The Chen Clan, due to having an official apothecary within its ranks, is an extremely prominent and distinguished clan in Tianxuan Kingdom.
Usually, in such a clan, there would be no shortage of pills, everyone would have great accomplishments and they would walk with their heads held high. Yet, at this moment, every member of the clan had put on a bitter expression. A depressing atmosphere loomed over the entire Chen Residence.
“Alright, let’s go by this rule. No one is to object or he will face being expelled from the clan!”
In the hall, Apothecary Chen Xiao surveyed the surroundings before speaking sentimentally and desperately.
He was invited as an examiner for the Pill Debate with a fellow named Zhang Xuan, but the other party declared that he would be unable to live for much longer. Feeling that his body functions are indeed starting to fail, he felt extremely dismal. Thus, he started to make preparations upon returning to the clan.
He is an apothecary and his presence brought the entire Chen Clan to prosperity. The moment he dies, those who are envious of his fortune would definitely employ every possible mean to wrestle for a share. If so, it would just be a matter of time before the clan falls.
Thus, in order to prevent such a scenario from occurring, he ordered for all clansmen to sell their assets and disappear from the capital, never to return.
“Clan head…”
After those words were spoken, wails echoed in the air.
They had been living a life of luxury, and many could not accept the fact that they have to move to a far away place so suddenly.
“Enough! What is this clan becoming, for you to be crying and wailing? Chen Cong, make the necessary preparations!” Apothecary Chen Xiao said.
Chen Cong is his son. Knowing that he doesn’t have many days left, he had already appointed him as the new clan head.
“Yes!” Chen Cong nodded his head. Just as he was about to leave, a young man walked forward and whispered something into his ears. Then, Chen Cong’s eyes lit up and he hurriedly raised his head, “Father…”
“What is it?” Apothecary Chen Xiao lifted his teacup and frowned angrily.
He always believed that his son comprehends the importance of prioritizing, so why is he so disobedient now?
Does he not know that the Clan’s prosperity is due solely to his identity as an official apothecary? Without his prestige suppressing the ambitions other clans possess, they wouldn’t be able to guard the wealth they had accumulated through pill forging throughout these years.
“Father, a master teacher has appeared in the capital. Perhaps… He can solve your problem…” Noticing the displeasure on his father’s face, Chen Cong spoke quickly, not daring to hesitate in the least.
“Master teacher? Could it be fake news?” Apothecary Chen Xiao shook his head.
If it were indeed a master teacher, how could he, a dignified 1-star apothecary, possibly have not received any news?
“I don’t know for sure, but I sent Chen Tao to investigate upon hearing the rumors yesterday. This master teacher is known as Yang Xuan and not only did he solve Ling Tianyu’s wife’s illness, even Du Miaoxuan from the Du Clan knelt before his gates. Furthermore…”
“Furthermore what?”
“Furthermore, when Du Miaoxuan emerged from his mansion less than ten minutes after entering, he had already evolved from a Dingli realm pinnacle to a Tongxuan realm expert.” Chen Cong hurriedly said. “On top of that… the guild leader of the Blacksmith Guild, Luo Chong, also entered his mansion, and when he left, he was full of praises for the person, claiming that he is a true master teacher…”
Dang lang! Before he could finish his words, the teacup in his father’s hands had fallen onto the ground and shattered into pieces. Following which, his lifeless and pitiful expression vanished and in its place was a face so flushed, it was as though his cheeks were on fire. “Where does this master teacher live? Bring me to meet him now…”
“Right now? I have to first sell the family fortune…”
Chen Cong muttered, but before he could finish his words, his father, who seemed as though he might breathe his last any moment now, had already reached the doorstep and he bellowed, “Selling your head! Hurry up…”
“…” Chen Cong.
“…” The crowd in the Chen Clan.
The wailing in the room silenced in an instant and everyone’s mouth was so wide that a chicken egg could be stuffed into it. Looking at the clan head whose attitude did an 180-degree turn all of a sudden, they became completely speechless.
…………………………
Pavilion Elder Qian does not wield actual authority in Tianxuan Kingdom, but he holds a very important position. Every fortnight, Emperor Shen Zhui would summon him to the royal palace and query him.
He is the emperor’s eyes. He gathers all news within the country and sorts them into books for the emperor to peruse.
It is only with these news that Emperor Shen Zhui is able to keep abreast of current affairs and continue making wise decisions for the country, allowing the kingdom to grow stronger steadily and not be threatened by powerful enemies.
Thus, in the kingdom, even personnel who hold true authority do not dare to offend him. They fear that he might pass on incorrect news which could cause the emperor to doubt them.
Today is yet another day to sort and compile the gathered news for reporting. Thus, he had arrived at his personal office early in the morning.
At this moment, the room is squeezed full of people, all of them embroiled in a squabble.
“Causing a ruckus like this, how inappropriate!”
Seeing that his subordinates were arguing among themselves instead of working, Pavilion Elder Qian’s face darkened.
“Yes!” Everyone immediately ran back to their positions fearfully.
“Pavilion Elder…”
A middle-aged man walked over.
“Un, are there any important incidents that happened these few days?” Pavilion Elder Qian sat in his chair and looked over.
This is his job scope. He would ask his subordinate about the incidents that had occurred in the capital and compile them before considering whether he should highlight any individual incident to the emperor.
“In these ten days, there is a total of 17 1-star incidents, 12 2-star incident, and 3 3-star incidents…” The middle-aged man hesitated before passing over a stack of paper.
Countless incidents were detailed on top and they were divided in terms of their importance so as to make it convenient for others to read through it. They were graded stars based on their respective importance.
1-star is the lowest level and it means that the incident isn’t important at all. As the number of stars increase, the more important the incident become. 5-star is the highest number of stars an incident can be given, and the severity of the matter would be equivalent to that of an enemy invasion and the downfall of the country is in sight.
Listening to the report, Pavilion Elder Qian lowered his head to take a look.
“Bai Xun xiao wangye challenged son of Prime Minister Liu Cheng and injured him, causing a huge conflict between the two great clans… Evaluation, 1-star!”
“Royal Secretary Lu Zhong brought a new concubine to his family and she is a citizen of Tianyu Kingdom. Her exact identity is unknown… Evaluation, 1-star!”
“17 people of Tianxuan Merchant Firm assaulted by bandit at Plum Snow Ridge and they were completely annihilated. Bandits likely to be the same ones who escaped from the capital several months ago… Evaluation, 1-star!”
……
…
Even though 1-star incidents are of the lowest severity within the classification, they had far-reaching impacts. Taking the first example of Bai Xun challenging the son of the Prime Minister, for example, if the matter isn’t resolved properly, it is easy for the conflict to escalate. If discord were to be sowed among two authorities of the royal court, the internal stability of the country would be affected.
However, it is clear that these people are used to dealing with such matters. They aren’t too agitated upon seeing these earth-shaking incidents.
“Un, you did well evaluating them!” Looking through the 17 1-star incidents, Pavilion Elder Qian nodded his head. Then, he flipped to the second page and what was written on it was mainly 2-star incidents.
“A calamity occurred in the Southwest Hundred Ridges and thousands of people lost their homes. Currently, they have been settled… Evaluation, 2-star!”
“Tianxuan Money Vault recently released new bills, the highest denomination is a million… Evaluation, 2-star!”
“Zhunnan Marquis reached Tongxuan realm advanced stage, becoming one of the top ten experts in the kingdom… Evaluation, 2-star!”
……
…
These matters are closely related to the politics and situation of the kingdom. The impacts these matters could possibly bring are much greater than that of 1-star incidents.
After looking through the twelve 2-star incidents, Pavilion Head Qian nodded his head once more. There is nothing wrong with the evaluations here as well.
Flipping over to the third page, 3-star incidents were detailed on it.
“The Teacher Guild stripped Elder Shang Chen of Hongtian Academy of his position as the head of Education Bureau for being not partial in his evaluation of Zhang Xuan laoshi’s Teacher Qualification Examinations… Evaluation, 3-star!”
“Zhang Xuan laoshi and Lu Xun laoshi would be competing in a Teacher Evaluation 12 days later… Evaluation, 3-star!”
……
…
“Incidents regarding the Teacher Guild and academies would automatically be promoted by a single star. Lu Xun laoshi is the individual who is most likely to become a master teacher of Tianxuan Kingdom, and as such, incidents involving him are given an additional star. These two events are indeed worth 3-star, not bad!”
After which, Pavilion Elder Qian nodded his head.
“There are no problems with these… The problem is… is…”
Hesitation shrouded the middle-aged man’s face.
“What’s wrong?” Pavilion Elder Qian’s eyebrows shot up.
“Something has happened these few days and we are unable to determine a star rating for it. That is the matter that we were discussing earlier…” The middle-aged man said.
“Oh? Tell me!” Pavilion Elder Qian glanced at him in curiosity.
“Three days ago, a person named Yang Xuan appeared in the capital. He claimed that he is a master teacher and he settled Ling Tianyu’s wife’s illness…” The middle-aged man said.
“Oh, I’ve heard of the matter. I even specially headed to the Teacher Guild to investigate the matter, but there isn’t such a name in the records of that kingdom. It is probably a gimmick of Ling Tianyu, so there’s no need to pay it much heed. Alright, classify it under 1-star incidents!” Pavilion Elder Qian said.
Master teachers are just like stars in the sky, an existence that others can only look up to. As long as a kingdom has a 1-star master teacher supporting it, its overall might would be bolstered significantly. If the other party is truly a master teacher, how could he come into the capital without anyone knowing of it?
“1-star incident?” The middle-aged man smiled bitterly. “I’m afraid that the matter isn’t as simple as that. If he only treated Ling Tianyu’s wife, 1-star would suffice. However… Yesterday, Elder Du Miaoxuan from the Four Great Clans knelt at his entrance for an entire day, and in the ten minutes that he was in the mansion, he broke through from Dingli realm pinnacle to Tongxuan realm!”
“What? Such an incredible increase in his strength?”
Pavilion Elder Qian was taken aback. A grim expression appeared on his face as he said, “If that’s the case, the matter can be classified as a 2-star incident…”
“Yesterday afternoon, the guild leader of the Blacksmith Guild, Lord Luo Chong, entered the residence and his face was glowing when he emerged. He was full of praises for the master of the mansion and claimed that he is a true master teacher…”
Ignoring the evaluation Pavilion Elder Qian made, the middle-aged man continued speaking.
“Luo Chong…”
Pavilion Head Qian abruptly stood up with completely widened eyes.
Who is Luo Chong?
The guild leader of the Blacksmith Guild, one of the top figures of the Tianxuan Kingdom!
If he thought so as well, could it be that… This Yang Xuan is truly a master teacher?
“Then… then… This incident can be classified as a 3-star incident…”
Pavilion Elder Qian was astonished.
Before he could finish his words, the middle-aged man’s voice sounded once more.
“This morning, Guild Leader Ouyang of the Apothecary Guild and Apothecary Chen Xiao visited his mansion, but they were blocked at the door by the other party’s butler. Even so, not only did they not leave, they waited patiently without a single word of complaint…”
“This… This…” Pavilion Elder Qian’s face turned completely white and he staggered backward in disbelief. “This is a… 4-star. No, it’s a 5-star incident. Hurry up and write all of these down. I have to report this to the emperor, do it as fast as you can!”
“5-star?”
“Is there no need to double confirm it?”
5-star incident… It has not appeared in Tianxuan Kingdom for several decades now.
The crowd, who were unable to determine a star rating for the incident, upon hearing Pavilion Elder Qian’s words, were flabbergasted. Then a brief moment later, chaos broke loose.
