Zhou Xun tidied up briefly and opened the front door.
"Brother Zhou, congratulations on joining Danbao Pavilion as an alchemical apprentice!"
The visitor was none other than Shan Xionghai, who blurted out his congratulations the moment the door swung open.
"It's a bit early to say that. Whether I make the cut or not will depend on the evaluation in half a year!" Zhou Xun waved his hand, yet his tone betrayed a sense of quiet confidence.
Not to mention that his current cultivation had already surpassed the halfway mark of Level 3 Qi Condensation.
His spiritual root aptitude also ranked among the mid-grade.
Among the thirty selected candidates, he already stood near the top.
Let alone the fact that as a cultivator at Level 3 Qi Condensation, he already possessed the Divine Sense usually found only in late Qi Condensation cultivators.
Whether it was refining herbs or controlling the flame, this advantage would prove immensely helpful.
Zhou Xun warmly welcomed Shan Xionghai inside.
As soon as they were seated, Zhou Xun took out a pot of spirit wine and two cups from the cupboard, placing them on the table.
Shan Xionghai unceremoniously picked up the pot, poured himself a cup, tilted his head back, and downed it in one gulp. Then he grumbled with mock dissatisfaction:
"Brother, you kept this hidden from me for so long!"
"Today at the West Plaza, when I suddenly heard your name, it really gave me quite a shock!"
Hearing this, Zhou Xun laughed heartily:
"That's my fault. How about I penalize myself with three cups?"
With that, he picked up the spirit wine pot and downed three cups in a row.
Of course, Shan Xionghai wasn't genuinely angry with Zhou Xun; he was merely venting a little grievance.
"Brother, such a grand and joyful occasion! How do you plan to celebrate?"
Zhou Xun was slightly taken aback by the question.
He genuinely hadn't thought that far ahead, but since Shan Xionghai brought it up,
it was indeed time to celebrate properly.
"I'll invite two or three close friends and keep it small among our own people," Zhou Xun replied after a moment of thought.
His parents had passed away early in the original owner's life, and the friendships of the older generation had long since faded.
After transmigrating, Zhou Xun had lived in constant fear that acquaintances might discover his flaws, leading him to proactively reduce his social interactions.
Aside from reporting for duty at Miaofu Pavilion, he spent almost all his time cooped up at home cultivating.
Over the past few years, very few people remained with whom he still maintained contact.
Even Shan Xionghai only kept in touch because he frequently initiated visits.
"That works too. Any idea which day you want to set for it?" Shan Xionghai had no objections to this arrangement.
"I'll be reporting to Danbao Pavilion in three days, so let's make it tomorrow!" Zhou Xun thought for a moment and said.
He immediately began calculating the supplies needed for the small celebration.
"I have plenty of spirit rice and spirit tea at home, so there's no need to buy more!"
"I only have two pots of spirit wine left, and I'll need to purchase some spirit fruits and monster beast meat!"
"Leave that to me! I know Manager Hu at the Eastern Market's spirit provisions shop very well; I can get a discount!" Shan Xionghai said casually.
Both he and Second Uncle Shan were monster-hunting cultivators who frequently dealt with the manager of the spirit provisions shop.
Zhou Xun nodded:
"Then I'll have to trouble you, Dahai!"
After purchasing the spirit wine, spirit fruits, monster beast meat, and other items, Shan Xionghai carried the large bundles back.
A few familiar neighbors immediately gathered around, curiously asking questions.
"Dahai, did you strike it rich? You're buying so many spirit items!"
"Haha, you don't know yet—my Brother Zhou was successfully selected as an alchemical apprentice at Danbao Pavilion! This is all prepared for his celebration tomorrow!"
Shan Xionghai had no intention of keeping such joyful news a secret, and he loudly broadcasted it for all to hear.
"Brother Zhou? Zhou Xun?"
"Right!"
Very soon, the news of Zhou Xun being selected as an alchemical apprentice at Danbao Pavilion spread widely.
The next day, inside Zhou Xun's home.
Zhou Xun rose early and gave the house a thorough cleaning.
Shan Xionghai also arrived early to help prep the monster beast meat.
Before long, the hour of the snake arrived.
A hearty, booming voice rang out from outside.
"Hahaha, kid Xun, I heard you got selected by Danbao Pavilion!"
The visitor was a sturdy, broad-shouldered middle-aged man in his forties dressed in martial attire, whose face bore a four-to-five-part resemblance to Shan Xionghai.
"Second Uncle Shan, when did you get back? I haven't seen you in a full year!"
Zhou Xun greeted him in pleasant surprise.
After the death of the original owner's parents, it was largely thanks to this Second Uncle Shan's care that he managed to survive and stay in Red Leaf Market.
Otherwise, how could a teenager holding a wealthy inheritance possibly have survived in such a cutthroat world of immortality?
The man laughed heartily, his fan-like palm coming down in a heavy slap on Zhou Xun's shoulder.
The blow nearly sent Zhou Xun stumbling.
"Not bad, you've grown up! But this frame of yours is still a bit weak—find some time to buy a body-refinement cultivation manual and practice it!"
Zhou Xun smiled, nodded, and gestured toward the inside of the house:
"Uncle, come inside and sit down!"
Inside the room, a table about five feet long was laden with spirit fruits, spirit wine, and gourmet dishes prepared from monster beast meat and spirit fish.
Once inside, the middle-aged man didn't immediately take a seat. Instead, he slapped his waist.
A flash of white light later, an ancient-looking wooden box appeared in his hands.
"Your uncle doesn't have much to offer. I got lucky in the mountains previously and obtained a stalk of spirit medicine. I'm giving it to you to celebrate your joining Danbao Pavilion!"
"Uncle, this... this is too valuable!"
One had to understand that not every spirit plant could be called a spirit medicine.
Every stalk of spirit medicine was worth over one hundred spirit essence on the market.
Take the recent hunt for the Golden Spirit Mouse, for instance—Zhou Xun's share had only amounted to seventy spirit essence, which wasn't even enough to buy the lowest-grade rank one low-grade spirit medicine.
"There's no reason for your uncle to take back a gift once it's given!" The man put on a stern face, feigning anger.
"Since an elder bestows a gift, this nephew dares not refuse. I accept it!"
Seeing this, the man nodded in satisfaction and sat down.
Just as they were chatting idly, the room suddenly grew dim.
Everyone hurriedly looked up to see a figure completely blocking the doorway.
"Manager Lin, you're here!" Zhou Xun greeted warmly.
He owed it entirely to Manager Lin that he was able to live here in the first place.
Otherwise, Zhou Xun could easily guess what kind of fate awaited him if he had been driven out of Red Leaf Market.
Therefore, Zhou Xun felt a deep sense of gratitude toward the chubby manager, and he had invited him to this small celebration as well.
"Not bad, keep up the good work!" The chubby manager offered a faint word of praise and handed a cloth pouch to Zhou Xun.
With the arrival of the chubby manager, all the guests Zhou Xun had invited were now present.
Just as they were about to start the feast, another commotion arose from outside.
"Brother Zhou! Brother Zhou!"
Zhou Xun walked out to take a look and saw a young servant-dressed youth standing respectfully outside the door with several companions.
"So it's you lot. I've already been expelled from Miaofu Pavilion, what are you doing here?"
Zhou Xun asked coldly.
When he had fallen on hard times previously, these very people had mocked him right in the middle of the street.
"Brother Zhou, we heard you were accepted by Danbao Pavilion, so we specially came to congratulate you! Last time it was this junior's fault for being blind and failing to recognize a superior—please forgive us!" The servant-dressed youth said with a fawning smile.
"That's right, Brother Zhou! Please be the bigger man and forgive us!" The others chimed in together.
Finished speaking, the youth pulled a bulging pouch from his chest pocket and handed it to Zhou Xun.
Seeing this, Zhou Xun sneered inwardly.
As the ancient saying goes: If you repay resentment with virtue, how then do you repay virtue?
Resentment should be met with direct justice!
Without the slightest hesitation, Zhou Xun took the cloth pouch.
He opened it up and said:
"Fifty spirit essence. The lot of you really bled for this!"
Seeing Zhou Xun accept the pouch, the group breathed a sigh of relief, assuming he had forgiven them.
They spoke in a familiar, chummy tone:
"Brother Zhou, our behavior before was wrong. In the future, this junior will certainly host a table at the Tianxiang Restaurant to personally apologize to you!"
Zhou Xun waved his hand and said coldly:
"Alright, you've delivered the spirit essence. Don't ever show up in front of me again. Any past grievances and favors between us are now wiped clean!"
The servant boy was momentarily stunned and exchanged glances with his companions.
"What? You have a problem with that?" Zhou Xun frowned slightly.
"Not at all, not at all!" The servant boy quickly snapped out of it, grabbed his companions, and hurried away.