Chapter 63 The First Test
Chapter 63 The First Test
Chapter 63: Chapter 63 The First Test
The moment the elderly host announced the beginning of the first stage, the entire gathering became silent.
Hundreds of young alchemists stood before their respective platforms.
In front of each participant was a jade table.
On the table was a sheet of special paper and a spiritual brush.
Above the central platform floated a massive golden screen.
One hundred questions appeared across it.
The questions covered almost every aspect of basic and intermediate alchemy.
Spiritual herb identification.
Medicinal properties.
Pill formulas.
Fire control.
Ingredient compatibility.
Refinement temperatures.
Alchemy techniques.
Even some questions involving pill failures and how to correct them.
The elderly host looked across the participants.
"You have one hour."
"The top 100 participants will advance to the second stage."
"Anyone who fails to complete the examination within the allotted time will be eliminated."
The crowd immediately became serious.
"Begin!"
---
The participants immediately started writing.
The sound of spiritual brushes moving across paper quickly filled the gathering grounds.
Jin Ling’er lowered her head.
Her expression was confident.
She had studied under her grandfather, Jin Tianming, since she was young.
She had memorized countless pill formulas.
She knew thousands of spiritual herbs.
She could identify most common medicinal combinations almost instantly.
This first stage wasn’t difficult for her.
She quickly answered the first few questions.
This year’s questions aren’t particularly difficult.
A faint smile appeared on her face.
She continued writing.
---
Not far away—
Lin Ruyan sat calmly.
She looked at the first question.
Then wrote the answer.
The second.
She answered it.
The third.
She answered it.
Her movements were neither fast nor slow.
She simply wrote.
Question after question.
There was no hesitation.
No confusion.
No need to think for long.
Lin Ruyan had spent countless hours studying alchemy.
She had learned from Lin Yaochen.
She had learned from the resources inside the Lin Clan.
And most importantly—
She had received an enormous amount of alchemy knowledge from the Ancestor.
The knowledge Lin Hao had bestowed upon her wasn’t limited to simple pill formulas.
It contained countless ancient pill recipes, spiritual herb properties, refinement techniques, fire-control methods, pill theories, and profound understandings of the Dao of Alchemy.
Some of the knowledge was far beyond what existed in the current Mortal World.
Because of that knowledge—
Lin Ruyan’s understanding of alchemy had already reached a level that ordinary Rank 5 Pill Masters couldn’t imagine.
These questions were simply too easy.
---
Several rows away—
Ye Qingxuan was also answering confidently.
She was one of the strongest young alchemists participating.
A Rank 4 Pill Master at nineteen.
Her family had invested enormous resources into her cultivation.
She carefully considered every question before writing.
Beside her, Luo Yichen was doing the same.
Su Minghao’s expression was serious.
Zhao Lingfeng remained completely calm.
Shen Yao was particularly focused whenever spiritual herbs were mentioned.
Bai Chen carefully answered the questions related to flame control.
Ji Wuchen moved steadily through the examination.
The competition was filled with genuine talents.
But none of them knew what was happening at Lin Ruyan’s platform.
---
Thirty minutes passed.
Most participants were still answering questions.
Some had already begun sweating.
The difficulty had increased significantly.
Question 67.
A rare spiritual herb was presented.
The question asked for its medicinal properties, compatible ingredients, refinement temperature, and three pills that could be refined from it.
Several participants frowned.
"What kind of question is this?"
"How are we supposed to remember all of that?"
Even some Rank 4 Pill Masters became cautious.
Jin Ling’er stared at the question.
Her eyebrows tightened.
She knew the spiritual herb.
But the question required much more than simple identification.
She carefully began writing.
---
At the judges’ platform—
Five figures watched the participants.
Jin Tianming sat calmly.
Beside him was the President of the Canglan Continent Pill Association, Shen Haotian.
On the other side sat the Vice President, Qin Yuchen.
Feng Taishan and Bai Ruoxue sat beside them.
Shen Haotian looked at the massive screen.
"Most of the participants are progressing normally."
Qin Yuchen nodded.
"The difficulty of the first stage is appropriate."
Feng Taishan smiled.
"Our Jade Medicine Sect’s disciples are performing well."
Jin Tianming remained silent.
His gaze moved across the participants.
Then—
His eyes stopped.
"Wait."
The other judges looked at him.
Jin Tianming pointed toward one of the platforms.
"That girl."
Shen Haotian followed his gaze.
"Lin Ruyan?"
Jin Tianming nodded.
"Yes."
Qin Yuchen looked at the time.
"Only thirty minutes have passed."
Bai Ruoxue narrowed her eyes.
"What is she doing?"
Nobody answered.
They simply watched.
---
Lin Ruyan had already reached the final question.
She looked at it.
Her eyes moved across the information.
Then she calmly wrote the answer.
She placed the spiritual brush down.
Done.
She looked toward the time.
Thirty-one minutes remained.
Lin Ruyan quietly sat there.
She wasn’t trying to attract attention.
She simply had nothing else to do.
---
The judges stared.
Shen Haotian’s expression became slightly serious.
"She’s finished?"
Qin Yuchen shook his head.
"Impossible."
Feng Taishan frowned.
"She may have given up."
Bai Ruoxue looked carefully at the girl.
"I don’t think so."
Jin Tianming remained silent.
His eyes were fixed on Lin Ruyan.
He had seen countless young alchemists.
He had taught Jin Ling’er personally.
He knew exactly what it looked like when someone pretended to be confident.
Lin Ruyan wasn’t pretending.
She looked completely relaxed.
There wasn’t even a trace of anxiety on her face.
Jin Tianming’s eyes narrowed.
Interesting.
---
Another ten minutes passed.
More participants began finishing.
Ye Qingxuan placed down her brush.
She quietly exhaled.
She had completed all one hundred questions.
Luo Yichen finished shortly afterward.
Then Zhao Lingfeng.
Then Bai Chen.
One after another, the stronger participants began completing their examinations.
But most were still using almost the entire allotted hour.
Jin Ling’er was still writing.
She had reached the final few questions.
Her forehead had begun to sweat.
She knew the answers.
But some of the questions required careful consideration.
Then—
She finally finished.
She placed the brush down.
She took a deep breath.
Done.
She looked toward the clock.
Only fifteen minutes remained.
Jin Ling’er smiled.
She was satisfied.
Then she noticed something.
Lin Ruyan was still sitting calmly.
Jin Ling’er’s expression changed.
She finished before me?
She clenched her fingers.
"Impossible."
---
The final bell finally rang.
DING!
The elderly host raised his hand.
"Time is up!"
All participants immediately stopped writing.
The first stage had officially ended.
The papers floated into the air.
Hundreds of sheets moved toward the judging platform.
Shen Haotian raised his hand.
A powerful spiritual force spread across the entire venue.
The papers immediately arranged themselves according to the participants’ names.
Qin Yuchen looked toward the results.
"We’ll begin calculating the scores."
The crowd became restless.
Everyone waited.
The rankings would determine who entered the second stage.
---
Several minutes passed.
Then—
The massive golden screen suddenly lit up.
A ranking appeared.
First Stage Rankings
1. Lin Ruyan — 100 points
The entire gathering became silent.
Nobody spoke.
Shen Haotian stared at the screen.
Qin Yuchen’s eyes widened.
Bai Ruoxue’s expression changed.
Feng Taishan froze.
Even Jin Tianming’s calm expression finally changed.
"100?"
Someone in the crowd whispered.
"She got everything correct?"
Another cultivator stared at the screen.
"All one hundred questions?"
"That’s impossible."
"She’s only sixteen!"
The crowd erupted.
---
The second name appeared.
2. Jin Ling’er — 94 points
Jin Ling’er’s expression immediately became ugly.
She stared at the screen.
Her hands slowly tightened.
94.
She had thought she had performed exceptionally well.
She had expected to be among the best.
Yet—
She had been defeated by a sixteen-year-old girl.
And not by one or two points.
Lin Ruyan had gotten a perfect score.
Jin Ling’er couldn’t accept it.
"How..."
Her voice trembled.
"How did she answer everything?"
---
The third name appeared.
3. Ye Qingxuan — 92 points
Then:
4. Luo Yichen — 90 points
5. Zhao Lingfeng — 89 points
6. Su Minghao — 87 points
7. Ji Wuchen — 86 points
The rankings continued downward.
The crowd immediately began discussing them.
"Ye Qingxuan did well."
"Luo Yichen too."
"Zhao Lingfeng is impressive."
"But none of them can compare to Lin Ruyan."
"A perfect score..."
"She’s a monster."
---
At the judges’ platform—
Shen Haotian looked toward Lin Ruyan.
His expression had become extremely serious.
"A sixteen-year-old Rank 5 Pill Master..."
"And she obtained a perfect score."
Qin Yuchen slowly nodded.
"Her theoretical knowledge is extraordinary."
Feng Taishan frowned.
"Could she have memorized the answers beforehand?"
Bai Ruoxue shook her head.
"Impossible."
Feng Taishan looked toward her.
"Why?"
Bai Ruoxue calmly answered:
"Several of those questions were specially created for this gathering."
"They weren’t included in any publicly available alchemy texts."
Feng Taishan’s expression changed.
Shen Haotian looked toward Lin Ruyan again.
His eyes became increasingly serious.
"Then her understanding of alchemy..."
He didn’t finish.
Because even he found the conclusion difficult to believe.
---
Jin Tianming remained silent.
He stared at Lin Ruyan.
For the first time—
His expression became complicated.
He had originally believed Jin Ling’er was one of the greatest young alchemy talents of her generation.
Now another girl had appeared.
Sixteen years old.
Rank 5 Pill Master.
Perfect score.
And from a clan he had never heard of.
Jin Tianming slowly narrowed his eyes.
Lin Clan...
Where did this family come from?
---
Below the judging platform—
Lin Xin immediately ran toward Lin Ruyan.
"Ruyan!"
Lin Ruyan turned.
Lin Xin’s face was full of excitement.
"100 points!"
Lin Wan’er followed closely behind.
"You’re amazing!"
Lin Shiyu smiled.
"I told you your time to shine would come."
Lin Ruyan laughed softly.
"It’s only the first stage."
Lin Qing walked over.
"Only?"
She shook her head.
"You just got a perfect score in an alchemy examination organized by a Holy Land."
Lin Mo laughed.
"And you call that only?"
Lin Yu smiled.
"She’s right."
Lin Chen nodded.
"We should see what the second stage is like."
Lin Ruyan looked toward the central platform.
Her expression became slightly more serious.
The first stage had been easy.
But she knew the second stage would be different.
This time—
They would have to identify actual pills.
And that was much more difficult than answering written questions.
---
The elderly host stepped onto the central platform.
The crowd gradually became quiet.
He looked across the hundreds of young alchemists.
"The first stage has concluded."
"The top 100 participants have advanced."
"The second stage will begin shortly."
The massive golden screen changed.
A new set of words appeared.
Second Stage — Pill Identification
The host continued.
"Each participant will be presented with a series of pills."
"You will be required to identify their rank, effects, primary ingredients, refinement method, and potential flaws."
"Each pill will become progressively more difficult."
The crowd became serious.
The host raised his hand.
"Only the top 30 participants will advance to the final stage."
A wave of excitement spread through the venue.
Thirty participants.
Hundreds had entered.
Now only thirty would remain.
The host looked toward the judges.
Then toward the participants.
"The second stage..."
"Will begin in one hour."
The crowd immediately erupted into discussion.
Lin Ruyan looked at the central platform.
Her eyes became slightly brighter.
Finally—
This was beginning to become interesting.
End of Chapter 63