Chapter 896 Level Up Seven TimesOnce the Guildmaster and the elders arrived, the Alchemy Guild Exam was finally going to start.
The Alchemy Guild Exam always started from the lowest level examinees. Chen Fan had never participated in such an exam, and therefore, his exam started right away. He stepped forward after an examiner called out his name.
Chen Fan’s fellow examinees were mostly young children. It was their first time being under so much attention, so their face flushed red and sweat hung on their foreheads, forming a stark contrast with Chen Fan’s nonchalance.
Since most of the Alchemists had already passed level one exams before, they folded their arms across their chests and regarded the young examinees with interest. They immediately noticed Chen Fan.
“Hey look! How dumb does he have to be to take the level one exam at his age?” someone suddenly said.
The crowd looked over and saw Chen Fan standing out among a group of children. The sight made them chuckle. Some female alchemists who had been sizing up Chen Fan surreptitiously also felt disappointed.
“Such persistence! Even though he knew he lacked the talent, he won’t give up,” a level five Alchemist jested.
The commotion caught the high level alchemists’ attention. The most talented among the crowd were easily recognizable since they had formed a small clique, separating themselves from the rest.
The final disciple of Grand Master Xuanhe, Jiang Han shook his head and said with a smirk, “I never expected to see anything so comical. Who would take the level one exam at his age? Brother Situ, we were only seven when we took our first test, weren’t we?”
Situ Cheng, the Young Elixir Lord said coldly, “He’s a moron. The first level three alchemists are all apprentices. It would take someone of average talent at most three years to complete the apprenticeship. If he couldn’t do that at his age, what makes him think he could be an alchemist? He should do something else with his time.”
His black robe was decorated with celestial patterns, its intricacy contrasting with the exquisite features of his face. He looked haughty and aloof, and his back was straight and unbending like the spine of a divine sword.
Beside him stood Wu Qinyan who carried an airy quality about her. She said lightly, “Brother Situ is a rare talent. It’s not fair to compare with him.
“His persistence and determination are remarkable, making him the perfect candidate for cultivation. The gods are fair, maybe one day he would become much more powerful than us, don’t you think?”
Situ Cheng grinned and kept his silence.
The rest of the group shook their heads.
The level one exam was very simple. The guild would offer each examinee a cauldron and three portions of herbs to make an Essence Gathering Pill. Examinees would pass the exam if they could successfully create an Essence Gathering Pill.
The Essence Gathering Pill was one of the most basic Elixirs.
It was so common that most average cultivators could make it themselves. It wasn’t too difficult to pass the first three levels, and the real challenge wouldn’t begin until level four. The alchemists’ skills would only start to shine until they reached level nine. As for Spirit Pills, Treasure Pills and Heavenly Pills, creating them was a daunting task even for Perfected Cultivators.
Chen Fan looked around and saw a couple of kids had started the fire to heat up the cauldron.
Chen Fan copied the kids, but his clumsy movements had made the examiners giggle.
Some onlookers jested, “Hey you! Who are you? Are you a caveman from the Savage Wastes? If you’re a cultivator, you must have brewed elixirs at least once in your life. You look like a total novice!”
Chen Fan’s performance shattered many people’s expectations. They had expected him to be an Alchemy Master living in solitude who possessed incredible skill.
Wu Qinyan and the other elites had long since lost their interest in Chen Fan.
A level one alchemist was less than an insect to them.
“Boom!”
Chen Fan finally got the fire started.
The kids lacked true fire and spirit flames, so they could only rely on the Earth fire. Luckly, the guild had provided Earth fire for them and they only needed to control it.
“I didn’t expect to find so much trouble while making Elixirs in Tianhuang.”
Chen Fan shook his head.
Judging by what he had seen, he wagered that the Alchemy methods on Planet Tianhuang were centuries behind Chen Fan’s techniques. No wonder he could defeat three Grand Alchemists with only a fraction of his power.
Once the fire was started, Chen Fan was able to sit down and take a break. He glanced around him and noticed a young girl was still struggling to get the fire going.
All the examinees around her had started the brewing process, while she was still stuck at the first step. Seized by a pang of distress, she was on the verge of tearing up.
Chen Fan was amused by her frustration. He sent her a message to her using Divine Will.
“When you make the third Dharma Seal, lift your thumb just a little bit more…”
“Huh?”
The voice caught her by surprise. She looked at Chen Fan in shock and then quickly lowered her head; it was forbidden to communicate using Divine Will during exams. If the examiner found out, both of them would be banned from the guild for the rest of their lives.
However, none of the examiners had expected a powerful cultivator would be among the examinees of a level one test.
Following Chen Fan’s instructions, the girl finally got the fire started. She gave Chen Fan an appreciative look.
Once the exam was over, the examiner evaluated Chen Fan’s Essence Gathering Pill. They reluctantly let Chen Fan pass after giving him a very low mark.
Chen Fan had officially become a level one Alchemist.
When he started the level two exam, he met the girl again. They started chatting right away. Her name was Qiao Qiao and she was from Donyang City. She went there with her grandpa, a renowned Alchemy Master in Donyang City.
A lot of people were surprised that Chen Fan had passed the level one test, but more of them thought it wasn’t a big deal.
The first three levels of the Alchemy test were simple. The examinees only needed to brew the most basic elixirs such as the Essence Gathering Pill and the Hundred Herb Pill. Only those who reached level four and above were recognized as real alchemists.
A scrawny level four alchemist said derisively, “Even an early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator could pass the test. I bet that he won’t make it past level three.”
People around him nodded in agreement.
Chen Fan created three Essence Gathering Pills during his level two test, and he passed the test with a mediocre mark.
The level three test increased exponentially in terms of difficulty. It required the examinees to create an entire batch of Essence Gathering Pills, but only provided enough material to create one pill. Chen Fan passed the test nonetheless with a much higher grade.
Chen Fan passing the level three test shocked many people.
Despite the increase in difficulty, his grade had gotten better. Could he really be a skillful alchemist pretending to be someone else?
“I bet he wouldn’t pass level four,” a tall and skinny alchemist shouted. He put down five hundred spirit stones as pledge, but no one took up the challenge. Most people thought he was right. After a while, only a couple of opportunists joined the bet with him.
Qiao Qiao batted her lashes at Chen Fan and asked in a kittenish voice, “I really want to thank you. Will you keep going?”
Chen Fan smiled and said, “Of course.”
“Very well then, I will cheer for you.” The girl’s face bloomed.
The mood during the level four exam was much heavier than the previous exams. Most examinees were between fifteen to sixteen. They had accumulated more experience and were also more serious about what they did.
Once they reached level four, they would be finally recognized as real alchemists.
This time, in order to pass the exam, they would have to make an inferior-grade Spirit Pill called Aether Marrow Pill.
It was a well known Body Tempering Pill and was used mainly for improving physiques and strengthening bones. It was a must have potion for any Body Tempering sects.
“Start the fire, place the herbs…”
“Nine Spirit herbs, Fruit of Ethereal Ginseng, hundred-year-old honey…”
Chen Fan threw the perfect amount of herbs into the cauldron as if he had done it many times before. He was getting the hang of it after practicing the Tianhuang’s Elixir Brewing method in previous exams.
The fundamentals of Alchemy remained the same for skilled alchemists such as Chen Fan.
Once he had gotten used to the basic techniques, making Essence Gathering Pills or Heavenly Pills were pretty much the same thing for him. Soon, a strange scene was played out on the platform.
While the other examinees struggled to contain their stress, Chen Fan acted with great levity.
His performance even caught the attention of the Alchemy Guild leaders.
In the end, the examiner announced that Chen Fan had created a perfect Aether Marrow Pill.
“It’s impossible!”
The tall and scrawny Alchemist was floored.
“You lose. Pay up,” people around him urged.
After he had let go of three thousand Spirit Stones, he gritted his teeth and said while he was seething, “I don’t think he’ll pass level five. I will personally stop him from doing so!”
To pass the level five exam, Chen Fan needed to create a batch of Aether Marrow Pills in half an hour.
Chen Fan finished the task in less than fifteen minutes and the examiners were very impressed by the quality.
The development had thoroughly angered the tall scrawny alchemist, making him fail the exam. As he walked off the platform in disappointment, Chen Fan was ready to take part in the level six exam. He passed it with a high mark.
When he passed level seven, the crowd boiled over. The guild master and the elders turned to look at Chen Fan. Qiao Qiao had been cheering for Chen Fan all the while, and his success had elated her, turning her face red with joy.
Everyone watched in shock, confusion and disbelief as Chen Fan ambled relaxedly toward the level seven exam, hair flowing against wind as lightly as his mood.
His performance had just begun.