The next day, Ye Feng arrived at the alchemy hall early.
The alchemy hall, covering thousands of square meters, was bustling with people.
You can smell various medicinal fragrances even from several miles away.
Living in this neighborhood, one's cultivation would surely progress faster.
After all, Qingyun Sect is a righteous cultivation sect, and they don't have that many poisons.
"Are you also a disciple who applied to become a medicine apprentice today?"
Ye Feng nodded in agreement, and the man then directly told him to go inside and wait for the assessment.
There were already three people waiting in the room; Ye Feng was the fourth.
After all, those who have mastered the art of dissection have usually already secured a job.
"Are all your decomposition skills based on proficiency?"
Less than two minutes later, a man dressed in inner sect attire, who appeared to be in charge, came out.
Ye Feng and the two men beside him nodded, but only a burly man with an honest face stammered,
"Reporting to Senior Brother, my...my skills are still a little lacking, but my family is a family of physicians, and I have a deep understanding of medicinal properties..."
"Alright! I clearly stated that skill proficiency is required, yet you still come here. Do you want punishment according to the sect rules? Get out of here!"
Before the burly man could finish speaking, he was driven away by an angry shout.
After the burly man left, the manager glanced discreetly at the young man beside Ye Feng, then waved his hand.
"Come with me to the back for the assessment."
The three followed the manager into the back. The young man beside him wore a strange smile, as if victory was assured.
Upon arriving at the backyard, other disciples were already preparing.
Each of the three tables had more than twenty identical herbs on it.
"Complete the decomposition of all herbs within half an incense stick's time, and be selected based on the degree of decomposition!"
After speaking, the man walked into the building behind him and went up to the second floor.
Two outer disciples remained to guard the area.
Seeing the incense lit, the three of them no longer hesitated and immediately began to break it down.
Ye Feng was completely calm.
When you're just starting out with the Disintegration Technique, it takes quite a while to cast it.
After all, magical power is needed to penetrate and analyze its structure in order to separate it. The more skilled one is in the decomposition technique, the more finely they can break down its structure.
The essence lies in the middle part that connects the substances.
Now...
With a flick of Ye Feng's finger, the herbs in front of him began to shatter like an avalanche...
Oh no...!
In his moment of triumph, he completely forgot that he had already mastered the spell.
This is worlds apart from being skilled.
Ye Feng quickly withdrew his magic power and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that only a few grains the size of rice remained of the spiritual herb in front of him.
Originally convinced he was going to learn alchemy, figuring he'd need it eventually, he immediately maxed out the Decomposition Technique.
But they forgot to conceal their shortcomings; if they were skilled, they could even explain that they had learned it before.
Even minor achievements can prove one is a genius...
That "Great Completion"... is still just the "Mastery" stage!
...
At this moment, the inner gatekeeper was already upstairs reporting to a woman in green.
"Uncle-Master Li, these are the three who will be taking the medicine apprentice assessment."
If a Qi Refining disciple calls someone "Senior Uncle," then that person is most likely at the Foundation Establishment stage.
Of course, there are also disciples who have undergone a formal master-disciple ceremony and have officially entered the sect; those are a different matter.
Li Qinghe glanced at the three people below, her brows furrowing.
"Why are they all men? Aren't there any female disciples?"
The disciple in charge, Wang Liang, couldn't help but smile wryly, clasped his hands in greeting, and said...
"Our sect has relatively few female disciples to begin with. After entering the sect, they are usually assigned tasks by the elders and deacons."
Those who have mastered the Disassembly Technique but still don't have a fixed job are mostly outer disciples who have been promoted in the last few years. Outer disciples are all engaged in heavy manual labor like logging; there have never been any female disciples there...
Li Qinghe was actually aware of this situation; female disciples were usually brought directly to the outer sect when they entered the sect.
Those with better spiritual roots were taken in as disciples by Golden Core elders and Foundation Establishment deacons, who then provided them with specialized training and management.
Qingxue Peak is the biggest beneficiary. Every year, the female disciples with the best spiritual roots are taken in as disciples by their fellow disciples and directly brought into the inner sect.
However, this also meant that Qingxue Peak had very few female disciples willing to devote themselves to alchemy.
With such excellent spiritual roots, of course they should focus on cultivation and strive to reach the Foundation Establishment stage.
Other female disciples also find it easier to find stable jobs because of the sect's male-to-female ratio.
Only male disciples who had just been promoted from menial laborers would come to answer the call.
If it weren't for the fact that one of her apprentices had gone down the mountain for training and met with misfortune, she wouldn't have needed to come here looking for someone.
However, it's only temporary.
Once spring arrives after the grand competition, the mountain gates will open wide, and female disciples will be accepted and trained; then, this will no longer be necessary...
"Uncle-Master, look at these three. The one in the middle is shaking so much while breaking down the herbs, he's definitely not good enough. The one on the left looks steady, but he's obviously much slower."
The person on the right, unhurried and skilled, is probably the best candidate.
Wang Liang eagerly introduced Li Qinghe,
Li Qinghe was somewhat disappointed that she hadn't recruited any female disciples, and she didn't want to know much about these temporary male disciples either.
He glanced at it and left.
"I'm going to start refining pills. Once you've chosen someone, have them come and help."
After saying that, he turned around, but turned back again as he was leaving.
"Remember! Selection must be based on merit!"
"Yes... Respectfully seeing off Martial Uncle!"
The following steps were nearing completion, so he went downstairs.
"Time's up!"
At a shout, the three of them simultaneously stopped what they were doing.
However, the person to Ye Feng's right still had two herbs that hadn't been fully decomposed. Upon hearing this voice, a look of frustration appeared on his face.
The person to his left was clearly very familiar with these herbs; after completing the decomposition, he cast a spell to decompose them a second time.
Sigh... They say wherever there are people, there's a world of intrigue, and there's nothing you can do about the underhanded dealings.
Ye Feng wiped the sweat from his forehead and glanced again at the spiritual herbs he had decomposed.
Overall, apart from the very first plant, it should be at a level close to minor maturity, and the younger plants around it should be impossible for it to surpass it.
"You! Too slow, you're eliminated immediately, get out!"
Wang Liang chased the person on the right away, and then pretended to inspect the work of the remaining two people.
However, upon examination, a bead of sweat appeared on his forehead, clearly indicating that Ye Feng's analysis was superior.
As someone who specializes in small-scale decomposition techniques, he could naturally tell at a glance.
"Your decomposition here is incomplete; there's still such a large section of root. Your attitude isn't serious. You're eliminated!"
"Damn it..." Ye Feng cursed inwardly.
He deliberately left some of the larger particles to lower the score, but unexpectedly, they actually became a reason for deducting points...
But I'm at their mercy, like a fish on a chopping board; there's nothing I can do but think of another way.
In fact, that was about all he expected from becoming a medicine boy.
Most people aspire to be like Xu Hao, researching on their own. With the right formula and a system, they can simply experiment a few times; there's no need to be someone else's slave.
Without saying a word, he immediately turned and left.
Seeing that Ye Feng left without saying a word, Wang Liang breathed a sigh of relief.
Thankfully, my martial uncle isn't here; otherwise, if this person caused a scene, I'd be finished.
Now, it's not up to us to decide. Everyone is skilled in decomposition techniques, so of course, we "select the best" for admission.
Just as Wang Liang was about to announce the good news to his distant nephew,
Two people came out of the alchemy room, put away the medicinal herbs, and left.
"Hey... what are you doing?"
"My master is about to refine the medicine. Oh, and he said to have the apprentice medicine boy go in and help now."
......
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