Julies and Go Gao were amazed by such a sight. Julies then took a deep breath and said, "So, the rumors are true. His control over the elements is out of the charts. I can't imagine how he'll turn out once he steps into the Core Formation Realm. He already has the same ability as one, after all."
Go Gao agreed with her, responding, "Indeed, this is not something we can ignore anymore. As long as our Alchemist Guild gets him, any price will be worth it. Even if he fails, make sure that he's accepted as an alchemist. With that talent, it'll only be a matter of time before he surpasses both of us."
Julies then asked Go Gao, "How are you going to deal with the Mercenary Guild?" In response, Go Gao shook his head as he told her, "I don't know. They aren't any weaker than our Alchemist Guild, after all. I will have to talk directly with Supervisor Lu Ganan of the main branch here in Kaley City to see if we can come to an agreement."
Julies heard that and didn't say anything. She was an alchemist, after all. Things related to management weren't her problem.
---
While that was happening, Krune was having some difficulties in manipulating the elements inside the medicinal liquid made from the herbs.
'It's harder than I thought. If I take too long, the medicinal properties will burn away. I guess I'll just try to put them in sync as much as possible until I can't wait anymore.'
It couldn't be said to be Krune's fault. This was his first time concocting a pill, after all. He wasn't even sure if what he was doing was something good for the pill creation or not. Without him knowing, he had already spent more than one hour over this problem.
When it finally came the time to form the pill, less than 20% of the medicinal element properties were in sync. Krune could only sigh and go ahead with the pill formation. The pill formation part was quite easy, though. There was only a need to bring the medicinal liquid together and solidify it like a pill. Depending on the number of herbs that were used, one could make one or more pills at once. However, to make things simple for the candidates, they were asked to make just a single one.
The pill took form, and the process was finally finished. By now, the practical exam was almost over. The majority had already finished their pills, too. Of course, they weren't sure if they succeeded or not. When the two hours were finally up, Krune had made only a single pill. There were three lines around it, but he had no idea what it meant. Soon after, the alchemists on the stage came down and started to evaluate the contestants' results.
"Haven't reached the level of a One-Star Pill, failed."
"Haven't reached the level of a One-Star Pill, failed."
"Haven't reached the level of a One-Star Pill, failed."
...
As one of the last ones to arrive, Krune's table was at the very end of the queue, so he was one of the last ones to get his pill evaluated.
"Oh, middle-quality One-Star Pill, your name?"
A girl in a white robe close to Krune was very happy to hear that, saying, "My name is Shue Kalan."
The alchemist then nodded as they told her, "Congratulations, you are now a One Star Alchemist. You can head to the guild's office later to take your badge and register your guild ID."
Shue Kalan was almost bursting in joy when she heard that, and all the other contestants looked at her with jealousy. Everyone except for a certain wisp, of course. He didn't think much about it. For him, alchemy was just a way to gather Spirit Stones. If he failed, he would just try something else, that's all.
Since her pill wasn't a Qi Gathering Pill, the one who evaluated her was one of the two alchemists that came together with Julies. Julies only examined those who had concocted Qi Gathering Pills, so other than Shue Kalan, there wasn't any other contestant that passed the practical exam so far.
Julies approached Krune's table, and she was sure he was able to concoct the pill. But she didn't use her Divine Sense to check since she wanted to look at it with her own eyes. She then took Krune's pill, and it was just as she expected.
'Although he can perceive the elements well enough to put them in sync, it's still far from perfect. Only around 20% of the elemental properties are in sync at the moment. It shows how inexperienced he is, but to do this while still in the Foundation Establishment Realm could be said to be a miracle already. Only those other monsters from the headquarters can do it without being at the Core Formation Realm. Then again, even so, the alchemist who was able to do it with the lowest cultivation is already at the 7th Stage of Foundation Establishment. However, Krune is still at the 2nd Stage, so he's definitely a monster among monsters.'
She then looked at Krune and smiled as she announced his results. "Congratulations, a middle-quality Three-Star Qi Gathering Pill. From now on, you are a Three Star alchemist."
Every single eye in the room moved at Krune at that moment, and even Shue Kalan's jaw dropped. Not only the contestants, the two other alchemists that were helping with the exam felt that it was unbelievable as well. After all, they were still Two Star Alchemists!
Krune noticed everyone looking at him and felt gloomy, thinking to himself, 'I've done it again. Why can't I control my curiosity? I should have left those elements out of sync the way they were.'
Julies didn't know what he was thinking and simply said, "Head to the guild office to take your ID and badge. After that, you can request access to the materials available for Three Star Alchemists."
Krune just nodded and left. Shue Kalan, who was just behind him, also followed. She might not have made a Three-Star Pill, but she also passed the exam nonetheless. She approached Krune and complimented him, "Hello, I'm Shue Kalan. It seems like we're fellow alchemists from now on."
Krune looked at her, and he could see that she wanted to befriend him because of his status as Three Star Alchemist. She tried to act cute in front of him, but Krune didn't notice that part, though. As a wisp, he didn't care about humans' appearance. Except for Feifei, of course!
Since that's the case, he thought there wasn't a need to care about this Shue something, so he simply nodded and kept walking. Of course, Shue was taken aback by his reaction. She was pretty confident in her looks, but to be disregarded like that was a first. It was then that she noticed the spiritual energy coming from Krune.
'I see. He isn't human but a demon beast in human form. No wonder he had no reaction when I acted a second ago. In his eyes, humans are probably just weirdly shaped.'
Soon, they arrived at the application office. An attendant then came forward to receive them, telling Shue, "Miss Shue, you can enter that room to finish the process of getting your badge and ID. As for Krune, I will have to ask you to follow me. The process to apply for a Three Star Badge is much more complicated, so it will take some time."
Krune nodded and followed the man, and then he was asked to wait in an office while they applied for his badge and ID. He couldn't help but feel it to be quite a familiar experience, thinking to himself, 'Last time it happened, I got a Four Star Mercenary badge, and my low-key life was destroyed. Surely the same thing couldn't happen again, right?'
---
At the same time, Go Gao was talking with the headquarters of the Alchemist Guild of Yule Continent.
On the other side of the line was an old man with a big white beard and short hair. He seemed to be around his seventies. Of course, with the man's cultivation, chances were that he was already 500 years old or more.
He was Ediu Qixer, the supervisor of the applications office. Just like the Mercenary Guild, the Alchemist Guild also had a review office for those who applied for Three Star badges or higher. It's just that the number of applications made to this office was several times lower than the Mercenary Guild. One must remember that alchemists were rare, after all. Ediu Qixer heard the whole story and felt like Go Gao was joking with him.
"Are you telling me that a 2nd Stage Foundation Establishment cultivator can already sync the elements in pill making, and you're telling it was his first time? Even here at the headquarters, we don't have such a genius. Are you sure you're not dreaming?"
Go Gao couldn't blame Ediu for that. He, too, thought that it was impossible when he saw Krune doing that. Nevertheless, he replied, "As hard as it is to believe, that's the truth! I can put my position as the supervisor of Kaley City on the line for it."
Ediu understood that it wasn't a joke after hearing that. And so, he told Go Gao, "In that case, what are you waiting for? Go ahead and bring him in! I'm giving you permission to bestow him a Three Star Badge and ID, so make sure that he stays with the Alchemist Guild. Such a talent can't be left wandering outside."
After saying that, Ediu noticed that Go Gao had a bitter smile on his face. With that, he asked, "What is it?"
Go Gao couldn't hide the truth after all as he asked him, "Did you perhaps hear about the new Mercenary Guild's rising star, the one that got the Four Star Badge before reaching the Core Formation Realm?"
Ediu nodded in response. After all, the Mercenary Guild spread the news everywhere to ensure that no one would try to take him away. "I know, if I'm not wrong, his name was Kru-"
Just as he was about to finish saying the name, he noticed the problem there. The application for that Three Star Badge was for someone called Krune as well. With that, he muttered, "I see, so that's the problem. A very annoying one at that."
Go Gao nodded, saying, "Exactly, the Mercenary Guild bestowed him a Four Star Mercenary Badge, and this goes to show how highly they think about him. I don't think it'll be easy to convince them that Krune should be left with the Alchemist Guild alone. They don't stop any of their members from being part of another guild, so they definitely won't stop Krune from joining the Alchemist Guild. Still, they probably hope to have Krune take part in the martial gathering two years from now. Of course, that will only be the case if his cultivation improves sufficiently for that."
Ediu Qixer face changed after hearing that, exclaiming, "Unacceptable!"
The reason that Ediu got angry was that to ensure that only the strong will emerge victoriously, the martial gathering happened inside of a cherry-picked danger zone. That way, every participant would have to sign the contract that no one would become responsible in case they died. Also, all participants could go all out during the gathering. If someone died, no one would take the blame for it. Naturally, how could they let Krune, such a genius alchemist, take part in this dangerous competition?
Go Gao then said, "How about we give him a Four Star Badge just like what the Mercenary Guild did? If we give him a Three Star Badge, he will obviously think that the Mercenary Guild thinks about his future better than ours."
Ediu pondered over it for a bit before replying, "I will talk to the head of the guild. A Four Star Badge can't be given this easily, after all. However, I agree that this would be the first step in bringing him over, so wait for my call."
Ediu then went to talk to the head of the Alchemist Guild headquarters, Calier Medgin. After an hour of discussion, they agreed that it would be better if they could bring Krune to their side, so he accepted the request for the Four Star Badge.
---
Back at the Alchemist Guild, Krune was waiting for his Three Star Badge to come. He wanted to check the alchemist list of requests and learn how to make the necessary pills for selling. After all, his supply of Rank Three Spirit Stones wouldn't last much longer.
Soon, the door to the room opened, and Supervisor Go Gao came in. Krune could see that he had a bright smile on his face. Go Gao then came forward to Krune and introduced himself. "Hello, my name is Go Gao, the supervisor of the Kaley City Alchemist Guild branch. Congratulations, Alchemist Krune. The guild decided to make a special exception and bestow you a Four Star Badge. This is how much we value your talents as an alchemist. Please accept it!"
Go Gao then passed the Four Star Badge with Krune's name to him.
While receiving it, Krune had a foreboding feeling as he asked, "Supervisor Go, you haven't told anyone about this yet, right?"
The last time he received a 'special exception,' everyone in the continent came to know of his identity. Now, he was receiving the same thing again, but he didn't want it. He didn't want it at all!
Supervisor Go then replied, "Don't worry, we don't like to make things big. The Alchemist Guild's name itself is more than enough."
Krune then let out a sigh of relief after that. In that case, he didn't mind receiving the Four Star Alchemist Badge. That way, he would have access to more resources and could accept better requests. All in all, he could make more money.
Supervisor Go then asked, "Krune, wouldn't you leave the Mercenary Guild and stay with our Alchemist Guild? You have great talent, you know. As for resources or whatever the Mercenary Guild has promised you, we can do the same or even better."
Krune was taken aback by such a question, only being able to blurt out, "This..."
Seeing how it was hard for him to come to a decision, Supervisor Go then told Krune, "You can think it over and give me an answer later."
Supervisor Go had already decided to pay a visit to Lu Ganan of the Kaley City Mercenary Guild. He wanted them to know that the Alchemist Guild wanted Krune.
Poor Krune didn't know about the storm that was coming his way.