Young Genius

After President Song finished laughing, he looked at Shi Yu with a kindly expression. “Would you allow me to test your bone age?”

It was no wonder the thought crossed his mind. Shi Yu looked far too young, yet the skill in alchemy she had displayed was truly astonishing.

Forget the Lingtai Prefecture Alchemist Association—in the entire Changyuan Prefecture, no such young genius had ever appeared before.

Perhaps outside Changyuan Prefecture, in the vast East Continent, there were one or two extraordinarily brilliant youths like her, but President Song had certainly never encountered one himself.

It naturally made one wonder if Shi Yu merely looked young, while actually being an old fogey skilled in youthful preservation techniques.

Shi Yu had no objection and held out her wrist. President Song lightly rested two fingers on her wrist, retracting them after just a moment. He chuckled, “A bone age of fifteen or sixteen, am I right?”

Shi Yu nodded. “In a little over a month, it will be my sixteenth birthday.”

“Wonderful! Wonderful!” President Song clapped his hands and laughed again, looking at those around them. “Did you all hear that? Our Girl Yu is barely sixteen years old!”

Following Master Ji’s lead, he too had begun affectionately calling her “Girl Yu.”

Everyone looked at Shi Yu with complex expressions, feeling both gratified and deeply moved.

“The future is bright! The future is truly bright! There is hope for the rise of our Lingtai Prefecture Alchemist Association!”

A sixteen-year-old Tier-2 alchemist—and not just barely producing a pill, but concocting high-grade pills!

Forming a pill was one thing, but forming a high-grade pill was another matter entirely. The latter required deep, solid attainment as a foundation, while placing extreme demands on innate talent and spiritual perception. Even President Song, as a Tier-4 alchemist, found high-grade pills difficult to produce; low-grade and medium-grade pills were his usual standard.

The other alchemists were no different. Only with exceptional luck or a sudden stroke of inspiration could they produce a few high-grade pills.

At the Alchemy Exchange Conference, that insufferably arrogant alchemist from Hengze Prefecture, Yin Wenzhou, was nearly forty years old. Though he had barely managed to reach Tier-3 alchemy, his pills were low-grade at best—barely rounded and just one step away from being waste pills.

Even so, he was hailed as a once-in-a-century alchemy prodigy in Changyuan Prefecture.

None of them were like Shi Yu, who performed consistently and produced high-grade pills across two consecutive certification exams.

If they knew that Shi Yu didn't just do this twice, but could produce high-grade pills almost every single time, one could only imagine what expressions they would wear.

President Song turned to look at Master Ji. “Old Ji, you really gave me a massive surprise this time.”

Master Ji glared with puffed cheeks, laughing as he scolded, “If you knew why this girl came to take the exam, you'd be angered to death by her.”

With that, he shared with everyone how Shi Yu had traveled all the way to the capital city to attend the Xie Clan auction, and how, lacking the entry qualifications, she had decided to drop by the Alchemist Association to get certified.

The crowd didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

Outside, the three Zhou siblings also recalled this matter, feeling that fate was truly wonderful and strange.

Now that Shi Yu had successfully passed the Tier-2 alchemist certification exam, refining the Lesser Longevity Pill would surely be as certain as she had promised.

Zhou Yue could not help but link her arm through her grandfather's, whispering with a laugh, “Grandfather, you'll have to think carefully about what thank-you gift to prepare for Little Yu.”

Elder Zhou nodded. “Naturally.”

Knowing that Shi Yu possessed infinite prospects and a vast future ahead, he intended to instruct his three grandchildren to build a good relationship with her so they could broaden their horizons.

Yet, on second thought, everyone had their own destiny.

The gap in talent between his three grandchildren and her was simply too vast. Without some extraordinary encounter, they would likely only walk together for a short stretch of the road.

Looking over at his grandson Zhou Shuo—who had been spoiled in the family since childhood, prided himself on his high talent, was habitually arrogant, and had always been cold and impatient toward women who tried to get close to him—he was currently gazing at Shi Yu with entranced eyes, tinged with a faint, self-effacing gloom.

Elder Zhou sighed in his heart, swallowing back the words he had intended to say.

...

“Alright, now that the exam is over, let's not linger around here,” President Song waved his hand. “I'll host today! We'll take Girl Yu with us and have a meal together at Miaoyi Tower.”

Miaoyi Tower was the largest and most luxurious restaurant in the main city. The dishes served there were all made from spiritual grain, spiritual vegetables, and spirit beast meat. Beyond being delicious, they were also beneficial for one's physical constitution and cultivation. Having a single meal there would cost at least a hundred spirit stones.

With the gloom of their defeat at the Alchemy Exchange Conference swept away, the elders chuckled happily, declaring the president generous. “Let's go, let's go! We're thrilled today, so we must feast to our hearts' content!”

When a group of people wearing alchemist robes stepped out of the association, the surrounding gazes immediately gathered upon them.

In particular, seeing the young girl surrounded like stars surrounding the moon at the center—with both the president and the elders treating her with gentle smiles and conversing with her patiently—the onlookers could not help but feel astonished.

Recalling what Master Ji had mentioned earlier about Shi Yu taking the Tier-2 alchemist certification exam, looking at the situation now, the exam had likely gone exceedingly well.

As a result, numerous speculations and inquiries quickly spread throughout the city.

Shi Yu walked ahead with the group until a magnificent, glittering restaurant came into view.

The tall, arched portico was inlaid with Profound Silver and Yaoyun Stone, and the roof was covered in glazed tiles that gleamed brilliantly in the sunlight. A single glance gave off an overwhelming aura of opulence and luxury. This was Miaoyi Tower.

Upon arrival, the group was respectfully led into an upstairs private room, where maidservants entered in single file carrying spiritual tea and spiritual wine.

The white porcelain teacups tinkled softly as tea was poured into them. Shi Yu picked hers up and took a sip of the spiritual tea. The fresh tea aroma filled her mouth, immediately invigorating her spirit.

President Song was generous with his spending, ordering the finest spiritual tea and spiritual wine. Upon tasting it, spiritual energy surged, carrying a mind-clearing effect—it was truly extraordinary.

Shi Yu thought to herself, If I find a connection, I should buy some to drink on ordinary days.

She took several sips in succession. Seeing that she seemed to like it, President Song called a maidservant over and whispered a few words. Before long, an elegant and handsome man arrived, holding a small wooden box in his hands.

The man wore a wide-sleeved robe with a slightly open collar, exuding an incomparably charming and suave air.

Master Ji nudged his chin toward him and introduced him to Shi Yu, “That's Boss Pei of Miaoyi Tower. He loves flirting around the most. Stay far away from him.”

“Master Ji's words do me a great injustice. I conduct myself with utmost propriety; where would I find the time for flirting around?” Boss Pei placed the wooden box onto the table, wearing a painful expression as though parting with a prized possession.

Waving his folding fan, he said, “Our Tier-3 Qingxu Spirit Tea is produced in very small quantities and has never been sold to outsiders. But since President Song asked for it himself, I could only present it with both hands.”

“It's not as if I'm not paying,” President Song said, refusing to buy into his act. “Next time you want some pills, prepare the spiritual plants, and this old man will refine them for you personally.”

“President Song is straightforward indeed!” Having secured this promise, Boss Pei was thoroughly satisfied.

Seeing President Song push the wooden box toward a young girl dressed in a brilliant, glowing robe, his eyes flickered slightly. He took a careful look at the girl before retreating from the private room and sending someone to inquire about her identity.

Shi Yu recognized quality when she saw it and knew this spiritual tea was extremely valuable. How could she accept it so easily?

She was just about to decline with a few polite words when Master Ji said, “Little Yu'er, just take it. What does this count for? The president is going to the Refinement Association later to ask someone to refine a custom identity jade token for you. Now that is the real good stuff.”

President Song stuffed the wooden box into Shi Yu's hand and laughed, “That's right, you reminded me. I ought to make a trip to the Refinement Association.”

The other elders chimed in to explain to Shi Yu, “A Tier-2 alchemist's custom jade token not only serves as proof of identity, but it is also an exceptionally fine artifact in its own right.”

Unlike ordinary, standard-issue identity jade tokens, the conditions for issuing a custom jade token were extremely harsh; only a tiny handful of people had been qualified to receive one in the past hundred years.

President Song instructed Shi Yu, “When you find some free time, I'll take you to the Refinement Association and have that old geezer of a president refine it for you personally.”

Having said that, he added that when the jade token was being forged, the owner had to imprint a strand of their own divine sense aura into it for the artifact to be complete.

Remembering that she still needed to refine the Lesser Longevity Pill after returning, Shi Yu agreed to meet ten days later.