Chapter 161: Non-Compete Compensation

The two of them followed Cen Zhong out of the corner building, turned a few corners, and arrived at the side of a water pavilion.

Ruan Xing had originally assumed that the Second Floor Master everyone spoke of was some mysterious figure; she did not expect that upon meeting, the other party looked as kind as a grandmother from next door.

At this moment, she was sitting on a Cloud Chair, wearing a cyan outer robe, her head of silver hair pulled into a simple bun, her gaze peaceful as she looked at them kindly.

"Second Floor Master." Cen Zhong bowed slightly and stood by her side.

Ruan Xing and the other person also hurriedly saluted, "Greetings, Senior."

"Good, both are excellent." The Second Floor Master smiled: "I have already seen the Pills you two refined. In the art of alchemy, you are both outstanding. On behalf of Wanbao Tower, I extend an invitation for you to become apprentices of my Wanbao Tower. I will devote my efforts to cultivating and teaching you, but in return, once you have achieved success in alchemy, you must repay the Tower by supplying a portion of Pills annually for Wanbao Tower to sell. Of course, Wanbao Tower is not a Sect; we are merely a Chamber of Commerce. You may choose to end the Contract and leave Wanbao Tower at any time, but you must provide compensation to the Tower according to the terms of the Contract."

The male cultivator beside her could not hide his excitement and immediately spoke: "I am willing to take the Second Floor Master as my teacher and serve by your side for life!"

"It is an apprenticeship, not a master-disciple relationship," the Second Floor Master corrected with a smile and a shake of her head.

She would not take any disciples; these apprentices were merely for the sake of the Tower's cooperative needs.

The male cultivator felt slightly disappointed upon hearing this. The Second Floor Master of Wanbao Tower had quite a reputation among alchemists; she was a Sixth-Tier Alchemist. If one could take her as a teacher and learn a fraction of her skills, even if they did not work at Wanbao Tower in the future, they would be treated as honored guests by other forces upon leaving.

However, even without the title of master and disciple, getting a few words of instruction was still good. The alchemists who came to participate in the exchange meeting basically had no foundation or background, and Wanbao Tower was already the best place within their range of choices.

He continued to nod, "Naturally, I am willing."

"Good. From today on, you will stay here and learn alchemy with me," the Second Floor Master said. "Cen Zhong, take him to arrange his lodging."

Cen Zhong replied "Yes," and then led the male cultivator out.

Only Ruan Xing and the Second Floor Master remained in the water pavilion. The other party looked at Ruan Xing and said softly: "You refined a Breaking Boundary Pill during the competition. The recipe for this Pill is a tacitly accepted secret among all Sect forces; it is not easily taught without a year or two of observation. Since you were able to learn this recipe, why come to Wanbao Tower?"

Ruan Xing did not detect any malice in her tone, and she knew in her heart that whether she was willing to speak or not, Wanbao Tower would reach a cooperation with her. It was just that... she could not come up with a good reason for the time being, nor could she tell anyone about the Simulator.

Frowning slightly, Ruan Xing said: "Is that important?"

"It is not important. You have already come to Wanbao Tower, which already proves your choice. Regardless of past events, Wanbao Tower will not be afraid." The implication of the Second Floor Master's words was that even if Ruan Xing were a traitor to some Sect, Wanbao Tower would help her cover it up.

But if Ruan Xing did not tell the truth, even if Wanbao Tower wanted to help her, they would have no way to start.

Her smile faded slightly, "It doesn't matter if you don't want to say. The Tower investigated you before. You first appeared in Fengtian City, stayed for seven or eight days, and then suddenly disappeared. The second time was when you came to Canghai City. It seems you are very confident in your concealment techniques and do not need the Tower's help. Then, what is it that you need?"

"I need Spirit Stones, as well as the Fifth and Sixth-Tier Pill recipes in your possession," Ruan Xing said directly.

The Second Floor Master agreed immediately, "No problem. However, you should understand the rules in the Contract?"

The two most important points in the Contract were that one must provide high-grade Pills to the Tower annually, and if the Contract were terminated, one would need to cultivate a new alchemist for Wanbao Tower.

Ruan Xing's experience in alchemy mostly came from the Simulator; she really wasn't sure if she could teach others.

But she hadn't actually considered this problem. If she provided Pills to Wanbao Tower and they provided Spirit Stones, she would have to be a fool to think about leaving. With a money-guzzling device like the Simulator to maintain, the more Spirit Stones, the better.

Ruan Xing nodded in agreement, and the Second Floor Master also breathed a slight sigh of relief. When Cen Zhong returned, he took her to sign the Contract.

"What does this ten thousand Spirit Stones mean?" Ruan Xing asked, pointing to a clause in the Contract.

Cen Zhong replied: "This is additional remuneration, and also compensation for agreeing not to publicly sell the Pills you refine yourself. Therefore, a certain amount of Spirit Stones will be provided free of charge every year. You are a Third-rank Alchemist, so it is ten thousand Spirit Stones per year."

Isn't this just a non-compete compensation?

Ruan Xing raised an eyebrow. In other words, the price for a Fifth-Tier Alchemist is higher, right? Just now, at the Second Floor Master's place, the conversation implied that she was an alchemist who had left some force, so Ruan Xing didn't say much. Instead, she followed the other party's line of thinking and skipped over the Fourth-Tier to ask for Fifth and Sixth-Tier recipes directly.

After thinking for a moment, Ruan Xing quietly simulated it in her mind. After confirming that exposing her true level would be fine, she said: "Let's change it. I am actually a Fifth-Tier Alchemist."

"Change what... What!?" Cen Zhong opened his mouth in shock.

He couldn't help but suspect he had misheard, and confirmed again, "Fifth-Tier?"

"That's right."

"Please wait a moment, I need to go ask the Second Floor Master." Cen Zhong took the Contract and ran back.

Once the Second Floor Master learned the news Cen Zhong brought back, she didn't doubt it, but nodded naturally: "Then change it."

Although the Spirit Stones in the Contract increased, the grade of Pills Ruan Xing needed to provide also increased accordingly, so the Second Floor Master was not worried that Ruan Xing would engage in deceptive behavior regarding such matters.

Moreover, the Contract was also a special type of Dharma Artifact, containing a trace of the power of the Heavenly Dao as a notary.

The Second Floor Master sighed: "What kind of force could force a Fifth-Tier Alchemist to rebel... and not let out a single sound or piece of news? I haven't even heard of a Fifth-Tier Alchemist appearing anywhere."

"In the world of Cultivation, I'm afraid only the Hidden Sect is this mysterious," Cen Zhong speculated.

The last of the three great Sects was the Hidden Sect.

It was just that the Hidden Sect acted in an extremely mysterious and unpredictable manner; no one even knew where their mountain gate was located. The few times the Hidden Sect appeared, it was when there were major changes in the world of Cultivation. They claimed to act on behalf of the Heavenly Dao, maintaining the stability of the Cultivation world. And when the Cultivation world was peaceful and prosperous on the surface, they would disappear again.

"Do you think she is a member of the Hidden Sect?" A trace of doubt flashed in the Second Floor Master's eyes, but she immediately shook her head, "Although her transformation techniques somewhat fit the Hidden Sect's style, since she has come to Wanbao Tower, we must treat her as one of our own. You must never mention the Hidden Sect in front of her. You should know the importance of a Fifth-Tier Alchemist without me saying it."

Cen Zhong nodded heavily, "Yes."

"I was originally worried that there would be a gap in the Tower's business after I Return to Void, but now with her here, I can rest easy." The Second Floor Master lay back, looking somewhat exhausted, and supported her forehead with her hand. The Cloud Chair floated lightly and drifted into a room deep within the water pavilion. "When I have organized the Pill recipes she wants, send them to her. However, do not give them to her all at once."

Cen Zhong bowed slightly, and only after seeing the Second Floor Master's Cloud Chair pass the threshold and turn out of sight did he go back to replace the Contract with a new one.

Just like that, Ruan Xing's annual compensation became fifty thousand Low-grade Spirit Stones.

Ruan Xing signed the Contract happily and asked Cen Zhong, "The exchange meeting should be considered over, right? When will the rewards for the top three be distributed?" She was still keeping in mind the Spirit Stones from the sale of the Breaking Boundary Pill and the rewards for the top three.

Cen Zhong smiled: "It has long been prepared. It is a Medicine Cauldron refined by the Tower's Artifact Refiner, which has reached the level of a High-grade Magical Tool, along with a wisp of True Flame Alien Fire. When the two are used together, the risk of failure in refining high-grade Pills is reduced."

Ruan Xing didn't need to worry about failure anyway; her success rate was ridiculously high. However, she was quite satisfied with this reward. The grade of the Alien Fire was higher than Earth Fire, and its service life was longer. It was truly troublesome to have to replace a wisp of Earth Fire every year or two. With the Alien Fire, she wouldn't have to worry about this problem for at least a dozen years. She didn't know much about the types of Alien Fire, but since the True Flame Alien Fire had a name, it should be considered top-tier among Alien Fires.

"By the way, does the Second Floor Master have some hidden ailment?"

She had been curious just now why the Second Floor Master had been sitting on the Cloud Chair without moving, and hadn't stood up even after chatting for a long time. She didn't think the Second Floor Master's attitude was arrogant; on the contrary, she felt the Second Floor Master was unable to stand up.

And her appearance... regardless of their cultivation level, most female cultivators in the world of Cultivation pay attention to their bodies. Even if they don't use beauty-preserving Pills to maintain their looks, they keep their bodies in a youthful state. Only those who are about to reach the end of their lifespan or are at the end of their rope would let themselves age.

She couldn't see through the Second Floor Master's cultivation, which proved that the other party was at least at the Yuaning Late Stage. Having experienced the reshaping of her physical body, it was impossible for her to be at the end of her lifespan, so it could only be one of the possibilities like injury or poisoning.

It couldn't be that she had a special hobby and gave herself an old lady's body when she reshaped her physical body, right?

Ruan Xing felt this possibility was very low.

Upon hearing this, Cen Zhong's body stiffened, and he replied: "You overestimate me. I am merely an alchemist apprentice serving the Second Floor Master; how could I know such secret matters."

He spoke humbly, but being able to work by the Second Floor Master's side with a low cultivation level and reaching the level of a Third-rank Alchemist, he still had a certain status by the Second Floor Master's side.

Ruan Xing was noncommittal.

A total of over a hundred alchemists participated in this competition, but after they all signed the Contracts and left, only Ruan Xing and that First-rank Alchemist remained.

The apprentices under the Second Floor Master are not many, and they all live together quite close to the Second Floor Master's water pavilion; however, perhaps to show special respect to Ruan Xing, she was given a detached courtyard as her residence.

The Medicine Cauldron and the strange fire were installed in the Pill Room within the courtyard; Ruan Xing, eager to test them, prepared to show her skills and instructed the attendant, "I need to familiarize myself with the heat and feel of this strange fire; go and fetch some materials for Third-Tier Pills."

Upon hearing this, the attendant soon delivered five sets of materials for Breaking Boundary Pills to her.

Perhaps because they did not know which pill recipes Ruan Xing actually knew, they only sent the pills she had refined during the competition.

However, this was exactly what she wanted, as the Breaking Boundary Pill is the most expensive type among Third-Tier Pills.

After entering the Pill Room and refining the new strange fire, she tossed the old Earth Fire aside and Ruan Xing began a new round of pill refining.

It was not until several days later when Cen Zhong visited that Ruan Xing emerged from the Pill Room.

Cen Zhong had long since learned from the attendant that Ruan Xing was testing the efficacy of the strange fire, "How is it? Are you satisfied with using this strange fire?"

"It is indeed quite good; the speed of forming pills has even become a bit faster," Ruan Xing laughed.

She took out a jade box and gave it to Cen Zhong, "Inside are the Breaking Boundary Pills I refined these past few days; take them to the building to be sold together."

Cen Zhong opened it and took a look; there were twenty-three pills inside. After a rough estimate, he exclaimed in surprise, "The success rate is actually nearly ninety percent?"

Although it is overkill for a Fifth-Tier alchemist to refine Third-Tier pills, Ruan Xing was refining them to test the strange fire, and she only failed one out of five sets of materials, which, in Cen Zhong's view, was already quite astonishing.

Ruan Xing rubbed her nose, "Just a stroke of luck; I find this strange fire extremely easy to use."

In reality, she had refined a total of twenty-nine Breaking Boundary Pills... she hadn't failed a single batch.

But she worried that this success rate was a bit frightening, so she kept six of them for herself.

In the future, she could give them to her subordinates in her Sect, or sell them elsewhere under a different identity.

"By the way, what did you come here for?" she changed the subject.

Cen Zhong finally remembered the purpose of his visit and took out a Storage Bag and a Jade Slip, "Inside the Storage Bag are 58,000 Spirit Stones, and the Jade Slip contains some Fifth-Tier pill recipes; please take a look."

Ruan Xing took them, her Divine Sense probing inside, and scanned through them.

Most of them she had already learned in her Simulation, and there were only a few recipes she had never seen before, among which was the Infant Transformation Pill she had always wanted.

It seems Wanbao Tower trusts her quite a bit, as they even gave her the recipe for the Infant Transformation Pill directly.

After looking through them carefully, Ruan Xing looked up, "Why is there no Longevity Pill?"

As the hallmark of Fifth-Tier pills, the Longevity Pill is even useful to Gui Xu Xianjun.

"As far as I know, Wanbao Tower does not have the recipe for the Longevity Pill recorded," Cen Zhong replied.

"But I remember that the Longevity Pill has appeared in several auctions at Wanbao Tower," Ruan Xing frowned and said.

When she was paying attention to Fifth-Tier pill recipes in her previous Simulations, she had kept an eye on this information.

Cen Zhong said uncertainly, "Perhaps they were acquired from other forces or alchemists; I have also never seen the Building Master refine a Longevity Pill."

However, he does not participate in the business of the building; he only serves the Building Master and helps manage the apprentices under him, so he is not clear about where the specific auction items come from.

"Forget it," Ruan Xing said with some disappointment.

Perhaps it is not meant to be between her and the Longevity Pill; if such a priceless, rare recipe fell into her hands, she would be financially free.

After dismissing Cen Zhong, Ruan Xing had the attendant fetch materials and returned to the Pill Room; she was preparing to attempt refining the Infant Transformation Pill.

According to the Contract, she must provide Wanbao Tower with at least ten Fifth-Tier pills every year; she could start by fulfilling this year's quota.

Thanks to 'Fatty who jumped off the 18th floor' for the monthly ticket~ Thanks to book friend 20240127064302660 for the monthly ticket~(End of chapter)