After a stick of incense worth of time, Yang Kai, who had been quietly circulating his True Qi, began moving some of the black gas and forcing it out of his forehead.

To those observing, there was now a sliver of black gas on Yang Kai’s brow.

Qin Ze was shocked.

This was clearly the sign that the final step of the test had arrived. Of the hundreds of Alchemists who had participated before now, only Wang Qi Ren and Dong Qing Yan had managed to reach this point; the former falling short, the latter finally succeeding.

How did this mere bodyguard do it?

Only a true Alchemy genius should be able to do this!

Qin Ze suddenly became nervous as he carefully watched Yang Kai with his heart stuck in his throat. Uncle Xiao had personally told him that for this time’s test, as long as he could find even a single suitable successor, he would be completely satisfied.

Now that Dong Qing Yan had already passed, if a second person were to also succeed… wouldn’t his old Uncle cry out in joy? If Hidden Cloud Peak were to obtain more than one successor, it was not hard to imagine it flourishing in the future.

Just as Qin Ze felt like his heart might burst from the tension, the wisp of black gas between Yang Kai’s eyebrows vanished. Qin Ze immediately held his breath as he intensely focused his attention.

Successor of failure would be decided in the next moment!

As he anxiously waited for a long time, Yang Kai showed no reaction. Then suddenly Qin Ze’s eyes went round as he shockingly saw a puff of black smoke re-emerge from Yang Kai’s brow.

[What’s going on!?]

Qin Ze was completely confused. The reaction of this boy in front of him was nothing like Wang Qi Ren’s vomiting of black blood, nor was it like Dong Qing Yan successful exhalation of black smoke. [How is it that the wisp of black gas moved back and forth from his brow? This is very different from what Uncle Xiao said the situation should be.]

As he mulled over this puzzle in his heart, the black gas once again disappeared.

However, before his nerves could settle, it once again emerged.

…

Qin Ze’s heart twisted every time the black gas appeared and disappeared. This kind of situation was simply akin to torture, especially since this result was still waffling back and forth between success and failure, toying with the emotions of everyone who was watching.

After this cycle continued back and forth a dozen times, the young boy in front of him suddenly opened his mouth and spat out a turbid cloud of black gas.

As soon as he spat out this black gas, the youth’s whole body seemed like it had lost its strength, his head hanging down with a disappointed look on his face.

[The hell! You finally decided to spit it out.] Qin Ze fiercely cursed in his heart, thinking that if he had to endure this much longer his heart might not be able to bear the stress.

But… how could such a thing happen?

Qin Ze frowned, was it that this youth’s aptitude could only barely meet the standard Uncle Xiao had set, causing him to linger between success and failure? [That must be it…]

“Senior Brother Qin…” Dong Qing Yan looked hesitantly towards Qin Ze, “How did he do?”

Shaken out of his stupor by this voice, Qin Ze laughed, “En, he did alright. Although his aptitude is not nearly as high as Junior Sister’s, this can still barely be considered a pass.”

[He also passed?]

These words suddenly made the crowd below feel dizzy.

Before now, so many people had gone up on the platform, but not a single one had been successful. Even Wang Qi Ren had failed and wound up vomiting a mouthful of black blood, but now a Common Grade Mid-Rank Alchemist passed. Although this rank of Alchemist was quite low, in the end she was still the Dong Family’s Young Lady. The Dong Family was by no means a small force, so them being able to cultivate such a talent was acceptable to most.

But her guardian passing as well?

This guy was just the Dong Family Young Lady’s attendant; such a person had also managed to succeed?

“Senior Qin, that little brat must have cheated somehow.” Some people began to clamour.

“That’s right Senior Qin, this bastard has never even performed Alchemy before. A completely unranked Alchemist, how could he have passed Grandmaster Xiao’s test?

“He must have used some underhanded means to do this, I am not satisfied!”

…

Qin Ze’s smiling face immediately cramped up as a dangerous light flashed across his eyes, so glaring towards the crowd gathered below he coldly snorted, “This is my Uncle Xiao’s personally refined poison pill! No one- I repeat- no one can avoid its effects. Even if it was an Immortal Ascension Boundary Master who had taken this pill. Without an appropriate aptitude for Alchemy, he would still be unable to bear it. If you are not satisfied, you can try it yourself, but those who dare question the results are slandering my Medicine King’s Valley and slandering my Uncle Xiao!”

As these words echoed throughout the plaza, the crowd fell silent.

“Fuck, a no-name servant who can’t even perform Alchemy managed to pass. I