The brighter the Spirit Bead shone, the higher a person's aptitude and talent.
The elusive top-grade alchemist of Jingyun Sect.
It was said that, back then, the Spirit Bead had glowed more than halfway across, and the light had lasted a full thirteen seconds without fading.
It had shaken the Southern Region.
Under the gaze of the crowd, each with their own thoughts,
Lin Cheng placed his palm against the Spirit Bead.
The entire space fell silent for a moment. In the next instant, a blinding light, as brilliant as the blazing sun, burst forth.
A pillar of white light shot into the sky!
The crowd nearly went blind!
They cried out in shock.
Several alchemists in charge of the examination leaped to their feet with a bang, their eyes bulging!
They looked as if they'd seen something utterly unbelievable.
"This..."
The crowd exchanged glances. No one knew who started it, but soon the sound of people swallowing nervously rose and fell.
Someone sighed, "What a monster."
The others all nodded in agreement. With talent like this, he was truly terrifying.
Monster wasn't enough to describe him. This was just damn absurd!
"Bang! Crack!"
Unable to withstand the force, the Spirit Bead lasted less than three seconds before bursting into a shower of light.
"This... I'm not going to have to pay for that, am I..."
Lin Cheng's outstretched hand stiffened for a moment. Then he calmly pulled it back, acting as if nothing had happened.
The scene fell silent for a second.
"Ha ha ha ha!"
Suddenly, several alchemists exchanged glances and burst into hearty laughter, their voices brimming with excitement!
Someone even shouted, "Good! It's a good thing it broke!"
"That's right, good thing it broke!"
"Our Jingyun Sect has produced a prodigy in the Way of Alchemy! These days, our sect has had one joyous occasion after another. It's enough to lift anyone's spirits!"
Someone roared with laughter, full of delight.
The laughter went on for nearly half an incense stick before gradually fading. The Alchemy Hall returned to normal.
But the delighted smiles in the eyes of the three alchemist elders remained plain to see.
"You're Lin Cheng, right? You're outstanding!"
"Truly outstanding!"
Though he was used to keeping a low profile, being praised so enthusiastically all of a sudden felt a little strange. Still, Lin Cheng smiled with satisfaction.
That went perfectly.
"Shouldn't we proceed with the rest of the examination? There's also the question-and-answer session, and..." someone reminded them.
"Ah!"
A cheerful alchemist waved him off and glared at the speaker, then swept his hand through the air. "What's the point of examining him after this? He passes. He passes everything! With talent like that, he was born to be an alchemist!"
"Agreed!"
"Agreed!"
The other two alchemist elders waved their hands as well, immediately giving Lin Cheng an excellent rating and the status of alchemist apprentice.
To become an alchemist, one first had to become an apprentice.
Only once someone could truly refine a low-grade pill would they count as a low-grade alchemist, and so on.
The sect generally determined an alchemist's rank directly.
No one would go out of their way to fake something like this. There was no point.
The lie would be exposed at once, bringing shame and making enemies.
Even the Ten Great Sects had no time to pull stunts that offended people without offering any benefit.
Many people looked at Lin Cheng enviously.
This outer sect disciple had truly ascended to the heavens in a single bound. Given talent like his, his future achievements were unimaginable.
The sect would surely invest heavily in him, treating him like an ancestor.
The crowd had thought that becoming an alchemist apprentice right away was already shocking enough.
But Lin Cheng's next move left everyone even more dumbfounded.
"Elders, I'd like to continue and take the examination to become a low-grade alchemist."
Lin Cheng said it plainly.
"What did you say?"
One of the low-grade alchemist elders couldn't help rubbing his ears, almost thinking he'd misheard.
Lin Cheng rubbed his chin and nodded. "I said, I want to continue and take the examination to become a low-grade alchemist."
At those words, the elder understood him perfectly.
His mouth fell open in disbelief. The others looked much the same.
Gradually, the whole hall erupted in an uproar.
Someone said unhappily, "This person is going too far. He has no sense of his own limits. Even if he really did test as exceptionally talented, he shouldn't treat the elders like this. An examination to become a low-grade alchemist? Hah, how can he even bring himself to say that?"
The crowd wholeheartedly agreed.
Exactly. If Lin Cheng had waited even ten days or half a month before asking to take the low-grade alchemist examination, they wouldn't have reacted this way.
After all, his talent was plain to see.
But he'd asked to take it immediately afterward. Did he think low-grade alchemists grew by the roadside, ready for anyone to become one?
What a joke!
Many people's opinion of Lin Cheng soured.
Their gazes gradually filled with contempt and disdain.
He was just a lucky blockhead. And aside from anything else, wasn't he slapping the elders in the face right in front of everyone?
Two of the elders had spent decades painstakingly studying before finally becoming low-grade alchemists, a title they wore with pride. And now Lin Cheng was declaring on the spot that he wanted to take the examination too?
Did he even know how to refine pills?
Did he know the properties of medicinal ingredients, or how to balance their different qualities?
Anyone could make grand claims.
Sure enough, after hearing Lin Cheng's words, the alchemist elder who'd been smiling moments ago slowly turned cold.
But considering Lin Cheng's talent, and the possibility that he was simply young and inexperienced,
he still held down his anger and put on a smile that didn't reach his eyes.
"Heh, Lin Cheng, having ambition is a good thing. But everything has to be done one step at a time. You have to eat one bite at a time and walk one step at a time... Alchemy is an exceedingly profound discipline. Even the slightest part of it is enough to occupy us for a lifetime..."
After giving him a long lecture, he scolded Lin Cheng until he was thoroughly battered.
In short, it all came down to this:
Young man, don't you know your own level?
Don't make a scene. You're still wet behind the ears when it comes to alchemy. Go home and play in the mud!
Faced with the crowd's utter distrust, Lin Cheng could only suffer in silence.
Everything he'd said was true, straight from the heart, and he knew exactly what he was talking about.
After all, other people relied on talent and hard work to refine pills. He relied on the system and hard work.
They were completely different things.
Applying the standards meant for ordinary people to him clearly didn't make sense.
Lin Cheng mulled over what to say, trying to figure out how to put it more tactfully and produce a result that would make everyone happy.
After all, he really was in a hurry.
His cultivation had been stuck for two days already!
He needed pills, lots of high-grade pills, and before he could get them, he had to raise his alchemy level.
That meant refining pills nonstop.
But the other party was clearly telling him to "wait ten days or half a month." How could Lin Cheng stand for that?
If they hadn't meant well, and if they hadn't been elders of Jingyun Sect—technically his employees—he would've slapped them onto the wall one by one. They'd be stuck there so firmly they couldn't be scraped off.
Lin Cheng opened his mouth, then closed it again.
He felt that, as a dignified Foundation Establishment Venerable, he'd been left speechless. This was simply outrageous!
Just as the two sides were arguing fiercely,
a bright, charming figure walked over at some point. Beaming with delight, she called out loudly, "Oh! Junior Brother, I was wondering why I couldn't find you. Why aren't you staying in the Library Pavilion? What are you doing at the Alchemy Hall? If you're short on pills, just tell your senior sister. I'll give you some!"
The newcomer was none other than Jingyun Sect's current darling.
Her own disciple.
The Young Sect Master, Meng Tangtang.
The moment Lin Cheng saw Meng Tangtang, his eyes lit up. His savior had arrived!
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