Extracting all things: My attributes grow infinitely.

Wen Ziyu's smile gradually faded, and her expression turned ugly.

Followed by.

Old Han's stone tablet also went out.

With 710,000 entries, he surpassed Wen Tzu-yu's score and ranked second.

His hunched figure emerged from the secret room, a look of indescribable relief on his face.

He looked up at the rankings on the crystal screen, then grinned and cupped his hands in a gesture of respect to the young candidates who had once mocked him: "It seems the time I've been waiting for has finally come."

No one answered; everyone's eyes were still fixed on the number at the top that was still ticking.

750,000.

820,000.

When the number exceeded 900,000.

Even the disciples who were standing at the edge of the square maintaining order couldn't help but gather around.

"Nine hundred thousand! This has broken the best record for Yuanling Mountain in the past hundred years!"

"Just 20,000 more and we'll tie the record set by that esteemed figure back then..."

"Ninety-two hundred and thirty-seven hundred! It's a draw!"

"It hasn't stopped yet!"

The square was already in an uproar.

Meanwhile, on the second floor of Dan Pavilion, in an elegant room by the window.

Lu Yuanshan's gaze fell through the half-open window onto the huge crystal curtain wall in the square.

His hair and beard were all white, his face was thin, but his eyes had a sharp, restrained glint.

As a second-tier Earth Fire alchemist, he shouldn't have needed to personally oversee the alchemist assessment held every six months.

But Wen Ziyu was someone Shen Henian had personally spoken to.

and so.

I came here specifically to take a closer look.

"Nine hundred and fifty thousand?"

He repeated the results on the screen in a low voice, a hint of undisguised surprise flashing in his eyes.

The third jade slip was said to be a million-dollar assessment.

But in reality, at least tens of thousands of the herbs in it have long been extinct in the Heavenly Chapter Realm.

Even species whose specific pharmacology is unclear.

In other words.

Jiang Chuan has basically reached the theoretical limit of this level of assessment!

Looking at the entire Immortal Alliance.

Before this.

The best result is only 923,700.

The creator of this historical achievement is now a high-ranking Heavenly Fire Alchemist, and it would be considered presumptuous for ordinary disciples to even call him by his name.

But today, Jiang Chuan broke that record again.

and.

He is the true number one that no one can surpass!

Lu Yuanshan turned to look at the disciples standing behind him and asked with interest, "Is this Lieyang, like Wen Ziyu, a new apprentice in this year's cohort?"

The disciple in charge stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said, "Reporting to Elder Lu, this person is not an apprentice, but a pill-making boy recommended by Yun Danzi. It is said that he has only been in the mountain for half a year."

Lu Yuanshan's eyebrows twitched slightly: "Half a year?"

"Exactly."

The disciple in charge nodded and said, "This person joined the Immortal Alliance nine months ago and spent more than half a year cultivating diligently in the outer sect. Until a little over a month ago, he was suddenly promoted to Dan Nian by Yun Danzi. There are very few records about him, and this is all we can find at the moment."

Lu Yuanshan stroked his beard thoughtfully, remained silent for a moment, and then suddenly chuckled: "This old ghost Yun has toiled for decades without making any breakthroughs, but he's picked up a good disciple."

The disciple in charge probed, "Elder Lu, this person's talent in alchemy is probably no less than that of Young Master Wen. If their scores in this assessment are equal..."

Lu Yuanshan naturally understood what he meant by those words.

The alchemist assessment held every six months at Yuanling Mountain does not limit the number of Spirit Fire Alchemists who can be promoted, but it will ultimately select one "outstanding individual".

And that's how he earned the title of "Outstanding Person".

In the future, whether you continue to advance or join a more powerful alchemy workshop to serve as an assistant to a high-level alchemist, things will be smoother.

Shen Henian had already spoken with Lu Yuanshan beforehand, hoping that the title would be awarded to Wen Ziyu in the end.

If nothing unexpected had happened, Wen Tzu-yu could have won this honor on her own merit.

but.

The current situation seems to have changed somewhat.

Lu Yuanshan smiled faintly: "It's alright. If two exceptional individuals, one in a hundred years, emerge in this alchemy assessment, what's wrong with me making an exception this time?"

……

Jiang Chuan frowned slightly. The last tens of thousands of herbs on the third jade slip only had names but no pharmacological information, which meant they were all ancient species that had long since disappeared from the world.

He checked the jade slip twice in his mind to make sure that no information was missing before putting it down.

Pity.

If he could gain a glimpse into the full pharmacology of those ancient herbs, it would undoubtedly greatly benefit his alchemical attainments.

Time is up.

He stopped thinking about it, turned around, pushed open the stone door, and walked out.

The clamor in the square fell silent for a moment the instant he stepped out of the secret room.

Hundreds of eyes fell on him simultaneously, some in shock, some in curiosity, and most in disbelief.

Jiang Chuan ignored it completely, his face expressionless. Just then, he suddenly noticed an exceptionally intense gaze directed at him.

He turned his head to look back.

He then met Wen Ziyu's eyes, which held a hint of hostility.

Jiang Chuan paused slightly, then casually withdrew his gaze and walked straight to an open space on one side of the square.

He really doesn't care.

Even Shen Henian was nothing more than a pawn that could be manipulated in his eyes.

As for this junior who isn't even a Spirit Fire Alchemist yet, he's not qualified to have any extra thoughts about him.

Wen Ziyu watched his figure disappear into the crowd, her face somewhat gloomy.

"Hmph, he's nothing but an opportunist."

A disdainful sneer quickly appeared on his lips.

Ordinary alchemists usually only come into contact with a few hundred kinds of pills, and the herbs they use add up to at most tens of thousands. The 100,000 herbs recorded in the second jade slip already cover most of them.

As for the more than one million kinds of herbs in the third jade slip, 99% of them are obscure, rare, or even ancient species that have long been extinct.

What's the point of writing it down?

Let alone him, even those Heavenly Fire Alchemists probably wouldn't use it more than a few times in their entire lives.

In his view, Jiang Chuan had obviously figured out the way the assessment was going beforehand, so he spent a lot of time memorizing it, hoping to win the favor of the examiners in the first round.

Unfortunately, such cleverness can only provide temporary relief.

But you can't win forever.

Thinking about this...

Wen Ziyu's expression softened considerably.

A true alchemist's skill never lies in how good their memory is, but in their ability to control the ever-changing furnace fire and refine spiritual materials into pills. That is the key to a true alchemist's success or failure.

The next two challenges will be the real test of skill.

Even if you do well in the first round, it's just icing on the cake and won't play any decisive role!

But he hadn't thought about it at all.

The pharmacology of the 680,000 kinds of herbs that I recorded was also done with this same opportunistic intention.

However, his memory wasn't as good as Jiang Chuan's, and he wasn't as thorough in taking shortcuts...

The crowd in the square gradually recovered from the shock they had just experienced.

Discussions resumed.

"Useless! A good memory doesn't equal good alchemy skills. There are still two more stages ahead, and those will be the real test!"

"Exactly, exactly. It's not like there haven't been people who stood out in the first round in previous years, but they were eventually squeezed out in the last two rounds."

At this moment, Old Man Han, leaning on his worn-out peach wood cane, walked shakily to the stone stool next to Jiang Chuan and sat down.

He turned his head and looked Jiang Chuan up and down with his cloudy old eyes.

Suddenly he grinned, revealing a few sparse, yellow teeth:

"The younger generation is truly formidable."

Jiang Chuan turned to look at him and nodded slightly in response.

Old Man Han didn't mind his coldness and mumbled, "I've been trying for fifty years and still haven't been able to memorize the contents of that third jade slip. This is the first time I've seen someone do this. Young man, are you interested...?"

He waved his hand halfway through his sentence, gave a self-deprecating laugh, and swallowed the rest of his words.

I'm just an old, useless person who hasn't even passed the Spirit Fire Alchemist exam.

What right do you have to give advice to others?

"Never mind, never mind, pretend I said nothing."

Old Han, leaning on his cane, stood up, his hunched back slowly moving towards the edge of the square.

Jiang Chuan's attitude remained unchanged throughout, and he did not respond to the conversation that the other party was clearly trying to provoke.

He already has enough troubles to deal with.

According to Bai Qiuhan.

Even the threads of cause and effect entangled in one's body could be used to knit a sweater.

Jiang Chuan was also helpless. He just wanted to cultivate immortality in peace and seek longevity, so why did one accident after another come knocking on his door?