Registered Alchemist Examination

[Congratulations! You have obtained a Trait: Attendance Clock-In (D-rank)—whenever you enter or leave an organization each day, a record of your attendance will automatically be left behind.]

No replacement.

[That year, you broke through to the Qi Refining Fifth Layer.]

[Your loan grew to 150 Low-Grade Spirit Stones.]

[But your repayment record remained good.]

[The accounts office raised your credit limit to 200.]

[An accounts office disciple handed you a wooden plaque bearing your new limit.]

["No. 13, Ding Character, congratulations."]

["You are now a high-quality indebted disciple of the Alchemy Hall."]

Lu Ping was so annoyed by the word "congratulations" that he almost laughed.

A high-quality indebted disciple.

That title cut deeper than "outstanding employee."

At least an outstanding employee got a certificate.

High-quality debt only got you a bigger pit.

[At twenty-five, you had completed seven years of service.]

[Generating Trait...]

[Congratulations! You have obtained a Trait: The Vanishing Pen (D-rank)—the pens on your desk always disappear for no reason.]

No replacement.

Sure enough, after Heavy Tomato User (S-rank) and Bully at Home (Grade A), he could only get trash Traits.

His luck seemed to have run out.

[The year of the certification exam arrived.]

[In the Alchemy Hall, every disciple taking the First-Rank Registered Alchemist examination began to grow irritable.]

[Some signed up for Advanced Class.]

[Some took out additional loans to buy medicinal ingredients.]

[Some recited their textbooks outside the lecture hall until they foamed at the mouth.]

[Every day, you still came out of No. 13, Ding Character, your robes smelling of medicinal dregs.]

[Those who saw you moved three zhang out of your way. When someone failed to react, you deliberately coughed a few times, and the crowd immediately scattered, leaving the center spot to you.]

[The veteran disciple who had said he would eat a Pill Furnace five years ago was also on the list.]

[When he saw your name, he laughed. Afterward, he looked over the list again.]

["This guy is still alive?"]

[A newcomer beside him spoke quietly.]

["Senior brother, do you know him?"]

[The veteran disciple slapped his medicinal tongs onto the table.]

["No. 13, Ding Character."]

["Five years without Advanced Class, five years in a low-grade cave abode, and five years of poisonous gas leaking out."]

["If he passes, I'll really eat a Pill Furnace."]

[The newcomer glanced toward No. 13, Ding Character, and immediately tucked his neck back in.]

["But he owes 150 stones and still hasn't had debt collectors after him."]

[The veteran disciple was stumped.]

[Those words were more effective than any rebuttal.]

[Owing 150 stones without being dragged away by the Law Enforcement Hall was a skill in itself.]

[Three days before the certification exam, the Alchemy Hall deacon sought you out again.]

[He placed a sheet of yellow paper on the stone table.]

["The last Advanced Class."]

["A three-day crash course, fifty Spirit Stones."]

["Your limit is two hundred now. You can afford the loan."]

[Options appeared.]

[A: Sign up for the crash course to avoid being targeted during the exam.]

[B: Refuse and continue relying on your own alchemy skills.]

[C: Ask the deacon whether fifty stones guarantees a pass; if not, report him for false advertising.]

Lu Ping looked at A and B.

The first Advanced Class had cost only ten Spirit Stones.

Now it was fifty.

Was fifty stones really the price of Advanced Class?

Or was the Alchemy Hall once again probing the limits of how much debt he could bear?

As for the traps waiting for him at the exam, Lu Ping did not care.

He had Artisan Spirit, Cost Reduction and Efficiency Improvement, and five years of experience with poisonous pills.

Inferior medicinal ingredients?

The pill dregs he had eaten over the past five years were worse than the herbs handed out at the exam.

More importantly, a Registered Alchemist was worth more to the Greenwood Sect than an ordinary Outer Sect Disciple.

Lu Ping chose B.

[You chose B.]

[You pushed the yellow paper back, looking as calm as ever.]

["Thank you for thinking of me, senior brother, but I'm afraid I don't have the good fortune to accept."]

[You had used the same words for five years.]

[The deacon stared at you but did not dare get angry. He still remembered that something frightening seemed to be hidden inside you, weak as you appeared.]

["Fine. If you fail, don't blame me for neglecting the fellowship between sect members."]

[The day of the certification exam finally arrived.]

[On the day of the First-Rank Alchemist examination, the examiner sent by the Heavenly Certification Alliance sat in the seat of honor.]

[An elder of the Greenwood Sect's Alchemy Hall sat beside him, looking perfectly composed.]

[The Alchemy Hall deacon, so overbearing in the past, stood to the side with an ingratiating smile.]

[Gold thread was embroidered on the examiner's cuffs, and a white jade plaque hung at his waist.]

[The plaque bore the words: Heavenly Certification Alliance.]

[From the moment he entered, he looked only at the register and did not give the examinees a second glance.]

[Whenever he saw the name of someone who had not attended Advanced Class, he lightly marked it with a vermilion brush.]

[Two marks appeared beneath your name.]

[The veteran disciple beside you saw this and spoke with gloating satisfaction,]

["He's done for. They've marked down No. 13, Ding Character."]

[The medicinal ingredients were distributed at the examination site.]

[You opened your packet.]

[The dew-congealing grass had yellowed, the broken ends of the blood-stopping vine were black, and the supplementary ingredients were mixed with broken leaves, dirt, and sand.]

[Sure enough, the examination ingredients were inferior, even worse than the training materials.]

[A wealthy disciple beside you who had attended Advanced Class stared in dismay.]

["How are we supposed to use these herbs?"]

[A proctoring disciple rapped on the table.]

["Silence in the examination hall."]

[On the other side, someone had just started a furnace when the medicinal liquid inside churned for three breaths and exploded, sending black smoke billowing out.]

[It sprayed all over that person's face, and the person landed sitting on the floor.]

[The examiner picked up his brush and expressionlessly wrote two words.]

["Retake required."]

[The second examinee lost control of the fire, and the medicinal liquid burned into black dregs.]

[The examiner picked up his brush again.]

["Retake required."]

[Before starting his furnace, the veteran disciple made a point of looking at you.]

[Once the furnace fire was lit, however, the medicinal liquid gave off a pungent burnt smell.]

[He hurriedly added supplementary ingredients.]

[The furnace lid jumped, and black dregs sprayed onto the porcelain plate.]

[The examiner picked up his brush once more.]

["Retake required."]

[The veteran disciple stood rooted to the spot, his medicinal tongs falling from his hand, looking as though he had lost both parents.]

[At last, it was your turn to start the furnace.]

[Artisan Spirit activated.]

[Cost Reduction and Efficiency Improvement activated.]

[You squeezed every last bit of effectiveness from what remained in the inferior ingredients.]

[The first batch: Grain Avoidance Pills.]

[The furnace lid opened, and three grayish-white pills rolled onto the porcelain plate.]

[Their pill markings were faint, but their medicinal properties were very stable.]

[The entire examination hall fell silent for a moment.]

[The Alchemy Hall elder remained perfectly composed.]

[Standing behind the examiner, the deacon's hand trembled inside his sleeve.]

[The second batch: Qi-Replenishing Pills.]

[They were still unremarkable, but their medicinal properties were stable.]

[The examination hall fell completely silent.]

[The examiner grimaced and pushed your two finished batches aside.]

[He went through the examination rules three times without finding a provision he could use to trip you up.]

[The Alchemy Hall deacon wanted to step forward and say something. He glanced at the Alchemy Hall elder beside him, halted, and did not dare move again.]

[The examiner picked up his brush and wrote two words in the register.]