Chapter 305: The Mad Mo Hongyi

"45, no mistakes!"

"50, no mistakes!"

"55, no mistakes!"

The voice that kept sounding grew softer and slower, as if the speaker could barely contain the shock in his heart.

Reaching 55 points without error meant the guidance on alchemy was more than halfway through...

More than halfway without error?

This was something even the invincible genius Mo Hongyi had failed to achieve!

In fact, it could be said that since the Tianwu Kingdom began examining masters, such an outstanding result had never been seen.

"This... impossible! Guiding alchemy without a single mistake, even a three-star alchemist couldn't do it... How could a country bumpkin like him?"

Jiang Chen's lips trembled, his body shaking uncontrollably.

Although the exam for a one-star master only required guiding the refinement of a first-grade pill, the design of the puppet alchemy steps was based on the process of a four-star alchemy grandmaster refining a first-grade pill as a template.

A four-star grandmaster's understanding of alchemy had reached a very profound level; refining a first-grade pill could be said to have achieved perfection.

Using it as the standard answer was most appropriate.

More than halfway through without error—what did that imply? Didn't it mean that the fellow inside was comparable to a four-star grandmaster in the way of alchemy?

How could this be?

In the entire Tianwu Kingdom, the most accomplished alchemist, the guild president, was only an early three-star alchemist, like the newly promoted Alchemist Hong, still far from four-star.

A youth under twenty had reached four-star?

"Could it be... what Princess Mo Yu said was true?"

Someone in the crowd muttered.

Hearing this, everyone's pupils involuntarily contracted.

Earlier, Princess Mo Yu, a two-star alchemist, had said that Zhang Xuan had a half-teacher relationship with her, and without him, she could never have passed the exam.

Everyone had been skeptical.

Later, when they saw his alchemy rank—one-star—they all thought the princess was exaggerating.

A one-star alchemist, no matter how skilled, how far could he go?

Only now did they realize it must be true.

If not, how could he have gone this far without a single mistake?

"Don't worry, mistakes will definitely appear. Even a four-star grandmaster refining a one-star pill can't guarantee perfection every time..."

His face twisted, veins bulging on Jiang Chen's forehead.

He had thought this fellow would surely slip up and make a fool of himself, but instead he was so astonishing, with over half the guidance error-free.

"60, no mistakes!"

Amid the crowd's shocked expressions, the score on the wall continued to rise steadily, with no sign of stopping.

"He's already surpassed Master Mo Hongyi's record!"

"Indeed, I thought that record would stand for at least a few hundred years, but it's been broken so soon?"

"This Zhang Xuan's understanding of alchemy is truly formidable. Not only is his score high, but he's also been error-free all the way. Could he set a new record?"

"Who knows? But judging by the current trend... he's definitely going to set a record. The question is how far he'll go: 65? 70? Or 75?"

...

As the score kept increasing, the crowd grew more and more tense.

Even the examiner, Master Wu, stood rigid, sweat pouring from his head.

He had been conducting exams for countless years, but this was the first time he had seen such a situation.

Over sixty points without a single mistake—no one would believe it if told.

"No, look! A mistake!"

Buzz!

Just as everyone thought he would remain error-free until the end, the score on the wall suddenly flickered, dropping from 60 to 59!

A drop in score meant a mistake in guidance!

"So there was a mistake. I thought he'd go without errors the whole way, scared me to death..."

"Yeah, I was just saying, how could anyone guide alchemy without a single mistake? That defies logic..."

...

Seeing the score drop, everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief.

If he had truly been error-free throughout, that would have been too terrifying.

It would mean this guy was already defying the heavens.

Fortunately, that hadn't happened.

"As time goes on, the heat in the furnace accumulates to a certain level, and the more herbs are fused, the greater the chance of mistakes. Even if there were no mistakes earlier, it doesn't guarantee there won't be any later. In fact, there may be more and more!"

A master who also studied alchemy in the crowd stroked his beard.

Everyone nodded in agreement with his words.

This was why the alchemist exam was so difficult.

The alchemy fire heats the furnace, and as time passes, the temperature inside rises. Fusing two herbs is simple, but after fusing dozens, fundamental changes occur, and various unexpected conflicts are inevitable.

It was like stacking blocks: one or two blocks are easy, but stacking hundreds, even a slight mistake or imbalance at the start can cause everything to collapse.

A miss is as good as a mile.

In any endeavor, the further you go, the harder it gets.

Zhang Xuan's initial error-free performance was shocking, but once a mistake appeared, it was like ink dripping into clear water—hard to stop.

"Hmph, I thought you wouldn't make a mistake..."

Jiang Chen also breathed a sigh of relief, but just as he was about to continue, his pupils suddenly contracted.

On the wall, the number that had just dropped flickered and then surged upward!

Zzzt!

62!

...

In a quiet room of the Master Hall.

Mo Hongyi sat inside, regulating his breath. Visible streams of spiritual energy drilled into his skin, slowly increasing his cultivation.

Whoosh!

He suddenly opened his eyes, a hint of displeasure on his face: "Didn't I say not to disturb me when I'm cultivating?"

Creak!

The door opened, and a young man who looked like a servant walked in with a somewhat fearful expression: "I didn't mean to disturb Your Highness, but..."

He hesitated.

"Speak!" Mo Hongyi frowned.

"It's because someone is taking the one-star master exam!" the young man hurriedly said.

"Master is the foremost profession. Every day, countless people with dreams go to various Master Halls to strive for it, but few pass."

Mo Hongyi thought it was something major. Hearing this, he shook his head, his face expressionless: "Is that all? If it's just this, then for disturbing my cultivation, go receive your punishment: 100 lashes, not one less!"

He hated being disturbed during cultivation and had set a rule that anyone who dared disturb him would be punished.

Hearing 100 lashes, the young man shuddered and quickly looked up: "It's not just that... The person taking the exam has a mental state of 5.1!"

"A mental state of 5.1? Higher than Mo Yu?"

His eyes flashed.

Clearly, this news surprised him.

"It's nothing special. But reaching that level before the one-star master exam shows good talent," Mo Hongyi said, not particularly impressed.

He was a super genius with a mental state over 6.0; a mere 5.1 was still far behind him.

"A person with a 5.1 mental state taking the master exam is indeed a big deal, but not enough to disturb my cultivation. Go receive 50 lashes!"

Mo Hongyi waved his hand, not wanting to say more.

"Your Highness, I... haven't finished..."

Seeing he was about to resume cultivation, the young man quickly said.

"What else?" Mo Hongyi frowned.

"The person taking the exam is named Zhang Xuan, not yet twenty. He just took a few sixteen- or seventeen-year-old students into the Trust Room exam... and scored 85!"

Afraid of speaking too slowly and angering him, the young man sped up.

"Eighty-five in the Trust Room?"

No longer calm, Mo Hongyi abruptly stood up.

Having students with such high trust was unheard of; it was beyond imagination.

"Yes!"

The young man nodded, an incredulous look on his face, and continued: "And that's not all. He's now taking the second exam, the Supplementary Hall, and has reached 60 points without a single mistake!"

"Reached sixty without mistakes? This... how is this possible?"

Mo Hongyi's face changed.

He had the best score in the Supplementary Hall exam in the entire guild over a thousand years, and even he had made five mistakes. Not a single mistake?

Wouldn't that mean he was even more talented?

"Yes... But here's the strange part: at 60 points, he made a mistake and lost a point, but then the next moment, it jumped to 62!"

The young man still couldn't understand what had happened and even suspected the Master Hall's wall was broken.

"Lost a point to 59, then instantly changed to 62?" Mo Hongyi had never heard of such a thing and couldn't help but pause.

"That's right!" The young man's face still showed hesitation. "And..."

"And this happened three more times afterward: first a deduction, then a quick increase of three points..."

"Deduction, then increase? What's going on? The Master Hall wall was built by formation masters and embodies the心血 of countless masters. It has stood for thousands of years without issue. How could it suddenly behave like this?"

Mo Hongyi was puzzled. "Has anyone checked if it's broken?"

"The examiner, Master Wu, was right there. He checked and confirmed there was no error..." the young man said.

"No error, yet after deducting points, it quickly increases? This..."

Mo Hongyi shook his head, then suddenly froze, his pupils involuntarily contracting to pinpricks: "What did you say? After he reached 60, this happened once, then three more times?"

"Yes!" the young man nodded.

"Then..." Mo Hongyi's lips trembled. "What... is his score now?"

If it happened once, it became 62. Three times, wouldn't that mean the score had exceeded 62? Even if it increased by two points each time, it would have reached 68!

A score of 68 in the Supplementary Hall exam?

That was... something never seen in the entire guild!

Could it be that this fellow named Zhang Xuan was truly more talented than himself?

How was that possible?

"He... he is now..."

Thinking of the score, the young man seemed to recall something terrifying. His body shook uncontrollably, and he opened his mouth several times before finally forcing out the words.

"101 points!"