Desolate Devouring Art

Chapter 137 - Alchemist Assessment

The alchemist assessment adhered to strict daily schedules, with one session in the morning and another in the afternoon. Given that it was already afternoon, Liu Wuxie would have to wait until the next day if he missed this assessment.

The woman at the counter seemed overly attentive to the young man, handing him a pre-filled form.

This caused Liu Wuxie to frown, as he had been denied participation in the assessment while the young man, who only occasionally manifested fire attributes, was allowed. Liu Wuxie couldn’t comprehend the woman’s flattery towards the young man, who would be considered subpar even if he passed the assessment.

“Thank you, Lady Lan!” The young man took the form and swaggered towards the gateway, with his servant following behind closely.

The woman looked seductively at the young man, watching him enter the door. After he entered, she took out a mirror to tidy herself. Despite her ordinary appearance and freckled face, she seemed quite self-absorbed.

“Lady Lan, why can he take the assessment but not me?” Liu Wuxie frowned, suppressing his anger.

“You think you can be compared to him? He’s the young master of the Bai Clan. Who the hell do you think you are? Hurry up and leave; don’t be a nuisance here,” the woman replied. If it weren’t for Liu Wuxie's decent appearance, she would have spoken more harshly. After dismissing Liu Wuxie, she ignored him and continued with her makeup, a clear case of judging a book by its cover.

She looked down on Liu Wuxie because he had no status, thus deeming him unworthy of taking the assessment. This was not entirely unfounded, as cultivation, and by extension alchemy, required substantial resources and wealth.

Alchemy, especially in its early stages, demanded a significant investment in herbs. Coupled with a high failure rate, each unsuccessful batch of pills represented a considerable loss in gold coins, a risk that most clans could not afford. However, once one became an alchemist, the potential for profit was immense, as each successful refinement could yield significant returns.

The woman only dared to make things difficult for them on purpose because of their ordinary clothes, deeming that they didn’t possess the potential to become an alchemist.

“Are you sure you won’t let us participate in the assessment?” Liu Wuxie’s eyes flashed with a chill as he was furious.

“Who do you think you are? If you want to be assessed, you must pay a spirit stone. Otherwise, get lost!” The woman at the counter, Lan Ruoyu, looked at Liu Wuxie’s group with disdain. As an alchemist apprentice at the Treasure Pill Pavilion, she had been learning alchemy for three years and aspired to become an alchemist. However, despite her efforts, she failed to pass the assessment over the past three years and was relegated to the receptionist role.

Despite her position, Lan Ruoyu held considerable influence. Anyone seeking assessment had to curry favor with her and offer some form of benefit. Moreover, young masters from prominent clans often came for assessments, and catching the eye of one could significantly elevate her status.

Liu Wuxie’s group didn’t offer any benefits nor try to curry favor with her. It was no wonder that she was so indifferent towards them.

Liu Wuxie, despite having the required spirit stone, was infuriated by Lan Ruoyu’s attempts to make things difficult for them. The alchemist assessment was supposed to be free, a fact that was well-known. Yet, Lan Ruoyu demanded spirit stones for anyone wishing to be assessed, an act that was clearly unreasonable.

Chen Leyao felt the need to clarify their identities. As a Profound Grade student of the Imperial Academy, she had stepped out due to some tasks, which explained her lack of uniform. This, unfortunately, led to them being underestimated.

“You demanded a spirit stone, assuming our ordinary status, and denied us evaluation because we refused to give you a spirit stone. Did the Imperial City’s Treasure Pill Pavilion give you the authority to look down on others?” Liu Wuxie’s voice was cold, with his murderous intent sweeping out like freezing winter.

Everyone on the first floor was instantly alarmed as many cultivators were present for shopping.

Behind the doors, the two assessors were alarmed by the uproar just when the assessment was about to begin.

“How dare you address me in such a manner?!” Lan Ruoyu was livid as she leaped from the counter, aiming to slap Liu Wuxie across his face. She looked down upon Liu Wuxie, confident in her cultivation in the high level of the Xiantian Realm.

“I don’t hit women, but I’ll make an exception today!” Before Lan Ruoyu’s hand could reach him, she was suddenly sent flying away with a fiery pain on her cheek. Everything unfolded too rapidly for anyone to intervene.

Lan Ruoyu crashed into the counter with her hair disheveled and blood dripping down her lips. Her appearance looked sinister as she couldn’t accept that a noble apprentice of the Treasure Pill Pavilion like her was slapped. She might not be comparable to an official alchemist in terms of status, but that didn’t mean her status was low.

Chen Leyao appeared anxious and was at a loss for words due to Liu Wuxie’s temper. It hadn’t been long, and Liu Wuxie had already struck someone from the Treasure Pill Pavilion. However, she understood that Liu Wuxie wasn’t entirely at fault as Lan Ruoyu had intentionally provoked them, thereby inciting his anger.

Had Lan Ruoyu not made a move, Liu Wuxie wouldn’t have hit a woman. But her rushing out with the intent to slap Liu Wuxie was crossing a line.

“ARRGGGHHHH! I’ll kill you!” Lan Ruoyu looked like a mad woman. She glared at Liu Wuxie with a vicious look but didn’t dare to approach him. This was because Liu Wuxie’s slap had taken her by surprise, and she was sent flying without understanding what had transpired.

Liu Wuxie remained impassive. He was deliberately causing a commotion to send a message to the Treasure Pill Pavilion. He wanted to ascertain if it was just a random person giving him a hard time or if the Treasure Pill Pavilion was indeed that haughty.

Aside from Bi Gongyu and Mu Yueying, Liu Wuxie didn’t have a favorable impression of the Treasure Pill Pavilion. After all, he had seen the pavilion masters of the branches in the competition, and even the three judges weren’t any better. Speaking of which, he hadn’t yet addressed the issue of the leaked answers.

“Is he insane to hit someone from the Treasure Pill Pavilion? Is he tired of living?” It didn’t take long for a crowd to gather in the surroundings, pointing their fingers at Liu Wuxie.

The Treasure Pill Pavilion had a transcendent position and was not subject to anyone’s jurisdiction. Thus, even a lowly alchemist apprentice had an extraordinary status, and slapping an alchemist apprentice was no different from slapping the Treasure Pill Pavilion. No wonder Chen Leyao wore such a bitter expression because she didn’t know what to do now.

Chen Leyao was at a loss for a solution, realizing that slapping Lan Ruoyu would inevitably provoke the anger of the Treasure Pill Pavilion. The Xue Clan had yet to make an appearance, and Liu Wuxie’s group had already managed to offend the Treasure Pill Pavilion.

Everyone looked at Liu Wuxie with sympathy, and some gloated, treating this as entertainment.

As time passed, Lan Ruoyu still screamed while Liu Wuxie stood there. Roughly fifteen minutes later, two people came out from behind the doors with their brows furrowed. The commotion outside had disturbed them, prompting them to investigate.

The two were in their fifties, and one narrowed his eyes when he saw Liu Wuxie.

“What’s going on here?” When the two men came out, one of them asked Lan Ruoyu.

“Senior Sheng, not only did this brat here insult our Treasure Pill Pavilion, but he even hit me. Please uphold justice for me!” Lan Ruoyu distorted the truth, pointing her finger maliciously at Liu Wuxie.

The two men were official alchemists of the Treasure Pill Pavilion and held the status of assessors aside from refining pills. Today was their turn to supervise the assessment.

“Young Master Liu, why are you here?” The other man quickly came over with a passionate expression when he saw Liu Wuxie.

The matter of the Heavenly Spirit Pill had already been reported to the headquarters by Bi Gongyu, and it was currently the best-selling product in the Treasure Pill Pavilion. The Golden Spirit Pill was still in the experimental stage, and the production was slow for Bi Gongyu. As a result, it was less common in the market.

The Treasure Pill Pavilion had confirmed the authenticity of the four formulas that Liu Wuxie had presented during the competition, and the resulting pills were now available in the market. This was the reason why Mu Yueying had personally traveled to Azure Billow City, as Bi Gongyu’s status was insufficient to extend an invitation to her.

Only the higher-ups of the Treasure Pill Pavilions knew about it, and many alchemists were looking forward to meeting Liu Wuxie. They were intrigued by the individual who had penned the four formulas, produced the Heavenly Spirit Pill, and deciphered the refining method from another dynasty.

Liu Wuxie had anticipated that his participation in the competition would not go unnoticed by the Xue Clan. As a result, he had devised a strategy to distract one threat with another, akin to using a tiger to chase away a wolf. He intended to use the Treasure Pill Pavilion as a shield, buying himself some time. However, attracting their attention required significant bargaining chips.

Therefore, Liu Wuxie made a conscious effort to stand out during the competition, particularly with the four formulas. His aim was to catch the eye of the higher-ups in the Treasure Pill Pavilion. Although he did this as a precautionary measure, he didn’t expect it to prove so beneficial.

“Greetings, Senior Sang!” Liu Wuxie bowed slightly. Sang Yan was one of the competition's three judges. Having already spotted Sang Yan through Ghost Eye upon his arrival, Liu Wuxie felt fearless.

Sang Yan, a three-star alchemist of the Treasure Pill Pavilion, held a high-ranking position. Liu Wuxie was confident that Sang Yan recognized his value and believed that the Treasure Pill Pavilion wouldn’t antagonize him unless they were foolish.

After all, he had already brought such high profits to the Treasure Pill Pavilion in one month, equating to his potential.

“What’s going on?” Sang Yan was respectful to Liu Wuxie as it wasn’t a secret that Mu Yueying had gone to Azure Billow City for him.

“You’ll have to ask her about it!” Liu Wuxie looked at Lan Ruoyu with a playful gaze. She was still tearfully pleading with the other man, complaining and demanding that Liu Wuxie be punished. Coincidentally, they had just finished their conversation and turned their attention towards Liu Wuxie.

“Lan Ruoyu, speak up. What’s going on?” Sang Yan’s face sank, and this caught everyone by surprise. Shouldn’t Liu Wuxie be punished? So why was Lan Ruoyu questioned instead? The other man was also baffled, and Sang Yan interrupted him before he could confront Liu Wuxie.

“Senior Sang, he hit me first!” Lan Ruoyu said, looking pitiful as she tried accusing Liu Wuxie of initiating the conflict. Her teary eyes made her look even more innocent and vulnerable.

“Sang Yan, what’s going on?” the other man asked. After all, shouldn’t they punish Liu Wuxie for slapping an apprentice of the Treasure Pill Pavilion? The Treasure Pill Pavilion’s reputation would suffer if this issue weren't resolved.