Chapter 92: You Might as Well Give Up

"Please describe the classification of Qingye Grass and the characteristics of Dijiang Huizhi Flower..." "How many types of medicinal materials can Zhuxin Leaf be combined with..."

The test paper was covered with dense questions, all related to medicinal materials, just as the waitress (Wen Xue) had said earlier.

"Search!" Seeing these questions, Zhang Xuan's mind stirred. Books flew from the shelves, landing before him and continuously opening.

"The roots and stems of Qingye Grass can be divided into purple, yellow, and black stems. The characteristics of Dijiang Huizhi Flower include..." Reading the contents of the books in his mind, Zhang Xuan wrote furiously, answering rapidly.

In his previous life, he was accustomed to using hard-nib pens. Although the brush pen was somewhat difficult to wield, his predecessor had specifically studied calligraphy, so the handwriting wasn't too bad.

Rustle! He filled out the paper and turned pages so quickly that it made a continuous rustling sound.

Everyone else was deep in thought, recalling information from memory, but Zhang Xuan, with the Library of Heaven's Path at his disposal, could find the answers directly without even thinking. It was no different from simply copying, and his speed was astonishing.

"Hmm?" Ouyang Cheng, who was looking around to check on everyone's progress, frowned and his expression darkened when he saw Zhang Xuan writing furiously.

"It seems like another young master trying his luck!" Every alchemist apprentice assessment saw many audacious individuals who knew they couldn't pass but still wanted to try their luck. These people came from wealthy families, didn't care about the 2,000 gold coin deposit, and simply wanted to learn more about the question types to study specifically for them later.

He held such people in utter contempt. It was no different from trying to game the system.

How could one expect to become an alchemist apprentice simply by relying on luck without diligently memorizing hundreds of thousands of medicinal materials?

"Hmph, every assessment has different question types and questions; there's never been any repetition. Even if you come countless times, it'll be useless. It seems I need to rectify this trend. Otherwise, if they keep coming for assessments just because they're rich, what will people from other professions think? They'll laugh us to scorn!" He flicked his sleeve and snorted inwardly.

Although it was impossible for the test paper to cover the properties of all hundreds of thousands of medicinal materials, it was very comprehensive. Without an extremely profound understanding of medicines and their properties, achieving an accuracy rate of over ninety percent was impossible.

Zhang Xuan was so young, and he was flipping pages and writing indiscriminately without even clearly reading the questions. In Ouyang Cheng's eyes, he was immediately judged to be a rich young master trying to cheat the system.

Alchemists most strictly avoid feigning knowledge; there is no room for the slightest carelessness or error. A small mistake could lead to wasted medicinal materials, but worse, it could cost lives!

Precisely for this reason, while the apprentice assessment officially had three parts, the proctors actually had to carefully observe the candidates' character and attitude. Someone like the person before him, who was just flipping pages and filling things in haphazardly without even clearly reading the questions, immediately indicated a problematic attitude.

He didn't even need to grade the paper; he had already decided in his heart that Zhang Xuan would not pass, effectively sentencing him to failure.

It wasn't that he was overly subjective; had anyone ever seen someone fill out a test paper directly without even fully reading the questions? Had anyone seen someone's pen fly across the paper without needing to think?

Answering without thinking must mean he was just scribbling nonsense! Anyone else would likely not believe he could answer all the questions correctly.

In less than half an hour, Zhang Xuan had completed all dozen pages of the test paper.

Whoosh! Exhaling, Zhang Xuan checked it once more. Finding no issues, he handed it in.

"He's handed it in? That fast?" "Maybe he knew he wouldn't score anything and just gave up." "Ah, to be honest, the assessment is really too difficult. Giving up is normal..." "Giving up isn't the problem; the key is that Elder Ouyang is supervising this. I bet this kid is in for it..."

A commotion erupted among the others when they saw Zhang Xuan hand in his paper.

Handing in a one-hour assessment in less than half the allotted time had never happened in the history of the apprentice examinations.

Seeing this, everyone assumed he hadn't finished the test because he knew the answers, but rather because he couldn't do it and lacked the confidence to continue.

"When does the next part of the assessment begin?" Ignoring the chatter, Zhang Xuan handed the test paper to Ouyang Cheng and asked.

Collecting and grading the papers would take time. By knowing the next start time, he could wait in advance.

If he hadn't asked, it would have been fine, but hearing this, Ouyang Cheng felt his anger flare, ready to explode at any moment.

You don't know anything, you just randomly flipped pages and filled things in. Even if there's a next part to the assessment, it has nothing to do with you!

In the alchemist apprentice assessment, you only qualify for the next part if you pass the current one. With your level, waiting for the next assessment... are you still dreaming?

However, as an official alchemist, despite his anger, he wouldn't show it to a nobody who hadn't even passed the apprentice exam. He waved his hand, "Wait outside. If you're called, come in. If not, it means you haven't passed, and you can go back."

"Oh!" Zhang Xuan nodded and walked out of the room.

"Audacious fool!" The moment Zhang Xuan left, Ouyang Cheng casually crumpled the test paper on the desk into a ball and tossed it aside. There was no point in looking at such a person's paper; it would only fuel his anger.

Zhang Xuan walked out of the room. With the Library of Heaven's Path, these knowledge assessments were simply too easy for him, posing no difficulty whatsoever.

"You handed in your paper? Isn't the assessment an hour long? Why are you out in just half an hour?" Uncle Li, the middle-aged man, looked at him with surprise as he emerged.

The apprentice assessment paper had a huge number of questions. He himself barely finished it within the hour each time, and sometimes didn't even read all the questions, which led to wrong answers and failure. Coming out in half an hour was certainly fast!

"Does that even need thinking about? He must have found it too difficult and given up!" Wen Xue laughed.

Weren't you acting all mighty? Going to take the apprentice exam knowing nothing; now you see how hard it is!

"Heh heh." Hearing her words, Zhang Xuan didn't bother to explain.

Besides, even if he explained, she certainly wouldn't believe him. Rather than wasting his breath, it was better to wait for the final results; everything would become clear then.

"What, feeling guilty now? I told you not to pretend; now you can't, can you?" To Wen Xue, his expression was a clear sign of guilt.

"If you have a problem with your brain, go get it checked! Don't just stand here nagging!" Zhang Xuan was speechless with this woman, who targeted him the moment they met. She really was sick! He tried to recall, but his predecessor didn't seem to know her either. If they didn't know each other, why was she deliberately looking for trouble? Zhang Xuan was baffled.

"You..." She had expected him to be so ashamed that he would want to crawl into a hole after being exposed, but instead, he was audaciously telling her she had a brain problem! You're the one with a problem! You're full of problems! Wen Xue's breathing became ragged with anger; she felt like she was about to explode.

"Oh, I get it!" A flash of insight struck Zhang Xuan. He thought of a reason and finally understood why she had been bothering him. With a look of pity in his eyes, he couldn't help but shake his head, his voice earnest and full of good intentions.

"Don't think that by deliberately bothering me, you'll get more attention or make me notice you. That idea is very childish. Let me tell you clearly, doing that will only make me dislike you; it will have the opposite effect!" He sighed, then added, "I only like gentle and elegant women. I won't like you, so just give up on that idea!"