Examination

The Five Elements Mountain Range, Morning Sun Peak, Cauldron Hall.

The Five Elements Sect's headquarters lay in the Five Elements Mountain Range, which stretched for over a thousand miles. It was home to countless rare treasures and exotic beasts, making it the finest cultivation grounds in Luo Cloud Prefecture.

Morning Sun Peak was one of the Five Elements Sect's most important peaks. Cauldron Hall, one of the sect's most important halls, was located there.

Anyone who wanted to pass the Alchemy Apprentice examination and become an Official Disciple had to go to Cauldron Hall.

Bamboo Forest Valley was dozens of miles from Cauldron Hall. Even at Qin Dongcheng's speed, the journey took over half an hour before he finally arrived.

After climbing Morning Sun Peak, he passed through a landscape of clear streams and verdant mountains, with layer upon layer of peaks. Its beauty was in no way inferior to the Five Great Mountains of his previous life—in fact, it was even more magnificent.

While he was here, he could clearly feel his mind growing sharper, as though he had been completely renewed. It truly was a place blessed with nature's grace.

If he could become an Inner Sect Disciple or even a True Inheritance Disciple in the future, he would be able to claim a cave dwelling here, and his cultivation would surely progress much faster.

After asking around, he arrived at the Examination Hall, where examinations were held. In addition to examinations for Official Disciples, there were also examinations for Official Alchemists, and even higher-level Intermediate Alchemists, Advanced Alchemists, and even top-tier Alchemists.

As the only overlord-level power in Luo Cloud Prefecture, the Five Elements Sect ruled over the entire prefecture. Naturally, it had top-tier Alchemists, whose status and standing were so high they were scarcely inferior to the sect master.

When he arrived at the Examination Hall, a Chore Disciple quickly came up to him. "Senior Brother, can I help you?"

Anyone who dared come to the Examination Hall was generally a disciple seeking to take an examination. They couldn't afford to offend even an Alchemy Apprentice.

Qin Dongcheng smiled. "I'd like to take the Official Disciple examination. Where should I go?"

"Please follow me, Senior Brother." The honest-looking Chore Disciple promptly led Qin Dongcheng deeper into the Examination Hall. Dozens of Alchemy Apprentices were already waiting there, all hoping to pass the alchemy examination and become Official Disciples.

As expected of Luo Cloud Prefecture's overlord-level power. If this many Alchemy Apprentices came every day hoping to pass the examination and become Official Disciples, it was easy to imagine how many Alchemy Apprentices Cauldron Hall had accumulated over time.

What's more, there were sometimes examinations for Low-level Alchemists, Intermediate Alchemists, and others, further adding to the prestige of the Examination Hall.

After taking his place among them, someone soon asked, "Are you here to take the Official Disciple examination too, brother?"

Qin Dongcheng nodded. The other man looked surprised. "You don't look even twenty yet, but you're already an Alchemy Apprentice? You must be the youngest one here."

Qin Dongcheng looked around. Sure enough, the surrounding Chore Disciples all looked to be over twenty, and some were already in their fifties or sixties. Compared to them, he really was the youngest.

Once they noticed this, the Chore Disciples around him grew friendlier. If nothing happened to such a young Alchemy Apprentice, there was a good chance he would become an Official Alchemist someday.

Many of them, by contrast, had probably reached the end of the road as Alchemy Apprentices. Naturally, they thought more highly of Qin Dongcheng.

Qin Dongcheng realized he was drawing a little too much attention.

If not for the threat of demons, he wouldn't have taken the examination so early. But for the sake of passing safely, a little attention was nothing to worry about.

Compared to Alchemy Apprentices raised by some great families and powerful forces, he wasn't that young.

After they had waited for about half an hour, a middle-aged Alchemist came out and led them to the Alchemy Room used for examinations. Dozens of Alchemy Furnaces stood there, all already burning.

"Each of you will have a separate room with a table, chairs, and an Alchemy Furnace. The examination has two parts: a written test and alchemy. While the earthfire is still heating up, finish the papers on your desks first. After that, you'll take the alchemy examination."

"You may make no more than three mistakes on the written test, and you may fail no more than four times for each pill you make. Only then will you pass."

After having everyone take their seats, the middle-aged Alchemist quickly explained the rules. Anyone who passed would become an Official Disciple of the Five Elements Sect.

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone hurried to look over the papers in front of them and began answering the questions.

Qin Dongcheng gave them a quick look and saw that they weren't difficult. Some asked about the properties of medicinal ingredients, some about alchemy techniques, and others about methods of healing the sick and saving lives... Proper Alchemy Apprentices and Alchemists needed to master not only the cultivation and harvesting of medicinal ingredients and the refinement of pills, but also the art of healing the sick and saving lives.

Only after mastering all three could one be considered a qualified Alchemist.

The Five Elements Sect followed the orthodox path of alchemy. Unlike many places that pursued nothing but refining pills and making medicine, paying little attention to other fields, some Advanced Alchemists elsewhere couldn't even heal the sick and save lives.

That wouldn't do in the Five Elements Sect. Someone who only knew how to refine pills and make medicine might not pass the relevant examinations.

That was also why Alchemists certified by the Five Elements Sect's Cauldron Hall generally enjoyed higher status, far exceeding that of Alchemists certified by other powers.

As an Official Alchemist, Qin Dongcheng was qualified in all these areas—in fact, he was even more capable than some Official Alchemists.

Even Alchemy Apprentices could pass this test, let alone him. He finished it in the time it took to drink a cup of tea.

To avoid an overly impressive score, he deliberately got one question wrong instead of earning full marks.

Next came the pill-refining portion. Qin Dongcheng chose the Blood-Replenishing Pill and the Golden Wound Pill. After cultivating for the past several days, he had raised his success rate for the Blood-Replenishing Pill to around fifty percent. In other words, he succeeded once for every two attempts.

He could also make at least three Blood-Replenishing Pills at a time, making him far more efficient than before. One round of his refining was now worth several rounds for other Alchemists.

As for the Golden Wound Pill, his success rate had also reached around forty percent. He could succeed at least four times out of ten attempts, which meant he was making a profit—and a handsome one at that.

For Qin Dongcheng, succeeding about once every four attempts was no challenge. But for most Alchemy Apprentices, that was already a high success rate. Some of the apprentices nearby were whispering among themselves.

"Wasn't it enough to succeed once in five attempts before? Why has it gone up to once in four now? That's one fewer failure."

"I heard too many people have been coming to Cauldron Hall for examinations lately, so they raised the difficulty. Cauldron Hall is one of the most important halls in the Five Elements Sect, after all. It's only natural they'd make things harder."

"They changed the rules a few days ago. It's a lot harder now to pass by refining pills and making medicine. You must not have done your homework in advance."