Chapter 99: Full of Confusion Ouyang Cheng

Ouyang Cheng and the others were in despair at this moment.

They didn't even know where the elementary library was, yet he chose the more difficult pill debate. They all wondered if he had lost his mind.

However, since the other party had already decided, he couldn't dissuade him.

After giving the location and watching Zhang Xuan leave, Du Man turned to Ouyang Cheng: "Isn't he... a bit too reckless?"

"He is reckless, but did you notice how confident he is?" Ouyang Cheng was full of disbelief. "I really don't know where his confidence comes from!"

"Could it be that he doesn't know how terrifying a pill debate is?" Speaking of this assessment method, Du Man shivered. "Although I'm a one-star alchemist now, if I had to debate, I certainly wouldn't pass!"

Pill debates are extremely difficult, equivalent to using one person's knowledge to challenge ten alchemists. No matter how vast one person's knowledge is, how could they possibly contend with ten others?

Moreover, the most crucial point is... he hasn't even refined a single pill!

It's like a physiologist explaining pig butchering to a butcher; no matter how good the theory, without practical experience, success is very difficult!

"We've explained it in such detail, there's no way he doesn't know!" Ouyang Cheng shook his head. "This person is truly a mystery!"

"Indeed. He made no mistakes in the first assessment! In the second, not only was he flawless, but he even pointed out our errors... and he's so young. I really don't know how he possesses such incredible memory and reasoning abilities!"

Recalling what had just happened, Du Man couldn't help but feel astonished.

Earlier, this fellow had performed astonishingly. Just in terms of identifying medicinal herbs and deducing their properties, he was probably far superior to them!

An apprentice who was stronger than an alchemist... If they hadn't seen it with their own eyes, they wouldn't have believed it.

"Actually, it's simple to find out where his confidence comes from. Isn't he going to the library to read? We can send someone to follow him. If they keep watching, they're bound to find some clues and figure something out!" Ouyang Cheng said.

To dare participate in a pill debate, he must know a lot about alchemy. By sending someone to follow him, they should be able to discover some hints.

"Good idea!" Du Man nodded, waving a hand. "Hua Hua, go to the elementary library and see what he's doing. Be discreet; don't let him discover you!"

"Yes!" Zhu Huahua walked out.

Not long after, the alchemist's apprentice returned, wearing a strange expression.

"What's wrong? What's he doing? Is he looking at some obscure alchemy methods?" Ouyang Cheng asked.

Alchemists participating in a pill debate would certainly pose difficult and obscure questions that are hard to answer. To pass, one needs not only extensive knowledge but also a deep understanding of these uncommon methods.

"No!" Zhu Huahua's eyes were wide with disbelief. "He was... flipping through books!"

"Flipping through books? Perhaps he's looking for something specific. Tell us, what was he flipping through?" Ouyang Cheng pressed on.

"When I got there, he was flipping through books on the basic alchemy shelf. I discreetly glanced at them; they were books on fundamental alchemy techniques, how to refine medicinal herbs, methods for preserving medicinal properties, how to handle alchemy cauldrons, and similar subjects. Because I didn't want him to notice me, I didn't dare get close!" Zhu Huahua thought for a moment before explaining.

"Basic alchemy techniques? How to refine medicinal herbs?"

"Methods for preserving medicinal properties? How to handle alchemy cauldrons? This..."

Du Man and Ouyang Cheng exchanged a bewildered glance.

These are the simplest theoretical books for apprentices, aren't they? They're like learning to walk or eat – every alchemy apprentice must master them. This guy is about to participate in a pill debate, and he's only just starting to read these kinds of books now?

Is he kidding?

It's like someone about to duel the world's greatest swordsman suddenly remembering to buy a sword and learn how to use it...

Is this for real?

"Are you sure he was looking at these books?"

Unable to contain himself, Ouyang Cheng asked, puzzled.

"I'm not sure either. He wasn't reading them; he was just flipping through them... flipping through them one by one. I don't know what he was doing!" Zhu Huahua was almost in tears.

He truly had no idea what the other person was doing. Like a madman, he was flipping through books one by one from the first row of the shelf. It didn't look like he was reading, nor like he was searching for a specific book. He really couldn't tell what was happening.

"Flipping through books? One by one?"

Ouyang Cheng and Du Man blinked.

It sounded like pure nonsense.

"How was he flipping them? Show us!" Du Man said.

"Okay!"

As there were many books in the room, Zhu Huahua walked over, picked up about a dozen books at random, and ran his palm directly across the front covers, making the pages rustle.

"That's it?"

Seeing that he made one swipe and then stopped, Ouyang Cheng and Du Man's eyes widened, baffled.

"Yes!" Zhu Huahua nodded. "That's exactly what he did. After flipping through one set, he'd go to the next shelf..."

"..."

Ouyang Cheng and Du Man exchanged glances, both seeing exasperation in the other's eyes.

They had thought the fellow went to the elementary library to read books, but he was just flipping through them... And no matter how fast someone flips through books, they usually at least glance at what's inside. But at that speed, what could he possibly be seeing?

Forget the content; he probably didn't even know what books they were...

"Could he be... checking the material of the books, planning to burn them?"

After a long time, Du Man finally blurted out a question.

Other than wanting to burn the books, he couldn't imagine any purpose for flipping through them like that.

"Impossible. Although the elementary library doesn't contain confidential guild information, its books can't simply be burned. As an apprentice, he shouldn't be that reckless!" Ouyang Cheng shook his head.

Although Du Man's suggestion was absurd, he couldn't think of a better explanation either, his brows furrowed in a knot.

"Then what do you think is going on? What's he planning?"

Du Man couldn't help but ask.

"I..." Ouyang Cheng looked utterly bewildered. To be honest, he had never heard of such an oddity in his life, let alone seen one.

"Could it be... he's looking for a specific book, and that book has a very unique texture that can only be identified by touch?" After much deliberation, he came up with a new theory.

"It's possible..."

The two sat at the table, alternating between worried and distressed expressions, utterly unable to figure out what Zhang Xuan was up to.

In just half a day, they had exhausted every possible reason, even coming up with every excuse they could ever imagine, but still... they had no idea what the other party was doing.

During this time, Zhu Huahua went to the library several more times, returning each time to report on the situation.

When they heard that he hadn't stopped at all, continuing to flip through books, not even sparing those on "What is a pill," "Types and identification of pills," "Whether alchemy requires a cauldron," and similar subjects, their faces once again became strange, conflicted, struggling, and uncomfortable...

It was then they realized that their supply of bizarre excuses hadn't run out yet; it seemed they could still come up with a few more...