Dashing Student

Looking at the expectant eyes of the disciples, Jiang Zheng waved his hand to quiet everyone down: "This time, I didn't bring back any cultivation resources."

The light in the dozens of disciples' eyes instantly went out, leaving them dispirited.

"But!" Jiang Zheng changed his tone, pointing at Chen Nan, "I brought you a senior brother."

"Tsk, I thought it was something special. Bringing back one more person means one more share of cultivation resources." A disciple said resentfully.

The Qingshan Sect was very poor, and they were even poorer. An additional person would mean less cultivation resources for everyone else, naturally making them unwilling.

Chen Nan looked at the dozen or so disheveled disciples in front of him and felt speechless. Relying on these people to revive the Qingshan Sect?

Each one just waited for the sect leader to collect resources and distribute them, and they waited like fledgling birds to be fed.

The sect didn't even have an elder. It was impoverished to the extreme. No wonder Jiang Zheng considered eating a bun as a celebration, truly having no money.

You wouldn't call them worthless exactly, but it wasn't far off.

Seeing Jiang Zheng wanting to say something more, Chen Nan walked straight over, pushed open the middle straw hut, which should be the reception room of Qingshan Sect, with two rows of chairs placed inside.

He moved a chair to the door and sat down heavily, sweeping a sharp gaze over everyone, suddenly imposing a pressure over all their heads.

It looked like Jiang Zheng standing next to him was the servant, while Chen Nan appeared more like the sect leader.

"From today on, the entire Qingshan Sect listens to me. Who agrees? Who opposes?"

A tall cultivator, also at the third layer of Foundation Establishment, stepped out and coldly said, "On what basis? You come back and become senior brother, now you even want us to listen to you?"

"Who do you think you are..."

Before he finished, Chen Nan sitting on the chair suddenly disappeared, causing the pupils of all disciples to suddenly enlarge.

Only Jiang Zheng saw clearly, it wasn't that Chen Nan disappeared, but his speed was too fast for the disciples to react.

With a muffled thud, the cultivator who spoke didn't finish his sentence before being pushed to the ground by Chen Nan, followed by being kicked away.

A cultivator of the same cultivation level had no room to resist in his hands.

"Now, who opposes?"

Chen Nan leisurely returned to his seat and asked again.

This time, no one dared to speak up; after all, the one who was just beaten was the strongest among them, yet he was dealt with in one move.

"Good. Since I'm in charge, from now on, you must strive for your cultivation resources by yourselves instead of waiting for the sect to feed you."

One disciple, though not daring to refute Chen Nan, raised their hand and asked, "Senior brother, where does our sect have resources?"

"Very soon there will be, because I am an alchemist." Chen Nan spoke with confidence.

As soon as he said this, all the disciples looked at him differently, as alchemists are a very prestigious profession in the Nine Provinces.

Only some first-class sects have their own alchemists; otherwise, they have to buy needed elixir pills from others.

Of course, becoming an alchemist is also one in a million and requires nurturing with countless resources, making the cost enormous.

Now with an alchemist joining the Qingshan Sect, it was something the disciples could not have imagined, and their gazes on Chen Nan become fervent.

In the next moment, all the disciples instantly gathered around Chen Nan, even pushing the sect leader Jiang Zheng aside.

"Senior brother, are you hungry? The sect still has two chickens, I'll kill them for you right now to nourish you."

"Senior brother, let me massage your shoulders; you must be exhausted."

"Senior brother, need a foot bath? I'll fetch water now!"

Compared to before, the situation was like night and day.

There's no choice; these disciples are terrified of being poor. They are the rejects in terms of aptitude among the sects and joined a trash sect, only thinking about sucking the sect dry.

And to pass down the Qingshan Sect, Jiang Zheng could only let them freeload, the dignified sect leader having to go out to collect cultivation resources to give to disciples – could it get more miserable?

Now that an alchemist has come, it seems everything could change.

Jiang Zheng fondly stroked his beard, chuckling: "To deceive Chen Nan back here, truly the blessing of our Ancestor."

Seeing the other disciples so revered of an alchemist, even Tang Zhirou was moved. She awkwardly walked over and pushed out a disciple to replace him in massaging Chen Nan's shoulders.

No other disciples dared to offend Tang Zhirou either. Though Tang Zhirou had joined the sect not long ago, she was the most talented in the entire sect, the sect leader's precious darling.

Of course, compared to a genius she might not measure up, but she was more than enough compared to these trash aptitudes.

But now she has to settle for being second in Qingshan Sect.

"You said you would teach me alchemy." Tang Zhirou turned her face away, not looking at Chen Nan, acting haughty for no clear reason.

Chen Nan nodded: "I know, but it depends on whether you have the talent. After all, raising an alchemist requires a huge investment."

The reason he can succeed in alchemy is because of his excellent medical skills, being knowledgeable about all kinds of spiritual materials, and practicing the "Scripture of the Hidden Talisman" which enhances the soul.

"I know." Tang Zhirou replied in a muffled voice.

But what she thought was: Once I learn alchemy, I'll take over your position as senior brother!

Through force and inducement, Chen Nan managed to stabilize the Qingshan Sect, but the next step was preparing to refine pills to obtain more cultivation resources.

After the welcoming banquet in the evening, Jiang Zheng mysteriously took Chen Nan to the back mountain.

"Disciple, I know you're very disappointed in the Qingshan Sect, but the Qingshan Sect isn't without merits. Having been passed down for a thousand years, it still has many magical and mental methods left."

Reaching a stone wall, Jiang Zheng formed a spell with his hands and pushed true qi into the wall, slowly opening a stone door.

Upon entering, they found many Jade Scrolls of mental and magical methods placed on the shelves.

"Oh? So you weren't deceiving me after all." Chen Nan appeared quite surprised.

After all, an ordinary sect couldn't have so many mental and magical methods, this indicated the sect's foundation.

"But wait, with all this, even if the Qingshan Sect couldn't revive, it shouldn't be doing so poorly, right?"

Jiang Zheng awkwardly smiled: "You found out; actually, these mental and magical methods, although passed down by the Ancestors, are all incomplete and not worth anything outside."

"Even our Qingshan Sect's traditional mental method 'Qingshan Skill' can only be cultivated up to the peak of Foundation Establishment, beyond that there is nothing."

Chen Nan was dumbstruck: "Qingshan Sect's Ancestors really were an odd bunch, passing down only half of a method? No wonder the Qingshan Sect is falling apart."

Fortunately, the "Scripture of the Hidden Talisman" he practiced was a mental method leading directly to immortality, so no need to switch.