Chapter 90

The chief examiner sat in the middle, an old man with a long white beard, his gaze as sharp as an eagle's, and one could tell at a glance that he was an experienced potion master.

Luo En immediately recognized him—Magnus Crow, one of the most senior alchemy mentors in the school.

"Welcome everyone to this Alchemist certification exam."

Magnus's voice was loud and powerful, showing no signs of old age:

"I am the chief examiner, Magnus, and I will judge everyone's performance today together with two deputy examiners."

He briefly introduced the exam process: "The exam is divided into three parts—theoretical test, material identification, and practical refining. Those who meet the passing standards in all three items can obtain the Alchemist certification."

The assistant began to distribute the theoretical test papers, and after Luo En got the paper, he browsed through it quickly.

The questions covered all aspects of basic alchemy, including both basic knowledge points and some advanced questions that required deep thinking.

Thanks to his hard study during this period, he found that most of the questions were within his grasp.

Luo En began to answer calmly, with clear thinking and writing as if he had divine help:

"There are four basic principles of pharmacology, please elaborate and give examples."

"The reaction differences between star grass and moon shadow flower at different temperatures..."

"Why does the 'sobering' potion need to be brewed in a special airtight container..."

As one question after another was answered, Luo En felt the knowledge in his brain seemingly connecting into a network spontaneously.

Those once scattered knowledge points were now naturally merging into a whole, and every answer gave him a feeling of being refreshed.

During the theoretical exam, he was surprised to find that he could even recall every page of "Basic Alchemy," including those small notes and charts.

This almost photographic memory allowed him to handle the answers with ease.

Two hours later, the theoretical exam ended.

Luo En checked his answers once to ensure there were no errors, then handed in the paper.

A premonition flashed in his heart, as if some change was about to happen.

Next was the material identification part:

Each candidate was brought to a workbench, on which twenty different materials were placed. The task was to correctly identify the type and approximate quality of each within thirty minutes and point out the fakes mixed among them.

Luo En stood in front of the workbench, took a deep breath, and let his spirit focus completely.

Thanks to the [High-Speed Identification] characteristic obtained after the [Herb Identification] skill broke through to the mastery level, he could judge the authenticity and quality of most materials at a glance.

He quickly began to identify, his movements skilled and precise.

The moment his fingers touched the materials, various information flooded into his brain through special perception:

This silver light mushroom was picked too long ago, and its activity had decreased slightly;

This dragon blood leaf was genuine, but improper storage had weakened its efficacy;

This so-called stardust crystal was actually processed quartz powder, completely a fake...

During the material identification process, Luo En found that not only was [Herb Identification] playing a role, but he could even compare these materials with the records in various obscure classics he had read in the past.

Those once scattered knowledge points now all emerged in his mind, forming a complete cognitive map.

"Time's up!" The examiner announced, "Please stop identifying."

Luo En exhaled lightly and looked at his answer sheet, which he had checked countless times, ensuring there were no omissions.

He was very confident in his judgment, especially those fakes that were deliberately mixed in, all of which were seen through by him one by one.

The situations of the candidates next to him were different; some looked confident, some looked solemn, and some looked frustrated, clearly not very satisfied with their performance.

"Apprentice Luo En, please come over." Magnus suddenly called his name, gesturing for Luo En to approach the examiner's seat.

Luo En's heart tightened, and he walked quickly to the chief examiner: "Master Magnus."

"Your judgment on material number eighteen is very interesting." Magnus's eyes flashed with curiosity:

"Half of the candidates think it is the root of moon shadow orchid, while you judged it to be a fake disguised by winter night grass. Can you tell me your reason?"

Luo En thought for a moment and answered directly:

"The root of the real moon shadow orchid has seven concentric rings on the cross-section, and it has a faint sweet fragrance after being crushed. Although material number eighteen looks similar, the cross-section only has five rings, and the smell after crushing is bitter, which is a typical characteristic of winter night grass."

Magnus nodded expressionlessly: "Very good, continue."

"More importantly," Luo En added calmly:

"The silver stripes on the root of the moon shadow orchid will change position with the moon phase. Today is the first quarter moon, the genuine product should have left-leaning patterns, while material number eighteen has fixed right-leaning patterns, which is clearly caused by artificial dyeing."

A trace of surprise flashed in Magnus's eyes, and then he returned to seriousness: "Who did you learn material identification skills from? This ability to observe details is very unusual."

"I once worked in a potion shop for a period of time, and the shop owner there taught me some basic methods."

Luo En answered truthfully: "Others were accumulated through practical experience."

"A potion shop, huh..." Magnus narrowed his eyes, probably having guessed the answer in his heart: "Alright, you can go and continue preparing for the next part."

The practical refining part is the most critical part of the exam:

The staff prepared a relatively independent refining table for each candidate, equipped with basic refining equipment and commonly used materials.

Magnus walked to Luo En and handed him a note: "These are the three types of potions you need to refine."

Luo En looked down and couldn't help but shrink his pupils: wound healing potion, mental stabilizer, and "sobering" potion.

Among them, the "sobering" potion is extremely difficult, and even among professional alchemists, few can refine it perfectly.

This was clearly a bit out of scope, like a final question specially designed for top students on a math test.

"This..." Luo En looked up at Magnus, who was looking at him with a kind smile.

"Is there any difficulty, young man?" The old potion master asked, his voice carrying a trace of probing.

Luo En took a deep breath and answered calmly: "No, Master Magnus, I will try my best to complete it."

"Very good." Magnus nodded: "You have four hours."

Luo En quickly planned the refining order and time allocation.

Wound healing potion is relatively simple and can be completed first;

Mental stabilizer needs slow fire brewing and can be started immediately after completing the first potion;

As for the "sobering" potion, it requires full concentration and will be done last.

He first took out the Silver Wing Separator and began to process the materials needed for the wound healing potion.

As soon as this set of precision tools appeared, it immediately attracted the attention of other candidates. Some were surprised and whispered, clearly recognizing that this was an extremely rare Silver Wing Separator.

However, the more precise the instrument, the higher the difficulty of operation. Those who are not skilled enough often make things worse by using it rashly, so being able to use it well is also a kind of skill for an alchemist.

Therefore, using precision instruments brought by oneself does not violate the basic requirements of the exam.

Luo En turned a deaf ear to those discussions and gazes, focusing on his own work.

His movements were smooth and precise, every step was just right, without any redundant movements.

The wound healing potion was completed quickly, the finished product showing a perfect amber color, emitting a faint herbal fragrance.

Luo En put it into a small bottle, placed it aside to cool, and began to prepare the materials for the mental stabilizer.

"Completed a potion in half an hour..." The candidate next door glanced at his movements and exclaimed in a low voice: "And it looks like high quality. Who is this kid?"

The refining process of the mental stabilizer is more complex, requiring slow brewing at a specific temperature while maintaining uniform stirring.

Luo En used the special techniques of Lady Allen's mentor, adjusted the order of several steps in the traditional formula, making the refining process more stable.

Just as he completed the mental stabilizer, a wonderful feeling suddenly surged in his heart.

He saw a familiar semi-transparent prompt in front of him:

[Basic Alchemy (Proficient) Experience +1]

[Breakthrough! Basic Alchemy (Proficient 100/100) -> Basic Alchemy (Mastery max)]

[Additional characteristic advanced:

High-speed memory -> Extensive knowledge

(Super memory -> Photographic memory;

Knowledge integration ability increased, learning efficiency increased;

When knowledge increases, comprehension will increase slightly)]

At the moment of the breakthrough, Luo En felt his thinking become unusually clear, just like the thin mist that had always existed was suddenly blown away.

All the knowledge he had learned in the past, whether it was the chapters and paragraphs in "Basic Alchemy," the experience taught orally by Lady Allen, or even those sporadic potion configuration records, were all re-integrated in an unprecedented way.

That feeling was like the scattered puzzle pieces in his brain suddenly automatically piecing together into a complete picture.

He could clearly see the internal connections between various materials, the principles and mechanisms of various reactions, and could even predict the changes that might occur under different conditions.

"Is this the difference of the mastery level..." Luo En exclaimed in his heart.

One hour later, the mental stabilizer was also completed, showing a satisfactory dark blue, with silver light spots floating on the liquid surface, proving that its energy was extremely active.

Magnus patrolled among the candidates from time to time. When he passed Luo En's workbench, he would always stay for a while to observe the young man's operation.

In the last two hours, Luo En began to challenge the most difficult "sobering" potion.

This potion requires extremely high precision, and any tiny mistake could lead to the failure of the entire finished product.

At this time, Luo En, after completing the breakthrough of basic alchemy, felt that his understanding of potion refining had reached a brand new height.

He was no longer operating according to steps mechanically, but was able to see the essence through the appearance and understand the principles behind every step.

Luo En first used the Silver Wing Separator to extract the purest part of the stardust pollen, and then added three drops of moon dew according to Lady Allen's suggestion to improve stability.

Subsequently, he began to slowly adjust other materials, while controlling the heat to ensure that the temperature was always kept within the best range.

When other candidates were still refining their second potion in a bit of a mess, he had already begun to enter the final stage.

Under the new perspective brought by the breakthrough to the mastery level, Luo En suddenly discovered a subtle flaw in the traditional formula.

"If silver tree root extract is added in the final stage, the efficacy will be more stable and lasting..."

He thought to himself: "And it can make the color more uniform, improving the overall quality of the potion."

Although Lady Allen did mention the characteristics of silver tree root, applying it to the sobering potion was Luo En's own innovation.

He took out a small bottle of silver tree root extract from the side, added a drop when the potion was about to be completed, and stirred it gently three times.

The color of the potion immediately became more uniform, turning from light blue to clear sky blue, emitting a fresh and pleasant fragrance.

At the same time, Luo En was also pleasantly surprised to find that the efficacy, which was originally expected to last only four hours, now lasted at least five hours or more according to his calculations.

A semi-transparent prompt appeared in front of him:

[Successfully improved an existing potion formula √]

In this way, only the last item of the advanced requirements remained—independently configuring three types of advanced potions. This was also the easiest to achieve among the advanced requirements, and he could complete it himself after going back later.

"All three potions are completed." He carefully put the potion into the prepared crystal bottle and began to check carefully if there were any details that were not in place.

"Time's up!" The magic eye vine responsible for invigilating automatically lowered and began to play the pre-recorded sound:

"All candidates, please stop any operations and hand over the finished products to the staff."

Luo En neatly placed the three bottles of potions on the tray and looked at the situation around him.

Most candidates had fatigue and tension on their faces, and about one-third of them hadn't even finished their second potion.

"This kid actually finished them all..." The lizardman next door exclaimed in a low voice: "And just feeling the quality from afar, I can feel that they are all of high quality."

Magnus and the other two examiners began to check the finished products of each candidate.

Their inspection was extremely strict, not only observing the color and smell of the potion but also taking samples to test its efficacy and stability.

When Magnus came to Luo En's workbench, his expression became particularly focused.

He first carefully observed the three bottles of potions, then took out a set of special testing tools and began to conduct a more in-depth analysis.

"Wound healing potion—high purity, active substances evenly distributed, good extensibility."

He nodded to Luo En and said in a low voice his evaluation:

"Candidate Luo En, your foundation is very solid, at least it should be three years of hard work."

Magnus remained calm on the surface, but was secretly praising in his heart:

"This child looks no more than fifteen or sixteen years old. To have such a level at such an age, old Allen really picked up a treasure."

Next was the mental stabilizer. Magnus took out a drop and placed it on a special crystal sheet.

The crystal sheet immediately lit up with blue light, and complex energy patterns appeared on it.

"Stability exceeds expectations, and the decay cycle is extended by nearly 30%."

Magnus's pale eyebrows raised slightly: "Very insightful processing method."

Finally, the "sobering" potion, which is the most difficult part of the exam.

Magnus carefully took out a drop and dripped it on a black stone slab.

The potion spread rapidly, forming a perfect circle with clear edges.

What was even more amazing was that subtle starlight patterns appeared on the liquid surface, flickering like constellations in the night sky.

Magnus was silent for a moment, then turned to Luo En: "This starlight reaction... what did you add to the formula?"

Luo En answered calmly: "I added a drop of silver tree root extract in the final stage, Master Magnus. It can stabilize the energy structure of the potion and make the effect more lasting."

"Silver tree root extract?" Magnus exclaimed: "This is not an ingredient in the standard formula. Who taught you this improvement?"

"I groped it out in experiments, and of course, there was some guidance from the teacher."

Luo En answered cautiously, without directly mentioning Lady Allen: "After many trials, I found that this additive can significantly improve the stability of the potion's efficacy."

The appreciation in Magnus's eyes became more obvious.

Although he believed that this level of improvement mostly came from Lady Allen's guidance, being able to fully master this technique at this age was enough to be amazing.

At this time, the old potion master had already made a judgment in his heart:

The level of this young man was probably quite close to many senior alchemists, just lacking enough experience to independently improve new formulas.

If given ten or twenty years, becoming an outstanding alchemy professor was almost inevitable.

Magnus exchanged a look with the two deputy examiners and then continued to check the finished products of other candidates.

As the inspection progressed, the atmosphere in the exam room became increasingly tense.

Many candidates showed disappointed expressions, clearly their finished products failed to meet the standards.

Finally, all inspections were completed, and Magnus returned to the examiner's seat to discuss with the two deputy examiners in a low voice.

A moment later, he stood up, looked around the audience, his expression solemn.