Chapter 131: A Pill Emperor in the Making

"Your Majesty, the marrow-replacement method should be useful for treating blood disorders... Hmm, the term 'blood ulcer' used by Lu Xingzhou and his apprentice is more fitting. We had only proposed this concept before and hadn't yet conducted any real experiments. Lu Xingzhou might possess some unique heritage; since it aligns with our own thoughts, he is likely not just spouting nonsense."

In the examination room, Qin Zhiyu was discussing this matter with Gu Zhanting, and Lu Xingzhou's exam paper had even been retrieved for study: "Lu Xingzhou's paper explains it more clearly. I believe the feasibility is eight or nine out of ten."

Gu Zhanting said, "It is effective for blood ulcers, but what about mine?"

"It's hard to say... Your Majesty's condition is triggered by demonic power, and its root may not necessarily be in the marrow. While it looks like a blood ulcer on the surface, it is actually different. This method is not necessarily the right cure. I can only say it is worth a try; at the very least, it can serve as an auxiliary measure."

Gu Zhanting tapped his chair armrest lightly and shook his head, saying, "Lu Xingzhou's words were pointed... He likely intended for me to hear them. In fact, he was effectively stating that while the marrow-replacement method works for blood ulcers, it is ineffective for me."

Qin Zhiyu also felt that what Lu Xingzhou said was clearly meant for someone to hear, at least proving that he had discerned the hidden implications in the exam paper.

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

This judgment left Qin Zhiyu with a very favorable impression of Lu Xingzhou, but he dared not say so explicitly, instead offering praise from a different angle: "Even we were only at the stage of proposing the hypothesis for the marrow-replacement method, yet Lu Xingzhou has already proposed it with such certainty. It shows he has unique insights in this field. Once he continues his advanced studies at the Pill Academy, his future is promising. Who knows, Your Majesty's condition might truly depend on these young people."

Gu Zhanting said in a low voice, "He is showing his value to me. What is he after... With his level, passing this examination is effortless, and it probably wouldn't be too hard for him to win the top graduate title based on his own strength."

Qin Zhiyu laughed, "Your Majesty, that's not fair... What young person doesn't want to prove their value to Your Majesty? That is not shameful."

"He doesn't seem like someone who pursues fame..." Gu Zhanting said, then shook his head with a smile: "True enough. He looks calm and steady, but how many people truly don't want to climb higher? Besides, he wants revenge on the Huo family."

Gu Zhanting thought he had found the motive behind Lu Xingzhou's behavior, and felt much more at ease.

Whether the marrow-replacement method could cure him—he had actually had an inkling since Lu Xingzhou said that, and hadn't held much hope. Any progress in such matters was good. Super-grade experts had long lifespans; there was plenty of time. Even if he had to wait for the younger generation to grow up as Qin Zhiyu suggested, he could afford to wait.

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

…………

Gu Zhanting could rack his brains and never imagine that Lu Xingzhou's true goal was to prepare for the future of marrying off the old man's daughter, hence the display of value.

If it weren't for his wife, he wouldn't bother showing off to Gu Zhanting at all.

To put it bluntly, even his gilding himself by entering the Pill Academy was for Shen Tang.

Regardless, being able to provide ideas for the treatment of leukemia in this world was a deed of boundless merit; he would do it first and worry about the rest later. As for Gu Zhanting's illness, it was impossible for this method to be effective; at most, it could count as a reference.

Because if it were effective, many elixirs should have been effective too. Since even the Huo family's previous elixirs couldn't cure it, it was clearly not something that could be handled by conventional means.

The Demon Emperor was a super-grade; the hidden injuries it left behind would likely require super-grade elixirs to resolve.

Lu Xingzhou was too lazy to care. After treating patients all day and being exhausted to death, he fell fast asleep as soon as it got dark, and when he opened his eyes, it was the final day of the alchemy examination.

The alchemy examination was not done hiding in a room alone, but moved to the large square of the Pill Academy, where all candidates could see the results of others' work—fair and square.

If it were the Pill Bureau grading and ranking, then yesterday's diagnosis, listing targeted pill formulas, and today's refining of the specific pills needed by the patients would be the standard procedure for grading.

The patients brought in by the Pill Academy were all very representative, and the pills each candidate had to refine were exactly grade six.

In other words, as long as one could refine the pills needed for yesterday's diagnosis, and the quality was passable, one could already obtain a grade-six alchemist certification.

Chen Jinnian had been the head of the Xiazhou Pill Bureau for so many years and was only a grade-six high-tier; grade five was something he had just broken through to. When he participated in the examination in his youth, he was at most a grade-seven mid-to-low level; it was perfectly normal that he hadn't passed the exam...

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

On the large square, earth fire surged, and a large pile of pill furnaces were refining simultaneously. The Emperor was watching from the high platform, so everyone was putting in their best effort to perform.

With a "bang," someone's furnace exploded, and they burst into tears before being escorted out by the guards.

For Lu Xingzhou, the "too simple" examination was not so easy for the vast majority of people. Just refining these grade-six pills had already screened out half the people one after another.

People basically had no mind to observe others. If someone did, they would find a small child also refining pills independently, not helping an adult manage the fire...

Anuo asked quietly, "Master, why am I refining pills by myself too? I see their child attendants are all helping their masters."

Lu Xingzhou found it truly amusing: "Because Anuo is cuter than their attendants."

"But I want to help Master."

"Relax, it's just a grade-six pill... There will be times for you to help later."

While they were talking, several furnace lids jumped up almost simultaneously. Lu Xingzhou glanced over: two young Daoist priests, one looking like a young master, plus himself and Anuo... These five, who were the fastest to refine the grade-six pills, were likely the top five in this competition.

For such an important examination, everyone didn't play any fancy tricks like refining multiple pills in one furnace; they all honestly refined only one.

Five pills floated out of the furnaces simultaneously, and people from the Pill Academy stepped forward to inspect them: "Daoist Xuanqing, top-grade."

"Daoist Hewei, top-grade."

"Chen Yu, top-grade."

"Lu Xingzhou... Lu Nuonuo, top-grade."

"???" This time, many candidates turned their heads to look, only to see a round-faced little girl carved from pink jade sitting in front of the pill furnace, with black soot on her face, blinking her eyes in great confusion.

"Don't tell me this child is also a candidate this time?" A Daoist priest was dumbfounded: "This is the Capital Pill Academy, not a primary school!"

"Silence!" Meng Li patrolled the area, watching yesterday's patients take the newly refined pills, their symptoms disappearing completely: "The pills are all correct for the symptoms; the examination is passed."

"???" This child passed?

Those who hadn't passed were stunned, truly unable to accept that they were inferior to a child.

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

Passing was not the pursuit of the outstanding ones... Everyone was pursuing the ranking, the top graduate title.

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

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

Gu Zhanting watched the candidates quietly for a long time, then said lightly, "You have all been tested for three days and are very tired, so I won't set any fancy tricks. Simple and clear: I will choose a grade-four pill formula from the royal collection that none of you have seen before. Each of you will start refining, and the ranking will be decided by the quantity and quality of the pills."

The gamblers had told Sheng Yuanyao that the strength of people like Daoist Xuanqing had already reached grade five, and there was a probability of successfully refining grade-four pills.

People thought there was a huge gap between Lu Xingzhou and this level, but in reality, this was Lu Xingzhou's level before he went to the capital—the Dragon-Elephant Pill he refined for Shen Tang at that time was a grade-four pill; he failed once at the time, and only succeeded later during his 'sage time'. Comparing this way, everyone's strength was basically on par.

But the problem was, at that time Lu Xingzhou's cultivation was only grade six, leading to insufficient control and scattered spiritual sense. But at this moment, Lu Xingzhou's cultivation had already broken through grade five, which was different... Anuo knew very well that Master had been practicing in the secret room these past few days, and his success rate for refining grade-four pills was already ten out of ten; he would only occasionally fail once or twice if he wanted to try refining multiple pills in one furnace.

If there was her, Anuo, assisting, then it wouldn't be called a success rate, but a top-grade rate.

But this time Anuo had to refine her own, so she couldn't be distracted to help Master?

Just as she was distracted, with a "boom," the furnace fire rushed wildly, and Anuo's face instantly turned black with soot, blinking her eyes in confusion.

"Pfft..." Many teachers at the Pill Academy laughed quietly. Such a little doll, refining grade-four pills... Is she here to sell cuteness? Look, is the furnace about to explode?

As a result, the flames flickered for a long time, then gradually stabilized, and the furnace didn't explode.

"Eh..." Xuanqing and the others were distracted and glanced over, shocked in their hearts.

The pill formula given by the Emperor belonged to the kind with very violent medicinal properties, and it was extremely easy to explode the furnace when refining. This child's pill fire was chaotic, so how could the medicinal properties still be stable without exploding?

"Bang, bang, bang!" The sound of exploding furnaces erupted one after another on the scene. The candidates who had successfully passed the grade-six pills could no longer hold on this time, almost being wiped out.

The refining of grade-four pills, for young alchemists at the current stage, was truly outrageously beyond the syllabus.

As a result, everyone else had exploded, but the child hadn't.

Not to mention the alchemists, even the guards on the sidelines poked their heads to watch, and everyone's eyes were completely sucked in by this little girl. She wasn't even as tall as the pill furnace; when she sat cross-legged with her feet crossed, she didn't seem as tall as the furnace legs...

Anuo scratched her head. As long as the fire didn't mess with her, refining grade-four pills seemed simple too... Why were they looking at her like that?

She felt she could refine nine at the same time; she was still too conservative, thinking the pill formula given by the Emperor was very difficult, so she only refined six... Weren't these medicinal properties quite similar to the Imperial Supreme World-Shocking Scripture? Long-lasting and domineering; so the royal family's pill attributes were like this too...

But it wasn't good for the pills to be too domineering. Sure enough, Sister Qingli was right; the Imperial Supreme World-Shocking Scripture was really not a good cultivation technique.

"Whoosh!" The furnace lid spun, and the pill fragrance overflowed.

Six pills spun and flew up.

"I'm done, old grandpa, come and check the pills." Anuo was too lazy to even look at them herself, and ran directly to Lu Xingzhou's side: "Master, Master, I'll come and help you manage the fire."

Lu Xingzhou was caught between laughter and tears and held her down: "You are also a candidate today; if you come to help me, it will be cheating. Sit on the side and play, be good."

Anuo was dazed, still not knowing why she became a candidate. She didn't have a recommendation letter either... Did it count if she came in with Master?

Over there, Qin Zhiyu, Meng Li, and others surrounded Anuo's pill furnace, tremblingly took down the pills to check, their voices trembling: "Grade-four Eight-Meridian Sea-Breaking Pill, six in one furnace, quality... top-grade!"

The whole square roared, Xuanqing and the others stood up in horror, blurting out in disbelief: "This is impossible!"

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PS: Tomorrow is the last day for double monthly tickets, asking for monthly tickets again~