Naturally, if they were just going through the motions, it would have been fine. However, their kill count of evil demons kept rising. Yi Yunfei and his group didn’t know this at first. It was only a week later, when they ran into Qiao Wenjian again, that they realized they had become famous.
"Yi Yunfei, congratulations to all ten of you for making the Newcomer List," Qiao Wenjian said, offering his congratulations as soon as he saw Yi Yunfei.
"Wait, what list? What Newcomer List? What is that?" Yi Yunfei genuinely had no idea about this.
Seeing Yi Yunfei’s sincere expression, Qiao Wenjian realized he wasn’t joking. "You really don’t know?"
"No, I don’t," Yi Yunfei shook his head. They had been busy fighting evil demons these past few days. Who had time to pay attention to news outside of combat?
"There is a ranking system for killing evil demons here. It is divided into the Newcomer List, the Rising Star List, and the Elite List. The Newcomer List is for newcomers who have arrived within the last hundred years. If someone stays on the Newcomer List for more than three years, they move to the Rising Star List. The Elite List is different; it ranks everyone based on the highest number of evil demons killed. Currently, you ten have made the Newcomer List," Qiao Wenjian explained seriously.
Yi Yunfei nodded in understanding. "This Newcomer List is too easy. The only newcomers here in the last hundred years are our batch, so it’s normal for us to be on it."
(⊙o⊙)… Saying this right in front of Qiao Wenjian… wasn’t he afraid of getting beaten up?
Hearing this, Qiao Wenjian’s expression darkened. Although Yi Yunfei was stating a fact, it was undeniable that he felt hurt. Even so, they still hadn’t made the Newcomer List.
"To make the Newcomer List, each newcomer must kill at least two hundred evil demons in one week," Qiao Wenjian explained.
"Oh," Yi Yunfei nodded again. "So there are requirements for this list."
Then he frowned. "But this list underestimates us. I calculated it. In the past week, we killed at least five thousand evil demons. That’s an average of five hundred per person. The requirement for the Newcomer List is too low."
Qiao Wenjian took a deep breath. He worried that if he continued talking, he might lose his temper. Yi Yunfei was complaining about the Newcomer List, while they couldn’t even touch the edge of it.
"Yi Yunfei, when are you going out again? I want to see how you fight evil demons," Qiao Wenjian said.
Yi Yunfei looked at Qiao Wenjian and nodded slightly. "Sure. Come over tomorrow morning. We can take you along to learn."
They weren’t worried that Qiao Wenjian would steal their kills. Honestly, if Qiao Wenjian had that ability, they would respect him.
"Alright. I’ll wait for you at the starting point early tomorrow," Qiao Wenjian said. Since Yi Yunfei agreed, he had nothing more to say. He left directly. If he stayed any longer, he felt he would start doubting his own life choices.
Yi Yunfei returned to the camp and told everyone about Qiao Wenjian’s request.
It was just taking along one person. Their impression of Qiao Wenjian was neither good nor bad, so they had no objections to taking him. Besides, for them, it made no difference whether they took him or not, because they used medicine and never fought with weapons.
The next day, Yi Yunfei’s small squad set out with Qiao Wenjian.
They returned two hours later. Everyone’s spirits were still high, except for Qiao Wenjian, whose expression was poor.
At this moment, Qiao Wenjian understood why Yi Yunfei and his group were so powerful. They never thought of charging forward like reckless brutes. They used medicine directly.
Don’t say that using medicine is underhanded. Against evil demons, there is no such thing as "fair and open" methods. Their fight against evil demons was simply to survive better. Survival was the key, not who was more honorable.
That night, Qiao Wenjian went to find Yi Yunfei again. "Yi Yunfei, can you sell us some of your medicine?"
Yi Yunfei looked at Qiao Wenjian and smiled after a moment. "You don’t need to buy it from us. You should be able to buy this medicine soon. The elders of our Sage Academy have already gone to collect medicinal materials. They say they have gathered enough in the past few days and will start refining it soon. You’d better prepare early and negotiate the purchase contract with our elders then."
Hearing this, Qiao Wenjian knew that if such medicine was available for sale, signing a purchase contract early would be a very good choice for their Shangmo Academy. Therefore, he didn’t say anything more to Yi Yunfei. "I’ll go find your elders right away." With that, he left hurriedly.
Yi Yunfei shrugged slightly. She didn’t take Qiao Wenjian’s arrival and departure to heart. The next day, Zhu Yanyi was called to teach everyone how to refine poison.
Zhu Yanyi gave Elder Wu a recipe for refining poison. "It’s actually very simple. Just follow the method written above. However, because everyone’s refining techniques differ, the effect time may vary. For some, it might be one or two seconds faster; for others, one or two seconds slower. This depends on the individual’s technique when refining the medicine, which determines the potency. I can’t make everyone achieve the same result as me."
Elder Wu naturally knew this. "Indeed, it’s impossible. It’s like alchemy. You can refine top-grade pills, but even Elder Dan can only refine high-grade pills. Everyone’s talent is different, so it’s not your fault. But can you demonstrate it once for me? Let’s combine this with what’s written here to make it clearer."
"Of course," Zhu Yanyi smiled. "I was planning to demonstrate it for you anyway, even if you hadn’t asked."
Zhu Yanyi never avoided or refused such requests. Although her written operating procedures were detailed, the chance of them succeeding after just reading it was low. Therefore, letting them watch her operate live was a good idea.
So, Elder Wu and Elder Chen arranged for thirty-five people—one from each major squad—to come and watch Zhu Yanyi’s demonstration.
As Zhu Yanyi processed the medicinal materials in front of her, she said, "These medicinal materials are not poisonous themselves. As medicines, they only have medicinal properties. But we doctors all know that medicine itself is not toxic. However, if other things are added, it can become a deadly poison. This is a principle of pharmacology. The medicine we are refining today follows this same principle."
Zhu Yanyi took out a medicinal herb. "This is Purple Heart Grass. Purple Heart Grass itself is non-toxic and can even protect a person’s heart meridians in times of crisis. But when Purple Heart Grass is combined with this Luoyang Flower, it becomes a special drug that induces palpitations."