Cultivating Chai

9:

Grand Alchemist Xin Wu allowed himself a small smile for a job well done as he watched Xiao Feng step inside the classroom after Senior Alchemist Lan Huang.

It was not as though he had any particular issue with Xiao Feng. Neither had he been all that harsh with the Martial Division cultivator. No, it was the arrogance of the Martial Division that irked him to no end.

Grand Alchemist Xin Wu did not knock on the Frontier Sect’s doors demanding to be made a part of the border defense force. He had not trained in the martial way, had not honed and sharpened his Fire Qi for war. Battling other cultivators had never been his strength and he knew that. He acknowledged his weaknesses.

Only by acknowledging your own weaknesses could you seek true strength, after all. Grand Alchemist Xin Wu had chosen the path most suited for his temperament, spending years and then decades refining his craft until he became essential to the Frontier Sect’s functioning. From a recruit to alchemist, from alchemist to senior alchemist and then reaching the most coveted Grand Alchemist stage by laying down the formula for five unique pills that had not existed in the known world before his contribution.

How arrogant it was for a Martial Cultivator to believe that they could overcome all his skill, those years of effort and the zealous passion required to string forth a new pill formula that was not only unique, but also useful to the Frontier Sect— a chase that could just as easily resulted in nothing worth showing if Xin Wu had been any less passionate, dedicated and lucky.

How arrogant it was for them to believe that they could stride into his division, learn the myriad, nigh limitless ways of alchemy and then leave, after having refined a fortune in pills.

These days, Grand Alchemist Xin Wu was more than happy to let such arrogant fools trip and fall on their own. To a Martial Cultivator, coming from a world where strength was everything, their first test would be to adapt to being placed in a class full of juniors.

Juniors who would be far more skilled and deft in the gentle ways of Alchemy than a Martial Cultivator, who is taught to destroy and kill from the moment he is old enough to walk.

Would this Xiao Feng be able to cast aside his pride and accept that he was the clueless student instead of the experienced teacher?

None of the other cultivators the Martial Division had been able to.

“Honored Father,” A cheerful voice acknowledged as Grand Alchemist Xin Wu stepped into the privacy of his office.

He was not surprised to find two wooden desks placed adjacent to each other near the far wall of the room. His own desk hosted a few files stacked upon each other, an ornate hourglass and a bowl that contained five different varieties of spiritual fruit.

His daughter’s, on the other hand, was piled high with two different rows of files, her expression contemplative as she considered the report before her. Besides the space demarcated for her reading, the rest of the table was covered by neatly arranged inkpots, spare stationary, thick tomes that contained specialized information and other paraphernalia required for the task she was tackling.

“Daughter,” Grand Alchemist Xin Wu returned the greeting, a hint of pride audible in his tone.

Unlike Xiao Feng, that rabble from the Martial Division who thought he could master the Dao of Alchemy as if it was an afterthought discarded by the Heavens, his daughter was the personification of what an Alchemist should be.

She had eclipsed even his own accomplishments by reaching the Senior Alchemist stage five whole years before him and she had done so while taking on most of the burden of his administrative duties so he could throw himself into his research.

Now, she had gotten so efficient at it that Grand Alchemist Xin Wu could not wrest away those duties from her if he wanted to.

He didn’t of course. His first love, his wife and Lianhua Wu’s mother, had died of Qi sickness not long after giving birth to her. His second love was his daughter, who had grown up far faster than she needed to. That left alchemy and only alchemy. There was no room for a fourth as Xin Wu pursued the pinnacle of his craft.

It was also no coincidence that one of the pill formulas he had come up with reduced the odds of Qi sickness after giving birth.

It wasn’t perfect, but it was good enough to be used throughout the Azure Lotus Sect’s territory.

The life-saving ‘Meixhu’ pill, named after his wife, had earned Grand Alchemist Xin Wu renown throughout the land.

“How is the new recruit settling in? Did you make the arrangements Elder Haoyun had requested?” Lianhua Wu casually asked as she continued her work in an unbroken stride.

“Bah,” Grand Alchemist Xin Wu dismissively leaned back into his chair. “I sent him to study with the Junior Division. Let me see how long an arrogant Martial Cultivator lasts in a class full of his juniors. I would wager ten gold taels that he is fuming in his seat right about now. If Elder Haoyun thinks he can forge an alchemist just by buying special treatment off me, then I’ll show him just how weak-willed those so-called Martial Cultivators can be.”

“Honored father,” Lianhua Wu said, applying intentional emphasis on the latter half of her address and intentionally dragging the word our with a sharpness to her tone.

“Yes, dearest daughter?” Grand Alchemist Xin Wu snapped back to a seating position, as his daughter’s sharp tone gave him the distinct impression that he had made a mistake.

“Did you read Elder Haoyun’s letter?” She asked, the sharpness not leaving her tone.

“Yes well, no you see… I- well, dearest daughter, I was quite busy with researching complications in the–”

“Read the letter,” Lianhua Wu demanded of her father, her fist gently slamming the table to make a point out of it.

“Yes, very well,” Grand Alchemist Xin Wu conceded, knowing better than to try and argue. He pulled the already unsealed letter out of his robe and raised it towards Lianhua Wu, before saying, “See, I really did make an effort. I swear I was going to read it, but then research started going well and I lost track of time.”

In response, Lianhua Wu crossed her arms and gave him a deadpan stare.

Finally getting the message this time, Xin Wu opened the letter and began to read.

“War Hero?” He muttered the question under his breath, his expression going from mildly curious to surprised. “That brat is a war hero?” He asked Lianhua Wu.

“Keep reading,” She replied tersely.

“He distinguished himself at the highest level in battle… his actions possibly saved the life of Elder Zheng and allowed him to slay a Demonic Path Nascent Soul cultivator….” Grand Alchemist Xin Wu muttered aloud.

And then he froze.

“Zheng?” He asked the question rhetorically. “Mad Wolf Zheng? A foundation establishment cultivator aided and helped Mad Wolf Zheng kill a powerful demon? Preposterous!” Grand Alchemist Xin Wu all but shouted, his expression incredulous.

“Now,” Lianhua Wu spoke. “Do you understand why Elder Haoyun wrote to you, asking for special treatment?” She asked, even as she cradled her forehead with her thumb and index finger.

“Dearest daughter…. It appears that I have made a mistake.”