Eternal Life Starts from Tai Chi-Chapter 153: I Stand Against Evil

’Inner Refining has gotten a lot harder, and my proficiency is increasing even slower now.’

After midnight, Yang Chan allocated his Potential Points to the Flood Dragon Demon Breath Method. Two Potential Points only increased his proficiency by one percent, which was far less than he had expected.

He had only completed a small step in the Tempering of his lungs and spleens. It was no wonder breaking through to the Inner Master realm was so difficult. It was going to take much more than he had anticipated.

He began the Inner Refining of his Lungs and Spleens according to the Tempering method, but his progress was slow. This kind of internal Tempering required extreme caution, so the Cultivation process was time-consuming and inefficient.

It was much slower than when he had been nurturing his Flood Dragon Demon Force.

And he had the help of Potential Points. Others would progress even more slowly.

Take the Cyan Yuan Sect’s Young Sect Leader, Liu Shengyu. Many said he would become the sect’s youngest Inner Master, but there was a time limit attached to that claim: within five years.

Liu Shengyu was already at the Peak of External Iron Bone Refining. He lacked nothing in terms of Cultivation Resources or Cultivation Techniques, and his Martial Arts Talent was Superior.

Even so, it would still take him five years to even have a chance of breaking through to become an Inner Master. This showed just how difficult the breakthrough was.

Yang Chan calculated that to become an Inner Master, he would have to cultivate the Flood Dragon Breathing Technique to Tier Three Mastery. Only then could he complete the Tempering of a single organ and become an Inner Master expert.

Based on his current progress with Potential Points—gaining 2.7 per day, which translated to a 1.35% increase in proficiency—he would need about 74 days to break through to the Inner Refining Grandmaster Realm.

If he managed to refine a First Revolution Nourishing Viscera Pill in the meantime, he could speed up the process considerably. In addition, he also practiced the Flood Dragon Breathing Technique in his spare time. If he dedicated most of his time to it, he could shorten the timeframe even further.

This pace was already much faster than that of the Cyan Yuan Sect’s supposed genius, Young Sect Leader Liu Shengyu.

’So-called prodigies are nothing but chumps in front of me.’

’Youngest? In the entire Cyan Yuan Sect, no one is faster than me.’

’For the time being, I’ll spend most of my energy on the Flood Dragon Breathing Technique. First, become an Inner Master. Everything else can wait.’

Yang Chan’s resolve never wavered. He would focus on becoming an Inner Master first. Even if it took a long time, he felt it was the safer path.

As his Cultivation progressed, he came to understand just how vast the gap was between an Inner Master and someone at the External Iron Bone Refining stage.

While an External Refining Iron Bone Expert was powerful, they were nothing before an Inner Master. This was his biggest motivation for improving his Martial Arts Cultivation.

’I refuse to be seen as a mere ant in the eyes of others.’

After allocating his points, Yang Chan didn’t linger and went straight to sleep.

...

「Medicine Hall.」

「Pharmacy.」

"Pharmacist Zhao, you seem pretty relaxed lately. Not preparing any medicine packs?"

Yang Chan walked into the Pharmacy and saw Zhao Yi leaning back in his chair, looking quite comfortable.

"They don’t need me for now. Not many disciples have been injured recently, so I’ve spent most of my time reading medical texts. I’m about to puke from all the reading,"

Zhao Yi said with a look of complaint.

Pharmacists in the Cyan Yuan Sect were incredibly busy during peak times, but when things were slow, they were truly idle, with hardly anyone coming by.

This was especially true in the Pharmacy. With no injured disciples, there were even fewer people, so they would take on tasks like preparing medicine packs.

"Pharmacist Yang, what brings you here? I don’t think you have any tasks today!"

With fewer injured disciples in the Medicine Hall and Pharmacy, they had started a rotation schedule, and Yang Chan had no tasks assigned for the day.

"I’m just stopping by for a bit. I’m heading over to assess some Pharmacist’s Assistants later. Right now, I only have Han Bingyu, so I’m a little short-staffed."

A normal Pharmacist had four assistants, so Yang Chan naturally needed to fill the remaining spots. It was both a perk and a duty.

It was a perk because these people would be there to assist him. It was a duty because he was expected to train them, hopefully nurturing new Pharmacists, which would also earn him some Merit Points.

Most Pharmacists in the Cyan Yuan Sect’s Medicine Hall had started out by apprenticing under another Pharmacist, gradually learning the trade. Once they had grasped enough, they could take the assessment for Basic Level Pharmacist.

If they passed, they would become a Basic Level Pharmacist.

Yang Chan had followed the same path, and now it was his turn to train others.

He had also received a notice from the Medicine Hall’s assessment department to conduct evaluations and accept any promising candidates as his Pharmacist’s Assistants.

Before, Yang Chan had been away on a mission to Tan City. Otherwise, he would have continued assessing assistants until all his positions were filled.

He naturally wanted to recruit more assistants on this trip, as they could be of some help to him.

Now that Han Bingyu was no longer a Beginner, any new assistants he took on could be trained by her. This would save Yang Chan a great deal of effort, a point he had already considered thoroughly.

The time he had invested in training Han Bingyu was now paying off in more ways than one.

Yang Chan didn’t stay in the Pharmacy for long. Seeing that it was about time, he headed to the Medicine Hall’s assessment department. It wasn’t far from the Pharmacy, which was why he had stopped by first.

"You’re still short on assistants, you know. Go on and pick a few more pretty ones. They’re easy on the eyes and can still be a big help,"

Zhao Yi said, teasing him.

He was extremely jealous that Yang Chan had such a beautiful and exceptionally capable assistant like Han Bingyu. He would have loved to have someone like that, but when he was assessing his own assistants, he never encountered anyone as outstanding as her, which he found to be a pity.

Of course, there was another reason. When he was choosing his assistants, he had prioritized ability above all else, fearing that incompetent helpers would hold him back. This was advice a senior in the Pharmacy had given him, and now he was starting to regret it.

This was especially true whenever he saw the excellent Han Bingyu by Yang Chan’s side.

"You jest, Pharmacist Zhao. I’m someone who values ability above all else. If they aren’t capable enough, I simply won’t have them."

Yang Chan declared this decisively, his face a mask of righteousness.

He looked like a paragon of virtue, sworn to oppose all evil.

"Heh, whatever you like, Pharmacist Yang. As for ability, that’s something that can be cultivated with enough training."

Zhao Yi knew perfectly well that most assistants started with roughly the same level of ability. What mattered more was their effort later on. The harder someone worked, the more likely they were to stand out.

He had been a hard worker himself, so he had subconsciously chosen assistants who seemed diligent. Thinking back on it now, he realized it hadn’t made much of a difference. He might as well have picked a few who were pleasant to look at. Training them would have given him a sense of accomplishment, too.

"Thank you for the reminder, Pharmacist Zhao. I’ll give it some thought when I’m choosing my assistants."

Yang Chan didn’t explain further. After all, the more you try to explain some things, the more you’re misunderstood. It was better to just let his final choices speak for themselves. That was what truly mattered.