In the first two group, the main focus was naturally Xu Feng-er and Sun Keyun.
Reality had proven that these two people truly could best the Dan Wu Academy’s students.
When the two of them walked out of the herbal warehouse, everyone else was still looking for herbs.
As for Xu Feng-er and Sun Keyun, the two of them were pretty much neck-to-neck and exited the herbal warehouse together.
Watching Xu Feng-er and Sun Keyun standing out like cranes among chickens, both Elder Wang and Elder Sun felt a pleasant warmth on their faces. Especially Elder Wang who was vexed by Ye Yuan earlier. Right now, he felt his mood turn for the better.
Elder Wang was named Wang Jinfu, and Elder Sun was Sun Jianming. The two of them were veterans in the Alchemist Association and also highly respected Alchemy Grandmasters who were second to none in the State of Qin.
Both of them were the Alchemist Association’ deputy chairmen, but they were secretly competing by bringing their disciples to take part in this test this time around.
“Oh Old Sun. I didn’t think that Keyun this lass would improve so quickly. I’m afraid you expended no little effort on her!” Wang Jinfu said as he stroked his beard.
“Haha. Your family’s Feng-er isn’t bad either. I remember that you only took her in as your last disciple the previous year. I didn’t think that she was going to become a high-rank Alchemy Apprentice this quickly.”
“That’s right. Feng-er this lass is quite intelligent. Just a little bit, and she would understand. She is a good seedling. During this herb selection stage, it counts as a draw between the two of them. But this is just the appetizer. The key point is still the refinement.”
Sun Jianming nodded in approval.
It was apparent that between these two old men, Wang Jianfu was more talkative, while Sun Jianming was taciturn.
After Xu Feng-er and Sun Keyun entered the refinement room, they immediately started preparing the herbs.
During the preparation stage, their actions were very swift and proficient. One could see that the two of them were frequently assisting the two old fogeys outside.
However, these basic skills were normally not visible. The effects would only show itself when it really came down to it.
Aside from some students who had greater emphasis placed on them, the Dan Wu Academy’s students rarely had the opportunity to do miscellaneous tasks for the instructors. Thus, they obviously could not be compared to how fast Xu Feng-er and Sun Keyun were.
Furthermore, Wang Jianfu and Sun Jianming were Alchemy Grandmasters. With them teaching step-by-step along the way, it would be impossible for these two girls not to stand above the rest.
The Dan Wu Academy students were worse off once again during this segment.
What amazed everyone was that the two of them progressed in a synchronized manner without any clear distinction between them. It was like Xu Feng-er and Sun Keyun discussed it beforehand.
From selecting the herbs to finishing the preparation of the herbs, these two girls took around an hour. One could see just how solid their fundamental skills were.
Each student had three chances in the Alchemist Association’s test. So everyone would prepare three sets of herbs.
Xu Feng-er and Sun Keyun finished preparing their herbs and started on their first refinement.
In the hall, Feng Zhirou watched the light screen in utter boredom. She was already a high-rank Alchemy Apprentice since long ago, so she obviously lacked interest in watching this kind of matches again.
“Hey, Ye Yuan. Who do you think will win between those two girls?” Feng Zhirou moved over to Ye Yuan’s side and started talking with voice transmission.
In this hall, no matter how quiet she was, those two old men would definitely hear it with their strength.
“Sun Keyun,” Ye Yuan similarly replied using voice transmission without even thinking about it.
“Eh? You already knew it? Why?” Feng Zhirou was surprised.
Feng Zhirou did not doubt Ye Yuan’s words. She knew that Ye Yuan was really amazing. Feng Ruoqing’s eyes were always at the top of her head. A youth that was so highly regarded by her aunt was absolutely no ordinary man.
It was just that no matter how amazing she felt Ye Yuan was, she did not think that he could pass through the Alchemy Master test with his Fourth Level Essence Qi Realm.
“Because Chairman Sun is a notch above,” Ye Yuan replied nonchalantly.
“Chairman Sun? What has it got to do with Chairman Sun?” Feng Zhirou was confused by Ye Yuan.
“Chairman Sun is a man of few words and is more infatuated with Alchemy Dao. His abilities should be a notch above Chairman Wang’s. Chairman Sun is pragmatic, so he is logically more strict when teaching apprentices. Sun Keyun inherited her predecessor’s style, so she is obviously a cut above.”
“No way. Just because of this?”
Ye Yuan rolled his eyes at Feng Zhirou. “When they were choosing the herbs, the two of them seemed to be on par. But Sun Keyun was actually slightly faster than Xu Feng-er.”
Feng Zhirou was dumbfounded. “How did you tell?”
“Xu Feng-er is refining the Fierce Tiger Pill, while Sun Keyun is refining the Profound Clarity Pill. The Profound Clarity Pill has one more secondary ingredient than the Fierce Tiger Pill, but the two of them finished at the same time. The winner and the loser are clear at a glance.”
Ye Yuan’s words left Feng Zhirou wide-mouthed for a moment. “Y-you aren’t talking rubbish, are you? You can tell what kind of pill they are refining just from the light screen?
Ye Yuan gave a faint smile. “Won’t you know whether I’m talking rubbish or not after they finish refining?”
“Fine then. I want to see if you are the real thing! If I find out that you were talking crap, no need for Chairman Wang to take action. I will throw you out first!” Feng Zhirou threatened him.
“Whatever!” Ye Yuan said indifferently.
“Tch. Talked until it sounds so incredible. The final result of the test still lies on the refined medicinal pill. Even if they really refined the Fierce Tiger Pill and the Profound Clarity Pill, it still wouldn’t be easy to determine the winner between these two pills, right?” After a short while, Feng Zhirou found it boring and transmitted her voice over again.
“No, the winner has already been decided.”
“Acting! Carry on acting! I don’t believe that you can tell which one of them won from the light screen! Both of their herbs are only half-way refined and haven’t condensed into a pill yet!” Feng Zhirou was triggered by Ye Yuan’s posturing attitude and felt even more strongly that Ye Yuan was talking nonsense.
“Sun Keyun’s refinement went smoothly. Without any accident, it should be a high-grade medicinal pill. But Xu Feng-er made a small mistake at the start of the refinement, Even though she corrected it right away, it definitely affected the quality of the Fierce Tiger Pill. At best, it can barely reach the high-grade standard. If later on she made another mistake, it wouldn’t be surprising for it to become a middle-grade medicinal pill.” Ye Yuan continued to analyze calmly.
“Did Xu Feng-er make a mistake? Why didn’t I see it?”
“Your level is too low, so you can’t see it.”
“Ye Yuan! You!” If not for the fact that this was not the right place, Feng Zhirou would definitely stab him with her sword again.
. . . . . .
Xu Feng-er and Sun Keyun finished refining virtually at the same time. Furthermore, they succeeded with one try and only used an hour.
Among these two groups of students, they thoroughly deserved to be kings. It was already without any doubt that they passed the high-rank Alchemy Apprentice test.
What was left was seeing the quality of the medicinal pill that the two of them refined to determine who was better.
The two of them carried the medicinal pill that they refined and walked to the hall. Bowing towards the two old men, they said respectfully, “Master (Grandfather), please inspect.”
But Wang Jinfu laughed and turned to Feng Ruoqing instead. “It naturally isn’t nice for us to talk about our family. Can Miss Feng come and help us judge?”
Feng Ruoqing smiled lightly and said, “It’s better to accept than to stand on ceremony.”
Feng Ruoqing took the medicinal pill on Xu Feng-er’s tray and inspected closely. “A high-grade Tier 1 medicinal pill, the Fierce Tiger pill. It was completed outstandingly and has reached the standard of high-grade.”
Finishing, Feng Ruoqing did the same with Sun Keyun’s medicinal pill, and said, “A high-grade Tier 1 medicinal pill, the Profound Clarity Pill. Similarly finished splendidly. The grade of the medicinal pill has also reached the standard of high-grade.”
At a corner, Feng Zhirou’s jaw dropped and looked at Ye Yuan as if she saw a ghost . . .