Chapter 149: Chapter 149: Pill Refining Assessment
Translator: 549690339
“Alright, I’m going to start asking questions now. There are three in total. Write your answers down on the paper and hand them over to me,” the Pill Alliance steward said meticulously.
Except for Li Chong, all the others from the Li Family were focused and serious. Despite their confidence in attending the Pill Refiner assessment, they knew they needed to take it seriously when critical moments came.
Li Chong was calm, even showing a bit of impatience, feeling that this question and answer section was a waste of time.
As for Fang Lin, he also seemed unbothered. He didn’t even focus. Instead, he was curiously touching the Pill Furnace in front of him.
“Listen up, the first question is, write down three different ways to refine a Nurturing Breath Pill,” announced the Pill Alliance steward.
Upon hearing this, everyone from the Li Family began writing immediately. A couple of people showed difficulty, stumped by the very first question.
Fang Lin, while not fully attentive, wasn’t deaf. He heard the question and started writing his answer calmly.
For Fang Lin, this question was far too simple. He could elaborate on a hundred different ways to refine Nurturing Breath Pills.
At this moment, Fang Lin wrote down three of the most common refining methods he knew. After he finished, he looked up and saw that Li Chong had also finished writing.
Their eyes met, and Li Chong’s gaze was cold and proud, seemingly disdainful of Fang Lin.
Fang Lin just smirked slightly, showing no reaction.
“Hand your papers over to me once you’re done. Absolutely no talking during the process, otherwise your results will be nullified immediately!” warned the Pill Alliance steward, sternly.
Fang Lin walked over and handed the steward his paper, while Li Chong handed his almost simultaneously. Aside from them, three Li Family disciples were also able to answer punctually.
After a stick of incense’s worth of time, all the Li Family Disciples put down their writing utensils since time had run out.
They only had the duration of one burning incense stick to answer. Once that was up, everyone, regardless of whether they had finished or not, had to turn in their papers.
Fang Lin noticed that two of the Li Family disciples were sweating and looked nervous. It was apparent that they had rushed their answers.
The Pill Alliance steward held the twenty-one papers in his hand and, along with three other stewards, began reviewing the answers.
In the meantime, Elder Su stood to the side, stroking his beard with a smile, not partaking in the process.
The elder from the Li Family looked confident. He knew the capabilities of each disciple he brought with him. If half of them could successfully become One Cauldron Pill Refiners, he would be satisfied.
Ouyang Jing sent an encouraging glance Fang Lin’s way, who responded with a nod.
The four Pill Alliance stewards cross-referenced the answers on the papers. Any diverging answers were discussed.
“Huh?” Suddenly, one of the stewards changed his expression, furrowing his brows as he stared intently at the paper in his hand.
“What’s the matter? Is there an issue?” asked the other three stewards quietly.
The steward did not answer. Instead, he passed the paper to the others to review.
After having a look, the other three bore the same expression, seemingly haunted.
“We cannot judge this disciple’s answer. Elder Su, we need you to determine its correctness,” the steward conducting the assessment said to Elder Su, giving him a respectful bow.
Elder Su seemed somewhat surprised when he heard this.
Generally, the examination for One Cauldron Pill Refiners only required a few stewards to preside over it, since all the stewards had already achieved the Three Cauldrons Pill Refiner level.
“You four cannot discern the answer?” Elder Su asked, furrowing his brows.
The four stewards looked embarrassed. Elder Su’s questioning made them feel ashamed, but they truly couldn’t judge whether the answer on the paper was correct or not.
Elder Su took the paper, examined it carefully, and a trace of surprise flickered across his face.
The name on the paper, Fang Lin, increased Elder Suls astonishment.
“This third method is very unusual. I seem to have read about such a method of refining Nurturing Breath Pills in ancient texts. Hardly anyone knows of it now,” Elder Su showed some hesitation, then said deeply.
Hearing this, the four stewards all nodded affirmatively.
The elder from the Li Family curiously asked, “Elder Su, whose answer requires your judgment?”
Elder Su looked at him with a strange gaze, saying, “Not one of your Li Family disciples.”
Hearing this, the elder from the Li Family’s face stiffened. Elder Su’s words were clear in implying that it was Fang Lin’s answer.
Once all the answers were checked, the stewards singled out two and set them aside.
“Alright, we have reviewed everyone’s answers. All were correct besides two.” The Pill Alliance steward spoke loudly, naming two disciples from the Li Family.
The two disciples whose names were called walked away dejectedly from the Examination Hall.
The other Li Family disciples showed no reaction, as if they had anticipated the two’s failure.
“The assessment shall continue.”
After three rounds of questions, the Li Family had a total of six people who failed.
The remaining Li Family disciples, aside from Li Chong, who appeared composed, were all a little excited.
The elder from the Li Family, however, seemed a bit displeased.
Not because six people from his family failed, but because Fang Lin was still there.
And Fang Lin’s answers to the three questions were exceptional, causing Elder Su to praise him repeatedly.
Listening to Elder Su’s compliments for Fang Lin, the elder from the Li Family felt a pang, finding it all very grating on his ears.
After the three rounds of questions, what followed was the most critical part—the Pill Refining.
The pill required for the One Cauldron Pill Refiner assessment was the Nurturing Breath Pill.
As the Nurturing Breath Pill was in high demand among lower-rank martial artists, it was a significant test of a pill refiner’s basic skills.
Successfully refining a Nurturing Breath Pill of sufficient quality equates to qualifying as a One Cauldron Pill Refiner.
This standard has existed for a long time and remains the same even now.
Perhaps there had been other One Cauldron Pill Refiner examination methods throughout history, but using the Nurturing Breath Pill as the standard has always been the most orthodox and accurate.
“Each of you must refine five Nurturing Breath Pills. The quality of each pill should be no lower than medium, and provided both the quantity and quality meet the standard, you pass the assessment,” said the Pill Alliance steward.
Everyone understood the rules. They immediately started the pill refining process.
Bulk supply of medicinal ingredients for the Nurturing Breath Pills was provided by the Pill Alliance, but everyone only had one opportunity to refine. If the pill refining failed, that would mean total failure.
All participant conditions were the same. The only difference was each person’s proficiency in Alchemy Tao.
The medicinal ingredients were brought up by Pill Alliance staff members. Everyone got busy following the starting signal.
However, two people didn’t start immediately: Li Chong and Fang Lin..