Reborn as Xu Xuan, Plundering Perks & Flooding the Mountain Ling

Chapter 6: Difficulty Is Through the Roof? No Worries, Let Me Level Up First

“I never heard of any exceptions being made when I joined!”

The other outer disciples immediately fell silent. It was clear that Fan Rui’s words had struck a nerve. As the saying goes, it’s not about having little but about fairness—if Xu Xuan could get special permission to take the assessment early, why couldn’t they?

Even inner disciples like Jing Ming and Jing Ling exchanged glances, feeling uneasy. After all, even they had endured three long years before qualifying for the assessment! Master Xuan Mu chuckled as he looked at Fan Rui, his wise eyes seeming to discern his thoughts.

“And what do you propose?”

Fan Rui met Master Xuan Mu’s gaze and he felt a sudden chill, as if his thoughts had been seen through. But he had already made up his mind. He had already offended Xu Xuan—and if Xu Xuan became an inner sect disciple, then Fan Rui’s path in Mount Longhu would become rocky. At this point, the only option left was to sabotage Xu Xuan’s assessment. Fan Rui might still have a glimmer of hope if Xu Xuan failed today.

“Master, your status is exalted, and if you wish to make an exception, naturally, we have nothing to say. But since you believe he has extraordinary potential, the difficulty of this assessment cannot be ordinary. If he’s just average, how can he be worthy of such special treatment?”

With just a few words, Fan Rui had put Master Xuan Mu in a difficult spot. Whether it was Jing Ling, Jing Ming, or even the servant disciples, including those who usually got along with Xu Xuan, nodded silently in agreement.

“That is indeed true! Xu Xuan, are you willing to accept the challenge?”

Xu Xuan gritted his teeth in frustration—if he had known this would happen, he wouldn’t have given Fan Rui the antidote earlier. Letting him sleep for three days and three nights, or better yet, forever, would’ve been so much better!

Now, he had no choice but to accept. If he refused, not only would he miss a great opportunity, but he would also embarrass Master Xuan Mu, who had recommended him. Even if he took the test later, getting into the Alchemy Sect would become nearly impossible.

“I accept!”

“Excellent!”

Seeing Xu Xuan’s confidence and decisiveness, Master Xuan Mu let out a sigh of relief and smiled in satisfaction. If Xu Xuan had refused, he truly would have lost his face.

“Since you accept, let’s not delay any further! Jing Ming, go inform the Sect masters! Tell them the Alchemy Sect is assessing a disciple early and ask them to bear witness!”

Master Xuan Mu led Xu Xuan toward the Alchemy Sect. Meanwhile, the outer disciples resumed their work—fetching water and chopping wood. Those who worked in the medicinal fields, including Fan Rui, exchanged glances.

“Should we go watch? Will we get punished by the elders?”

Fan Rui gritted his teeth and stepped forward. With a petty mindset, he thought that the bigger the scene, the better it was for him. That way, Master Xuan Mu would at least have some reservations and wouldn’t openly favour Xu Xuan to let him pass.

“Let’s go. If anything happens, I’ll take the blame!”

The outer disciples had already been itching to spectate. Now that Fan Rui had taken the lead, they ran like a bat out of hell. Soon, the Alchemy Sect’s grand hall was packed with disciples, and even the masters of the Talisman, Weapon Forging, and Combat Sects had arrived.

“Lao Mu, why did you call us here in such a hurry?”

“Hurry up, I still need to supervise those kids drawing talismans!”

Master Xuan Mu cleared his throat and stepped aside, revealing Xu Xuan.

“I called you all here today for an early assessment of a disciple.”

“An early assessment? There hasn’t been a precedent for this before, right?”

“He’s just an outer disciple. He does look strong, but not particularly special…”

The masters scrutinized Xu Xuan, not seeing anything remarkable about him.

“Because this is an exception, the difficulty of the assessment will be increased accordingly. Xu Xuan will have to refine a Bone Restoration Pill within three hours.”

The three other Sect masters froze at the announcement. After a long silence, Xuan Mo, Master of the Talisman Sect finally broke the silence.

“Old Man Mu, do you want to accept him or not? If you didn’t want to, you wouldn’t have called us here. But if you did want to, why would you have him refine a Bone Restoration Pill?”

Xuan Yan, Master of the Weapon Forging Sect chimed in next.

“If I remember correctly, disciples entering the Alchemy Sect, like those in the Weapon Forging Sect, first start by learning fire control and temperature regulation. They then study medicinal herbs, pharmacology, and alchemical principles, and only in their third year do they begin refining even simple pills.

Bone Restoration Pills may not be top-tier, but they aren’t beginner-level either. Having a complete novice refine this—the assessment seems improbable?”

Xuan Ming, Master of the Combat Sect didn’t say anything, his expression agreed with them. Their discussion wasn’t exactly private, so all the disciples present could hear everything loud and clear.

“Bone Restoration Pill? You mean the one that can regrow flesh and heal bones?”

“It’s not that miraculous, but it does speed up healing and stop bleeding. It’s one of the best external healing pills available today.”

“I heard Alchemy Sect disciples train for three years before they’re allowed to refine it. And even then, they have a decent chance of failure…”

“That means this test will be really tough for Senior Brother Xu! What a shame—he finally got an opportunity, but now…”

Fan Rui, however, was overjoyed. To him, the harder the assessment, the better. Ideally, Xu Xuan would fail miserably!

“If it’s an exception, it should be worthy of such talent! If he’s not talented enough, he should just come back and farm with us, and after three years, he can take an easier test like the rest of us.”

As soon as farming was mentioned, the servant disciples’ sympathy for Xu Xuan vanished completely. It was the classic case of ‘They don’t want to suffer, but they also don’t want to see their peers succeed.’

Inside the hall, Xu Xuan felt his head throb. Just moments ago, Master Xuan Mu explained the process and principles of refining the Bone Restoration Pill to him. But knowing the theory and actually making it were two different things.

It was like in his previous life—many countries knew how to build nuclear bombs, but only a few could do it. Xu Xuan quietly activated the system.

“System, merge [Skilled Farmer]… [Village Gossip], [Phantom Step], and convert them all into skills for [Expert Alchemist]!”

At his command, the newly acquired traits turned into countless white light particles, swirling around him, merging into his alchemy skills. Even his newly acquired Phantom Step skill was sacrificed.

The faint green glow of Alchemy Expertise deepened—

[Congratulations, Host! You’ve acquired the new skill: Master of Alchemy (Blue)]