Chapter 91: Chapter 91: Easy on the Eyes, Good for the Heart

Yang Chan was at the Medicine Hall’s examination area, conducting an assessment for Official Disciples who wanted to become his Pharmacist’s Assistant. Four people were participating this time, and their quality was a significant improvement over the last batch. It was clear they had all prepared extensively, unlike the previous group who had come in a rush.

Because of what happened last time, Yang Chan planned to lower the requirements a bit for this assessment.

While the knowledge of the 1,253 commonly used herbs was non-negotiable, he planned to lower the standard for all other related knowledge—pharmacology, judging medicinal properties, analyzing efficacy, determining age, and identifying herb classifications—to a fifth of the level required when he himself had taken the assessment.

The reason for this was simple: it was becoming awkward not to have a Pharmacist’s Assistant. ’People will think my standards are too high.’ As a Pharmacist who preferred to keep a low profile and blend in, he couldn’t afford to stand out too much.

So, he needed to get someone to fill the position. Though the four candidates had prepared, only two of them barely met his requirements, and even they were borderline cases. He could lower his standards enough to pass one of them, but he wasn’t going to lower them for a second. Therefore, he only planned on selecting one person.

In the end, a fair-skinned, beautiful female disciple became his Pharmacist’s Assistant. This candidate possessed many other excellent qualities, such as looking quite fertile and like her children would never go hungry. Naturally, the other male disciple was swept aside.

Making such choices was very simple for Yang Chan. ’And I’m extremely fair about it,’ he thought, ’with absolutely no personal bias involved whatsoever.’

When the female disciple answered a question about goji berries, her information was exceptionally detailed, and she even offered several valuable suggestions. In this regard, she was far superior to the male disciple, and thus, she was victorious.

Speaking of this female disciple, Yang Chan actually knew of her. Back when he first became an Official Disciple of the Cyan Yuan Sect, on his way to the Martial Arts Training Institute, Shi Gaoshun had told him about six small factions among the disciples. This woman was a minor leader in one of them—the very daughter of a Noble Family known for being adept at playing all sides.

Normally, Yang Chan would never have chosen a female disciple to be his Pharmacist’s Assistant, as that usually meant trouble. However, he now needed to borrow her resources to help him gather information about Tan City.

’Someone so well-connected is bound to have a great deal of information. She’ll be useful.’

As for the potential for trouble, with his current dual status as an Elite Disciple and a Pharmacist, very few people could actually cause him any. Openly, only Direct Disciples or individuals at the Steward Level or higher posed any real threat.

And why would people of that caliber start a conflict with him over a mere Official Disciple? After all, he still held the title of Genius Pharmacist, which was the very reason people like Zhao Yi sought to be on good terms with him.

His recent success in refining the Lantian Jade Refining Pill had also caused a bit of a stir, allowing him to stand out as he integrated into the Pharmacist community and further increasing his value.

If the Sect insisted on sending people to Tan City, these factors would also reduce his chances of being selected.

’Of course,’ Yang Chan mused, ’I also want to revisit my “beauty-based wellness regimen.” It might not have worked in my past life, but at least it’s easy on the eyes and good for the soul!’

’Having a pretty Pharmacist’s Assistant would be a nice bonus.’

After announcing the results, Yang Chan told Han Bingyu—the female disciple who had passed the assessment—to report to the Medicine Hall and Pharmacy the next day to begin assisting him. This would make his life easier, since having a Pharmacist’s Assistant meant he could finally delegate some of his work.

「…」

On his way back to the Medicine Hall and Pharmacy, Yang Chan saw many disciples signing up for the mission to Tan City. It was an advance registration, and it was clear that many couldn’t sit still after seeing their acquaintances rapidly advance their cultivation following the recent annihilation of the Three Major Sects.

In the eyes of many, a mission to Tan City to deal with the No-Life Evil Cult was a guaranteed success. By joining the fight, they could obtain substantial cultivation resources and quickly advance their cultivation.

Seeing this, he knew the Cyan Yuan Sect would soon be dispatching people down the mountain.

The last time Elders Lü Zhenghai and Luo Zhenhai had descended the mountain, they had not only brought many disciples but also three Pharmacists and nine Pharmacist’s Assistants to treat the wounded. This time, they would certainly bring more Pharmacists as support.

Yang Chan wasn’t sure if any Intermediate Pharmacists would be sent, but Basic Level Pharmacists were a certainty. This caused a knot of anxiety to form in his stomach.

The situation in Tan City was still unresolved, which meant the No-Life Evil Cult must have Inner Master experts among their ranks. Even though he had reached the stage of External Iron Bone Refining, he had no desire to be involved in a clash with masters of that caliber. ’Leaving the mountain still feels far too dangerous for me.’

“Pharmacist Yang, how did the Pharmacist’s Assistant assessment go?”

Zhao Yi greeted with a smile as he saw Yang Chan enter the Medicine Hall and Pharmacy.

Ever since receiving the Lantian Jade Refining Pill from Yang Chan, Zhao Yi’s attitude toward him had improved even more. After all, it was a tangible benefit.

He had taken the Lantian Jade Refining Pill refined by Yang Chan and found its effects to be excellent. This made him admire Yang Chan’s skill in alchemy, and at the same time, made him eager to try refining one himself.

“I lowered the requirements a bit, and one person finally qualified. She’ll be coming in tomorrow to help.”

Yang Chan replied with a smile. ’I won’t be working alone anymore. This is great.’

“Right, it’s best to start with one. Having a helper makes things much easier. The requirements for my first Pharmacist’s Assistant weren’t that high either.”

Zhao Yi wasn’t surprised. It was common for Pharmacists to lower their standards when choosing their first assistant. That explained why the few people who showed up for Yang Chan’s first assessment were less skilled; they were just trying their luck.

“Look at me now. Every day, after a bit of diagnosis work, I can hand everything over to my Pharmacist’s Assistant. I just sit here and read a book, and only go check on things if a problem comes up. Isn’t it great?”

Zhao Yi continued, lowering his voice toward the end as if sharing an insider’s secret, not wanting to be too obvious.

“You’re right,” Yang Chan said with a formal smile. “Even as Pharmacists, we must spend time studying in order to improve and make greater contributions to the Sect.”

“Mm, only by improving can we be of greater use,” Zhao Yi echoed. His expression was far more upright than it had been a moment ago.

“Very good. Even a Pharmacist must have such awareness!”

Just then, another voice chimed in with praise. It was Wang Gang, the Steward of the Medicine Hall. He was an Intermediate Pharmacist of the Cyan Yuan Sect, a figure on the same level as Xu Gaocen. To a certain extent, he was in charge of Yang Chan and the other Pharmacists in the Medicine Hall and Pharmacy, but he rarely involved himself in management, spending most of his time engrossed in pharmaceutical texts in his private room.

He would only intervene if a matter arose that the Basic Level Pharmacists like Yang Chan could not handle. Since arriving at the Pharmacy, Yang Chan had never personally seen the man treat anyone, though he knew the Sect Elders had sought out Wang Gang before. He didn’t know the specific details of that situation, however.

The reason Yang Chan had suddenly adopted such a formal tone was that he had seen Wang Gang appear and had wanted to subtly warn Zhao Yi.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep