Chapter 103: Yan Qingye Is Ridiculed

In the days that followed, Yan Qingye's alchemy skills grew increasingly authentic, and he had fully taken on the demeanor of a true alchemist.

You Xiyue finally decided to take him back to the Immortal Realm, waiting for the arrival of the alchemist examination.

At this time, most of the prospective alchemists who were to take the exam had already gathered near the branch office of the Alchemy Association.

Frequent sounds of thunderclaps could be heard from the nearby inns, accompanied by occasional explosions of furnaces. Naturally, the inns in the area were built sturdily, so they wouldn’t be easily destroyed.

Unsurprisingly, the room rates were somewhat expensive—one premium spirit stone per day.

However, it was not a problem, since those qualified to be alchemists generally came from families with some wealth.

As a result, the rooms here were fully booked well in advance.

Xue Yu had lived here alone for ten days.

When Yan Qingye arrived at the room they had reserved earlier and saw Xue Yu, he barely recognized her.

“You pig...”

Xue Yu understood insults and bared her teeth at Yan Qingye.

You Xiyue picked up Xue Yu and examined her thoroughly. Previously, no matter how much she ate, only her belly would grow larger; she had never become overall overweight like this.

After a long inspection without finding anything unusual, she gave up and put Xue Yu down.

The spirit beast meat in the room had been finished two days ago, but Xue Yu felt so physically sluggish that she had stayed inside, obediently sleeping for two days.

Unexpectedly, upon waking, she had become even fatter.

You Xiyue thought carefully and recalled that she had only fed Xue Yu ordinary spirit beast meat, which should not have caused such an effect.

Only Xun Yu, who shared a distant connection with Xue Yu, furrowed his brows slightly.

Five days later, the alchemist examination finally began.

The gates of the Alchemy Association’s branch office opened, and the prospective alchemists entered one by one with their recommendation letters.

In reality, there were not many examinees; rather, there were numerous people accompanying them.

Few were capable of obtaining a recommendation letter for an intermediate or higher-ranking alchemist, and even fewer could produce alchemical patterns on their own.

At most, only twenty people were admitted.

You Xiyue did not follow them but stayed at the inn, while Yan Qingye went alone to queue at the entrance of the branch office.

“Sigh, I’m really angry. I wonder who snatched away Lord Lan Shi’s alchemy furnace.”

A man standing in front of Yan Qingye chatted with his companion; it was clear they knew each other.

“That wasn’t just snatching Lord Lan Shi’s furnace, they took all the furnaces, as if they were wholesale buying from the Immortal Treasures Pavilion.”

“Why would anyone need so many alchemy furnaces?”

The two men exchanged sarcastic remarks.

Hearing this, Yan Qingye couldn’t help but mutter, “Mind your own business!!”

They glanced back at Yan Qingye but quickly turned away, clearly dismissing him.

Because both were of the Sacred Clan bloodline and Yan Qingye was merely a member of the Immortal Clan, naturally, he was beneath their notice.

Only families of divine or higher status could afford to take the alchemist exam.

After all, the immortal herbs and spirit medicines were extremely valuable.

The Immortal Clan simply couldn’t bear such costs.

Soon, the twenty candidates were led into the courtyard of the Alchemy Association branch office.

The examination was held there, with each person assigned a desk and bringing their own alchemy furnace.

Yan Qingye was the only Immortal among them, drawing quite a few curious glances.

The head of the branch office was an elderly man with graying hair, a sixth-level alchemist.

“I am Zhuang Mo, head of the Alchemy Association’s Immortal Realm branch. I will now announce the examination rules.”

“No interference with others.”

“Leave the examination hall immediately upon completion.”

“The exam lasts three days, one pill per day. Any success in producing a patterned pill counts as passing.”

“Now, the examination begins. Today's task is the Resurrection Purple Pill.”

Yan Qingye blinked; he was familiar with this pill. It seemed fate was on his side. Excited, he rubbed his hands.

Zhuang Mo cleared his throat and continued, “Now, fourth-level alchemist Xu Chang will distribute the required immortal herbs.”

Xu Chang nodded at Zhuang Mo, carrying a large bamboo basket, and handed out the herbs one by one.

The candidates all placed their alchemy furnaces on their desks.

When Yan Qingye placed his teapot-shaped alchemy furnace on the desk, a loud shout was heard.

“Ah!! You’re the one who bought up all the alchemy furnaces??”

Everyone turned to look at the man, then followed his finger to Yan Qingye.

Whispers and discussions erupted.

Yan Qingye frowned impatiently. What was the big deal about buying a few more furnaces?

“Making a fuss.”

The man next to Yan Qingye, the same one who had complained earlier, stepped closer, casting a disdainful glance at the teapot furnace.

“You have Lord Lan Shi’s furnace but refuse it, and you use this? How tasteless and wasteful.”

“What do you know?”

Yan Qingye retorted.

“What? You think that broken teapot furnace is better than Lord Lan Shi’s?”

“Hmph, I’ll use whichever I want.”

Yan Qingye was too lazy to argue further; the subtlety of the teapot furnace was beyond their comprehension.

“Heh, I’m waiting to see if you can even produce a pill. Such a waste.”

Though the man disliked Yan Qingye, he did not use his bloodline power to attack him — after all, it was still an exam, and he didn’t want trouble.

Zhuang Mo cast a heavy gaze over everyone.

“Quiet!”

No candidate dared to cause a disturbance.

A sixth-level alchemist was mostly from the Buchen Mountain; none present dared to provoke him.

The hall fell silent.

When Xu Chang placed the herbs in front of Yan Qingye, he was momentarily stunned.

“Is that... a built-in tea set??”

Laughter came from the man nearby.

Yan Qingye shot him a glare and explained to Xu Chang, “Teacher Xu, this is an alchemy furnace.”

“An alchemy furnace??”

Xu Chang had been refining pills for many years and had seen many types of furnaces, but this was the first time he had seen one like this. Hesitantly, he nodded, set down the herbs, and encouraged, “Good luck.”

Yan Qingye smiled sincerely. “Thank you, Teacher Xu.”

The man nearby was still trying to suppress his laughter; the phrase “built-in tea set” was simply too amusing.

Xu Chang approached that man, placed the herbs down, and spoke sternly, “Focus on the exam.”

“Yes! I understand, Teacher Xu.”

Startled, the man finally stifled his laughter and turned his attention to the herbs.

Holding the familiar immortal herbs, Yan Qingye recalled his first pill refinement in the Upper Realm.

Ming Zhu had taught him meticulously. If it weren’t for his lack of Immortal Clan bloodline barring him from this exam, he might have already become an intermediate alchemist.

Yan Qingye sighed, feeling some pity for Ming Zhu; obviously, the Alchemy Association was better suited to the development of alchemists.

Snapping back to the present, he finally focused on the task at hand.

Since this was the first pill he had ever successfully refined, Yan Qingye was remarkably relaxed, even placing the herbs in the same order as the first time.

Stuffing the herbs into the teapot furnace was indeed a tedious process.

Yan Qingye struggled for a long time, managing only half the work.

The man next to him, seeing Yan Qingye sweating profusely, sneered again and buried himself in his own work.