Chapter 158: Chapter 158: Lost Again
Translator: 549690339
When Fang Lin appeared before everyone again after stepping out from the side hall, they were all speechless.
“Fang, did you manage to finish the examination ahead of time again?” Ouyang Jing asked, forcing a bitter smile.
Fang Lin slightly nodded and immediately said, “I suppose I have completed it.”
Though they had guessed the result, everyone was still somewhat surprised, though much less so than the previous time.
The person who emerged after Fang Lin was the woman from the Li Family. She looked dazed and somewhat disoriented as she approached Elder Su.
“What happened?” Seeing her state, Elder Su asked sternly.
The woman from the Li Family did not dare to conceal anything. She handed over the Sound Bead to Elder Su and reported, “Fang Lin identified all one thousand herbs without a single mistake.”
Upon hearing this, Elder Su, despite his mental preparation, had his heart skip a beat.
The woman from the Li Family retreated to the side with a complex expression. She was truly stunned by Fang Lin, his prodigy-like performance left her with no alternative but to step away.
Elder Su listened to the Sound Bead for a while before putting it away and casting a glance at the woman from the Li Family.
The latter seemed somewhat guilty and dared not meet Elder Su’s gaze.
The contents of the Sound Bead would not be falsified, and Elder Su learned about the woman from the Li Family intentionally increasing the difficulty of the examination.
Although it did not affect Fang Lin, the woman from the Li Family’s behavior still violated the rules of the Pill Alliance.
“Do you realize your wrong?” Suddenly, Elder Su demanded in an austere voice, filling the entire hall with an invisible authority that felt as if time had frozen.
Everyone looked over in surprise, including Fang Lin who was perplexed.
The woman from the Li Family collapsed on the floor. She had no idea why she had been bewitched to cause trouble.
Everyone knew that the Pill Alliance took examinations very seriously. If the person in charge of the examination did anything untoward, whether it was helping or hindering the examinee, it was a serious offense. Once discovered, there would be no leniency.
“I plead guilty!” The woman from the Li Family did not argue. The evidence was irrefutable, and she had no room for defense. As soon as Fang Lin completed the exam, she knew her game was up.
Elder Su looked at the woman from the Li Family with indifference, “Li Yulan, who hinders the examinee and violates the Pill Alliance’s regulations, is stripped of her position as the Steward of the Pill Alliance, and is not allowed to participate in any promotions for five years.”
Without wasting any more words, he made a judgement directly. The woman named Li Yulan looked desolate, her eyes filled with regret.
The others who saw this finally understood that this woman had secretly hindered Fang Lin’s examination.
Fang Lin was somewhat surprised as he didn’t even notice the woman doing anything.
Elder Su looked at Fang Lin, “During the herbal examination, there should be no ingredients that are necessary to refine a third-grade pill. However, she brought out materials that violated the examination rules in the last two hundred herbs. So she’s punished for this.”
Hearing his words, Ouyang Jing, the old man from the Li Family, and the other Stewards of the Pill Alliance all turned to Fang Lin.
Fang Lin shrugged, “I’m just lucky she didn’t bring out the ingredients used in fifth-grade pills, otherwise I’d be in deep trouble.”
Elder Su looked at Fang Lin oddly, “But you identified all herbs correctly.”
Upon hearing this, everyone drew in a cold breath, especially Ouyang Jing and those Stewards in the Pill Alliance, who almost popped their eyes out.
They had all experienced the examination and knew how difficult it was.
Even during Ouyang Jing’s initial examination, he did well but hadn’t been able to identify all the herbs — he had gotten seven wrong.
Now, Fang Lin had identified all the herbs correctly and had passed the examination without a mistake, even under the circumstances when someone intentionally increased the difficulty.
“Elder Su, is there anything suspicious about this?” A Steward of the Pill Alliance couldn’t help but ask, as he simply could not believe that Fang Lin was this talented.
Elder Su glanced at him and said indifferently, “The Sound Bead is in my hand, do you think there could be any falsehood?”
The man opened his mouth, and while he still harbored doubts, he chose not to say anything more.
The old man from the Li Family was unusually silent. Although his complexion wasn’t good, he managed to keep his calm.
This wasn’t because the old man from the Li Family had suddenly become better at controlling his emotions, but because he had been shocked by Fang Lin so many times, he could now maintain calmness.
Still, Fang Lin’s results made the old man from the Li Family scared. Pass two exams with perfect scores in succession, how can there be such an abnormal person?
After a while, Li Chong also came out, and the first thing he did was to look for Fang Lin.
As expected, he found Fang Lin who was dozing off in a corner. His heart skipped a beat.
Seeing the expressions of the others, and noticing that they were the same as when he had finished the first round, his heart sank.
The Steward who was responsible for Li Chong’s examination handed the Sound Bead to Elder Su and retired to the side.
Li Chong felt uneasy. He performed reasonably well in the second round of the herbal examination. Out of a thousand herbs, he identified nine hundred and ninety-four, and only six herbs were too difficult to recognize and he made mistakes.
Despite this, Li Chong was very satisfied with his scores because those who passed the examination in the previous years rarely achieved higher scores than his.
Li Chong did not think that Fang Lin could outperform him. But seeing the expressions of everyone else, he was suddenly uncertain.
The old man from the Li Family walked to Li Chong’s side, unsure of what to say, and could only ask with concern, “How did it go?”
Li Chong whispered, “Correctly identified nine hundred and ninety-four kinds, got six wrong.”
Upon hearing this, the old man from the Li Family gave a bitter smile, indeed, it’s like this again.
Seeing his father’s troubled expression, Li Chong vaguely guessed that his score was probably not as good as Fang Lin’s, but he still asked with a stiff upper lip, “What about Fang Lin?”
The old man from the Li Family shook his head. Li Chong immediately clenched his jaw, his eyes filled with a color of reluctance and outrage.
Elder Su coughed, then loudly announced to the people present, “In the second round of the herbal examination, both candidates passed. Li Chong correctly identified nine hundred ninety-four herbs. Fang Lin correctly identified all one thousand herbs.”
Upon hearing Elder Su’s words, all people turned their gaze to Li Chong instead of Fang Lin.
Helplessly, they were curious to see Li Chong’s expression at this moment.
Li Chong stood there, his face failing to mask his emotions. His fists were clenched tightly, and veins were bulging.
“The third round of the examination is Pill Refining. The topic is the Bone Renewal Pill. You must refine at least six Bone Renewal Pills of medium quality within the stipulated time. Both of you can take a short rest. We’ll start in two hours,” Elder Su said, looking at Fang Lin and Li Chong.
Fang Lin stretched lazily and continued to doze off. Li Chong stood still, his face contorted.
“No matter what, I can’t afford to lose the third round of tests! Even if I have to reveal my trump card!” Li Chong roared in his heart, his eyes reflecting a determined light..