Time passed quickly, and seven days flashed by.
In these seven days, five more people successfully refined the Grain Avoidance Pill.
As for the eight who have not yet succeeded, this examination is destined to end in failure for them.
Everyone is well aware that the list of those who pass this examination will be selected from the remaining twenty-two participants.
This is the first recruitment of Alchemy Apprentices by Master Yun Ku after his advancement, and the Pill Treasure Pavilion places great importance on this examination.
Lin Zhishan is personally presiding over the event.
"You have all been with my Pill Treasure Pavilion for half a year now, and I believe you have mastered the basic alchemy skills. Today is the time to test your achievements!"
Lin Zhishan stood in front of the group of Quasi-Apprentices, his voice stern and solemn.
Wei Shangyi stood among the crowd, casting a glance at Zhou Xun, not far from him, with an unknown excitement in his eyes.
"Let's see if you can remain so calm and composed once the alchemy is over!"
He also glanced at a few others.
Among the thirty people here, apart from Wang Erniu, his Spiritual Root was the best.
Originally, he should have been the star, but his alchemy skill ranked seventeenth.
This made the proud him quite resentful.
He resented Xun Houqing, resented Zhou Xun, wondering why their alchemy could surpass his own.
He even resented Lin Zhishan and Master Yun Ku, feeling that with such outstanding Spiritual Root Talent, he should not have to compete alongside those with Low-Grade Spirit Roots.
"Today, all of you shall fall!"
Zhou Xun was naturally unaware of Wei Shangyi's schemes against him, as he was attentively listening to Lin Zhishan's speech.
Although he was highly confident about passing the examination, he still wanted to clearly understand the rules.
"The content of this examination is precisely the refining of the Grain Avoidance Pill! Regardless of how good your Spiritual Root Talent is, regardless of your family background, this examination is judged solely on your alchemy skill."
This statement did not surprise the crowd.
Everyone had been refining Grain Avoidance Pills for the past thirty days.
If the examination required other elixirs, they wouldn't know how to make them, rendering the examination meaningless.
Some even purchased high-quality Grain Avoidance Pills from the market to hide in their Alchemy Room, waiting to swap them during the refining.
If Zhou Xun were to use his Divine Sense to scan the crowd's expressions, he would notice several people who couldn't hide their excitement.
"After you finish refining, I'll personally appraise your elixirs. The better the quality, the higher the rank; the top fifteen will serve as Alchemy Apprentices!"
"Those outside the top fifteen may remain in the Pill Treasure Pavilion, but only as Spirit Contract Servants!"
Lin Zhishan finished speaking, glanced over the crowd, then continued:
"For the sake of fairness in this alchemy competition, and to prevent any clever tricks, you will not refine in your original Alchemy Rooms but will draw a lot for a corresponding room."
"Now, please come forward to draw your Alchemy Room number, collect your Grain Avoidance Pill materials, and begin refining!"
As soon as Lin Zhishan's words fell, Wei Shangyi was momentarily stunned, then furious.
"Switching Alchemy Rooms!"
This meant his and his brother's plans were now thwarted!
His brother spent thirty Spirit Stones all for nothing.
Wei Shangyi cast a resentful glance at Zhou Xun.
"Consider yourself lucky!"
Immediately, though, he started worrying about his chances.
"If those three rooms are drawn by someone behind me, then I still have no guarantee of victory!"
With a hint of anxiety, he queued up to draw his lot.
...
"So, how many Alchemy Rooms were found with Grain Avoidance Pills?"
Not far away, Lin Zhishan asked his junior sister and also his clan niece.
"Senior Brother Lin, do these people really think you won't recognize if the Grain Avoidance Pills are freshly refined?" Lin Xueying asked contemptuously.
"We might as well just kick them out for their deceitful intentions!"
"No harm done, only those at the very end need to resort to such tactics!" Lin Zhishan shrugged.
"Let them proceed with the examination first, and then we'll kick them out once finished!" Lin Zhishan's words had already sealed their fate.
....
In the courtyard, under the steward's organization, everyone began drawing lots for their Alchemy Room numbers.
"Room B3"
"Room B9"
...
The crowd lined up, each taking turns to draw.
"Room B13!" A round-faced youth looked at the number in his hand excitedly.
He was one who had pre-purchased a Grain Avoidance Pill and hidden it in the Alchemy Room.
"Those who draw their original Alchemy Room must redraw!" The steward's cold words broke the youth's joy.
The youth could only reluctantly redraw.
The line quickly moved to Wei Shangyi.
He stepped forward, rolled up his sleeves.
Then thrust his hand into the bag, sweeping around until he felt a number, carefully trying to discern its identity through touch.
But all in vain.
The specially crafted numbers in the bag could not be identified by touch.
Helplessly, after a long selection, he finally just grabbed one at random.
He took a closer look:
"Room B17!"
Initially, he thought he misread it!
Rubbing his eyes and looking again.
No mistake, it was indeed Room B17, Zhou Xun's room!
Suddenly, Wei Shangyi's head felt as if it had been struck by a large bell, ringing incessantly.
Originally worried that those three Alchemy Rooms might be drawn by someone behind him, failing his and his brother's plot entirely.
He never imagined he would draw one of those rooms himself.
Wasn't this just wasting money to trip up himself!
Failing to trap Zhou Xun, and instead ensnaring himself!
Wei Shangyi appeared bewildered.
His face changed from red to white, then from white gradually to red, and finally to deep red.
He simply couldn't understand!
"What, not satisfied with this Alchemy Room?"
At this moment, the steward's voice pulled him back to reality.
"No, no!" Wei Shangyi replied dryly.
Then began looking around, he still had a chance!
He urgently searched for the figure of that "Third Young Master."
To inform him, the deal was off!
Yet, even after scanning multiple times, the figure of "Third Young Master" was nowhere to be found.
Little did he know, that "Third Young Master," though greedy for money, would also earnestly carry out tasks once paid.
In the field of getting paid to do a job, as Zhou Xun's previous life's words put it, he had quite the professional ethics!
Old Steward Lin was already stationed in his room, taking out the Control Token, monitoring the initiation of the Earth Fire Array in those three Alchemy Rooms at all times.
He had planned, once the Earth Fire in those three rooms had been running for a while, he would time the explosion of the Earth Fire.
But such things he dared not do too often.
Three or four years per instance was already the limit.
Any more, and it might attract attention.
If the last instance hadn't occurred five years ago, he wouldn't have dared agree to the Wei Brothers' request this time either.
"Heh, after this job, I must go find those two brothers for a good drink!"
...
After Wei Shangyi drew his number, it was soon Zhou Xun's turn.
Zhou Xun casually drew one, took a glance, but didn't care much.
His number was Room B5.
For Zhou Xun, this examination was nothing but a formality, as he had successfully refined more than eighty bottles of the Grain Avoidance Pill already.
He believed that among the other twenty-nine participants, none could surpass him.
"After this examination, I'll refine those two furnaces of Energy-Introducing Pills!" Zhou Xun's thoughts had already shifted to those two furnaces.
However, he wasn't aware that the Room B5 he drew was one of the three numbered rooms proposed by Wei Shangli that day.
Once he reached the halfway point of refining the Grain Avoidance Pill, there would be a big surprise waiting for him.
Soon, everyone finished drawing their lots.
After collecting the refining materials, they each entered their respective Alchemy Rooms to begin refining.