A ranking system? Chen Changan was not surprised by that.
"What sort of ranks?"
"Alchemists are divided into nine ranks: gray, white, green, blue, yellow, red, purple, and black!"
"Hm? Isn't that only eight?"
"That's right, eight, because the final rank belongs to just one person: the leader of the Alchemist Alliance."
"An alchemist's rank is determined not by their strength, but by their skill in alchemy. Gray robe is the lowest, and black robe is the highest. Those are the Alchemist Alliance's ranks."
"So there are supposedly nine ranks, but really only eight, because the last belongs to just one person? An ordinary alchemist in the Alchemist Alliance could spend their whole life trying and never reach that height?"
"Not necessarily. If your skill in alchemy surpasses the Alliance Leader's, he will step down in favor of someone more capable."
"It's just that no one has reached that level in all these years, so the Alliance Leader has had no choice but to remain in that position."
"As for the three of us, we're only white-robed alchemists."
"We needed to keep a low profile on this trip, so we didn't wear our white robes."
"I see."
This was only an Alchemist Alliance Branch, after all, so its alchemists' abilities were likely limited. Although these three were white-robed alchemists, their standing within the branch was probably above average.
Besides, even among white-robed alchemists, their skill in alchemy was likely uneven.
"I wonder what rank my current skill in alchemy would qualify me for?" Chen Changan asked with a smile.
"Well... you have to pass an assessment to receive a rank, but from what we've seen, white robe would be easy for you."
"As for the next rank, green robe, we can't say for certain, but it shouldn't be much of