Stella felt very uncomfortable in the test room.
Not only were the other nobles showing open hostility, but so were the examiners.
Why did they look at me like that? Aren't the judges supposed to be from the academy to avoid being biased? Or is corruption unavoidable even in a situation like this?
Stella scanned the room and pouted behind her mask.
Maybe they are trying to appeal to one of the nobles here? Actually, now that I look a little closer...
Stella realized that even with the lack of space on the lounge chairs, the way the various people were seated or positioned gave hints to a power dynamic or perhaps different factions within the group of nobles. It made sense that they weren't all equally friendly toward one another.
"Dante Voidmind, first I will ask a simple question..." The middle-aged man with grey hair drew Stella's wandering gaze.
"As Kassandra Skyrend rightly pointed out, the minor wound cleansing pill is a tier one pill. What type of wound is this simple tier-one pill unable to deal with?"
Stella narrowed her eyes as Dante thought up the answer.
Isn't this question far more challenging than the one Kassandra had to answer? I mean, this seems to teeter on medical knowledge rather than alchemy.
"That's simple," Dante said after a second of thought, "The minor wound-cleansing pill can heal wounds inflicted with mortal weapons. However, it cannot deal with wounds infused with foreign Qi."
"...Very good." The examiner seemed slightly irritated that Dante knew the answer. With a nod to the person beside him, Dante was handed a small bowl with a tiny bundle of Qi Flowing Grass that looked healthy compared to the one Kassandra purified.
Dante took the bundle of grass and placed it in his palm. Stella had to strain her neck to see what was happening, as it was difficult to track void Qi through spiritual sight. Funnily enough, she didn't feel out of place as everyone else in the room was also trying to get a good look by peeking over each other.
"I will begin," Dante said calmly as a flash of void Qi expanded out like a bubble, encompassing his entire hand. Not even a second later, the bubble retracted and was gone.
"Done," he said as he handed the bowl and bundle of Qi Flowing Grass to the examiner. The grey-haired man took the bowl and briefly inspected it, "Where are the impurities?"
"Gone—none should remain after the voids cleansing," Dante replied, which earned him a raised brow from the examiner.
Stella was also skeptical. The Qi Flowing Grass from where she sat looked mostly the same, and she knew how hard it was to remove impurities. It was a mentally taxing process that took at least a bit of time... but Dante had done it so effortlessly in a second?
If that were really possible, Stella was starting to feel a little doubtful that this tournament would be as easy to win as she had first thought.
"Well, this is a problem," The examiner stroked his stubble, "The rules we set up clearly state that we measure based on the volume of impurities removed, as not all the examiners can detect impurities within the ingredients. If there are none, then you technically failed."
"So you will fail me?" Dante replied with an eerie calmness as if challenging the examiner.
The man seemed to glance over Dante's shoulder at someone in the room. Whoever it was had somehow given him good news as the man's face lit up a little, "No, there is no problem. We will make an exception and pass you."
"Tsk," Dante turned and walked straight for the door, his sunken eyes never looking at anyone as he left. There was an unspeakable tense atmosphere from everyone in the room as if their lives hung in the balance of this one man's mood.
Stella understood their feeling well. Void Qi had that uncanny ability to simply break the rules. She thought void Qi couldn't get any more ridiculous, but the fact it could delete impurities so effortlessly caused her great concern.
And if Elaine wasn't lied to, he plans to invade and somehow take over the city tomorrow? Luckily it seems none of the other noble families here are that friendly with Dante, so he should be fighting alone with his own family, but they also seem somewhat terrified of him, so maybe they would help out his conquest purely out of fear of being next.
The door quietly closing behind Dante broke Stella from her worried thoughts. Dante was a problem for tomorrow. For now, Stella planned to pass her first-ever exam and not embarrass herself and ruin her Roselyn persona.
With Dante gone, the ominous pressure subsided as the examiner sighed in relief and called on the next person, "Roderick Terraforge."
The large man that looked creepily similar to Douglas walked up to the table.
Stella was very curious to see how someone with earth affinity could even perform alchemy.
"This is your question," The examiner said as Roderick loomed over him, "Is there a limit to the number of pills a person can take in one day?"
"Depends on the pill," Roderick answered. Stella swore she heard Douglas for a second as they sounded so similar, "Most can be taken as many times as the cultivator wishes, but it will have diminishing returns."
"Good enough answer," The examiner noted down something on his parchment and then handed over the bowl with Qi Flowing Grass, "Just like the others before you, please remove as many impurities as possible within the next ten minutes."
"Can I use some mud?" Roderick asked, and after some contemplation, the examiner nodded, "Fine, but I will need to check it over."
So he can't use the earth Qi stored within himself to conduct alchemy. Already off to a bad start, but I didn't expect the Terrafroge family to be any good at alchemy in the first place.
Stella felt like she should start making a mental list of those that would be her greatest opponents. So far, Dante was way at the top, with Kassandra annoyingly in second place. Although her question had been simple, she had removed a good amount of impurities in a quick time frame with her lightning. The process was just a bit messy.
While Stella had been thinking, the examiner had finished verifying there was nothing odd about the clump of mud Roderick had presented him with.
"Okay, with that out of the way, you have ten minutes," The examiner declared, "Please begin."
Roderick wasted no time pushing the Qi Flowing Grass into the mud that greedily absorbed the bundle. He then closed his eyes and placed his fingertips into the mud. It began to ripple, and after a minute, Stella started seeing black specs floating to the mud's surface.
How strange... is he manipulating mud through those ever-changing pathways to push out the impurities? That sounds very slow and messy.
As expected, a full ten minutes went by, and the examiner had to snap the large man out of his meditation by tapping his arm, "Test is over."
Roderick frowned, "Already?"
"Yes," The examiner nodded impatiently, "Now dispel all the impurities from the mud into the bowl so I may check your results."
Roderick grumbled as he withdrew the mud, leaving behind the Qi Flowing Grass in a worse state and a small pile of impurities.
"You damaged the ingredient but produced the required pile of impurities..." The examiner tapped the parchment in his hand with his ornate pen, "I would count this as a pass but of the lowest grade."
Roderick seemed pleased with the result as he strode across the room and returned to his seat near Kassandra. From how Kassandra smiled at him, Stella concluded they had a positive relationship.
Not quite to the point of best friends, more like friendly acquaintances... but what do I know? Do I even have an acquaintance? I guess Douglas would be one, but I never really smile at him. Should I smile more?
As Stella began to feel even more alone than she already was while isolated from the others in the room, the examiner called up the next person.
"Celeste Starweaver, please step forward." Stella watched as a beautiful woman walked by. Her midnight black hair with streaks of blue and gold seemed to have a gravity of its own as it went all the way to her feet like a cape... which wasn't that far as she was relatively short, around Diana's height.
The examiner scratched the top of his head, "So, for a question... what is the difference between affinities when it comes to alchemy?"
"I don't understand," Celeste said calmly, like the tranquil moon. "That is too broad of a question."
"Ahem, let me rephrase it a bit then," The examiner smiled, "Why would one affinity be superior to another when it comes to alchemy?"
"Compatability?" Celeste didn't seem very confident, "Every affinity has its strengths and weaknesses... err... the more powerful the affinity, usually the harder it is to cultivate or source Qi for. To answer your question, err, some affinities have more finesse, making them better suited?"
The three examiners talked among themselves as Celeste stood there awkwardly. Eventually, they shook their heads, "Although your answer is somewhat correct," The grey-haired man said, "It was too long-winded and went off-topic, so I will have to fail you."
Stella blinked as she heard their verdict. A noble actually failed? Is that even possible?
Celeste sighed as she turned to leave, but the man stopped her, "Wait, although you failed the question if you can remove the impurities, then you can still pass."
"Whaaa, really?" Celeste spun around.
The man nodded and handed her the bowl with the grass just like everyone else, "You have ten minutes."
Celeste's hair rippled with power as silver specs began to collect around her hands. Even from afar, Stella could feel such immense power despite the girl being in the Soul Fire Realm.
The bundle of grass floated up from the bowl, suspended between her two hands, surrounded with cosmic specs.
So this is the power of cosmic affinity? Sure does seem powerful. Stella narrowed her eyes, eager not to miss a thing.
However, nothing was happening.
Celeste's eyes remained closed, and Stella could feel an immense amount of Qi being used, but she couldn't see anything physically happening.
"Phew," Celeste said as her eyes fluttered open and her hair relaxed. The silver specs orbiting her hands seemingly vanished, and the bundle of Qi Flowing Grass dropped to the bowl below. "Done!"
The examiner frowned, "No impurities? Just like Dante..."
Celeste shrugged, "I used cosmic radiation to obliterate the impurities. There should only be a few left."
"I see," The examiner inspected the grass and sighed, "There are indeed few impurities left, so I guess you can pass this round."
"Woohoo!" Celeste threw her hands up in glee and then wandered off. None of the other nobles offered an ounce of excitement for her accomplishment, so Stella guessed the Starweaver family was either weak or had bad ties with the noble families present.
Much like Dante Voidmind, Celeste Starweaver paid little attention to the others and waltzed out of the room, closing the door behind her.
"She was quite the character," Ashlock said as quietly as possible in her mind to avoid causing her mental fatigue. "And one to be feared. She used far too much Qi on a test, but if used offensively, that cosmic radiation could be as dangerous as void Qi."
Stella shuddered. How had this seemingly simple test been such a humbling experience? Had she been getting overconfident? How did such monsters in human skin like this exist?
"Maybe she got flustered, but she must have used a week's worth of Qi on that one purification," Ashlock continued, "Definitely powerful, but much like Dante Voidmind, the amount of Qi they have to use to purify an ingredient that fast and thoroughly is not sustainable."
"I see, that makes sense," Stella mentally sighed, "But since it's a two-day tournament, they have a massive advantage then."
"Don't worry about them. Your primary focus is Kassandra Skyrend."
Stella pouted behind her mask. Although that was technically true... now that she was this deep in, she wanted to win it all.
"Kane Azurecrest, please come take the test."
Stella looked to the side and saw the person sitting beside her get up. Kane brushed his long white hair with streaks of crimson to the side, giving Stella a look at his face. He had decent features, but an unmistakable aura of exhaustion overshadowed him.
Only now did she realize Kane wasn't a child but a teenager as he walked over to the table.
Everyone still in the room seemed disinterested in Kane, but Stella was curious how an air affinity cultivator planned to remove impurities.
"Okay, simple question. What is the highest tier of pill?"
Kane looked up at the examiner and answered in a tired tone, "The Heavenly Tier is the highest."
"And what tier number is that?"
"Two questions?" Kane asked, and the examiner smiled, "You know why I'm asking two questions. Don't play dumb with me."
Kane gulped as if caught in the act and swiftly answered, "It's the 8th tier."
"Good. Now here's the Qi Flowing Grass."
Why did he have to answer twice? Stella wondered as Kane placed the grass in his palm and closed his eyes.
A small tornado of light grey flames shot forth from Kane's right hand and picked up the grass. What then surprised Stella was crimson flames like the Redclaws pouring from his left hand and joining the tornado.
The swirling, flaming tornado enveloped the grass.
"Kane seems to be a dual affinity. Those are rare... how did that happen?"
Stella also wanted to know. She ran through some ideas as she watched the mesmerizing display of duality when an idea hit her, "Didn't Diana kill someone from the Azurecrest family because they were a nocturne?"
"Oh, good thinking! Diana mentioned that everyone in the Azurecrest family was forced to take on a nocturne. So maybe Kane has a nocturne inside him?"
Stella nodded slightly as the fire tornado ceased, and Kane stepped back. The grass landed in the bowl alongside a pile of soot that was likely the impurities.
"Good job, you passed." The examiner marked on his parchment, glanced up, and instantly met eyes with Stella. "Your turn now, Miss Roselyn."
Stella stood up and felt everyone's eyes on her except Kane, who walked past her and quietly sat on the lounge chair.
So Dante, Kane, and Celeste aren't part of this mini faction of nobles. Stella surveyed the room and noted that House Skyrend and Terraforge seemed to be working together.
Stella strode forward with as much fake confidence as possible and tried to ignore the examiner's sly smile.
"First, a simple question..."
The words Stella had heard so many times today sounded particularly sinister this time.
"Tell me about the Bodhi Heart Pill."
Stella tilted her head slightly and only just about managed to hold back from shouting in this man's face. Asking a vague question about an obscure pill nobody has heard about was supposed to be on the same level as 'name any tier one pill?' This was so obviously a setup that Stella almost didn't want to play their stupid game.
Luckily if they planned to cheat, so did she—just better.
"Tree a little help?" Stella asked mentally.
"One moment, that pill isn't used in the Blood Lotus sect, so Elder Margret is pouring through a book to find its description right now."
Stella felt the gazes of Kassandra and Roderick on her back, and as the seconds passed, she saw the edges of the examiner's smile widen. "Roselyn, if you can't answer, that is fine. We can continue to the next step—"
"Elder Margret found it," Ashlock quickly informed her, "The Bodhi Heart Pill is..."
Stella's laughed in the examiner's face as Ashlock relayed the information, "Why would I shy away from such a simple question, examiner? Although I have to wonder how the details of a pill only found in the Celestial Empire could be relevant to us?"
"Well, erm," The examiner's smile faltered slightly, "It's important to know our enemy's pill repertoire? Don't you agree?"
"Such deep foresight, as expected at someone currently working at the academy here in Darklight City." Stella sneered. "But since you asked, the Bodhi Heart Pill is said to increase one's wisdom and understanding of the universe, allowing the user to break through mental barriers and comprehend profound truths."
Stella then crossed her arms, "Now, I don't know about you, but that doesn't seem like a significant pill for someone like me to know about?"
The examiner nervously chuckled and looked down at his parchment, "You make a good point. Perhaps I made a mistake and read out the wrong question."
"I think you picked the wrong person to mess with," Stella snorted, "But go ahead, keep up the act."
"There is no act, Miss Roselyn. It was a simple mistake on my part." The man glanced down at the parchment in his slightly shaking hand, "How about another question?"
"Didn't I answer your "simple" question already?" Stella shook her head as if deeply sad, "To think the academy would allow a delusional old man with a declining memory to serve as a teacher."
"Fine," The examiner brought up an empty bowl despite the fact there were other bowls with Qi Flowing Grass already on the table—his spatial ring flashed, and a bundle of grass with a quality that Stella recognized appeared in the bowl.
"You passed the first round. Now all you need to do to qualify for the tournament tomorrow is remove enough impurities from this bundle of grass," He smirked as he set the bowl down in front of Stella, "You have ten minutes, starting now."
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