BTTH-Chapter 31: Assessment
BTTH-Chapter 31: Assessment
Hearing Xiao Tian's age, Yu He paused, surprised by his youth. "Sir, you are truly young and promising."
She then turned to Xiao Yixian. "Is this lady also here to take the assessment for the alchemist?"
"No, I am here to accompany him," Xiao Yixian replied.
"In that case, please sit in the rest area for a while, miss. No one is allowed to enter unless they're taking the alchemist's assessment," Yu He said, pointing to the rest area not far away.
Yu He quickly gathered her belongings and took the registration form. "Sir, please follow me."
Xiao Yixian nodded, said nothing, approached Xiao Tian to help him straighten his collar, and patted the dust off his shoulders. "I'll wait for you here. I wish you a smooth assessment."
Xiao Tian nodded and slowly walked inside, with Yu He following to guide him.
"Sir, are you going to take the test to become a first-grade alchemist?" Yu He asked with a smile as they walked.
Xiao Tian shook his head. "No, I want to take the test for a third-grade alchemist."
Hearing this, Yu He paused, turned her head, and asked in shock, "You said you want to take the third-grade test?"
"Yes. Is there a problem?" Xiao Tian said lightly, looking at Yu He in confusion.
"No, no problem. Sir, to be assessed as a third-grade alchemist, you need to start from the first grade. Only after successfully advancing can you take the assessment for the second grade, and finally the third grade," Yu He explained the assessment process to Xiao Tian.
"Well, let's do it one by one," Xiao Tian replied indifferently.
Yu He brought Xiao Tian to a large gate, where she spoke to the guard and handed over some documents. After the guard carefully checked the information, he retrieved a black armband.
Yu He took the armband and approached Xiao Tian. "Sir, this is your test number. Please keep it safe and don't lose it. You can only go in by yourself; according to the rules, I can't enter casually."
Xiao Tian took the armband, which had eight characters written on it. He put it on his arm and walked toward the gate.
...
Upon entering, Xiao Tian found himself in a hall illuminated brightly.
The hall was already filled with people, who whispered amongst themselves.
Xiao Tian noticed two old men with four ripples on their chest badges. They were likely the two fourth-grade alchemists of Black Rock City, Master Ao Tuo and President Fu Lan Ke.
In the assessment area in the center of the hall, more than a dozen stone platforms were filled with various alchemy equipment.
There were already seven or eight young men and women standing there, waiting.
Frank glanced at Xiao Tian as he entered, then looked at his armband and asked kindly, "Little guy, are you here to take the alchemist test as well?"
"Yes, President Frank," Xiao Tian replied politely.
"How old are you, little guy?" Frank (Fu Lan Ke) asked in surprise upon seeing Xiao Tian's youthful face.
"Eighteen."
"Hmm? Eighteen? Old Ao Tuo, this little guy is much younger than both your disciples," Frank exclaimed at Ao Tuo.
"Seems like this little guy is extraordinary," Ao Tuo remarked, stroking his beard.
"Little guy, go choose a position and get ready. The test will start soon," Frank instructed.
"Okay!" Xiao Tian chose one of the empty stone platforms and moved over.
"Do you think this little guy can succeed?" Frank asked Master Ao Tuo.
"It's difficult. He's too young. There has never been such a young alchemist in our Black Rock City," Ao Tuo cautioned, stroking his beard.
Frank nodded, fully aware of how tough it was to obtain an alchemist badge at eighteen.
Xiao Tian arrived at the stone platform where a woman in a purple dress stood beside him. She looked to be under twenty, petite, but her figure was well-developed and proportioned.
"Hello! My name is Lin Fei." The woman, noticing Xiao Tian's gaze, initially looked ready to scold him but reconsidered upon seeing his charm and greeted him with a smile.
"My name is Xiao Tian," he replied, turning his attention back to the items on his table.
Just as Lin Fei was about to speak again, a cold voice interrupted: "Teacher, I'm sorry I'm late."
Xiao Tian turned to see a slender woman in a silver tight dress with silver hair walking in. Her long silver hair added to her allure.
Upon seeing her silver hair, Xiao Tian was taken aback. He thought, "This must be Xue Mei, the one who got cheated when she bought the Peach Blossom Flame later."
The woman approached Frank (Fu Lan Ke), exchanged a few words, and then moved toward the central stone platform, stopping at another empty station next to Xiao Tian.
As he looked at the two women, he suddenly thought of how Xiao Yan received similar attention during his own assessment.
Onlookers regarded him with envy.
"Hmph, if your cauldron explodes later, don't involve me," Lin Fei scoffed at Xue Mei.
"Even without your influence, your skill has a significant chance of causing the cauldron to explode," Xue Mei retorted coldly.
Xiao Tian, placed between the two, watched with keen interest as they bickered like mortal enemies.
"Ahem, little ones, the assessment is about to begin. Now check the instruments, medicinal materials, and prescriptions in front of you," Frank said as he stepped forward. He cleared his throat a few times, interrupting the banter between the two, and smiled at everyone.
Hearing this, Xiao Tian and the others quickly inspected their workstations to ensure everything was in order.
Xiao Tian opened the parchment prescription, which clearly outlined the ingredients for the first-grade power-accumulating elixir. Three sets of medicinal materials needed for the elixir were neatly arranged on the table.
Looking over at Xue Mei and Lin Fei's tables, he noticed they were headed for a straightforward first-grade elixir: the Recovery Pill and the Fire Condensing Pill.
"Have you finished your inspections? If there are no problems, the assessment will officially begin," Frank asked. When he saw that no one had questions, he waved his hand, sending out a burst of energy to ring the iron bell overhead.
The bell rang, and a transparent light curtain rose, enclosing all the candidates.
The candidates then placed their hands directly on the uniformly arranged standard medicine cauldrons, circulating their fighting spirits as they ignited flames within them.
Xiao Tian chose not to use a Heavenly Flame; instead, he utilized the Yang Fire that accompanied the Yang Fire Thunder. A vibrant red flame flickered inside the alchemy furnace.
Master Ao Tuo sipped his tea, but when he noticed Xiao Tian's red flame, he spat it out in surprise. "What kind of flame is that? Is it Heavenly Flame?"
(End of this chapter)