Chapter 93

At the same time, the young alchemist in blue named "Xiao Si" reached out and lightly touched the surface of the "Ge Immortal Root." Instantly, countless pale white powders fell off, revealing a completely different herb inside.

Half black, half white, half withered, half flourishing, only two inches long, it was actually a strangely shaped ginseng.

"Ku Rong Ginseng!"

At this moment, several sharp-eyed disciples in the audience simultaneously turned pale and called out in disbelief. The others all lowered their heads at the same time.

The venue fell silent for a moment.

The young alchemist in blue named "Xiao Si" reached out and placed the "Ku Rong Ginseng," which he had split in half, back on the tray. He glanced coldly at everyone and said:

"Not having an answer is not scary, and giving an answer a little later is not scary either. What is scary is that you pursue speed and forget to be meticulous; you seek speed but make wrong judgments.

The Ge Immortal Root is indeed a common herb on the mountain, which can quench thirst and is harmless no matter how you take it. But the Ku Rong Ginseng is a highly toxic substance. If you were to prescribe medicine, at least dozens of people would have already died!

So, do you still have any complaints about being eliminated?"

Everyone lowered their heads, not knowing how to respond. The fat man in purple still refused to give up, sticking out his neck and arguing, "Nonsense, this is all your doing. A normal Ku Rong Ginseng would never look like that!

You didn't tell us, so of course we made a mistake. If we had another chance, we would definitely spot it!"

"Exactly!"

With someone leading the way, although they knew they were in the wrong, they were unwilling to give up this hard-earned opportunity. The crowd became noisy again.

However, the young alchemist in blue named "Xiao Si" just gave a cold laugh and did not respond. He turned around and walked back to the line of young alchemists in blue, standing still like a statue once more.

At this moment, the yellow-robed alchemist named "Qi Baiyun" came out again, his expression becoming extremely serious for the first time.

He glared coldly at everyone and clapped his hands, "Be quiet!"

Everyone was shocked and, intimidated by his authority, dared not speak again. However, their eyes still showed signs of不服气 (discontent).

The yellow-robed alchemist Qi Baiyun looked at everyone, then swept his gaze over the 95 eliminated people, finally stopping on the face of the fat man in purple. He slowly said:

"Originally, I had some hope for you, but now it seems I was wrong.

Making a mistake is not scary, but what is scary is making a mistake and not having the courage to admit it, instead resorting to all sorts of excuses. I would rather you not become alchemists than have you become mediocre or even poisonous alchemists in the future!

Medicine and alchemy are the most rigorous matters in this world, directly related to human life. Indeed, the Ku Rong Ginseng does not resemble the Ge Immortal Root, and we did deliberately arrange it this way.

But... there are so many similar spiritual herbs in this world, and a slight difference can lead to a huge mistake. Some spiritual herbs and poisons look the same on the outside. If you cannot take this test seriously, how can you be serious in your daily work?

Perhaps, if I take you as disciples today, tomorrow you will poison the world, leaving thousands of corpses.

Well, I won't say more. Think about today's events. Perhaps you will have another chance in the future. If you can't understand... don't come back for the rest of your lives!"

After saying this, he waved his hand and led the remaining five people out of the courtyard, leaving the 95 dispirited disciples standing there.

...

Leading the five people to another empty courtyard, Qi Baiyun faced them and said calmly, "Do you think I didn't give them a chance?"

"How did you figure it out?"

He pointed to a disciple in blue.

The disciple in blue had thick eyebrows and a bold appearance. Upon hearing this, he immediately trembled and said fearfully, "Master Qi, the taste of the Ge Immortal Root and the Ku Rong Ginseng was different. The Ge Immortal Root is tasteless, while the Ku Rong Ginseng has a faint spicy flavor."

"Ha ha!"

The yellow-robed Qi Baiyun finally showed a smile, patting the blue-robed disciple on the shoulder, "Very good. They didn't even notice such an obvious characteristic, only thinking about quickly submitting their answers and blaming me for not giving them a chance. You did well, all of you did well..."

He looked at Tang Gu and the other four, his eyes smiling, "I left four flaws: color, shape, taste, and touch... Unfortunately, they only took a quick look and submitted their answers. They didn't see any of the four flaws.

However, don't be too happy. This is just the beginning. There are four more stages. Wait here until we gather twenty people, and the second stage will officially begin! Someone else will test you then.

I hope to see you in the final stage!"

After saying this, the alchemist named "Qi Baiyun" turned and walked out, but it was clear that he was in a good mood.

The old man left, taking the five young alchemists in blue with him. The others looked at each other, both delighted at passing the first stage and worried about the upcoming second stage.

Even the first stage was so difficult, with hidden dangers, and out of a hundred people, only five remained. A ratio of 20 to 1, this level of cruelty and strictness was beyond everyone's expectations.

How many people will successfully remain in the second stage? Thinking about the thousands of people who will ultimately only select two disciples and five alchemy apprentices, everyone was deeply worried, unable to control their anxiety, and even lost interest in whispering to each other.

Tang Gu and Shui Xue gathered together. Shui Xue whispered, "How did you figure it out?"

Tang Gu smiled, "By chance. I just thought this stage shouldn't be so easy. Even I, a layman, could see it. This test couldn't be so simple.

So, I deliberately paid more attention and finally noticed that its shape was wrong, as if it was wrapped in something. So, I guessed it was the Ku Rong Ginseng!"

Shui Xue opened her mouth wide in disbelief and looked at Tang Gu, "What, you guessed?"

Her voice was a bit loud, and everyone turned to look at them. Shui Xue gave an awkward smile and quickly lowered her head, while Tang Gu, unconcerned, nodded slightly to everyone, causing the entire venue to fall silent.

Everyone felt uncomfortable. They had worked so hard to determine their answers, and the other party had just guessed... This... Many people had the impulse to bang their heads on the ground.

However, only Shui Xue knew it couldn't be that easy. If it was just a guess, even if they noticed something was wrong, how could they know it was the "Ku Rong Ginseng"? There are no such coincidences in this world. Tang Gu must have kept the real secret to himself.

However, since Tang Gu didn't say, she didn't ask either. Instead, she was happy that Tang Gu had successfully made it to the second round, though she didn't know if he would have the luck to make it to the third stage!

The number of people in the courtyard gradually increased, and soon, twenty people gathered. An old man in blue came out, waved his hand, and distributed three alchemy bottles to each person.

This stage was a test of identifying alchemy pills!

PS: Third update, 1 monthly vote requested. (To be continued. Please search for Piaowen.com for faster updates!)