Second-Rank Assessment

"Teacher...this!"

"That's enough, Lin Fei. Stop fooling around!"

Otto was getting a headache. Lin Fei had been acting spoiled for ages, and the Alchemist robe she was wearing was a perfect example.

Ordinary people had to pass the assessment before they could receive an Alchemist robe. Lin Fei, however, had clung to him until he gave her one first, and she strutted around in it every day.

Seeing that she couldn't get her way by acting spoiled, Lin Fei let go of Otto's arm and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Xiao Lei, I bet you definitely won't pass the assessment!"

Xiao Lei gave a hollow laugh. Kids these days! Why was she making a bet? And she hadn't even offered a stake...

"If you win, I'll introduce you to a beauty! She said that if there's any man in Black Rock City with better Alchemist talent than her, she'll keep him company..."

As she said this, Lin Fei couldn't help thinking she really was a genius. If Xiao Lei failed, she could make fun of him. If he passed, she could watch Xue Mei make a fool of herself.

But Xiao Lei merely glanced at her.

"If you want to bet, then put yourself up as the stake. What kind of bet uses someone else as the prize?"

"As for that 'beauty' you mentioned, keep her for yourself. I'm not interested!"

After their bickering, Otto led Xiao Lei to a room for refining pills.

"The Second-Rank Alchemist assessment requires Frank and me to come up with a test. We'll prepare the medicinal ingredients afterward. Wait here for a while."

Perfect!

Lin Fei thought this was her chance to go find Xue Mei.

"No problem. Please go ahead, senior."

Xiao Lei was counting on having a good talk about life and ideals with Otto after the assessment, so naturally, he was on his best behavior.

Otto and Lin Fei left one after the other, leaving Xiao Lei to wait alone in the pill-refining room.

After a long while, Otto finally returned with Frank, who looked half-asleep.

"Frank and I have discussed it. Your assessment will be to refine a Qi Recovery Pill. There are three sets of ingredients here. You'll pass as long as you successfully make one."

What a coincidence!

Xiao Lei had just given Otto a Qi Recovery Pill and said he'd made it himself, and now Otto had set this as the test. If he couldn't make one, wouldn't that prove he'd been lying before?

Who would've thought? Otto looked like a thick-browed, wide-eyed old man, but he was so devious!

Fortunately, Xiao Lei had the skills to back himself up. He wasn't afraid of the test!

"Come on, Xue Mei, your future...is right in here!"

Xiao Lei hadn't even begun the assessment when Lin Fei's chatter rang out from outside.

Xue Mei followed behind Lin Fei, looking reluctant, but in the end, curiosity got the better of her.

After all, becoming a Second-Rank Alchemist at sixteen was downright absurd. Gu He hadn't even become a First-Rank Alchemist at that age.

Hearing Lin Fei's voice, Otto knew trouble was brewing again. He rubbed his eyes and stepped outside.

"Lin Fei, who let you come here? No one's allowed to disturb an Alchemist assessment. Go!"

"Teacher..."

"Go!" Seeing that Lin Fei was about to use her spoiled-girl act again, Otto could only cut her off decisively. But he didn't reproach Xue Mei, who was not only Frank's disciple but also the city lord's daughter.

"Then can we wait outside?"

"Fine, but don't make a sound and disturb the assessment." Unable to get Lin Fei to leave, Otto could only settle for that.

Xiao Lei gave the medicinal ingredients a brief look, then placed both hands on the pill cauldron and began refining.

Dou Qi surged from him, and Otto immediately sensed Xiao Lei's cultivation.

"Da Dou Shi! A sixteen-year-old Da Dou Shi?"

If he hadn't seen it happen right before his eyes, Otto would have thought it was absurd.

The Misty Cloud Sect's young sect master, Nalan Yanran, was the same age. Otto had guessed she was at most a low-level Dou Shi, and now a sixteen-year-old Da Dou Shi had suddenly appeared.

"Perhaps he really is one!"

The last trace of doubt in Otto's mind about Xiao Lei's Alchemist skills vanished.

Relying on his six-star Da Dou Shi cultivation, Xiao Lei quickly finished refining all the medicinal ingredients.

He worked without the slightest hesitation or wasted motion. Otto couldn't help exclaiming that Xiao Lei couldn't have only recently broken through to Second-Rank, but must have been at that level for quite some time.

"This...this is almost impossible to imagine! A sixteen-year-old Second-Rank Alchemist who broke through long ago... It seems the Black Rock City Alchemist Guild is destined to make a huge splash in the Jia Ma Empire!"

Thinking that the youngest Second-Rank Alchemist came from his own guild, Otto couldn't help feeling smug.

"After this assessment, I must find a way to make him an honorary elder of the guild!"

If Xiao Lei knew what Otto was thinking, he would have gloated: The fish has taken the bait!

As long as Otto wanted to make Xiao Lei an honorary elder, Xiao Lei could work things out and copy Otto's cultivation and Alchemist skills.

The medicinal liquid in Xiao Lei's pill cauldron quickly fused together, forming several pill embryos.

The difficult part of refining a Qi Recovery Pill lay right here. A single batch produced several pills at once, which put the Alchemist's soul power to a serious test.

Fortunately, Guni was an experienced Second-Rank Alchemist. With his Alchemist skills and soul power copied, Xiao Lei found this assessment effortless.

"Condense!"

He gave a quiet shout, and the pills in the cauldron quickly took shape. A moment later, light burst forth.

Clang!

Xiao Lei lifted the lid of the pill cauldron, took out all the Qi Recovery Pills, and handed them to Otto and Frank.

"Please inspect the pills, masters!"

Otto and Frank each picked up a pill and examined it closely.

"Bright color, rich fragrance, smooth and round shape. These are extremely high quality!"

"Brother Xiao Lei, you've passed the assessment. Just wait a little, and the guild will bring you an Alchemist Badge and robe!"

After seeing Xiao Lei refine a Second-Rank pill with his own eyes, Otto became noticeably more obsequious toward him.

"May I ask who your master is, young brother? Perhaps I know them!"

Generally speaking, Alchemists had teachers. Seeing Xiao Lei go straight for the Second-Rank assessment, Otto assumed he had no teacher to guide him.

So Otto kept his cards close. What if Xiao Lei really didn't have a teacher? If he took on such a genius as a disciple, he'd be making a killing!

"I have no master. I taught myself after receiving guidance and knowledge from an Alchemist senior. That senior left behind a complete body of Alchemist knowledge, which allowed me to barely teach myself."

Wonderful! Otto was nearly bursting with excitement.

Now that was fate!

A genius who'd taught himself to become a Second-Rank Alchemist had practically been delivered to his doorstep. If he didn't take him as a disciple, he'd be committing a crime!

"Would you be willing to take me as your master, young brother? I could teach you the Alchemist skills of the Third and Fourth Ranks!"

Otto had even forgotten about making Xiao Lei an honorary elder. Now, all he wanted was to become Xiao Lei's teacher!

"Um, I haven't seen you demonstrate your Alchemist skills. How can I become your disciple just like that?"

Otto grew anxious at this. Didn't his Alchemist Badge prove his ability?

"If you can refine a Fourth-Rank pill in front of me, I'll become your disciple!"

"Ah!"

Hearing this, Otto was delighted. He thought Xiao Lei simply felt he shouldn't accept a master lightly but still wanted to become his disciple, so he had made a simple request.

Otto had been a Fourth-Rank Alchemist for a long time. It was only his limited Dou Qi cultivation that had kept him from making much progress.

"Agreed!"

Watching Otto laugh heartily, Xiao Lei couldn't help feeling a little sorry for him. This guy had no idea what he was about to go through!