Chapter 95: Dragon Scale Grass

"Is it me?" Sun Tao excitedly clenched his fists. He glanced around at Zhang Xuan and the other person, his neck held high with arrogance. Having passed both assessments, his status as an apprentice was practically guaranteed.

Ignoring the narcissistic Sun Tao, Zhang Xuan frowned. He hadn't heard his own name called. "This shouldn't be happening," he thought. He had checked everything with the Heaven's Path Library; there couldn't be a mistake. How could he have failed?

"Sirs, may I ask where I went wrong?" Unable to resist, Zhang Xuan stepped forward.

"What? Are you questioning the masters' grading?" Sun Tao blocked his way, flicking his sleeve with an air of earnest instruction. "A mistake is a mistake. You must have failed to recognize a certain herb, or written it down incorrectly! Go back and study hard. Theory is theory, and practice is practice. Your theoretical answers were good, but if you can't identify the herbs, you still can't become an alchemist apprentice!" His voice was deep, and his demeanor elegant.

*He thought,* "Kid, weren't you very proud just now? A perfect score on the written exam is impressive, but failing the timed identification is still useless!"

"You misidentified the Fish Scale Grass; you wrote Dragon Scale Grass instead!" Ouyang Cheng said, seeing his questioning. "Don't be discouraged. Your perfect score on the written exam shows that your understanding of medicinal herbs has reached a certain level. If you just observe the herbs carefully and connect theory with practice, you'll definitely pass next time!"

"Yes," Alchemist Du Man added, "you're still young, no need to rush. As long as you remain humble and eager to learn, combining it with practice, it won't be long before you become a true alchemist apprentice!" Had it been anyone else, the two would not have bothered to explain, but this person had just achieved a perfect score, and they felt a strong desire to nurture such talent.

"You're talking about this?" Only then did Zhang Xuan understand why he hadn't passed the second assessment. He returned to the table, picked up an herb, and looked at it carefully. "Are you really sure this is Fish Scale Grass?"

"Of course," Sun Tao said proudly, before Ouyang Cheng and Du Man could answer. "Its root resembles fish scales, and its leaves are bluish-gray. What else could it be but Fish Scale Grass?" Fish Scale Grass was a rather obscure herb, and its characteristics—a root resembling fish scales and slightly bluish-gray leaves—were exactly as he described. Although rare, it was recorded in books. This was precisely what Zhang Xuan had supposedly misidentified.

"It isn't?" Ouyang Cheng, evidently agreeing with Sun Tao's assessment, looked over with confusion.

"Of course not!" Zhang Xuan shook his head. "For two alchemists to not even properly identify the examination herb before concluding that I failed—isn't that a bit too hasty?"

"How dare you!" Sun Tao thought the young man was merely trying to show off and immediately interrupted. "How could the questions set by the alchemist masters themselves be wrong? Don't spout nonsense here..." Having passed the assessment, he was very likely to become an apprentice to these two, so he naturally wanted to curry favor in advance.

"Whether it's nonsense or not is simple to prove!" Zhang Xuan said indifferently, too lazy to argue with Sun Tao. "There are books in the outer room; please send someone to fetch the 'Overview of Special Medicinal Herbs' from the bottom of the seventh shelf!"

"Hua Hua, go get it!" Ouyang Cheng and Du Man exchanged glances, and the latter gave the order. The alchemist apprentice who had escorted them into the room nodded and left. A moment later, he returned with a book, precisely the 'Overview of Special Medicinal Herbs' Zhang Xuan had mentioned.

"Turn to page seventeen; there's a detailed description of Fish Scale Grass!" Zhang Xuan instructed. The apprentice, Zhu Hua Hua, on the side, couldn't help but flip open the book and, sure enough, found a detailed explanation of Fish Scale Grass.

"He remembered all that?" Alchemists Ouyang Cheng and Du Man also looked, their bodies trembling slightly in unison, their eyes filled with disbelief. Fish Scale Grass was an herb they had picked randomly; no information had been leaked beforehand, so there was no possibility of cheating! To state offhand which book it was recorded in, on which page, and even its location in the room... such a memory was truly defying nature.

"Please read aloud the detailed description of Fish Scale Grass from the book!" Ignoring their shock, Zhang Xuan continued."Fish Scale Grass, growing in swamps, gets its name from its fish-scale-like root. It is entirely bluish-gray, with slight white spots at the tips of its leaves. Mature Fish Scale Grass has scales about the size of a soybean..." As the alchemist apprentice Zhu Hua Hua read, his voice gradually dropped, because even he was discovering many differences between these characteristics and the "Fish Scale Grass" on the table.

"The tips of Fish Scale Grass leaves have slight white spots, but this one doesn't!" Zhang Xuan held up the herb in his hand, detailing each point. "Mature Fish Scale Grass has scales the size of a soybean, but on this herb, each scale is roughly the size of a fingernail—clearly much larger!"

"This..." Ouyang Cheng and Du Man hurriedly took the 'Overview of Special Medicinal Herbs' from Zhu Hua Hua's hand, read it again, and indeed found numerous discrepancies.

"Since it's not Fish Scale Grass, then it must be something similar. Among many herbs, the only one that closely resembles it is the Dragon Scale Grass I wrote down! If you believe such an herb doesn't exist, you can return to the room we were just in. In the upper right corner of the fourth shelf, there's a 'Compendium of Rare Medicinal Herbs' authored by Senior Liu Daxian, with a detailed record on page fifty-four!"

Liu Daxian was a very famous alchemist thirty years ago, known for venturing deep into barren lands to search for medicinal herbs and achieving remarkable feats.

"Of course," Zhang Xuan smiled, "if you still don't believe me, I have another way to identify it! Fish Scale Grass is a warm-natured herb; if you break its root, it will ooze milky white liquid. But this root, being a cold-natured herb, will ooze pale yellow liquid and emit a damp, cold aura if cut open! Both of you are masters of medicinal usage; this basic knowledge should be easy to distinguish, right?"

"This..." Du Man gestured to Zhu Hua Hua to look for the book again, while he himself, with a gentle pull, tore the root of the "Fish Scale Grass" in his hand. *Snap!* A pale yellow liquid slowly flowed out, giving off a chilling sensation.

"It truly is!" The two men were visibly shaken. It was exactly as Zhang Xuan had said! This herb was indeed not Fish Scale Grass!

At this moment, Zhu Hua Hua also approached, holding the 'Compendium of Rare Medicinal Herbs.' On page fifty-four, he indeed found the record of Dragon Scale Grass, which was identical to the herb before them. As esteemed examiners, they had actually given a wrong answer for grading...

Ouyang Cheng and Du Man felt their faces burning. A deathly silence fell over the room. Everyone looked at the young man before them as if he were a monster.

*Good heavens,* they thought. Being able to remember the difference between Dragon Scale Grass and Fish Scale Grass was one thing, but to remember which book, on which page, and even its exact location in the room... This was simply defying nature! Was he even human?

Sun Tao, who had been trying to show off and mock Zhang Xuan just moments ago, stood dumbfounded, his body trembling uncontrollably, on the verge of tears. *Damn it*, he thought. If he had known Zhang Xuan possessed such a memory, he wouldn't have dared to show off even if he were beaten to death! If there were a crack in the ground, he would have surely burrowed into it.