Chapter 90: The Assessment Hall

"You..."

If she hadn't heard that, it might have been fine, but upon hearing it, Wen Xue felt her chest tighten, as if she were about to explode.

I tolerated your blatant flirting, I tolerated your deliberate dawdling... If you want to win favor, at least show some erudition and knowledge!

But no, you keep saying you want to assess an alchemy apprentice, yet you don't even know what to test or what books to read... Do you dare to ask any more blatantly?

"What's wrong? You don't know either? If you don't, I'll ask someone else!"

Seeing her chest heaving like a bellows, Zhang Xuan looked utterly exasperated.

Is this woman sick? If you know, just say it; if not, forget it. Why all this fuss, like you're having a seizure?

Seeing his expression of "If you don't know, don't fool me," Wen Xue nearly went mad.

Fine, keep pretending. Later, I'll make you lose face!

"To assess an alchemy apprentice, you need to memorize the properties and characteristics of a hundred thousand medicinal herbs, the history and origins of alchemists..." Wen Xue suppressed her anger and explained.

Alchemists work with medicinal herbs. If you can't even recognize or distinguish herbs, how can you refine pills?

The continent is vast, with countless herbs. A hundred thousand may seem like a lot, but it's only the basics. Some alchemists spend their entire lives dealing with herbs and still can't recognize them all, let alone apprentices.

"That's all? Very simple! Where are the books on these herbs? I'll go take a look now!" Zhang Xuan was taken aback upon hearing this.

As long as there were books, the Library of Heaven's Path could form a book and imprint the knowledge into his mind.

If this was all that was tested, it would be very easy for him.

This ability was far superior to having a photographic memory.

"Simple?"

Wen Xue's mouth twitched. If she weren't mindful that he was a customer and she was just a server, she would have attacked him long ago.

Each herb has different properties, and when combined with others, they produce various reactions. Just memorizing a hundred thousand herbs is terrifying enough, let alone their attributes. Even she, with her good memory, couldn't remember them all after years of study, and she often confused them during assessments!

And this playboy, who only knows how to flirt with girls, dares to say it's simple?

Keep pretending. Let's see how you handle this later!

"There are books for sale where apprentices are assessed. Follow me!"

Concluding that he was deliberately boasting to get her attention, she felt less angry. With a cold smile, she led the way.

Before long, they arrived at a spacious room with three large characters above the door: "Assessment Hall." A middle-aged man sat at the entrance, reading a book.

The Assessment Hall was where alchemy apprentices were tested; no one was allowed to enter without reason.

This middle-aged man also wanted to become an apprentice and had been trying for over twenty years without success. Like Wen Xue, he worked while studying.

Twenty years without passing the assessment—this shows how difficult it is.

"Uncle Li!" Wen Xue stopped.

"You're here. Buying books or taking the assessment?"

The middle-aged man, called Uncle Li, looked up and smiled.

"Not me. This gentleman says he wants to take the alchemy apprentice assessment!" Wen Xue sneered inwardly, pointing at Zhang Xuan.

You said you wanted to take the assessment? I'll sign you up right now. You don't know anything—let's see how you handle this later!

The apprentice assessment is personally administered by an alchemist. Rushing in without knowing anything is a provocation. If you anger the alchemist, you'll have a good cry...

"You want to take the assessment?"

The middle-aged man looked at Zhang Xuan, frowning.

He himself had studied for over twenty years and still couldn't pass. This guy looked only eighteen or nineteen—what was he thinking?

"Yes," Zhang Xuan nodded.

Only by becoming an alchemy apprentice could he enter the Alchemist Guild's primary library to read books. He had no choice but to play along.

If the two of them knew what he was thinking, they would probably spit blood and die on the spot.

We study and recite every day, spending years or decades without success. You haven't even read a single book, yet you want to take the assessment and call it 'playing along'... Is it really okay to show off like this?

"The registration fee is two thousand gold coins. If you pass, it's refunded; if not, it's forfeited. This is to prevent people who know nothing from wasting time."

Seeing his confirmation, Uncle Li explained the rules.

"Fine!" Zhang Xuan casually took out two thousand-gold notes and handed them over.

After gambling and robbing the swindler Yang Mo, he was now quite wealthy. Two thousand gold coins meant nothing.

"Just as I thought—a rich playboy!"

Seeing him produce the money without hesitation, Wen Xue was even more convinced of her judgment.

Two thousand gold coins—for someone like her, it would take a long time to save up. This guy just threw it out to get her attention. If that's not a playboy, what is?

Unfortunately, no matter how much money you have, if you use it the wrong way, it won't have the desired effect and will only make you a laughingstock!

"Alright." Uncle Li took the money, nodded, and had Zhang Xuan fill out a form with personal information. Then he said, "There happens to be a batch of assessments today, but it's in two hours. You can come back then."

"Two hours?"

It took an hour to walk from the academy to here one way, so he couldn't go back. He looked at the middle-aged man. "Do you have books for apprentice assessment here? Can I read for a while?"

"Trying to cram at the last minute? Sure. Those in that room are all for that. You can buy or read as you like. But with only two hours left, it's a bit late to start reading, isn't it?"

Uncle Li pointed behind him.

Zhang Xuan looked and saw a large row of bookshelves, densely packed with books—dozens of shelves, tens of thousands of volumes.

"So many?"

No wonder the apprentice assessment was hard. Even just reading through these books would be exhausting, let alone memorizing them!

"I'll just browse. No need to buy." Zhang Xuan walked into the room.

For him, books didn't require spending money. A quick flip would imprint them into the library as his knowledge. Why buy them?

"He's quite good at enduring. Today, I'll stick with him and see how long he can keep up the act!"

Seeing him walk in pretending to browse despite the huge number of books, Wen Xue sneered coldly and didn't leave.

To be honest, she had seen shameless people, but never anyone this shameless!

He clearly knew nothing, yet he confidently signed up for the alchemy apprentice assessment. That alone was bad enough, but then he openly said he wanted to read...

If he weren't just putting on a show, anyone seeing so many books would feel intimidated and think it an impossible task!

Nearly ten thousand books—just moving them would take half a day, let alone reading them!

Since you're so shameless, I'll just quietly watch you show off.

Even if I have my wages deducted today, I'll make sure you lose face!

In two hours, let's see how you talk your way out of this!

Wen Xue was furious with this guy and decided to go all out against him.