Ding! Ding!

Bright peals of repetitive ringing emerged suddenly, causing Auslen to wince before his eyes unwillingly opened.

Blinking to rid himself of his drowsiness, Auslen’s head rotated towards the right to gaze at the source of the racket, his right cheek falling onto his warm feather pillow for a few brief moments. With a groan, Auslen lifted the heavy comforter from his body, hands grazing the silk bed sheets before eventually pushing himself up to a seat.

Leaning over towards the nightstand, Auslen yawned as his fingers tapped the flashing Voice Transmission Crystal.

When the piercing noise dispersed, Auslen spoke, “It’s me.”

“Hello, my dear Auslen.” His mother’s melodic voice leapt through the crystal orb.

After confirming the identity of the caller, his eyes lifted from the crystal to turn towards the wide walnut wardrobe, spanning at least a third of the right wall of his bedroom.

Giving up on sneaking in a bit more shut-eye, Auslen got up from the bed, feet plodding across the cool marble floors as he listened to his mother.

“Today’s the day of your Apprentice Alchemist Examination! How are you feeling, dear?”

Letting off a few breathy chuckles, knowing that his mother’s inhuman ears could still pick them up, Auslen smilingly answered, “I’ll do fine, Mother. The test is merely theoretical, and you know I’ve never struggled with my memorization skills.”

Opening one of the wardrobe doors, Auslen pulled out his Outer Sect Robe, which was hanging amidst a sea of white night-robes and black training attire. Once he picked up the Voice Transmission Crystal, he made his way to the attached bathroom.

“I know, sweetie. It’s just my excuse to contact my youngest, who can't ever seem to make the appropriate effort to call me.”

Setting the crystal next to the limestone sink, Auslen turned on his bathwater whilst smoothly defending himself, “You contact me every other day, Mother.”

“And if I didn’t, who knows when I would hear from you…”

Auslen half-listened to his mother’s deft nagging, not forgetting to insert a skillful placative every now and then.

After Cedrick’s admittance, Auslen no longer found any need to act childishly with his parents. Although it had taken his mother a good stretch of time to grow accustomed to his steady diction and calm mentality, she had ultimately become enthused about his advanced maturity. As a result, conversations lasted for far longer than before, to Auslen’s occasional fatigue, their topical range and scope having been greatly expanded.

Amabella’s chattering ceased for a moment before her voice probed, “How’s your cousin doing? Be honest. Do you have any expectations for him to pass the Examination this time?”

Auslen was drying his body when he heard his mother’s sudden query.

With a lifted eyebrow, he asked, “Is it Aunt Sophia?”

“She’s repeatedly insisted on my questioning you.” Amabella’s light sigh rang through the crystal after her answer.

Dressing himself in his Outer Sect robe, Auslen took a couple heartbeats of silent thought.

With a small shrug, Auslen answered genuinely, “He’s been putting in a lot of effort this past month, more effort than I’ve seen him put into anything, really. Although I can't say for sure, I don’t see much reason to doubt his ability to at least pass, if our mentor’s lessons are a decent enough comparison.”

Relief was poignant within her next words. “If that’s what you truly think, then I should be able to calm your aunt’s nerves. Alright dear, let me get back to your aunt. I’ll allow you to get yourself ready for your big day. You’ll do amazing, as you always do.”

“Thank you, Mother. I’ll talk with you afterwards.”

“You’d better.”

After the voice Transmission Crystal settled into inactivity, Auslen rinsed his mouth clean in peaceful silence.

That peace and quiet was disrupted not too much longer.

Knock, knock.

Arriving at the door, Auslen, who was drying his long hair with a white towel, unlocked and opened it, revealing Nathaniel’s fully dressed, visibly nervous appearance, whose notebook was clutched close to his chest.

“What’s the…”

Nathaniel didn’t stop to listen before stepping directly into Auslen’s bedroom, his tense voice speaking, “Help me study a bit more, Auslen. We only have an hour left!”

Auslen helplessly watched as his cousin briskly plopped himself down onto his bed, gazing back at him with expectant eyes.

Shaking his head in weary amusement, Auslen acquiesced, “Where do you wanna start?”

…

Under the weak rays of light emanating from the partially risen sun, a large crowd was amassing within the octagonal plaza located in front of the Assessment Hall.

The surprisingly small, one-story building stood out amongst the nearby palaces. Its unembellished features and solid bronze-tinted brick exterior provided a large contrast to the typical standard of beauty displayed in the architecture around the Sect. Even the single stone door was a simple three meters in height, with no notable artistic detail.

Home to every Professional Examination within the Outer Sect mountain, the mystical, yet outwardly plain Assessment Hall bellied renown and veneration that had little need for excessive opulence.

And today, the Hall was scheduled to host the Apprentice Alchemist Examination.

In spite of the large number of Outer Sect Disciples, the plaza remained relatively silent, only waves of soft whispers rising and falling as the crowd continued to grow.

A group of older disciples clustered together in hushed conversation.

“I’m so nervous, you guys."

“You’re telling me! This is going to be my third time taking this Exam. If I fail this time, I’ll be banned from taking it again!”

"I failed horribly last time, and it took me more than three years to save up the Merit Points to take it again. I'm already approaching 30. If I fuck up again, I don't have much hope left in the Outer Sect.”

“These Exams are so long, and I didn’t get much sleep last night. I think I’m really screwed…”

“Stop whining, you guys! Have you heard the rumors?”

Shaking their heads in ignorance, the surrounding disciples dropped their despairing frowns as fresh gossip was being introduced.

“Apparently, that new Outer Sect genius girl with the supreme Grade 1 Dao Roots is also supposed to be participating in today’s Examination.”

“Huh? Do you really believe that? She just became an Outer Sect Disciple less than a year ago.”

“I heard that she has a pretty normal background. I know she’s a cultivation genius, but this event doesn’t have anything to do with her Dao Roots. There’s no way she had time to study properly. What gave her the confidence to take such a tough Exam?”

“Purportedly, it's said that she's been taken in as the Nominal Disciple of one of the Inner Sect Peak Masters!”

Gasps exploded within their group, causing other nearby disciples to turn around curiously.

“If that’s true, then no wonder!”

“Even if she’s still an Outer Sect Disciple, with such an in-name master, she wouldn’t have any issues with today's Exam! She might even take the top spot!”

Suddenly, a delicate, young voice caught their attention.

“Excuse us, please.”

Looking down, their eyes couldn’t help but widen in shock as they observed the child who just spoke.

A pleasing-looking young disciple was smiling up at them gently, the skin at the corners of his golden eyes crinkling slightly as his half-tied golden hair and silver earrings glistened against the morning sunlight. Holding his hand was another boy, whose features appeared similar, barring his fully-tied brown hair and almond-colored eyes.

It didn’t take long for them to identify one of the children, causing them to hurriedly provide a wide berth for the two young disciples to pass through.

“Pardon us, Prince Auslen!”

“Excuse us, young Prince!”

With a gracious smile, Auslen moderately inclined his head towards them, before pulling the brown-haired boy, who was looking around as if searching for something, along with him.

After the young Prince and the other boy roamed onwards, the surrounding disciples stared at each other with gaping mouths.

Gulping, one of the disciples said, “I didn’t know that Prince Auslen was participating."

"Was that other child a relative of his? They look a bit similar."

"I... I think he's a member of the Rinaldi Family from the Western Empyrean Continent!"

"They're so young! Isn't Auslen even younger than that genius girl?”

Someone shook their head and corrected, “You really shouldn’t think like that. He has rare Grade 2 Dao Roots and impressive Soul Force strength. If the rumors are correct, he should already be a Mid-Qi Refinement Practitioner! His age isn’t all that important.”

“And, his father’s both a king and an Honorary Sect Elder! If he’s interested in Alchemy, he should have been given more than enough resources and jade slips and is probably just as prepared as anyone here.”

After comprehending each of the boy’s exorbitant advantages, all of the disciples glanced back enviously at the empty spot that Auslen had once walked through.

…

“There they are!”

At Nathaniel’s exclamation, Auslen turned his gaze to where his cousin was pointing to see both Tarek and Mia waving at them from underneath a large magnolia tree.

Auslen let Nathaniel lead the way towards the tree, both habitually ignoring the frequent glances and overt attempts to attract their regard.

Stepping underneath the shade of the blooming magnolia tree, the group greeted each other like usual before astonished uproar erupted from nearby, causing each of them to look around confusedly.

Seeing that many disciples were now staring with excitement into the sky, Auslen and the rest also raised their eyes.

Hmm, a cloud? But…

Auslen, who was squinting up curiously, spotted a small, white cloud flying quickly in their direction, moving about as if it had been gifted consciousness by some frivolous heavenly being.

As the flowing cloud neared the plaza, Auslen spotted a couple of figures somehow standing stably on top of its vaporous body.

Fluttering layers of white silk first caught his eye until he raised his focus, finally noticing the slender figure of an attractive young woman. Her long black hair was intricately coiled into a bun, adorned with several silver hairpins. Above her shining, but disturbingly cold black eyes were a pair of thin, maintained eyebrows that beautifully decorated her fair complexion.

Auslen’s eyebrows rose.

An Inner Sect Disciple? If I recall correctly, that elaborate, layered white robe should belong to the Inner Sect's Misty Lake Peak.

Curious and slightly cautious as to why an Inner Sect Disciple would make such a distant journey to the Outer Sect, Auslen looked to the smaller figure beside the white robed woman. Once he saw the Outer Sect robes and the somewhat familiar flaxen hair, connections fired inside his head as he came to a probable conclusion.

So that little genius girl from before chose to saddle up early with the Misty Lake Peak. Seems like those rumors I heard just a few moments ago were true.

Before the two females even landed, Auslen had already lost his interest. However, as the white robed woman helped the little girl off of the cloud, the surrounding disciples’ excitement seethed.

“Isn't that Yue Ximeng? She's one of Peak Master Grania’s Personal Disciples!”

“So the rumors were true?”

“Of course they’re true! The nearest Inner Sect Mountain is hundreds of kilometers away. Why would such an important Inner Sect Disciple come all this way otherwise?”

“Look, she even let the girl ride her Spirit Cloud!”

Tuning out the commotion, Auslen turned back to the others to see his cousin’s eyes sparkling.

Nathaniel wishfully asked, “Did she pick that cloud from the sky? When can I do that?”

Tarek spoke up, “Those Spirit Clouds are refined exclusively by the Misty Lake Peak, and you can think of them as a special variety of Mystic Artifact. But, I wouldn’t get your hopes up. Only those with Water Elemental Affinities can use them.”

Upset bursting in his eyes, Nathaniel groaned before turning his gaze, the spark of fascination fading away.

Mia laughed at his annoyed expression, but before she could provide some words of consolation, bright light glinted in the direction of the Assessment Hall, drawing the attention of all of the awaiting disciples. Their exuberant chatter fell back down to relative quietude.

The previously closed main entry door had now opened, projecting a swirling mixture of light out of the Hall. Stepping out of the light was the shadow of a slim, middle-aged figure that eventually materialized into the image of Elder Lin, the Chief Elder of the Elixir Refinement Hall.

Running his thin fingers through his graying long beard, Elder Lin’s deep voice boomed, audible to anyone within the marginal radius of the large plaza.

“All examinees, listen carefully. Arrange yourselves in a line according to the revolving blue stone tiles on the plaza, and prepare to enter into the Assessment Hall. Be sure to take out the Examination Pass distributed to you during your registration, and hold it securely as you step inside. If you don’t, you will not be able to break through the light barrier.”

Without waiting for Elder Lin’s instructions to come to an end, the swarming crowd of people surged as most of them expeditiously found their place on their own tile, showing off their previous experience with the process. It didn’t take long for the newer disciples to follow suit.

Nodding his head, Elder Lin turned and walked into the light, leaving behind one final instruction.

“Follow me.”

But after his figure disappeared, the majority refused to move, causing scattered echoes of confusion to resound from the front of the line.

"Stop pushing, you idiot!"

"We can't go in first! Not with her here."

Then, a wave of heads positioned at varying heights looked back towards the faint sounds of footsteps echoing across the plaza.

Layers of white silk dragged slightly on the stone tiles as Yue Ximeng walked forward at a relaxed pace, her chilling black eyes and absent emotional capacity causing the surrounding disciples to hastily move aside in consideration for her passage.

Behind Yue Ximeng, an average looking, ten-year-old girl followed close by, her eyes radiating with confident anticipation.

The two did not stop, quickly reaching the front of the plaza before stepping straight into the light.

As if their entrance was akin to permittance, the winding disciples began traveling in a snake like fashion as the front of the line finally made their way into the Assessment Hall.

Soon, Auslen and the rest arrived in front of the swirling doorway of light.