"Uh... you want to compete too?"
Master Sun asked uncertainly. He acted as if he must have misheard something. For an existence who was the only remaining Tier 4 alchemist like the Alchemy Empress, if she really thought of competing, who would dare compete against her!
"...Is it not allowed?"
Bai Fanxian sighed. In the past, there had never been anything like an "alchemy competition" officially held before. Moreover, for her who studied this art by herself, getting to compete with others was one of her childhood dreams.
"I'm truly sorry... I think there's no one in this country who could contend with you anymore."
Sun Mingchuan wiped his sweat and spoke frankly. In this country, aside from Grandmaster Lu Qing who had disappeared, no one had reached Tier 4 anymore. Even if all the elders cooperated, not a single one could refine a pill superior to that "Heaven-Defying Revival" pill.
"...I understand."
Bai Fanxian wasn't unreasonably stubborn. But even though she couldn't compete, she was still interested in this competition.
"When will the competition be held?"
The young woman turned to ask. This was most important. Because she hadn't started teaching the children even a single sentence yet. If the competition was held in a day or two, even she couldn't mold an alchemist in time.
"The competition will start about one month from now. During this period, the program will film basic lectures providing knowledge, or film working hours similar to documentaries first. So viewers can understand the principles and methods roughly."
Master Sun explained reasonably. He sipped tea once and said:
"Moreover, this period is a transitional period of the era... Both we alchemists and ordinary cultivators all need time to adjust a bit."
"...One month, huh."
Bai Fanxian nodded. She started planning her teaching roughly in her head. One month—if you said it was a lot, it was a lot; if you said it was little, it was little. But at least two of the three children had already reached Martial Artist level. That meant the amount of qi to be used in training would increase too.
That time should be sufficient.
"That's right..." Master Sun nodded. "If that's the case, I'll take my leave... If there's anything, you can call me directly. Then I'll hurry to come to you myself!"
The old man stood up and bowed elegantly. Before leaving, he also left his personal phone number through Huang Zihuan.
Bai Fanxian watched Sun Mingchuan leave. She then turned to the three children who were hugging their own alchemy cauldrons and staring at her wide-eyed.
"...Let's go to my workshop."
.
.
.
In Bai Fanxian's workshop, Huang Zihuan had prepared three student desks. Along with a large whiteboard installed completely ready. Moreover, he also ordered the Tang family to deliver a large amount of low-level herbs necessary for learning.
Bai Fanxian had seen scenes like this before on television. The children went to sit in a row at the desks. In front of them were encyclopedia books on herbs. As for Dragon Queen who was interested, she used her small wings to fly and lie comfortably on Hui'er's desk.
The young woman walked to stand before them. She waved her hand just once. The well-packed herbs flew up swirling around the room. They orbited with Bai Fanxian as the center. The children all felt amazed at the scene that suddenly occurred. Moreover, some herbs that Bai Fanxian kept in her dimension were also pulled out to surround them as well.
"...The path of an alchemist is not difficult."
Bai Fanxian narrowed her eyes.
"But if you're going to memorize properties from books, even using the whole month, you won't become Tier 1 alchemists."
"Just herbs first. Use your bodies to perceive each type of herb yourselves. The Tier 1 herbs I know number 118 types. But what's before you is only 44 types."
"Which is enough. I think alchemists these days know less than thirty types of Tier 1 herbs..."
Bai Fanxian murmured. Meanwhile, Huang Zihuan was stunned by Bai Fanxian's words just now.
According to the official records of the Alchemist Association, Tier 1 herbs were mostly herbs that could be found generally in various areas. Their prices weren't expensive and their properties weren't excellent. But what was recorded was only 24 types.
Not to mention the 118 types Bai Fanxian mentioned. Just the 44 types floating around here—some things that Huang Zihuan, who had worked for the Tang family for decades, had never even seen.
So it wasn't just the children. Even an old person like him still gained benefit from standing in this room.
"...Until you master and absorb these herbs successfully, I won't teach you anything else."
The young woman spoke and waved her hand once. Three green grass stalks shot out to float before the children.
"This is called 'Green Grass'... eat it."
The children made surprised faces. This grass looked no different from ordinary grass planted in the lawn in front of the house.
Hui'er was braver. She opened her mouth and swallowed the whole grass stalk while chewing. Seeing this, the children started trying to eat it too. They felt a cool stream flowing down their throats. The little ones accidentally reached up to grab their necks strangely.
"...It has properties to expel water. Increases moisture and balances Yang slightly." Bai Fanxian at first planned to have all three discover the properties themselves like when she was a child. But with limited time, this method helped shorten the period much more.
"Next, this is called the root of..."
Bai Fanxian's teaching continued like this. Huang Zihuan kept taking notes on almost every word his lady spoke. He felt it would be useful later and she had already permitted it. As for the three children, they were stuffed with properties and tastes of each type of herb until their mouths were full...
Of course, Bai Fanxian had prepared herself already. Even though these were just Tier 1 herbs, there were several types that shouldn't be eaten together. So the young woman sent her pure qi to constantly eliminate poison residue in all three bodies.
The "memorization" process dragged on until evening. Dragon Queen watched the scene of Hui'er turning purple, Tang Yeye feeling numb and unable to move, and Mei Ying almost suffocating with a strange creepy feeling.
She understood very well that no matter how bad the children's memory was, an experience like this—even if they wanted to forget, they couldn't!
Making dinner time for all three so they lost their appetites for a long time. Not just feeling nauseous and not wanting to eat, but the amount of herbs Bai Fanxian stuffed into their stomachs seemed to increase every day until there was barely room for food left.
And that made morning training time become the time they were happiest. The children seemed to release the congestion in their bodies through exercise. Even Mei Ying, who started training the Sword Path with Zheng Renyi, trained so diligently that the old man cried tears of joy.
One week's time thus passed with this daily routine. Bai Fanxian stood watching the children sitting in a row with a satisfied expression.
"...What is this?"
Before Bai Fanxian was a strange root of some herb. It was slowly floating toward Hui'er's mouth, which was under pressure.
"Arrowroot! Hold in the mouth to help reduce heartburn and tightness. Moreover, it also helps balance the medicine cauldron."
The little one answered loudly. The arrowroot stopped right at her mouth perfectly. The time from when it appeared until reaching her mouth was less than three seconds. Seeing that she passed, Hui'er sighed with relief.
"This one?"
This time something whose size from tip to root wasn't even twenty centimeters appeared in midair. It floated at the same speed toward Tang Yeye.
"I know! Cold Fire plant. Helps add Yin power when eaten fresh, but adds Yang power if boiled."
Bai Fanxian nodded. The Cold Fire plant slowly floated away to the side as before.
"And this?"
"...Desert aloe leaf. Holds water well. Helps expel toxins. Mix with water to drink or slice thin to cover wounds."
Mei Ying could pass as well. She felt relieved seeing that Bai Fanxian didn't conjure up any more herbs.
"...Very good. You've all memorized the necessary Tier 1 herbs." The young woman showed a faint smile. All three children, especially Hui'er, felt a strange pride forming in their hearts.
Bai Fanxian's praise was worth that much.
"Does that mean I don't have to eat these herbs every day anymore?"
Tang Yeye asked with hopeful eyes. For a child like her, these bitter herbs were like being forced to take medicine every single day. It wasn't fun at all.
"...Just for this period, yes."
Bai Fanxian didn't deny it. Making all three turn to look at each other happily. Tang Yeye even ran to beg for snacks from Huang Zihuan who was standing smiling nearby. He hadn't fulfilled his butler duties well for many days. Because aside from his lady who drank tea, almost no one else in the house ate the food he cooked.
"Then when will we start practicing refining medicine, my lady?" Mei Ying ran up to ask. She wanted to try using the medicine cauldron she'd received and had only been sitting cross-legged for many days.
"...Refine medicine? What are you talking about?"
Bai Fanxian made a confused face. Suddenly around her appeared several jars and well-packed boxes. They fell to the floor with thuds without worrying about damage. A certain fishy stench that was piercingly sharp enough to require covering noses floated out from those jars and boxes the moment Bai Fanxian used her power to open the lids.
"...Raw materials for alchemy aren't just herbs." The young woman waved her hand lightly. A few white eyeballs floated out from the brown jar.
Those black pupils stared intensely at all three children until their hair stood on end.
"Next we'll learn about 'raw materials from living things' which aren't herbs."