Chapter 52

When Xiao Se entered the examination hall, the room was already packed with people murmuring to each other. At the top of the hall, two elderly men were seated, both wearing badges indicating their rank as fourth-grade alchemists.

One of them was Au Tuo, whom Xiao Se had seen earlier, and the other was a thinner elder. From their conversation, Xiao Se finally remembered who this supporting character was: Fu Lan Ke, the president of the Alchemist Guild in Blackrock City.

Next to Vice President Au Tuo, Lin Fei occasionally pointed at Xiao Se while Au Tuo smiled apologetically at him, leaving Xiao Se speechless.

In the center of the hall, there were more than ten stone platforms, each separated from the others and filled with medicinal ingredients and alchemy tools. Five eager young people stood by the platforms, waiting to begin.

"Fu Lan Ke, I heard you recently took on a disciple?" Au Tuo shot a friendly glance at Xiao Se and then turned to Fu Lan Ke with a smile.

"Hehe, you old rascal, you took on Lin Fei as a disciple. Can't I take on one too? Let me tell you, Xue Mei has quite a bit of talent. She'll surpass both of us old fogeys soon enough," Fu Lan Ke said with a light stroke of his beard, chuckling.

"It would be great if she does. The Blackrock City Alchemist Guild is in a bad spot, relying on just the two of us. I'm worried that if things keep going like this, the resources sent from headquarters will dwindle," Au Tuo sighed, his gaze sweeping over the five young alchemists. There was a sense of frustration in his expression, but when his eyes landed on Xiao Se, his face softened a bit. "I hope this young man can surprise me," he thought.

Noticing Au Tuo's gaze, Xiao Se nodded slightly and returned the smile.

Naturally, Lin Fei saw the exchange between Xiao Se and her teacher, which only fueled her anger. Pointing at Xiao Se, she said to Au Tuo, "Teacher, that boy tricked the guild guards by pretending to be a fourth-grade alchemist, and yet you're smiling at him?"

Hearing this, Fu Lan Ke put down his teacup, frowning. "Someone pretended to be a fourth-grade alchemist? We can't tolerate that!" Fu Lan Ke said coldly.

Seeing his old friend getting angry, Au Tuo quickly intervened, "Fu Lan Ke, don't listen to this silly girl. The young man just demonstrated his ability to produce Real Agglomerated Fire, but he never claimed to be a fourth-grade alchemist."

Realizing her mistake, Lin Fei shut her mouth. It had all been a misunderstanding born from her own petty grudge, and she almost caused Xiao Se some real trouble.

"Real Agglomerated Fire?" Fu Lan Ke's expression softened as his eyebrows raised. He excitedly sifted through the documents on the table until he found Xiao Se's information. "Xiao Se, sixteen years old. If he truly can produce Real Agglomerated Fire, even if he doesn't pass the exam today, our Blackrock City Guild must make every effort to recruit him."

"Absolutely," Au Tuo said with a chuckle, rubbing his round belly.

Soon, the time for the examination arrived.

Au Tuo glanced at the sand clock on the table and solemnly said to Fu Lan Ke, "President, it's time."

Fu Lan Ke nodded lightly. Together with Au Tuo, he stood up and loudly announced, "I now declare the first-grade alchemist examination officially begins!"

With a clang, Au Tuo struck a bronze gong and flipped the hourglass.

Hearing the start of the exam, Xiao Se shrugged nonchalantly and walked to his assigned stone platform. He picked up the recipe on the platform, which was for a pill called the Strength-Enhancing Pill. 

This pill was designed to boost one's strength slightly and was considered a relatively simple pill among first-grade alchemical products. However, for a first-time participant in the alchemist examination, it posed a considerable challenge.

"Should I show off a little?" Xiao Se murmured with a slight smile as he glanced at the three sets of ingredients on the stone platform. But he quickly discarded that thought, knowing that staying low-key was more important than getting carried away by his abilities.

Placing his right hand on one of the fire openings of the alchemy cauldron, he injected Dou Qi into it, and his soul perception spread inside. With a boom, a deep yellow flame ignited within the cauldron. Following the proper procedure, he carefully placed the first set of ingredients into the cauldron one by one. Soon, the ingredients were reduced to a medicinal liquid.

At the top of the hall, Au Tuo and Fu Lan Ke kept their eyes fixed on the exam candidates—particularly on Xiao Se. His precise control of the flames and the fluid movements of tossing in ingredients made it look as though he'd been refining pills for decades.

"Brilliant! If this kid isn't faking it, then we've struck gold in Blackrock City," Fu Lan Ke said, rubbing his beard, clearly enjoying the sight. For an alchemist, witnessing a master at work was a true pleasure.

"Indeed, though keep in mind, he hasn't used Real Agglomerated Fire yet," Au Tuo added with a knowing smile.

"You think he's holding back?" Fu Lan Ke asked, surprised.

"It's possible. We'll see. If he truly can produce Real Agglomerated Fire, he'll certainly take the second-grade alchemist exam next," Au Tuo replied with a grin.

"A second-grade alchemist, huh? Well, I'll be watching closely," Fu Lan Ke said, smiling as he resumed his observation of Xiao Se.

Standing to the side, Lin Fei listened to the conversation between the two fourth-grade alchemists, her expression growing more complicated. "Could he really be that skilled?" she wondered.

Before long, the examination time ended.

As usual, Fu Lan Ke and Au Tuo stood up and began inspecting the pills created by the candidates. As expected, the first five participants all failed to produce any pills.

When they reached the sixth participant—Xiao Se—both elders felt a mix of nervousness and anticipation. Picking up the jade bottle from Xiao Se's platform, they examined the pill inside. As they uncorked the bottle and tilted it, a perfect pill rolled into their palm. Both Au Tuo and Fu Lan Ke's eyes widened in shock as they exclaimed, "Xiao Se, Strength-Enhancing Pill, flawless!"

The hall instantly fell silent, as if everyone had been struck dumb. All eyes turned to Xiao Se, gazing at him as if he were a monster. Even Lin Fei and the other failed candidates stared at him in disbelief.

Everyone knew that pills were not only divided into nine grades, but also classified by quality within each grade. A high-quality pill marked its alchemist as an expert, and a flawless pill meant absolute perfection, with no room for improvement.

While crafting a Strength-Enhancing Pill wasn't difficult, achieving flawless quality was a feat few could boast of, not even many third-grade alchemists. It required not just talent and skill, but also years of practice and guidance—something beyond the reach of an ordinary person.

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