"...Follow me."
Fa Ma said, then turned and walked outside, and Xiao Xue immediately followed.
Now Fa Ma could confirm: Xiao Xue saying she had a 98% chance of passing the First-Grade Alchemist assessment was indeed humble.
Being able to refine three high-quality accumulating strength pills at once, even some true First-Grade Alchemists could not do this.
However, the First-Grade Alchemist assessment only required refining a successfully formed Medicinal Pill.
Refining such low-level Medicinal Pills did not have very high requirements in various aspects.
And the Second-Grade Alchemist assessment, compared to the First-Grade Alchemist assessment, was much more difficult.
Regarding Water Attribute Alchemy, whether she could refine second-grade or even higher-level Medicinal Pills, Fa Ma remained skeptical for now.
Therefore, he intended to see Xiao Xue's performance personally.
Those who had passed or failed the First-Grade Alchemist assessment, as well as some people from the Alchemist Guild, all curiously followed, but were stopped outside without exception.
The Second-Grade Alchemist assessment was different from the first-grade assessment; during the assessment, no outsiders were allowed to watch.
However, everyone waited outside anyway; the Alchemist assessment wouldn't take long.
Watching the excitement was everyone's nature.
Alchemist assessments naturally attracted countless people who longed to become Alchemists or were striving in the field of Alchemy.
And those who had already become Alchemists, due to the noble status of Alchemists and the lack of entertainment on this continent, tended to find trouble to occupy themselves as time went on.
Therefore, the higher the rank of an Alchemist, the more likely they were to have all sorts of weird quirks, and joining in the fun was even more of a norm.
Not to mention, this was an unprecedented Water Attribute Alchemist!
A brand new Alchemy system was undoubtedly hugely attractive to them; they could afford to wait this long!
---
Ignoring the crowd that followed, after walking to the Second-Grade Alchemist assessment room, Fa Ma sat down casually, "Little girl, start."
Xiao Xue nodded, waved her hand to take out the Medicine Cauldron, and began refining the Medicinal Pill.
97% was naturally a humble statement; Xiao Xue's Soul Power was already comparable to a Third-Rank Alchemist.
Just refining one second-grade pill was naturally not too difficult for her now.
Soon, Xiao Xue had refined a second-grade pill and successfully passed the Second-Grade Alchemist assessment.
"Alright, the assessment is over, everyone can disperse." Fa Ma waved his hand casually, dispersing the onlookers.
The fact that Xiao Xue passed the Second-Grade Alchemist assessment naturally caused a sensation within the Alchemist Guild.
After all, to pass the Second-Grade Alchemist assessment, the examinee not only had to refine a second-grade pill but also had to have their own strength reach the Dou Master level!
A fourteen-year-old Dou Master powerhouse!
A fourteen-year-old Second-Grade Alchemist!
Within the Alchemist Guild, seeing that Xiao Xue not only passed the First-Grade Alchemist assessment but also broke through to the second grade in one go, many people could not sit still.
Many spies immediately passed this shocking news to their respective forces.
Under Fa Ma's arrangement, Xiao Xue moved into a luxurious courtyard, and these surging undercurrents in the outside world naturally did not affect her.
If there was any impact, it was that Xiao Xue's "prestige value" had increased quite a bit in just a few days.
[prestige value +1+1+1...]
The joy of getting something for free was just so simple and unadorned.
A few days later, Fa Ma personally visited, which was truly unexpected to everyone.
However, Xiao Xue did not feel surprised by Fa Ma's reaction.
Because she had this value.
First, her current persona was "having an unknown Alchemist teacher."
And with her current talent, being only a "Named Disciple" was enough to show that the "teacher" was extraordinary.
That so-called "teacher" should at least be a Seventh-Rank Alchemist, or even a Peak Eighth-grade Alchemist.
If she really had such a background, it was naturally worth Fa Ma coming to recruit her in person.
Secondly, there was the matter of Water Attribute Alchemy.
Water Attribute Alchemy was not just a technique, but a brand new Alchemy system!
If it could really be perfected, perhaps in the future, the entire Alchemist group would undergo earth-shaking changes.
This was a fundamental change in Alchemy; even the conditions for Alchemy had changed!
You could refine Medicinal Pills without fire!
And, since Water Attribute could refine pills without fire attribute, what about other attributes?
Since there was a precedent, what would others who were eager for Alchemy do?
If there were more Alchemists, would it lead to an unstable status for Alchemists?
After all, Alchemists could have their current high status because of their scarcity and unique function.
But once there were many people, that might not be the case!
Moreover, if she remembered correctly, the Cloud Mist Sect's Young Sect Leader Nalan Yanran seemed to have an engagement with a young master of the Xiao Family.
Xiao Yan's name as a "Trash" had not yet become so famous, but when Xiao Yan's grandfather, Xiao Lin, was alive, the Xiao Family had stayed in the Gama Emperor City for a period of time.
The Xiao Family of that year had a Dou Wang sitting in charge, and they were quite successful in the Gama Emperor City, on par with the Nalan Family and the Mittel Family.
Therefore, some high-level figures knew about the arranged marriage between the Xiao Family and the Nalan Family.
So, with this engagement, would Xiao Xue, or the force behind her, choose to side with the Cloud Mist Sect?
What impact would this have on the situation of the Jia Ma Empire?
Therefore, Fa Ma had to figure out these questions:
1. Does she really have a high-level Alchemist teacher?
2. How feasible is Water Attribute Alchemy?
3. Will Water Attribute Alchemy be popularized?
4. What is her attitude towards the Royal Family?
---
Seeing Fa Ma visit, Xiao Xue had an "as expected" expression and welcomed him in.
She knew the fish had taken the bait.
Although being an Alchemist gave him an transcendent status in the Jia Ma Empire, Fa Ma was actually on the Royal Family's side.
Fa Ma's attitude also largely represented the Jiama Royal Family.
This was not just an Alchemist Guild President; this was a big fat sheep!
"President, would you like sugar or tea leaves?"
After the two sat down, Xiao Xue waved her hand, took out two cups, and asked.
"Tea, this old man is old, I still like the taste of tea." Fa Ma said with a smile.
Xiao Xue nodded, took out tea leaves, put them in a cup, and controlled the hot water in the pot from a distance to pour a cup of tea for Fa Ma.
Fa Ma watched Xiao Xue's skilled water control ability and couldn't help but sigh in admiration.
This kind of control over water, even some Water Attribute Great Dou Masters, could not do it.
Xiao Xue poured herself a cup of water, added two spoons of sugar, took a sip, felt it wasn't sweet enough, and added two more spoons.
What? You ask why not add three spoons?
Because adding three spoons of sugar would be catastrophic.
"Haha, little girl, I remember that the young lady of the Nalan Family seems to have an engagement with a young master of the Xiao Family."
After Fa Ma took a sip of tea, he brought up the first question as if chatting.
"It's my Cheap older brother, but this engagement does indeed give the Xiao Family a bit of a headache." Xiao Xue smiled lightly, looking at the water in the cup.
Both were old foxes, now it depended on whose cultivation was deeper.
"Oh?" Fa Ma became interested, "What do you mean?"
Xiao Xue put down the water cup and sighed softly: "My teacher saw that my brother had good talent, so he gave him the status of a Named Disciple."
"Therefore, in the future, after possessing a certain amount of strength, he will also go to the Central Plains to find the teacher."
"If the Xiao Family really chooses to marry the Cloud Mist Sect's Young Sect Leader, I'm afraid it will make my teacher unhappy."
"However, the Nalan Family and my Xiao Family are family friends, and this engagement was set by the elders of both families, so it cannot be easily voided."
"Therefore, neither family has brought up this matter again, intending to find a perfect solution later."
Xiao Xue first gave Fa Ma a reassurance: the Xiao Family had no intention of being close to the Cloud Mist Sect.
However, Nalan Yanran's matter did indeed give Xiao Xue some headache.
Without the "don't bully the young for being poor," according to the original plot, Nalan Yanran would probably fall in love with "Yan Xiao" first, and then take a fancy to her Cheap older brother.
Actually, Nalan Yanran's talent was just so-so; even if she went to the Flower Sect in the future, she would barely break through to Dou Zun. Besides the master-Disciple attribute, there was nothing attractive about her.
Moreover, there were one, two, three people queuing up in front of her, and even her master Yun Yun was among them. Wanting to become the wife of the Flame Emperor was truly difficult.
Not to mention, she also planned to personally help her future sister-in-law, Xun'er, cut off these romantic debts.
"This family would fall apart sooner or later without me." — Xiao Xue.
Forget it, let's take it one step at a time.
"May I ask, what is the achievement your teacher requires to be able to go find him?"
Hearing Xiao Xue's words, Fa Ma felt relieved and continued to ask.
"Teacher said, after my brother and I become Seventh-Rank Alchemists, we can remove the word [Named] and go to the Central Plains to find him."
"If you haven't reached the Seventh-Rank, don't go out and embarrass him."
"By then, our age will determine the degree of his importance to us." Xiao Xue said smoothly.
"If you haven't reached the Seventh-Rank, don't go out and embarrass him?!"
Fa Ma was calm on the surface, but thought, Damn it, I'm only a Fifth-Rank now, I've worked hard for half my life and am still in the process of breaking through to the Sixth-Rank. Is it appropriate for you to tell me this?
"Your master... is what rank of Alchemist?" Fa Ma couldn't help but ask, "If it's inconvenient to say, forget it."
"Nothing inconvenient," Xiao Xue waved her hand casually, "Ninth Revolution Dou Zun, Peak Eighth-grade Alchemist, recently busy breaking through to Dou Sheng and Ninth-Grade Alchemist, no time to manage me."
Fa Ma:...
"Becoming a Seventh-Rank Alchemist is the qualification to become an official Disciple... That's right, a young Seventh-Rank Alchemist might become an Eighth-Rank in the future, and a Dou Zun would indeed choose to invest."
Damn, the more we talk, the more tired I feel...
"Ahem... little girl, what do you think of the Jia Ma Empire?" Fa Ma decided to change the subject.
Xiao Xue smiled slightly, having waited for a long time, the main course was finally here.
"The Jia Ma Empire needs me."
As long as you perform well, when I make it big in the future, if there's a bowl of rice to eat, there will be a bowl for you to wash.