Chapter 78: Chapter 78: I’m Still Low-Key for the New Year

Just a few days after Yang Chan and the others returned to the Cyan Yuan Sect, the new year arrived. This was also why many of the injured disciples had hurried back.

The New Year wasn’t just a holiday. For many disciples of the Cyan Yuan Sect, it was also an incredibly important day: the day of the Sect’s grand competition.

If a disciple performed exceptionally well in the competition, they might win the favor of an Elder and become their disciple. Although they wouldn’t immediately become a Direct Disciple, having an Elder as a master greatly increased the chances of becoming one.

Furthermore, on New Year’s Day, the Cyan Yuan Sect would provide many rare medicinal ingredients as rewards for the competition. Even if a disciple didn’t catch an Elder’s eye, these rewards were more than enough to advance their Cultivation.

On this day, Qi Nourishing Soup and Strengthening and Nourishing Porridge were also made available in unlimited quantities to Official Disciples. Of course, these benefits were only for Official Disciples and above; Servant Disciples received none of them. However, Yang Chan remembered that on New Year’s Day, even the everyday food became much more lavish, and they would get to eat meat.

Elite Disciples could receive various medicines to aid their External Refining, such as Bear Gallbladder Skin-Toughening Ointment and Jade Essence Skin Refining Powder. The benefits were truly plentiful.

After participating in the sect competition, those who ranked well would not only receive rewards from the Sect but also from the various halls. The better their performance, the more Cultivation Resources they would obtain. It wasn’t even out of the question to earn enough Cultivation Resources to last for a year or two.

For the many disciples of the Cyan Yuan Sect, this was a massive, life-changing opportunity. There was once a tale of an Official Disciple who caught an Elder’s eye, became an Elder Disciple, and then, after more than a decade, was promoted to a Direct Disciple. This inspiring story had all the disciples of the Cyan Yuan Sect rubbing their hands in anticipation, eager to display their own prowess.

Yang Chan, however, was unmoved. He didn’t lack any of the Sect’s rewards. Or rather, the Sect’s rewards weren’t all that tempting to a Pharmacist.

The only exception was the accumulated Contribution Points, but for most people, that was an intangible reward.

Yang Chan’s focus wasn’t on the sect competition, but on his panel.

In the Lifespan column, the number 16 had changed to 17. He was another year older. Although he still had a long way to go before reaching his total Lifespan of 110, his ’small goal’ of living to be a thousand was still unfulfilled.

’A short Lifespan really makes a man anxious.’

After all, a century could pass in the blink of an eye.

“Senior Brother Yang, are you not participating in the sect competition?”

After finishing his duties as a Pharmacist’s Assistant, Sun Qi Wu made a special trip to see Yang Chan. He wanted to maintain their good relationship and would sometimes ask for advice on Pharmacist-related matters, which Yang Chan would answer directly if he knew.

“I’m not. I plan on reading more books about being a Pharmacist. There are just too many on the second floor of the Medicine Hall Collection Pavilion.”

“Besides, I need to practice my Fist Technique and break through to External Refining as soon as possible.”

Yang Chan’s stance was firm. ’What’s the point of participating? It’s better to keep a low profile.’

’That last incident, while a fortunate coincidence, drew too much attention. I should lie low for a while. Before long, everyone will forget about it.’

’What if I participate in the competition and suddenly catch the eye of someone ruthless like Lü Zhenghai?’

’He’d assign me a pile of off-mountain missions, sending me out as bait. That would be a disaster.’

So, Yang Chan planned to stay in the Medicine Hall. After completing his fixed daily tasks, he would accumulate Potential Points and cultivate diligently in secret. Sooner or later, he would become an Inner Master, or even a Bone Marrow Cleansing Grandmaster.

’Short-term gains couldn’t compare to long-term benefits.’

With his current status as a Pharmacist, he wouldn’t be short on medicinal ingredients or other such things, even without the rewards from the sect competition. So for him, it was pointless.

“You, on the other hand, could give it a shot,” Yang Chan said. “I hear you’re pretty good with the Demon Suppressing Swordsmanship. It would be a good chance to test your skills and maybe pick up some rewards.”

Yang Chan and Sun Qi Wu had known each other for some time, and Yang Chan had certainly heard him boast about how great his Demon Suppressing Swordsmanship was. Apparently, no one among the Pharmacist’s Assistants could defeat him.

As for how he fared against other disciples, Yang Chan had no idea.

“I’ve already signed up! I’m determined to put on a good show and let the disciples from the other halls see what we in the Medicine Hall are made of.”

Sun Qi Wu declared, brimming with confidence.

While he had never killed anyone with his Demon Suppressing Swordsmanship, he had certainly defeated plenty of opponents.

“Go on, then. Show them what you’ve got.”

Yang Chan smiled and nodded. The sect competition was generally safe, anyway. With the Sect Elders watching over it, they wouldn’t allow any serious injuries or deaths to occur.

The two chatted for a little while longer before Sun Qi Wu left. He said he needed to practice his swordsmanship more so he could put it to good use.

For people like Sun Qi Wu, there were two paths forward. The first was to follow in the footsteps of the former Pharmacist’s Assistant, Chu Mo: break through to External Refining Copper Skin and become an Elite Disciple. The second was to be like Yang Chan and become a Pharmacist.

Both paths were extremely difficult to walk. However, just having an extra option was a rare and precious opportunity that many people could only dream of.

Most Official Disciples in the Cyan Yuan Sect only had one path available to them: becoming an Elite Disciple. That was why they had to fight over every kind of Cultivation Resource.

They couldn’t afford to miss events like the sect competition, because relatively safe opportunities to acquire Cultivation Resources were few and far between.

Take, for instance, the recent mission to deal with the Three Major Sects. Although the Cultivation Resources gained were substantial, the casualty rate was also high. Among the disciples who went on that mission, no Direct Disciples died, but several were injured.

The Elite Disciples suffered casualties, with over ten dead and more than fifty injured—a significant number.

As for the Official Disciples, nearly half of them died, and the vast majority were injured. The casualties could only be described as devastating.

And this was only because the Cyan Yuan Sect later decided to end things quickly, dispatching several Inner Master-level Elders to crush the experts from the Three Major Sects with overwhelming force.

Otherwise, the casualties would have been even higher.

However, the disciples who survived would all receive substantial resources, allowing many of them to rapidly increase their strength and even earn a promotion to Elite Disciple.

And among those Elite Disciples, some might use these Cultivation Resources to become Direct Disciples.

At every level, there was a chance for promotion.

It was like a pyramid: once a portion of the people at a lower level were eliminated, someone from the remaining group could rise up and advance to the level above.

But the higher the level, the fewer people there were.

In the end, Martial Arts Cultivation still required Cultivation Resources to advance quickly.

This was the fate of most people.

Even the Inner Masters of the Cyan Yuan Sect had emerged from this process, clawing their way up step by step to reach their current positions. Very few had a smooth and easy journey.

As for replenishing the ranks of Official Disciples, new recruits were selected from among the Servant Disciples, brought in from the Affiliated Forces under the Cyan Yuan Sect, or even came from within the Sect itself. There were many ways to find new disciples. Therefore, even though nearly half of the Official Disciples on the mission had died, it didn’t have a major impact on the Cyan Yuan Sect as a whole.

On the contrary, a large number of replacements would be brought in, and among them, individuals with higher Talent might appear and slowly rise through the ranks. For the Cyan Yuan Sect, this was a virtuous cycle.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep