135: Chapter 135 The Heavenly Examination Hall

The half-hour time limit was far too generous for Su Cheng.

It took him only seven or eight minutes to finish writing all the answers; the ink had dried completely, and no further changes were made.

Afterward, he began to observe the vast examination hall out of sheer boredom.

Thousands of Cultivators sat upright and still, yet their movements beneath the tables could be described as a unique and spectacular competition of techniques.

To his front right, a fat man sat with his head tilted as if in deep thought, but in reality, his lips were moving silently, and a Jade Slip was hidden in his sleeve.

Clearly, this fellow was conducting a tense and exciting open-book exam, likely using his Divine Sense to probe the Jade Slip and constantly search for answers.

There was also a female Cultivator to his back left whose methods were quite sophisticated.

She held a small Formation Plate between her fingertips; as spiritual power was injected, a transparent light screen enveloped the stone table in front of her.

Though he didn't know exactly what she was doing, the cheating was obvious, and it already qualified as high-tech.

Even more extreme were those in groups of three or five from the same Family or Sect, who were currently communicating frantically using a set of secret signals that outsiders couldn't understand.

Exchanging glances and understanding each other perfectly, their efficiency was staggering.

Su Cheng watched with great interest.

He had originally thought that the selection process for an Alchemy Holy Land like the Danding Sect would be solemn and dignified, but he hadn't expected it to be such a place of hidden talents, with everyone showing off their Divine Abilities.

Atop the high platform, Elder Han had his eyes slightly closed, appearing to be napping.

However, Su Cheng didn't believe for a second that the man couldn't see; with a Golden Core Stage cultivation, not even the slightest rustle on the plaza could escape his perception.

He didn't act not because he didn't know, but because he disdained to.

In the Dao of Alchemy, identifying herbs was merely the most basic threshold.

If one didn't even have this bit of cleverness, they were truly a piece of rotten wood.

The Danding Sect needed more than just Alchemist Apprentices who followed rules step-by-step.

These various methods were also a type of technique in his eyes.

As long as you weren't stupid enough to turn cheating into an insult to his intelligence, he couldn't be bothered to care.

After all, as long as you could actually refine a Medicinal Pill in the end, did the process matter? Besides, this wasn't exactly a heinous crime.

The most important thing was to demonstrate your value; sometimes having a good brain or knowing some special Spells was a huge bonus, as the Danding Sect didn't only need Disciples with peerless talent for Alchemy.

While the Dao of Alchemy was the mainstream, the Dao of Spells and Techniques was also very much in demand.

However, with so many Cultivators present, there were bound to be a few who were stupid to the core.

Elder Han suddenly opened his eyes, his sharp gaze shooting toward a thin young man in a corner of the plaza.

That young man had a book regarding Spirit Medicine spread out and was copying from it while reading, his movements bold and completely unconcealed, as if afraid others wouldn't know he had come prepared.

"Fool."

Two words escaped Elder Han's mouth.

As soon as he spoke, an invisible force appeared out of thin air, swept up the young man and his book, and tossed him far outside the mountain gate like trash, followed by a shrill scream echoing in mid-air.

The entire field instantly fell silent, and everyone's small movements froze for a moment.

Those cheating Cultivators broke out in a cold sweat, and their movements became even more covert.

Su Cheng withdrew his gaze and shook his head inwardly.

This brother's professional skills were subpar; cheating was one thing, but being so blatant about it—who else would they throw out if not him?

Time passed slowly, and the half-hour limit arrived in an instant.

"Stop!"

Elder Han's voice rang out again, devoid of any emotion.

The Formation light above the plaza flashed, and the stone tables in front of all Cultivators were instantly covered by a light screen, preventing any further modifications.

Dozens of Cultivators wearing Danding Sect Deacon robes filed in and began grading the answer sheets.

The process was simple and blunt; the answer sheets were divided into three piles: those completely correct, those with errors, and those that were nonsensical.

In less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the results were revealed.

"Those who passed: five thousand two hundred and thirteen people. The rest, depart on your own."

Elder Han's cold voice pronounced the fate of nearly three thousand Cultivators.

On the plaza, sounds of lamentation and indignation immediately broke out.

Many people hung their heads in dejection and silently left the field.

They might have cultivated bitterly for years, yet they couldn't even step into the second round of the Danding Sect's assessment.

Beside Su Cheng, the young man in brocade robes, whom he had slightly interfered with using the Qi of Creation, now looked as pale as death.

On his answer sheet, Cloud Drizzle Grass was written as Ice Crystal Grass, and Withered Blood Vine was misidentified as Century Fire Ginseng—errors that were utterly ridiculous.

The young man stood up despondently, gave Su Cheng a venomous glare, and then followed the crowd away.

Su Cheng didn't care at all; the path of cultivation was like this—if your skills were inferior, who could you blame?

After nearly three thousand people were eliminated, the plaza appeared much emptier.

"Second round: Purification."

Elder Han continued to speak, and as his words fell, the stone tables in front of the five thousand-odd Cultivators who passed the assessment changed once again.

After the light dissipated, a pile of fist-sized, pitch-black Ore emitting a pungent odor appeared, along with a palm-sized jade bowl.

"This is Black Iron Ore, containing a trace of essence of geng metal. You must extract the essence of geng metal from it within the time it takes for an incense stick to burn and place it in the jade bowl. Those with a purity level below seventy percent will be eliminated. Begin now!"

As Elder Han's voice fell, a standard Medium Grade Magical Artifact Pill Furnace appeared out of thin air on the stone tables before the thousands of Cultivators on the plaza.

The difficulty of this second round of assessment spiked sharply.

Purification tested a Cultivator's control over fire and their proficiency in subtle manipulation through the internal Formations of the Pill Furnace.

The temperature and size of the spiritual fire, amplified and conducted through the Pill Furnace's Formations—any slight error could incinerate that precious trace of essence of geng metal.

The atmosphere on the plaza instantly became heavy; it was very difficult to use tricks in this stage.

Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!

For a moment, over five thousand Pill Furnaces emitted low hums simultaneously, and the fire vents at the bottom of the furnaces lit up with various spiritual lights, reflecting a myriad of colors across the entire plaza.

Most Cultivators pressed their palms against the fire vents of the Pill Furnace, circulating their spiritual power to ignite the furnace fire.

Qi Refinement Stage Cultivators could not project spiritual fire externally; they could only use the purest spiritual power to activate the Fire-Gathering Formations built into the Pill Furnace. The flames were mostly pale yellow, unstable, and flickering incessantly.

Foundation Establishment Cultivators, however, could directly inject their own elemental spiritual fire into it. The colors of the flames were mainly red, yellow, and blue; they were more powerful but also harder to control.

They carefully regulated the spiritual power injected into the Pill Furnace, their expressions focused, and fine beads of sweat soon appeared on their foreheads.

But among the crowd, there were a few dozen people who appeared exceptionally composed.

A young man wearing a fiery red robe placed his right hand on the Pill Furnace in front of him, chanting a formula, and then a clump of dark purple flame surged from his palm, instantly pouring into the fire vent at the bottom of the furnace.

Purple flames surged within the Pill Furnace, reflecting an eerie purple light on the furnace body; at its core, one could even see the faint shadow of a small lotus flower.

"Purple Lotus Heart Fire! He's directly using an exotic fire to power the Pill Furnace!"

"It's Wei Tian from the Wei Family of the Prefecture City! I heard he was born with a Fire Spirit Body, and his Family spared no expense to find him a sub-fire of this Tier 3 heaven and earth exotic fire!"

A burst of exclamations immediately rang out from the crowd.

(The first few rounds have no cultivation level restrictions and are mixed competitions; after all, what's being tested is unrelated to cultivation, and it's not direct furnace Alchemy or Artifact Refining.)

(I'll try to downplay parts I don't write well; please bear with me, big bosses.)

(The pacing might be a bit slow, but this plot segment isn't written randomly; it's related to the subsequent Danding Sect plot.)