93: Chapter 93 Requires Additional Money

He smiled, his tone softening a bit: "Senior Brother Su, you are too polite. Discussions are fine, learning is fine, but nitpicking—let's skip that."

Su Mubai was slightly taken aback, then chuckled.

He took a Jade Slip from his sleeve and handed it to Yun Ming: "This is the location of Mubai's Immortal Cave. If it is convenient for Deacon Yun, I will pay a visit another day."

Yun Ming took the Jade Slip and also provided the location of his own Immortal Cave.

Su Mubai cupped his hands in a salute to him and turned to leave.

His figure disappeared at the end of the crowd, and about half of the onlookers left with him. However, even more remained, staring at Yun Ming with burning gazes.

Looking at the dense crowd under the platform, Yun Ming suddenly felt a headache.

"So..." he asked tentatively, "do you all still want to listen to the lecture?"

"Yes!"

Answering him was the cheer of thousands of people in unison.

Yun Ming rubbed his brow.

Is this overtime? Is there overtime pay?

But looking at those pairs of expectant eyes, he could not bring himself to say no.

Sighing, he walked onto the lecture platform and cleared his throat: "Fine. What are we talking about today? Q&A on basic Alchemy. One by one, line up, no cutting in line."

The venue immediately erupted into a frenzy.

For the next hour or so, Yun Ming hardly stopped talking.

The Disciples' questions were all over the place—some asked about herb processing, some about controlling the heat, some about the application of pill techniques, and some about pill-forming skills. Someone even asked how to make a Medicinal Pill sweet, how to make a Medicinal Pill not taste bitter, and how to make a Medicinal Pill explode in the mouth like a candy bean.

Yun Ming answered what he could, and for what he couldn't, he honestly admitted he didn't know and told them to figure it out themselves. Occasionally, when encountering particularly tricky questions, he had to deduce them on the spot, leaving him drenched in sweat.

But the results were also significant.

Every Disciple who received an answer had an expression of sudden realization and bowed in gratitude before retreating. The people waiting in line saw this, and their eyes shone even brighter.

An hour later, the lecture finally ended.

Yun Ming looked at the Disciples who were still unsatisfied and kept looking back every few steps, letting out a long sigh.

Qin Zhi and the other two had approached him at some point. Zhou Ruo's eyes were full of admiration: "Senior, you are too amazing! So many questions, and you were actually able to answer them all!"

Qin Zhi also said: "I have never seen anyone teach like this. After those Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters go back, they will definitely spread your name everywhere."

Fang Mo nodded vigorously from the side.

Yun Ming waved his hand, looking exhausted: "Don't, tell them not to spread it. I am a person who just wants to live a peaceful life."

The three of them looked at each other and smiled.

Yun Ming waved at them and turned to walk back.

His mind was still thinking about today's events—that person Su Mubai is worth befriending, but he had to see how things unfolded later.

As for those onlookers, they would probably be talking about this in the Outer Sect for a while after returning, and just thinking about it gave him a headache.

Just as he was thinking this, a figure suddenly dashed out from the bushes nearby.

"Damn!"

Yun Ming thought someone was trying to ambush him again and jumped to the side in shock, almost unleashing the blood-melting eerie glow.

Looking closely, that familiar old face was smiling at him—who else could it be but Yao Chenzi?

"Elder Yao?" Yun Ming stroked his chest, looking resentful, "You, an old man, not sleeping in the middle of the night, hiding in the bushes to scare people?"

Yao Chenzi stroked his beard and chuckled: "I am here specifically waiting for you."

Yun Ming rolled his eyes, continuing to walk back while complaining: "You have the nerve to say that. You didn't tell me about today's matter beforehand—that precious Disciple of yours was also going to be a lecturing Deacon? Aren't you setting me up?"

Yao Chenzi caught up and walked side-by-side with him, his tone full of pride: "He was in seclusion at the time, how would I know he would come out so quickly? Look, he broke through to the second rank after such a short time in seclusion; he is worthy of being my Disciple, his talent is just that good."

Yun Ming glanced at him sideways and said indifferently: "Heh, yes, yes, your precious Disciple is truly amazing."

Yao Chenzi didn't mind at all, the look of pride on his face becoming even more intense.

Yun Ming stopped, turned around, and looked at him seriously: "Elder, we need to talk about this. Your Disciple came to nitpick me; you have to take responsibility for this, right?"

Yao Chenzi raised an eyebrow: "What responsibility? What is wrong with two young people having a friendly spar?"

"You can't say it like that. I have suffered severe psychological trauma; I get nervous just seeing people and can't speak properly. I might not be able to teach normally in the future."

Yao Chenzi looked at Yun Ming's shameless demeanor and asked: "Then what do you want to do?"

Yun Ming extended his hand, splayed his five fingers, and shook them: "Without five million Spirit Stones, this matter won't be settled."

Yao Chenzi's eyes widened: "Five million? Are you robbing me? My Spirit Stones didn't just blow in on the wind."

"I call this compensation for mental distress." Yun Ming said righteously, "Think about it, I was lecturing properly when suddenly a challenger appeared. In front of thousands of people, what if I lost? Where would I put my face? How would I continue to mix in the Outer Sect? Five million is not expensive."

Yao Chenzi was amused by his string of excuses: "You brat really know how to calculate. No five million, but I will give you something else."

He took a thin booklet from his sleeve and handed it to Yun Ming.

Yun Ming looked down; there were no words on the cover, but the paper was yellowed, clearly an item with some years on it.

"This is some of my experience and insights from Alchemy over these years," Yao Chenzi said, "It's a bit of a mess and not systematic, but the content inside is absolutely genuine. Take it; it's worth more than five million. You're getting a bargain, you brat."

Yun Ming took it and flipped through it casually.

It was densely packed with handwriting, including ideas for improving Pill Formula, tips on controlling heat, insights on handling herbs, and some strange, unconventional recipes—such as how to combine three different Medicinal Pills to achieve a certain special effect.

His eyes lit up slightly as he read.

This thing was indeed worth more than five million Spirit Stones.

"Fine." Yun Ming closed the booklet and tucked it into his robes, "It's barely acceptable."

Yao Chenzi nodded and spoke again: "There is one more thing."

Yun Ming looked at him vigilantly: "What thing?"

"My Disciple, you should communicate with him more in the future." Yao Chenzi said, "He has had it too easy. Alchemy is like drinking water to him; he succeeds as soon as he tries and has never known what it means to fail. This is not a good thing in the long run."

Yun Ming frowned: "Why is it not a good thing? Is it not good to be smooth sailing? Is it not good for things to be simple? Why endure hardship when you have nothing to do?"

Yao Chenzi sighed: "Not everyone has a temper as good as yours. There are many people in this world with violent personalities and narrow minds. In the future, when he travels the world, he will inevitably encounter such people. If his Dao Heart is not firm enough, the things those people say will turn into a Heart Demon. I am letting him train in advance, at least... he must learn to accept failure and accept the questioning of others."

Yun Ming understood.

He was afraid that his precious, smooth-sailing Disciple would suddenly get beaten up by society one day, unable to handle the gap, and his mentality would collapse.

He wanted him to be this "society" first, to gradually give him a beating.

After all, he was easy to talk to and knew when to hold back.

Yun Ming pursed his lips: "Understood, you are asking me to be a sparring partner. However—"

He extended his hand and shook his five fingers again.

"Gotta pay more."

Yao Chenzi's eyes widened again: "Pay more? Didn't I just give you that Alchemy book?"

"That Alchemy book was the fee for your Disciple coming to nitpick me." Yun Ming said righteously, "Communicating with him in a friendly and cordial manner, that is a separate price."