Chapter 295: The Dark Horse

Exiting the examination hall, Otto followed behind, walking alongside Xiao Yan. Occasionally, he would glance at this young man who was smiling calmly, with a rather strange look in his eyes.

“Why are you staring at me all the time?” After walking for a while, Xiao Yan could no longer bear Otto’s gaze and shook his head helplessly.

“Hehe, I’m just wondering how much more you have hidden. You’re quite surprising…” Otto chuckled.

Xiao Yan could only shrug helplessly upon hearing this.

“However, your performance today has been very eye-catching. I think that soon, Kemir will come to inquire about your identity. Although he doesn’t know your exact strength, being able to refine the Ironwood Spirit Leaf eight times at around twenty years old is quite rare since the guild was established,” Otto said.

“I know…” Xiao Yan walked slowly, nodding. While refining the Ironwood Spirit Leaf, he had already considered this. However, with the grand assembly about to start, it was inevitable that his strength would be exposed. Therefore, he didn’t need to deliberately perform poorly at this critical moment. Although being low-key was good, being too low-key brought disdain and mockery, which was quite troublesome and frustrating.

“As for my identity, I need Master Otto to help me keep it a secret.” Xiao Yan pressed his lips together and whispered, “Due to some reasons, if my identity is revealed, I may not be able to participate in this grand assembly. So, Master must do your best to help.”

Hearing the serious consequences from Xiao Yan, Otto was stunned, then furrowed his brows. If Xiao Yan withdrew from the competition, wouldn’t the Black Rock City Alchemist Guild lose a chance to achieve good results? This was a significant threat for Otto, who had never achieved much since taking office.

After a long pause of contemplation, Otto finally nodded, saying with a bitter smile, “Alright, I’ll do my best to keep it a secret. Fortunately, the member data hasn’t been uploaded yet, so I can still make some changes.”

“Hehe, thank you, Master Otto.” Hearing this, Xiao Yan breathed a sigh of relief and smiled.

“Can’t help it. I don’t want such an excellent contestant I found to slip away,” Otto said helplessly.

Xiao Yan smiled and was about to speak when Frank’s boisterous laughter suddenly rang out in front, “Hey, Old Otto! How did it go? Did the exam end? How is this little guy?”

At this point, Xiao Yan and Otto had already left the corridor. Since it was a crossroads, there were quite a few people around. Upon hearing Frank’s laughter, many curious onlookers slowed down and turned their attention to Xiao Yan, who was walking with Otto.

Because the previous test was an internal one, these alchemists did not know the exact results. However, they knew that those who participated in such internal tests were usually top contenders, with extraordinary abilities.

Hearing the laughter, Xiao Yan raised his head and saw Frank walking over with a big smile. Beside him were Xue Mei and Lin Fei, dressed in silver robes, looking particularly cold and beautiful. Their curious gazes were also directed at Xiao Yan.

“It went well, I passed…” Smiling, Xiao Yan looked at the three people in front of him.

Upon hearing this, Otto rolled his eyes. If this result was just “decent,” what about the others?

“Hehe, you passed? That’s great. I was a bit worried because those who took the internal test are no ordinary people,” Frank laughed.

“Hey, you’re representing our Black Rock City. Although we don’t expect you to surpass geniuses like Liu Ling, in this kind of internal test, you should at least aim for the top ten to have a chance of achieving a good result in the grand assembly. Just ‘decent’ won’t do…” Lin Fei muttered. Clearly, she believed that Xiao Yan’s “decent” was a barely passing score.

“Liu Ling is indeed a genius, but he is a disciple of the Pill King Gu He, and he’s older than Xiao…Yan Xiao. Achieving this result is already quite impressive. At least we don’t even have the qualification to achieve such a result,” Xue Mei interjected, glancing at Lin Fei. “I know you admire Liu Ling, but Yan Xiao is on our side. If he loses, it won’t look good for us in Black Rock City.”

“I was only speaking from the perspective of him being our representative. I didn’t say anything against him. What does this have to do with Liu Ling?” Lin Fei retorted sullenly.

“Ah, enough, both of you be quiet,” Otto sighed, shaking his head. Looking at the bickering pair, he then turned to Frank and said with a grin, “This time, you might be surprised to the point of dropping your jaw.”

“Oh? What happened?” Frank asked, puzzled.

Otto grinned, about to speak, but a commotion in the corridor behind them caught everyone’s attention. Turning around, they saw the participants of the test emerging one by one. At the front were the Little Princess and Liu Ling, whose face was somewhat gloomy.

“Is that Liu Ling, the disciple of Pill King Gu He? His aura is indeed impressive.”

“Such a young third-rank alchemist, it’s really something…”

“Surely, he must have the best score in this test.”

“Who wouldn’t with such a good teacher? It’s something to be envious of.”

As the group emerged from the corridor, the surrounding crowd began whispering.

Xiao Yan turned his head slightly and watched Liu Ling approach, smiling.

Exiting the corridor with a gloomy expression, Liu Ling immediately spotted the familiar figure, his mouth twitching slightly. Taking a deep breath, the hidden anger on his face quickly faded, replaced by a soft smile.

“Mr. Yan Xiao, congratulations,” Liu Ling approached, first bowing to Otto and Frank, then turning to Xiao Yan with a smile.

Xiao Yan smiled and shook his head, “It was just luck.”

“I have other matters, so I won’t chat much. Mr. Yan Xiao, see you at the grand assembly tomorrow.” Liu Ling clearly wasn’t in the mood for conversation. After greeting, he stepped aside, moving through the crowd and disappearing from sight.

“Mr. Yan Xiao,” following a few steps after Liu Ling, the Little Princess stopped, hesitated, and turned to Xiao Yan with a smile, “There’s a gathering tonight, and many alchemists from the grand assembly will attend. Would you like to—”

“Hehe, sorry, I have other matters tonight. I might not have the time,” Xiao Yan replied, slightly surprised by the sudden invitation from the Little Princess. But he soon understood, shook his head, and smiled.

The Little Princess wasn’t surprised by the rejection. Her lips moved slightly, and after looking at Xiao Yan for a while, she smiled, “If that’s the case, I won’t force it. If you need any help in the future, you can come to me. Goodbye.”

Watching the Little Princess disappear, Xiao Yan pursed his lips, thinking about her attitude before the test results and now, and couldn’t help but laugh bitterly, “She’s indeed from the royal family. The difference in treatment between useful and useless people is so stark.”

Liu Ling disappeared, and Lin Fei, who had been staring at him with starry eyes, turned to Xiao Yan, puzzled, “By the way, why did he congratulate you?”

“Nothing,” Xiao Yan smiled. He didn’t think winning Liu Ling was a big deal. Sure, he was a disciple of Gu He, but this name carried little weight for Xiao Yan, who had once dared to use Gu He and Queen Medusa as pawns.

“Everyone, I also have some matters. I’ll take my leave now. See you at the grand assembly tomorrow.” Not giving Lin Fei a chance to ask further, Xiao Yan bowed to Otto and the others and hurried out of the guild.

“The internal test just now was to refine the Ironwood Spirit Leaf,” Otto said, stroking his white beard as he watched Xiao Yan leave.

“Refining the Ironwood Spirit Leaf? That’s quite difficult. It’s one of the hardest materials to refine among the mid-tier ones. Even with my current strength, I can only manage eight or nine times,” Frank exclaimed, turning to look at Otto.

“Hehe, yes,” Otto nodded, pointing to where Liu Ling had disappeared, “That little guy managed six times.”

“Six times?” Frank’s face filled with surprise, and he whistled, “Impressive. To reach this level at such a young age, he truly lives up to being Gu He’s disciple.”

“I can only manage two refinements, and Lin Fei is about the same. Liu Ling’s alchemy talent is indeed extraordinary,” Xue Mei sighed.

“Of course, he’s the top young alchemist in the Jia Ma Empire,” Lin Fei smiled, showing her admiration for Liu Ling.

“Hehe, that’s not necessarily true,” Otto laughed, shaking his head. Seeing Lin Fei glare at him, he continued, “Although Liu Ling is very outstanding, Yan Xiao is no less impressive. In the test just now, Liu Ling refined six times, but Yan Xiao managed eight!”

Otto’s words were like a thunderbolt, making the faces of the three stiffen. Eight times? That was a feat only a fourth-rank alchemist could achieve. And Xiao Yan, a second-rank alchemist, could do it? How was that possible?

“Old…Teacher, you…you’re joking, right?” Lin Fei stammered, finding it hard to believe that Xiao Yan could be better than Liu Ling.

Beside her, Xue Mei also opened her red lips, her cold and beautiful face stunned. Though she had never underestimated Xiao Yan, she had never imagined he could achieve such a brilliant result.

“Old Otto, is that true?” Frank stared at Otto, his face full of excitement. The better Xiao Yan performed, the better it was for the Black Rock City branch.

“This little guy is hiding a lot. I’m suddenly very excited about this grand assembly,” Otto said, smiling as he watched where Xiao Yan had disappeared. “In this grand assembly, Yan Xiao will likely be the biggest dark horse!”