Chapter 74: Special Exam (1)
Boom!
In the game, Su Chen looked at the medicinal residue that had turned to ashes in the blue-veined alchemy furnace.
He shook his head and sighed, "Although there is a digital panel to help, it is indeed not that easy to refine the elixir for the foundation establishment period."
"Not only is the difficulty of refining medicinal materials far greater than that of the Qi Gathering Pills from the Qi Gathering stage, but other aspects, such as the temperature of the fire, have also undergone a significant improvement."
"If I want to successfully refine this Pei Yuan Pill, it may take some time."
"But the ingredients for the Pei Yuan Dan that Master gave me can only support me for ten more attempts, so I can't afford to be too wasteful."
"After all, the herbs needed for this Pei Yuan Pill are not as expensive as the Foundation Building Pill, but they are still not cheap. At least one attempt costs around 1,500 contribution points, which is equivalent to me completing 15 tasks assigned by the sect."
"Alas, refining a Pei Yuan Pill is so difficult. I don't know when I will be able to refine a Foundation Establishment Pill."
"Without enough Foundation Building Pills as support, completing the Heavenly Dao Foundation Building in the future will not be an easy task."
"Forget it; I don't want to think about it anymore. I should just concentrate on refining this Pei Yuan Dan first."
"After all, my Green Lotus Pupils are only about 6,000 experience points away from reaching the extreme stage."
"As long as I can successfully refine a batch of Pei Yuan Dan, I will soon have enough experience for the Green Lotus Pupils."
"And when the Green Lotus Pupils reach the extreme state, I will find an opportunity to go to No. 2 High School to see if I can activate the dungeon there."
"If everything goes well, then by the time I complete the game dungeon of No. 2 High School, the original dungeon of the ancient cultivator's tomb will have almost refreshed, and I will be able to gain a lot of experience points by then."
"At this rate, I should be able to cultivate the three special magical powers to the extreme state before the end of the first semester."
"By then, I only need to learn the remaining two special magical powers, and then I can start preparing to build my foundation."
Thinking about what he was going to do next, Su Chen felt that he still lacked experience points.
The importance of the Pei Yuan Dan, a special elixir that grants experience points after consumption, was once again reinforced.
Su Chen had thought about exchanging Pei Yuan Dan directly from the sect, but after seeing the price of one Pei Yuan Dan at one thousand contribution points, he gave up that idea.
Without it, it wasn't cost-effective.
After all, one portion of medicinal materials can be used to refine up to fifteen pills.
With that contribution point, he might as well try to refine it himself.
As long as he succeeds once out of ten attempts, he can recoup his expenses.
Therefore, refining it by himself is the most economical solution.
As Su Chen reopened the alchemy furnace, he muttered to himself, "It's been almost two months since the start of school. In previous years, the first phase of the three-school joint examination would have begun by now. I hope I can improve my Green Lotus Pupils to the extreme state before the joint examination."
"I heard that this time the joint exam is held at No. 2 High School. I can take this opportunity to see if I can activate the new dungeon."
Jiangnan City, November 1st, Jiangnan No. 2 High School, three schools joint entrance examination.
The so-called three-school joint examination is a special test held twice a year by Jiangnan City's colleges and universities.
Different from the mock exams held within each school, the joint examination among the three schools is not only more standardized but also more competitive.
This is not only because achieving good grades in the joint examination grants access to many resources within the school.
The most crucial point is that during the joint entrance examination, some special individuals will appear.
These individuals are observers from the major colleges.
These observers are a group of special personnel who scout talents in advance for major academies throughout Kyushu.
The reason they attend the joint entrance examination is straightforward: to discover potential talents early, allowing them to skip the college entrance examination and secure a place in a certain Taoist academy in advance.
This is referred to as being a recommended student.
In previous years, some individuals who performed exceptionally well in the joint entrance examination were even directly noticed by the four major academies and thus admitted to the four major academies in the Immortal Alliance.
Therefore, for many, the joint entrance examination of the three schools serves as an alternative college entrance examination.
Consequently, most people attach great importance to this examination. Su Chen was naturally among them.
After all, who would willingly face the fiercely competitive college entrance examination when direct admission is a possibility?
Jiangnan City No. 2 High School, on the playground.
As several buses representing Jiangnan No. 1 High School drove into the campus, students from No. 3 High School and No. 2 High School, already gathered on the playground, looked at the buses curiously.
Soon, the students from No. 1 High School disembarked the bus and gathered on the playground, waiting for the start of the joint examination of the three schools.
Among the crowd, Lu Xiaoye stood next to Su Chen with a surprised expression.
"Xiao Chen, how come you have changed so much in just half a month?"
Lu Xiaoye sensed Su Chen's aura and discovered that he had unknowingly reached the ninth level of the Qi Gathering stage.
Apart from anything else, Su Chen's cultivation level was already among the best not only at Jiangnan No. 1 High School but in all of Jiangnan City.
You should know that there are only about ten candidates with this level of cultivation in Jiangnan City.
Not to mention that she knew Su Chen had outstanding swordsmanship, acknowledged personally by the swordsmanship genius Bian Shouyi.
His cultivation level is not low, and his swordsmanship is powerful.
How could Xiao Chen have changed so much in such a short time? It was as if she was being surpassed, the darling of heaven.
Facing Lu Xiaoye's question, Su Chen smiled and replied, "Don't look at me like that. I just had some insights during this period, and Old Chen provided lots of cultivation resources for me, which allowed me to improve quickly."
"Compared to someone like you who relies purely on talent, I'm still far behind."
"And you should know, Xiao Ye, that the speed of cultivation during the Qi Gathering period is not what matters. What is important is whether you have the potential to complete a high-level foundation building."
"This is a critical indicator in the assessments of major academies."
"My spiritual roots have many attributes, making it challenging to complete a high-level foundation building. So in this regard, I am still far inferior to you."
Although Su Chen spoke very modestly, Lu Xiaoye, who had grown up with him, always felt that her childhood friend was not being truthful.
Not as good as her? She believed he was about to surpass her!
Lu Xiaoye looked at Su Chen's clear and bright eyes suspiciously and subconsciously moved closer as if wanting to examine him closely.
When Su Chen was scrutinized like this, he instinctively took a step back.
No, how can this little girl's intuition be so sharp? Could she have seen something?
Just as Lu Xiaoye was about to say something, the principal of No. 2 High School, who was presiding over the joint examination of the three schools, walked onto the podium, ready to address the participants about the content of the joint examination.
Seizing the opportunity, Su Chen said, "Okay, okay, the exam is about to start. If you have any questions, I'll answer them after the joint exam. Is that okay?"
"All right."
Since Su Chen had said so much, Lu Xiaoye had no choice but to stop talking and listen to the lengthy speech from the principal of No. 2 High School.
However, when she caught a glimpse of Su Chen standing next to her, she couldn't help but feel a little anxious.
In the past, when Xiao Chen's talent had been average, she didn't worry about anyone trying to seduce him.
But now it seemed... she had developed a sense of crisis!
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(End of this chapter.)