bookbashuk Chapter 144 Pride
Chapter 144 Pride
Chapter 144 Pride
"Alright, I'll give it a try, but don't get your hopes up too high."
Xiao Yan prepared himself in advance, just in case he didn't meet their expectations and got nagged by the two of them.
"Just do your best, it's okay if you get eliminated in the first round."
That being said, neither of them believed that Xiao Yan would be eliminated in the first round.
"Hurry up and go in, it should be starting soon."
Xiao Yan nodded and then lifted the curtain of the internal recommendation and prediction room.
Inside, there were already many alchemists; at a glance, there were probably forty or fifty of them.
"Goodness, the entire Gama Empire actually has so many branch recommendation slots."
You should know that in his hometown of Wutan City, there isn't even an Alchemist Guild.
The alchemists here are all very young, most of them are at the second rank level, and some of them are even at the third rank level.
Meanwhile, several third-grade alchemists were chatting and laughing together, including Liu Ling and the dazzling Princess Yaoyue from earlier on the road.
"Hey, isn't this Brother Xiao Yan? I didn't expect you to be recommended. It seems you were indeed hiding something before."
When Liu Ling saw Xiao Yan, she was the first to greet him from afar. However, beneath her seemingly kind smile lay more jealousy and envy.
"It's rare to see you initiate conversations with other people. Aren't you going to introduce them?"
Princess Tianyue also looked at Xiao Yan, and the third-grade alchemist badge on his chest surprised her slightly.
He knew almost all the third-grade alchemists in the entire Gama Empire, so where did this person in front of him come from?
"Oh, I forgot to introduce you. This is Brother Xiao Yan. He was the one who helped Old Master Nalan Jie get rid of the branding poison at the Nalan residence."
Seeing the alchemist badge on Xiao Yan's chest, Liu Ling also felt a sense of pressure. Just a few days ago, he was only a first-grade alchemist, but today he has already reached the third grade.
This shows that the other party has been hiding their strength all along and is only now planning to reveal it.
"Xiao Yan? I've heard of that name before. He's supposed to be a genius from Wutan City and Nalan's fiancé. I didn't expect him to be so skilled in alchemy. I need to get to know him better."
After speaking, Yao Yue walked up to Xiao Yan and extended her hand: "Your name is Xiao Yan, right? I'm Yao Yue. It's nice to meet you. Would you like to be friends?"
Yao Yue did not reveal her identity, but instead appeared very easygoing. After all, the other party must have heard of her identity, so there was no need to deliberately use her power to intimidate them.
On the contrary, placing yourself on an equal footing with the other person can actually increase their goodwill towards you.
However, Xiao Yan only glanced at Yao Yue and did not extend his hand.
"Princess Yaoyue, right? I think the heir to the Gama Empire's royal family certainly won't lack friends, so losing one of me shouldn't be a big deal."
Xiao Yan did not respond to Yao Yue, instead appearing somewhat arrogant. In fact, the identity of the royal family of the Jia Ma Empire was meaningless to him.
He himself disliked dealing with people from the royal family. They only ever appreciated those who were already successful, never those who offered help in times of need. They were not on the same path as Xiao Yan.
Yao Yue didn't expect that her voluntary demotion would be rejected. Although she was very unhappy, she still smiled and withdrew her hand.
"I don't know if I have offended Mr. Xiao Yan in any way. If so, I apologize."
As a member of the royal family, Tianyue may be proud and arrogant, but she still needs to have the proper manners and etiquette.
"No, Princess Tianyue has not offended me in any way. It's just that your overtures to me were ulterior motives, and I simply didn't want to respond to your intentions. The prediction is about to begin, so I'll take my leave now."
If he were still a Dou Shi or a Great Dou Shi, Xiao Yan would at least put on a show of politeness.
But in the Ghana Empire, when has anyone ever heard of a Battle Emperor needing to be mindful of others' opinions?
If the other party has a pure intention to make friends with him, Xiao Yan will naturally accept them without hesitation. But if they want to form a bond with a potential ally from the start, he has no interest at all.
"This Brother Xiao Yan is really arrogant. I didn't expect him to not even give Princess Yaoyue any face."
After being rejected by Xiao Yan, Yao Yue's expression turned somewhat unpleasant. She, a dignified princess, had humbled herself to befriend him, yet he was so ungrateful. Did he really think she cared about a mere third-grade alchemist?
However, Xiao Yan's attitude relieved Liu Ling. Someone as brainless as him was probably not a threat.
"Princess Yaoyue, don't be angry. After all, Xiao Yan comes from a poor and remote place like Wutan City. He lacks respect for the outside world. Such a person will suffer a great loss sooner or later. Keeping your distance from him may not be a bad thing."
Taking advantage of the situation, Liu Ling fanned the flames from the side, which instead made Yao Yue realize the discord between the two, and her original resentment dissipated considerably.
"It seems you harbor quite a grudge against Xiao Yan, but that's your business. Just don't get involved with me."
That guy is indeed annoying, but I won't use the royal family's power against him. Since he's so arrogant, I'll use his proudest skill—alchemy—to thoroughly defeat him!
Thinking of this, Yaoyue waved her pink little fist. After all, which young alchemist isn't arrogant? What can one achieve without arrogance?
Soon, the internal predictions officially began, and the person in charge of the predictions this time was Mitchell, the vice president of the Alchemists Guild.
As the vice president of the Alchemists Guild, his alchemy skills had already reached the peak of the fourth rank, and he could break through to the fifth rank at any time.
"Next, I will explain to you that the content of this exam question is extraction."
Refining is the first step in alchemy. The purity of the refined medicinal essence determines the quality of the subsequent elixirs.
Within a specified time, the purity of the extract is judged on a scale of 10. As long as the purity score is greater than four, it is considered to pass.
The material used for this extraction is Ironwood Spirit Leaf.
After saying this, Mitchell placed an hourglass on the platform in front of him: "When the hourglass runs out, time is up. Whoever has the highest purity will rank higher. So, the internal predictions will begin now!"
The young alchemists looked at the ironwood spirit leaf, which resembled both metal and charcoal, and gave a wry smile.
This thing is known for its heat resistance; even if ordinary flames burn for half a day, they may not be able to melt its surface.
To increase its purity, repeated calcination is necessary, and each calcination is more difficult than the last.
Even Mitchell himself, at the peak of the fourth rank, could only refine it ten times at most; any more than that would not be of much use.
Looking at the Ironwood Spirit Leaf in front of her, and then at Xiao Yan not far away, Liu Ling was determined to use her superb alchemy skills to utterly crush him this time!