A Heart That Cherishes Talent, The Uninteresting Xiao Yan!

Gone?

President Frank and Vice President Otto stared blankly at each other.

"When you say gone, do you mean they returned to the Chu Yun Empire, or..."

When they saw the bitter smile on Lang En's face, they both drew in sharp breaths.

"Dead?!"

Their minds buzzed. That was a Tier-3 Alchemist and three Second Grade Alchemists!

The two of them, the upper ranks of the Black Rock City branch, were only Tier-4 Alchemists!

"Who did it?!"

Otto flew into a rage. "Was it those bastards from the Chu Yun Empire? Those damned fools! Don't they know that alchemists do not take part in their wars?!"

"They're trying to start a war!"

Alchemists held an exalted status. As long as one wore an alchemist badge, even the Royal Family had to show them some respect.

"Vice President Otto, it wasn't the Chu Yun Empire. It was him."

Following the direction Lang En pointed, Frank and Otto saw a delicate, handsome face.

"How could that be?!" The two were stunned.

Xiao Yan looked no older than fifteen or sixteen. At most, he could only be a Dou Zhe.

"The magical beast he was riding was a fourth-tier Amethyst Winged Lion King. Liu Weng and the other alchemists saw that he carried treasures with him, so they became greedy and tried to rob him..."

"Pfft!"

The young girl beside Otto could not hold back her laughter.

"Lin Fei!" Otto scolded, pretending to be angry.

This clever yet mischievous disciple of his gave him no small amount of headaches.

"This is hilarious! There's actually such a Profligate who dared to kill even alchemists."

Lin Fei, who had come to observe the alchemist examination, laughed so hard that tears flew from her eyes.

Despite already being sixteen and Otto's disciple, she still had not passed the First Grade Alchemist examination.

That alone showed how precious alchemists were.

And yet...

Not only had Xiao Yan killed them, he had killed three at once—and all of them were veteran alchemists!

"Which family's young master are you? Once the Alchemist Headquarters learns of this, even if you're a member of the Royal Family, you won't escape responsibility!"

Lin Fei laughed until she could barely catch her breath, eagerly waiting to see Xiao Yan make a fool of himself.

She had already taken Xiao Yan for an ignorant, idle playboy.

Lang En hurriedly cupped his hands. "President, Vice President, Liu Weng and the others attacked first! I can testify to that!"

Frank lightly waved his hand and stared deeply at Xiao Yan. "Do you know what the words 'alchemist' mean?"

Xiao Yan said, "Tell me."

Frank narrowed his eyes slightly and said softly, "The weight carried by the word 'alchemist' is immense.

If cultivators wish to climb to greater heights, aside from their own hard work and talent, they must rely on an important external aid—medicinal pills.

In order to obtain a single pill, many powerful experts will owe an alchemist a favor."

Xiao Yan nodded silently and continued listening.

"More than ten years ago, a Dou Wang had a conflict with me. Guess what happened?"

Frank smiled faintly. "I casually spread a little word, and within half a year, three Dou Wangs and seven Dou Lings came to my aid."

"The outcome was obvious."

Lin Fei watched Xiao Yan cheerfully, finding his foolish ignorance immensely amusing.

"And then?" Xiao Yan asked.

"And then?"

Frank narrowed his eyes, and a dangerous gleam flashed through them. "Call whoever stands behind you to Black Rock City. If he cannot offer a satisfactory price, I'm afraid your life will have to remain here."

Xiao Yan blinked. "There's no one behind me."

Yao Lao truly could not be considered a person. At most, he was a soul body.

"In that case, you can't blame me."

Otto raised his hand slightly, and blazing flames burst forth. Lin Fei's laughter came to an abrupt halt.

Otto...

Was going to kill someone!

Seeing this, Xiao Yan helplessly shrugged. "I know you want to uphold the Alchemist Guild's dignity, but killing me over a Tier-3 Alchemist from the Chu Yun Empire would be somewhat not worth the cost."

"What did you mean by that?" Otto asked coldly.

"Whoosh!"

Xiao Yan snapped his fingers lightly, and flames of blue and red slowly rose.

"A Heavenly Flame?!"

The room fell deathly silent, every gaze fixed on the swaying flame.

"You actually possess a Heavenly Flame?" Otto cried out in shock.

Heavenly Flames were incomparably precious. Even Pill King Gu He had searched bitterly for decades without success.

Yet this young man of around fifteen actually possessed one!

"It's the sixteenth-ranked Fire Cloud Water Flame on the Heavenly Flame Ranking!"

Frank abruptly stood up, excitedly examining the flame in Xiao Yan's hand.

"It really is a Heavenly Flame! Amazing, truly amazing!"

Frank's eyes burned as he stared fixedly at the Heavenly Flame.

After a long while.

He finally raised his gaze. "Kid, I'll give you a chance to make amends. Study under me, become a First Grade Alchemist within three years, and we'll let this matter go!"

For the sake of a Heavenly Flame wielder, Frank was willing to risk offending the alchemists of the Chu Yun Empire.

"Sorry, I can't agree."

Xiao Yan's reply made Frank and Otto's expressions change.

They had just been about to say something.

When Xiao Yan innocently added, "Because I'm already an alchemist."

"Impossible!" Lin Fei could not help crying out.

Even if Xiao Yan possessed a Heavenly Flame, becoming an alchemist at his age was still extremely difficult.

"So this is a Heavenly Flame. What a sight to behold."

As she spoke, a slender woman with silver hair cascading to her waist slowly entered.

Frank's direct disciple.

Xue Mei!

"Teacher, the First Grade Alchemist examination should be starting now, right?"

Frank snapped out of his daze and smacked his forehead.

"Oh no! I forgot about those little ones!"

Frank looked intently at Xiao Yan. "Since you claim to be an alchemist too, take the examination with Xue Mei. As long as you can grasp the basic alchemy techniques, I'll consider you qualified!"

"Favoritism," Lin Fei muttered resentfully.

At Xiao Yan's age, he could not possibly be an alchemist, not even the lowest First Grade Alchemist.

Frank had merely taken a liking to his talent and wanted to recruit Xiao Yan into the guild.

As for the deaths of Liu Weng and the other three...

Compared to a Jia Ma native with boundless potential, someone who might become a fourth- or even fifth-grade alchemist in the future, they seemed insignificant.

Following Frank, Otto, and the others into the room, Xiao Yan found several people already waiting inside.

"They're already this old, and they're still taking the First Grade Alchemist examination?" Xiao Yan asked in surprise as he looked at a white-haired old man.

"What do you think!" Lin Fei's words were barbed. "Now you know how valuable alchemists are, right? As long as you become a First Grade Alchemist, even members of the Royal Family have to show you some respect!"

"And you? Killing one wasn't enough—you went and killed four!"

"Hmph!"

Ignoring Lin Fei, who was enjoying his embarrassment, Xiao Yan stood before a stone platform and picked up the parchment on it.

"A First Grade Power Accumulation Pill?" Xiao Yan immediately lost interest.

"A first-grade pill is indeed rather simple for you," Yao Lao said with a smack of his lips. "Heh heh, the local alchemists are quite devious. Besides the ingredients for the Power Accumulation Pill, they mixed in some other medicinal herbs for you."

"Although these herbs are rather low-grade, I remember a third-grade pill that can be refined using precisely these low-grade ingredients."

As Yao Lao spoke.

The examination.

Had already begun!