Chapter 441: Chapter 436: The Martial Saint’s Will, All It Takes Is a Little Effort
"The Great Zhou Imperial Dynasty’s National Guardian Martial Saint Ancestor is personally leading the troops to war and demanding all major Sects participate!"
"Half of all Inner Masters must go, and all Intermediate Pharmacists are to provide support from the rear..."
Gu An’s brow furrowed as he read the imperial edict from the Great Zhou Imperial Dynasty.
Two consecutive conscriptions had already made the major Sects feel that something was wrong. Now, not even ten days later, another draft was being issued, this time demanding they send away the majority of their core strength.
The fighting at the front lines was exceptionally brutal; who could feel at ease sending these forces to the front?
Each demand was more urgent than the last, giving Gu An the sense that there was a major problem. However, there was still no word from the Merak Sacred Land, which left him deeply unsettled.
Under normal circumstances, a letter should have arrived by now.
The Great Zhou Imperial Dynasty’s Martial Saint Ancestor was now personally leading the campaign. The edict that arrived even bore his handwriting, which contained the powerful spiritual will of a National Guardian Martial Saint.
It was both a deterrent and a threat.
It meant the major Sects had to go; to refuse was to make an enemy of this Martial Saint Ancestor.
But half their Inner Masters and all their Intermediate Pharmacists constituted the core strength of the major Sects. While it seemed the Dynasty had left some leeway by not demanding Advanced Pharmacists, the terms were still extremely difficult for the Sects to accept.
The people previously sent to fight on the border had all died in a short amount of time. There was surely a great conspiracy at play, which was another reason the major Sects were reluctant to go.
Furthermore, the major Sects would not tie their fates completely to the Great Zhou Imperial Dynasty. If the situation became untenable, they would bide their time. Even if they didn’t contend for imperial power, they would preserve their strength to maintain their status as hegemons of their respective regions.
The transfer of imperial power was normal, as was the changing of dynasties. The only truth was the eternal existence of the Sects.
As long as a Sect possessed sufficient strength, it could maintain its hegemonic status even through a change of dynasty. After all, there wasn’t just one Sect, but many, and their combined power was formidable.
Take Gu An, for instance. Although he hadn’t received a letter from the Merak Sacred Land, messages from the major Sects of other regions had reached him.
They were all discussing the third conscription, as it had crossed the bottom line for every major Sect.
According to their treaty agreements, the major Sects were obliged to support the Great Zhou Imperial Dynasty against external threats—after all, a change in Dynasty would still affect them. However, this support was conditional; it could not be so costly as to cripple them. By crossing this line, the Great Zhou had made a demand the major Sects would not accept!
Half their core combat power and their most promising disciples—this was the future of the Sects. If they were lost, their Primordial Qi would be greatly damaged. They might never recover and would likely be replaced by other powers.
If the Great Zhou Imperial Dynasty were ultimately defeated, the situation would be even worse; the Sects might be annihilated along with it.
Gu An finished reading all the letters, each discussing how to respond.
Directly refusing a demand penned by the National Guardian Martial Saint Ancestor himself could result in a devastating blow. Furthermore, if the Great Zhou Imperial Dynasty won, they would likely settle scores later. These were all factors they had to consider.
The Sects had survived for so long not just through strength, but through various stratagems as well.
’It seems we must negotiate!’
Gu An actually wanted to wait for the letter from the Merak Sacred Land before making a decision. But from the looks of it, something had either gone wrong on Liu Xuan’s end or there was some other reason for the delay. In any case, he no longer had the luxury of time.
By the time the edict had arrived, the Great Zhou’s Martial Saint Ancestor was already on the move. His route would take him past many Sects, including the Cyan Yuan Sect. They could not avoid this.
Some matters were difficult to handle, yet they had to be handled nonetheless.
His options were limited.
...
"The Pill Formation Success Rate has increased by another ten percent, reaching sixty percent!"
"The success rate for Superior Elixirs has reached thirty percent!"
Princess Lan Yue was filled with emotion as she looked at the elixirs Yang Chan had just refined. She had watched him improve bit by bit; with every Alchemy session, his Pill Formation Success Rate increased. To her, it was simply incredible.
It was as if Yang Chan had no bottlenecks in Alchemy and could just improve indefinitely.
At this rate, it wouldn’t be long before Yang Chan’s success rate for refining the Five Revolutions Nourishing Organ Pill approached one hundred percent. At that point, he would rarely fail. This level of difficulty was high, but it was also a prerequisite for advancing to Advanced Pharmacist.
Reaching this stage in Alchemy was considered Masterful. He could then attempt the even more difficult Seven Revolutions Nourishing Organ Pill. As long as he met the required Pill Formation Success Rate, he could be promoted to Advanced Pharmacist.
The two ranks might not sound that different, but the gap between them was immense. An Advanced Pharmacist could refine elixirs that aided breakthroughs to the Bone Marrow Cleansing Grandmaster realm, and even elixirs that could increase a Bone Marrow Cleansing Grandmaster’s Cultivation.
Although not every Advanced Pharmacist could achieve this, it was a measure of their potential.
Take Elder Hua of the Cyan Yuan Sect, for example. He had refined a Bone Marrow Cleansing Pill that helped the Former Sect Leader, who was at the Peak of Internal Refining of the Five Viscera, break through to the Cleansing Marrow Grandmaster Realm.
While Liu Xuan’s own profound foundation played a part, without the help of the Bone Marrow Cleansing Pill, who knows how long his breakthrough would have taken.
When one’s Martial Arts Cultivation reaches its peak, even the slightest improvement is incredibly difficult. At that point, an external force is needed to break through that limit. The Bone Marrow Cleansing Pill also provided a safeguard; even if the breakthrough failed, there would be no negative consequences.
You see, the breakthrough from Inner Refining to Bone Marrow Cleansing was another, deeper level of Tempering. Failure would result in a backlash that harmed the body. Taking a Bone Marrow Cleansing Pill could prevent this backlash, allowing the person attempting the breakthrough to proceed without worry.
"I’ve gained some new Insights from reading those alchemy notes recently!"
After finishing the day’s Alchemy, Yang Chan felt much more relaxed.
Reading those alchemy Insights had significantly improved his Pharmacist profession, bringing him ever closer to Tier Four Masterful.
This was the result of his own hard grinding, without any extra help. After all, he was reluctant to spend his Potential Points on his Pharmacist profession.
Pure, personal Talent.
"That’s only because Pharmacist Yang’s Talent is outstanding!"
Princess Lan Yue said with admiration.
This wasn’t a compliment, but her true feelings. When she had hit a bottleneck, she had done the same thing—borrowing all sorts of alchemy Insights to study—but the results hadn’t been nearly as good.
She had also read the notes Yang Chan brought back, but her Pill Formation Success Rate hadn’t changed at all.
Therefore, it was only after seeing Yang Chan that she understood what a true genius was: someone who could always defy expectations and reach unattainable heights.
"It just takes a bit of effort!"
Yang Chan said nonchalantly, glancing at Princess Lan Yue.
’I just put in some effort. Others can do it too, it just takes them a different amount of time.’
’After all, while I don’t use Potential Points to improve it, the proficiency function on my panel is real. As long as I put in the work, I get results. There’s no upper limit; once I reach the maximum, I’ll break through directly.’
"That’s something you say to encourage novice Martial Arts Cultivators and Pharmacist’s Assistants. For people like us, Talent is crucial. Without it, no amount of effort will save you from futility!"
Princess Lan Yue, however, did not agree.
In the past, she would have agreed wholeheartedly, as she attributed her own achievements to her hard work. But after meeting Yang Chan, she finally understood just how vast the gap between them was.
The results she might achieve after one or two years of hard work were perhaps what Yang Chan could accomplish in just a few days. In that kind of situation, the harder she worked, the wider the gap would become.
This was how the other Pharmacists in the Pharmacist Alliance used to look at her, and it was how she now looked at Yang Chan.
She could see his back, but it only seemed to be getting farther and farther away.
It seemed her only chance to surpass Yang Chan had been before he caught up. Now he had not only caught up but had left her behind. For her to catch him again would be next to impossible.
"When you have no other options, effort is the only option!"
"If you don’t even try, you lose the right to move forward at all!"
Yang Chan noticed the dejected look on Princess Lan Yue’s face and decided to console her. She was a highly effective tool, after all. She refined many of the elixirs he currently had, so he couldn’t let her just give up and slack off.
The harder Princess Lan Yue worked and the better the elixirs she could refine, the more she could help him.
As for ’lying flat’ and giving up, that was out of the question.
Though he had to admit, ’lying flat’ might let her unique charms show... but that wasn’t important.
"I know all that. It’s just... Pharmacist Yang, you don’t realize how immense your Talent for Alchemy is."
"Back then, when my master saw my Talent for being a Pharmacist, he said I was perfectly suited for it and that very few people in the world could compare to me!"
"And I always believed that to be true!"
"Until I met you, Pharmacist Yang. Then I discovered that while such people are few, they do exist. And when they do, they are so far beyond me... an insurmountable existence with a vast, uncrossable gap between us!"
A hint of resentment crept into Princess Lan Yue’s gaze as she looked at Yang Chan. This was about more than just the gap in their skills as Pharmacists; it was about the results of all her previous efforts.
She was exceptional, even without her title, but the man before her seemed completely unfazed by it all.
She had been so forward, yet with no results.
Although there were other motives behind her advances.
"There’s always someone better, a sky beyond the sky."
"The world we see now is only a part of the whole. Beyond our doors lies a much wider world. Only by gaining more Experience can you truly see yourself clearly."
"The Holy Lands that reside in Grotto Heavens are a perfect example!"
Yang Chan had a very clear understanding of himself, and his perspective already extended as far as the Holy Lands.
Taiyu Divine Continent wasn’t the only place with life. According to the Black Dragon, after discovering that the Divine Vein of the Taiyu Divine Continent had been destroyed, the truly powerful experts had already left for places more suitable for Cultivation.
So, what if he was the greatest genius on the Taiyu Divine Continent? Only invincible strength could grant him the power to protect himself.
Yang Chan was well aware of all this, so he was naturally unaffected by Princess Lan Yue’s words.
"I’ve heard my master speak of the Holy Lands. He said they’re different from the outside world, like self-contained realms rich with Spiritual Qi, making them more suitable for Martial Arts Cultivation. But even there, he said there are very few Pharmacists as incredible as you, Pharmacist Yang."
Princess Lan Yue first nodded, then shook her head.
She had never entered a Holy Land herself, but she knew a little about them—some from written records, and some from the words of her elders.
Comments