Chapter 408: Examination Begins
Moving through town, everyone was staring at Hui Yue. He had intentionally made himself look his best this day, but even he was surprised by the reaction he got after walking through just a few streets. It did not take long before Hui Yue had enough as a short sword appeared in his hand. Jumping onto it, he instantly soared into the skies above swiftly moving towards the Alchemist Guild.
Hovering above the guild, Hui Yue descended at a natural pace, not too swift nor too slow, and as he landed he once more caused everyone present to be astonished. This time it was not only because of his appearance but also because he had descended from the heavens above. ‘Is this person an angel?’ Was what everyone thought while witnessing this shocking sight.
Hui Yue paid no attention to these experts as he moved towards the Alchemist Guild. Unlike before the guards did not block his way and Hui Yue walked straight inside. Heading to the desk that took care of examinations, Hui Yue went straight there only to see a long queue right in front of him.
Looking at so many experts, Hui Yue was slightly taken aback. Alchemists were supposed to be quite rare, but here there was a great many of them present.
“Hahahahaha old man Bu, to think that you are attempting the exam again? You failed it so many times already, do you truly think that you can pass this time?” A small fat man laughed loudly as he looked at a tall, slim man. The animosity between the two men was incredibly obvious, but no one said anything. No one took sides, but everyone listened to the argument.
“Old fatty, what does it matter to you if I try again? You have never been able to produce even one Devouring Paste of the Red Orchid before, aren’t you in the same position as me? Trying again since you failed? However, this time, I will not be as miserable as you because I succeeded in creating the paste three days ago!” The tall man known as old man Bu said with pride in his voice. His words caused Hui Yue to be greatly surprised. He had expected that the paste was so simple that anyone would be able to create it, yet here he was seeing two men who had taken and failed the exam countless times.
The line in front of the desk slowly got smaller and smaller until Hui Yue was finally able to sign up for the exam.
“Name and teacher,” The woman said as she looked at the paper she was writing on, not noticing Hui Yue at all. “Hui Yue, no teacher.” He said seriously, but his words, which could be heard in the entire front hall, caused many to laugh or snort at him. It was clear that having no teacher meant that he was far below everyone else.
‘Let them laugh. I will give them something to laugh at when I pass this test,’ Hui Yue said to himself and steadily calmed his anger. He focused on nothing but the woman in front of him.
“Mister, if you have no master then are you sure you want to take this test? You will have to refine and create the Devouring Paste of the Red Orchid to pass.” She said and looked up afterwards. Looking up, she recognized the person as the man she had seen four days prior.
“You?” She asked shocked, and her reaction caused everyone to be surprised as well. The clerk dealing with the exams was often aloof and prideful. Not only was her job to sign up people for the various exams, but she was also the judge of said exams, and she needed the power of a Grandmaster to be allowed to conduct the final exam one could take. She usually did not care about the people signing up for the exam meant for first rank alchemists. This time, she seemed different, though.
“To think you would come to take the test. I did not expect you so soon,” She said with a smile on her lips, but she did not try to dissuade him. Instead, she handed him a number and accepted his coins. “Good luck,” She told him as he left the booth.
Behind Hui Yue, a large group of experts had appeared. Now in total, it seemed as though two hundred experts had appeared. It did not seem to fit the information Hui Yue had heard about alchemists being rare.
“It is because of the pill auction. Although there are auctions where alchemists sell their pills and pastes, and mercenaries sell rare herbs, the pill auction is the biggest of its kind. It is very tempting, especially to young alchemists such as ourselves.”
“But there is an event during the pill auction which is the reason these young experts are flocking to become an alchemist is not because of the auctions but because of the annual alchemist’s contest.”
“The alchemists contest is a tournament where any new alchemists from this year join and concocting pills to show off their skills. The winner will be the one who concocts the best pill. The winner not only gets fame and money but also rare materials and formulas from the Alchemist Guild as well.”
Hui Yue looked at the young man by his side who had been speaking for some time. It was obvious that Hui Yue had never met him before, yet this young man just smiled gently to Hui Yue. “Should you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask. I will do my best to answer them all.” He said seriously, and his sincerity made Hui Yue worried.
“I owe you quite a lot Grand Marshall,” The man said with a bow. His words were low, but everyone noticed his actions. The words, however, caused Hui Yue to become even more worried.
“Why would you thank me consider you have a dantian instead of a beast core. You are clearly not a beast, how could you owe me anything at all?” Hui Yue’s voice was low, and only the talkative expert heard his question.
“I might not be a full beast, but I am half. I just happened to get my mother’s genes, but everyone hated me for being different. They would do anything in their power to bully me and eventually I ran away from home. I ended up in Shenyuan, and everyone treated me as one of their own. You made the dreams of all beasts come true, and that includes me.”
“To be able to live with our heads held high, to live side by side with humans knowing that you will not be captured and sold as a slave, or looked down upon as though we are the most disgusting creature in the world, all of this is due to you. Even in the Taiyang Kingdom and the Yueliang Province, the nobles are changing their view on people of mixed blood, not to mention the beasts living as humans.”
“I lived in Shenyuan, but I followed the first migrants to the Siban Empire. When I was there, I lived a great life. It was a life of peace, but I realized that this life was nothing if I could not prove to you just how grateful I am.” The young man continued.
“I was lucky enough to have the elemental affinities of Wood and Fire and decided to become an alchemist. I figured you could use an alchemist as a supporter, but it turns out that I was wrong and that you do not need anyone, you can rely on yourself.”
‘This is a very touching tale but be careful. We don’t know him, and although he claims to be our ally, he could easily have other objectives in mind. Keep an eye on him.’ Lan Feng warned, but Hui Yue snorted, ‘Do you think I’m an idiot? He is very dangerous, but even so, he seems quite eager to impress me. We can use him, and as long as we are careful, he will be useful to us.’
Hearing Hui Yue’s words, Lan Feng nodded his head. ‘I’ll leave it to you.’ He agreed, and Hui Ye once more focused on the young man by his side.
“What is your name?” Hui Yue suddenly asked, and the young man seemed stunned for a moment. “My name is Zhong Hei.” The young man said.
Hui Yue looked at the man in front of him. His hair was golden like the hair of Wan Qiao, his skin was as pale as ice, and his body seemed cold rather than warm.
“What kind of technique do you train to have such a cold aura around you?” Hui Yue suddenly asked with a frown. The aura reminded him of someone he had met before, but right at this moment, he could not remember where he had felt it.
“It is a secret from my school,” He said with a secretive smile on his lips, and Hui Yue just shrugged, paying no more attention to it. Instead, he once more started to look around at the many experts in the front hall, waiting for the exam to begin.
“Are you nervous?” Zhong Hei asked curiously, but Hui Yue just smiled, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.
“Everyone, follow me to the exam room!” A loud voice boomed through the hall. The woman who had been accepting sign ups now stood in the middle of the room, her voice reverberating through every corner of the hall.
Many of the expert’s presents said goodbye to their masters before they lined up behind the woman. Neither Hui Yue nor Zhong Hei said goodbye to anyone they just silently found a position in the line of experts that appeared behind the woman.
“Follow me,” She ordered before she left the hall. She walked straight to a door leading into a large room workstations were set up. There was enough for all the apprentice alchemists behind her.
“Find a table!” The woman said and everyone moved to their own place randomly. Zhong Hei chose the table by Hui Yue’s side, and with a friendly smile towards his newfound friend, he then turned his attention towards the woman standing in front of everyone.
“Bring out your cauldrons. If you do not have your own cauldron, you instantly fail this examination.” Her voice was stern and filled with authority. Everyone looked around to see if anyone had forgotten their cauldrons and many ended up observed Hui Yue and his cauldron.
Although Hui Yue’s cauldron looked different from all the others, no one assumed that it was a treasure. Instead, they figured he just wanted to adorn it with beautiful runes and inscriptions. These had never before been seen in this world, and therefore no one knew that they actually played a large part of Hui Yue’s amazing ability to have a hundred percent success rate.
“Good, now find the medicinal herbs needed for the Devouring Paste of the Red Orchid. We do not provide the items; you need to bring your own.” She said, her voice as stern as before and once more a few more apprentices had to leave the room. Hui Yue was quite shocked. How could they expect to become alchemists if they did not have these simple materials? A cauldron he could understand as they might have to borrow it from their master, but even so, he figured that any alchemist should have their own set of items.
“Now, you have two hours to create a Devouring Paste of the Red Orchid. The higher grade the paste is, the more benefits you will get and the higher your rank will be. If you manage to create a perfect Devouring Paste of the Red Orchid, then it will let you directly enter the exam for the second ranked alchemist.” The woman explained before she sat in the front watching everyone.
Seeing the woman sitting down a few were unsure if the exam had already begun and only Hui Yue and Zhong Hei started to refine the materials. Only after seeing them start did the others scramble to begin creating their paste as well.
Hui Yue threw one red orchid into his furnace at a time. He had long since learned how to refine more than one at the same time, but he also knew that if he finished creating the paste in five minutes, then there would be some questions about whether or not he cheated.
Deciding to slow down the refinement, Hui Yue was able to observe everything that happened around him. Many of the apprentices were sweating, and everyone, even Zhong Hei, was looking at their cauldrons with a focused gaze. Hui Yue, however, was calm and collected. When he looked into the eyes of the woman who was overseeing the examination, he smiled at her before he continued to look around him.
