Faced with the enraged Fifth Elder, Nie Xingyun, Lian Tianxin felt a touch of guilt and forced a dry laugh, "Old Fifth, you are a Nie family elder. Surely the Nie family has plenty of other youngsters with decent aptitude for alchemy. Just put in a bit more effort and find yourself another apprentice."

Nie Xingyun’s face was ashen, his anger manifesting in a strained laugh: "Find another one? Easy for you to say! Go find me an apprentice with mutated spiritual energy who can refine ‘Revitalization Dew’ with a ninety-five percent purity!"

Lian Tianxin was choked speechless. If alchemists with mutated spiritual energy were so easy to find, he wouldn't have had to fight Nie Qingyun for an apprentice. So, Lian Tianxin decided to act shamelessly, snorting, "Well, that's not my concern. Nie Kong has already agreed to become my apprentice."

Nie Xingyun sneered, "He agreed? I certainly didn't hear that."

"Whether you heard it or not doesn't matter; what matters is that I heard it," Lian Tianxin chuckled, rolling his eyelids, a hint of triumph flashing across his face.

"Red-Hair, don't forget he is a member of the Nie clan, and I am a Nie family elder. In terms of closeness, he naturally ought to become my disciple," Nie Xingyun gritted out.

"Elder Nie the Fifth, don't you forget either, I am the Nie Family's Chief Spiritual Alchemist. In terms of ability, I am unquestionably superior," Lian Tianxin’s eyes bulged wide.

Nie Xingyun’s temper flared, "Still talking about ability? Red-Hair, with your meager skill, you presume to teach this boy? You even mess up the medicinal properties frequently—aren't you afraid of misleading a disciple?"

Lian Tianxin scoffed, "Heh, this lad Nie Kong can already refine spiritual medicine with ninety-five percent fusion right now. How about you? You've been refining for decades, and the number of times your medicine's fusion has exceeded eighty percent could be counted on two hands. In my opinion, you are the one misleading the disciples."

"You…"

"…"

Nie Xingyun and Lian Tianxin stood opposed, refusing to yield an inch. Their confrontation quickly devolved from airing each other's shortcomings to outright personal attacks. The air in the room crackled with hostility.

On the first floor of the Alchemy Hall, Nie Fengyan and the others listening to the roaring from the top floor exchanged bewildered glances. The two Fifth-Grade Spiritual Alchemists of the Nie family—one stern, the other enigmatic—were actually fighting over taking Nie Kong as an apprentice today. If the argument continued, they might even come to blows.

This was utterly unbelievable! Dignified Fifth-Grade Spiritual Alchemists losing their composure over a simple matter of taking a disciple! Many spiritual alchemists muttered their complaints secretly, but in their hearts, they were consumed by maddening jealousy, wishing they could replace Nie Kong and become the object of contention for Lian Tianxin and Nie Xingyun.

Especially Nie Mazi, whose eyes turned red listening in. Every pimple on his face seemed to be dancing as his mind screamed relentlessly: Why not me? Why not me? Why…

……

In the top-floor room, Nie Kong watched the two men arguing until their faces were red and raw, utterly dumbfounded yet also finding the situation absurdly funny. He had never imagined that the two Fifth-Grade Spiritual Alchemists he once looked up to were now vying intensely to take him as an apprentice, arguing until their faces flushed.

Such a situation was quite common in his past life. For instance, if a high school student suddenly gained notoriety, a horde of prestigious universities would immediately swarm in with special recruitment offers. This act of university special recruitment carried little essential difference from the fight between Nie Xingyun and Lian Tianxin over an apprentice.

Nie Kong didn't find this strange at all. However, seeing the two old men growing angrier, with faint red light flickering in their eyes, he worried they might lose control and demolish the top floor of the Alchemy Hall. He couldn't help but interject, "Fifth Elder, Master Tianxin, you two…"

Upon hearing Nie Kong’s voice, four pairs of eyes snapped toward him. Nie Xingyun and Lian Tianxin stopped arguing simultaneously, as if by prior agreement.

"Nie Kong, tell us yourself, who is more suitable to be your master? Don't forget, it was I who asked you to come to the Alchemy Hall today," Nie Xingyun huffed.

Lian Tianxin, his face set sternly, reminded him, "Lad, don't forget you already promised to be my apprentice. You can't go back on your word."

Neither Nie Xingyun nor Lian Tianxin would yield on Nie Kong as a disciple. After all, Nie Kong possessed mutated spiritual energy and exceptional aptitude. If such a youngster were properly taught, he might genuinely become a Medicine King in a few decades. Being the master of a Medicine King—what unparalleled honor that would be!

"This…"

Nie Kong gave a wry smile.

He finally understood: Although both Nie Xingyun and Lian Tianxin were Fifth-Grade Spiritual Alchemists, their areas of expertise differed. Nie Xingyun was profoundly skilled in medicinal theory and properties but lacked prowess in fusing medicinal power, resulting in the "fusion degree" of his refined spiritual medicine rarely exceeding sixty percent.

Lian Tianxin was the exact opposite; his understanding of medicinal theory was slightly lacking, but his mastery over medicinal fusion far surpassed Nie Xingyun’s, meaning the vast majority of the spiritual medicine he refined achieved a fusion degree of eighty percent or higher. In alchemy, the two men represented a complementary relationship.

Of course, for Nie Kong, the abilities of either Nie Xingyun or Lian Tianxin were more than sufficient to be his master. The problem was that agreeing to one meant the other would likely want to devour him. This choice of choosing one out of two was genuinely giving Nie Kong a headache.

Under the intense scrutiny of the two old men, Nie Kong’s eyes darted around. He cautiously proposed, "Fifth Elder, Master Tianxin, why don't you both become my masters?"

"What nonsense are you talking about? Why should I share an apprentice with Old Fifth Nie?" Lian Tianxin’s face fell, his long, fiery beard bristling with indignation.

"Lad, you are truly too greedy. Two Fifth-Grade Spiritual Alchemists taking you as a disciple? It takes nerve to even think of that!" Nie Xingyun was equally displeased.

Nie Kong let out a breath of relief and smiled, "Since that is the case, then I shall become neither of your disciples. This way, neither Fifth Elder nor Master Tianxin needs to argue anymore. In the future, if I encounter any difficulties regarding alchemy, I will come to both of you elders for guidance. I hope both elders will be generous with your pointers then." Saying this, Nie Kong capped the four bottles of 'Revitalization Dew' on the table, tucked them into his robes, gave a slight bow to the two, and headed for the door.

Under the current circumstances, choosing neither was the most suitable path for Nie Kong. This way, he would offend no one. If problems arose later, and he came to the Alchemy Hall to inquire, Nie Kong didn't believe, given their personalities, that the two elders could bring themselves to refuse.

Watching Nie Kong’s figure gradually disappear from the doorway, and hearing his footsteps fade outside, Nie Xingyun and Lian Tianxin stared at each other blankly.

"Old Fifth Nie, this is all your fault! Look, look, you scared the lad away! Now neither of us gets him!" Lian Tianxin slapped the table, his crimson beard sticking straight up.

"Red-Hair, that's unfair. If you hadn't insisted on fighting me for the apprentice, would this have happened?" Nie Xingyun sneered.

After glaring fiercely, they both turned their heads away, falling silent. Time ticked by, and a sharp pang of regret seized them both. The apprentice with the potential to become a Medicine King had just slipped through their fingers? If they let this one go, they might never find a suitable disciple before they died. After all, alchemists with such exceptional aptitude were exceedingly rare. In all these years in the Nie family, only Patriarch Nie Qingsong’s youngest daughter, Nie Fenghua, was exceptional, but she was ultimately taken as the closed-door disciple by the Sixth-Grade Spiritual Alchemist, Great Elder of the Ink Snow Sect, leaving these two with nothing.

Unconsciously, Nie Xingyun and Lian Tianxin’s gazes simultaneously fixed on each other. Instantly, with two swift whooshes, the figures of the two old men vanished past the doorway…

……

On this day, Elder Nie Xingyun, a Fifth-Grade Spiritual Alchemist, and Master Lian Tianxin simultaneously accepted Nie Kong, a Spirit Communicating First Grade, as their disciple! This news leaked from the Alchemy Hall and spread throughout the entire Nie family in less than a day, leaving countless Nie clansmen stunned speechless, their eyeballs nearly popping out of their sockets…

…… .