Eternal Life: Talent Grows with Age-Chapter 281 - 180: Grade B Alchemist!
Alchemist Lei’s face was tinged with a flush; if outsiders saw this, they might get the wrong idea.
The other alchemists weren’t immune either—Lu Chang’sheng’s alchemy process was truly worthy of being called a spectacle.
Everyone here was a Grade B Alchemist. In all honesty, compared to the alchemist in the Alchemy Room, they were still lacking in certain aspects.
"Fellow Daoist Lei’s Grade A assessment is absolutely spot-on. If it were me, I’d give a Grade A too."
"Me too!"
"Same here, same here! Hiss~ So, doesn’t this mean that person will become a Grade A Alchemist?" one alchemist joked half-seriously.
They knew things weren’t really that simple—just like how the highest they could evaluate someone was Grade B.
A Grade A Alchemist was beyond anything within their realm of judgment; their evaluations didn’t truly count.
There’s a difference between a Grade A potential rating and an actual Grade A Alchemist rating.
"Come on, let’s go check on Fellow Daoist Zhong."
A few alchemists didn’t linger and spoke one after another.
In their eyes, among the Grade B or lower alchemists at White Cloud Pharmacy, only Zhong Ming might be capable of such a performance.
However, when they came to the outside of the Alchemy Room, all of them fell completely silent.
A figure walked out from the Alchemy Room, running straight into the group that had just arrived.
Veteran alchemists, having spent years with medicinal herbs, could tell at a glance that this was the true alchemist behind this session.
"Grade C Alchemist Lu Chang’sheng, greetings to my fellow alchemists." Lu Chang’sheng cupped his fists and bowed.
Alchemist Lei felt his face burn hot, and said, "So you were the one being evaluated."
"Indeed."
Alchemist Lei’s expression shifted a few times, then he silently stepped to the side.
But in his heart, it all felt rather unbelievable.
"I didn’t expect Fellow Daoist Lu to be hiding such depth." After a long pause, a few faint sighs echoed.
Not far away, the steward of the Grade B Institute, standing with head bowed, gave a hidden shake of the head.
Everyone knew that the people of Alchemist Lei’s circle didn’t get along with Alchemist Lu.
Originally, Alchemist Lei and his lot were completely in the lead—who would’ve thought that an Alchemist Lu would suddenly pop up?
Suddenly, a line sprang to his mind—
"How could a golden-scaled fish be content to lurk in a pond? With a twist of fate, it becomes a dragon!"
From today on, it seemed that White Cloud Pharmacy would have yet another shining figure.
It wasn’t that the steward was exaggerating; he understood the weight such ability carried.
Lu Chang’sheng was different from the others—he’d only been on the Alchemy Dao for a few years, while most alchemists here had taken half a lifetime to get to this level—or hadn’t even managed that.
This proved that, back in the previous alchemist evaluation, Alchemist Lin’s Grade A assessment was truly well-deserved.
Perhaps thinking of this, a few veteran alchemists looked at Alchemist Lei with a trace of amusement in their eyes.
In just a few short years, Lu Chang’sheng had reached Grade B Alchemist, basically confirming that, during that previous alchemist assessment, Alchemist Lei had indeed acted unfairly.
No matter what the alchemists thought inside, each one greeted Lu Chang’sheng before turning to leave.
And up next, it was time to spread this news throughout the various corners of the cave mansion.
The Grade B Institute’s steward handled the matter personally.
"Alchemist Lu, why don’t you head back to Yun’an Institute for a bit? I’ll get everything set up for what’s to come."
The steward spoke respectfully.
Not long after Lu Chang’sheng returned, suddenly a bell echoed faintly in the distance.
The Joyful Bell had been rung. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺
"As expected, times are different now—even the Grade B Alchemist assessment didn’t touch on cultivation level."
A sly smile flashed across Lu Chang’sheng’s face.
Just as Lin Yan had said, after that Purple Ice Lake expedition, too many late-stage Qi Cultivators had died, some of whom were the pharmacy’s own alchemists. With all those vacant spots, they needed someone to step in fast, or things wouldn’t run smoothly.
After that, Lu Chang’sheng simply waited quietly in his courtyard.
By evening, Lin Yan paid a rare visit. Looking at Lu Chang’sheng, his face was brimming with delight.
Because of his injuries, Lin Yan had already begun fading out from the group of veteran alchemists. He never expected that just recently, a host of friends who hadn’t come by in ages would all show up, each one offering congratulatory words as soon as they saw him.
Lin Yan felt confused, and only after asking did he learn that Lu Chang’sheng had actually passed the Grade B Alchemist evaluation.
"I always thought you weren’t lacking in talent on the Alchemy Dao, but I didn’t expect you’d reach this stage so soon."
"It was all thanks to your excellent teaching," Lu Chang’sheng replied with a smile.
Lin Yan felt gratified, but soon his mood soured a bit—all because, sitting together with Lu Chang’sheng, he noticed an air of calm contentment that was completely different from before.
If this had been in the past, he surely would have scolded Lu Chang’sheng a bit, but now, he found himself unable to speak up.
"It’s a pity that Lin Ruo wasn’t so fortunate," Lin Yan suddenly said.
Lu Chang’sheng smiled, but left the comment untouched.
Perhaps it was nearing the end of his time, but Lin Yan’s ability to hide his emotions had grown weaker, letting Lu Chang’sheng glimpse some of his inner thoughts.
"In the end, you have to rely on yourself for everything."
After seeing Lin Yan out, Lu Chang’sheng summoned Steward Mo to drink with him.
Steward Mo even brought his best Spirit Tea, saying, "A small congratulatory gift—to celebrate Alchemist Lu’s achievement of Grade B."
Steward Mo was far more cautious than before; after all, a Grade B Alchemist in White Cloud Cave Mansion had begun to step into the higher circles.
Lu Chang’sheng laughed, "No need to be so formal—let’s just keep things as they always were."
Steward Mo nodded in assent, but simply hid his deference more deeply.
Seeing this, Lu Chang’sheng didn’t say more, but had someone bring out some food to drink and eat with Steward Mo.
But soon, someone came looking for Steward Mo with news.
Steward Mo at once rose from his seat, gave Lu Chang’sheng a deep bow and smiled, "It’s probably more news about you, Alchemist Lu."
Very soon, Lu Chang’sheng received his new identity token as a Grade B Alchemist, along with the associated equipment.
At the same time, Yun’an Institute was relocated to the area for Grade B alchemists.
"The lodgings in the Grade B quarter are much better than those in the C and D quarters—even the spiritual qi there is richer."
The yard included a cultivation chamber with a Spirit Gathering Array. Cultivating here was way better than in his old place.
Supposedly, this compound once belonged to an Alchemist surnamed Liang, but there’d been an incident before the Purple Ice Lake affair.
Afterward, as per rules, his family moved out. Only after several years did Lu Chang’sheng move in.
"Also, the alchemist’s robes for Grade B are much higher quality than Grade C’s."
Lu Chang’sheng gave them a look-over.
The Grade B alchemist’s kit included, besides the upgraded robe, a Duster Magical Artifact.
"This really is a case of once you’ve got the duster, even your parents can’t recognize you."
Lu Chang’sheng gave the duster a shake, suddenly feeling a bit sage-like.
Both the robe and duster were mid-grade first rank magical artifacts—decent enough. Since Lu Chang’sheng had no plans to go out fighting, these two items sufficed.
"Tomorrow I’ve still got to enter the Mountain Gate."
Lu Chang’sheng made a few tweaks to the courtyard setup, then asked the Grade B Institute’s Steward Yang to send a message to the Lu Mansion.
Now that he’d just become a Grade B Alchemist and was enjoying his moment, he planned to stay in White Cloud Cave Mansion as much as possible.
Everything—for the sake of survival.
Luckily, as a Grade B Alchemist, the resources available to him each month had shot up dramatically.
An average Grade B Alchemist earned as much as a minor clan.
And with his ability to craft top-tier pills, his earnings could go even higher.
"In the next couple days, I should try to meet Master Baiyun."
The following day, Lu Chang’sheng became busier than ever. Many alchemists started showing up at his door.
His popularity was through the roof.
Those alchemists who’d barely given him the time of day were now all smiles, addressing him as Alchemist Lu or Fellow Daoist Lu, even asking whether he needed any female companions.
Lu Chang’sheng, of course, politely declined.
On the third day, he got word from Steward Yang and once again set foot on the platform to the Inner Sect, meeting the on-duty guide.
"Alchemist Lu, do you still remember me?"
On the high platform, a cultivator’s face was all smiles as he looked at the slightly aged Lu Chang’sheng. Even though he’d heard the news, he still found it hard to believe.
Several years back, when he’d guided Lu Chang’sheng into the Mountain Gate for the first time, he’d declared that Lu Chang’sheng’s bone age was too high, that he’d amount to nothing in this life. He never imagined that just a few years later, he’d be so soundly proven wrong.
"Of course I remember," said Lu Chang’sheng, keeping things low-key.
In a way, the man’s assessment had been fair.
The most important thing: Lu Chang’sheng was still a middle-stage Qi Cultivator. Should the guide get careless while leading him, and drop him off the clouds, that would be a true tragedy.
Seeing Lu Chang’sheng so reasonable, the guide felt a bit ashamed and hurriedly said, "Last time I was blind—please don’t hold it against me. Here, take this as a token of apology."
As he spoke, the cultivator took something from his treasure vault’s Immortal Insect—it turned out to be a wooden bird.
