All the apprentices stopped what they were doing and streamed in from every corner of the hall toward the northern podium where Sun Hecheng stood.
Pairs of tense, expectant eyes fixed on the exam papers in Sun Hecheng's hands.
"These are the passing papers," Sun Hecheng said, waving the stack in his hand. "This exam was quite difficult, and the pass rate was under ten percent! When I call your name, come up and collect your paper. Those who failed can get theirs afterward."
The apprentices whose names were called suppressed their excitement and went up to collect their papers.
"What did you get?"
"Only sixty-five. Barely passed... What about you?"
"I only got sixty-one..."
Fan Renjie received the paper bearing his name. After confirming the bright red "76" on it once more, he felt a surge of pride. Several people beside him immediately gathered around to congratulate him.
"Amazing, Boss. You scored that high on such a hard test."
Trash students like us can only look up to you.
"Boss's score should be the highest, right?"
Fan Renjie grinned from ear to ear and said repeatedly, "We'll see. Maybe someone scored even higher."
As the number of papers in Sun Hecheng's hands dwindled, the apprentices whose names had not been called grew increasingly nervous and uneasy. In the end, the last paper in Sun Hecheng's hand was handed out, and a wave of sighs rose through the hall.
Fan Renjie glanced at Bai Xiaowen and confirmed that he had not received a paper. He was immensely pleased, but seeing Bai Xiaowen's expression remain calm, he snorted inwardly. Let's see how long you can keep pretending.
Raising his voice, Fan Renjie asked Sun Hecheng onstage, "Master Sun, which three people made it into the interview? Could you tell us?"
Everyone pricked up their ears.
Sun Hecheng pondered for several seconds, then waved his hand. "Not three. There is only one."
"What? Only one person made it into the interview?" The apprentices were all confused.
Sun Hecheng explained, "The gap between the top three scores on this exam was simply too wide. I don't think there is any need to conduct interviews at a three-to-one ratio. The top scorer in the written exam will unquestionably be promoted to assistant, so there is no need to waste any more time."
Fan Renjie's heart pounded with excitement. Having just learned everyone else's scores, he knew that no one had scored higher than him.
Still, he wanted to hear confirmation from Sun Hecheng himself, so he immediately asked, "Master Sun, who came first? What was the score?"
Sun Hecheng glanced at Fan Renjie. Naturally, he could see the anticipation on his face. Nodding with a smile, he said, "Your name is Fan Renjie, correct? You scored seventy-six, which is quite good. Keep working hard, and there will be better opportunities in the future."
"What... does that mean?" Fan Renjie was stunned. He seemed to hear a hint of something ominous in Sun Hecheng's words.
Facing the crowd, Sun Hecheng announced loudly, "The top scorer in the written exam is Bai Xiaowen, with a perfect score of one hundred..." He said with some emotion, "Bai Xiaowen's paper could serve as the standard answer. Even I could not have done any better..."
Sun Hecheng paused, giving everyone time to be shocked and absorb the news, before continuing, "I'll leave Bai Xiaowen's paper on the podium. Compare it with yours and see where you fell short. Bai Xiaowen, come with me."
The hall instantly erupted.
Amid the chaotic chatter, Fan Renjie's face turned pale, his mind seemingly frozen. Only one sentence kept circling through his head: Bai Xiaowen got full marks. Bai Xiaowen got full marks...
"He actually scored twenty-four points more than me..." Fan Renjie muttered.
Bai Xiaowen glanced at him. "You think the gap between us is only twenty-four points?"
"You..." Fan Renjie's eyes widened as he opened his mouth to retort. "Can't you do math?"
"Heh..." Bai Xiaowen smiled and delivered a classic line from an Academic Ace: "Remember this. You scored seventy-six because seventy-six is the limit of your ability. I scored one hundred because the test only had one hundred points!"
Bai Xiaowen stood and followed Sun Hecheng toward the private alchemy room. As the door to the room closed, the apprentices, especially those in Fan Renjie's clique, all felt a sense of loss. One door separated two different classes.
Inside the alchemy room.
"Bai Xiaowen, you've done very well during this period. The manager praised you yesterday, saying that you could settle down, keep your patience, and were someone capable of getting things done." Smiling, Sun Hecheng gestured for Bai Xiaowen to sit.
The manager and higher-ups of the Alchemy Department, such as Sun Hecheng, appeared to pay no attention to the struggles in the main hall, but in truth, they knew everything. Still, this was normal workplace ecology. What newcomer did not suffer some bullying?
The old manager and Sun Hecheng had both thought that, as a hot-blooded high school senior, Bai Xiaowen would be unable to endure it and clash with the older apprentices. The facts proved their worries unnecessary. Bai Xiaowen's performance exceeded their expectations and made them think even more highly of him.
Bai Xiaowen revealed a shy smile, exactly like an inexperienced high school student receiving praise from an elder. Inwardly, he spat in disdain. Acting cute is shameful.
"I have a question," Sun Hecheng said. "You have only been in the Alchemy Department for a week. You should not have seen the ingredients for the final five questions, much less handled them in practice. How did you manage to answer them?"
Bai Xiaowen thought for a moment and did not mention that he had memorized the Pharmacopoeia Compendium within a week. After all, that would be too shocking.
"My father taught me some fundamentals of alchemy when I was young. I taught myself the rest," Bai Xiaowen lied.
Sun Hecheng smiled. "So you come from a family tradition. What is your father's name, and where does he work now?" He thought he had encountered a fellow professional in the alchemy world.
"Bai Yuantang. He has been missing for many years." This time, Bai Xiaowen was telling the truth.
Sun Hecheng was instantly filled with respect. In his mind, he had already formed the image of a strong young man who had suffered great misfortune yet remained self-reliant.
"What a pity..." Sun Hecheng sighed, then returned to the main topic. "No wonder you could identify the Stone Skin Potion and the Gargoyle's Might Potion and see through Fan Jianwei's trick. You had such a solid foundation."
"Thank you for the praise, Master Sun. Does this mean I've passed?" Bai Xiaowen asked. He still felt somewhat uneasy, since his circumstances differed from those of most apprentices.
After thinking it over, Sun Hecheng said, "Your situation is rather special. You are a high school student and still a minor, so you cannot sign a contract. Moreover, you cannot guarantee regular nine-to-five working hours. Frankly, taking you on as an assistant would not be very suitable."
Fortunately, Sun Hecheng did not close the door entirely. He continued, "However, your written exam score was simply too good. An assistant with solid fundamentals and a steady temperament is hard to come by... So I'll give you a trial opportunity."
Bai Xiaowen nodded. "Please explain, Master Sun."
"After you come here each day after school, I will give you the list of potions to be prepared the next day. You will process the ingredients for me in advance," Sun Hecheng said solemnly. "Under normal circumstances, that is six hours' worth of work for an assistant. You must finish it the night before. If you cannot do it, I can only find someone else."
"No problem." Bai Xiaowen agreed without hesitation. If he could not finish within his four-hour part-time shift, then he would simply work overtime into the night. He would not give up this opportunity.
"Also, I will prepare some more complicated potions in the evening, and sometimes I will need you to pass me ingredients. That will take up additional time that you could have spent processing ingredients, so be mentally prepared," Sun Hecheng reminded him.
"Thank you, Master Sun. I will definitely manage it." Bai Xiaowen felt somewhat grateful. Sun Hecheng was accommodating him by adjusting the work schedule.
Potions varied in difficulty. Some simpler potions could be completed by Sun Hecheng alone without an assistant's help. But some potions had extremely strict requirements regarding heat and timing. The Alchemist had to constantly monitor the reaction of the potion liquid, and even a delay of half a second could result in failure!
Preparing complicated potions required even more precision than performing delicate surgery, so naturally an assistant was needed to pass ingredients and tools. Sun Hecheng prepared simple potions during the day and complicated ones at night when Bai Xiaowen was present. He was clearly accommodating Bai Xiaowen's studies.
In response to Bai Xiaowen's gratitude, Sun Hecheng merely smiled and waved his hand. "It's getting late. Go home for today. The work officially begins tomorrow."
When Bai Xiaowen emerged from the alchemy room, the apprentices in the hall did not come over because of pride, but the looks in their eyes had changed considerably. Many of them were convinced now.
They had all seen Bai Xiaowen's perfect paper. There was no way not to be convinced.
Fan Renjie hunched his neck and hid far away. The members of his little clique were also busy with their own tasks, no longer surrounding him like stars around the moon.
With everyone's hearts scattered, the team was hard to lead.
Fan Renjie felt miserable. Afraid that Bai Xiaowen would bring up the bet, he could only hide behind a medicine cabinet and hope Bai Xiaowen would not notice him.
Bai Xiaowen glanced over and walked straight toward him. "Clean all the medicine cabinets on this side."
Looking at the thousands of compartments, Fan Renjie felt dizzy. "You..."
"What? Do you want to clean the medicine cabinets, or do you want to quit?" Bai Xiaowen said blandly. "Get to work, or I'll change my mind."
Everyone stared at the two of them in astonishment.
Bai Xiaowen was a newcomer and merely a high school student, yet he was ordering around Fan Renjie, an older apprentice with a college degree. Even if Bai Xiaowen had been promoted to assistant, it would still be unreasonable.
Given Fan Renjie's temper, the two of them would surely clash. There was going to be a good show.
Who would have thought that Fan Renjie would lower his head, skirt around Bai Xiaowen, and honestly go clean the medicine cabinets?
Everyone's jaws dropped.
News of the bet quietly spread through the crowd, and only then did the apprentices understand.
After Bai Xiaowen left the alchemy room, Sun Hecheng made a phone call.
"Hello, Miss."
"Yes, the exam is over. Bai Xiaowen actually came first."
"That's right, I was surprised too. I've already agreed to take him on as my assistant."
"Mm, Miss, you don't need to thank me. He is talented and hardworking enough. He earned it with his own ability."
Sun Hecheng paused for several seconds, then said with concern, "Miss, when you go to the Spirit Realm to undergo the trial, you must be careful and cautious. Make thorough preparations before setting out. Teacher Zhang and I are both looking forward to your return as an Awakened."
Before you continue