o(∩_∩)o... Good morning, time to get up and learn the herb gathering skills.

－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－ Before dawn, the young herb gathering apprentices in the small courtyard were roused by several youths dressed in fine silks and summoned to a large compound for the initiation ceremony to join the Medicine Gathering Hall. Over forty external apprentices, all clad in coarse blue cloth, and five internal apprentices dressed in white cloth, stood in formation in the yard, feeling extremely tense.

Ye Qin was no exception, feeling a slight unease in his heart. He noticed two important figures from the Medicine Gathering Hall standing within the large compound.

One was short and rather portly, resembling a prosperous merchant, standing with his hands clasped behind his back, regarding the assembled children with a faint smile. The other was a thin man in his forties or fifties, wearing a long, plain blue robe, also with his hands behind his back, his expression cold, his gaze sharp as lightning; no child present dared to meet his eyes.

Steward Zhang, along with dozens of Medicine Gatherers and Pill Refiners from both the external and internal halls, including Master Gatherer Wang, were markedly reserved and cautious in the presence of these two dignitaries. Steward Zhang introduced the distinguished guests to the apprentices.

The portly, merchant-like man was Deputy Hall Master Ma from the inner hall, holding the second-highest position in the Medicine Gathering Hall. The thin man in the blue robe was Deputy Hall Master Ji from the outer hall, holding the third-highest position.

The legendary Hall Master of the Medicine Gathering Hall, Benefactor Li, was absent from the ceremony. Steward Zhang himself was a high-level manager, but his duties consisted solely of handling various miscellaneous affairs within the hall, often acting as the primary administrator for many mundane tasks.

The remaining dozens of Medicine Gatherers and Pill Refiners were specifically tasked with apprenticing and training the gatherers and refiners. After introducing all the important figures present, Steward Zhang began the initiation rite.

All the herb gathering apprentices stepped forward, one by one, to drip blood into a basin at the front, then knelt before the banner of the Medicine King Gang, performing the common gang initiation blood oath. They swore never to betray the Medicine King Gang, never to betray the Medicine Gathering Hall, and signed a lifelong contract, pledging their service and loyalty to the Medicine King Gang until death.

This blood-dripping ritual excited the children, making them feel, for the first time, that they had truly become members of the martial world. Deputy Hall Master Ma and Deputy Hall Master Ji did not linger.

After the initiation ceremony concluded, they gave a few instructions to the masters and departed immediately. Steward Zhang scurried behind the two deputies as they left, followed shortly by some of the masters.

In the courtyard, only ten Medicine Gatherers and five Pill Refiners remained, ready to formally impart the skills of the Medicine Gathering Hall to the assembled apprentices. Each Medicine Gatherer would take four or five gathering apprentices.

The five Pill Refiners would each take only one apprentice dressed in white, coarse cloth—a Pill Refining Apprentice. Ye Qin, Yang Yicheng, Feng Xiao, Qian Ruoxiu, and Sun Ying, these five children, naturally followed Master Gatherer Wang.

Ye Qin and Yang Yicheng occasionally glanced curiously at those apprentices in white cloth; they seemed somehow different from them, yet they couldn't articulate precisely how. Master Gatherer Wang stood with his hands behind his back and spoke in a cold tone.

“Stop looking. Those are the Pill Refining Apprentices from the inner hall.

In the future, they will either become Pill Refiners or work exclusively in the shops; they won't need to risk their lives gathering herbs outside. They are here to enjoy comfort.

You are the gathering apprentices of the outer hall; you must venture out to gather herbs, risking your lives. It is that simple.

You are now my disciples, Wang Hong’s. If you encounter any of these inner hall disciples in the future, do not cause trouble.

Causing problems is not a joke.” Ye Qin and the other four quickly lowered their heads to listen to the instruction. Following this, Master Gatherer Wang began explaining the training content required for a qualified gathering apprentice, along with important precautions.

The skills the Medicine Gathering Hall apprentices needed to learn were surprisingly numerous: literacy, arithmetic, herb identification, herb gathering techniques, wilderness survival, emergency field treatment, bug and beast deterrence, trapping, wilderness camouflage, knife/sword/bow/rope skills, basic external martial arts, basic internal cultivation... totaling no less than a dozen disciplines.

The sheer number of disciplines was astonishing. One must consider that ordinary rural herb gatherers usually only needed herb identification and gathering skills, sufficient for working in non-dangerous wilderness areas.

But the Medicine Gathering Hall was different; it was a branch of the Medicine King Gang. The Medicine King Gang was the fifth-largest martial arts organization in Pingzhou, possessing substantial power.

Its main headquarters was in Pingzhou’s capital city, with branch halls in every county. Disciples of such a major gang were frequently embroiled in martial feuds, making it impossible for them not to know martial arts.

Thus, even the lowest-level gathering apprentices had to learn external and internal cultivation. Furthermore, they needed to venture into perilous deep mountains, gorges, and sheer cliffs to collect medicinal ingredients requiring decades or even a century of accumulated potency.

Naturally, the required skillset was extensive. Literacy and Arithmetic—Herb formularies were recorded in writing; without literacy and arithmetic, one could never memorize thousands of medicinal ingredients.

Herb Identification—Required the ability to discern thousands of different toxic, curative, and rare herbs. Both poisonous and non-poisonous ingredients had to be collected.

Herbs included grasses, wood, insects, snakes, stones, and even parts from fierce beasts like tigers and wolves (pelts, bones, etc.). They needed to identify the name, type, and properties of known herbs, and even assess the grade and potential value of unknown herbs for collection.

If it could be sold, they gathered it. An experienced gatherer must be able to spot valuable herbs from a great distance with a single glance.

Herb Gathering Techniques—To ensure the maximum medicinal power of the herbs was retained, gatherers needed to master specialized gathering techniques. Improper collection methods could lead to failure.

Junior apprentices often made mistakes when gathering high-grade herbs due to inexperience, damaging their potency. Wilderness Survival, Emergency Field Treatment, Bug and Beast Deterrence—These required no further explanation.

Herb gathering expeditions into the mountains often lasted months or a year, making long-term survival skills, pest control, and injury treatment absolutely essential. Trapping, Wilderness Camouflage, Knife/Sword/Bow/Rope Skills, Basic External Martial Arts, Basic Internal Cultivation—These combat skills seemed less directly related to gathering but were primarily for personal safety, used against fierce wild beasts or even other martial artists encountered on the road.

Moreover, certain precious herbs were often guarded by ferocious beasts, which had to be eliminated for collection. Traps and camouflage were extremely useful.

Collecting valuable herbs also meant a high risk of being robbed by bandits on the return journey. Pingzhou was rife with brigands, and confronting petty thieves was inevitable.

If a disciple of the great Medicine King Gang couldn't even defeat common thugs, it would be a huge laughingstock. Fortunately, Ye Qin and the others were ignorant of all this, so they didn't initially feel overwhelmed by the volume of necessary learning.

The entire apprentice training period lasted a full six months. During this time, the Medicine Gathering Hall provided the apprentices with no money, only board and lodging.

This consisted of coarse rice and vegetables, with small portions of meat offered for good performance. If a registered apprentice performed poorly, they risked expulsion.

After the six-month "training period," the three-year "practical experience period" began, during which gathering apprentices followed established Gatherers up the mountains to collect herbs. The Gatherers would teach them how to apply the learned skills in the wild.

Only then, with good performance, would they receive small monetary rewards. After three years of practical experience accompanying Gatherers on expeditions, a gathering apprentice could be promoted to Apprentice Gatherer.

At this stage, they no longer needed to follow a Master Gatherer but could venture out independently to gather herbs and earn money; the more valuable the herbs collected, the higher the reward. After seven or eight years, outstanding Apprentice Gatherers could be promoted to Gatherers, authorized to take new apprentices up the mountain.

Decades later, if a Gatherer accumulated enough contributions to the Medicine Gathering Hall, they could be promoted to Medicine Gatherer, becoming an important figure like Master Gatherer Wang—it was not an impossible prospect. The status of a Medicine Gatherer in the Hall was exceptionally high; they possessed wealth, power, and standing, and aside from the Hall Master and Deputy Hall Masters, they rarely needed to defer to anyone.

In Zhuqi County, they were figures of considerable prestige. After Master Gatherer Wang finished explaining this, Ye Qin, Yang Yicheng, Feng Xiao, and the others invariably displayed fanatic looks, clenching their fists.

Such a bright prospect was enough to make them strive desperately. Seeing the excitement on their young faces, Master Gatherer Wang inwardly sneered: The status of a Master Gatherer is indeed high, provided they have the life left to reach that day.

The path of a gatherer is fraught with near-death experiences; it is no idle saying. Among the thousands of disciples in the entire Medicine Gathering Hall, there are merely a few dozen Masters.

These thoughts, however, he kept to himself. .