The receptionist balked at the question coming from the little boy for a split second before composing herself and re-donning her facade.

“Little friend, the Alchemist Guild’s role is to certify qualified alchemists. We do not take apprentices ourselves. Your best chance is to find a teacher by joining a sect.”

“Do you not have your own alchemists, who serve the guild that can accept disciples?”

“We do, but it is up to each individual alchemist to decide how they accept disciples. It isn’t the guild’s business to meddle in that. Their requirements are usually pretty high in both aptitude and other qualities important to an alchemist, so it may be easier for you to join a sect.”

Li Lang tried not to grimace at the mention of aptitude. He felt like he was being impeded by it every step of the way.

“Do you sell books on pill refining, then?”

The receptionist flashed a strained smile at the child before her.

“Silly boy, an alchemist’s techniques are their treasure. They would never spread them around. Each alchemist’s techniques are only passed on to their disciples.”

“...How about books on herbs and other materials itself?”

“Go to the Gatherer’s Guild for that.” The woman replied, with an edge to her voice that slipped out.

“Can you give me the directions to there? And I should be able to buy some pills here, right?”

“...Of course.”

Li Lang then headed to another line as instructed. The line this time was much longer, and the counter wasn’t in sight from the tail end of the line. Thankfully, the Alchemist Guild knew how to do business efficiently, and the line made good progress every few seconds.

He soon saw the reason the line was moving so fast, as he watched several children, that were around his age, coming up to each person in line.

“Sir, can you read? Here is the list of pills for you to browse. If you know what you would like, just inform me and we will have it ready for you by the time it is your turn.”

The children moved as a group and kept handing sheets of paper to the customers in line before taking their orders. They moved with practiced ease and it was soon Li Lang’s turn.

He quietly read over the list handed to him. There were unfamiliar names such as Qi Condensing pill and Heaven and Earth pill, while there were also easier-to-understand ones such as Antidote Pill or Recovery Pill.

There were prices clearly marked right next to each pill, which made Li Lang suddenly realize he wasn’t as rich as he thought. All the prices were listed in Qi stones and the cheapest pills cost two Qi stones. After mentally converting his wealth to the correct unit with the rate listed, he ended up only having a handful of Qi stones.

Cultivating was expensive. It not only allowed people to expand their lifespan, but also brought power, wealth, and status. It only made sense that people would spare no expense for cultivation-related items.

He didn’t have a stable income yet, so Li Lang only selected one pill to start off with.

Once he was done with his purchase, he headed for the next destination. He swiftly exited the splendid Alchemist Guild and only had to travel down one street before he arrived.

The Gatherer’s Guild he had been informed about was much more modest than the Alchemist Guild. It was a simple two-story building with an unimpressive entrance. Still, it had a high amount of traffic, with many people going in and out.

Upon entering, Li Lang immediately noticed a stark difference. Inside the Alchemist Guild, there was a large variety of people, ranging from strong cultivators to rich merchants, or even normal citizens. In comparison, the Gatherer’s Guild’s demographics were much simpler. There were only strong cultivators who seemed like seasoned warriors inside.

Stolen novel; please report.

The young boy entering the building immediately drew everyone’s attention. A brief silence took over the lobby until someone with a masculine voice dramatically cleared their throat. Everyone inside immediately acted as if they had their tail stepped on and quickly went about their own business once more.

That didn’t give Li Lang a sense of relief, though. The man who had cleared his throat was carefully looking at Li Lang and gestured for him to step forward. He obediently obeyed the muscular men behind the counter, who stood at least six feet tall.

“Boy, what business do you have?”

“...I wanted to purchase some herbs and other alchemy materials.”

Li Lang’s words had caught the attention of several rough-looking individuals nearby, but they quickly looked away when the muscular man glared their way.

“Sorry, we don’t sell that around here. We sell directly to the Alchemist Guild.”

“Then can you teach me about the herbs and where I can harvest them myself?”

“We only share that information with our members. Actual material gatherers.”

“Then allow me to become a material gatherer.”

“...Kid, you’re not even in the first stage of Energy Gathering. Material gathering isn’t a game, especially for a smelly brat like you. It is a dangerous job where you will regularly encounter Qi beasts.”

“I don’t mind. You don’t have any rules against me joining, right? Please sign me up.”

“...It’s your funeral, kid.”

The large man quickly stepped into the back before reemerging with a crystal ball, much like the one used to test aptitude.

“Place your hand here.”

When Li Lang did as instructed, the orb didn’t glow like he had expected. In fact, nothing happened. The muscular man didn’t give a chance for him to ask questions and immediately retreated to the back once more. He didn’t return until ten minutes later, with a wooden badge with the number one inscribed on it.

“This is your guild badge. It shows you are a grade one gatherer. You can go to the bulletin board over there with the map to see what areas you can gather from. The blue areas are for rank ones like you and are marked with the materials commonly found there.”

Li Lang nodded at the explanation while he fidgeted around with the badge he received. He could sense Qi from it, so he was tempted to study the material it was made from.

Once the man had finished, he wasted no time and walked toward the map.

“Hey, now. Is that kid seriously planning on heading into the forest? He’ll just be feeding the Qi beasts…”

“Who cares? We still need to find a ten-year-old Sunfire Leaf for Young Master Ye. We have to find it before that sect’s entrance assessment begins next year.”

“We should go as well. We need to maintain our relationship and fulfill Spirit Grove’s request.”

“Looking for more members to venture into the Verdant Forest!”

While some had paid attention to Li Lang, even more went about their own business. Li Lang quietly listened, carefully sieving for any useful information as he made his way to the bulletin board.

The map posted there had a detailed outline of the area surrounding the city, with various areas highlighted in different colors. Li Lang knew it was already dangerous for him to traverse the relatively docile blue area for beginners, so he paid the other areas no mind.

He carefully memorized the information for each plant found in the blue areas. They had a note nearby with the name, picture, and information for each one. They even went into detail about the harvest method, but none of that changed the fact Li Lang had to go in person to attain these herbs.

Without the herbs themselves, he wouldn’t be able to proceed with his plan to analyze and recreate the pill he had bought.

Once Li Lang had finished his business in the Material Gatherer’s guild, he swiftly left after asking for directions for his next destination.

This time, he had to travel much further to a different part of the city before he arrived on a busy street. The entire area was filled with stores that sold various things a cultivator would want. The majority of the stores sold Mortal-grade artifacts, with only a few possessing Earth-grade artifacts, which corresponded to the Energy Gathering realm and Foundation Establishment realm in power, respectively.

However, the store Li Lang headed for sold something entirely different. He walked through the storefront and found it relatively quiet. Only a few guests were browsing the products displayed on the wall behind the clerk. Despite there being few guests, each and every one of them appeared to be incredibly wealthy, coming from famed houses.

Li Lang eyed each talisman on display carefully, reading every word on the plaque below them. He couldn’t help but smirk when he read about one of the talismans on display in particular, but he frowned when he read the part labeled with the price.

“This young master. How may I help you?” A gentle and feminine voice called out from the other side of the counter.

I won’t have enough money for anything but next month’s inn fees if I buy this…

While Li Lang silently contemplated, the female clerk waited patiently beside her guest while wearing a smile. Her face beamed upon hearing Li Lang’s next words.

“I want that one over there.”