BXBX NOVEL Chapter 101 - The Final Round Of Exam
Qin Yi's sudden question caught Grand Master Du slightly off guard.
He didn't expect that this boy had the balls to ask the answer to him, a judge, and a Grand Master Alchemist at that.
Instead of answering that question, Grand Master Du coughed a little and said, "Junior, you can move on to the next ingredient if you can't recognize it. You are just wasting your time."
"Wait, Grand Master, I think this junior recognizes this ingredient. Small, sticky, odorless... it must be Odorless Bean!"
"... Wrong. It's a Notorious Bean." Grand Master Du immediately corrected it.
Qin Yi's face collapsed instantly as he complained, "What's the difference? Aren't they both beans?"
Grand Master Du sighed and explained, "This bean is indeed odorless, but it's not called Odorless Bean but Notorious Bean. This ingredient is called Notorious Bean because its odor characteristics can change after it is made into a product called Beast Avoiding Powder."
Beast Avoiding Powder is a powder produced from a mixture of various alchemy ingredients with Notorious Bean as the main ingredient.
Beast Avoiding Powder is capable of producing an unpleasant and repulsive odor. However, it can only be smelled by insects.
This product is usually used to protect fields or gardens from insect invasion. Some cultivators also often bought it when they had no other choice to spend the night in the forest. It was very effective at repelling low-rank insect beasts.
"More importantly, are you sure you want to spend your time on this bean?" Grand Master Du suddenly gave a reminder.
Σ(°ロ°)
After being warned by Grand Master Du, Qin Yi immediately moved on from the bean and continued his exams.
Twenty minutes later...
"Congratulations, you managed to identify 72 types of ingredients!" Grand Master Du announced the results.
"Fuu~."
Qin Yi wiped his nonexistent sweat on his forehead.
72 is a score that is neither low nor high. It's pretty good actually, considering Qin Yi didn't cheat.
There were many alchemy ingredients that he had never seen and possessed before; they are all high-end alchemy ingredients that rarely appear on the market.
Even though he eventually extracted these alchemy ingredients and learned their names and uses through system notifications, he didn't use that knowledge to cheat on Grand Master Du.
These 72 scores came from the alchemy ingredients he already knew and studied before.
Grand Master Du pulled at his white beard and asked, "If I'm not mistaken, you are a disciple of the Sleeping Dragon Sect, right?"
Qin Yi cupped his hands and confirmed, "Yes, Grand Master. This junior is an outer disciple of the Sleeping Dragon Sect."
Grand Master Du nodded and said, "It's been over ten years since the Sleeping Dragon Sect hasn't produced a new Alchemist. Even though your cultivation base is low, it doesn't really matter. The most important thing here is your alchemy talent..."
"Old Yao would definitely be happy if a young and talented Alchemist like you appeared. The third round of the exam is the most difficult of the three exams. If you want to pass, you need to give everything you have. However, with your scores in the first and second rounds of exams, I'm sure you can pass the third round of exams without a hitch and become an Apprentice Alchemist."
"Thank you for your encouraging words, Grand Master. This junior will do his best to live up to your expectation."
Although Qin Yi doesn't know who 'Old Yao' this old man refers to, he still politely responds to Grand Master Du's good intentions.
"The next exam venue is outside that door. Once you get there, you will meet the other examinees."
Grand Master Du pointed his finger at the door behind Qin Yi.
"Then, excuse this junior, Grand Master."
After paying his respects, Qin Yi unhesitatingly walked to the door behind him.
As soon as Qin Yi opened the door, his vision was presented with a view of the vast and towering platform. This hall was even bigger than the hall where the first exam was held.
There, he also saw four other examinees who were lined up in rows.
From what Qin Yi could see here, only five people, including him, had made it through to this round.
Meanwhile, the other four people were Yun Qiu, Liang Yang, Yun Hong, He Ya.
Among them, He Ya was the only female here. Yun Hong and Yun Qiu were from the same clan. As for Liang Yang, Qin Yi heard that he was not from any affiliation; in other words, he was a loose cultivator.
It was pretty impressive that a loose cultivator was able to reach this point considering most of them had limited resources and references.
This person must have gone through a lot to get here.
Thinking about this, Qin Yi couldn't help but cast a sympathetic look at Liang Yang.
Liang Yang, "..."
For some unknown reason, he felt an unpleasant gaze from this newcomer.
Qin Yi lifted his gaze slightly. He saw an old man wearing an exquisitely made alchemist robe while his wrinkle-filled face contained a smile, and his slightly squinting turbid eyes were calm and gentle.
At one glance, he appeared like an ordinary old man without any overly special aura, with the exception of the long robe that represented his status and the three stars badge that was flashing a strange glow on his chest.
This old man clearly is a judge in this round of exams.
Shortly after Qin Yi joined the lines, Grand Master Du's figure reappeared in the examinees' eyes.
The old man turned his head toward the newcomer. Then he smiled and asked, "Since Old Du arrived here, that means the second round of exams is over, right?"
"The person who just came before me was the final examinee. We may start now, Old Yun." Grand Master Du responded in a light tone as he walked beside the Yun Changhai.
"Very well."
Since Grand Master Du had already confirmed it, Yun Canghai didn't inquire anymore.
Yun Changhai turned his gaze toward the examinees below. His finger pointed at several light-colored curtains hanging on the wall behind them.
"Behind each of the curtains, there is a small personal room. That is your examination room. As everyone knows, concocting pills is the primary job of us, Alchemists. Our test this time around is to test your concoction pill..."
"However, for the sake of holding a fair competition, we have prepared a cauldron with the same model and grade in each of the rooms. In addition, there are several portions of alchemy ingredients to make three different pills, of which the Qi Strengthening Pill, Body Strengthening Pill, and Detoxification Pill..."
"Your task here is first to choose one of these three pills. You have to use the shortest time to concoct the alchemy ingredients with the minimum highest purity is 51%..."
Qin Yi, who was listening intently, couldn't help but slightly frown.
51% purity pills?
Isn't that too low?
As he already knows that the standard of pill purity is 50%, less than that, the pill will be indicated as a failure.
Qin Yi had never personally encountered a pill with a purity level below 60%, as all the pills he had received so far had an average of 60%-62% purity.
Therefore, when this old man set a standard of 51%, Qin Yi that this old man had underestimated all the examinees here.
However, when he glances at his fellow examinees, surprisingly, he doesn't see the slightest change on their faces.
They are steel-hearted.
Even if they were belittled like this, they could still maintain their expressions.
Impressive. As expected of the people who were able to reach this stage.
They are all strong people and contenders.
'Meanwhile, my mentality was still too weak. With a little provocation, my emotion almost lost control. It looks like I still have a lot to learn.'
Qin Yi thought as he closed his eyes for a second before he continued to focus on Old Yun's speech.
Yun Canghai pointed to an hourglass on the table and then explained, "When the sand in the hourglass has completely fallen, those who have not completed the concoction will be considered to have failed this exam. If the pills that you have concocted do not meet our standards, you will also be considered to have failed this exam..."
"The result of failing is to lose the qualification to get the official status of Apprentice Alchemist, and you can only try again next year."
Hearing this, the expressions of the participants did not fade in the slightest. On the contrary, the two old fellows could actually see the spark of determination in their eyes.
Grand Master Du nodded and smiled as if he acknowledged their attitude.
He clapped his hands as he smiled and said, "Very well, the exam starts now. Pay attention to the hourglass' time!"
Hearing this, everyone in the hall began to move as they headed toward their left side. After which, each of them pulled aside a black curtain and walked in.
Qin Yi eyed the space that had become empty and did not delay any longer.. With a comfortable pace, he entered behind a black curtain.