Chapter 466: Calling Elder Ru Qi

’Discounts, access to the spirit garden, being able to rent my own land there, free use of the transportation array once per month and entry to the Pill Formulation Vault...’ Yi Chen repeated all the benefits he was guaranteed by the guild once again in his mind.

"In return for all of this, the members are only required to do at least one of the guild’s missions once every month, and these are not for free, as once completed, we are provided with great rewards,"

Duan Wen explained and continued, "Apart from that, you’ll also need to share the rights to the original pill formulations you’ll create in the future, after holding exclusive rights to them for fifty years..."

"This... isn’t that too much?" Yi Chen asked with a frown the very moment he heard the second part of Duan Wen’s words.

Needing to do missions for the guild was totally acceptable. Even if instead of one they would be required to do ten, Yi Chen would still have found it understandable, taking into account the benefits they were offering.

However, the moment he heard that the rights to the original pill formulations, which Pill Refiners pour their hearts and souls into creating, would be shared with the guild after fifty years, he couldn’t help but hesitate.

’Does that mean they’ll be able to sell the formula to anyone they wish and even create as many of those pills as they need by themselves?’ Yi Chen thought to himself.

While he wasn’t sure sharing the rights meant the same thing here as it did on Earth, just from the sound of it, he felt like it was a deal that wasn’t beneficial for him at all.

"Too much?" Duan Wen couldn’t help but smile in an amused manner when he heard Yi Chen’s question and continued, "I wonder why you think so. It’s a pretty beneficial deal for us pill refiners if you think about it a little."

Seeing that Duan Wen was unable to make sense of his words, Yi Chen explained his worries to him the next moment, "Well, Senior Brother, won’t the guild be freely able to use my formula after that fifty-year period and earn as much money out of it as possible?

Moreover, the formula which I would have painstakingly created would then be openly available to whoever is willing to buy it, and the pills which only I would have been able to create earlier would be easily mass-produced by the guild for selling in the market... wouldn’t that be a great loss for me?"

"Are you sure about that?" Duan Wen said with a subtle smirk and continued, "Suppose you created an original formula and started selling the pills you refined using that formula in various pill markets around the kingdom.

Then, are you sure that other Pill Refiners won’t be able to reverse engineer the ingredients which you’ve used to refine that pill and start making their own version of it? And if they are able to do it, do you have the means to find them and stop them from doing it?"

"This... No, I don’t."

Yi Chen answered with pursed lips the moment he heard those words

Being only a single person, he had no means of controlling such people who would resort to copying his product. He was familiar with such tactics on Earth, but there were stringent copyright and patent laws to control such activities.

However, no such things were present in this world.

"That’s exactly where our Supreme Pill Forging Guild comes into play." Duan Wen stated with a smile and continued, "In the 50 years when only you will have the exclusive right to the pill formula, the guild will crack down on any such Pill Refiners who would dare to copy any of our members’ pills.

With the Supreme Pill Forging Guild’s vast network, they are capable of pinpointing any such malpractice that takes place within the continent and act accordingly, thereby preventing your pill formula from getting leaked.

As a result, in the fifty years where you have the exclusive right to it, you’ll be able to maximise your profits from it."

Duan Wen paused to let his words sink in before asking, "Tell me now, do you still think that promising the shared rights of your formula is too much to ask for?"

"I-I...don’t." Yi Chen responded the very next moment and asked, "But... why would the guild go through so much trouble just to acquire our formulas? By the end of fifty years, won’t the demand for the pill reduce considerably as compared to what it had been at the time of its first release... Moreover, because of the mass production, its per-unit selling price would also need to be lowered."

Hearing those words, the subtle smile on Duan Wen’s face turned into a grin as he said the very next moment, "Junior Brother, you’re correct, and because of that very reason, the profits earned by the guild would be marginal.

However, when did I ever say that the guild wants the shared rights of these formulas only to profit from them monetarily? Earning wealth from those formulas had never been the guild’s intention in the first place."

"This... then why would they want our pill formulas?" Yi Chen asked curiously the very next moment.

"Junior Brother, from where do you think the thousands of pill formulas present in the Pill Formulation Vaults of our guild’s various branches come from? It’s from this very method." Duan Wen explained and continued, "The copies of these pill formulas are shared all across the branches and bought by guild members at discounted prices, who then learn from them and use their new learnings and inspiration to create a pill formulation of their own in the future, and this cycle continues on.

Thus, profiteering was only an added benefit, as the guild’s original intention has always been to pave a clear pathway for future innovations and continue to maintain our position as the greatest organisation of Pill Refiners in the entire continent."

"So that’s how it was..." Yi Chen slowly nodded in realisation as all the dots started to connect.

"With that, I think you now have a better understanding of the workings of our guild. If you have any other doubts, you are free to ask now," Duan Wen stated with a welcoming tone.

"No, Senior Brother. Thanks to you, all my doubts have been answered." Yi Chen stated with a grateful smile.

"That’s good to know. Then I presume you’ll be leaving for the sect now?" Duan Wen asked with a curious expression.

"Yes, I need to practice for the duel, which is in a few days’ time, so I’ll be going back to the sect right away." Yi Chen stated with a pursed smile.

"Yeah, do that. Originally, I wasn’t interested in coming to watch it at all, but hearing everything you’re capable of, I’ll definitely be among the audience on that day, so train well." Duan Wen stated with a smile and, while at it, gave Yi Chen his Sound Transmission Stone.

"If you have any doubts regarding pill refining or need some help in the sect, feel free to contact me." He stated with a smile the very next moment.

"Thank you, Senior Brother." Yi Chen subtly bowed in a grateful manner before finally walking out of the building.

Watching Yi Chen’s back, Duan Wen muttered under his breath, "I did end up building a connection with him like you wanted me to, Master... hopefully he’ll live up to your expectations."

With those words, he soon went back to the library.

As for Yi Chen, after making his way out of Jade City’s gates in a carriage, he used the Bursting Fire Steps to rush his way back to the Sect, as the sun had already started to set by then.

Meanwhile, the third test had finally finished by now, and out of the thirty-nine candidates, only twenty-five were able to make it in the end.

Just as Yi Chen had been briefed by Duan Wen, Elder Tao briefed the selected candidates for a few minutes and, after answering all their doubts, sent them back.

"Let’s check up on her now, shall I?" Elder Tao thought with a cheeky grin as he entered his office. Taking a seat, he soon took out a Sound Transmission Stone from his storage ring and called someone.

A few moments later, the buzzing of the stone finally stopped as a voice came from the other side.

"Greetings, Elder Tao, how have you been?" Elder Ru Qi asked from the other side of the stone, a bit of confusion evident in her voice.

"You little brat, I didn’t know that you were hiding such a card up your sleeve all this while." Elder Tao snorted the very next moment.

"???"

A layer of confusion instantly plastered itself on Elder Ru Qi’s face as she asked the very next moment, "W-What does Elder Tao mean? What card?"

"What else? That young man whom you sent to be tested today. That brat’s a genius the likes of whom are rarely seen even across the top three kingdoms!" Elder Tao replied with annoyance evident in his voice, "If not for the fact that he wasn’t your student, I would have already taken him as my disciple..."

’Ah, so it’s about Yi Chen...’ Elder Ru Qi opened her mouth in realisation as she continued to hear Elder Tao’s words.

"...To be able to make someone who’s capable of refining pills at a 55% efficacy rate already, you really lucked out this time, Ru Qi, didn’t you?"

"Wait... what did you just say, Elder Tao? Yi Chen refined a pill with how much efficacy?!"

Elder Ru Qi asked, her eyes almost popping out of her sockets.