Tie Yunshan had a bit of a temper and had been spoilt since childhood, but she did possess one good quality: she never envied those stronger than herself. Instead, she admired them greatly.
Sikong Yue did not clap.
Her face looked rather unwell, slightly pale.
She had waited for this day for a very long time. Her father was dead, yet she wanted to become even greater than he had been.
But now Ling Xiao had appeared and completely disrupted all her plans.
Although her own examination was not finished, every move Ling Xiao made drew waves of praise from the crowd. Even her beauty could not steal away that applause.
At the very least, in this round of examinations, she had lost.
And she had lost utterly and completely.
Some people in the examination area were still continuing to refine their pills.
After all, the time limit was one full day.
The reason Ling Xiao, Tie Yunshan, and Sikong Yue finished so early was simply because their natural talent was higher and they had practised far more on ordinary days.
“Young friend, you really kept your true abilities well hidden. This kind of skill probably surpasses that of many veteran alchemists.”
Tiemu said with a wry smile.
“Sir, you flatter me. I merely displayed what I have learnt. May I ask whether I have passed the examination?”
Ling Xiao asked.
“No rush. Let us first inspect the pills from Sikong Yue and Tie Yunshan. They did finish before you, after all.”
Lin’s attitude towards Ling Xiao had become extremely warm. It might not quite be described as reverential, but he was clearly showing great respect.
“Of course.”
Ling Xiao was not an unreasonable person, and besides, President Lin had left him with a very good impression.
“Yunshan, you succeeded in refining your pill, but the quality is not high enough. You still need to work harder. Still, congratulations. You now qualify as a low-rank Yellow-grade alchemist. Go register later and you can collect your alchemist certificate.”
Lin and Tiemu announced this after examining Tie Yunshan’s pill.
Hearing this, Tie Yunshan let out an obvious sigh of relief. She no longer cared about competing with anyone. Passing the examination was enough for her.
“Sikong Yue, your pill is nearly perfect, reaching over ninety percent completeness. Very impressive. This shows that your pill-refining standard actually exceeds low-rank Yellow-grade. Do you wish to proceed immediately to the mid-rank alchemist examination?”
Lin asked.
“Of course!”
Sikong Yue glanced at Ling Xiao and nodded firmly.
Since she could not surpass him in refining technique or pill perfection, the only way left was to outrank him in alchemist grade.
“Good. In that case, we will hold off issuing your certificate for now. We’ll wait until you have completed all the examinations.”
Lin smiled, then finally walked with Tiemu over to Ling Xiao.
Ling Xiao handed the porcelain vial containing his pill to Lin.
At this moment, many people crowded around. Ling Xiao had used the True Samadhi Flame, and the techniques he had displayed during refining were astonishingly accomplished.
Everyone was eager to know just how good the finished pill would be.
Sikong Yue and Tie Yunshan also watched nervously.
Although Sikong Yue already believed deep down that Ling Xiao’s pill would be more perfect than hers, she still harboured a tiny sliver of hope that the result might differ from her fears.
“What pill did you refine?”
Tiemu asked.
“Burst Qi Pill.”
Ling Xiao answered.
“That can’t be right. A normal Burst Qi Pill is dark red with no lustre, yet yours is bright red and extremely glossy. This isn’t a Burst Qi Pill, is it?”
Sikong Yue said loudly.
Ling Xiao did not explain.
If the two examining alchemists could not recognise what he had done, he would genuinely start worrying about the standards of this Alchemists’ Association. He might even decide not to join.
“Heh heh, this should be a perfect-grade Burst Qi Pill, yes? And you have removed the side effects as well?”
Lin asked with a laugh.
“As expected of the president. You have a sharp eye. Yes, this is indeed a perfect-grade Burst Qi Pill. After taking it, there are no side effects whatsoever, and the burst state lasts much longer.”
Ling Xiao nodded.
“A perfect-grade pill! That can’t be real. Perfect-grade pills only exist in books. Can anyone actually refine one in reality?”
Sikong Yue simply could not believe it.
She had already held Ling Xiao in very high regard, yet a perfect-grade Burst Qi Pill was still a bit too much for her to accept.
“We’ll know once we test it. An ordinary Burst Qi Pill lasts at most one minute. According to the records, a perfect-grade Burst Qi Pill should last three minutes. How long does yours last, Ling Xiao?”
Lin asked.
After all, he had never seen a perfect-grade pill before, so accurate judgement required actual testing.
“Five minutes.”
Ling Xiao replied.
“Five minutes! You’d better be telling the truth. You can’t just make wild claims because your pill looks pretty.”
Sikong Yue said.
“President, find someone to test it. Even if I explain, I doubt anyone will believe me.”
Ling Xiao did not bother arguing further. Facts spoke louder than words.
Lin took the pill and swallowed it himself.
His cultivation was half-step Cave Heaven realm.
On the Heavenly Dragon Continent, apart from the extremely rare Yin-Yang realm experts, Celestial Human realm cultivators were already considered absolute top powers.
In the former Twelve Sects of the Heavenly Dragon Continent, anyone who had just stepped into the Celestial Human realm could become an inner-sect elder.
The situation remained the same today.
Cultivators on the Heavenly Dragon Continent generally had lower cultivation levels. That was just how things were. Reaching Cave Heaven realm was exceedingly rare.
Strictly speaking, half-step Cave Heaven still belonged to the Celestial Human realm. It simply meant one was on the verge of breaking through to Cave Heaven within the Ten Directions Heaven.
Although the effect of a Burst Qi Pill would be heavily discounted for a cultivator of this level, Lin was an alchemist himself and could accurately assess the pill’s true potency.
He did not fully trust giving it to someone else.
A few moments later, Lin exclaimed in admiration, “It actually let me maintain the burst state for ten breaths. This Burst Qi Pill of yours is even better than you claimed. If an ordinary mortal-realm warrior used it, ten minutes, or even a full quarter-hour, should be entirely possible.”
“It really is that incredible!”
Tiemu had never heard Lin praise a single pill so highly, and he knew Lin would never show favouritism towards Ling Xiao. In other words, this Burst Qi Pill was genuinely extraordinary.
Sikong Yue’s face turned deathly pale in an instant.
She had lost completely.
Even that last sliver of hope vanished into nothing.
“Congratulations, Ling Xiao. You have passed the low-rank Yellow-grade alchemist examination. Would you like to continue with further examinations?”
Lin asked, smiling.
“Of course I would. However, taking them one by one is far too slow. May I directly take the full Yellow-grade alchemist examination?”
A full Yellow-grade alchemist was the highest possible rank within the Yellow grade. So far, no one had ever heard of such an alchemist existing on either the Heavenly Dragon Continent or the Divine Phoenix Continent.
