When Otto saw Xiao Yan walk out, his heart finally relaxed—otherwise, if one of the two he recommended failed the preliminary test, he would lose face terribly.
Then, Liu Ling, the analyst, gave Little Princess Princess Yao Yue a thorough analysis of Xiao Yan's situation.
With Xiao Jietian's strength, he naturally heard the earlier analysis of himself and now the analysis of Xiao Yan. He just wondered if Princess Yao Yue would still believe Liu Ling's analysis after being slapped in the face twice—and so harshly at that.
"Tian Ge, what's with you?"
Xiao Yan stood beside Xiao Jietian and saw him reveal a look of suppressed laughter. Though fleeting, he still caught it.
Chirp chirp chirp. Xiao Jietian used his soul power to briefly explain the whole situation to Xiao Yan.
Xiao Yan's expression remained calm, but the occasional flicker of amusement in his eyes betrayed his true feelings.
"Since everyone is out, let's begin the test."
Mitchell stepped forward a few paces and lifted the black cloth covering a platform, revealing a very precise-looking machine.
"You will individually place the refined medicinal ingredients into the machine's groove. It will automatically detect them, and the results will be displayed directly on the screen. The scale is out of ten, with ten being the highest, one the lowest, and four being a passing score."
A Second-Tier Alchemist, standing closest to the machine, gritted his teeth and placed a jade bottle into the groove. "Vice President Mitchell, my ability is limited; I only refined it three times."
The light on the screen flickered a few times, finally displaying a large "five."
"Five points, passed."
"Next."
"Three points, failed."
…
As time passed, those ahead had all been tested. When it was Liu Ling's turn, he gave Xiao Yan a provocative look before leaving.
"This junior's ability is limited; I only refined it six times."
With that, Liu Ling carefully placed the jade bottle into the groove.
"Seven points, congratulations, you passed." Mitchell smiled slightly, looking at him with approval.
"As expected of Gu He's talented disciple, truly surpassing his master."
A group of elders also praised him continuously, giving Gu He face.
Next was the Little Princess, with five refinements, scoring 0.5 points less than Liu Ling.
"Ahem, it's your two's turn." Mitchell looked at the two who were almost falling asleep standing up and coughed a few times to remind them.
Xiao Jietian stepped forward. He'd go first to show off, and if danger struck, he'd shield Xiao Yan.
"How many times did you refine it?" Mitchell still had a good impression of Xiao Jietian and asked with a chuckle.
"I'm not sure how many times, but it should be around ten."
Xiao Jietian genuinely wasn't sure. The main reason was that repeated refining was quite boring and unchallenging, so he just refined while thinking about other things.
The entire hall instantly fell silent, eerily quiet.
"What a fool. Is that something you can just casually claim? Let's see how you'll deal with this later." Liu Ling recovered, remembered how this guy had stolen his spotlight earlier, and sneered.
A Third-Tier Alchemist wanting to refine ten times? Even his own teacher could only achieve ten refinements sometimes.
What a ridiculous fellow.
Xiao Jietian ignored him and directly placed the jade bottle into the groove. Immediately, the screen glowed brightly, finally settling on a golden, shimmering "ten," emitting dazzling light on the screen.
Liu Ling's sneering expression instantly froze on his face. The clown, it turned out, was himself.
"Ten points."
Looking at the golden character, Mitchell felt as if his heart had been squeezed, making him unable to breathe.
Ten points. To refine the Black Iron Spirit Leaf to this extent at an age under twenty—even Gu He couldn't do it.
"I'm old; I misjudged. It seems this year's biggest dark horse is you. I truly look forward to your performance later."
Mitchell looked at Xiao Jietian with a chuckle.
"Vice President Mitchell is still strong and vigorous; there's no talk of being old at all."
Xiao Jietian said with a faint smile.
"Haha… Young friend Xiao Jietian is indeed not simple."
Xiao Jietian returned to his original position with a calm expression, not even glancing at Liu Ling. Liu Ling's face was gloomy as he stared at the machine, his fists clenched tightly in his sleeves. Though it seemed like a difference of three points, this gap was like an uncrossable chasm.
When it was Xiao Yan's turn, he ultimately scored nine points.
The entire hall was also very quiet. The shock brought by Xiao Yan was no less than that of Xiao Jietian, because Yan Xiao's identity was that of a Second-Tier Alchemist.
"How can this guy also hide so well?" The Little Princess first turned to look at Liu Ling. Because of his analysis, she had believed it, causing her to miss a good opportunity to make connections.
"Impossible, I don't believe it. This isn't real."
Xiao Yan's nine points left Liu Ling utterly dejected and lost.
The expressions of the others varied, but most were very displeased.
The surrounding elders couldn't help but shake their heads, thinking that Gu He's disciple didn't seem as legendary as rumored.
Remembering something, Liu Ling's expression recovered somewhat.
"Old Otto, your eyesight is truly sharp. Two such powerful talents are both from your side."
Mitchell patted Otto's shoulder and praised him.
He then delivered a passionate speech. Under Mitchell's patriotic words about bringing glory to the Jia Ma Empire, the young Alchemists around were highly enthusiastic, their faces flushed with excitement, even wanting to compete with people from other countries right then.
Mitchell turned to look at Xiao Jietian and Xiao Yan, whose expressions remained calm. His eyes narrowed slightly, raising their importance another notch.
"The results of this test: Xiao Jietian is first, Yan Xiao is second, Liu Ling is third, and Princess Yao Yue is fourth. All others who scored four points or above have passed."
"Today's test ends here. Tomorrow is the official start of the Alchemist Convention. Do not lose your eligibility to compete by being late, or you will have to wait another eight years."
Liu Ling, as always, launched a barrage of attacks on Xiao Yan, his love rival.
Xiao Yan ignored him, just following Xiao Jietian as they walked out, leaving Liu Ling there in impotent rage.
"Master Otto, why are you staring at us like that? Is there something you want to say?"
Xiao Jietian saw Otto's gaze constantly shifting between them.
"The Guild wants me to inquire about your esteemed teacher's identity."
"My teacher has retired from the world and once told me not to reveal his identity, so as not to be disturbed."
Xiao Jietian casually made up an excuse.
Xiao Yan also silently nodded.
"I'm just going through the motions. Anyway, you two are now the hope of our Black Rock City Guild."
Otto had already planned to casually fob them off. These were the hopes of his Guild; he couldn't let such a small matter sour their relationship, and asking for details wouldn't benefit him anyway.
"Master Otto, please help me handle the matter of my identity. If my identity is exposed, I might not be able to continue participating in the competition, and it might even implicate Tian Ge."
Xiao Yan felt that Xiao Jietian's strength was very high, but the Cloud Mist Sect had a Dou Emperor. He couldn't let his own matters drag Xiao Jietian down.
"That serious?" Master Otto's expression became solemn. After a moment of contemplation: "I will help you hide your identity. You just focus on the competition, and I, this old man, will handle the rest."
"Thank you, Master Otto."
Xiao Yan breathed a sigh of relief and bowed gratefully to Otto.
"You two are the strong seed contestants I finally found with great difficulty, and this might be my peak moment. We are now in a situation where we prosper or suffer together."
Otto waved his hand, indicating it was his duty.
"Otto, what were the results of the competition? Did they pass?"
At a fork in the road, Xiao Jietian and the two met Falkland and his two companions.
"By chance, we two passed, I suppose."