Evicting The Evictor

Shi Hao who had failed to notice the situation because he had been shooting Min Hong meaningful glances, also got caked. However, he barely paid attention to his appearance and kept giving Min Hong different kinds of signals. Min Hong on the other hand, simply ignored him. 

I not only gave you a way out, I also followed it up with respect, but instead you smeared my mercy in my face. To think you dared to swindle my family, of course, you must take responsibility.

Shi Hao was currently a senior member of the alchemist association; after all, he had received some guidance from grandmaster Sun Yi; however, he wasn't that talented in the way of alchemy.

Nonetheless, after carefully and attentively followed Grandmaster Sun Yi for a few decades, the latter had felt some pity for him and given him the opportunity to become his attendant, whilst handing him some easy random jobs within the alchemist association.

Occasionally, whenever Sun Yi refined a garbage pill, he would hand it over to Shi Hao to handle. Normally, these garbage pills would have their useful portion extracted out to recreate pills with easier pill formulas or much lower tiers; they definitely wouldn't be sold on the market.

This was related to the profession's personal integrity.

If it was leaked that grandmaster Sun Yi had actually sold a garbage pill to a Grand Family; for treating their sole heir, especially at such exorbitant sum, then losing face would be the least of his worries. He might be directly expelled by the alchemist guild.

Grandmaster Sun Yi sighed, before gazing towards Shi Hao, and declaring:

"You've followed me for several decades, so you already understand my character. Leave now and don't ever come back."

Hearing this, Shi Hai's old face instantly paled in panic.

"Senior, I…"

He tried to beg with an expression of total regret; however, Sun Yi firmly interjected and responded with a single indifferent word:

"Leave!"

Hearing this, Shi Hao suddenly felt his leg turn to jelly as the entire world seemed to spin at random angles; instantly, he collapsed, with regret still plastered on his face.

A high and aloof attendant had suddenly become someone bereft of any reputation.

"That's what you get for lacking integrity. He must have cheated and swindled people for so many years, that he already earned much more than he can spend till the day he dies." Min Hong added with an irked expression.

One of the attendants called the attention of one of the guards before ordering them to throw the old swindler out. Now the evictor has been evicted.

Seeing the guards take Shi Hao away, grandmaster Sun Yi couldn't help but shake his head in dismay.

"Thank you young man. Otherwise, this old man would still be completely in the dark." The old grandmaster added as he turned to Min Hong.

"It's personal. That old man was someone who cheated my family of a chunk of our savings; I was simply dishing him karma, so there's no need to be courteous." Min Hong replied honestly.

Contrary to expectations, grandmaster Sun Yi simply smiled and shook his head.

"Not bad. A young fellow who is so straightforward is clearly not suited for a treacherous and deceitful life." He said meaningfully.

"Haha, you praise me too much. How can this junior hide his intentions from the perception of the wise men of the alchemist association? Since it's impossible to conceal, shouldn't I at least be shameless about it." Min Hong candidly shrugged as he replied honestly.

Seeing this, Grandmaster Sun Yi's smile widened considerably. Over his last few years, everyone he came across always treated him with reverence. This was the first time someone would speak to him in such a conversant manner, and it was quite a refreshing experience.

"Little fellow, surely you didn't come to my alchemist association to simply report this complaint."

Now that the stage had been set, grandmaster Sun Yi immediately chose to keep dancing on it.

"Of course not. I came here to take the alchemist exam." Min Hong answered as he held out his right hand.

Puff…

A purple wisp suddenly flickered into existence as it hovered and danced atop Min Hong's index finger. However, since grandmaster Sun Yi had now decided to dance to his tune, then Min Hong would obviously let him continue till he simply falls for him.

With a snap of his fingers, the oval shaped wisp suddenly took the shape of an egg. Then with a tremble of his hand, the egg suddenly began to shake before exploding. However, amidst the rubble, a tiny purple bird suddenly soared into the air.

"Not bad."

Originally, when he saw the flame, Sun Yi had only faintly nodded his head. Being able to agglomerate a Soul Flame at that age could be considered not bad; however, there was something about the color of the flame and the mystery that shrouded it that impressed and piqued his interests.

Long Chen's follow up actions however, was what truly moved him. To showcase such a detailed level of flame control at such a young age, Sun Yi knew Min Hong had to possess an exceptional Mental Sense.

Furthermore, the fact that he could maintain the exhibition for such an extended time meant he also had the Soul Qi to back it up; amongst his peers, Min Hong had to be amongst the crème de la crème.

What Sun Yi didn't know was that Min Hong could actually carry on his charade for hours if he wanted to, but was simply holding back. Min Hong wanted to assure himself that the old man won't go <Mu Cheng-Shen Li> on him, before revealing a bit more capability. 

"Very good. Your Spiritual Strength is at least twice as strong as an ordinary person, making you a good sapling to learn alchemy." Sun Yi nodded.

Hearing this, Min Hong felt a weight fall off his shoulders. Though he had not been accepted yet, he still felt a little welcome now.

"Come, I'll bring you to do the test." Grandmaster Sun Yi notified as Min Hong's heart skipped a beat.

The problem was; asides his insecurities, not only had he never used a cauldron before, he had also never paid attention to any of the pill formulas within his memories.

The rest of the onlooking alchemists however, were stunned speechless.

"What? He didn't need to be appraised before directly going to do the test?"

"How is this possible? Is he a relative of grandmaster Sun Yi?"

"Nonsense, he's not a relative. Isn't that kid the tribe's famous trash, Min Hong?"

They all knew that, in order to take the alchemist exam, one had to first meet certain expectations on pill refining to show that they weren't simply messing around; after all, the cost of each exam was borne by the association.

However, Min Hong had for some reasons, skipped this step, causing them to feel a little displeased and suspicious.

Unfortunately, there was no reprieve for them; after all, the person in question was the supreme existence of the alchemist association, so they could only stuff their grievances up their Ass-sociation.

Within an underground room of the alchemist association, grandmaster Sun Yi pointed Min Hong towards a water crystal in front of them, and instructed:

"Use your flame on it."

Min Hong nodded, before extending his index finger once again. 

Fwop!

The purple wisp once again flickered to life, and this time seemed much fiercer than it had previously been. Min Hong was stunned by the sight; it seems the wisp responded to his intentions; or more accurately emotions.

Nevertheless, he placed the wisp on top of the water crystal as several wavy lines began to appear all over the crystal the moment the wisp touched it.

With an approving nod, grandmaster Sun Yi faintly inferred; "Your Soul Flame has reached the Peak Common Tier, just barely meeting the required standard."

According to common knowledge within the Alchemist Guild Flames were split into the four tiers: Common, Rare, Sacred and Legendary; with each class also having the Grades: Quasi, Low, Menial, High & Peak.

Though Min Hong's Soul Flame should have been league more powerful, the fact of the matter still remained that; the souls within his body had been sealed, and with them, their abilities.

So, whilst the mysteriousness of the was wisp gave a glimpse into its true potential, the fact that it was sealed meant it could only be comparable to a Peak Grade Common Tier. 

Grandmaster Sun Yi then brought Min Hong to a shallow water pool. The water pool was only a foot deep, and the bottom was covered with hundreds of sparkling pearls.

"Circulate your Soul Qi and see if you can cause the pearls to float."

Hearing this, Min Hong was insecurities instantly bloomed within his heart as a drop of sweat rolled down his forehead.

The water within the pond wasn't the regular water; after all, close examination has revealed it to be Spiritual Mercury Water. However, when Min Hong touched it, he discovered that the water amplified his Spirit Sense by at least ten times.

Noticing this, the cogs within Min Hong's brain began to spin at full throttle, and in a heartbeat, a plan formed in his mind.

Activating his plan, Min Hong immediately found a dozen or so pearls slowly float up and out of the pool.

Suddenly, Min Hong noticed that grandmaster Sun Yi's expression was completely bewildered and shocked as he looked at those pearls.

'Crap, I'm about to be exposed!' He blurted in his mind as he quickly dispersed his Spirit Sense, before putting on the pale face of someone who was on the verge of collapsing.

When he had noticed the amplification effect of the spirit water, Min Hong had instantly decided to use mask his Spirit Sense to only pass the test instead. However, if he wasn't careful, there was a chance of grandmaster Sun Yi finding out what he was doing; after all, he was veteran alchemist.

Thus, in order to perfectly mask his Spirit Sense as Mental Sense, he had used the Battle God Buff; after all, the technique worked based on his body cultivation.

Fortunately, it worked; unfortunately, it overworked.

Min Hong's Spirit Sense was already far above the Body Tempering Realm, thus, when he activated the Battle God Buff, that bar was suddenly pushed far further.

Then when one considered the amplification effect of the spirit water, the level his bar was at, was already bordering a realm that was far beyond reasoning; hence the old alchemist's mixed emotions.

The Soul Qi of his Spirit Sense measured in the Mental Sense level; however, its aura shattered the charts.

"Grandmaster… what rank do I count as?" Min Hong asked, putting on the act of gasping for air. 

"Sacred Tier…" Grandmaster Sun Yi murmured. It was as if he hadn't even noticed Min Hong's current overdrawn state.

Only a while later did he realize that Min Hong was already weakly lying on the ground. If one had to rank Min Hong's acting skills, he would definitely be on the SSS+++ Rank.

Not only did was his expression as pale as the scales of a white beetle; his eyes also as listless as a woman who just age birth to thirty babies in 3 hours. To say he might die if someone sneezed a mile away from him wouldn't do his expression enough justice.

Grandmaster Sun Yi however, was barely around anymore; instead, he was simply muttering his thoughts which simply happened to answer Min Hong's questions.

"Excellent, your Mental Sense is exceptionally strong. Your talent is definitely moldable; you'll definitely make a good sapling this time." Sun Yi smiled absentmindedly.

Hearing this, Min Hong slowly revealed a bright smile; as if he had found some strength in Sun Yi's response.

"Grandmaster Sun Yi, this little one very much wishes to comprehend the Dao of Alchemy. Would your esteemed self mind taking this junior as an official disciple?" Though it was a long shot, Min Hong still pulled the trigger eitherways.