Chi Miao had long since grown accustomed to the way Elder Ye addressed him, even if he ignored it. He clearly had his own name, yet they always insisted on calling him Old Man Shui.
He was actually quite young, and with his plump figure, he looked even younger.
Just like Elder Ye—whose real name was Ye Qing—who possessed extraordinary strength and actually looked younger than him now, yet oddly preferred to be called Elder Ye.
He could only chalk it up to a bizarre quirk.
But why was he suddenly asking about the alchemists in Courtyard No. 1?
Why had he suddenly taken an interest in this?
Chi Miao scratched his head, his expression filled with confusion. Hadn't the man said he was just going out for a stroll? Could he have discovered something?
“I don't know the exact details, but I will take you to have a look in a moment.”
Elder Ye nodded. That worked. It was the perfect opportunity to see if there were any other promising talents.
“What's going on? Why were we called out here to wait so early in the morning?”
“Could there be some sort of mission?”
“I don't know either. There's no need to speculate too much; we'll find out soon enough.”
...
Everyone from Courtyard No. 1 stood in the middle of the courtyard, looking bewildered as they conversed in hushed tones.
Jiang Lu listened to the chatter with curiosity. Perhaps because she hadn't needed to work the previous day, she was in an exceptionally good mood today.
As the sound of two voices echoed from outside, everyone fell silent immediately and stood in an orderly fashion.
The alchemists stood in the front row, while the other disciples lined up behind them.
Despite their orderly posture, everyone still craned their necks, their gazes instinctively drifting toward the entrance. They saw their branch pavilion master walking in with a young man, showing a hint of deference.
“Elder Ye, all the disciples of Courtyard No. 1 are here,” Chi Miao said to Elder Ye as he looked at the disciples gathered in the courtyard.
Elder Ye nodded. Sweeping his divine sense across the crowd, he immediately spotted Jiang Lu. However, seeing her standing at the very back left him somewhat puzzled.
“Which of you are alchemists?” Elder Ye's steady voice rang out in everyone's ears.
Alchemist Lin Wei immediately stepped forward, bowed slightly to him, and pointed to the front row of disciples. “These are the alchemists of our Courtyard No. 1.”
Elder Ye was taken aback. Only these?
He was secretly astonished. The young girl isn't one?
In the Medicine King Pavilion, only those who had passed the examination could be called alchemists. If she wasn't one, yet knew how to refine elixirs, it meant she had never displayed her alchemy skills in public, nor had she ever taken the examination.
But shouldn't passing the examination and becoming a highly respected alchemist be their life's goal?
He suppressed his surprise.
Since he was already here, there was no harm in having them all showcase their skills. He wanted to see if the young girl would participate.
“All of you, showcase your alchemy skills. As for the remaining disciples, if any of you know how to refine elixirs, you may also display your skills. If you succeed, you will be considered to have passed the examination directly,” he declared with a wave of his hand. It was too late for Chi Miao to stop him.
Chi Miao's hand froze mid-air. Well, let him be. Elder Ye did have the authority to do this.
Hearing this, the crowd's eyes lit up with pleasant surprise, and they looked at Chi Miao in excitement.
Chi Miao nodded helplessly.
“Then we shall go and prepare,” the disciples said before dispersing to find the spiritual plants they needed for refining elixirs.
Since they were refining elixirs right in front of them, they naturally wouldn't have other disciples process the spiritual plants for them; they had to do it themselves.
Jiang Lu had no intention of showing off in front of everyone, nor did she care to watch the spectacle. She only wanted to quickly finish processing the spiritual plants Senior Sister Huang Mei needed for the day, and then go attend to her own matters.
She then entered the spiritual plant storage room and began processing the plants.
Seeing this, Elder Ye chuckled inwardly.
As expected, he knew the little girl would definitely refine elixirs. She must have lacked the opportunity to showcase her talent before, or perhaps she was being ostracized. He would have to talk to Old Man Shui about this; such unhealthy tendencies could not be tolerated.
The disciples, on the other hand, were completely unaware of the blame that was about to fall on them out of nowhere.
However, his smugness didn't last long before he began to feel that something was amiss.
Others had already begun refining elixirs, yet she was still processing spiritual plants. And she wasn't moving at the same speed as yesterday.
He swept his divine sense over to investigate, and his anger flared.
She wasn't preparing to refine elixirs at all. She was clearly just completing her task of processing spiritual plants!
Simply!
Simply!
Simply neglecting her proper duties!
Jiang Lu had no idea that her every move was being watched. She was merely feeling satisfied with her results.
She was becoming increasingly proficient at processing spiritual plants. Let alone these Tier One and Tier Two plants, she was confident she could handle Tier Four and Tier Five ones if given the chance.
She quickly organized the processed plants and placed them behind Senior Sister Huang Mei as if no one else were around.
Standing quietly behind her, she took a peek. She had thought Senior Sister Huang Mei was preparing to refine a Tier Three elixir, but to her surprise, it was still only Tier Two.
But after a second thought, she understood why.
She stole a glance at the young man. Could he be some incredibly powerful elder?
Looking at the other disciples refining elixirs in the courtyard, she hadn't expected that quite a few of those who processed spiritual plants with her daily actually knew how to refine elixirs as well.
They just hadn't taken the examination yet. Now that they had this opportunity, they were naturally putting in all their effort to show off.
Jiang Lu watched for a moment and then stood aside. Soon, a disciple finished refining.
A wave of elixir fragrance wafted through the air, and Jiang Lu looked toward its source.
Seven elixirs rested on a jade dish—four high-grade and three medium-grade.
Seeing this, Chi Miao nodded in satisfaction. The disciples who could enter Courtyard No. 1 were naturally no fools. He was pleased to see their progress.
The more value they created, the more beneficial it was for him.
As everyone finished refining, Elder Ye nodded in satisfaction. He then kept his promise and declared that several of them had passed the examination. As for the other alchemists...
He sighed inwardly. How could there be so many geniuses in such a small place?
He was still being too greedy.
He then turned and left, leaving Chi Miao utterly baffled.
What was that about?
He still hadn't told him why he came here in the first place!
Jiang Lu said goodbye to Senior Sister Huang Mei, then left to head back to the same herb garden from yesterday.
Elder Ye followed closely behind. Once Jiang Lu finished refining her elixirs, he stepped out from the shadows. “Little girl, why didn't you refine earlier?”
Hearing this, Jiang Lu's heart leaped into her throat. She spun around instantly, her eyes widening as she stared at the man before her. How did he get here?
“Se... Senior,” Jiang Lu greeted him awkwardly.
“Little girl, you still haven't answered me.”
Hearing his question, Jiang Lu fell silent for a moment. She then raised her head to look into his eyes. They were bright, and his aura was gentle, showing no signs of being plagued by negative karma.
After some thought, she said, “I simply felt there was no need. I don't rely on being an alchemist to make a living for now, so I wanted to wait until later.”
Her mindset was remarkably steady.
He stepped forward, gesturing for Jiang Lu to stretch out her hand, and placed his fingertips on her pulse.
Awed by his imposing presence, Jiang Lu slowly raised her hand. Had the man in front of her also detected the anomaly in her spiritual roots?
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