Qin Feng’s gaze swept over the surrounding stone stations. His eyes narrowed as they passed over the stations belonging to Zhou Rou and Meng Ran.

Even with just a brief glance at the spiritual materials, Qin Feng could deduce what elixirs they were planning to concoct.

’Red Essence Pill, Qi Recovery Pill...’

Both were First-Grade Basic Elixirs.

Qin Feng snorted softly.

When the Sun Dial indicated the time, the examination began. A crisp bell chimed, echoing across the arena. At the same moment, an invisible, transparent barrier of light rose around the perimeter of the circular arena, enclosing the entire area of stone stations.

As the barrier rose, the hushed whispers from the viewing stands were completely blocked out.

All eyes fell upon the arena.

Before their stone stations, all the Alchemist Apprentices participating in the examination began to light the flames in their furnaces.

Almost in unison, they placed their palms on the walls of their furnaces, channeling their True Power to ignite the flames within.

Qin Feng’s gaze fell upon the Alchemy Furnace before his station. The furnace was a uniform bronze color and radiated a mellow, persistent heat.

Its appearance was rustic, with an exquisitely crafted, pot-bellied design.

Just then, a few soft gasps of surprise broke the silence.

Qin Feng looked up to see everyone staring at Meng Ran on the opposite side.

A plume of green flame was now rising from Meng Ran’s Pill Furnace.

Far off, the Name Executor Elder’s gaze swept across the examining Alchemist Apprentices. When his eyes passed over the Pill Furnace before Meng Ran, his expression froze. "The Earth Evil Green Spirit Fire!"

The Earth Evil Green Spirit Fire. It was a rare Spirit Fire found within the Earth Core Earth Veins.

It was a type of Spirit Fire typically born only after a Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Spiritual Root sank deep into the earth and was tempered for ages by the planet’s core flames, causing its Wood Attribute to become exceptionally concentrated.

This Spirit Fire contained immense Vitality and was a rare, Upper Vehicle Spirit Fire, perfect for refining elixirs.

"That’s Master Long Mei’s Earth Evil Green Spirit Fire. It seems the little fellow has received Master Long Mei’s True Inheritance!" Elder Zhiyu was momentarily stunned, but a smile touched the corners of her eyes.

Elder Zhiyu held the utmost respect for Master Long Mei, one of the two Sixth Grade Alchemists in the Alchemist Guild. Naturally, her fondness extended to his apprentice.

Elder Zhiyu nodded gently. "A promising young man!"

Just then, a wave of scorching heat erupted. A surge of flame, as crimson as blood, burst from Ji Huang’Er’s Alchemy Furnace.

HUMMM!

The entire Pill Furnace vibrated.

The violent surge from this abnormally powerful Flame caused a disturbance.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Several loud explosions rang out across the stations.

Qin Feng turned to look at the station to his left. An invisible Qi Force was spreading across it. A standard-issue Pill Furnace had been blown to pieces, and shards flew toward him.

PING! PING! PING!

The moment they touched the Silver White Gang Qi surrounding Qin Feng, they were instantly deflected.

Before his station, Yuan Xiaobai stared blankly at the scene, his face a mixture of green and red.

Yuan Xiaobai’s Pill Furnace had exploded.

It wasn’t just Yuan Xiaobai. Two other apprentices in the examination had also lost control of their flames for a moment, causing their Pill Furnaces to detonate.

Qin Feng glanced at the culprit.

Ji Huang’Er’s face was blank, but Qin Feng saw her bite her lip.

A moment ago, she had lost control of her Flame. Her tyrannical Heaven-Burning Blood Flame had fluctuated, affecting the others.

Besides the three unlucky apprentices whose furnaces had just exploded, several others had been caught off guard, the sudden fluctuation of flame turning the Spiritual Materials in their furnaces to ash.

The Name Executor Elder glanced at the blood-red flame roaring in Ji Huang’er’s Pill Furnace, a hint of shock flashing in his eyes. Then, his gaze landed on the panicked apprentices whose furnaces had exploded, and he announced in a cold voice,

"Yuan Xiaobai, Zhao Yuqin, Lou Xiaoguang—eliminated!"

"Ah!"

Before they could even react, with a few short cries of misery, the floor beneath them vanished. A large circular hole appeared in their stone stations, and the three of them instantly fell into a mechanism, unceremoniously ejected from the examination area.

...

Qin Feng paid no mind to the commotion and fell into thought.

’Which Spirit Fire should I use for the alchemy?’

Qin Feng possessed three Spirit Fires: True Sun Fire, Heaven-Burning Blood Flame, and Heaven and Earth Sui Fire.

All three Spirit Fires had their own strengths and weaknesses.

While the True Sun Fire was ranked slightly lower, the other two—the Heaven-Burning Blood Flame and the Heaven and Earth Sui Fire—were both tyrannical, top-tier Spirit Fires.

For the purpose of alchemy, however, the Suihuo was more advantageous. Born from a Sui Tree Spiritual Root, it naturally carried a trace of the Power of Creation.

This Spirit Fire was undoubtedly better suited for concocting elixirs.

In the arena, everyone else had already begun. Only Qin Feng stood frozen in place, a sight that was difficult to ignore.

"What is he doing? Why hasn’t he moved yet?" Elder Zhiyu frowned as she watched Qin Feng, her face etched with displeasure.

"He must be nervous," the Name Executor Elder said with a light chuckle. "Many apprentices taking the Alchemist examination for the first time are too tense to perform at their best."

"Nervous?" Elder Zhiyu sneered. "A true Alchemist would never make such a rookie mistake!"

"Bring me his file. I want to see who his mentor is!" Elder Zhiyu waved her hand, and a gray-robed Pharmacist immediately approached with a stack of Beast Hide scrolls.

She flipped through Qin Feng’s registration file, her gaze lingering for a few moments on the line indicating his age.

Fifteen years old. He was quite young.

When her eyes fell to the line for his mentor, Elder Zhiyu couldn’t help but snort derisively.

Elder Zhiyu’s face turned livid with displeasure. "Another one of these unaffiliated rogues!"

Elder Zhiyu turned her head to the frowning Name Executor Elder. "Senior Brother, I’ve told you before, we shouldn’t allow these opportunists in to try their luck. See? These people are just wasting the Alchemist Guild’s Spiritual Materials!"

"I proposed this to the Elder Council, but you all refused to agree!"

"They all come from nothing, these peasants, with no sect and no backing. What real skill could they possibly possess! The second they amass a tiny bit of wealth, they run to the Alchemist Guild to show off! I truly don’t understand why we must waste the Spiritual Materials our Guild has worked so hard to collect on these disgusting peasants!"

Elder Zhiyu’s chest heaved, her expression furious. She glared at Qin Feng with undisguised disgust.

The Name Executor Elder frowned. It was undeniable that alchemy was an expensive profession.

It was a fact that without substantial wealth, it was very difficult to support the training of an Alchemist.

’Junior Sister is still as stubborn and judgmental as ever!’

Sighing softly, the Name Executor Elder shook his head. "Junior Sister, you are too prejudiced. Since ancient times, hidden dragons have lurked among the common folk. You cannot make such generalizations!"

"Just like this young man before us!"

"Impossible! Him?" Elder Zhiyu said coolly, her eyes on the file in her hands. She let out a derisive laugh. "What right does he have to become an Alchemist!"

"I’ll admit there are some promising seedlings in this examination. Ji Huang’er, Meng Ran, and Zhou Rou are all quite good. They all have the potential to become Alchemists. But this unaffiliated boy? Absolutely impossible!"

The moment Elder Zhiyu’s words fell, she suddenly noticed the entire arena had gone silent. She quickly turned to look, and at a single glance, her expression contorted in disbelief, her lips parting in a silent gasp...