The **Alchemist Pavilion** was located on the southern side of Fragrant Cloud Mountain, surrounded by lush greenery. A winding stone path led from the main road to the pavilion. Normally, when no examinations were being held, this place was deserted. Only during advancement assessments would it attract a large crowd.
Aside from the disciples taking part in the exam, many others came as friends or as those who weren't confident enough to participate yet but wanted to observe and learn from the experience.
From afar, the Alchemist Pavilion looked like a seated figure in meditation—vivid and lifelike. In front of it stood a **giant pill furnace**, hollow underneath, as if carved open to form a tunnel leading to the square before the pavilion.
At this moment, **twenty identical pill furnaces** were placed on the square. Beside each furnace sat a pouch filled with the herbs and plants required for refining.
Bai Xiaochun, worried he might get lost again, arrived early in the morning. Yet when he got there, he saw plenty of people had arrived before him. Groups of twos and threes were chatting softly, and a few loners sat cross-legged in meditation.
Clearly not fond of sitting around waiting, Bai Xiaochun glanced around and spotted **Xu Baocai**. As he approached, Xu Baocai noticed him and quickly cupped his fists in greeting. The two began chatting, mostly gossip about various sect disciples that Xu Baocai had picked up recently.
**"Senior Brother Bai, have you heard? Chen Fei and his group went out half a year ago and got beat up so badly they're still bedridden. Oddly enough, they haven't told anyone who did it,"** Xu Baocai said while watching Bai Xiaochun closely.
Bai Xiaochun chuckled awkwardly, ready to brag, when suddenly he felt like he was being watched. He turned his head and saw a **female disciple** walking down the path.
She wore the standard outer sect robe, but it couldn't conceal her stunning figure. Her waist was as slim as a willow branch, her curves graceful and captivating. Long legs, a tight chest—the closer she walked, the harder it was to look away.
Her face was even more dazzling—flawlessly fair skin, features beautiful enough to steal breath, and an aura that lured every male disciple like a siren.
Bai Xiaochun heard several people nearby swallowing audibly, especially Xu Baocai, who looked utterly enchanted.
**"That's Senior Sister Du Lingfei—one of the five great beauties of the South Bank! She's the fairy of my dreams… Ah! She's looking at me!!"** Xu Baocai licked his lips, eyes glazed with obsession.
**"She's looking at me,"** Bai Xiaochun muttered with disdain.
Sure enough, Du Lingfei glanced over with icy eyes filled with hostility and glared at Bai Xiaochun. Although she acknowledged his botanical talent, she found him personally unbearable. With a cold snort, she walked off in the other direction.
Xu Baocai stood dumbstruck, gaze fixed on Du Lingfei, completely ignoring Bai Xiaochun's contempt. His obsession only grew stronger.
**"So Du Lingfei is participating in the assessment too..."** Bai Xiaochun glanced at the twenty furnaces on the square and steadied his heart.
**"Doesn't matter. I'm not here to compete with her. This is a sect examination—anyone who passes can be promoted. It's not about taking first place."**
Before long, **Chen Zi'ang** also arrived. Upon seeing Bai Xiaochun, he hesitated but gave him a polite smile and greeting. Bai Xiaochun returned the gesture, and Chen Zi'ang sat down to meditate near one of the furnaces.
**Zhao Yiduo**, whom Bai Xiaochun had seen at the Mission Hall, also showed up. Gradually, the square filled with people.
A moment later, the main doors of the Alchemist Pavilion creaked open. An **elderly man** with white hair and deep eyes stepped out. Instantly, the noisy crowd fell silent.
His expression calm, hands behind his back, the elder walked slowly onto the square. After a long pause, he finally spoke.
**"I am Elder Xu, and I will preside over today's examination for promotion from servant alchemist to apprentice alchemist."**
**"The assessment consists of two parts: botanical knowledge and pill refinement. Those who pass the first step may proceed."** Elder Xu then closed his eyes and ignored everyone.
Bai Xiaochun blinked and didn't rush forward. Soon, a long-faced young man stepped out from the crowd, cupped his fists toward Elder Xu, and walked toward the gateway formed by the pill furnaces.
As he approached the gateway, a **beam of light** enveloped him. Moments later, a deep **drumming sound** rang out **five times** from the pill furnace.
**"Five drumbeats—that means his botanical knowledge has reached the fifth volume level,"** Xu Baocai whispered to Bai Xiaochun, ever the know-it-all.
Bai Xiaochun's eyes lit up. He hadn't known the test worked like this. Curious, he looked more closely at the stone furnace—it seemed somehow connected to the **Stele of Ten Thousand Herbs** at the Hall of Ten Thousand Medicines.
**"This could be a problem... All those admirers of Zhou Xinqi are still searching the whole mountain for me…"** Bai Xiaochun hesitated.
Soon, more participants stepped forward—most triggering five drumbeats. But when one disciple triggered only **four**, Elder Xu waved his sleeve and forcibly ejected the youth.
**"Elder Xu, I thought we only needed four volumes to qualify!"** the disciple protested.
**"Rules have changed. Five is the minimum now."**
The youth froze in dismay, gave a bitter salute, and walked away.
Everyone began murmuring in low voices. Even Xu Baocai looked surprised and quickly pulled out a notebook, scribbling down meticulous notes on sect affairs. Bai Xiaochun glanced at the densely packed tiny characters and couldn't help admiring Xu Baocai's dedication.
At that moment, **Zhao Yiduo** stepped forward. His entrance triggered **six drumbeats**. Elder Xu opened his eyes and gave a slight nod. Zhao Yiduo cupped his fists and stepped aside.
**Chen Zi'ang**, who had a rivalry with Zhao Yiduo, sneered and walked forward, also triggering **six drumbeats**. He exchanged a sharp look with Zhao Yiduo and sat by a furnace.
Seeing both men score six, the spectators gasped in envy. **Du Lingfei** rose gracefully and also triggered six drumbeats, prompting even more admiration.
**"Chen Zi'ang, Zhao Yiduo, and Du Lingfei—they're all top-tier outer sect disciples. All five volumes of botany and the first volume of beast mastery. There's a 70–80% chance they'll pass this assessment."**
**"Historically, anyone who could trigger six drumbeats usually passed, unless their pill refinement was terrible."**
As the crowd chatted, Bai Xiaochun gritted his teeth and prepared to step forward—when suddenly, a **figure** appeared from the mountain path.
It was a **disheveled middle-aged man** with wild hair and sharp eyes. Before he even arrived, his voice boomed out across the square.
**"I, Han Jianye, have emerged from seven years of seclusion, having mastered botanical knowledge! Today, I shall not only become an apprentice alchemist but also rank first among all candidates!"**
With a flash, he raced toward the furnace gate. Elder Xu remained unmoved, eyes still closed, but murmurs spread through the crowd.
**"Han Jianye? Never heard of him."**
**"Judging by his age, he must be from eight years ago… But becoming the top candidate won't be easy."**
Han Jianye arrived at the furnace confidently and stepped through. As he entered, drumbeats echoed:
**One… two… five… six… seven…**
Before anyone could react, a **eighth drumbeat** sounded.
Elder Xu's eyes flew open, a rare smile and look of admiration on his face.
**"Five botanical volumes, three beast mastery volumes. Not bad."**
Han Jianye beamed, bowed respectfully to Elder Xu, and looked around proudly, especially at Du Lingfei and the others. Then, with a dramatic flourish of his sleeve, he sat cross-legged at the center-most furnace.
The crowd gasped in awe.
**"Eight drumbeats! That means full botany mastery plus three beast mastery volumes!"**
**"He really might become the top apprentice this round!"**
At first, Bai Xiaochun didn't feel much, but seeing the crowd so shocked made him frown.
**"What's the big deal about three beast mastery volumes?"** he asked Xu Baocai, recalling how thousands had passed the third beast tablet in the Hall of Ten Thousand Beasts—and even the tenth tablet had hundreds of names.
Xu Baocai rolled his eyes and barely concealed his scorn. But in front of Bai Xiaochun, he forced a cough and explained patiently.
**"Senior Brother Bai, you don't understand. Botany is hard enough—but beast mastery is even harder. Most people struggle to pass six. Only around **fifty** outer disciples in all of Fragrant Cloud Mountain have passed both five volumes of botany and five volumes of beast mastery."**
**"Those fifty are all dragons among men! The names you saw at the Ten Thousand Medicines Stele span **a thousand years**—most of them are now inner disciples."**
**"And for this assessment, you only need five drumbeats to qualify. Han Jianye waited until he reached eight just to fight for first place—and the five thousand contribution points that come with it."** Xu Baocai's tone was tinged with disdain.
But Bai Xiaochun wasn't listening anymore. Beaming happily, he patted Xu Baocai's shoulder and confidently walked forward.
Xu Baocai blinked in surprise. Bai Xiaochun's botanical talent was known, and he had once beaten Du Lingfei. So his participation wasn't shocking.
But what happened next made Xu Baocai's **eyes bulge**.
Bai Xiaochun strode confidently into the gateway. The furnace lit up—and the **drumbeats exploded**.
**One… two… three… six… seven… eight…**
The entire crowd fell silent. But the drumbeats didn't stop.
**Nine! Ten!**
**BOOM!**
At the tenth drumbeat, Elder Xu's eyes flew open, now shining with intense brilliance as he stared at Bai Xiaochun—visibly shocked.
Among the thousand-plus outer disciples of Fragrant Cloud Mountain, only a few had mastered all ten volumes of both botany and beast mastery—and most of them had already advanced long ago. Today was the first time he had seen someone wait **until mastering all ten** before taking the exam.
Even **Zhou Xinqi** had only passed the ninth tablet before her advancement.
**Du Lingfei** stared in stunned silence at Bai Xiaochun. She had acknowledged his superior talent in botany, but she never imagined it was **this much better**—that he had **mastered both botany and beast mastery**.
Her mind buzzed, and memories flashed of when she challenged Bai Xiaochun to a botany duel. She recalled how timid he had looked when asking about her rankings—and how reluctant he had been to accept the match.
**"Bai! Xiao! Chun!!"** Du Lingfei clenched her teeth. Now she realized—he had been **playing dumb** the whole time.
**Chen Zi'ang** and **Zhao Yiduo** gasped in disbelief, frozen in place.
As for **Han Jianye**, he trembled as he glared at Bai Xiaochun, waves of shock rolling through his mind. In that moment, he branded Bai Xiaochun as the greatest rival of his life.
**"Refining pills is the key to the assessment! He may be strong in theory, but there's no way he can match me in actual alchemy! I spent **seven years** preparing for this!"**
Meanwhile, the onlookers gasped louder than ever.
**"Ten drumbeats?! That means he passed all five volumes of botany and beast mastery! There are less than fifty people who've ever done that in the outer sect!"**
**"This guy actually waited until he passed the **tenth tablet** at the Hall of Ten Thousand Medicines before signing up?!"**