"I'm about to announce results. Listen up."
The corridor became quiet as the elder spoke.
"Eehm... Zi Chuan—40 points, fail."
"Zu Lin—60 points, fail."
"Tang San—30 points, fail."
"Lu Chu—82 points, fail."
"Tian Ting—57 points, fail."
"Liu Si—85 points, pass."
"Zheng Chen—87 points, pass."
".....pass"
".....pass"
"What! How could I possibly fail?"
"No—just 50 points. My father is going to kill me!"
"Yayy! I made it past the first round. Father is going to buy me that magic weapon!"
"Not bad. Although 85 points is barely, I still made it through."
"Hiss, out of 20 names called, only 5 succeeded."
"This... so tough."
Hearing the first batch of names, the crowd couldn't control themselves. Those who passed pumped their fists in celebration, those who failed wailed in despair, while those in the crowd who came to join in on the fun clicked their tongues in wonder.
"Silence—"
The elder spoke while simultaneously releasing his aura, pressing everyone, making the air slightly stagnant and their blood run cold. The room quickly returned to its former silence.
"Kun Kong—69, fail."
"...... Pass"
"........ Pass"
The elder returned to his previous announcement, while Lin Feng, in the corner, furrowed his brows at not hearing his name.
And finally—
"Lin Feng—"
The elder's voice paused for a fraction of a second.
"…one hundred points. Full mark. Pass."
For a heartbeat, no one reacted.
Then—
"What?!"
"100 points?! Full score?!"
"That's impossible!"
"You're all missing the point here—Lin Feng? Who is that?"
"This... I don't know. Could there be another hidden—"
The quiet corridor erupted like a pot of boiling water.
Even those who had already passed turned back in disbelief, their eyes looking around, trying to find out who Lin Feng was.
In the crowd, the old man whom Lin Feng had previously spoken to had the same stunned expression as the others.
'Could it be...?' He suddenly had a thought and looked toward the calm figure standing at the edge of the crowd.
Lin Feng.
He stood there as if nothing had happened, his expression unchanged, as though he had already predicted it, as though the result had nothing to do with him.
But the impact of those two words—one hundred points—was anything but small.
It was, after all, only the first time in the history of the Qinghe Alchemist Association branch that such had happened.
"Who is he?!"
"I've never seen him before!"
The elder holding the scroll glanced up briefly at Lin Feng, his eyes carrying a lingering trace of surprise, as this was the first-ever time all the judges had made a unanimous decision.
Not far away, Ouyang Jun's expression had completely stiffened.
"Full points…"
His fingers curled slightly.
"That's… much higher than my assessment scores?"
"How did he do it?"
A flicker of disbelief crossed his eyes, quickly followed by irritation.
"Hmph. They must have played some tricks, but this is just the first round," he thought inwardly, but did not dare to say it out loud, as if he was caught questioning the elders, even his master wouldn't be able to save him. His gaze fixed on Lin Feng as the prime suspect, jealousy evident in his gaze.
"Alright, that's enough."
A firm voice cut through the noise.
Elder Lu stepped forward, his gaze sweeping across the crowd.
"This is only the first round. Those who passed, proceed back inside for the second test."
"As for the rest—you may leave."
His tone was calm but carried an unquestionable authority.
The eliminated candidates lowered their heads, some sighing in frustration, others clenching their fists unwillingly before slowly dispersing.
Very soon, only a fraction of the original group remained.
—
Back inside the hall, the atmosphere had changed.
If the first round was tense, the second felt heavy.
The surviving candidates stood beside new stone tables, each with a fresh scroll placed neatly on top.
This time, no one spoke.
Even the previously confident ones had serious expressions.
After all—
The previous round's pass mark was 85.
One mistake too many… and everything would end here.
Lin Feng stepped to his position quietly.
His gaze swept over the room once more before settling on the scroll in front of him.
At the center, the incense was replaced with a fresh stick.
Elder Lu stood at the front once again.
The elders returned to their previous positions and continued observing.
"The second round will test your theoretical understanding."
"One stick of incense amount of time."
"Ten questions."
"Ten points each."
"Requires a score of eighty-seven to pass."
"Hiss!"
Everyone sucked in a breath of cold air at the increased difficulty.
He paused briefly, letting the weight of those words sink in.
Then—
"Begin."
—
The incense was lit.
Smoke curled upward.
And instantly—
Shua! Shua! Shua!
The sound of brushes hitting paper filled the hall.
Everyone moved at once.
Except—
Lin Feng.
He did not rush.
Instead, he slowly unrolled the scroll, his eyes scanning the questions from top to bottom.
A faint glint passed through his eyes.
"Basic combinations… flawed pill structures… reaction deviations…"
"These questions…"
"…are simpler than I expected."
His fingers lightly tapped the table.
Not because he didn't know the answers—
But because he was thinking.
'How much should I reveal?'
'A perfect score would surely attract a lot of attention.'
After a brief pause—
'But that's precisely the point. If I could attract the president's attention without revealing too much, that would be best.' He made his plan, then picked up the brush and began.
—
"Question 1: When refining a Blood Coagulation Pill, what happens if Whispering Grass is replaced with Silent Sage Grass?"
Lin Feng's brush moved without hesitation.
"The medicinal harmony collapses. Silent Sage Grass carries suppressive properties incompatible with blood-activating compounds, resulting in coagulation failure and potential toxin formation."
—
"Question 7: Identify the cause of instability in dual-element pill fusion."
"Imbalance in elemental guidance materials. Failure to align elemental flow results in internal conflict, leading to pill fragmentation."
—
His writing was smooth.
Steady.
Unhurried.
Unlike the others, who occasionally paused, frowned, or scratched their heads—
Lin Feng barely stopped.
—
From the front, the elders watched.
"…I wonder if he could recreate the previous spectacle," one murmured.
"Highly unlikely…"
"You should know that questions 3, 5, and 6 were personally put forward by the lord president and vice president."
"Although he doesn't expect them to get it correctly, as long as their answers are close—but you should know how hard the two are, so I doubt anyone here could really satisfy the answers he gave us."
The elders all sighed, knowing the one who just spoke was right.
On the side of the elders' table, where Ouyang Jun stood, his expression turned into a sinister grin as he overheard them.
'Hmph, your good luck stops here.'
'That's what you get for opposing my Ouyang Jun.' He sneered inwardly.
He couldn't wait to see the look on Lin Feng's face when he failed this round.
—
Time passed.
The incense burned steadily.
Half.
Then—
A quarter remained.
Some candidates were already sweating.
Others had slowed down significantly.
One even stopped completely, staring blankly at the scroll.
Pressure filled the room.
—
Lin Feng placed his brush down.
Done.
He lifted his gaze slightly toward the incense.
Still burning.
A little too fast…
Sure enough.
Moments later—
"TIME UP!"
Elder Lu's voice echoed.
"Stop writing!"
Brushes halted instantly.
Some in relief.
Some in despair.
—
"Collect them."
The elders moved once more.
Scrolls were taken.
Expressions were read.
Judgments silently made.
—
As Lin Feng stepped back, his expression calm as ever—
He could feel it.
A gaze.
Sharp.
Cold.
Filled with scrutiny.
He didn't need to turn to know who it was.
Ouyang Jun.
"Alright, out again. We will be there to announce the scores."
Elder Lu gestured toward the door.
They all filed out.
...
30 minutes later, this time much longer than the first round, the door once again opened.
This time, it was Elder Lu who came to make the result announcement.
"Alright, this time I shall only call the names of those qualified for the final round."
"Li Si."
"Po Wu."
"Zheng Chen."
"...."
"And finally, Wu Ming."
"Alright, those who I have just called, follow me." The elder turned around, walking away.
"WAIT!"