Xiao Lan folded her arms and leaned forward slightly.
"Little friend, if an alchemist has insufficient knowledge and misunderstands the properties of herbs, the consequences can be fatal."
Her tone became more serious.
"Youngsters need to be realistic."
Nie Li merely smiled.
"But age doesn't reflect knowledge, does it?"
Xiao Lan blinked.
"I know all these things," Nie Li continued calmly.
After staring at him for a few moments, Xiao Lan finally sighed.
"Alright. Participating in the Primary Alchemy Master examination costs two hundred demon spirit coins. The fee must be paid before entering the examination."
"No problem."
Nie Li immediately agreed.
"Take me in, then."
Turning around, he pointed at Lu Piao and the others.
"You guys can wait here for me. Once I pass, I'll be back."
Lu Piao immediately grinned.
"Alright! Once you pass, we're feasting tonight!"
Nearby, Xiao Ning'er gave a small smile.
"Good luck, Nie Li."
Nie Li nodded confidently.
As Xiao Lan led him away, she couldn't help shaking her head internally.
Kids these days...
Did he really think the Alchemy Master examination was that easy?
Two hundred demon spirit coins wasted.
Still, she said nothing and guided him deeper into the association.
After passing through several courtyards, they arrived at a long corridor.
Above the entrance hung a plaque.
Primary Alchemy Master Testing Area.
The hallway stretched far into the distance, lined with dozens of individual rooms.
Xiao Lan stopped walking.
"This corridor is the venue for the Primary Alchemy Master examination."
She gestured toward the doors.
"Each examinee will enter an individual room for the first round of testing."
Nie Li nodded.
"Understood."
"After completing the written examination on alchemical knowledge, your answers will be reviewed by several Primary Alchemy Masters. Only then will you proceed to the next stage."
"Understood."
As they continued forward, several adults waiting outside the testing rooms noticed him.
Their expressions immediately became strange.
A teenager?
Here?
One middle-aged man stepped forward.
"Boy."
Nie Li stopped.
"What are you doing here?"
Nie Li smiled lightly.
"Of course I'm here for the same reason as everyone else."
The man frowned.
"And what reason is that?"
Nie Li's smile widened.
"To take the Primary Alchemy Master examination."
Silence.
Then—
"Hahahahaha!"
The corridor erupted into laughter.
Several candidates nearly doubled over.
The middle-aged man laughed so hard tears appeared in his eyes.
"A small brat like you came here to take the test?"
He pointed at Nie Li.
"If you're here to brag, you've come to the wrong place."
Nie Li remained completely calm.
"Oh?"
"Then may I know who you are?"
The man immediately straightened proudly.
"Hmph. I am a descendant of the Chu Family."
"My name is Chu Ning."
Nie Li blinked.
"The Chu Family?"
His expression turned thoughtful.
Then realization flashed across his eyes.
"Oh."
"So you're related to Chu Ming."
He nodded slowly.
"That explains it."
Chu Ning frowned.
"Explains what?"
Nie Li smiled.
"That way of looking down on people must be hereditary."
The surrounding candidates choked.
Chu Ning's face darkened.
"The Chu Family was once one of the greatest alchemy families in Glory City!"
"In the past, we had seven Senior Alchemy Masters, six Intermediate Alchemy Masters, and more than twenty Primary Alchemy Masters!"
"How are we not worthy of being called an Alchemy Family?"
Nie Li looked at him calmly.
"What's the point of boasting about the past?"
He leaned slightly forward.
"What about now?"
Chu Ning froze.
Nie Li continued mercilessly.
"The entire Chu Family currently has only one Primary Alchemy Master."
"Do you still call yourselves an Alchemy Family?"
Several spectators immediately looked away.
That hit far too close to home.
Chu Ning's expression became ugly.
"Hmph! So what?"
He puffed out his chest.
"I, Chu Ning, will soon become the second Alchemy Master of the Chu Family!"
Then he pointed at Nie Li.
"You little brat who still smells of milk, scram while you can."
"This is a testing area for Alchemy Masters, not a playground."
The corridor filled with chuckles.
Many candidates shook their heads.
To them, Nie Li truly looked far too young.
Nie Li simply yawned.
"Neh."
"Let's talk after the test."
Without waiting for a response, he walked toward one of the examination rooms.
Click.
Chu Ning stared at the closed door.
Ping!
The examination room door closed behind Nie Li.
He stepped inside and looked around.
"Hello?"
The room was simple and quiet.
At the far end sat two elderly men dressed in white robes.
One was plump and broad-faced, while the other was thin and sharp-eyed.
The two examiners exchanged glances.
"This candidate…"
"Perhaps he wandered into the wrong room?"
Nie Li smiled politely and clasped his hands.
"Honorable Masters, I am in the correct place, right?"
"The Primary Alchemy Master Testing Area?"
The two elders stared at him.
"This…"
The older, plumper examiner finally cleared his throat.
"Very well."
He pointed toward a large table stacked with examination papers.
"As you can see, there are a total of three hundred and sixty examination scripts."
"Choose twenty of them and complete them within four hours."
He paused.
"Only those who answer ninety percent or more correctly may proceed to the next round."
Nie Li glanced at the mountain of papers.
"Twenty papers, huh…"
Then he smiled.
"Honorable Masters, I will let you choose the questions."
The thinner elder narrowed his eyes.
"I choose?.Trying to prove that you won't cheat?"
"Very well."
The thin elder casually grabbed a stack of papers.
Rustle!
Pak!
He dropped them onto the desk.
"Do these, then."
Nie Li sat down.
"These questions…"
He picked up the first sheet.
Then the second.
Then the third.
A grin slowly spread across his face.
"These questions are too easy."
The brush in his hand began moving instantly.
As he read through the papers, Nie Li couldn't help shaking his head internally.
Glory City's alchemy standards have fallen far behind.
The situation is worse than I thought.
His brush flew across the pages.
Scratch! Scratch! Scratch!
Page after page flipped by.
The two examiners watched quietly.
The thinner elder frowned.
"He actually finished so quickly."
"Could it be that he doesn't know any of the answers?"
The plump elder snorted.
"He's just a child."
"Don't tell me he's writing nonsense."
The thin elder stood up.
"Let me see."
He walked behind Nie Li and casually glanced at the first answer sheet.
Then he froze.
"The uses of Yulanling Grass…"
His eyes widened.
"The answer is completely correct."
"Not a single word missing."
He quickly grabbed another page.
"Things to note during the condensation process of the Yi Condensing Pill…"
A moment later his expression changed again.
"Hm."
"The twenty-six steps are all listed."
"And they're extremely detailed."
He flipped through several more pages.
The plump elder noticed the change in his face.
"Perhaps…"
The thin elder immediately shook his head.
"No."
"These questions were selected by me personally. There was no possibility of cheating."
Meanwhile, Nie Li continued writing calmly.
Scratch! Scratch! Scratch!
Another page finished.
He raised his hand.
The thin elder took the paper and glanced over it.
Then he froze again.
"All correct…"
The plump elder hurried over.
After reading the answers, his eyes widened.
"It is even more detailed than the records we study."
"And look at the way he explains the reasoning behind each answer."
The thin elder nodded silently.
Every answer was flawless.
Not merely correct.
Perfect.
Page after page continued piling up.
The two examiners gradually stopped pretending to be calm.
Every time they checked an answer sheet, the result was the same.
Correct.
Completely correct.
Detailed.
Precise.
Far beyond the standard expected from a Primary Alchemy Master candidate.
The plump elder slowly lowered the latest paper.
The thin elder stared at Nie Li as though he were looking at a monster.
Silence filled the room.
Finally, both elders exchanged a glance.
Then they looked at Nie Li again.
One word escaped their mouths simultaneously.
"Genius!"
Two hours passed.
The examination room was silent except for the occasional sound of pages turning.
Flip.
Flip.
The two examiners sat together reviewing Nie Li's completed papers.
At that moment, Nie Li stood up from his desk and smiled.
"Masters, how did I answer those questions?"
The two old men froze.
Their expressions immediately became complicated.
A heavy atmosphere settled over the room.
Neither of them answered right away.
Instead, they exchanged glances.
The plump elder swallowed.
The thin elder looked at the answer sheets once more before lowering them slowly.
In his heart, a single thought echoed repeatedly.
He must be the genius who will revive the Alchemist Association.
The plump elder nodded unconsciously.
"That's right…"
Meanwhile, Nie Li scratched his cheek awkwardly.
What are they mumbling about?
Could it be my answers were too advanced?
Don't tell me they misunderstood them and think they're wrong?
The possibility made him slightly nervous.
Suddenly, the thin elder broke into laughter.
"Hehehe."
"Young one, may I know which family you belong to?"
The two elders stepped closer.
"My name is Huyan Ming," the plump elder introduced himself.
"And this is Mu Yang."
"We are both Primary Alchemy Masters."
Nie Li blinked.
These two teachers can identify a student just from his name?
He smiled politely.
"My name is Nie Li."
"From the Heavenly Marks Family."
The moment those words left his mouth—
The two elders froze.
"Heavenly Marks Family?"
They looked at each other.
A small family like the Heavenly Marks Family producing someone with such terrifying knowledge was almost unbelievable.
Mu Yang shook his head slowly.
"To possess such vast knowledge at such a young age…"
"It truly is rare."
The two masters continued reviewing his papers.
Finally, Mu Yang looked up.
"We have one final question."
"We would like to test your practical refinement skills."
Nie Li smiled calmly.
"Of course."
The two old men looked even more pleased.
They had already expected that answer.
After all, someone capable of writing such flawless theory answers would naturally be confident.
Several moments passed.
The room became quiet.
Outside, birds chirped faintly in the distance.
The sunset glow filtered through the windows.
Finally, Huyan Ming let out a long breath.
"Nie Li…"
"You are unbelievable."
Every answer.
Every explanation.
Every refinement process.
Perfect.
The standards displayed on those papers were far beyond what a normal Primary Alchemy Master candidate should possess.
Even many established alchemists would struggle to compare.
Mu Yang stood up.
"You wait here for a while."
"We will submit your answer sheets."
"If the higher-ups approve them, we can let you enter the Association directly."
Nie Li smiled and nodded.
"Understood."
The two old men hurried toward the door.
As soon as they stepped outside, Nie Li's smile became a little mischievous.
Looks like I might have troubled these two teachers.
He rubbed the back of his head.
Hopefully they don't get too shocked.
Outside the room—
The moment the door closed behind them, both elders looked at each other.
Then—
"Hahaha!"
"Quickly!"
They rushed down the corridor like two excited children.
BAM!
The door at the far end of the hall burst open as the two Primary Alchemy Masters hurried off to report the appearance of a once-in-a-generation genius.
And inside the examination room—
Nie Li sat calmly in his chair.
Waiting for the storm he had just unknowingly unleashed within the Alchemist Association.