Chapter 59: Chapter 59: Honored Guest Elder Treatment

Instantly, an uproar swept through the crowd, filled with endless praise and congratulations.

The scene was festive. Clearly, this was a joyous occasion for the Xu Family and all its members.

"Good! Excellent!"

Xu Xuhe laughed heartily. His tiger-like eyes gazed at Lin Changheng as if he were a precious treasure. He walked right up and clapped him on the shoulder.

"I knew I wasn’t mistaken about you, Alchemist Lin. Your future is truly limitless. Your compensation and benefits will all be upgraded. The clan will absolutely not treat you poorly!"

Hearing him say "the clan" instead of "my clan," Lin Changheng knew that Patriarch Xu, despite his rugged appearance, was a man of subtle thought. His words, both explicitly and implicitly, treated Lin Changheng as one of their own. He smiled and replied:

"Thank you, Patriarch! My achievements today would not have been possible without the clan’s nurturing. I will hold this in my heart and never dare to forget it."

Naturally, Lin Changheng wasn’t going to act arrogant or put on the airs of a Middle Grade Alchemist. Instead, he followed the Patriarch’s lead and solemnly declared his position.

Xu Xuhe was satisfied upon hearing this.

’That batch of Bing Gui Immortal Seedlings from twenty years ago was truly a good one. To think we picked three such promising talents.’

’Recalling it now, I can’t help but feel that the heavens are truly blessing the Xu Family.’

’First, there’s Lin Changheng. After twelve years as a furnace-tending apprentice, he became an Entry Tier Alchemist. Now, less than nine years later, he has advanced to Middle Grade.’

’It wasn’t a fast progression, but he can be considered a late bloomer.’

’It’s not impossible that he might one day glimpse the summit of Upper Grade Alchemy.’

’One must understand that the Alchemy Dao is different from Cultivation. For Cultivation, reaching Foundation Establishment before the age of sixty is a major hurdle; age is a serious constraint. But with Alchemy, the older one gets, the more formidable they become. It’s essentially unaffected by age.’

’Lin Changheng is approaching forty, but for a Cultivator, he still has a great deal of time ahead of him.’

’To this day, the Xu Family has only a single Upper Grade Alchemist.’

’If they could produce another one, the Xu Family’s future would be truly promising.’

’Another of the seedlings is Tantai Feiyue. As of last year, she was already capable of creating Masterpiece Talismans.’

’The Xu Family had only dabbled in the Talisman Dao and lacked the deep foundation they possessed in the Alchemy Dao, so they had no Middle Grade talisman techniques. But when Xu Xuhe learned of her talent, he immediately overruled all objections and decisively ordered a search to be conducted outside the family.’

’Two months ago, after considerable effort and machinations, they finally acquired a set of Middle Grade talisman techniques and bestowed them upon Tantai Feiyue.’

’The intention is to groom her into the Xu Family’s "Chief Talisman Master."’

’The last person he valued so highly was none other than Xu Fugui.’

’Xu Fugui’s Cultivation progress was decent—he had already reached the Sixth Layer of Qi Cultivation—but that wasn’t what the Patriarch valued most about him.’

’It was that Fugui was fertile, willing to procreate, and loved doing so.’

’Individually, these traits weren’t anything special, but the three combined were a different matter entirely.’

’Xu Fugui had now fathered his eighth child, a daughter.’

’His seventh child, a son born to a woman from the Xu Family who also possessed a Spirit Root, was determined to have a Lower Grade Spirit Root when tested at six months old.’

’His eighth child, the daughter, was born to one of his mortal wives and possessed a Middle Grade Spirit Root.’

This left the upper echelons of the Xu Family, Patriarch Xu included, both amazed and ecstatic!

Xu Fugui had taken four wives and concubines and had already fathered eight children.

A full four of them had Spirit Roots!

The third son: a Mixed Spirit Root.

The fifth son: a Middle Grade Spirit Root.

The seventh son: a Lower Grade Spirit Root.

The eighth child, a daughter: another Middle Grade Spirit Root!

A fifty percent success rate for Spirit Roots!

And on top of that, a twenty-five percent rate for Middle Grade Spirit Roots.

These were absurdly high odds, yet they were real.

A twenty-five percent chance for a Middle Grade Spirit Root, especially! The Xu Family wouldn’t have dared to dream of such a thing.

More importantly, someone with a Middle Grade Spirit Root had a chance of reaching Foundation Establishment in the future!

This meant the Xu Family had a chance to realize its long-held aspiration of becoming a Foundation Establishment Clan!

At the very least, they could become Late Stage experts and pillars of the clan.

Then, everything would be different.

Thinking of this possibility, many of the family’s senior members, after some discussion, adamantly declared that they needed to find another wife for Xu Fugui. Preparations were already in full swing.

Seeing the senior members acting this way, Xu Xuhe couldn’t help but shake his head, though he didn’t stop them.

He couldn’t help but feel a flicker of hope.

With odds like these, even a typically cautious man like him couldn’t resist the urge to gamble again.

’What if they produced an Upper Grade Spirit Root...’

To that end, the clan had passed a resolution to prepare a Meridian Breakthrough Pill for Xu Fugui. It had arrived recently, and they planned to award it to him shortly.

This pill was a type of Realm-Breaking Pill that helped cultivators break through the bottleneck to the Middle Stage of Qi Cultivation. It was invaluable and extremely rare.

The clan was awarding this to him for his contribution—fathering a second child with a Middle Grade Spirit Root, bringing his total to four children with Spirit Roots—and in the hope that he would continue his efforts and bring even more glory to the family.

It also served to motivate the other Immortal Seedlings!

...

"Congratulations, Mr. Lin."

A voice, as cool and clear as a mountain spring, came from the side. Lin Changheng turned his head and saw Xu Hanji approaching to offer her congratulations.

"Thank you for the kind words. The path of cultivation is long; I hope we can encourage each other along the way, Fairy."

Lin Changheng cupped his hands in thanks.

After some brief pleasantries, the senior members of the Xu Family, who had come specifically to witness the event and show their support, departed. With only a few Pill Masters remaining, Xu Qianyan took the opportunity to make an announcement.

"Alchemist Lin, the ’Named’ designation in your ’Named Honored Guest’ title is hereby revoked. You are now a full Honored Guest Elder, and your stipend will be upgraded. Furthermore, your Middle Grade privileges will be fully unlocked. You may now exchange for the family’s secret arts and will enjoy a thirty percent discount."

"Additionally, your missions will no longer be directly assigned; you will have a certain degree of choice. Alternatively, you can choose an external posting and become a shop manager."

After listening carefully, Lin Changheng smiled. "Thank you."

’This means I’ll have more leeway in acquiring Pill Formulas and Essence Blood.’

’For a Middle Grade Alchemist to trade for multiple types of Demon Beast Essence Blood, even in large quantities, is considered perfectly reasonable. No one will question it.’

’This is what happens when your status rises. Everything you say and do is automatically granted a measure of legitimacy.’

’There will even be Great Scholars who will come forward to interpret the classics in your defense.’

This was a decision Lin Changheng had made after careful, multifaceted consideration.

To reveal his true skill as a Tier One Middle Grade Alchemist to the Xu Family.

Now that he had revealed his abilities, he also planned to move to a prime location along the Middle Grade Spiritual Vein.

The place was called the Guanxia Daoist School.

The Spiritual Qi there was denser and purer, better suited for his Cultivation at the Middle Stage.

Lin Changheng also planned to take advantage of the situation and break through to the Middle Stage of Qi Cultivation in half a month, revealing a strength at the "Fourth Layer of Qi Cultivation."

During his apprenticeship in the Purple River District, his Cultivation had always progressed slowly.

Many people knew this, so displaying such a breakthrough speed now would seem reasonable and wouldn’t attract undue attention.

Lin Changheng was very cautious about this.

He always acted only after careful deliberation and repeated analysis. He wasn’t aiming for perfect concealment, but rather an optimal balance between caution and benefit.

Fortunately, the Xu Family’s Alchemy Rooms were well-designed and equipped with a Middle Grade Fire Gathering Array, which didn’t demand much Magical Power. Otherwise, Lin Changheng wouldn’t have dared to have his "breakthrough in the Alchemy Dao" precede his cultivation breakthrough.

...

On his way back to Tingchao Dojo, Lin Changheng was intercepted by Xu Fugui and Bai Fengxian.

They said they had heard the good news and had already prepared a banquet in his honor, insisting they wouldn’t let him leave until they were all thoroughly drunk.

Lin Changheng found it impossible to refuse and was thus dragged to the banquet table.

These days, Xu Fugui was riding high. He was about to be a groom again. Meanwhile, Bai Fengxian had received compensation for his injuries from the great battle and had finally broken through to the Middle Stage of Qi Cultivation.