Old Lord: Don't Tell Anyone You're My Disciple. It's Embarrassing

"Let the assessment begin!"

Although Xue Mei and Lin Fei cast him startled looks, the assessment began as scheduled.

At Otto's call, flames rose from furnace after furnace. Xiao Yan alone remained calm. He snapped his fingers, and a dark green flame coiled like a serpent inside the black Eight Trigrams Furnace. Its power made even Otto's and Frank's pupils contract.

"Conjuring fire from energy! What a monstrous talent." Otto clenched his fist, his eyes filled with shock.

"Those are Heavenly Flames, aren't they? Where did you find a monster like him?" Frank spat out his tea, spraying Otto in the face. He wiped his mouth, still staring in disbelief.

The entire hall fell silent.

Countless gazes turned toward Xiao Yan, and every face went slack.

The young man fed medicinal ingredients into the furnace with practiced ease, adding several batches in succession. He deftly controlled the different temperatures within it, roasting the ingredients and refining their essences.

The Netherworld Poison Flame contained a deadly toxin, but at his current level of cultivation, he could control it well enough to keep the pills free of poison. Of course, he could also hide poison in them without color or scent, making it nearly impossible for ordinary people to detect. That trick was underhanded beyond belief.

Xue Mei looked at Lin Fei in bewilderment, silently asking for an explanation.

Lin Fei shook her head and swallowed, at a loss for words.

So this was what a real genius looked like?

Bitterness flashed through both women's eyes. Judging by the pill taking shape, it was clearly a third-grade pill. Even their teachers could not be certain of refining one successfully, yet this fellow worked with the composure of a master alchemist capable of refining fifth-grade pills.

And here they were, twenty years old and still taking the One-Rank Alchemist assessment.

The comparison was so embarrassing they wanted to dig a hole with their toes.

"Hum..."

Xiao Yan sat cross-legged, the furnace hovering before him. The dark green fire serpent coiled over it like a green dragon, flicking its tongue at the alchemists watching nearby. Even Xue Mei turned pale with fright and had to turn back to her own pill.

"It has a will of its own, and such power."

The two Fourth-Rank Alchemists exchanged a glance and cried out in unison, "The Netherworld Poison Flame!"

"How can someone so young command fire so perfectly? Even the two of us fall a little short. This boy's teacher must be at least a sixth-rank alchemist." Frank shook his head.

"Pill King Gu He's disciple only recently broke through to the second rank, if I recall. And he's... nineteen, isn't he?" Otto said with a sigh.

The two watched the young man ignite the fire, refine the ingredients, and finally draw a rich medicinal fragrance from the furnace. White mist rose, revealing a pale blue pill that he caught in his palm.

"Please inspect it, you two."

Xiao Yan stepped down and handed them the pill.

They stared at it eagerly. A fully formed Pill Pattern ran across its blue surface. Even they could only hope to produce a third-grade pill with a Pill Pattern when they were at their very best.

In other words, there was hardly any need for an inspection. The three of them were probably about equal in alchemy.

"Your fire-control technique surpasses even ours, young friend. You truly are the next Pill King." Otto sighed and waved for an attendant to register the result.

Black Rock City did have the authority to assess Three-Rank Alchemists.

It was not qualified to assess anyone above that rank, however. For that, a candidate had to visit the Alchemist Association headquarters in the Jia Ma Empire and be assessed by its president in person.

"Focus on your own pills! What are you staring at?" Frank shot Xue Mei an exasperated look. A muffled bang followed, and fire burst from her furnace.

Only after Xiao Yan left did the others slowly recover from their shock and return their attention to the assessment.

Lin Fei and Xue Mei alone exchanged a glance, both feeling as if their confidence had been shattered.

Xiao Yan ran his fingers over his black gauze robe and the three finely embroidered gold stars on it, then nodded.

"Teacher, I'm a Three-Rank Alchemist now!"

Xiao Yan was beside himself with joy.

From within the Storage Ring came Old Lord's warm, indulgent chuckle, the sort one might give a fool. "Very good, very good..."

Xiao Yan rubbed his nose awkwardly.

To him, becoming a Three-Rank Alchemist was quite an achievement. But Old Lord's smile seemed to carry a trace of disdain.

"When you go out, don't tell anyone you're my disciple. I'd be too embarrassed."

Xiao Yan: "..."

Seeing that Old Lord was no longer even trying to hide his disdain, Xiao Yan took a heavy blow. He soon recovered his confidence, though, and asked with anticipation, "Old Lord, if I became a Dou Di and returned to the other world, what sort of standing would I have?"

"What's the point of comparing such a lowly realm? If you reached the realm of a ruler in this world's higher plane, you might be able to trade a few blows with my attendant," Old Lord said flatly.

Xiao Yan: "..."

What a long road ahead.

To hell with the Different Demon. When the time comes, I'll just invite one of my senior fellow disciples over. One strike from his halberd, and there won't be a bone left of it.

Muttering to himself, he caught the burning envy in Otto's and Frank's eyes and sighed inwardly. Sometimes the gap between people was bigger than the gap between a person and a dog.

"You passed the assessment?"

Envy flickered in Xiao Yi Xian's beautiful eyes. She gently brushed her fingers over the three gold stars on Xiao Yan's chest, taking care not to scratch them.

This was a Three-Rank Alchemist.

In the vast Jia Ma Empire, one was a treasure wherever one went. Any faction that saw those three gold stars would treat their wearer with the utmost courtesy. Even high-end auctions that turned ordinary people away would readily admit him.

It was a profession countless people revered, prestigious and enviable.

She could already imagine that if he entered an alchemy competition, young women from across the Jia Ma Empire would throw themselves at him.

Xiao Xun'er's words came back to her.

"Why don't we form an alliance..."

"An alliance..." Xiao Yi Xian murmured.

"What are you thinking about? Let's go!" Xiao Yan raised an eyebrow at the young woman bent over his chest, staring blankly at the three gold stars.

"Oh, right... Should I call Blue Treasure?" Xiao Yi Xian came back to herself. Her cheeks reddened slightly, and she stumbled over her words. She knew perfectly well what an alliance would mean.

Perhaps this fellow would even want her and Xun'er together when the time came.

Her thoughts wandered in an indecent direction before she could stop them.

"No need. We'll take a Thick-winged Bird. Black Rock City has a transit station." Xiao Yan gave her a curious glance, wondering what was on her mind. He wrapped an arm around her slender waist, spread the pale golden wings on his back, and flew toward the city center.

"W-where would you like to go?"

The attendant selling tickets stammered.

Of course she was nervous. Who wouldn't be, faced with a Three-Rank Alchemist at the Dou Wang level? In Black Rock City, even a One-Rank Alchemist was far beyond someone of her standing to offend.

"Anywhere in the eastern Empire, near the Tagor Desert." Xiao Yan casually tossed her a few gold coins.

"Alchemists travel free on every route within the Empire..." The attendant glanced enviously at Xiao Yi Xian, who lay in Xiao Yan's arms with his hand around her soft waist and a light veil hiding her face.

To be favored by someone so important... What a lucky woman.

She quickly prepared a travel pass and handed it to Xiao Yan with both hands.

Then she watched the two of them leave.