Mountain and River Festival

Chapter 147 Who is Lu Nuonuo?

No one blamed them for being impolite in this situation.

Because from the emperor to the leaders and teachers of the Dan Academy, no one dared to believe it.

This is a fourth-grade pill! And it's a pill that no one has ever encountered before and is completely unfamiliar with! The medicinal properties of this pill are also particularly potent.

Even a third-grade alchemist would have to be extremely careful and focused when refining such pills, concentrating intently on refining just one to ensure the best quality. Refining six pills on the first try—they wouldn't dare boast of a guaranteed top-grade result; ensuring a good one would be a good outcome, and the possibility of them exploding was not out of the question.

As a result, a little girl casually refined six portions in full view of everyone, all of them of the highest quality... and she was the first to "hand in" her work!

For a moment, people almost thought they were dreaming.

Only Lu Xingzhou wasn't deluding himself. He was well aware of A Nuo's talent in alchemy, her abnormal resonance and control over the properties of medicinal herbs—it had always been his alchemy cheat code. In the past, A Nuo only played a supporting role, mainly because she was afraid of fire. People who are afraid of fire find it difficult to control flames; she was lucky if she could help fan the fire, so she rarely refined pills independently.

But after the battle with the Flame Demon, A'nuo discovered that fire couldn't burn her... so she wasn't so afraid of fire anymore. Although her control over flames was still quite poor, in this stable testing environment with earth fire, refining pills was no longer a problem.

"Chen Yu from Chunshan Pavilion, three pieces, excellent quality." Another person handed in their answer.

That's pretty good. If it weren't for A Nuo, Chen Yu would probably have received a lot of praise too.

“Five pieces from the Daoist who observes clouds and cranes… of good quality.”

Lu Xingzhou didn't care how the scores were calculated between three excellent grades and five good grades. Anyway, there was no way to pull any stunts. In addition, the test paper score had to be added to get the final score.

He just focused on honing his skills.

Ah Nuo had nothing to do, so she secretly sat on the sidelines and started cheating... no, she never turned it off, so it doesn't count as cheating.

However, the emperor here is of the highest rank... Ah Nuo is worried that it will be discovered, so the opening is a bit small. She doesn't know if it will be enough for her master...

Actually, it's an overreaction. How could Gu Zhanting be so bored as to personally spy on the candidates' details? There were plenty of proctors, but unfortunately, others weren't capable enough to see through it.

"Xuanqing Daoist of Yanxia Temple... six pieces, five of which are of good quality and one of excellent quality."

Master Xuanqing breathed a sigh of relief and revealed a satisfied smile.

No wonder he's a favorite to win; he's incredibly strong. If it weren't for the cheating, this Xuanqing Daoist might actually be number one.

In fact, he was ranked third on the list of rising alchemists. The two ranked higher than him had already entered the Alchemy Academy. He was the number one rising alchemist outside the academy.

"This year's candidates are quite strong." Gu Zhanting was saying to Meng Li, "They're all only fifth-grade alchemists, yet they're refining fourth-grade pills like it's nothing, with such a high success rate, and they're even refining multiple pills. Last year there were only two like that, but this year there are four or five..."

Meng Li smiled and said, "This is because His Majesty has been vigorously supporting alchemists, and the results are gradually becoming apparent."

Gu Zhanting nodded. While the words were somewhat flattering, they were also true. His strong support for alchemists, the addition of a deputy alchemist to the list, and the elevation of the status of alchemy would undoubtedly promote alchemy in the world; in recent years, it had improved year by year.

Although it was mainly for my own benefit... it was also a contribution to the country.

However, this year's four or five... four have already submitted their answers, and there's one left.

Gu Zhanting's gaze fell on Lu Xingzhou, and everyone's eyes were drawn to him as well.

Did this guy mess it up...?

Regarding the test scores from the day before yesterday, Lu Xingzhou and his apprentice, the little girl, both received full marks, tying for first place. However, Lu Xingzhou's score was significantly higher in the emperor's eyes because he answered the question about marrow transplantation. As long as he doesn't fall too far behind others, his overall score should secure him a top-three finish.

If you can steadily refine three superior-grade items like Chen Yu, that would be good enough; overall, you could become a third-place finisher in the imperial examinations.

“Lu Xingzhou has solid theoretical knowledge, but his alchemy skills may not be strong.” Qin Zhiyu discussed with Meng Li: “He is only thirty-eight on the new talent list, which is far behind Xuanqing’s third and Hehui’s sixth… Judging from his long training, it will probably be a bit difficult for him.”

Meng Li, on the other hand, had more confidence in Lu Xingzhou. This was mainly because the Grand Preceptor's comment, "You only know the first rank," made him think more highly of Lu Xingzhou: "The Dean mustn't make the same mistake others have made. The new talent list is almost due for a six-month update. How can the rankings from six months ago be considered valid?"

Qin Zhiyu didn't care about his colleague's rebuttal, but simply sighed: "Alchemy is not like cultivation, how could you not know that? How much can one improve in a mere six months..."

Meng Li smiled and said, "Then shall I make a bet with the headmaster?"

Qin Zhiyu smiled and asked, "How much to bet?"

"A little gambling is harmless fun..." Meng Li pulled out a copper coin: "How about we bet this much?"

Just as they were joking around, Lu Xingzhou's furnace lid finally popped open, and the fragrance of elixir began to spread.

Qin Zhiyu stopped touching the copper coins, and everyone instinctively craned their necks.

Six pills spun and floated up into the alchemy furnace.

Qin Zhiyu almost shoved the copper coin into his mouth. He quickly went over to examine it: "Nine pieces in one batch, three were scrapped, six were successful... all of them are top-quality!"

The whole place was in an uproar!

The smile on Xuanqing Daoist's face froze, and he blurted out, "Impossible, these master and disciple must be..." People's eyes fell on him, and Xuanqing Daoist realized that this was not the time for him to speak recklessly. He quickly swallowed his words, and his old face turned red.

It's unbelievable that so few people wanted to blame him for his inappropriate behavior; countless people were thinking, "This can't be real..."

The master and apprentice were identical, producing six top-grade pills. Qin Zhiyu dared to say that even randomly picking two professors from the Pill Academy might not yield results as perfect as these two. The key point is that Lu Xingzhou did nine parts; his original plan was to produce nine top-grade pills!

You're really daring to dream!

Where did these two freaks come from? Is this Rookie Thirty-Eight?
Which idiot from the Xia Prefecture Demon Suppression Division reported Lu Xingzhou's intelligence in the first place? Isn't that just setting someone up for failure?
Even Ah Nuo was a little surprised and whispered to her master, "Master, I didn't drive it much..."

Lu Xingzhou whispered in my ear, "This pill, the Imperial Extreme World-Shaking Scripture, has a very strong aura. I'm too familiar with it... What's a pill that's new to others is like Tangtang's foot to me..."

Ah Nuo: “…”

"I could have successfully refined all nine," Lu Xingzhou continued, "but the others were too incompetent, and I didn't want to surpass them too much, so I scrapped three of them. Just like my Anuo, that would be fine..."

Ah Nuo was both amused and exasperated: "You should have one more than me. If the master and disciple get the same amount, what about the master's face?"

"What's face worth?" Lu Xingzhou rubbed A Nuo's cheek. "The fact is, in terms of alchemy alone, you are actually better than me. Refining nine pills is a piece of cake for you, but I might not be able to do it without your help. Let's respect the facts. My A Nuo is the strongest, and that's who she is."

Ah Nuo bit her lower lip and snorted, "You just know how to pretend to be a loving father. If others laugh at you later, I won't help you."

Lu Xingzhou just smiled.

Ah Nuo was deeply moved, but also somewhat shocked. Although her master spoke of the credit being due to some kind of cheat code, these cheat codes didn't actually affect the decisive success or failure. It was because her master's alchemy skills had greatly improved.

He had been preoccupied with many other matters, and it had only been about half a month since then that he had been able to focus on training in alchemy.

Even without Anuo, Master himself was a genius.

The master and apprentice whispered to each other, but the room was completely silent, as if they were in a dream.

The master and apprentice had the same score, tied for first place. If a ranking had to be determined, the younger one would definitely get extra points, meaning the seven-year-old child is the champion in the alchemy category!

This Daqian has gone mad.

…………

The number of examinees at the Dan Academy is much smaller than that of the Huaxia Imperial Examinations; it is ultimately just a "vocational academy." Each prefecture recommends one candidate, and larger prefectures might recommend two or three. The entire Great Qian Dynasty has fewer than two hundred prefectures, so the total number of examinees is only about two hundred, and only about twenty or thirty are ultimately admitted, resulting in an elimination rate of nearly ninety percent.

Even at the lowest number, there are still two hundred people. It takes more than two or three days to grade two hundred exam papers, and the Dan Academy won't release the final list that quickly.

However, the rankings for alchemy were announced on the spot. With so many guards and other personnel watching the alchemy in the main square, too many people knew about it. Although it was strictly forbidden to leak the results, it was inevitable that some people would secretly reveal them to the casino.

Individual scores are also subject to betting.

In reality, alchemy itself is the most important skill. The ultimate standard is how well you can refine pills. If you can refine the Nine-Turn Golden Pill, then even if you submit a blank paper in the written exam, you will still be the number one alchemist in the world.

The casino had just received the results of the single-item lottery when the bookmaker was immediately surrounded by a huge crowd.

Sheng Yuanyao paced around outside, wanting to go in but not wanting to squeeze in with a group of men, and was so anxious she was jumping up and down.

Pei Chuyun crossed her arms and scoffed, "Why are you in such a hurry? Even if we don't squeeze in, will the signal still get through? It makes absolutely no difference whether we squeeze in or not."

"Really?" Sheng Yuanyao gritted her teeth. "Someone has a move called 'Parting the Seas and Breaking the Waves' prepared in hand. What are they planning to do?"

Pei Chuyun's refined and aloof demeanor was shattered by a single sentence, and she began to grind her teeth: "It's more respectable than someone holding a knife handle and wanting to chop someone up."

The two men glared at each other and simultaneously ordered their servants, "Quickly squeeze in! We need the latest news!"

A commotion erupted from inside: "Stop being such a coward and saying names from the back to the front! Just start from the first one!"

The dealer was also laughing: "This is a leaked list. It only has the names of the first few people. The rest are just those who passed the test. Nobody cares who they are."

"That's fine. Who will be the top scorer in each category?"

"It must be Master Xuanqing! Third place among the new talents, he's truly out of the competition!"

"Master He Hui's words make sense. I personally witnessed him refine a fourth-grade pill, and it was even a top-grade one! The sixth-ranked newcomer is no worse than the third-ranked one, right?"

"Has no one mentioned Chen Yu of Chunshan Pavilion? He doesn't show off at all, but I've seen him produce excellent pills every time, he's very consistent."

"Lu Xingzhou isn't incompetent either. Although he's not well-known for alchemy, killing Ye Wufeng at least proves his cultivation is impressive and his self-control is stable. Oh, and he also destroyed the Burning Incense Pavilion, a third-grade alchemy sect with many ancient texts..."

"Who the hell is Lu Nuonuo?!"

(End of this chapter)