Chapter 45.1

ji qingzhou picked out a dress she liked. although she used to wear plain dresses before, it was just out of habit and she wouldn’t mind if she wore brighter ones.

after changing her dress, she came out to look for shen rongyu. when she opened the door, she saw him sitting in the small pavilion in the courtyard playing with maomao, holding a carrot and feeding him.

maomao didn’t really recognize his owner. he ate whoever fed him, and he was quite happy to be fed.

ji qingzhou waited for shen rongyu to finish feeding a whole carrot before calling him, “xiao yu-shixiong, let’s go.”

shen rongyu raised his hand. his hand holding the carrot was separated by a layer of air current so his fingers were not dirty. he nodded and walked out of white water island with ji qingzhou.

ji qingzhou studied the letter in her hand. why did ying xiu invite her? she was not interested in refining pills and elixirs or anything.

“are you familiar with the maid of the ze kingdom’s princess?” shen rongyu suddenly asked on the burial snow sword.

ji qingzhou shook her head: “no.”

“she is not an easy person to deal with,” shen rongyu commented.

“i think… she’s fine,” ji qingzhou countered. it was more difficult to get along with ying xiu’s master.

shen rongyu didn’t speak any further. he glanced at the letter in ji qingzhou’s hand, and then looked into the distance.

the venue for the alchemy class assessment was smaller, and many cultivators had already gathered there. since ji qingzhou was not a disciple participating in the assessment, she was finally not the center of attention.

ji qingzhou was pleased about this. she hid behind shen rongyu and walked into the crowd.

however, shen rongyu chose a spot in the middle, with the elders of xuanyun sect on the left and right. ji qingzhou didn’t want to follow along, but if she didn’t follow shen rongyu, she would be even more at a loss in the noisy crowd.

this being the case, she braved sitting next to shen rongyu. as soon as she sat down, she felt a sharp gaze cast over her.

when she turned her head, she saw ye duanhong sitting not far from her. he only glanced at her, and then turned his gaze to the alchemy class assessment site.

out of politeness, ji qingzhou greeted him, “greetings, elder ye.”

ye duanhong nodded and responded in a cold voice, “mm.”

then, he focused his attention toward the alchemy assessment, and no longer paid ji qingzhou any attention.

ji qingzhou was a little afraid of him, so she whispered to shen rongyu, “xiao yu-shixiong, why is elder ye here?”

“elder ye is the elder in charge of leading the new disciples. he takes care of the ordinary disciples who have not been picked up by the xuanyun sect elders, so he has come to watch these assessments.” shen rongyu explained, “he attended the beast mastery class assessment, too.”

“ah…” ji qingzhou didn’t expect ye duanhong’s attendance. then, why didn’t she see him on the day of the beast mastery class assessment?

as if seeing through ji qingzhou’s doubts, shen rongyu explained to her, “many disciples are afraid of elder ye, so he hides himself in a viewing booth. that way, the disciples below can’t see him, lest they be affected.”

“i see.” ji qingzhou understood ye duanhong’s approach.

just then the alchemy assessment officially started. the content of the assessment was based on the spiritual materials provided by the elders, plus three kinds of spiritual materials that the disciples personally brought. this was to test the kind of elixir the disciples could refine in three hours. at the end of the day, their scores would be judged according to the grade of the elixirs they refined.

the disciples participating in the assessment gathered around their cauldrons that had been distributed. soon, the refining of medicine was in full swing.

shen rongyu chatted with ji qingzhou nonchalantly. ji qingzhou was dull while he was more of a taciturn person, but he liked to tease her very much.

“why didn’t you choose to learn alchemy, zhouzhou?” shen rongyu asked casually as he watched the disciples control the heat of their cauldrons.

ji qingzhou admitted the facts honestly, “xiao yu-shixiong, had i entered alchemy, the cauldrons would have exploded.”

shen rongyu chuckled after hearing her response. “so you like spirit beasts more, don’t you?”

“yes.” ji qingzhou nodded. “they are very cute.”

shen rongyu’s gaze scanned the disciples in the alchemy assessment field, and then focused on ying xiu and qiu mingxue, the two disciples from the ze kingdom.

“zhouzhou, think about it. who between those two is more skilled?” shen rongyu looked at the two girls blandly, but there was a trace of vigilance in the depths of his eyes.

“ying xiu and qiu mingxue?” ji qingzhou glanced at the two girls whose movements in refining medicine were almost in unison. she pondered for a moment and answered, “xiao yu-shixiong, i think it should be qiu mingxue.”

“the maid’s immortal bone aptitude is twice as good as that of the princess. she is obviously more talented in refining elixirs.” shen rongyu had already found out which one was better than the other.

“ying xiu gives way to qiu mingxue at every turn. she doesn’t dare…” ji qingzhou remembered the conversation between the two that she had overheard outside the classroom.

“is that so…” there was a subtle smile on shen rongyu’s lips. then, his eyes fell on the medical chest in front of qiu mingxue.

the spiritual materials given to them by the alchemy class elder were medicinal primers, and the spiritual materials brought by the disciples participating in the assessment were the key to sublimating the elixir.

ying xiu took out the medicinal materials she brought from her spatial pouch, but they were just some common spiritual herbs that could be bought at the market on the day the mountain opened.

the medicinal materials that qiu mingxue brought out were much better. as soon as she opened her medical chest, the medicinal fragrance wafted out.