Chapter 50

After making arrangements, the family went about their separate activities after breakfast.

Chu Ning and Qin Zhen set out once again for the Pill Master Association.

Just like the last time she came for the exam, Chu Ning registered at the equipment desk and then followed the instructions to head to the theoretical exam room.

Since not many people were applying for the intermediate-level pill master exam, the exam was conducted on a walk-in basis, meaning you could take it as soon as you arrived.

Chu Ning walked to the exam desk, logged in her information, and began answering the questions.

The theoretical exam for the intermediate pill master had a large overlap with the beginner-level exam, so since Chu Ning had reviewed the material the previous night, she found the questions easy to handle.

In just twenty minutes, she finished answering all the questions.

After submitting her answers, the results appeared immediately—again, a perfect score of 100.

Chu Ning felt completely relaxed and walked toward the exit of the exam room.

The written exam was no problem; the practical exam was even easier for her.

The intermediate pill master badge was secure.

Qin Zhen saw Chu Ning smiling as she exited the exam room and immediately congratulated her.

The two chatted and laughed as they walked toward the practical exam room.

Upon entering the practical exam room, Chu Ning noticed there were even fewer people than before. Including herself, there were only three others.

This time, there was an actual invigilator present.

The invigilator was a woman in her mid-thirties, who appeared a bit serious.

“Alright, no need to wait. This exam is just for you three,” she said. “Log in your candidate information on the equipment by the pill furnace, and you can begin.”

“Once the exam starts, the machine will randomly display four types of pills.”

“Go to the shelf over there and select the corresponding materials for each pill. You may only take one of each type of material, then refine the pills.”

“For each of the four types of pills, you must produce at least twenty pills to pass.”

“Once one type of pill is successfully refined, you can move on to the next. If a pill doesn’t meet the required standard, the exam will be considered a failure, and you will have to leave immediately.”

“Now, the exam begins.”

After hearing this, Chu Ning watched as the other candidates moved into action.

Once the exam materials were displayed, she waited for the others to finish gathering their ingredients before going to collect hers.

In order to save time, Chu Ning decided to process all four types of materials at once.

She was excellent at pill refining, but her speed in processing materials was not as quick as others. Compared to the other candidates, she appeared somewhat clumsy.

The invigilator walked past and saw her slow movements, frowning slightly but saying nothing.

The other two candidates did not process the materials together like Chu Ning. Instead, they processed one material at a time and immediately began refining the pills.

This was actually the method most candidates used.

After all, the practical exam required that each type of pill yield at least twenty pills, and if one type of pill didn’t meet the standard, the exam would be deemed a failure.

By processing only one material at a time, if a particular pill didn’t meet the requirements, the candidate wouldn’t need to proceed with the other materials, saving money on the materials used. (The exam fee would be partially refunded based on the materials used.)

The materials for the intermediate pills were not cheap, and this method was meant to avoid wastage. So, it was rare for a candidate like Chu Ning to process all four types of materials at once.

Just as Chu Ning finished processing the materials, one of the other candidates had already refined a batch of pills.

The invigilator immediately walked toward that candidate.

She placed her hand on the pill furnace and said, “There are only nineteen pills. Unfortunately, your exam has failed.”

The candidate’s face showed disappointment as she left the exam room, helpless.

The invigilator noticed Chu Ning looking in her direction and frowned slightly.

“Continue the exam, everyone else,” she said coldly.

Chu Ning quickly withdrew her gaze and prepared to refine her first batch of pills.

She placed the processed materials into the pill furnace and immediately got to work.

For pills of the same grade, the pill recipes in this world were generally easier to refine than those in the cultivation world.

When preparing for the exam earlier, Chu Ning had found that the intermediate-level pill recipes in this world were nearly always refined into perfect pills with twenty-four pills per batch.

So, Chu Ning quickly refined her first batch of pills.

As soon as she finished, the invigilator walked over.

After taking a glance at Chu Ning, she placed her hand on the pill furnace. Then her eyes suddenly widened.

“Twenty-four pills?” she exclaimed in surprise.

Among all the candidates in this exam, she had least expected the girl in front of her to perform well. She didn’t know which family the girl came from, but it was clear that she didn’t usually handle the materials herself.

Her method of processing the materials was clumsy, and she didn’t seem to know how to save on materials.

But now it seemed… was she mistaken?

This girl’s technique with the materials was poor, but when it came to refining pills, she seemed to have real skill.

After all, only someone extremely familiar with the pill recipe and skilled in technique could refine perfect pills.

Or perhaps she had just lucked into using the recipe she was most familiar with?

“Not bad, continue refining the next pill,” the invigilator said, retracting her hand, her expression much more amiable than before.

Let’s see; perhaps it was just a coincidence.

“Okay,” Chu Ning responded, and she started preparing to refine the second pill.

The invigilator had initially planned to observe Chu Ning’s refining process, but one of the other candidates had already finished their second batch of pills.

She had to move to check on the other candidate instead.

The candidate who had produced twenty-one pills in the first batch wasn’t as lucky this time, only managing nineteen pills.

A look of disappointment flashed in the invigilator’s eyes.

“Only nineteen pills this time. Unfortunately, your exam has failed.”

The candidate glanced toward Chu Ning’s direction before regretfully leaving the exam room.

Now, only Chu Ning remained in the exam room. The invigilator walked back over to her.

When she saw Chu Ning refining the pills with her eyes wide open, she was surprised to see that Chu Ning even looked back at her as she approached. The invigilator couldn’t help but feel astonished.

She had finally confirmed that the young girl across from her was truly skilled.

Not long after, Chu Ning had refined her batch of pills again.

The invigilator immediately walked over to inspect.

After placing her hand on the pill furnace for a check, her eyes widened again in shock.

It was another perfect batch—twenty-four pills!

“Twenty-four perfect pills again. Continue refining the next pill,” the invigilator said, trying to calm the shock in her heart. She tried to sound composed.

Once was a coincidence, but twice would not be.

This girl was a genius!

The invigilator’s eyes shifted, and she moved to the side, glancing at Chu Ning’s exam screen.

“Chu Ning… this name… it seems familiar…” she muttered to herself as she saw the candidate’s name.

Suddenly, her eyes brightened, and she looked at Chu Ning, who was refining her next batch of pills, in disbelief.

The pill master who created the Jade Dew Pill formula… her name was Chu Ning!

The president had verified it with the patent office; Chu Ning was still young and had only been a beginner-level pill master before.

She was young, a beginner pill master, and yet her refining ability was so strong… Could it really be the same Chu Ning, the creator of the Jade Dew Pill formula?!