Long Chen's body trembled slightly, only then regaining his composure. Seeing it was Elder Qixing, Long Chen nodded and said,
"It looks familiar."
"This is the statue of our Pill Institute's founder, yet you ate the ancestor's tribute..." Elder Qixing's expression suddenly turned serious.
"No one told me you brought me here, and I was hungry. When I saw the food, I thought it was prepared for me, Elder, so I ate it.
I only noticed the statue when I had eaten almost enough, so this can't be blamed on me. Long Chen shrugged and said.
The Elder Qixing laughed in anger. As soon as Long Chen entered, he saw the statue and then ate. He thought others didn't know, but he didn't realize that Elder Qixing saw everything clearly.
Elder Qixing couldn't be bothered to expose him, took out the offering fruit again, arranged it neatly, then knelt on the ground and performed the three kowtows and nine bows.
After bowing, the Seven Star Elder looked at Long Chen and said, "If this were in another sect, your actions would be considered treasonous and would be immediately executed."
But at our Lingxiao Academy, there is no such requirement. Kneeling to elders is actually kneeling to oneself, bowing to oneself, bowing to one's own sense of reverence and gratitude, thereby restraining one's character. Long
Chen gave a thumbs-up, his face full of admiration: "Senior, your words truly resonate with me. If those kids outside had your magnanimity, they wouldn't have made me so angry I wanted to kill someone." This
Elder of the Seven Stars was the only one Long Chen considered to have the demeanor of a master after entering the Immortal Realm; the rest were trash.
Elder Qixing said with a half-smile, "Then do you feel reverence and gratitude in your heart?" "
Of course I have. My life was earned by countless predecessors and siblings, and I certainly know respect and gratitude.
I'm a very afraid person, so I never provoke others. But if someone bullies me and crushes my dignity underfoot, I won't indulge their bad habits.
I want to live, and that's only when I protect my dignity. I absolutely refuse to accept so-called humiliation and burden, just scraping by. If you don't accept it, then fight; if you die, then so be it. Long Chen said.
"A useful body, yet doing useless things?" Elder Qixing shook his head.
"I don't agree with your view. If you endure humiliation for a long time, your spine will bend sooner or later. How can you stand tall in the future? If you kneel too long, your knees will take root—how can you still hold your chest high and live as a person?
Just like those disciples? Being bullied, holding back a breath of anger, forcing yourself to wait for new disciples to arrive and vent your anger on the newcomers?
The disciples he trained were all bullies who feared the strong. What could these people possibly count on? Long Chen said with disdain.
Elder Qixing shook his head: "The reason you think this way is because you're looking at things from your own personal perspective. If you stand at a higher level, maybe you'll understand."
Since you are an ascender, you should understand that you can change yourself and those around you, but your power absolutely cannot change the entire world.
You can capture a city, you can carve out a sky, but no matter how strong you are, it cannot change the most basic aspects of human nature.
Alright, let's not talk about this anymore. Let's talk about what happened with you this time. I have basically understood the situation. It's not your fault, but using such an extreme method to counterattack isn't really a ..."
Seeing Long Chen about to retort, the Seven-Star Elder waved his hand: "There's no point arguing over these issues. Let's talk about the outcome of this matter."
Both of you have issues and responsibilities in this matter, so each of you will be punished with fifty strokes.
Originally, if you passed the assessment, there would be a newcomer reward, including one pill furnace, one Pill Fire Seed, and five thousand immortal crystals... "
If you get deducted, then don't say anything. The more you say, the worse it will be for me." Long Chen shook his head.
Elder Qixing smiled. After all these years at the Alchemy Institute, many people treated him with utmost respect. Even the mentors held him in awe, let alone ordinary disciples.
Long Chen actually interrupted him several times, but his expression was so intense it was hard to get angry—he was truly an oddball.
"Your result is that all your benefits are stripped away, and that human-level mentor lacked self-discipline. He deliberately targeted the disciple in class, took the initiative, and was revoked. Only after three years can he retake the qualification certificate.
Those law enforcement disciples failed to follow the standard procedures and were also at fault, punished with fifteen days of lockdown, and had their monthly benefits deducted. Hearing
Elder Qixing say this, Long Chen finally felt a bit more at ease. It seemed the Pill Institute still had merits—not just targeting him, and those guys were punished too, which was fairly fair.
It's just that perhaps the impact was too great, but the Alchemy Institute made this decision, rather than just brushing it off lightly.
"And then?" Am I about to be expelled from the Alchemy Institute? Long
Chen asked. He was already prepared to be driven out, so when he entered the main hall and saw the offering fruit, he grabbed it and ate it. He had already given up and decided to get some benefit if possible. If it really didn't work, selling fruit in the future wouldn't make him go hungry.
"No, although this incident is malicious and has a bad impact, the root cause is not entirely your fault.
So, we won't expel you from the Alchemy Institute. You will still be an apprentice disciple and can continue to attend classes.
However, since you don't have the alchemy fire or furnace, you might end up in some awkward situations. Elder Qixing said.
Well, when others were in class, the instructor was refining pills while explaining, while others were learning and refining at the same time. He had no hair at all, just watching from the sidelines, acting like a fool, which was indeed a bit awkward.
"So this month, you might be in an awkward position. You can wait until next month when the benefits come out and go to the Danbao Pavilion to buy alchemy tools." Elder Qixing said.
After entering the Immortal Realm, both the Star-Moon Refining Star Furnace and the Demon Moon Furnace fell into slumber. Long Chen dared not use them, since they were objects of the mortal realm. If used in the Immortal Realm, the impact of immortal energy would instantly shatter them.
They couldn't help Long Chen for the time being, but he wasn't in a hurry. He planned to slowly find ways to nourish Ling'er and the others, making them stronger. Later, when attached to an immortal artifact, they could still help him refine pills.
Most importantly, whether it was the Demon Moon Furnace, Xiao Tian, or the Molten Moon Star Refining Furnace, they were all the ones Long Chen trusted most. Right now, his strength was just too weak and he needed to improve quickly.
"These are the academy's rules for students and students. Go back and get familiar with them. Don't break any taboos in the future." The Elder of the Seven Stars handed Long Chen a domino. Holding the token, Long Chen probed it with his soul power, and a massive amount of information flooded into Long Chen's mind in an instant.
Originally, the dominoes were meant for Long Chen to study slowly after returning home, because the information inside was so vast that it usually took disciples several days to digest it. If absorbed too quickly, it could tear their souls apart.
But Long Chen instantly read through all the information without showing any emotion. Such powerful soul power moved even the Elder of the Seven Stars.
"Senior, could I ask you for a favor? I'd like to borrow some money." Long Chen suddenly said shyly.
"Sorry, if I lend you money, it's basically secretly supporting you. This punishment is basically meaningless." Elder Qixing shook his head.
"No, you've misunderstood me. I'm not borrowing money to buy a furnace or fire, but to take the mentor assessment." Long Chen said excitedly, because he saw another a...A new road, and a broad avenue at that.
"Screw you, damn disciple! I'm going to be a mentor now, so I won't let this annoying person anymore."