Chapter 147: The Young Alchemy Emperor Grows Up at Home

"Your Majesty, the marrow-replacement method should be useful for treating blood diseases... hmm, what Master Lu Xingzhou and his disciple said about 'blood ulcers' is more accurate. Previously, we only proposed this viewpoint and did not truly experiment. Lu Xingzhou perhaps has a different lineage; since it aligns with our thoughts, he must not be speaking nonsense."

In the chief examiner's room, Qin Zhiyu was discussing this matter with Gu Zhiting, and Lu Xingzhou's exam paper was also retrieved for study: "Lu Xingzhou wrote more clearly in his paper; I feel the feasibility is nine out of ten."

Gu Zhiting said, "If it is effective for blood ulcers, what about mine?"

"It is hard to say... Your Majesty's condition is triggered by demonic power, and its root may not lie in the marrow. It looks like a blood ulcer on the surface, but is actually different; this method indeed may not be the right cure. We can only say it is worth trying, at least as an auxiliary strategy."

Gu Zhiting lightly tapped the armrest of his chair, shaking his head and saying, "What Lu Xingzhou said implies something... he must have said it intentionally for me to hear. In effect, he is stating clearly that the marrow-replacement method is effective for blood ulcers, but ineffective for me."

Qin Zhiyu also felt that what Lu Xingzhou said was clearly intended for others to hear; at the very least, it proved he had seen the hidden meaning within the exam paper.

Knowing it was useless, he still proposed the marrow-replacement method, not for the Emperor, but for the common people truly suffering from blood ulcers.

This judgment greatly improved Qin Zhiyu's impression of Lu Xingzhou, but he dared not say so directly, instead praising him from another angle: "Even we are only at the stage of proposing the marrow-replacement method, yet Lu Xingzhou has already proposed it with certainty, showing he possesses unique understanding in this field. Once he continues his studies at the Alchemy Academy, his future is promising; perhaps Your Majesty's condition will truly depend on these young people."

Gu Zhiting spoke in a low voice, "He is showing his value to me... what does he seek? His skill level would pass this assessment without difficulty; relying on his own strength to win the Top Graduate title probably wouldn't be too hard either."

Qin Zhiyu smiled, "Your Majesty says that... which young person does not wish to prove their value to Your Majesty? This is not shameful."

"He does not seem like someone pursuing fame and fortune..." Gu Zhiting said, then laughed and shook his head himself: "True, he looks calm and steady, but how many people truly do not wish to climb higher? Besides, he wants to take revenge on the Huo family."

Gu Zhiting thought he had found the meaning behind Lu Xingzhou's behavior, and his heart felt much lighter.

Whether the marrow-replacement method could cure him, Gu Zhiting actually had a clear idea from the moment Lu Xingzhou spoke; he did not hold high hopes. As long as there was progress in such matters, it was good. Super-grade experts have long lifespans; it is still very early. Even if he truly waited for the younger generation to grow up as Qin Zhiyu suggested, he could afford to wait.

What was important was that talented young people like Lu Xingzhou had desires... as long as they had desires, they could be used.

Gu Zhiting racked his brains but could not think that Lu Xingzhou's true goal was preparing for the old man to marry off his daughter in the future, thus showing his value.

If it were not for his wife, why show anything to Gu Zhiting?

To put it plainly, even entering the Alchemy Academy to gild his resume was for Shen Tang.

Regardless, providing ideas for treating blood cancer in this world is an act of boundless merit; do it first and worry later. As for Gu Zhiting's illness, this method could not possibly be effective; at most, it counts as a reference.

Because if this were effective, then many alchemical pills should also be effective. Since even the Huo family's previous pills could not cure it, it is obviously not something achievable by conventional means.

The Demon Emperor is a super-grade expert; the hidden injuries he left behind would likely require super-grade pills to resolve.

Lu Xingzhou was too lazy to worry about much; after treating patients all day, he was half-dead from exhaustion. As soon as night fell, he collapsed into deep sleep, and when he opened his eyes, it was already the final day of the alchemy assessment.

The alchemy assessment was no longer about hiding alone in a room; it was moved to the large square of the Alchemy Academy, where all candidates could see each other's results, fair and square.

If the Pill Bureau were to determine grades, then treating the sick yesterday, listing targeted prescriptions, and today refining the specific pills needed by the patients would be the standard process for grading.

The patients brought by the Alchemy Academy were all highly representative; the pills every candidate had to refine were exactly sixth-grade.

That is to say, as long as one refined the pills needed for yesterday's diagnosis and the quality was passable, one could already obtain a sixth-grade Alchemist certification.

Chen Zhangsi served as the Director of the Xiazhou Pill Bureau for so many years and was only at the upper stage of sixth grade; fifth grade was just broken through. When he was young and came to participate in the assessment, his level was at best mid-to-lower seventh grade; failing to pass the assessment was simply too normal...

But for Lu Xingzhou at this very moment, refining sixth-grade pills was, as Anuo said, "too simple."

In the large square, earth fires surged, and a huge pile of cauldrons were refining simultaneously. The Emperor sat on a high platform watching this; everyone was straining to perform.

With a "Bang," someone exploded their cauldron, weeping bitterly, and was then escorted out by the guards.

For Lu Xingzhou's "too simple" assessment, it was not that easy for the vast majority. Just refining these sixth-grade pills had already eliminated half the people one by one.

People basically had no mind to observe others; if someone did observe, they would discover a small child was also refining pills independently, not helping an adult control the fire...

Anuo quietly asked, "Master, why am I refining pills by myself? I see the other children are helping their masters."

Lu Xingzhou found it truly funny: "Because Anuo is cuter than their children."

"But I want to help Master."

"Relax, mere sixth-grade pills... there will be a time for your help later."

While speaking, several cauldron lids jumped up almost simultaneously. Lu Xingzhou glanced over; two young Daoist Priests, one Young Master, plus himself and Anuo... these five, who refined sixth-grade pills the fastest, were likely the top five competitors this time.

For such an important assessment, no one played tricks like refining multiple pills in one cauldron; everyone honestly refined only one.

Five pills floated out of the cauldrons simultaneously, and people from the Alchemy Academy naturally stepped forward to inspect: "Daoist Xuan Qing, supreme quality."

"Daoist He Hui, supreme quality."

"Chen Yu, supreme quality."

"Lu Xingzhou... Lu Nuonuo, supreme quality."

"???" This time, many candidates turned their heads to look, seeing a round-faced little girl, carved from jade and painted with pink, sitting before a cauldron. Her face was still covered in black soot, and she blinked her eyes in great confusion.

"Don't tell me this child is also a candidate this time?" A Daoist Priest stood dumbfounded: "This is the Imperial Alchemy Academy, not a primary school!"

"Silence!" Meng Li patrolled the area, watching yesterday's patients take the freshly refined pills; their illnesses vanished completely: "All pills are effective; the assessment is passed."

"???" This child passed?

Those who had not yet passed were stunned, truly unable to accept being inferior to a child.

And the few who passed looked at each other, with caution in their eyes.

Passing was not what the outstanding ones pursued... everyone pursued ranking, the Top Graduate title.

The exam paper scores from the day before yesterday, combined with today's alchemy competition, would determine the final ranking.

Sixth-grade pills had nothing to compare; to distinguish high from low, a tie-breaker was naturally needed. Since the Emperor was present, naturally the Emperor would set the question, similar to the palace examination.

Gu Zhiting watched the candidates silently for a while, then said indifferently, "You have been tested for three days and are very tired; I will not play any tricks. Simple and clear: I will select a fourth-grade prescription from the Imperial collection that none of you have seen. Each will begin refining, and the ranking will be decided by the quantity and quality of the pills."

The gamblers had told Sheng Yuanyao that Daoist Xuan Qing and others had reached fifth-grade strength, with a probability of successfully refining fourth-grade pills.

People thought Lu Xingzhou's level was far behind this standard, but in fact, this was Lu Xingzhou's level before going to the capital—back then, the Dragon-Elephant Pill he refined for Shen Tang was a fourth-grade pill; he failed once, then succeeded after refining again during his sage time. Comparing this, everyone's strength was basically on par.

But the problem was, back then Lu Xingzhou's cultivation was only sixth grade, leading to insufficient control and scattered spirit. Now, Lu Xingzhou's cultivation has broken fifth grade; it is different... Anuo knew clearly that her master had been practicing in the secret room these past few days, and his success rate for refining fourth-grade pills was already one hundred percent; only when attempting to refine multiple pills in one cauldron would he occasionally make one or two mistakes.

If she, Anuo, assisted, it would not be called a success rate, but a supreme quality rate.

But this time Anuo wanted to refine by herself, so she could not spare attention to help her master?

Just as she lost focus, with a "Boom," the furnace fire surged wildly, and Anuo's face was instantly covered in black soot; she blinked her eyes, not knowing what was happening.

"Hehe..." Many teachers of the Alchemy Academy quietly laughed; such a little child refining fourth-grade pills... was she here to act cute? Look, the cauldron is about to explode, right?

As a result, the flames shook for a long time, then gradually stabilized again; the cauldron did not explode.

"Eh..." Daoist Xuan Qing and the others glanced over, their hearts shocked.

The pill formula given by Your Majesty belongs to the extremely fierce type; refining it easily causes the furnace to explode. This child's pill fire is chaotic, yet how is the medicinal nature still stable enough not to explode?

"Boom! Boom! Boom!" Explosions from ruined furnaces erupted one after another on the scene; the candidates who had just successfully passed the sixth-grade pill could no longer hold on this time, almost all wiped out.

Refining fourth-grade pills is, for young alchemists at this stage, truly absurdly beyond the syllabus.

Yet while everyone else had mostly exploded theirs, the little child had not.

Let alone the alchemists, even the guards on the sidelines poked their heads out to watch; everyone's gaze was completely sucked dry by this little girl. She wasn't even as tall as the furnace; when she sat cross-legged with her toes held, she seemed not even as tall as the furnace legs...

A'nuo scratched her head; as long as the fire didn't mess with her, refining fourth-grade pills seemed very simple... Why were they all looking at her like that?

She felt she could refine nine at the same time; she was being too conservative. She thought the formula given by the Emperor was so difficult, yet she only refined six... This medicinal nature actually resembles the Imperial Extreme Shocking World Sutra, long-lasting yet domineering; so even the imperial family's pill attributes are like this...

But pills being too domineering is not good; indeed, it was correct what Sister Miss Qingli said; the Imperial Extreme Shocking World Sutra is indeed not a good cultivation method.

"Whoosh!" The furnace lid spun away, and the scent of pills overflowed.

Six pills rose spinning into the air.

"I'm done, Grandpa, come check the pills." A'nuo didn't even bother to look herself, directly kicked her feet and ran to Lu Xingzhou's side: "Master, Master, I'm here to help you control the fire."

Lu Xingzhou, half laughing and half crying, held her down: "Today you are also a candidate; if you run over to help me, it becomes cheating. Sit aside and play, be good."

A'nuo's eyes went blank; to this day she didn't know why she had become a candidate. She didn't have a recommendation letter either... Could it be that entering with the Master counts?

Over there, Qin Zhiyu, Meng Li, and others crowded around A'nuo's furnace, trembling as they took down the pills to inspect them, their voices shaking: "Fourth-grade Eight Meridians Sea-Breaking Pill, six from one furnace, quality... Supreme Grade!"

The entire square roared; Daoist Xuan Qing and others rose in shock, unable to believe it as they blurted out: "This is impossible!"

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PS: Tomorrow is the last day of the double bonus; asking for monthly votes once more~

(End of this chapter)