Danzun War God

Chapter Six: Taking on Disciples

As Han Qi emerged from the alchemy pavilion, Han Cheng eagerly followed, catching up to him in a few quick steps and saying, "Big brother, will you teach me alchemy? I want to learn alchemy too, and I want to contribute to our family."

Han Qi smiled and said, "Sure, you'll start with me tomorrow. We'll begin with basic knowledge of herbs and memorizing prescriptions. Later, I'll gradually teach you alchemy techniques. I'll compile some prescriptions for you when we get back." This was exactly what Han Qi wanted. He was planning to train an alchemist, since he would eventually leave the Han family to pursue his own goals.

"Don't worry, brother, I definitely won't let you down," Han Cheng said earnestly.

Han Qi simply nodded and said nothing more. With Han Cheng appointed as the alchemist of the Han family, Han Qi was very pleased, as this would allow him to focus on other matters.

The reputation of 'Han's Alchemy Pavilion' has spread far and wide, and cultivators from some small towns near Lianmuyun City have come here to seek it out. Every morning, Han Cheng would come to the front of the pavilion to count the number of pills needed by the top ten people, and check the medicinal materials one by one. Only after confirming that everything was correct would he accept the pills. At noon, these people would come back to collect their pills.

Many people queue for several days before getting a turn, but they feel it's worth it. Not only are the prices low, but the quantity and quality of the third-tier pills produced are unmatched elsewhere. Furthermore, the surplus pills produced by 'Han's Alchemy Pavilion' are transferred to Han's newly opened pill shop for sale. Although the prices are the same as elsewhere, the purity of the pills is significantly higher, making the pill shop extremely popular, almost always sold out.

Han Qi didn't spend too much time on alchemy, mainly because he still had time to cultivate and improve his cultivation level. Three months passed, and the business of the alchemy pavilion and the pill shop remained as booming as ever. The difference was that Han Cheng's alchemy skills and Han Qi's cultivation level had undergone significant changes.

Han Cheng can now refine some second-tier pills. Although the success rate isn't high, this rate of progress is rare in the alchemy world. Most people need a year to learn before they can refine even first-tier pills. This is the extraordinary quality of the Pill Master's "Seven-Character Formula" for alchemy. Han Qi's cultivation has reached the ninth level of the Body Refinement Realm. If Han Qi hadn't been suppressing his breakthrough, he would have already broken through to the Core Formation Realm. This is because Han Qi understands better than anyone the drawbacks of solely pursuing cultivation advancement without focusing on steady progress.

For the past three months, Han Qi has been cultivating the Hunyuan Five Elements Sacred Technique every day, tempering his physical body time and time again. The flow of the Five Elements Sacred Technique within his life palace has increased several times, and his internal Xuan Qi is now much more abundant. With a solid foundation, Han Qi plans to enter the Breakthrough Core Realm. The Breakthrough Core Realm is when the Xuan Qi in the body opens up a storage space of the corresponding attribute in the dantian according to the cultivator's physical attributes. The attributes are mainly divided into five types: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. Generally, only one attribute exists; those with multiple attributes are extremely rare. The space opened in the dantian is mainly used to store more Xuan Qi energy, which can eliminate the process of condensing Qi when using Xuan Qi, greatly shortening the attack time. In duels between experts, the amount of Xuan Qi stored can be the key to victory.

In addition, after breaking through to the Core Formation Realm, you can learn more skills, because skills are mainly released by Xuan Qi. Xuan Qi is the carrier of all martial arts techniques. Without Xuan Qi, skills cannot be released.

Han Qi possesses a five-attribute innate talent, primarily due to the reconstruction of his body by the Primordial Five Elements Sacred Technique. Within this technique, each attribute innate talent possesses a unique divine ability, but this ability requires the corresponding spiritual pearl to activate. Han Qi plans to go to Fire Cloud City next, as he believes the Fire Spirit Pearl he needs should be located there. The whereabouts of the other four spiritual pearls are currently unknown, but the prerequisite is to improve his cultivation level; otherwise, in this era where strength reigns supreme, progress will be extremely difficult.

With the plan in place, Han Qi thought of something else, so he went to find Han Yuanshan. At that moment, Han Yuanshan was discussing matters with the four elders in the reception room. When he saw Han Qi come in, he smiled and said, "Qi'er, what's wrong?"

After exchanging greetings with the four elders, Han Qi replied, "Father, there is something I would like to discuss with you. Since all four elders are here, let's discuss it together."

After listening to Han Qi's words, the four elders sat up straight. Han Qi had become a hot figure in the Han family recently, and even the family head treated him with special regard, let alone these four elders. Han Yuanshan looked around at the four elders and said, "Qi'er, tell us what it is."

Han Qi then said, "These past two days, I've been thinking that we have three fire pits in our Pill Pavilion, but we've only used one. Could we train two more alchemists to make better use of the fire pits?"

"Good idea, this idea is feasible, what do you elders say?" Han Yuanshan immediately said after Han Qi finished speaking.

"That's really good. I wonder who we should train?" the elder said slowly, and the others nodded in agreement.

Han Yuanshan then looked at Han Qi, signaling him to answer the Grand Elder's question.

Han Qi nodded and said, "Han Cheng has made great progress and has basically mastered the essentials. As long as he practices diligently, becoming an excellent alchemist will not be a problem. I would like to select two talented young people from the family to train. After all, our Pill Pavilion has limited resources, so this way we can train them faster."

The group nodded in agreement with Han Qi's statement. Han Yuanshan said, "In that case, we'll trouble the four elders to inform the family members that any young people who are willing to become alchemists should gather at the Han Clan's Alchemy Conference Hall tomorrow morning. As for how to select them, that's up to Qi'er, since he'll be the one to teach them."

After the four elders finished their discussion, they immediately relayed the information. The Han family in Muyun City consisted of more than twenty households, and everyone was very enthusiastic upon receiving the news. After all, alchemists were a very prestigious and respected profession.

The next morning, two groups of people gathered in the Han family's meeting hall. One group was there to participate in the alchemist selection, and the other group consisted of Han family members who came as spectators. There were over thirty young people participating in the alchemist selection, roughly the same age as Han Qi, but they had no doubt about his abilities, as he had recently become a legendary figure in Muyun City. This was an opportunity for them to change their destiny, and therefore, they were all filled with anticipation.

Han Qi's primary requirement for selecting alchemists was a fire-attribute talent or someone with a fire attribute. After checking them one by one, half of them had already been eliminated. The second requirement was a deep understanding of the properties and principles of medicine. After this question, only four people remained. The third requirement was a strong ability to control one's divine sense. However, after the test, all four were neck and neck. At this moment, the four were extremely nervous because they were just one step away from becoming alchemists. Han Qi thought for a moment and said loudly, "All four of you are very excellent. You may all stay."

The four remaining on the field were Han Wei, Han Kai, Han Yi, and Han Xing. They were very excited upon hearing the news. They knew very well about Han Qi's alchemy abilities and it was a great honor to become Han Qi's apprentices. They immediately knelt down and said, "Master, please accept our bow."

Han Qi laughed heartily. Although he was about the same age as them, he was a Pill Master in his previous life, which was more than enough for him to be their master. So he said seriously, "I'm just leading you into the door. Whether you can become an excellent pill master in the future depends on yourselves."

The group nodded with great confidence and said, "We will definitely work hard and will not let our master down."

At this moment, the fathers of the four chosen boys came over and bowed to Han Qi, saying, "Thank you for recognizing our sons, young master. We entrust the task of teaching them alchemy to you. If there is anything we can help with, please don't hesitate to ask, young master. We will do our best."

Han Qi smiled slightly and said, "Uncles and elders, there's no need to be so formal. Training them is also for the sake of our Korean people. It is everyone's responsibility to revitalize the Korean people, and I will certainly do my best to teach them everything I know."

Han Qi bid farewell to everyone and, with his four disciples, arrived at the Han Clan's Alchemy Pavilion. Han Cheng was inspecting the day's medicines in front of the pavilion, while Han Qi led his four disciples directly into the alchemy room. Inside, a gleaming red copper furnace sat beside the earthen fire vent. Han Qi pointed to the vent and said, "There are three earthen fire vents here. When you begin alchemy, we'll add two more furnaces. You'll take turns refining pills. Later, we'll add a few more alchemy pavilions, and each of you will be in charge of one." The disciples nodded solemnly.

Then Han Qi distributed the prepared alchemy manuals to them and said, "You should start by recognizing and preparing the medicines. At the same time, you can gradually understand the mysteries of the medicinal properties and pharmacology combinations in these manuals. The manuals are not static; you can make appropriate adjustments based on the medicinal properties and pharmacology. You will gradually understand this later."

At this moment, Han Cheng brought in the herbs for the day. Han Wei, Han Kai, Han Yi, and Han Xing were all acquaintances of his, and he greeted them one by one. Then he told Han Qi the number of pills that needed to be refined that day.

The four families also ran a herbal medicine business. Through their exposure to herbal medicine, they had some basic knowledge of the properties and pharmacology of herbs, and recognizing herbs was a piece of cake for them.

Han Qi checked the herbs and, seeing there were no problems, began refining pills. He was incredibly fast, finishing ten batches of pills in just two hours. Others might not even finish one batch in two hours. His four disciples were dumbfounded. They only knew that Han Qi was very skilled at refining pills, but they didn't know he was this skilled—fast and producing high-quality pills. Of course, this wasn't Han Qi's highest level. He could refine multiple batches of pills at the same time, but he didn't want to cause a sensation. If he were to reveal his identity as a Pill Master, it might bring unnecessary trouble.

Half a month later, Han Qi passed on the seven-character formula for alchemy to them and said seriously, "The seven-character formula is a secret technique unique to our Han family and must not be passed on to outsiders. You can ask me any questions in the future. When I am not around, you can discuss it with Han Cheng."