Chapter 25: Chapter 25: Global University Students' Elixir Competition_1
After securing the laboratory door and drawing the curtains, he sat in a seat and swallowed a Gathering Qi Pill, entering a meditative state once again.
The effectiveness of the Gathering Qi Pill was slow to manifest and it required Cultivators to conscientiously absorb it; otherwise, if an ordinary person consumed it, it would be akin to eating a small rice ball, simply being digested into feces and serving no other purpose.
Sitting in his seat, Fang Ren focused his consciousness on sensing the Grey root within his body.
As the Gathering Qi Pill entered his body, the Grey root within him suddenly exhibited a faint pulse, and Fang Ren, overjoyed, immediately sent his consciousness to control the movement of the Gathering Qi Pill towards it.
But before he could sense the presence of the Gathering Qi Pill, he suddenly felt a tremor within him, and the Grey root grew a branch crazily, which moved rapidly inside his body and quickly snatched the Gathering Qi Pill he had just swallowed.
Whoosh—
The branch, dragging the Gathering Qi Pill, hurried back and pulled the entire pill into the Grey root.
Everything calmed inside his body, and the Grey root... seemed unchanged.
"This..."
After waiting for several minutes and still noticing no change, Fang Ren could only frown and open his eyes, taking out his phone to search online for information about what should happen when a Cultivator ingests a Gathering Qi Pill.
However, after looking through a lot of information, he found that most sources on the internet agreed that Gathering Qi Pills, once ingested, get absorbed by the True Qi in the meridians, thus enhancing the richness of the True Qi.
None of the many sources of information mentioned absorption by the Spiritual Root.
Fang Ren was baffled. What exactly was this thing inside his body? The pill supposed to be absorbed by the meridians was absorbed by it instead, and in the end, nothing changed...
"Another one?"
Fang Ren furrowed his brows and once again opened his small iron box, which still contained three Gathering Qi Pills and one Rejuvenation Pill.
Normal Cultivators could only take a Gathering Qi Pill once a month; though a good thing, consuming too many within a month would fatigue the meridians and actually reduce the efficiency of cultivation.
"Meridian fatigue isn't the same as Spiritual Root fatigue, anyway, whether this thing is a Spiritual Root is still uncertain."
With this thought, Fang Ren immediately tossed another Gathering Qi Pill into his mouth and started meditating again, hoping to see some change in the Grey root.
But within seconds, he was stunned again.
The Grey root swallowed his Gathering Qi Pill once more, and it did so much faster than before.
After the pill was swallowed, Fang Ren didn't rush to do anything else, since ingesting two Gathering Qi Pills in one day would usually leave an ordinary Cultivator fatigued to the point of drowsiness.
Another ten minutes passed, and Fang Ren sensed no change in his body.
This troubled him. If his meridians had no reaction to the Gathering Qi Pill, didn't that mean he wasn't a Cultivator at all, and the pill was digested just like food by an ordinary person?
"Troublesome."
He sighed deeply and directly tossed the remaining two Gathering Qi Pills from the box into his mouth. The result was the same; as soon as they were inside, they were pulled away and swallowed by the Grey root.
This time the root acted even faster; he hadn't even fully tasted them before they were gone...
"Oh my! What a temper of mine!"
Fang Ren was getting annoyed and, without a second word, threw the last Rejuvenation Pill from the small iron box into his mouth.
Compared to the Gathering Qi Pill, the Rejuvenation Pill seemed far superior, able to quickly replenish the consumption of True Qi inside the body, with a very significant effect and a whopping price—100,000 for just one pill.
While the medicine was good, ordinary people would only suffer diarrhea after taking it, even to the point of collapse...
Acting impulsively, Fang Ren didn't care about that at all, he just went for it; the root was too arrogant, showing no reaction, not even thanking him for consuming his elixir.
Even a beggar knows to nod or bow in thanks for a coin, yet after having spent 90,000, it didn't seem to recognize the cost at all.
Having angrily swallowed the Rejuvenation Pill, Fang Ren waited for any reaction from the root.
This time the Grey root didn't immediately consume it; instead, a branch grew out from it and gently touched the Rejuvenation Pill, as if probing something.
"Scared now, aren't you?"
Feeling like he had won a battle of wills, a smile appeared on Fang Ren's face.
But before he could enjoy the moment longer, the branch suddenly penetrated the Rejuvenation Pill, which then began to shrink as if being absorbed.
When the Rejuvenation Pill had diminished to the size of a toy gun pellet, the branch detached from within it and didn't retract immediately but flicked, sending the remaining Rejuvenation Pill flying out, as if trying to land a parting hit.
Fang Ren was stunned, almost on the verge of cursing aloud.
This thing actually has the nerve to be picky with food!?
But before his anger could flare up, he suddenly realized something was amiss—the Rejuvenation Pill wasn't completely absorbed. Didn't that mean it ended up in his stomach...
"Fuck!"
With a roar, Fang Ren dashed straight for the toilet.
...
In the bathroom, all that could be heard was a relentless torrent of noise, and when Fang Ren finally emerged, he was clenching his buttocks, his face pale as he leaned against the wall.
That Rejuvenation Pill was no joke, such a tiny thing and it almost made him pass out from the ordeal.
He tried to sense the grey root within him with his consciousness, but it lay inert, as if dead.
"Big brother, give me a sign..."
Fang Ren's heart was filled with despair.
If those on the Alchemist Forum knew that Master Qing'an was brought low by a Rejuvenation Pill to the point of clutching his butt, who knows what might happen.
"Ding dong..."
A message arrived.
Fang Ren took out his phone from his pocket and found that Liu Qianqian was asking all the students in the class group to gather, as she had an announcement to make.
Fang Ren trudged to the class with a pained expression and his buttocks tightly clenched, finally feeling a sense of control returning to his backside as he randomly chose a spot to sit down.
"Ranzi, what happened to you, dude?"
Jing Haichuan and Li Xingwang immediately crowded over from beside him.
Fang Ren quickly let go of the hand supporting his waist and managed a smile on his face, "Just had a bit of a stomachache."
"Bullshit! Trust my years of experience, pallid complexion, hand on the waist, that vacant look on the face; these are the clear signs of excessive indulgence!" Jing Haichuan said seriously.
"Little brother," Li Xingwang said, with a meaningful look, patting Fang Ren's shoulder, "although your wife is beautiful, you have to take care of your body. You're too young to be ruined like this."
"What nonsense are you spouting?" Fang Ren said with a look of disdain.
"No more talk, no more talk.
My Jing Company bears the great responsibility for the survival of the next generation of humans, so of course we have considered the health of this generation," Jing Haichuan, pulling out a box of kidney tonic from nowhere, placed it on the table and patted Fang Ren's shoulder, "With Jing Brand Kidney Tonic, she'll be happy, and so will you!
Boost the survival rate of the next generation, contribute to human society by reproducing! From now on, you will stand tall forever, and she will love you forever!"
"Bullshit! I don't need that crap!" Fang Ren was a mess of cringe and confusion.
"Don't be shy, man; we are all men here. There's no worn-out land, only exhausted bulls, little brother!"
"Get lost!"
"Okay, okay, let's all quiet down now, I have something to announce," Liu Qianqian said as she knocked on the podium and the noise in the class quickly subsided.
"Is Jian Qi'er not here again?" she asked.
"Probably ran off to play again."
Hearing this, Liu Qianqian also showed a helpless expression.
In the three years since she arrived, Jian Qi'er's enthusiasm for skipping classes remained unmatched; no one could curtail it, for even if they did, her pitiful and adorably clueless demeanor made it difficult for anyone to be too harsh on her.
After organizing her notebook, Liu Qianqian continued, "Things have been a bit busy around school recently. Next week is the sports meet, but at the start of next month, it's the international university competition for elixirs in the preliminaries."
"You can't be serious, class leader; this is what you wanted to announce?" a male student asked.
"This global event has nothing to do with us. Even knowing about it is useless, participating would just mean being cannon fodder," another male student said.
"Yeah, we can't even make the most basic Gather Qi Pill, and those key universities are already producing elites who can make second-order elixirs," a female student said disinterestedly.
"Don't be so disheartened; it's the participation that counts," Liu Qianqian continued. "Moreover, the prizes for the regional competition are quite generous.
Even if we don't get in the top three of the regions, the top ten will also be encouraged, and the first place in the regional competition will be directly qualified to enter the Tianxuan Alchemist Guild."
As her words fell, the students below were slightly stunned, and then a cacophony erupted.
"Holy shit! The Tianxuan Alchemist Guild is recruiting? Isn't that the guild that only elites among the Tianjiang aristocrats can enter?"
"That top-tier guild from Tianjiang? Holy crap! If we get in, we won't have to worry about money or women for the rest of our lives!"
"The ultimate goal for all alchemists! Once you're in that guild, you can choose to settle in Tianjiang!"
"Hey, hey, hey, wake up, wake up, it's got nothing to do with us."
"Who cares if it's got nothing to do with us; I want to dream about it, can't I?"
"Damn, If I'd known there was such a big opportunity in life, I would have been practicing alchemy from the womb!"
"All right, all right, let's be quiet for a moment," Liu Qianqian continued, "Getting into the Tianxuan Alchemist Guild is just the prize for the regional champion.
After the regional event, there is still the grand final among the regional champions, which will be hosted by the Bai Family Head of Tianjiang. If you can go, you will definitely get to see Princess Bai Xi of the Bai Family.
Moreover, the prizes for the champion of the grand final are extremely rich, with the first place directly being taken as a Closed-door Disciple by the second elder of the Tianjiang Fang Family.
The second place will bypass the qualification exam and be directly trained as a reserve alchemist for Battlefield One. The third place will get a Fourth-order Elixir, an Extension Breath Pill."