Alex looked at the weird-looking glass beaker and wondered what it was. The glass beaker was small, wide at the bottom, and narrow at the top. It had a circular metal place at its base.

The metal plate was on the outside of the breaker and looked magical with intricate designs. The glass itself had a single black line going across it vertically. There were small dots, along the side of the black line.

Kong Yuhan took his pill and dropped it into the beaker. He then focused as he poured his Qi into the metal part of the beaker. The beaker started to slowly fog up.

At the base of the glass beaker, the mist slowly appeared. The mist appeared on the outer edge of the metal, and it started to mist the glass itself.

Slowly, the mist rose up and started appearing more and more on the glass beaker .it had started at the bottom, and was moving upwards.

After a few seconds, it stopped moving and showed no other signs. Kong Yuhan looked closely at the black dot, next to the black line where the mist had stopped forming.

“Aww… it stopped at 19%. I was so close to 20%.” Kong Yuhan sighed. Alex was puzzled. He asked, “What do you mean 19%, brother Kong?”

“Look,” Kong Yuhan said as he passed along the beaker to Alex. Now that Alex had it in his hand, he could see that the black dots were not in fact dots, but numbers. They were just too tiny to tell apart from where he was previously.

“Is this the pill’s harmony level?” he asked.

“Yes,” Kong Yuhan said and started to pack his cauldron.

“How can a glass tell you what a pill’s harmony level is, brother kong?” he asked.

“What are you talking about, Junior brother? Of course, it doesn’t. It’s the metal base that shows it.” Kong Yuhan answered as if it was common sense.

“The metal?” Alex was even more confused.

“Well, more precisely the formation on the metal.” Kong Yuhan clarified a little.

“A Formation?” Alex was shocked. He had never seen a formation before and only heard of it. “Wow, this is my first time seeing a formation,” Alex said as he looked at the metal at the bottom of the beaker.

Kong Yuhan took the beaker back, and put the pill inside into a ceramic pill bottle, quickly closing the bottle with a stopper.

He then looked at Alex, and said, “No it’s not. You have seen other formations before.”

Alex was confused now. ” I … I have?” he questioned the statement.

Kong Yuhan took his nameplate out of the wall and looked at the stone door disappear above the door. ” Of course, you have. How else do you think this door works?” he laughed a little.

“That is a formation too?” Alex was surprised.

Kong Yuhan then pointed at the lantern in the hallway and asked, “Have you ever looked at what’s inside a lantern, junior brother?”

Alex had just done that the day before, so he answered, “Yes. I took off the outer cover yesterday night. Inside was a floating ball of fire, and a metal… Don’t tell me that metal plate is a formation too?” he eyes were wide with shock.

‘How could I have missed it?’ he thought. But, then he thought of something.

” But, wait. The lanterns don’t require someone to infuse Qi into it as you did to that glass beaker.” He asked.

“The ‘Pill Tester’? Well, that’s because the formation on it doesn’t have an energy source to run, so you have to give it Qi to work. The lanterns are different. They aren’t individual formation, but rather a part of a larger formation.” Kong Yuhan explained.

” A larger formation?” Alex questioned.

“Junior brother, did you know there is a massive formation laid down on the sect ground. It encompasses all 6 mountains and a little more.” Kong Yuhan asked.

“Such a large formation? I did not know that brother.” He answered.

“Well, I don’t know its actual name, but it’s unofficially called the ‘Sect Running’ formation. It taps into the spirit vein below the sect, and uses its energy to run the sect.” He explained.

Alex thought of something, and said, “So the lanterns are part of that ‘Sect Running’ formation?” he asked.

Kong Yuhan laughed a little and answered. “Not just the lanterns junior brother. The nameplates, the sect medallion, the doors in the alchemy room, the fire burning inside, the map at the entrance, the mission board, the puppets, the ranking rock. Everything is part of the ‘Sect Running’ formation.”

Alex was truly dumbfounded right now. He couldn’t even in his wildest dreams think of something like that. ‘So everything I thought was magical, was in fact just part of the ‘Sect Running’ formation.’ He thought.

Kong Yuhan explained a little more, ” How else do you think the rankings constantly change. How else do you think the mission board knows what missions you have taken. How else do you think the elders can call out disciples on their nameplates. Everything inside the sect that runs by itself, is a formation.”

“So, it’s better if you don’t go around saying you have never seen a formation before. People will just call you ignorant.”

Alex couldn’t keep his thoughts straight until he got out of the Alchemy Hall. “Give me your nameplate, Junior brother.” Kong Yuhan said. Alex absentmindedly handed him his nameplate.

Kong Yuhan transferred 5 contribution points. “I will see you later junior brother.” He said and walked away.

Alex was still having a hard time grasping the sheer scope of the formation in the sect. So many things used formations.

‘I guess the things around here aren’t exactly ‘magical’ huh.’

Grrrrr.

He finally came back to focus. He looked at the nameplate in his hand and checked it. 5 points had indeed been added to it. He sighed a little and thought,

‘Either way, it’s time to get some food.’