Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Many of the junior alchemy disciples had keen expressions upon listening to Fang Lin’s remark, including Elder Mu Yan. They began to stare at Fang Lin in succession as if they were looking at a monster.
How shameless could he be in order to make such an impudent remark?
Even Lu Xiaoqing, who had been worried about Fang Lin earlier, found his words to be so amusing that she was at a loss as to whether to laugh or cry. She urged him in her heart, ‘Come on! You were obviously dozing off in the lesson. How could you say it was deep rumination? Your snoring has exposed all your lies.’
Elder Mu Yan had an unpleasant expression that was filled with rage as well. She had always been a strict person, so she felt even more disfavor concerning Fang Lin in her heart because the latter was a shameless person that could lie to her face without even blinking.
On the other hand, Fang Lin appeared to be calm and composed. His eyes met Elder Mu Yan’s without an ounce of guilty conscience in his gaze. His calmness actually shocked the elder.
However, Elder Mu Yan had already come up with a plan in her mind despite her shock. She spoke at once, “Fang Lin, so are you saying that you weren’t sleeping but were paying attention to my lesson?”
Fang Lin nodded and said, “I’ve been genuinely paying full attention to your lecture. I wasn’t distracted even for the slightest bit, I swear.”
‘How shameless!’ thought every single junior alchemy disciple at this very moment.
The corners of Elder Mu Yan’s lips curved up as she said, “Since that’s the case, then I shall ask you a few questions as a test which is related to the contents of my lecture earlier. If you can answer the questions, then I won’t press the case anymore. However, if you fail to answer, then I must break all your limbs and abolish your opportunity for promotion once!”
As soon as she spoke those words, many people shot Fang Lin a piteous gaze. Other than breaking his legs and arms, she would also strike off one of his opportunities for being promoted. The punishment was terribly severe!
Five years of being a junior alchemy disciple signified that he or she would only have five promotion opportunities. Every failure spelled the loss of a promotion opportunity.
If Fang Lin was punished today, he would only have four opportunities left. This was simply the most severe form of punishment that could be implemented among the junior alchemy disciples.
Lu Xiaoqing appeared to be extremely worried. She was about to plead for mercy on behalf of Fang Lin, but she remembered that she was just a junior alchemy disciple. How could she have the authority to plead for mercy on behalf of him?
Seated in the front row, Kang Lu appeared to be enjoying the drama. It felt as if he was anticipating to see Fang Lin’s limbs being broken.
Just as everyone assumed that Fang Lin would hesitate, he spoke in an extremely calm and determined manner, “Then, please fire away with your questions, Elder.”
‘It seems that this boy has given up all hope.’ Kang Lu shook his head ever so slightly. ‘So what if he is the Withered Tree Revived in the Spring Embodiment? What’s the point of having stellar qualities when his character is as such? What a disappointment.’
“Fang Lin, oh, Fang Lin. You’ve been so close to Lu Xiaoqing. I’d like to see if she’ll still care about you when your arms and legs are broken?” Sun Hao looked at Fang Lin with a sneer on his face. He was eager to find out Fang Lin’s tragic ending soon.
Mu Yan looked at Fang Lin. She began to feel doubtful deep inside because Fang Lin appeared to be so confident at the moment. His gaze was crystal clear and he did not show the slightest fear. It was truly an unusual sight to behold.
“Listen closely. I mentioned the Autumn Moon White Flower earlier. What is its function?” Mu Yan did not ponder much and proposed the first question at once.
As soon as the question was asked, many of the junior alchemy disciples knew that they could answer the question, including Lu Xiaoqing who longed to sneak the answer to Fang Lin.
“That’s a simple question. The Autumn Moon White Flower is a cold-natured medicinal herb. Consuming it directly will be useful for soothing heatiness and suppress the martial arts cultivator’s overly agitated spirit. However, overconsumption will result in the freezing of the martial arts cultivator’s blood essence. In a mild case, the person’s meridians will be injured. The Autumn Moon White Flower can be refined into the Autumn Dew Pill, the Ice Color Pill, the Glacier Water Pill, and the Cold Frost Pill,” answered Fang Lin in a slow and steady tone.
Mu Yan was astonished to hear his answer. On the other hand, the junior alchemy disciples widened their eyes in surprise as they gaped at Fang Lin in disbelief.
Lu Xiaoqing stared at Fang Lin in surprise because she never expected that he was actually capable of answering the question.
“How does he know the answer? I thought he’s a good-for-nothing that idles about and waits for death! Could he truly be paying attention to the lesson?” Sun Hao scowled, not expecting Fang Lin to answer the question at all.
Kang Lu was stupefied. Soon after, he frowned ever so slightly. “This boy has truly exceeded my expectations,” he said with a spurious smile. The people around him had no idea what was on his mind.
Nonetheless, the most astounded person was Mu Yan. She thoroughly believed that Fang Lin had been genuinely dozing off earlier and had not paid attention to her lesson at all. There was no doubt about his actions.
However, Fang Lin had actually answered her question calmly, and she could not find the slightest flaw in his answer. It was simply the perfect answer.
“How is it, Elder? Did I answer wrongly?” asked Fang Lin in puzzlement when he realized that Mu Yan was not speaking.
Mu Yan recovered from the wonder and furrowed her delicate brows. She felt that Fang Lin was playing a prank on her intentionally at this very moment. “You answered well. However, I still have two more questions and I hope that you can continue to answer them correctly. Otherwise, my punishment for you shall remain the same,” said Mu Yan.
Fang Lin smiled and said, “Please feel free to ask away, Elder.”
“That’s reckless!” Many junior alchemy disciples could not refrain from berating him for saying that. They felt that Fang Lin was being overly conceited. Did he think that he could answer all the questions correctly just by answering a question by luck?
Mu Yan was still irritated by Fang Li. She began pondering for a short while to come up with a tougher question. “Listen well. I mentioned the Clear Heart Pill earlier. What are the medicinal herbs used to refine this pill?”
As soon as the question was asked, many of the junior alchemy disciples on the scene struggled to recollect the answer. Only a small number of people knew the answer in their hearts and Kang Lu was one of them.
The difficulty level of the question was so high that it was not a question that could be easily answered by ordinary junior alchemy disciples. In fact, it was just as challenging as a question in the promotion examination.
When Mu Yan was lecturing earlier, she had not explained this in detail, but she proposed the question to Fang Lin with the slight intention of making things difficult for him.
Lu Xiaoqing wanted to blurt the answer to Fang Lin, but she realized that she did not know either. After all, she was just a newly-initiated disciple and this question was utterly beyond her understanding. At that moment, the only thing she could do was pray for Fang Lin.
Fang Lin looked at Mu Yan and cracked into a smile. He said, “What a coincidence. I know the answer to this question.”
“Oh? Then, go ahead and share your answer please.” Mu Yan was shocked deep down, but she refused to believe that Fang Lin was capable of answering the question.
Many assumed that he was barely holding out since the question was remarkably tough! ‘How can a newly-initiated disciple like you who spends your day idling away and waiting for death possibly answer the question?’
They then heard Fang Lin’s answer. “The Clear Heart Pill is an unorthodox elixir. More accurately, it is a low-grade product of the human world. It is used to pacify the heart, calm the spirit, and smoothen the energy. Rather than call it an elixir pill, why don’t we call it a nourishing tonic? It isn’t that useful for martial arts cultivators. It is refined with Serene Grass, Rootless Water, and Lustrous Flowers.”
The entire alchemy altar was deathly silent after Fang Lin answered the question. It was so quiet that one could hear the sound of a pin dropping onto the ground.
Every single person was observing Fang Lin with a strange gaze with various expressions and bated breaths.
Radiant splendor rippled in Mu Yan’s eyes. Fang Lin’s answer was simply accurate beyond expectations. However, the crucial point was how could he have possibly known the answer?
Lu Xiaoqing’s mouth was gaping ever so slightly. She felt both surprised and joyous. On the other hand, Sun Hao appeared to be pallid with rage in the distance. His expression was as abhorrent as if he had just eaten a dead donkey.
In the front row, Kang Lu had a change of expression as well. His expression turned extremely solemn.
Despite all this, Fang Lin was completely oblivious to the surprised reactions of the people.
‘What a joke! I, Fang Lin, can assure you that I am the formidable Extreme Alchemist, alright. Do you know that you’re simply insulting me by giving such a simple question? I, Fang Lin, won’t even have bothered to answer this question if I had the choice.’
If Fang Lin was still the Fang Lin in his past life, he would have certainly jumped up and given whoever asked him this question a huge, tight slap. Then, he would kick the person so hard that the person would land a few kilometers away.
I’m the formidable Extreme Alchemist, yet you made me answer your question of this unorthodox elixir pill. What are you trying to do if not insulting me?
Fang Lin was also feeling exceedingly annoyed when answering the given question. However, he felt much better after seeing the shocked and incredulous expressions of the people surrounding him.
Elder Mu Yan was visibly moved at last. Her unkindly first impression of Fang Lin changed and she became more curious and bewildered about this boy.
“Fang Lin, how many years has it been since you joined the sect?” Mu Yan could not refrain herself from asking the question. It was slightly more plausible for a disciple with three to four years of experience in the sect to answer the question in such a manner.
Fang Lin answered, “It’s just been a month since my initiation.”
The expression on Mu Yan’s face froze. She could not stop herself from saying, “You’ve only joined the sect for a month? How is that possible?”
Many of the junior alchemy disciples were embarrassed by Mu Yan’s words. Some of them were disciples that had joined the sect for a few years yet fared worse than the newly-initiated disciple that had just joined for a month. It was truly embarrassing.
However, it was strange that Fang Lin had just joined the sect for a month. Moreover, he had almost wasted the entire month by doing nothing. How did he come so impressively at this moment to the extent that he could answer two questions in a row without any mistakes?
Fang Lin grinned. “It’s the truth. It’s just been one month since my initiation.”
Mu Yan suddenly remembered that Meng Wuyou had once mentioned a newly-initiated disciple named Fang Lin who was the rare Withered Tree Revived in the Spring Embodiment. Could this be that Fang Lin?
At the thought of this, Mu Yan felt even more shocked deep inside. Although the Withered Tree Revived in the Spring Embodiment was rare, the boy could actually portray such an impressive foundation in herbology after joining for a month. This was not the performance of a boy whose sole purpose was idling away and waiting for death.
“Fang Lin, your performance shocks me. I still have a question, but I won’t punish you even if you can’t answer it,” said Mu Yan.
Upon hearing that, Lu Xiaoqing was incomparably surprised. She felt as if her heart that was suspended in fear previously had calmed down. She shot Fang Lin an encouraging glance at once.
In the distance, Sun Hao was jealous upon noticing her action. He got more and more hateful and jealous of Fang Lin.
“Please ask, Elder,” pleaded Fang Lin neither haughtily nor humbly.
Mu Yan nodded. She did not attempt to underestimate Fang Lin, so she asked directly, “Where does the Three-leaved Rising Sun Fruit usually grow?”
Kang Lu had a drastic change of expression when he heard the question. The person next to him noticed his expression, so he asked cautiously, “Senior Brother Disciple Kang, what’s going on?”
Much to the person’s shock, Kang Lu spoke in a deep voice, “I answered this question wrongly during the previous promotion examination.”