Ao Tuo did not answer immediately; instead, he looked around for a moment. He saw the excitement on everyone's faces.
'How did the alchemist test turn out this way?' Ao Tuo sighed inwardly. Ao Tuo glanced back at Xiao Ning, and his eyes became focused again.
He waved his hand and said, "Prepare the second-tier test for him."
One of the alchemists stepped forward from the crowd and rushed away.
In a few minutes, the man returned and said, "Grandmaster Ao Tuo, everything is ready."
Fu Lan Ke standing beside Ao Tuo nodded after hearing his subordinate's words. As the president of the alchemist association, it was only natural for him to speak.
"Young friend, let's go." Fu Lan Ke's old face showed a rare smile, and he spoke with respect. Both Xiao Ning's current strength and his future potential deserved his respect.
Moreover, Fu Lan Ke was also a bit scared of the unknown force standing behind Xiao Ning. He speculated that Xiao Ning's teacher is at least a fourth-tier alchemist.
In any condition, it was in his best interest to tie Xiao Ning together with his alchemist association.
Although Xiao Ning was not aware of the thoughts popping up in Fu Lan Ke's mind; otherwise, he would have looked at the latter with a weird expression on his face.
Xiao Ning did not have many thoughts in his mind; he immediately nodded and followed them to another room.
As the trio left the hall, other people showed a collective disappointed look. They wanted to see if this young man could continue to create miracles.
Moreover, many ambitious first-tier alchemists wanted to use this opportunity to look at Xiao Ning's technique. Even if they couldn't comprehend it fully, still, there would be some gains.
Unfortunately, the two fourth-tier old men were not fools. They instantly understood everything after seeing the greedy look in their eyes.
Even Xiao Ning was taken aback after seeing the greedy look in their eyes; yet, he didn't intend to make a move. He still needed to use the alchemist association.
Still, a look of mockery flashed in his eyes. If someone made a move, he wouldn't mind sending them to hell.
...
Xiao Ning glanced around after entering the room. 'Local tyrants!' he sighed inwardly. The price of the equipment present in the room was equivalent to Xiao Clan's entire treasury.
While Xiao Ning looked around, Ao Tuo and Fu Lan Ke were not better off. For him, they took out the best possible equipment.
Hence, the equipment present inside a second-tire alchemist test room was comparable to that of a third-tire alchemist.
Obviously, Xiao Ning was unaware of this and thought that every candidate was given such treatment.
"Young friend Ning, you can start." Fu Lan Ke put on a smiling face and spoke. On the inside, he was quite nervous.
Xiao Ning nodded and came in front of the stone table. He picked up the scroll after inspecting the equipment.
"Huh! Energy recovery pill!" He muttered to himself. Xiao Ning did not expect to get such easy content for his second-tier test.
He took a deep breath and cleared his head before beginning concocting the pill. Even for an easy task, Xiao Ning took it seriously.
One after another, he threw the medicinal ingredients into the cauldron and began refining them.
Xiao Ning displayed his full capabilities and shortened the refining period. Soon, the medicinal pill began to take shape.
After seeing this, Xiao Ning raised the flame's temperature and grilled the semi-finished pill.
'Thump!' After a few minutes, the three of them heard the crisp sound from within the cauldron.
Xiao Ning's face remained unchanged, and he procedurally took out the pill and stored it inside a jade bottle.
Yet, it was not the same for the other two people present in the room. Ao Tuo and Fu Lan Ke's eyes widened in shock.
They looked at each other and saw the same question on each other's faces. Their face seemed to ask, "How did Xiao Ning refine a second-tier pill in such a short amount of time?"
Moreover, the latter still looked energetic as if refining a second-tier pill did not consume his dou qi and spiritual strength.
...
"Cough!" Ao Tuo coughed lightly and reminded Fu Lan Ke to check the pill.
"Ha Ha!" Fu Lan Ke laughed to hide his embarrassment. He came forward, picked the jade bottle, tilted it, and a round pill rolled onto his palm.
He clicked his tongue after noticing the purity of the pill and stored it back into the jade bottle. Fu Lan Ke raised his head and looked at Xiao Ning as if looking at a valuable treasure.
Xiao Ning was taken aback after noticing the latter's gaze. Unknowingly he took a step back.
Ao Tuo, who stood on the side, laughed loudly after seeing the scene in front of him.
Fu Lan Ke only recovered after hearing Ao Tuo's laugh. He coughed lightly and regained his composure.
"Young friend Ning, you have cleared the second-tier test." Fu Lan Ke smiled and congratulated Xiao Ning.
Xiao Ning nodded in return.
...
The three of them walked out of the room and looked at the people present in the hall.
Ao Tuo and Fu Lan Ke's eyes stayed on Xiao Ning's body for a moment, and the shock in their eyes was still visible.
Yes, after completing the second-tier test, they did not leave immediately; instead, Xiao Ning wanted to clear the third-tier test in a single go.
Ao Tuo and Fu Lan Ke thought that the latter was joking. After all, young people are energetic and arrogant.
Not only did he attempt to concoct the third-tier pill, but Xiao Ning also succeeded in a single try.
...
Fu Lan Ke took a step forward and said, "Young friend Xiao Ning has cleared both second and third-tier alchemist test. Now he is the youngest third-tier alchemist Jia Ma Empire." The shock and excitement were self-evident.
Absolute silence! After hearing his words, everyone stopped speaking and looked at Fu Lan Ke to see whether the latter was joking.
Yet, after seeing the look on his face, their mind went blank.
Immediately everyone retracted their gaze from Fu Lan Ke and looked at Xiao Ning as if staring at a monster.
Before they could digest the news, Fu Lan Ke dropped another bomb, "Young friend Ning will take the fourth-tier test tomorrow."