Chapter 91: Three Rounds of Examination

Zhang Xuan, a single dog in his previous life, had never been in love and didn't know how to guess what a girl was thinking, nor did he realize that in just a short ten minutes or so, he had already infuriated the waitress Wen Xue to death.

But even if he knew, it wouldn't matter.

Beauty can't be eaten as food; besides, compared to Teacher Shen and Huang Yu, you're still a million miles away. Where do you get the confidence?

At the moment, he had no time to bother with these things. He came to the first row of bookshelves in the room, casually picked up a dozen books, flipped through them lightly, then put them down and continued to the next batch.

Rustle! Rustle!

The sound of flipping pages was incessant, and one book after another was quickly recorded into the Library of Heaven's Path.

While recording and reading, Zhang Xuan also noticed that, as the waitress had said, these were indeed the most basic knowledge of alchemists, including the identification, detailed explanation, properties, and classification of medicinal herbs, as well as whether conflicts would arise when combining herbs...

If he had to memorize it all, he would be exhausted to death and still couldn't finish.

No wonder alchemists held a noble status; just memorizing these things required more effort than ordinary people.

"What is he doing?"

Wen Xue, who had been waiting to see Zhang Xuan make a fool of himself, saw him flipping through books without any intention of reading. She blinked her beautiful eyes, looking puzzled.

"Maybe he can't find the book he wants. Don't mind him!"

The middle-aged man, Uncle Li, turned to look, then casually picked up a book and handed it over: "You should read for a while too. Time is precious. Memorize a bit more, and you might pass the exam by luck!"

"Mm!" Wen Xue nodded, said no more, took the book, and began to read carefully.

Any profession requires hard work and cannot be achieved overnight, especially for alchemists.

When refining pills, a single prescription often involves hundreds of herbs. Mistaking one could turn expensive ingredients into waste, so there is no room for carelessness.

Soon, two hours passed.

Zhang Xuan had just finished flipping through the last few books and couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

"No wonder the master teacher examination is difficult. Not to mention other things, just alchemy alone is this complicated!" he remarked.

Teachers are transmitters of knowledge, needed in all professions. A formidable master teacher is proficient in various professions, meaning they can not only teach cultivation but also guide alchemy, artifact forging, formations, and so on.

Because of this, they are revered and considered the foremost among all professions.

Zhang Xuan had initially thought alchemy was simple—just follow the prescription and add herbs step by step. But now it seemed far from that.

Each herb, depending on its age, has different properties. When combined with other herbs, various changes occur. If one only knows how to add herbs, successful refinement is impossible.

If alchemy alone is this complicated, a formidable master teacher mastering multiple professions is truly terrifying to imagine!

Just as he walked out of the room, he saw Wen Xue standing not far away with a cold and proud expression: "Didn't expect me to still be here, did you?"

"What does it have to do with me whether you're here or not?"

Zhang Xuan looked at her speechlessly.

I'm just here to take the alchemy apprentice exam. Your presence doesn't affect me, does it!

"Keep pretending. There will be a time for you to cry!" Wen Xue gritted her teeth.

"The exam is about to start. Let's go in!"

The middle-aged man waved his hand.

"Mm!" Ignoring this self-righteous woman, Zhang Xuan stepped into the room.

The room was small, only a few dozen square meters, with several people already seated, all looking nervous.

After a while, an old man walked in.

"It's the only one-star intermediate alchemist in the Tianxuan Kingdom Alchemist Guild, Senior Ouyang Cheng, also the guild president of the Tianxuan Kingdom!"

"Really? I thought it would be Alchemist Du Man, but it's him!"

"Damn, I heard he's notoriously strict. There's no chance of luck..."

Seeing this old man, the seated people all wore grim expressions.

Alchemists, like master teachers, are ranked by stars. One star is the lowest.

Even so, compared to the Tianxuan Kingdom, which has no one-star master teachers, having a one-star alchemist is quite good.

Ignoring the murmurs, the old man Ouyang Cheng entered the room and looked around: "Since you've come to take the exam, you must have some confidence, right?"

"Uh..."

Everyone looked a bit embarrassed.

Without passing the exam, no one dared claim full confidence.

"Since you're here for the exam, I'll make it clear: if I catch anyone cheating, you'll be banned for life!" Ouyang Cheng waved his hand grandly.

"Yes!" Everyone nodded.

Seeing their agreement, Ouyang Cheng nodded: "Rules are set. Now I'll explain the exam content. The alchemy apprentice exam consists of three rounds! First, a written test! The test paper randomly covers herbal knowledge. Only those with a correct rate above ninety percent pass!"

"Second round, timed identification! You'll be given certain herbs, and within a limited time, you must determine exactly what they are, their effects, and properties! This round is stricter—you must be one hundred percent correct to pass!"

"As for the third round, it's simpler: a cultivation test! You must reach at least the peak of the True Qi realm, the third level of the Warrior realm! Why this requirement? Simple: alchemy apprentices take orders from alchemists. If your cultivation is too weak and you lack strength, how can you move furnaces or quickly sort herbs?"

Those who came for the exam had studied for years and were very familiar with this process.

Only Zhang Xuan was unfamiliar, but after listening, he understood.

Very simple—just answer correctly, and you pass. It didn't seem too hard...

"Since everyone understands, let's begin the first round: answering the test paper. Time limit: one hour!"

Ouyang Cheng finished speaking, took out the test papers, and distributed them.

Zhang Xuan glanced at them and twitched his mouth.

The test paper was a thick stack, dozens of sheets.

Dozens of sheets? One hour?

How was this scene so similar to his previous life?

He never thought that after transmigrating to another world and becoming a teacher, he would still have to take exams...

Thinking about it was really intoxicating.

"Begin answering!"

After distributing the papers, Ouyang Cheng stood coldly to one side, hands behind his back, standing proudly.

Though he wasn't looking at them, if anyone cheated, they would surely be caught on the spot and thrown out.

Zhang Xuan didn't plan to cheat either. He lowered his head to look at the test paper.

"Flaws!"

Picking up the test paper, he called out in his mind, and with a shake of his mind, a book appeared.

He glanced at it and found it both amusing and frustrating.

The book read: "The alchemy apprentice exam paper of the Tianxuan Kingdom Alchemist Guild is made from wheat straw by a craftsman of the White Garment Workshop. Flaws: First, the paper is too poor, unsuitable for storage, and prone to insects. Second, it cannot hold ink well, easily smudging..."

Damn it, I need the answers to the questions, not the flaws of the paper!

Suppressing the urge to vomit blood, Zhang Xuan ignored the paper itself and focused on the questions on it.