have been able to become a Family Alchemist in the capacity of a Matrilocal son-in-law, it is truly not easy. If you want any rewards, just say so."

"Grand Elder, although my Aptitude is poor, I have always hoped to contribute to the Qin Family. I wonder if it is possible to be betrothed to a female Cultivator with a Spiritual Root?"

"Pfft~"

As soon as these words were spoken, the surrounding crowd burst into laughter.

After hearing this, Great Elder Qin Yuanshan frowned tightly.

Seeing that the atmosphere was awkward, Wu Shouzhuo hurriedly said, "Chen Fan, your task now is to improve your Dao of Alchemy; as for taking a wife, it is not important. You must know that being too obsessed with female beauty will ruin your path to the Dao."

"Many thanks for the reminder, Uncle Wu." Chen Fan deliberately put on an expression of sudden realization.

The news of Chen Fan becoming an Elementary Alchemist quickly spread among the Matrilocal son-in-laws. Although everyone had long known that the other party was practicing Alchemy, they had not expected that he would actually be able to become an Alchemist.

One had to know that even the lowest-Rank Alchemist was an object that the Family paid close attention to and nurtured.

For a time, the residence where Chen Fan lived became extremely lively.

Besides the group of familiar Matrilocal son-in-laws who came to visit, there were also relatives and friends of the wives who came to visit out of admiration, all wanting to climb the social ladder.

And his several wives felt even more that they had gained face.

But at this moment, in another courtyard of Matrilocal son-in-laws, the scene was entirely different.

...

"Look at Chen Fan; he is already an Alchemist. And you? You only have strength, yet you can't even get into the Artifact Refining Hall." Qin Shuangshuang looked at her flat abdomen, becoming increasingly angry, and felt more and more that her original choice had been a mistake.

"He is just a Rank 1 Low Grade Alchemist, just starting out. Don't forget that a False Spiritual Root only stops at the fifth or sixth layer of Qi Refining; there is simply no future at all." A cold sneer appeared on Sun Xuan's face; he did not envy the other party's status at all.

"Hmph, I heard that his many Mortal wives eat Spirit Rice, Spirit Vegetables, and Yao Beast meat every day. And us? Every time we buy these things, we have to calculate whether we have enough Spirit Stones. I think you are just inferior to him; you simply can't earn Spirit Stones."

"You..."

Sun Xuan was rendered speechless by her retort, and his hatred for Chen Fan in his heart grew even more. How could he be inferior to a mere person with a False Spiritual Root?

...

Becoming an Elementary Alchemist had obvious benefits. Every day, besides completing refining tasks, one could also Cultivate in a place rich with Spiritual Qi.

What was more important was being able to earn extra income from it.

After all, Alchemy had a certain success rate; no one could guarantee a one-hundred-percent success rate in refining.

With diligent practice in daily life and constantly taking wives and having children, his success rate was far higher than that of an average Cultivator.

In this way, the surplus Medicinal Pills became his own resources for Cultivation.

On this day, having just finished his Alchemy tasks, he was brought to Great Elder Qin Yuanshan's residence.

"Son-in-law, please, sit."

Great Elder Qin Yuanshan's attitude was gentle, and he had a maid serve two cups of high-quality Spirit Tea, a stark contrast to his somewhat aloof attitude from before.

"I heard that you have been quite diligent in your work at the Alchemy Hall, and your success rate is well-controlled. I never expected that our Qin Family would actually obtain such a talent."

"This Junior is only an Elementary Alchemist; I have yet to refine a Four-Mark Medicinal Pill, which has disappointed the Grand Elder." Chen Fan was extremely humble, his face filled with respect.

"No matter. When your Realm improves, it will happen naturally."

"Not long ago, I heard you say that you wanted to marry some women with higher Spiritual Root Aptitude. Now, there is news; the other party has a Three-Spiritual Root, but…"

Great Elder Qin Yuanshan stopped mid-sentence, looking slightly awkward.

"Is it that the other party's conditions are quite high? Does she want a large dowry? If the woman with the Three-Spiritual Root is unwilling, a Four-Spiritual Root one will do as well." Chen Fan was eager to complete the System task as soon as possible, so he simply broadened his conditions.

"It is like this: that female Family Cultivator was originally a woman married into another Family. Not long ago, her husband's Family offended a major power, which led to their Family being destroyed and her husband dying tragically. Because she had nowhere else to go, she returned to her maiden home."

Chen Fan always felt that the other party was implying something else. After a moment of thought, he said, "Does she also have a child?"