Chapter 1743: Burning Paper

"Hahaha, what an arrogant brat! Daring to speak like that in the Priest Temple, where do you place the elders?" Mu Yuanchun sneered.

Every elder of the Priest Temple had accumulated their strength over countless years.

Whether among humans or demons, alchemist was a profession that consumed immense time—this was widely acknowledged.

Yet Ye Yuan now spoke such arrogant words!

Those young demon prodigies also pointed at Ye Yuan, full of disdain.

It wasn't that Ye Yuan was being arrogant; rather, to leverage the power of the Priest Temple, he had to attract its attention.

An ordinary genius had no capital to speak?

That being the case, he might as well be high-profile and let the elders of the Priest Temple see his strength!

Well... though it couldn't be called strength yet.

Ye Yuan said calmly, "Don't play these word games. Since it's an assessment, let results speak."

The old man in charge of registration said solemnly, "Young man, if I find you're trifling with the temple, you know the consequences!"

Ye Yuan nodded, "This junior naturally understands!"

The old man asked, "What is your name?"

"Ye Yuan!"

The old man nodded and threw a wooden token to Ye Yuan.

Ye Yuan caught the token and went to the last position in line.

Among a group of demon experts, Ye Yuan appeared very out of place.

At this moment, on the high platform above the hall, three elders emerged one after another, their auras astonishing.

These three elders wore purple priest robes with five stars embroidered on the chest—they were clearly five-star priests, the elders of this Priest Temple!

The elder sitting in the middle spoke slowly to Kong Lin, "Kong Lin, begin!"

Kong Lin bowed and said, "Yes, Master!"

Seeing this scene, the demons below were all filled with envy.

Kong Lin came before the crowd and announced loudly, "The priest apprentice assessment now begins. First round: Flame Control! I believe everyone is familiar with this round. Here are three types of paper, made from Golden Silk Divine Wood, Purple Smoke Heavenly Fragrant Wood, and Willow Cloud Wood. Based on your own strength, choose any one. As long as you don't burn them, you pass! But I must remind you, the elders will note your choice of paper, which will affect your resources and status after entering the temple. Therefore, I hope you will show your strongest strength and display it to the elders! Each person has two chances. Begin now!"

Ye Yuan looked at the paper placed before him and his eyes lit up.

These three divine woods had different textures and grades, so the heat resistance of the paper made from them naturally differed.

Using divine fire to burn paper required extremely high flame control from an alchemist.

One careless mistake and it would turn to ashes.

After all, the terrifying temperature of fourth-tier divine fire could almost burn a third-tier martial artist to ashes, let alone a paper as thin as a cicada's wing.

This kind of assessment was indeed ingenious, yet very straightforward, opening Ye Yuan's eyes.

But flame control was too simple for him.

Under Kong Lin's direction, those demon youths stepped forward one by one to take the assessment, but most of them chose paper made from Golden Silk Divine Wood.

Among the three woods, Golden Silk Divine Wood was the strongest, and Willow Cloud Wood the weakest.

So naturally, they chose the strongest, which was harder to burn.

Ye Yuan watched these young prodigies control their flames and shook his head inwardly.

Too weak!

Although the demon alchemy had its own system, like the demon race, the demons were still much cruder than humans.

In such delicate tasks, they were still a step behind.

However, these demon alchemists were clearly a cut above the demon race.

"Ouch! Just a little more!"

"Don't burn! Don't burn! Oh my gosh!"

"Aiyo, how did it catch fire again? All my ten years of hard work, wasted!"

...

At present, there were over a hundred prodigies of the demon race in the great hall.

But most of them couldn't even complete the Golden Silk Divine Wood test.

However, there were also some with considerable strength who had passed the Golden Silk Divine Wood test.

And a few had even passed the Purple Smoke Heavenly Fragrant Wood test!

"Next, Mu Yuanchun!" Kong Lin called out.

Finally, it was Mu Yuanchun's turn to take the stage.

Mu Yuanchun looked at Ye Yuan with a proud smile and said, "Kid, open your eyes wide and see this young master's fire control technique!"

Ye Yuan just smiled and said nothing.

Mu Yuanchun felt as if he had punched cotton, quite frustrated.

He stepped forward and went directly to Liu Yunmu's paper, immediately drawing gasps of surprise.

"Heavens, Mu Yuanchun is actually going to challenge Liu Yunmu? Is his strength already that terrifying?"

"I heard that in the last session, Priest Kong Lin challenged Liu Yunmu, and it was astonishing!"

"Hey, what do you know! I heard that Elder Shi Yu has already decided to take him as a personal disciple. If he didn't have this much strength, he'd be nothing!"

...

For these young prodigies, Liu Yunmu was extremely difficult.

Even some priest apprentices couldn't complete this challenge.

Those who could succeed were top-tier talents among the young alchemists of the demon race.

After entering the Priest Temple, they would surely be valued.

Just like Kong Lin, after challenging Liu Yunmu, he was taken as a personal disciple by an elder and became a full priest within a few years!

One should know that some people, even after passing the test, couldn't become true priests for centuries and remained mere priest apprentices.

Everyone held their breath and looked at Mu Yuanchun.

Mu Yuanchun was clearly very confident; a faint blue flame flickered in his palm, gentle as water.

The sheet of Liu Yunmu paper floated quietly above the flame, motionless.

The pale blue flame spread slowly beneath the paper like flowing water, extending to every corner of the paper.

Seeing this, the young prodigies' eyes nearly popped out.

"Such impressive fire control technique, without the slightest fluctuation!"

"I saw Kong Lin's fire control technique last session; Mu Yuanchun's skill is definitely not inferior to his!"

"No wonder he was designated as a personal disciple; his strength is truly no joke."

...

At the head seat, the three elders nodded slightly, clearly very satisfied with Mu Yuanchun's performance.

Even Ye Yuan nodded inwardly.

Mu Yuanchun's fire control technique was indeed commendable.

Soon, Mu Yuanchun withdrew his palm, and the paper drifted into his hand.

Kong Lin took it, looked it over, and nodded with a smile, "Even temperature, no damage at all. Pass! Junior Brother Mu, it seems we'll be fellow disciples soon!"

Mu Yuanchun bowed respectfully and said, "Yuanchun greets Senior Brother Kong Lin!"

Kong Lin smiled and said, "You must also perform well in the next two rounds; the master is watching from above!"

Mu Yuanchun replied respectfully, "Yes, Senior Brother!"

Clearly, Mu Yuanchun already regarded himself as an elder's disciple.

Seeing this, everyone was quite surprised.

Where there is smoke, there is fire—indeed it was so!