Astonishing the Audience
Xiao Yan was dumbfounded! He thought there might be something special about the medicinal herbs that he didn't know, and figuring out that special characteristic was the exam question.
But when he saw the others gradually pouring out their extracted medicinal powders, he couldn't help but sigh.
It wasn't that there was a problem with his single extraction; the problem was that these people had to extract ten or eight times to get enough purity.
It was like forging weapons in ancient times, which required hammering iron and quenching it to remove the carbon from the iron, so that fine steel could be forged.
But that was because ancient industrial technology was underdeveloped. Modern industry doesn't need repeated hammering to obtain fine steel.
And Xiao Yan possessed a Strange Flame, the Burning Art, and extremely strong Soul power, coupled with precise alchemy techniques. This made his extraction like modern industry, allowing him to easily obtain ultra-high purity medicinal substances.
One extraction achieved perfection.
Others had to extract several times to remove the black impurities from the Black Iron Spirit Leaf, but he directly used the Strange Flame to destroy the Black Iron Spirit Leaf, and then extracted the required medicinal substances from the destruction.
When Xiao Yan saw that Liu Ling's and Yue Er's powders were grayish-white, and some people's were even grayish-black, he completely understood. These people were too weak! A deathly silence fell. The originally lively hall became silent in an instant, and even the sound of breathing diminished.
Hearing Xiao Yan's question, Chemir and Otto didn't want to answer at all. Why extract so many times? Wasn't that obvious? If they didn't extract so many times, they couldn't remove the impurities!
This was also why Xiao Yan could often produce several pills in one batch. With the Strange Flame, his extraction of medicinal materials was almost without waste, and the purity was extremely high, so not only was the quality of the pills good, but it also saved medicinal materials.
Liu Ling and Yue Er stood up abruptly and looked at the white powder on the testing instrument. As Alchemists, they certainly understood how terrifying the purity of that powder was.
"Almost close to 100% purity!" Yue Er exclaimed, covering her mouth, her beautiful eyes looking at Xiao Yan. This was a purity that even the president couldn't achieve! "How is this possible? I've only seen my master extract this kind of purity, and only with the lowest-level medicinal materials." Liu Ling trembled inwardly. Didn't this mean that Xiao Yan already possessed Sixth Grade strength!
As for cheating, that was even more impossible. Xiao Yan hadn't left, and even if he had, who could extract the Black Iron Spirit Leaf to this extent! Just when all the Alchemists were extremely surprised and didn't know why, Liu Ling gave the answer.
"Strange Flame! You really have a Strange Flame!" Originally, he was a little uncertain. After all, there might be other ways to remove the Branding Poison, but now he was sure.
"Strange Flame!!"
"He actually has a Strange Flame!"
"No wonder, so it's because he has a Strange Flame."
As if finding an excuse for their failure, all the Alchemists, including the vice president, nodded in relief.
They couldn't believe, and wouldn't believe, that an eighteen-year-old could do something that even the president couldn't do. They couldn't accept that the gap between their talent and Xiao Yan's was so huge.
They couldn't accept that they were actually mediocre compared to Xiao Yan.
So, their inner protection mechanism was activated, attributing everything to 'luck'.
They thought Xiao Yan was just lucky to get a Strange Flame. If they had a Strange Flame, they could do it too.
Xiao Yan just smiled slightly. He didn't mind others attributing his success to his possession of a Strange Flame. And in fact, possessing a Strange Flame was also his strength, an inseparable part of him.
In the hall, the discussions continued for a long time before gradually subsiding.
Gazes containing awe, curiosity, jealousy, unwillingness, and other emotions were constantly directed at that thin figure.
The only thing missing was contempt.
Beside him, Liu Ling's handsome face also became gloomy, his eyes staring fixedly at the golden score. This was somewhat unacceptable to Liu Ling, who was extremely proud to the core.
And Liu Ling had forgotten one thing, that the machine displayed ten points only because that was its maximum, not because Xiao Yan only had ten points of strength.
The gap between them was not just three points.
"Can I leave now?" Xiao Yan asked with a smile.
Looking at the smiling young man in front of them, Chemir and Otto, two Fourth Grade peak Alchemists close to the Fifth Grade, trembled in their hearts.
For some reason, they felt that Xiao Yan's strength was higher than theirs, and much higher! Chemir and Otto could only nod blankly. Xiao Yan politely cupped his hands and left the hall first, leaving only a profound and unpredictable figure.
Outside the hall, many people were waiting for the results, and Steward Zhao was naturally waiting early.
"Young Master Xiao Yan, the carriage is ready." Steward Zhao said respectfully.
Xiao Yan nodded and followed Steward Zhao out of the Alchemist Convention. After all, this was just an exemption test, and the real Alchemist Convention was tomorrow.
Of course, for others, it was already over.
As for whether those Alchemists would say he was lucky or admire him, he didn't care. He only cared that the Sixth Grade Pill Formula wouldn't stand him up.
"Young Master Xiao Yan, was the assessment smooth?" Steward Zhao asked while driving the carriage.
"Not bad, nothing challenging," Xiao Yan said casually, looking out the window at the bustling street.
Hearing Xiao Yan's calm voice, Steward Zhao understood that Xiao Yan was probably the first place winner. He was one of the people who had personally witnessed Xiao Yan detoxifying and concocting pills.
"Tonight, there will be a gathering at the mansion, bringing together various families, large and small, from the Royal Capital, to celebrate the Old Family Head's recovery. Would young master Xiao Yan like to attend?" Steward Zhao asked softly.
Xiao Yan glanced sideways, laughing inwardly, This is clearly a Hongmen Banquet to announce to all the families in the Royal Capital that Nalan Jie, one of the top ten powerhouses of the Gama Empire, has been resurrected and returned, deterring families with ulterior motives in recent years.
"Then I'll attend. I'm also curious to see if there are any younger generation members in Gama Holy City who can open my eyes. The younger generation of Alchemists isn't that great," Xiao Yan said with a faint smile. The younger generation of Alchemists was just so-so anyway, and hadn't brought him much surprise.
He could only hope that there would be some powerhouses on the path of cultivation.
As night fell, Xiao Yan woke up from his cultivation, stepped down from the lotus platform, fed a Purple Fire Pill to Mao Wu, glanced at the Seven-Colored Sky Swallowing Python still sleeping and reshaping its body, and then pushed open the door and walked towards the hall.
He was even too lazy to change his clothes, still wearing the casual outfit from the morning.
Xiao Yan slowly approached, and bursts of noisy laughter mixed with some musical notes came from the hall, which had already become a scene of joyful gathering.
Xiao Yan's gaze swept across the hall, and he was somewhat surprised to find that not only were Liu Ling and little princess Yue Er here, but even Ya Fei was among them.
At this moment, she was wearing a red, tight-fitting cheongsam, and a snow-white fox fur shawl added a touch of elegance and nobility to her. Her graceful and charming curves caused many men in the hall to secretly cast fiery glances at her.
On the other hand, Nalan Yanran, as the Nalan Family's daughter, stood alone in a corner, leaning against a stone pillar, elegantly drinking red wine. She was still wearing the Yunlan Sect's silver-moon robe, which occasionally highlighted the exquisite curves beneath it.
Such temperament also made many people present look at her with fascination. It was not surprising that a woman with a refined temperament would be pursued by thousands of men.
Ya Fei, perhaps deliberately, smiled when she saw Xiao Yan and said, "Oh? Could this be the first place winner of today's Alchemist Convention internal test?"
Instantly, everyone looked at Xiao Yan in unison.
Xiao Yan rolled his eyes at her, shrugged his shoulders, and slowly walked into the hall.
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