Chapter 98: Late for the First Time

Ling Jue glared at Ye Wenxin with dissatisfaction, “What wild things are you imagining? If I want to dual cultivate, it would only be with you!”

Ye Wenxin was startled back half a step; Ling Jue looked a little hurt, she had been so proactive thus far and Ye Wenxin still seemed like a fool. She pulled Ye Wenxin over again, continuing to say, “You’re an Iceborn, who else can I dual cultivate with but you?”

This sentence actually made so much sense that Ye Wenxin could not come up with a retort for a while.

Seeing Ling Jue’s untainted gaze, Ye Wenxin felt her own thoughts very dirty. How could this Ling Jue be so virtuous, yet liked her? Ye Wenxin hurriedly cracked a dry Earth joke, “Right, right, of course it’s me, I’m the best power bank in the world.”

“Power bank? What’s that?” Ling was still a bit angry at first, but as soon as Ye Wenxin started mouthing off nonsense again, her earlier rage diminished significantly, turning to laughter.

“How do I explain it?” Ye Wenxin was troubled, before she came to this world, let alone the Three Hundred Tang Poems¹, even other subjects were very common. If she had not obtained the Flower Burial cultivation method through a certain opportunity, the current Ye Wenxin would not even know where she would have died in this world.

Now Ling Jue was asking her what this so-called power bank was, Ye Wenxin knew not how she should explain this smooth joke.

“Could it be, this noun also originated from a certain cave?” Ling Jue recalled Ye Wenxin’s recurring ‘a certain cave’ opening and naturally assisted in her response.

“Yes yes, that’s it.” Seeing the explanation was skipped, Ye Wenxin simply nodded.

As the four continued on their way, Ling Jue and Qian Bingxue standing side by side drew a lot of stares. Under Qian Bingxue’s contrast, Luo Miaoyi had totally lost her radiance, and as for Ye Wenxin, worried that she would catch people’s interest, specially wore a veil today.

The pair of eyes revealed made one fantasize about the true appearance under that veil.

“Don’t tell me these people are participating in the Alchemy assessment too?”

“I’ve never heard of these individuals. That man and woman pair, it’s as if they’ve stepped out of a painting.”

Those who were taking part in the alchemy assessment blabbed on in discussion, however, there were not many people at all, only over a dozen. It seemed due to taking the exam lots of times, they appeared familiar with each other, gathering together to chat.

Ling Jue was long accustomed to this, while Qian Bingxue was staring into space, leaving only Luo Miaoyi still chattering away about her own elation. Perhaps in Luo Miaoyi’s eyes, Ye Wenxin was a good-for-nothing ordinary person like herself, so it brought about a sense of camaraderie.

A short while later, three old men came out from the Alchemy Association.

The first old man swept his gaze over them once, very calmly saying, “Those taking the Advanced Alchemist exam, come with me.”

No one moved; everyone looked around curiously to see whether they could make out the fabled Advanced Alchemist.

Ye Wenxin was suddenly a little reluctant to act, not wanting to attract attention, if she stood up, then everyone would focus on her.

Ling Jue watched her strangely, but did not speak.

Immediately after, seeing that no Advanced Alchemist candidate had come forward, the second old man called, “Those taking the Intermediate Alchemist exam come with me.”

When he finished, three men and women around forty to fifty years of age stood up with proud expressions on their faces.

The remaining participants revealed envious and jealous gazes; to most people in this world, Intermediate Alchemist was already very challenging.

Ye Wenxin was dumbfounded watching this, thinking of the fact that she was already in her fifties, yet it only took her several months to master the Alchemist rank these people still had not reached after a lifetime, and suddenly felt she seemed a bit smart.

“Brother, might I be a genius?” Ye Wenxin felt that she should not be asking Ling Jue such a narcissistic question, but she really could not think of anything else to describe her current mood.

Others who caught Ye Wenxin’s words snorted disdainfully, only Ling Jue, who was aware of Ye Wenxin’s true strength, chuckled, “Yes, my little genius.”

She recalled the nearly year-long time spent with Ye Wenxin, during which Ye Wenxin’s accomplishments in just one year surpassed her own achievements in her entire life. Ye Wenxin suddenly felt somewhat sorry, and then noticed Luo Miaoyi turning away, as if feeling she was relying on her young age to be shameless in front of Ling Jue.

“Hmph, it’s normal to take the Beginner Alchemist exam at sixteen,” Luo Miaoyi sneered. The nearby Qian Bingxue heard this and could not help having another glance at Ye Wenxin, determining her foundation was only around thirteen years old.

Although she knew not why Ye Wenxin was passing herself off as sixteen, Qian Bingxue was disinclined to explain it to this simple-minded junior sister of hers.

The others could not see foundations, they just felt this little lady Ye Wenxin was too egotistical, and their despise of her was hugely evident.

“Those here for the Beginner Alchemist exam follow me,” the last old man finally said; those aside from Ye Wenxin, Ling Jue, and Qian Bingxue, went to stand in that queue.

“Miss Ye, hurry up.” Luo Miaoyi was exasperated and confused, not understanding whether Ye Wenxin was smart or stupid. Despite calling herself a genius, in the end she did not even know where to stand in line.

“It’s fine, don’t mind me, I’ll go over a little later.” Ye Wenxin waved her hand in dismissal, not wanting to stand in front of the Advanced Alchemist exam old man under the public’s stare; that kind of feeling made her, who was keeping a low profile, highly uncomfortable.

“This miss, if you don’t join the line now, you won’t be qualified for the assessment,” reminded the old man in charge of the Beginner Alchemist exam.

A troubled look crossed Ye Wenxin’s face; just then, more than a dozen pairs of eyes stared at her all at once.

Compared to before, this gaze was much harsher.

Ye Wenxin regretted this; she turned to Ling Jue, who gently patted her shoulder, “Go. Even if the sky falls, you’ve got me.”

It was only a brief sentence, but the words carried reassuringly heavy weight.

Ye Wenxin nodded. She took several steps forward, moving around the Beginner Alchemist queue, passed the Intermediate Alchemist queue, eventually stopping before the old man in charge of the Advanced Alchemist assessment.

Everyone was surprised, and then someone mocked, “Little miss, that’s the line for the Advanced Alchemist assessment.”

“I know, and I’ll be taking it,” Ye Wenxin responded coolly, looking at the old man in front of her.

The old proctor also looked at her, in an instant, he grinned, “Little miss, know that if you fail a cross-level assessment, you’ll be suspended for three years.”

“No worries, I’ll pass in one go.” Ye Wenxin was unaware of this rule. She had considered taking the Intermediate Alchemist assessment first, but seeing those people’s looks, she felt that taking the Advanced Alchemist assessment and slapping their faces with it would be more satisfying.

As an old woman of fifty, Ye Wenxin felt no shame in taking the Advanced Alchemist assessment.

“Alright, then follow me.” The old man said no more nonsense and beckoned her with a gesture.

One was willing to fight, and the other was willing to suffer²; seeing this, the other two old men also became interested and, pulling the Advanced Alchemist proctor along, continued, “Since there are so few participants this time, let’s have them take the exam together.”

Perhaps because everyone wanted to see Ye Wenxin lose face, the other two proctors also spoke up.

Moreover, the assessment for Advanced Alchemist required three or more proctors. Given the current special time period, only the three of them remained in the Alchemist Association. If Ye Wenxin attempted any tricks, the three had the authority to permanently expel her.

Each person harbored their own thoughts, while Ye Wenxin appeared at ease, displaying an air of not knowing the immensity of heaven and earth³.

However, if Ye Wenxin had known beforehand that she would need to play dumb, she would have disguised herself as ‘Ye Liangchen’ to discreetly confront the situation. But it was too late now; she had to maintain her identity as Ye Wenxin.

Following the three proctors, the group entered the inner hall, where they soon encountered a crowd of disciples dressed in Alchemist Association attire. Upon seeing the three proctors, the disciples respectfully greeted them with a “Hello, sirs.”

The Alchemist Association existed in various regions. Due to the strict conditions for apprenticeship at Medicine King Valley and people’s dreams of becoming Alchemists, some local Alchemist Associations continued to offer teaching and passing on of the craft.

The three proctors were all over a hundred years old, with the highest-ranking being only a Master Alchemist, but they were definitely qualified to issue the Advanced Alchemist token.

The proctor for the Beginner Alchemists quickly announced the alchemy task, followed by the Intermediate Alchemists. Only the Advanced Alchemist section paused for a moment; after some consideration, the three elders finally stated a relatively simple goal.

“Let’s make Qi Refining Pills, but they must be of third grade or higher.”

Third grade was already the minimum requirement for Advanced Alchemists. Setting the bar at third grade or higher was clearly an attempt to make things difficult for Ye Wenxin.

However, for Ye Wenxin, who could already produce Qi Refining Pills of sixth grade or higher, this task was a piece of cake. She chose a sturdy-looking pill furnace and began refining using the materials provided on-site.

With practiced and swift movements, her hands seemed to discern the weight of the herbs with precision, neither too much nor too little; let alone the proctors, not even the acclaimed Alchemy genius Ling Jue could achieve such accuracy.

“This girl really has some skills.”

“Maybe she’s just bluffing.”

The three of them huddled together in discussion. Compared to the results of the Beginner and Intermediate assessments, the proctors were more interested in whether Ye Wenxin could refine Qi Refining Pills of third grade or higher.

Surrounded by onlookers, Ye Wenxin remained composed, refining each herb in sequence until they were completely fused together. The pills were quickly formed, and Ye Wenxin retrieved them from the furnace. In that instant, everyone present caught a whiff of the intoxicating aroma.

As attention wandered, several Beginner Alchemists blew up their furnaces, losing their qualification for assessment.

“Alright,” Ye Wenxin opened her hands, revealing the true appearance of the pills.

The Qi Refining Pills were of seventh grade, with patterns appearing on them, indicating that they were not just seventh grade, but the highest quality seventh-grade Qi Refining Pills.

The proctors were stunned, never dreaming that the young girl just around thirteen to fourteen years of age could possess such advanced Alchemy methods.

This was no longer a genius; it was a monster.

“Well, I thought they could be of eighth grade, but I miscalculated the proportions a bit,” Ye Wenxin felt quite proud in her heart, relieved to find that she could finally flaunt in this world.

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1. A collection of classical Chinese poetry from the Tang Dynasty, featuring renowned poets like Li Bai, Du Fu, and Wang Wei. These poems cover a wide range of topics including nature, love, friendship, politics, and philosophy, and are considered the essence of ancient Chinese poetry. ↩︎
2. 
   Chinese idiom implying a situation where both parties are willing participants in a conflict or confrontation. It suggests that both sides are prepared for the consequences of their actions. ↩︎
3. 
   Having an exaggerated opinion of one’s own abilities ↩︎

TL: Only two chapters today, and tomorrow will be the last two chapters of Vol. 1. After that I’ll be taking the rest of the week off bcs I need a break. Advanced chapters will be out next week, same schedule.