Right after the High Elder left, Cinoi approached Raoni with a slight smile. "Come on, I’ll take you to get registered."
Cinoi was a middle-aged alchemist who had been a disciple of the sect back in the day. These days, he didn’t hold a prestigious position; he’d become just a regular worker. Still, his intention to help the talented young guy was genuine, and he was ready to offer all the support he could.
He led Raoni to a grand building that looked more like a palace. As soon as they entered, Alm and Bruno quickly realized that the whole place was supported by a vast formation. The Qi inside was several times denser than outside, making them sigh once again at the wealth of the alchemists.
’We’ve got to get that formation and everything else we can for the Yinblood sect later,’ Bruno remarked softly.
The place was a sacred ground for alchemists, buzzing with activity. There were several young disciples rushing around, too busy to even notice Raoni’s presence. What caught his attention, though, was the age of some of them. Many looked only sixteen or seventeen, with their cultivation still at mortal realms.
"The Phoenix Cry sect only cares about alchemy, not cultivation," Cinoi casually explained. "The younger the disciple, the greater the potential to be unlocked. And the lower their cultivation base, the more room there is for the growth of their soul power. That’s why it’s common to see disciples with low cultivation levels. But the competition here is fierce. Everyone who comes in is a genius at alchemy. But even geniuses can become ordinary folks in this place."
For alchemists, besides talent and technique, knowledge, control of flames, and soul power were the three main attributes that made pill creation easier. Many pills existed to enhance these attributes, and the younger and less cultivated the alchemist was, the greater the benefits from consuming these pills and practicing alchemy. The result would be soul power slightly above that of a normal cultivator.
Of course, that gain was small compared to a regular cultivator, but for an alchemist, it made a significant difference. Almin, for example, already had an incredibly powerful soul thanks to the array. Just for that, he’d already be considered an unparalleled genius.
"Geniuses are usually arrogant, used to being adored by others, but here, they need to give it their all. No need to encourage them. You saw how busy they are, right? Even friends just wave as they pass by because they feel chatting is a waste of time. Every moment should be dedicated to studying alchemy."
"Wow, do they really have to try that hard?" Raoni asked, ’shocked’. "They don’t even talk?"
"Hehe, they don’t have a choice. Sometimes, honor and glory are motivation enough for someone to give their best. Everyone here wants to be on top, above the others, and avoid being trampled. In the sect, alchemy is everything, so they have no choice but to master it. If their alchemical skills are good enough, they can get whatever they want. Besides, the path of alchemists is different from that of regular cultivators. They don’t have to rush. As long as they become skilled enough, they can obtain resources and even partners effortlessly. They’ll just come to you, throwing themselves at you. Hehe, get it?" Cinoi winked at the young man.
For regular cultivators, once they couldn’t advance anymore even with resources, the focus shifted to living and having descendants, with many marrying with that intention.
The more powerful the parents, the greater the physical potential of their children. It wasn’t just about talent, but about physical inheritance. The blood was purer, the meridians larger... there were many differences to count. That’s why someone born on an ascendant planet rarely got far in the divine world. The physical inheritance from powerful parents made a huge difference.
So, most cultivators focused on reaching the peak of their power before considering finding a partner and having kids.
Although generalizations are foolish since there are always exceptions, there was a clear pattern in human relationships.
In the cultivation world, many men saw women as symbols of conquest, something that fed their desire to dominate. However, their feelings about it were often superficial.
For women, though, these matters, especially the first time, triggered profound emotional changes. They usually only gave themselves to someone they truly loved.
For a woman, loving a man represented a significant transformation in her mental state. Losing her virginity would cause a temporary imbalance in her mental and spiritual strength.
Cultivation was like rowing against the current; if you weren’t moving forward, you were moving backward. Unless the woman was emotionally detached and it was just physical attraction, it wouldn’t make a difference; but that was something very rare. Wasting time until stabilizing emotions was much more harmful than beneficial.
Thus, in most divine sects, relationships were prohibited among disciples; they couldn’t be unfair and allow only the men, after all.
However, alchemists followed a different logic. Even women didn’t have to worry so much about this aspect. As long as they had enough talent and understanding, there was no need to maintain a perfectly stable mind.
That’s why the sect didn’t restrict relationships among its disciples. Cinoi mentioned this to motivate young Raoni; after all, he was also a man.
Along the way, Cinoi explained the rules and restrictions of the sect, which weren’t much different from those of other sects.
Soon, they arrived at an impressive building. This was where new internal disciples registered and where all the sect’s missions were managed.
Raoni got lucky and didn’t have to become an external disciple. With the help of the High Elder’s name, the process was super simple. Now he had a badge as a true disciple of the Phoenix Cry sect.
Cinoi explained, "This is a badge for internal disciples. It’s not very useful and is just a formality. Your goal, like all the sect’s disciples, is to reach the Heroic Pill Hall. That’s where the elite central disciples cultivate. The treatment they get there is a thousand times better than anything an internal disciple could have!"
"There are billions of external disciples and over eighty million internal disciples. As for the Heroic Pill Hall, they only have five hundred thousand disciples."
"That number never changes. The Heroic Pill Hall kicks out the lower-ranking disciples when new ones come in. Look, the next competition for internal disciples to join the Heroic Pill Hall will be in ten days. This competition happens only once every two months, and only the top thousand internal disciples can compete."
"The High Elder said this will be a good test to push you to grow. You’re just an internal disciple now, and the High Elder can only offer you some resources. But if you join the Heroic Pill Hall, you’ll get all kinds of precious resources."
Raoni nodded, understanding, then asked, "Yeah, this disciple appreciates master’s kindness. Oh, by the way, Elder Cinoi, have you ever heard of a place called the world of the Nine Red Lotuses? Does it really exist?"
Cinoi snorted, having lost count of how many times he’d answered that question from young disciples. "Yeah, but that’s a secret place only accessible to High Elders and the disciples of the Heroic Pill Hall. Focus on climbing one step at a time; that’s way out of reach for you right now."
The young man nodded thoughtfully as Cinoi comforted him, worried about him losing motivation. "I know that’s a legendary place everyone’s heard of. But it depends on how extraordinary you are. As long as you make a strong enough impression, I trust you’ll get there. With talent and effort, nothing can stop you."
After hearing that, the young man’s eyes lit up again, and Cinoi smiled, satisfied. Then he asked for a place to practice diligently.
So he spent the next few days in a private room filled with piles of herbs as tall as a grown man and numerous Jade Slips.
Each of these slips contained ancient alchemical canons, recording theories or even lost summaries. Some theories were left by ancestors and reflected their life experiences.
Alm and Bruno were holed up in their room, ’studying’ these materials since they were related to the competition to join the Heroic Pill Hall.
The competition had two parts: theory and practice. He didn’t just need to know how to refine pills, but also be able to discuss the theory behind refining.
The two were bored; alchemy was both enjoyable and torturous for them. Unfortunately, there was no way around it. They studied what they could and reread all the levels of the Dao of the Alchemy God they’d bought for Almin.
After ten days of studying, they finally left the room. Cinoi felt a bit worried seeing him; this young man seemed really naive, and after a crushing and humiliating failure, he could lose all motivation to study.
Cinoi was personally taking care of this young man, so his status would rise or fall based on his performance. Trying to sound calm, he asked, "How are you feeling?"
"I’m good and have pretty much-memorized everything. It shouldn’t be a problem," the young man replied, rubbing his ’tired’ face.
"Good. Don’t feel too much pressure. Even if you fail this time, you’ll definitely pass next time," Cinoi reassured him lightly.
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The two moved calmly until they reached a large hall surrounded by disciples. A big and intense alchemy competition was about to begin.