Seeing that Abel was attentive, the lady nodded in satisfaction before saying:
"Well then, before I continue with the topic of your admission, I would like to know if you joined our sect to learn about alchemy or forging."
Abel was not surprised to hear the question that the lady asked him, after all, if he still ignored both offers that the other two sects made, there should only be one reason for it, and that was to learn about either of the two trades.
So, without thinking too much, Abel replied:
"Yes senior, my reason for joining the sect is that I am interested in one of the two trades that your sect allows to learn."
Hearing Abel's response, the lady she nodded, she clearly had already expected this to be the case for her, so after a brief silence, she continued:
"Although there are disciples who dedicate themselves to the martial aspect in our sect, they are very few, and, to be honest, they are not very favored by the sect, since their main dedication is to nurture new alchemists and master smiths."
Abel, hearing this, was not surprised, although there was little information in the library, he had assumed from the beginning that this would be the case, so, with a simple assent, he indicated to the lady to continue with what he said.
Seeing this, the lady did not delay any longer and she continued with the conversation:
"This caused the sect to be divided into 2 factions, so in reality, because our patriarch is rarely present in the sect, the sect is divided between the alchemists and the master smiths."
Hearing this, Abel was a bit surprised, but after weighing it a bit, he realized that it made sense, after all, since the patriarch was almost never there and that it was highly unlikely that one faction would admit to being inferior to another, disputes between the two were natural.
Seeing that Abel had no questions, the lady decided to continue:
"Now, if you were only to join as a martial disciple, your entry would be more than assured, but since you want to join a specific faction, upon reaching the sect, you will have to go through another test to measure your talent in terms of alchemy or forging is concerned."
Hearing this, Abel couldn't help but think more deeply about this, he didn't expect that, if he wanted to join as a "true" disciple of the sect, he would have to take yet another test.
"This is getting more and more complicated, *sigh*, if I had known, maybe I should not have tried so hard, since, from what you have told me, they are not interested in martial talent, but in the talent to become a great alchemist or forgemaster."
Thinking about this, Abel got a little upset, because there wasn't much information in the library, he thought that to join the burning fire sect you needed to be an outstanding genius, at least, that's how even great sects recruited disciples in Kunlun, but it seemed like things were different in this lower realm sect.
"Also, although he did not say so, I can assume that those" martial disciples "are only those who wanted to join, but failed because they did not have a suitable talent for either of the two trades, being ostracized."
Although the lady did not mention it, from the expression she showed when talking about the "martial disciples" she said a lot, so it did not take a genius to notice that, also, if you included that they were not favored by the sect, everything fit.
"Well, it's not like I'm hopeless, back to Kunlun, the criteria for a forgemaster to recruit a disciple was that they must first have abundant and powerful soul force, as only then would they be able to perceive the state of the materials when they are melting or mixing between them, and a great control to manipulate the flame that is used."
Thinking this far, although Abel didn't know what tests the sect would have especially for his disciples, he would not change the fact that soul force was absolutely necessary, so they should be among his tests.
"If that is the case, I should pass calmly, since my soul force is quite abundant, although my control is still lacking, it should be enough to be able to pass."
Upon reaching this conclusion, Abel quickly turned in the direction of the lady, who was staring at him, clearly expecting him to ask about it.
"So, to summarize, if I want to officially enter the sect, I have to choose a faction, or alchemist or forgemaster, and be evaluated, right?"
"Yes, in essence, if you want to learn one of the 2 trades, passing an exam is unavoidable."
Abel nodded, thought for a moment before asking:
"Is the exam for both trades the same?"
Hearing this, the lady was quick to reply:
"No, but before I tell you anything else, I'm curious, which faction are you planning to join?"
Abel was a bit surprised by the sudden question, but since he had nothing to hide, he honestly replied:
"From the beginning I have been interested in the art of forging, so the faction I want to join is naturally that of the master smith."
Hearing this, the lady was a little surprised, but quickly a somewhat sad smile appeared on her face, although Abel could not see it, his gaze became somewhat lost, it was after a while that the lady looked at Abel again and with some gentleness in his voice, he said:
"I see, then you want to become a master smith huh, if that's the case, I'll tell you what the test is performed for master smiths."
Although somewhat surprised by the sudden cake dropped from the sky, Abel still quickly adjusted his mood and paid close attention to the lady's words.
"The first is a written exam, in the first instance, you must know the different and main metals, as well as the difference in their age and their alloys, which are more or less about 10,000."
Hearing the number, Abel almost fainted, he never expected that there would be so many different metals in this lower realm, but hearing about the written exam, a thought came to mind.
"Wait, this first part of the exam is like the ones that alchemists do, but with the different medicinal herbs to obtain the title of beginning alchemist, don't tell me that..."
As Abel pondered this, an obvious conclusion came to him, to which, thinking about it, I can't help but sigh.
"What a burning fire sect, if I'm not mistaken, this must be a headquarters of the association of alchemists and master smiths, who are the ones who officially decide if you become a novice alchemist or master smith, not that they have martial disciples, but that, the so-called martial disciples are nothing more than cultivators preparing to face the exam."
Noticing this, Abel couldn't help but associate this with his previous life experience, the burning fire sect being an academy where you prepare to face the college entrance exam, which would be the association of alchemists and master forgers.
The lady when she saw that Abel was deeply reflecting, she thought that she had been worried when hearing that figure, so she quickly said:
"You should not worry about that figure, you are still young, all the information about it you will find in the sect, so you can stay there and study together with the other martial disciples."
Hearing this, Abel practically confirmed that the situation was as he thought, the burning fire sect being a kind of academy that prepared applicants for the professions of alchemist or master smith.
But in order not to disturb the lady further, Abel nodded in understanding, to which the lady just sighed and continued saying:
"That could be said to be the theoretical exam, then the recognition exam comes, you will be presented with different types of metals that you will have to identify, there may even be alloys between them, so you must be very careful."
When the lady finished saying this, Abel sighed, in his mind, he already knew what the last exam would be, if he went all according to what he had thought at first.
And just as Abel hoped, the next exam was just as he had thought.
"Finally, the last test, which has to do with your ability to create an artifact with the materials that will be provided to you, but it cannot be just any artifact, everything below advanced human range will not work, to pass, you need to create an artifact of advanced human rank onwards."
Hearing this, Abel nodded helplessly, since he heard the first test, he had already expected the others to be like this.
"It's just like the exams that are used in Kunlun, besides, from a certain point of view, both the exam for alchemist and for master forger are the same, it is only the base material that changes, for alchemists it is the herbs. and medicinal fruits, while for the master smiths they are metals and alloys."
As Abel pondered it, a thought appeared in his mind, causing his brow to furrow.
"But then, if in reality the so-called 'burning blood sect' is nothing more than an academy where future alchemists and forge masters are trained, why then is it placed on an equal footing with the other two sects? technically speaking, it's actually 2 sects and 1 academy."
While Abel reflected on this, the lady was thinking about a different topic, she seemed to doubt her, but she ended up sighing deeply and then directing her gaze to Abel and saying:
"In view of the fact that you are a great talent in the martial aspect, and that, in addition, you rejected the other two sects to join ours, I think it is not fair that I do not give you a reward for it, and since the sect does not He will give it to you, you can ask me for 3 things that are within my power, but be careful, depending on the rarity of your requests, they may be worth more than one request."
Hearing this, Abel was stunned, his whole mind went blank, he never expected the lady to offer him such a condition, so he quickly put his mind to work.
"Now, what should I ask her?"