The arrival of a few professors was merely a minor interruption.
Everyone was still focused on purifying the medicinal pills, trying to make the most of the limited time.
Half an hour, while neither long nor short, still felt like a stretch.
After all, these students had no prior knowledge of pill refinement.
To suddenly be tasked with purifying pills was a challenge.
However, purifying was far simpler than actual refinement.
As long as one had good control over starry radiance, most star manipulators could manage it.
The problem was, for those not specializing in alchemy, self-purification didn’t have great cost-effectiveness.
For instance, at the scene…
Boom!
A low-quality Star Induction Pill exploded, and a student was left covered in soot and dust, a victim of their own starry power.
Boom!
Another student’s Star Induction Pill exploded.
The assistant instructor from the Alchemy Department, always elegant and composed, was now rushing around like a busy little bee.
Her expensive handbag was filled with low-quality Star Induction Pills, and the sight was truly eye-opening.
“Two points of merit for one pill, five points of merit for three pills, ten points of merit for seven pills… Come on, students, the more you buy, the more worthwhile it is!”
In the blink of an eye, the assistant instructor had sold dozens of low-quality pills, earning dozens of points in merit.
The sight was enough to make Li Yang envious.
As expected, the Alchemy Department was the wealthiest at the school!
The Agricultural Science Department really needed to learn some money-making strategies from them.
Among all the students, only two had not experienced a pill explosion: one was the S-level talent, Xi Yu, and the other was the F-level talent, Li Yang.
The two happened to be facing each other, standing out like mismatched elements in the increasingly chaotic test room.
All the professors were watching Xi Yu, who was focusing intently on purifying his pill.
His star chambers sparkled with starry light, flowing smoothly and efficiently as he meticulously removed impurities from the pill, like a master working with delicate craftsmanship.
Li Yang, with her exceptionally high mental power, could see this process clearly.
It doesn’t look that difficult.
Not in a hurry to spend her limited points, she decided to try purifying the pill herself.
Li Yang guided the starry radiance into the pill…
But in that instant, the Star Induction Pill nearly exploded.
Thankfully, Li Yang reacted quickly, retracting the starry power just in time to save the low-quality pill from a fiery demise.
“Forget it…” she muttered to herself.
“With my F-level talent, I might as well stop experimenting.”
All the students here were at the second-tier realm, and their control over starry radiance surpassed hers.
Yet, they still had frequent explosions, which proved just how critical the “alchemy affinity” was. If the affinity wasn’t right, the pill would explode instantly.
“System…” Li Yang thought inwardly.
“Use one month of points to improve this low-quality Star Induction Pill.”
The system remained silent.
Li Yang knew it—this annoying thing would keep raising the stakes.
It used to ignore a day or two, and now it wouldn’t even consider a month.
Would it eventually ignore a year or two when her realm improved?
Li Yang wasn’t giving up.
“How about half a year? Improve this low-quality Star Induction Pill?”
Still no response.
Li Yang rolled her eyes internally.
“Fine, one year then. Improve the low-quality Star Induction Pill.”
【With extremely limited alchemy experience, you attempt to purify a low-quality pill that should have been discarded long ago. After an entire year of persistent effort, you’ve managed to raise its quality to a first-tier high grade.】
A high grade.
Li Yang smiled. It was clear the pill had made the system uncomfortable.
But she couldn’t help it—the alchemy department’s tests were too cruel.
A first-tier high-grade pill should suffice.
At least it wasn’t second-tier.
The low-quality pill was so bad that even with a year of effort, it could only reach a first-tier level.
Li Yang had only completed her purification at the last minute, so by the time she finished, the time limit was up.
In just half an hour, the test room had turned into a disaster zone.
Students who failed purification were the loudest, lamenting their loss.
One student had spent 50 points of merit, his face pale, and he was eventually helped out of the room.
Those who succeeded in purifying their pills didn’t fare much better.
They had spent 10 points of merit on equipment packages, and each of them had lost another 10 points due to pill explosions, destroying at least five pills in the process.
A 200,000-point buy-in for an alchemy minor…
How long would it take to earn that back?
Compared to the dismal situation of most students, two individuals stood out.
One was naturally Xi Yu, the S-level talent.
His attire remained neat and clean, his handsome face untouched by the dust of exploded pills, though his energy appeared slightly depleted from the exertion.
The other was Li Yang, the freshman with an F-level talent who not only avoided any explosions but also appeared perfectly calm, standing quietly with an air of composure as if nothing had happened.
Was she really unaffected?
Had this F-level student simply withdrawn from the test?
The other students were no longer arrogant.
After experiencing the difficulty of purifying pills, they understood just how challenging it was.
The “alchemy affinity” was crucial; if it wasn’t right, the pill would explode immediately, regardless of how much starry power you had or how well you controlled it.
Thinking about it, Li Yang’s decision seemed quite wise.
Why embarrass herself?
Was getting an alchemy minor worth it?
Many of them had spent tens of thousands of points, only to walk away with a spot in the program, and not necessarily any actual refined pills.
Suddenly, it dawned on them.
If purifying was this difficult, then how hard must actual pill refinement be?
Could they ever earn that money back?
The assistant instructor, her perfectly done makeup now a little disheveled, wasn’t bothered by the explosions.
She was simply too busy making money, clearly raking in quite a commission by selling the low-quality pills.
Though her appearance had become somewhat messy, her smile seemed even more genuine.
She announced, “Please wait a moment, everyone. We will begin evaluating the pills. As long as a pill hasn’t exploded, even if it’s not fully purified to the first-tier level, it will still count…”
Before she could finish, the eccentric Professor Li Yaowan, with his messy hair and sly eyes, gasped in surprise.
“First-tier high grade!”
Everyone froze, and the room fell silent.
All eyes turned to Xi Yu, and whispers erupted:
“Is this what S-level talent looks like? How terrifying!”
“He didn’t just avoid an explosion, he even purified it to a first-tier high grade?!”
“This low-quality pill’s normal recovery price is only 0.1 merit points, yet he just casually purified it to the 25-point merit value of a first-tier high grade?!”
“That’s not just casual, though. He’s exhausted…”
“25 merit points! Even if he can only purify one pill per day, that’s still a huge profit!”
“Looks like the Alchemy Department really has a ‘golden’ future!”
“Worth it! Just 30 merit points for a minor, and once I practice well, I’ll be making 25 merit points a day!”
Everyone stared at Xi Yu, as if seeing a living, breathing cash machine.
The professors also turned their attention to Xi Yu, their expressions showing surprise and admiration.
Talent ratings can sometimes be exaggerated, like misclassifying an A-level talent as S-level, but alchemy purifications were precise.
With Professor Li’s sharp eyes, he could tell from ten meters away.
If he said it was a first-tier high grade, then it absolutely was.
A gem had truly been found in this batch of minors!
The professors, the pillars of the Alchemy Department, had been anxious for years, watching their field slowly decline.
Ever since the emergence of an alchemy genius at the Xing Star Military Academy, the Alchemy Department of Zhongdu Military Academy had been on the decline.
Zhongdu’s talent pool wasn’t bad, but most of the alchemy geniuses chose to attend Xing Star Military Academy.
As a result, Xing Star’s Alchemy Department had grown stronger, while Zhongdu’s was in a difficult position.
The older generation had been able to hold their ground, with geniuses like Li Yaowan holding up the Alchemy Department, but the future didn’t look good.
The younger generation of the Jiang family was fierce, and once they all rose to prominence, Zhongdu’s Alchemy Department might be left behind, like the Agricultural Science Department—forgotten and overlooked.
That’s why, in recent years, they had paid extra attention to alchemy geniuses, even going so far as to invest a significant amount of money into developing this talent testing device, hoping to catch any promising students.
After decades of waiting, they had finally struck gold.
Several professors now turned toward Xi Yu, their eyes filled with expectation and some tension.
Xi Yu, unsure of the pill’s exact grade, looked around.
He was the only S-level talent here, and with Professor Li calling out, it could only be his.
It certainly wasn’t the F-level student across from him.
Feeling a bit more relaxed, he remembered the proud bearing of the Xing Star genius students, lifted his chin, and cast a sidelong glance at Li Yang.
Though he had won in the Alchemy Department, it was also a small victory for the Star Law Department!
At that moment, a Professor Sun stepped forward, adjusting his glasses and closely examining the pill in front of Xi Yu.
After a moment, he frowned.
“Professor Li… Uh, you might have mistaken this one. This pill is only a first-tier mid-grade.”
Xi Yu: “What?”