Silence fell.
Then the hall exploded.
"What?"
"Three hours?"
"Thirty-five completed pills?"
"And five High Common?"
"Impossible!"
Han Ziyue's smile vanished.
Shen Moxu's eyes sharpened.
Luna Veyne's cold expression cracked for the first time.
Lian Xiaowan stood completely still.
Her first thought was Han Ziyue.
Her second thought was Shen Moxu.
Her third was Luna Veyne.
Then she saw where the proctors were standing.
Beside Qin Yuan.
The ordinary boy in black clothes.
The 1st layer Spirit Opening cultivator everyone had dismissed.
Lian Xiaowan's mouth parted slightly.
"No way…"
Han Ziyue's face darkened.
He turned toward Qin Yuan.
"You?"
Qin Yuan looked at him.
He did not smile.
He did not explain.
He simply stood there calmly, as if the result had nothing to do with anyone else.
That calmness made Han Ziyue's chest burn hotter than mockery would have.
Someone shouted, "Instructor, there must be a mistake!"
Another added, "How can a 1st layer Spirit Opening cultivator produce High Common pills?"
A third muttered, "Did he bring pills in?"
Wei Cang's expression turned cold.
"All rooms were monitored by Spirit Qi tracking formations, mana inspection arrays, storage seals, soul-frequency mirrors, and recording crystals. The Wizard proctors personally confirmed the result. Anyone who suggests cheating without evidence is accusing the association of incompetence."
The hall went silent at once.
That charge was too heavy.
Han Ziyue clenched his jaw.
Shen Moxu stared at Qin Yuan for a long moment.
Then he slowly exhaled.
"Interesting."
Luna Veyne's eyes glowed faintly with Magical Sense.
She seemed to be trying to see through Qin Yuan, but all her Magical Sense found was a dark fog, impossible to look through.
Qin Yuan ignored all of it.
Wei Cang waved his sleeve.
"Those who failed will receive notices. Those who passed will be contacted. Leave the hall in order."
The applicants wanted to ask more.
None of them were allowed to.
Formation guards appeared at the doors.
The meaning was obvious.
Leave.
Lian Xiaowan walked out with the others, but before passing the doorway, she looked back.
Qin Yuan remained beside the proctors.
He seemed exactly the same as before.
Quiet.
Unmoved.
As if he had not just crushed everyone's expectations.
Lian Xiaowan suddenly remembered what he had said.
I wouldn't be sitting here otherwise.
She laughed once under her breath, still dazed.
"So he really meant it."
Outside the hall, Han Ziyue stopped at the stairs.
His attendant whispered, "Young Master Han…"
Han Ziyue's face was ugly.
"Find out who he is."
"He is from the Qin Family, but—"
"I don't care if he's from the Qin Family's garbage branch or the city court's main office." Han Ziyue's voice dropped. "Find out why a 1st layer Spirit Opening nobody can refine like that."
The attendant lowered his head.
"Yes."
Farther away, Shen Moxu glanced back once.
Unlike Han Ziyue, there was no anger in his eyes.
Only wariness.
And curiosity.
...
After the applicants left, Qin Yuan was brought deeper into the building.
The public exam hall gave way to a quieter inner corridor.
The walls here were not decorated for appearance. Every few steps, Qin Yuan sensed formation nodes, hidden scanning runes, fire suppression seals, and emergency barriers.
This was not merely an exam center.
It was a branch of a real alchemist organization.
Eventually, he was brought to a round chamber filled with soft golden light.
An old man sat behind a jade desk.
His hair was white, but his face was not wrinkled. His aura was deep and stable, like a furnace buried beneath a mountain.
Origin Core Realm.
Qin Yuan recognized the pressure immediately.
Not because the elder released it.
Because even when restrained, the difference was too great to miss. Still, with all of his mental talents, Qin Yuan remained calm even in the presence of an Origin Core powerhouse.
Wei Cang bowed slightly.
"Elder Mu. This is Qin Yuan."
The old man looked Qin Yuan up and down.
His eyes were not sharp in the ordinary sense.
They were warm.
But Qin Yuan felt as if every inch of his aura had been weighed.
"So you are the little monster who made my proctors question their own eyesight."
Qin Yuan cupped his hands.
"Junior Qin Yuan greets Elder Mu."
Elder Mu smiled faintly.
"Polite too. Good. Arrogant geniuses are tiring."
Wei Cang placed the sealed result tablet on the desk.
Elder Mu did not look at it immediately.
Instead, he asked, "Tell me, Qin Yuan. Did someone teach you?"
"No formal teacher."
"You learned from public recipes?"
"Public recipes, market notes, pill theory books, and practice."
Elder Mu stared at him.
"Practice?"
Qin Yuan nodded.
"I practiced with cheaper materials before coming."
That was true.
Not the entire truth.
But true enough.
Elder Mu tapped the desk with one finger.
"Your foundations are not high."
"No."
"Your cultivation is extremely low for an alchemist applicant."
"Yes."
"Your Spirit Qi should not be stable enough for this result."
Qin Yuan did not deny it.
Elder Mu's smile widened slightly.
"You do not feel the need to defend yourself?"
"Results already exist. Words won't make them more real."
Wei Cang's expression shifted.
Elder Mu laughed.
"Good. Very good."
Then his tone became serious.
"But results from one exam are not enough. Sometimes a person enters a strange state. Sometimes luck aligns with temperament, recipe, and materials. If we are to train you properly, we must know what level you truly stand at."
Qin Yuan's eyes moved.
"What test?"
Elder Mu waved his sleeve.
The chamber floor opened.
A second furnace rose from below.
This one was far better than the exam furnace. Its body was dark bronze, covered in tiny flame-cloud engravings. The moment it appeared, the room temperature rose slightly.
Elder Mu said, "You will refine three recipes."
Wei Cang looked surprised.
"Elder, three?"
"One easy. One difficult. One unstable."
Elder Mu looked at Qin Yuan.
"Basic Qi Harmonizing Pill again. Then Meridian Soothing Pill. Then Blood-Spirit Recovery Pill."
Wei Cang's expression changed.
"Blood-Spirit Recovery Pill is difficult even for experienced apprentices."
"Exactly."
Qin Yuan looked at the furnace with his ever-present calm.
Notifications flickered in Qin Yuan's vision the moment the ingredient trays appeared.
New Recipe Analysis Available.
Pill Mastery Talent Activated.
Medicinal Pattern Recognition Activated.
Fine Control Talent Activated.
Fire Mastery Talent Activated.
His mind moved quickly.
This was an opportunity.
The first exam had already shown enough to attract attention.
But if he held back too much now, his starting position might remain ordinary.
Ordinary meant fewer resources.
Fewer resources meant slower foundation evolution.
Slow progress meant danger.
Qin Yuan made his decision.
He would show more.
Not everything.
But enough.
He cupped his hands.
"I'm ready."
Elder Mu's eyes brightened.
"Begin."
The first recipe was simple.
Qin Yuan refined it even faster than before.
Flame rose. Medicinal fragrance spread. The furnace hummed with steady heat instead of violent pressure.
When the furnace opened, six pills rolled out.
All High Common Rank.
Wei Cang's pupils contracted.
Elder Mu leaned forward slightly.
The second recipe began.
Meridian Soothing Pill required a gentler flame and more delicate impurity extraction. If the heat entered too aggressively, the medicinal liquid would become harsh and damage meridians instead of soothing them.
Qin Yuan adjusted.
His flame thinned until it looked almost weak.
But inside the furnace, it wrapped around the medicinal liquid in layers.
Like silk.
Like fingers.
Like quiet knives removing rot from flesh.
Fine Control Talent Experience +0.42
Impurity Refinement Talent Experience +0.51
Pill Mastery Talent Experience +0.63
The furnace rang.
Four pills emerged.
Three High Common.
One Mid Common.
Wei Cang inhaled sharply.
Elder Mu's smile faded.
Not because he was disappointed.
Because he was no longer looking at Qin Yuan like an interesting junior.
He was looking at him like a problem.
Then came the third recipe.
Blood-Spirit Recovery Pill.
The moment the beast blood essence entered the furnace, the liquid bucked violently. A low growl seemed to echo inside the bronze chamber, as if the dead beast's remaining instinct was resisting refinement.
Qin Yuan's eyes sharpened.
The flame shook.
For the first time, Wei Cang saw Qin Yuan's thin cultivation become a true weakness.
His Spirit Qi almost snapped.
The pressure inside the furnace rose.
Warning runes lit up across the bronze surface.
Wei Cang instinctively stepped forward.
"Elder—"
Elder Mu raised a hand.
"Wait."
Inside Qin Yuan's mind, notifications flashed rapidly.
Furnace Pressure Resistance Experience +0.34
Multi-Focus Talent Experience +0.46
Fire Mastery Talent Experience +0.71
Emergency Stabilization Talent Unlocked.
Qin Yuan's breathing slowed.
The beast blood essence wanted to surge.
He did not force it down.
Force would waste too much Spirit Qi.
Instead, he opened a gap.
Let it rise.
Let it think there was space.
Then he curved the flame around it and burned the impurities from the outside inward.
The furnace trembled once.
Twice.
Then the growling stopped.
Wei Cang stared.
Elder Mu's eyes shone.
The final condensation took longer than the first two recipes combined.
When the furnace opened, only two pills rolled out.
One was High Common.
The other was round, bright, and faintly covered in a soft red-gold sheen.
It was not Perfect Common Rank.
Not quite.
But it was close.
Extremely close.
Wei Cang's voice came out hoarse.
"Near-Perfect…"
Elder Mu stood up.
His Origin Core aura stirred despite himself, making the chamber lights flicker.
Qin Yuan stepped back calmly, though his face had gone slightly pale.
That refinement had almost emptied him.
But it was worth it.
Elder Mu stared at the pill for a long time.
Then he looked at Qin Yuan.
"Do you understand what you just did?"
Qin Yuan answered honestly.
"I refined a pill slightly better than before."
Wei Cang almost choked.
Elder Mu stared.
Then he laughed loudly.
The sound shook the chamber.
"Good! Good! Slightly better than before!"
He pointed at Qin Yuan.
"From today onward, you are not an ordinary apprentice."
Wei Cang's expression changed.
"Elder, then his rank…"
Elder Mu said slowly, "Seven-star apprentice alchemist."
Wei Cang froze.
Seven-star.
That was not a casual title.
In the association's apprentice system, one to three stars were ordinary apprentice levels. Four to six stars were skilled apprentices qualified to work under Spirit Master and Arcane Master alchemists.
Seven-star meant Qin Yuan's practical refinement level was already comparable to late-layer Spirit Master and Arcane Master alchemist apprentices.
For a 1st layer Spirit Opening cultivator, it was absurd.
Completely absurd.
But the results sat on the table.
Results did not care whether people believed them.