Chapter 1916: Hall Master Proctoring

Soon, Yao Alchemist brought two elders over.

Lin Xiyao, seeing this, immediately stepped forward to greet the two elders.

"Hall Master, Deputy Hall Master!"

The two Hall Masters also knew Lin Xiyao and actually started joking with her.

"Xiyao, why hasn't your master been here for so long?"

"Is it because you look down on us old folks?"

The Hall Master looked to be in his forties or fifties, with a protruding belly, a faint scent of fireworks about him, and his clothes seemed not to have been changed for years.

The Deputy Hall Master's appearance was much the same, only slightly less scruffy.

At a glance, these people were Alchemists obsessed with pill‑refining.

"Master has been busy refining pills lately..." Lin Xiyao added some polite words.

Ye Liuyun was a bit stunned: "I'm just taking the Alchemist test; it shouldn't require bringing two Hall Masters to proctor, right?"

He thought to himself.

In fact, being a fourth‑rank Alchemist, he didn't think much of it himself.

But in the Divine Realm, Alchemists are not numerous; reaching third‑rank Alchemist status is already impressive even in small towns.

Fourth‑rank is already a hurdle for many Alchemists.

After greeting Lin Xiyao, the Hall Master sat down beside the Deputy Hall Master.

Ye Liuyun bowed to them; they merely nodded and gave him a quick appraisal.

"Begin, and I hope you won't waste our time!"

The Hall Master said directly to Yao Alchemist.

"Yes!"

Yao Alchemist replied and began the fourth‑rank Alchemist assessment.

The fourth‑rank assessment was clearly much harder than the previous tests.

It required not only identifying the herbs but also estimating their approximate age and describing their properties.

But none of this troubled Ye Liuyun; the Herbal Illustrated Encyclopedia contained detailed entries on all of them.

Next came the pharmacology test; Yao Alchemist handed Ye Liuyun a formula for a Transformation Pill and asked him to spot any issues.

Ye Liuyun had never seen this formula nor refined such a pill, so he could only analyze it based on the herbs' properties.

He summarized five issues: "First, these herbs should be refined with yin fire... Finally, the pill produced by this formula releases its effect slowly; after ingestion it takes at least half an hour to work. Adding a drop of yin‑type ferocious beast essence blood and a bit of spiritual ginseng would accelerate the effect!"

When Ye Liuyun finished, Yao Alchemist was also stunned; his answer clearly differed from the standard.

He looked at the two Hall Masters.

Both Hall Masters fell into contemplation.

"Hand me the formula, let me see."

The Deputy Hall Master's voice broke the silence.

Yao Alchemist promptly handed the formula to the Deputy Hall Master.

After looking, the Deputy Hall Master laughed heartily.

"Hahaha, Lao Ma, your now‑famous pill really needs its formula revised!"

"Uh... it's over! It's actually the Hall Master's formula!"

Ye Liuyun silently cursed himself.

But he didn't mind much; after all, he was already a third‑rank Alchemist and didn't truly care about rank.

The Hall Master, now scowling, shouted at Ye Liuyun: "Adding feet to a snake! I let you point out flaws in the formula, yet you propose nonsense suggestions!"

"Do you know this formula was my own creation? How dare you ask me to change it?"

Lin Xiyao silently sweated for Ye Liuyun, fearing that a misstep might offend the Hall Master and cost him the fourth‑rank qualification.

Ye Liuyun instead thought that Alchemists in the Divine Realm were all petty.

Lin Luoyi couldn't help but remark that the Hall Master was no different.

He was blunt, saying: "The formula is yours; whether you change it is up to you.

I'm merely offering my suggestion!"

The Hall Master, gripping the armrest of a row of chairs, shouted again: "You're not even a fourth‑rank Alchemist, yet you dare give me advice?"

Ye Liuyun retorted disdainfully: "The world is vast; strange things abound.

No one can guarantee they're always right.

As a high‑rank Alchemist, you can't even heed others' counsel..."

Ye Liuyun slowly shook his head, said no more, and instead bowed to Yao Alchemist, asking: "Yao Alchemist, my third‑rank Alchemist qualification can be confirmed now, right?"

He thought his assessment could no longer proceed.

At that moment, the Hall Master suddenly laughed, and the Deputy Hall Master beamed and nodded repeatedly.

Yao Alchemist also smiled at Ye Liuyun, leaving him completely bewildered.

After laughing, the Hall Master explained to Ye Liuyun: "I was only pretending to be angry earlier, just testing you.

Now you dare speak honestly; there aren't many young Alchemists with your backbone! Rest assured, continue the assessment!"

"Uh... Alchemists also test character?"

Ye Liuyun was quite puzzled.

"Hurry and continue; I can't wait!"

The Deputy Hall Master also urged from beside.

Thus Yao Alchemist's assessment continued, having Ye Liuyun simultaneously refine two herbs of opposite yin‑yang attributes.

Ye Liuyun immediately used both yin and yang flames, and in a few moments refined the medicinal materials, leaving everyone stunned.

You have two kinds of flame?

The Hall Master asked excitedly, his voice trembling.

Moreover, he could sense that Ye Liuyun's two flame powers were both strong.

Ye Liuyun nodded and admitted it.

An alchemy prodigy!

The Vice Hall Master also praised him.

Lin Xiyao hadn't even known before that Ye Liuyun possessed two flames.

She had only seen Ye Liuyun use yang flame before.

Ye Liuyun wasn't showing off; he felt this method saved the most time.

Using a single flame and controlling the temperature to slowly refine would also work, just slower.

He also wanted to finish the exam quickly so he could go eat with Lin Xiyao and lure Mu Lianqing over.

He really didn't want to waste too much time here.

Next came the pill-refining exam.

For Alchemists of fourth rank and above, there is no restriction on pill type; examinees may choose freely.

Normally, the Alchemist Alliance provides the medicinal materials to the examinees.

Ye Liuyun also didn't wait for them to get materials; he directly took out his own materials and began refining Qi Refining Pills.

This time he directly refined a fifth-rank pill, intending to use it himself afterward.

Moreover, he refined eighty pills in one go.

Ye Liuyun took out his own pill furnace, skillfully added the medicinal materials, moved his ten fingers in unison to control different flame temperatures, and began refining.

Both Hall Masters kept nodding.

Lin Xiyao could see that Ye Liuyun had already mastered her alchemy technique and had even improved upon it in some aspects.

But she could not refine eighty pills at once.

Her Soul power and Flame power were not as strong as Ye Liuyun's.

Ye Liuyun also used different flames for different medicinal properties, making the refinement process much faster than hers.

Because he often needed to refine large batches of medicinal materials, he had already made it a habit to think about saving time and refining more pills.

When the pills finally emerged from the furnace, they were all fifth-rank eighth-grade, one grade higher than what Ye Liuyun had previously refined himself.

He guessed it was because his flame power had increased and his flame control ability had also improved.