15 **Chapter 15: Refinement Hall**
The plan to write 2-3 chapters a day over Easter was a bust. My chapter stockpile has been reduced to zero.
I have the next 2-3 chapters planned in my head, and I do have a bit of a longer-term plan... although this could change.
Anyway, let me know what you think of this chapter.
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Here I was, sitting opposite my father at a charming little wooden table, with birds chirping around and the sun shining on my face.
The refinement hall was without a doubt the most beautiful building in the whole Fei Yu Village. It looked like a Pentagon with the middle cut out and replaced by a park. It had four stories with a glass dome covering the park in the middle.
"Refinement pays well, the best. And it shows, to be honest," my father's voice interrupted my thoughts.
"Now that you have advanced to rank 1 middle stage, you can finally join the family business of refinement."
With that, he handed me a small token.
"This is different from the token that allowed me to exchange for a Gu in the treasury hall," I remarked. It was made of smooth but hard metal, with only a '0' engraved into its surface.
"I have never seen it. What is it useful for?" I inquired.
"It is a rank 0 Refiner's Token, also known as an Apprentice Refiner's Token. They identify you as the lowest rank member of the third elders Refinement Hall."
"These tokens are a bit special; they can only be handed out by higher-ranking members of the Refinement Hall. For the real deal, the rank 1 to 4 tokens, you will have to go through a rigorous testing process."
"As for its use, with this rank 0 token, you can rent a refinement room free of charge, and you also get 5 Refinement Points credited to your account every week. Each Refinement Point can be exchanged for about the refinement materials one would need for a rank 1 Gu. So if you succeed in every refinement, you will refine about 5 Gu a week."
"What? Is that not worth way too much to just be handed out?" I queried.
"Yes, you are correct; the clan could never afford this. But every Gu you refine with these materials is automatically owned by the clan. The purpose of these materials is just to have Gu Masters practice."
"Then how does the Refinement Hall make money?" I pressed further.
"Rank 1 and 2 Refinement Masters have one mandatory mission a month; rank 3 Refinement Masters have one mandatory mission every two months. This is the first way the Refinement Hall makes money."
"The second way is that the practice I have just explained to you is really only a cost for rank 1 and some rank 2 Gu Masters. I, for example, could fail a rank 3 refinement 10 times, but if I succeed only once, it is a profit already. We 'good' refiners only practice in the refinement Hall as a kind of insurance."
"Insurance?" I echoed.
"Yes, against failing too often in a row. Against just being unlucky and ending up too broke to even feed Gu that month. It forgoes a bit of profits, but for most that reach that point in life, this is not important; they have a nice life already. Why risk it?"
"So how would I go about advancing from an Apprentice Refiner to a Rank 1 Refinement Master? And even further for that matter?" I probed.
"Ambitious, are we? Hehe…"
"To become a Rank 1 Refinement Master, you have to take the exams. Normally, this costs 1000 primeval stones plus the materials, but as you have a rank 0 token, it is free for you to try once a year."
"In the exam, a higher-ranked refinement master will randomly pick 3 Gu Recipes out of about 100 possible ones, and you will have to refine the Gu in front of him. If one refinement fails, you fail."
"These 100 Gu are just the most popular rank 1 Gu that the clan has the recipes for. Each of them, as well as hundreds of others, can be practiced by you because you have the rank 0 token."
"Before I tell you about the requirements for rank 2, please know that you should get very comfortable with refining all rank 1 Gu before you even try this. This includes becoming good at refining Gu you have never refined before."
"Anyways, for the rank 2 token, you need a rank 1 token and you need to pass the same exam, just for rank 2 Gu. Additionally, you need to either significantly improve an existing Gu recipe, reverse engineer a Gu the clan does not have the recipe for, or make up a new Gu recipe altogether. All the requirements for the recipes can only be fulfilled with rank 2 recipes, of course."
"For rank 3, you need a rank 2 token, need to do all the things you need for the rank 2 token just for rank 3. Additionally, you will need to do a very difficult mission that usually the Refinement Hall elder or the clan leader will hand out. This is also the first token for which you need to be a rank 3 Gu Master; the others you could theoretically get at rank 1 beginning stage."
"The rank 4 token is even more difficult; you need to have, as always, the next lowest token, in this case, rank 3. Then you again need to scale all the rank 3 assignments up to rank 4. And the addition is that you have to have 3 disciples that have the rank 3 token; these cannot just be any random rank 3 either, they actually have to be trained by you from at least rank 2 refiners to rank 3 refiner and, in the best case, trained by you since they were mere mortals."
"The third elder is the only rank 4 Refinement Master in the clan, and he personally added the rule about the apprentices."
"So why exactly are the rank 3 and even 4 Gu Masters of the clan jumping through all these hoops?" I questioned.
"Let me ask you a question in return. You are a rank 2 or 3, maybe even 4 Gu master, and you want a Gu, but if you want to refine it, it will cost an ungodly amount of money. So who do you go to?"
"So the Refinement Hall just guarantees the quality of the Refinement Gu Masters; every Gu Master in the clan just knows that if you are a rank 3 Refinement Master, you can refine rank 3 Gu with certainty. This must be their main source of income? Is it not?" I pondered.
"Yes, take me as an example. I can make thousands for just an attempt at refinement, without giving any guarantees, and the rank 3 Gu Masters of the clan that can't refine will still pay for it… HAHAHAHA."
In a low voice, as if he was out of breath from laughing too hard, he said, "It's just so easy…"
"So, Wei, do you have any more unanswered questions?" my father inquired.
"Yes, when can I start my refinement?"
"Hahaha… my son, right. I still have a few things for you, then you can start. Here…"
He waved his hand, and all of a sudden, three Gu appeared on the table right before me.
'Thank God I know these… all that question and answer was getting annoying.'
"These are my gift to you for reaching rank 1 middle stage."
"Thank you, father," I said with a big smile on my face.
'Refinement Clock Gu, Rank 1, useful for keeping the timing exactly right while refining.'
'Will Suppressing Leaf Gu, Rank 1, useful for suppressing the will of Gu in refinement. It becomes even more effective at rank 2 or above, as these are the ranks in which Gu are often combined.'
'And lastly… Heat Measure Gu, Rank 1, a Gu used to measure Heat.'
They are not the strongest Gu, or even the most expensive, but they are very useful if you are serious about learning and perfecting refinement.
"Go on, refine them."
With that, I placed my new Gu into my Aperture, mobilized my primeval essence, and instantly refined all the Gu, as my will replaced my father's.
"Well, Wei, I know you probably can't wait to start your refinement journey. I was the same back then… so I will see you at dinner."
Sitting there and watching my father get up, I thought to myself: 'He did say that he would support me with money and with Gu, but this is more than I expected, to be honest. I have gotten 3 Gu and the opportunity to refine about 5 more every week.'
'No, just 5 is wrong. I can probably also buy these sets of Gu Material here for pretty cheap. This will also save me a lot of time.'
Slowly, I stood up and made my way through the beautiful outdoor garden to the entrance of the Refinement Hall. On my way, I looked in awe at the tall trees, blue ponds with some fish in them, as well as the perfectly clear sky over the Eastern Sea through the glass ceiling.
'The third Elder truly has good taste… not that the other elders don't, but most of them still hope for rank 5 and hence are stingy. Why would they spend some 20 thousand primeval stones to make their so-called headquarters, their own hall, a little more beautiful when they could spend it on one or two rank 4 Gu.'
As the warm sunlight outside left my face, I knew that I was getting closer to my goal, the reception desk. Well, it would be more accurate to say desks, as there were 4 at the main entrance to ensure a speedy process.
"Good Morning," I greeted the young man, a rank 2 Gu Master attending the reception desk on the right. With my greeting, I extended my hand with my newly acquired rank 0 Token in it.
"Good Morning, young Master, what can I help you with?"
'He called me young master; it seems that my father underestimated the rarity of these rank 0 tokens.'
"I would like to get my first 5 sets of Gu Refinement Materials."
"Absolutely, for which Gu? And do you also need the recipe?"
"It is my first time; I have not decided yet. Do you have a recommendation, or a list of all the possible Gu?"
"Yes, here you go…" With that, he handed me a little booklet that must be 20 to 25 pages thick.
"These are all the rank 1 Gu with recipes that can be accessed with a rank 0 token. The first two pages are the 100 Gu that are relevant for the exams."
"As for a recommendation… I personally would recommend starting with the Windblade Gu. Of the three basics that can be chosen in the Academy, it is the easiest to refine. And it is also always in high demand, so if you learn how to refine it really well, you will not lack money."
"I would like to use my 5 points to exchange for 5 sets for the Windblade Gu. Also, can I buy these sets here with primeval stones?"
"Here you go, and yes, you can. They cost 100 primeval stones each."
"Good to know. Thank you, and have a nice day."
There was a saying in my old life: To become a Master, you have to practice not until you succeed once, but until you cannot physically fail. So I plan to refine Windblade Gu until I can do it blindfolded with both hands tied behind my back.
'This is the best way to truly raise the success rate for refining any Gu, because those small lessons I will learn with the Windblade Gu are the real truths of the refinement path.'
1954 words
