Death... and me

The rest of the tests continued in the Alchemist Guild. In the end, no one got close to Roan or Lita's points. Oligan, seeing that all the foxes had gone through the test, then announced the results.

"Alright, the top 100 for this exam are decided.

1st - Roan Larks, 1674 points;

2nd- Lita Xue, 1268 points;

3rd- Kobe Vuis, 1051 points;

4th- Chuhe Sol, 1045 points;

5th- Joan Porem, 1007 points;

6th- Farkol..."

Some were happy, others not that much. But in the end, the top 100 who would participate in the last phase had been decided. 

"The 200 who didn't make it to the next phase can step aside to wat-"

*Rawl! Rawl! Rawl!*

Suddenly, the sound of foxes' barking came from the side, which made Oligan narrow his eyes. The foxes were being kept in a building close to the alchemy testing hall. Still, the commotion was quite loud for their sounds to reach here.

"What's happening?"

A trainer quickly went there to check. A few minutes later, the barkings were finally over. When he came back, he felt helpless.

"One of the foxes challenged the alpha after we brought them back."

Oligan found it strange.

"Isn't the alpha already a Stage Two Demon Beast? The foxes we used for the test were only Stage one."

They had brought the alpha as well so that it could keep the order in the middle of all those Green-Spotted Foxes. One must remember that the guild got thousands of them to test.

"It is... However, Roan's fox broke through as soon as it arrived there. It then trashed the previous alpha, taking the position of alpha from it. That's why it took us this long to calm them down."

Broke through to Stage Two...

Everyone looked at Roan again. Not only did he get the first position, but his medicinal paste also allowed the fox to achieve a breakthrough? Is cooking really that effective? Wait, the previous alpha was also a Stage Two demon beast, and it was at that stage for way longer as well. How come it was trashed that easily?

No, that's not all. If Roan had waited like Werxa had mentioned before, his fox would have had a breakthrough. In that case, just how high would his points be?

Still, Roan looked as if he didn't care even a single bit.

"Ahem... since they calmed down, then let's continue. Just in case, bring those foxes away so that they won't interrupt the exam anymore."

The trainers nodded and left right after.

"Now then, the final phase can finally start. Well, there's no surprise that the last stage is pill concoction. After all, we are alchemists. Put everything you know together and give me your best concoction."

"Of course, we all know that pills can have several different elements. For example, a Fire Element Energy Gathering Pill is a lot more effective for a Fire Affinity cultivator than another element. Two Energy Gathering Pills might use completely different materials because of that, and the same case applies for other pills."

"That being said, it's only natural that some would be more powerful while others wouldn't be. It would be hard to judge someone because of that."

"To work around this issue, we decided on five specific pill recipes. Each one of them is focused on one of the five elements. We can't allow you to use recipes that would obviously have better effects because of their materials and your own affinities."

After Oligan said that, the assistants gave a jade slip for each of the 100 finalists. It did not take long for the cultivators to understand which pill they would be making.

"Earth High-Level Cross-Realm Pills?"

"They really selected something annoying."

"Well, it is the finals, after all. Using a hard pill like this should be expected."

Werxa then looked at Roan with a smile.

'We only have recipes of the five elements. I can finally see what your real elemental affinity is.'

Oligan continued.

"As you know, the Earth High-Level Cross-Realm Pills are used for breakthroughs into the Core Formation Realm. However, the higher one's cultivation is, the harder it is to achieve a breakthrough. We have gathered several cultivators with different elemental affinities at the peak of the Foundation Establishment Realm. All of them have been in this realm for at least 30 years without being able to breakthrough."

Suddenly, many old cultivators at the Peak of Foundation Establishment Realm entered the room and positioned themselves on the side. They couldn't help but feel excited since this was a chance they thought that would never come.

Seeing that their test subjects arrived, Oligan proceeded with the explanation.

"Cross-Realm Pills are very expensive due to their materials, not to mention that usually, you would need more than one. Let's not even talk about materials necessary for Core Formation Realm breakthroughs. Obviously, they didn't have the Spirit Stones to buy such a thing. However, they are perfect for our test."

"Your test is simple and hard at the same time. Concoct a pill using the Element you are best at and make one of these sirs enter the Core Formation Realm. Your results will be based on how many Cross-Realm Pills you will need to make one of them succeed. Well, that is considering that you'll succeed at all."

"Of course, remember that this is a tough pill to concoct, so you will have an entire day as your time limit. Even if you fail the concoction, you can ask for more materials and try again. After all, failures at this level are common, even for the best alchemists."

"Alright, that's all. Any questions?"

Roan then raised his hand as he said.

"My Elemental Affinity is Darkness."

Everyone looked at Roan, thinking they had heard it wrongly.

"What did you say?"

"My Elemental Affinity is Darkness."

They couldn't be blamed. After all, it was common knowledge that the Dark Element could only be used if you cultivated some Yin Energy ability. No one was supposed to be born with Darkness Elemental Affinity. Naturally, they thought that Roan was one of those who used Yin Energy Abilities. Roan and Old Worm didn't mention it earlier, either.

Werxa's mouth twitched as he looked at Roan. Fortunately, he quickly came back to himself and ordered.

"Quick! Bring an Elemental Affinity Orb."

In less than a minute, the orb was already in front of Roan. Sure enough, the orb went completely black after Roan touched it. The small orbs around it that measured his talent with that Element also lit up one after another with black lights. 

"This... There's actually someone in this world with a Dark Element Affinity?"

"What should we do? We have absolutely no recipes for Earth High-Level Cross-Realm Pills for the Dark Element. No, I don't think we have any recipe for this kind of pill to start with. After all, it would only be effective on someone with a Dark Elemental affinity."

Werxa and the others wanted to talk more about this sudden news. However, they had to deal with the exam first. The examinators then looked at Werxa, waiting for his decision. After all, it wouldn't be a fair test for Roan.

It was then that Roan said.

"Just bring me the materials for a neutral pill. That's more than enough for me to win this thing."

Now... that's what you call confidence!