The Potion-Making Examination Begins
Alex whispered a few words to the two wizards in dark green robes beside him, and the three walked straight into the Potions Association.
Seeing this, Lili and the others stopped pressing the matter and joined the line. Before leaving, Feierte gave Chen Chuan a venomous glare and slunk away.
Chen Chuan watched the scene with complete indifference.
The line moved quickly, and Chen Chuan soon reached the front.
He wrote down the three potions for his examination in the register. After checking his student card, the black-robed Wizard Apprentice handed him a number plate—55.
Chen Chuan glanced at the number. There were quite a few people taking the examination.
He put the plate away and entered the Potions Association.
The Potions Association was far more spacious inside than it appeared from outside. Several floating magic lamps hung beneath the lofty dome, casting a soft light.
Rows of potion display cases lined the walls, filled with bottles and jars. Some of the potions shimmered in different colors beneath the lamps.
Outside the windows, snow still fell thickly, a stark contrast to the warmth inside the association.
Chen Chuan saw the examination area in the center of the association hall. There were many separate workstations, each equipped with basic potion-making tools.
He looked around and spotted a workstation in the middle marked 55. He walked straight over.
Chen Chuan stood still in front of the workstation. According to the rules, in the ten minutes before potion-making began,
they would have time to organize their potion-making tools.
Before long, several gray-robed Wizard Apprentices carrying various potion herbs began distributing materials in batches to the workstations with the corresponding numbers.
The gray-robed apprentice in front of Chen Chuan placed a packet of potion herbs marked 55 before him.
"Hello, senior apprentice. You can inspect the herb materials here and now. The three elementary potions you chose are the Elementary Life Potion, the Elementary Purification Potion, and the Elementary Protection Potion. There are two sets of materials for each potion."
Chen Chuan took the packet, removed the herbs one by one, and spread them out on the workstation.
The veins on the violet leaves were clearly defined, the silver moon grass glowed faintly silver, and the iron thorn's spikes flashed coldly under the lights.
He brushed his fingertips over each herb, feeling its vitality and purity.
Everything met the standards, and the quality was even better than he had expected.
"All three sets of materials have been inspected. The quality is excellent."
Chen Chuan murmured to himself, repackaged the materials, and put them back where they had been.
His movements were orderly, without the slightest sign of nervousness.
After all, over the past three months, he had successfully made more than a hundred elementary potions.
Chen Chuan nodded to the gray-robed apprentice to indicate that there was no problem.
Seeing this, the gray-robed apprentice pushed the cart over and began distributing potion herb materials to the next examinee.
At the front of the examination area, the three wizards in dark green robes had already taken their seats.
Alex sat in the middle, with the other two on either side.
Chen Chuan glanced at Alex, who was speaking quietly with the wizard beside him and seemed not to have noticed him.
Twenty minutes later.
"Examinees, please prepare to begin. You have five hours, starting now," a voice called from the examination area.
Chen Chuan took a deep breath, opened the packet, and took out the first portion of violet leaves.
He placed the leaves in a crystal grinder and pressed them gently until the juice seeped out, then added a measured quantity of water of life.
The whole process flowed smoothly, every step timed to the second.
Just as he finished the first recovery potion, a commotion suddenly broke out in the examination area.
Black smoke rose from a black-robed apprentice's workstation, accompanied by a pungent burnt smell.
The three Formal Wizards turned to look at the same time, frowning slightly.
Chen Chuan caught sight of the black smoke out of the corner of his eye, but his hands never stopped moving.
The violet leaves in his grinder became a fine juice. After he added water of life, the liquid turned pale green, and he poured it into a small cauldron.
The black smoke grew thicker, stirring up a commotion in the examination area.
Alex frowned slightly and tapped the table twice, signaling the wizard beside him to investigate.
"What happened? Can't even make an elementary potion?"
The wizard on the left complained quietly, but his voice was loud enough for the people nearby to hear.
Not far away, Feierte also spotted Chen Chuan.
Looking at Chen Chuan's practiced movements and calm face, he felt jealousy rise again.
To pass the elementary potion-maker examination, he had practiced elementary potions day and night under the guidance of his elder brother, a First-Class Wizard Apprentice, ever since enrolling. He had spent a great many magic stones and a great deal of energy, and his brother had even hired an elementary potion-maker to teach him personally.
Chen Chuan had enrolled at the same time as him and had fewer resources. What right did he have to be so skilled and to have advanced to Third-Class Wizard Apprentice as well?
Feierte's jealousy was almost overflowing.
"Puff." Distracted, he overcooked his potion, and it failed outright.
Feierte was startled. He hurriedly cleaned up the mess, pulled himself together, and started again.
Chen Chuan's steady, fluid movements gradually drew the attention of the apprentices around him.
Seeing Chen Chuan's movements, Lili narrowed her eyes slightly, then devoted her full attention to the workstation in front of her.
Chen Chuan noticed the glances directed at him from around the room, some deliberate and others not: curious, jealous, indifferent, and disdainful.
Unmoved, Chen Chuan continued working.
He carefully took out the second portion of silver moon grass, the silver patterns on its leaves shimmering in the lamplight.
He noticed that the silver moon grass was slightly more active than usual, thanks to the tip about lunar phases in the formula Alex had given him.
Controlling the heat is more important than timing.
Remembering the note in the margin of the formula book, he lowered the flame beneath the cauldron.
Elsewhere, the black-robed apprentice who had caused the trouble was deathly pale, scrambling to get the situation under control.
His workstation was already a mess. Black potion liquid bubbled and sizzled.
"Examinee, please stop what you're doing." The wizard's voice was cold and firm.
The black-robed apprentice cast an unwilling glance at the workstation, but ultimately had no choice except to leave it.
Alex finally looked away from the commotion and happened to glance in Chen Chuan's direction.
Chen Chuan felt that gaze linger for an instant before moving away, but he noticed that the corners of the other man's mouth seemed to rise slightly.
Something stirred in Chen Chuan's heart, but his movements grew even steadier.
He took out the third portion, the iron thorn, whose spikes gleamed like metal beneath the lights.
Following the steps in the formula, he gently broke off the ends of the thorn, keeping only the most essential section in the middle.
The iron thorn made a faint snapping sound as it broke. The essential section trembled slightly between Chen Chuan's fingertips, absorbing the magic power on the workstation as if it were alive.
He placed it in a silver mortar and ground it gently with a specially made agate pestle. The iron thorn gradually turned into a fine powder, giving off a distinctive scent of metal and plants.
Another disturbance arose in the examination area. This time, another examinee's cauldron suddenly burst, splashing pale green potion liquid everywhere and drawing cries of alarm.