In the grand hall, as Vice President Qie Mi Er activated the mechanism, the stone floor slowly opened. Under the watchful eyes of everyone present, a sophisticated instrument specifically designed to measure the purity of medicinal liquids emerged.
In the center of the device, there was an oval shape, surrounded by twelve numbers, from one to twelve. A needle was embedded in the middle, and wherever it pointed represented the purity level of the medicinal liquid.
At Qie Mi Er's signal, a third-grade alchemist, standing at the front, nervously took out a jade bottle containing the refined medicinal liquid from his storage ring. "Vice President Qie Mi Er, with my skills, I could only refine the Ironwood Spirit Liquid three times."
"Three times? That's not bad. It should at least score a six," Qie Mi Er said, gently stroking his gray beard and nodding for the alchemist to place the bottle into the device.
Sure enough, as the alchemist placed the jade bottle into the device, the instrument emitted a bright light, and the needle began to rotate before stopping at the number six.
"Six points, passed." Qie Mi Er nodded in satisfaction. While the result wasn't outstanding, it was a good start.
"Next, five points, passed."
"Next, six points, passed."
"Four points, failed." After several qualified individuals, an unlucky second-grade alchemist, with a dejected look, retreated.
As the testing continued, only Xiao Se and Liu Ling were left.
Seeing the expectant looks from everyone in the hall, Liu Ling nodded to himself. He had purposely placed himself last to attract Nalan Yanran's attention and stand out.
As the disciple of the renowned alchemist, Pill King Gu He, Liu Ling not only possessed exceptional talent in alchemy but was also extremely handsome, admired by countless young women in the Jia Ma Empire.
Yet, he remained indifferent to all of it.
That was until Nalan Yanran appeared.
The two had first met four years ago during her apprenticeship ceremony at the Misty Cloud Sect. At the time, Liu Ling had already become a disciple of Gu He and had thought of Nalan Yanran as a mere ten-year-old girl.
Under his teacher's orders, he was friendly to her. But over time, Liu Ling realized that Nalan Yanran not only grew more beautiful but also displayed a talent beyond his imagination. At twelve, she had reached the eighth stage of Dou Disciple, and by thirteen, she had broken through to become a Dou Zhe, shattering the Misty Cloud Sect's records of several decades. She was the perfect partner. Most importantly, Nalan Yanran was the only one who didn't show interest in him.
This made Liu Ling obsessed, unable to free himself.
After all, it's often what we can't have that becomes the most desirable.
"Next." Hearing Qie Mi Er's voice, Liu Ling smiled calmly and turned to Xiao Se, saying, "Brother, why don't you go first?"
Xiao Se shrugged nonchalantly, took out a jade bottle from his storage ring, and walked towards the testing device. As someone who disliked formalities, he hadn't taken the test earlier simply because he was too lazy to wait in line.
Qie Mi Er glanced at Xiao Se's jade bottle and then looked at his calm expression. Frowning, he asked, "Xiao Huohuo, how many times did you refine it?"
Xiao Se didn't answer immediately. Instead, he placed the jade bottle into the device and then casually replied, "Ten times."
As soon as these words left his mouth, the entire hall fell into a deathly silence.
Then, the ridicule began.
"Fool! Does he really think he can just make up numbers?" The young princess, who had previously been humiliated by Xiao Se, sneered. She didn't believe that a mere second-grade alchemist like Xiao Se could refine the Ironwood Spirit Leaf—a notoriously fire-resistant material—ten times.
Even her teacher, the vice president of the Alchemist Association, couldn't guarantee ten refinements.
Liu Ling, standing behind Xiao Se, also sneered, his expression full of disdain.
Is this the so-called genius praised by the sect master of Misty Cloud? What a liar, speaking nonsense without thinking.
In the hall, only Au Tuo and Nalan Yanran refrained from showing doubt. Au Tuo knew a bit of Xiao Se's abilities and had confidence in him. Nalan Yanran, on the other hand, trusted her teacher, Misty Cloud Sect Master Yun Yun, and believed that a genius who could control Heavenly Flames and possess flying Dou techniques couldn't be judged by common standards.
Sure enough, before Liu Ling and the princess could stop sneering, the next second, the testing device emitted a blinding red light. The needle vibrated intensely but didn't move much, and the number representing twelve suddenly lit up.
"Twelve points! How is this possible?"
The hall fell silent once again, all the mockery abruptly stopping.
Staring at the glowing red number, everyone, including Qie Mi Er, had their pupils contract in shock.
Qie Mi Er looked at the twelve with a complicated expression. It seemed he had underestimated Xiao Se after all.
Nalan Yanran was equally astonished. Her long, narrow eyes were fixed on Xiao Se. Although she didn't understand alchemy, she knew that refining such a difficult material into the purest medicinal liquid meant that his alchemy skills had reached a very high level—far surpassing the alchemists present, even most fourth-grade alchemists.
Only now did she realize why her teacher spoke so highly of this boy, who wasn't much older than herself. A genius alchemist who could control Heavenly Flames truly couldn't be measured by ordinary means.
Princess Yaoyue bit her lip, her face still full of shock as she looked at Xiao Se. Thinking of her earlier attitude towards him, she regretted it deeply. She had come to the event not only to gain experience but also with the responsibility of recruiting talented alchemists for the Jia Ma royal family. Yet she had just insulted a promising alchemist with great potential. Now, trying to recruit him would be nearly impossible.
Compared to the reactions of Qie Mi Er, Nalan Yanran, and Yaoyue, Liu Ling's face was much darker. Anger and frustration boiled inside him. He had wanted to use Xiao Se as a stepping stone, but instead, he had turned into a fool. Glancing at Nalan Yanran, he noticed her gaze toward Xiao Se had changed. There was something new in her eyes.
"Old friend, your judgement is sharp—much better than mine." Qie Mi Er patted Au Tuo's shoulder, who was still in shock, and cleared his throat, preparing to announce Xiao Se's score.
Suddenly, Liu Ling's voice rang out, "Vice President Qie Mi Er, please wait!"
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