Death... and me

Returning to the Alchemist Guild, Roan received a vial containing some Vermillion Rak Medicinal Liquid. This was a type of flower generally found in the southeast side of the country. Of course, the guild cultivated their own items here in the Capital. 

'Hmm... I didn't try this one in the previous phase. From what I know, this is a type of Fire Elemental Flower that grows in hot climates. The Yang Energy inside is quite abundant as well. However, the guy who made this medicinal liquid did a really shitty job. There are even a few remnants of the flower's stem inside. Why would you take this exam with such lousy skill?'

However, Roan wasn't the only one cursing the quality of his Medicinal Liquid. Everyone else was basically in the same boat. But in the end, they put those thoughts behind as they started their Medicinal Purification.

Roan sent the medicinal liquid into the cauldron provided by the guild and turned the fire on. The liquid quickly got hot but didn't boil. Roan controlled the temperature to be like that. After some time, his hair once again changed into a combination of black and white as he sent his Element and Spiritual Sense inside.

'That's quite good. At least I can see those remnants clearly, thanks to the temperature difference between it and the medicinal liquid. Let's start now.'

Light Element spread through the entire medicinal liquid as Dark Element followed right behind. As always, Light protected the good properties of the medicinal liquid while the Dark attacked the impurities. Little by little, Roan's medicinal liquid amount decreased as the impurities disappeared.

The others weren't slow either. Cluhe used his Wood Element differently. It connected to his medicinal liquid and dragged the impurities out instead of destroying it like Roan. Lita Xue was similar to Roan, though. It's just that she used her Blue Flame to achieve the same result. Roan had also noticed her before exactly because she relied on two opposite elements, just like himself.

Oligan, Waki, Werxa, and the other seniors of the Alchemist Guild all verified those participants closely with their Spiritual Energies. Naturally, they paid special attention to Roan and those who had the highest result in the previous phase.

"So that's Waki's kids, huh? That Dark and Light Elements boy is quite interesting. Did he cultivate two different techniques to control Yin and Yang Energies?"

"That other girl is also interesting. Kala Fian is her name, and she came from Balo's group. She can only use a single element, but her proficiency with it is a tad above the others. It'll be interesting to see what she can do once she manages to control two at the same time."

"Cluhe is basically the only Wood Element user between the top-ranked ones from the previous phase. Look at Elder Zanti's expression on the side. You can see how proud he is. Cluhe is indeed doing it very well."

"Hehehe! As a woman myself, I'm looking forward to the other girls too. That Lita and her Fire and Water fusion is quite surprising. It's a beautiful blue flame. If you consider that she's still in the Middle Stage of the Core Formation Realm, that becomes even more impressive."

Werxa shook his head, though.

"There are quite a few good seeds this time. Their results, in the end, is what matters. After all, we don't have slots for everyone."

Werxa looked at those boys and girls with a peculiar light in his eyes. It was as if his thoughts were wandering much further than the exam.

Because everyone only had a single chance, they all worked extremely carefully on their removal of impurities. The elders didn't give any time limit either since there was only so much they could do with a single vial of medicinal liquid. It wasn't before an entire hour went by that the first medicinal liquids cleared of impurities began to appear. Roan, just like in the first phase, was one of the firsts to deliver it.

Once the first ones began to deliver, the rest started to do the same. Another hour quickly went by until the last vial was sent for analysis. However, a few of the alchemists present had disappointed or sad expressions. Obviously, they knew that they wouldn't have much of a chance. In Roan and the other previous top-ranked ones' case, they all seemed quite calm.

Oligan then looked at the assistants, who nodded back at him.

"Very well. The last vial is here already. Let's not waste our time here, shall we?"

Oligan then signaled for the assistants to start. The vials immediately began to enter the formations that checked the percentage of impurities in the medicinal liquids. 

"Everyone, use the monitoring formations close to you to see the results in real-time. Once again, only the first 300 will advance. Good luck to all participants."

Roan and the other top-ranked participants were among the first contestants to deliver their vials. Because of that, they were once again put at the end of the queue. Well, anyone could tell that the guild arranged it to be that way.

Thirty minutes went by, and 50% of the vials were tested in the several formations placed on the stage. However, there were a few surprises.

1st: Qobes Sian, 71.03%

2nd: Divrad Howega, 70.73%

3rd: Yulie Sul, 70.12%

4th: Fanwas...

"Oh! A few of them still reached 70% purity even though their medicinal liquids were that poor."

"These ones are definitely guaranteed in the next phase. Let's see what the top ones from the last phase can do."

The first one to appear was Avram.

-Avram Samikil, 69.11%-

Sure enough, it wasn't easy to work with poor quality medicinal liquids. Besides, a lot of the top-ranked ones got herbs that they were not familiar with. Only a scant few were lucky enough to get something like that.

Soon, another one appeared. It was a member of another hall called Ruivo Hanz.

-Ruivo Hanz, 72.65%-

And just like that, the results kept coming.