You arrived at Xie Huide's place and discovered he had taken on two new disciples. One was named Jiao Mingxu, the other Bai Chen.

Jiao Mingxu was fifteen years old with an honest-looking face and a loyal, simple personality. He had decent martial arts talent, already at mid-stage Skin Refining, but his pill refining aptitude was rather poor, so he would mainly focus on martial arts in the future.

Bai Chen was somewhat special. At forty-two years old, he was quite old for a beginner. He had managed to become Xie Huide's disciple solely through his exceptional pill refining talent. Bai Chen was also at mid-stage Skin Refining. With his triangular eyes, he looked like a very cunning person at first glance.

To summarize these two:

Jiao Mingxu - honest, doesn't talk much

Bai Chen - old, doesn't tell much truth

Both were ordinary disciples, not personal disciples. Xie Huide had them follow you first, asking you to teach them basic pill refining knowledge.

You spent over ten days teaching them pill refining. One day after the lesson, Bai Chen asked you: "Senior brother, are we allowed to freely come and go from the sect?"

Though Bai Chen was much older than you, since your pill refining skills and martial cultivation were both superior to his, he naturally called you "senior brother."

"Of course. Do you want to go down the mountain?"

Bai Chen smiled with his triangular eyes narrowed: "I want to go buy some personal supplies."

The honest Jiao Mingxu nodded beside him. Considering you hadn't been down the mountain in years either, you decided to take both of them down together.

You arrived at the nearest county town, Youtong County. After some eating, drinking and entertainment in the market district, you noticed that although Bai Chen didn't look like a good person, aside from being a bit sly, he wasn't actually bad. Having experienced the secular world for many years, he knew how to interact with people very well, making him quite pleasant company.

Jiao Mingxu was exactly as he appeared - an honest man whose catchphrase was "My mom said this and that." He would basically do whatever you, as senior brother, told him without any complaints.

The three of you came upon an obviously expensive restaurant. Bai Chen tactfully said: "Senior brother, you've been teaching us all these days. Let me treat you to a meal?"

Naturally you wouldn't refuse such a small thing. The three of you went in and sat down. A waiter immediately came to introduce the dishes, but the more he talked, the more obvious it became - this restaurant's prices were outrageously expensive. A single dish could cost a common family's monthly food budget. While this price meant nothing to you, you noticed Bai Chen starting to sweat slightly - clearly this was extremely stressful for him financially, but he couldn't just leave as that would show disrespect to you.

After the waiter finished his enthusiastic introduction, he politely asked: "What would you three like?"

You looked at Bai Chen, then stood up: "We're leaving." The waiter was stunned - he'd never heard of that "dish" before. Seeing you help him out of this situation, Bai Chen looked greatly relieved.

After leaving, Bai Chen quickly apologized: "Thank you for understanding, senior brother. I'm really a bit short on funds." You waved your hand, not minding such things. The three of you ended up eating at a simple roadside stall instead.

Full and satisfied, you were about to return to Danxia Sect when you passed by a brothel. Beauties on the second floor were waving handkerchiefs to attract customers, with a steady stream of men coming and going.

Bai Chen's eyes lit up. "Senior brother, care to join me?" His narrowed eyes shone with excited mischief.

"Junior brother Bai, the expenses here are even higher than that restaurant," you said with a laugh.

Bai Chen's eyes darted about before he smiled: "I can manage, I can manage."

You immediately understood - this old fox Bai Chen wasn't actually poor. He was just the type to save where he could and spend where he wanted.

"Junior brother Bai, you really know how to spend money where it counts," you complimented.

Bai Chen scratched his head sheepishly: "Senior brother summarizes it well!"

However, as a man devoted to martial cultivation, you had moved beyond such base desires and had no intention of going in. The honest Jiao Mingxu also spoke up: "My mom said going to brothels is bad."

Seeing neither of you were interested, Bai Chen had to give up, though he was already planning to come try the waters alone another time. Not forgetting to flatter, he added:

"Senior brother truly has noble character! As Danxia Sect members, we must never visit such filthy places, or we should have our third leg broken and be expelled from the sect!"

Just as Bai Chen finished speaking, Xie Huide walked out of the brothel. Seeing the three of you, he froze, his face full of embarrassment - he never expected to run into you here.

Walking over awkwardly, Xie Huide smacked his lips and said: "Well... disciples, if I said I came here to study the mysteries of the human body to improve my pill refining skills, would you believe me?"

You: "The weather is really nice today."

Jiao Mingxu: "My mom said the air is very fresh today too."

Bai Chen: "The clouds in the sky are so... cloudy!"

Xie Huide calmly said: "Name your price."

You held up one finger. Instantly, each of you found a bottle of Blood Qi Pills in your hands - a full hundred pills.

You: "How strange! We seem to have completely forgotten everything that happened today!"

"Now get lost back to the sect," Xie Huide said.

The three of you returned to Danxia Sect happily.

Year Seven

The past year had been another year of discipline. You refined pills in the morning, practiced martial arts in the afternoon, and enjoyed romance in the evening.

After a year of relentless effort, you finally achieved basic proficiency with third-grade pills, successfully refining your first third-grade pill. You examined this pill carefully - it was an important milestone marking your advancement in pill refining. Though still far from being able to produce at least seven third-grade pills per batch, you had taken a solid step toward becoming a third-grade pill refiner.

This might have been just a small step for you, but it was indeed a small step for you.

Beyond progress in pill refining, your main cultivation also brought good news - you completed your sixth true qi condensation. Your combat power could now reliably defeat late-stage Essence Refining martial artists.

In self-created pills, you conducted more experiments. Several more cages of test rabbits died, but their deaths weren't as gruesome - previously exploding rabbits would splatter three meters away, now only two meters. Your pill toxicity had stabilized. You felt you'd made great progress.

One day, Xie Huide summoned you. He said you needed to practice medicine for three years at a clinic in Youtong County. This clinic was Danxia Sect property, specifically for sending disciples to practice medicine and improve their medical skills, thereby advancing their pill refining abilities. This was one of the mandatory training processes for personal disciples.

Bai Chen and Jiao Mingxu were also assigned to accompany you as assistants. The three of you went to the clinic.

Year Eight

You'd been practicing medicine at the clinic for a year. Since the clinic's purpose was to train disciples' medical skills, its fees were much cheaper than regular clinics, attracting many commoners seeking treatment.

You diagnosed and treated many patients, with your medical skills advancing rapidly. Gradually, you gained some renown throughout Youtong County. Your pill refining also improved significantly.

The old fox Bai Chen stopped pretending after settling in Youtong County, visiting brothels whenever possible. He became infatuated with a courtesan named Hanxiang, thoroughly enjoying himself every day.

The honest Jiao Mingxu faithfully stayed at the clinic assisting you, never leaving even when no patients came.

One day while you were seeing patients, three people from a rival clinic barged in arrogantly. Because of your great reputation and low fees, they felt you were hurting their business and came to pick a fight.

All three were martial artists - one at mid-stage Skin Refining, two at early-stage. They weren't even worth your personal attention. You motioned to Jiao Mingxu: "Mingxu, bite them!"

Now at late-stage Skin Refining, Jiao Mingxu easily handled these small fries. Barking like a dog, he leaped over the counter and quickly subdued all three. Having never killed before, he didn't dare use lethal force, simply knocking them unconscious and tossing them into the street.