Demoness, Stop! - Chapter 52 - Chapter 52 – Promotion

Lingyun Peak

At the gate of Lingyun Peak, Li Yu presented his identity jade token and said to the guarding disciple, “I’m here to take the first-rank alchemist assessment.”

The gatekeeper disciple was slightly stunned when he saw Li Yu, then blurted out, “Isn’t this Senior Brother Li? You’re already here to take the first-rank alchemist test so soon!”

Li Yu was quite well-known within the sect. Maybe not to every disciple, but among alchemists, there was hardly anyone who hadn’t heard of him. After all, during the most crucial round of the recent competition, he flirted with a female disciple while seemingly zoning out—and still managed to refine ten supreme-grade pills. In the past several hundred years, he was the only one to ever do something like that.

The gatekeeper disciple enthusiastically led Li Yu to the site of the first-rank alchemy assessment.

It was a grand hall located midway up Lingyun Peak. When Li Yu entered, there were several other figures inside—presumably all here to take the same assessment.

Everyone’s gaze swept over Li Yu, and murmured whispers began to spread.

“Isn’t that the champion of the competition? He’s here to become a first-rank alchemist too?”
“Must be. After winning the championship, you’re no longer allowed to enter future competitions. Every champion gets promoted to first-rank alchemist shortly afterward.”
“The competition just ended a few days ago. Looks like he was already capable of refining first-rank pills long ago.”

…

Li Yu sat in the waiting area. Among the Kunlun Sect, alchemists were the most numerous, and someone took the first-rank alchemist exam practically every day.

At the front of the hall, there was a row of stone chambers. People entered and exited them from time to time.

Those who went in usually wore nervous expressions. Those who came out generally fell into two categories: beaming with joy or looking utterly dejected. One could easily guess the assessment results from their faces.

Once an alchemy apprentice successfully advanced to a first-rank alchemist, their status would rise instantly. Their monthly stipend would jump from 100 spirit coins to 1,000. They would be given their own private villa, and even a personal assistant.

But if they failed this promotion attempt, they would have to wait an entire year before being allowed to take the test again.

Since it concerned their future, everyone waiting alongside Li Yu appeared somewhat anxious.

Li Yu, on the other hand, remained calm and composed. He had refined first-rank pills countless times—he could easily succeed even without using any cheats. This test was just a formality to him.

His air of quiet confidence naturally drew reactions from the others.

“No wonder he’s the champion… He must’ve known long ago that this assessment would be no problem.”

After waiting for over an hour, an elder emerged from one of the stone chambers. At a glance, Li Yu noticed that the robe on the elder’s chest was embroidered with a pill furnace marked with two patterns—indicating that he was a second-rank alchemist.

In the world of cultivation, alchemy apprentices were the most common. The vast majority of them would only ever reach first-rank in their lifetime. Even though Kunlun Sect was famed for its alchemy, there were fewer than 200 second-rank alchemists in the entire sect. Any one of them would be fiercely sought after if they chose to leave Kunlun.

The elder walked to the doorway and said, “Next, Li Yu.”

Li Yu stood up. The elder gave him an extra glance or two before saying, “Come in.”

Although he hadn’t watched this year’s grand competition, the elder was well aware of Li Yu’s reputation. And upon meeting him for the first time, just witnessing that calm and composed demeanor was enough to make the elder view him differently.

Li Yu followed the second-rank alchemist into the stone chamber and quickly scanned his surroundings. The room was not large and was simply furnished: two stone tables—one holding jade bottles and bowls, the other a pill furnace about one foot tall.

On the two side walls of the chamber were medicine racks filled with fresh herbs.

Only Li Yu and the elder were present in the room. The elder didn’t waste many words and asked, “You’re familiar with the assessment rules for a first-rank alchemist, correct?”

Li Yu nodded and replied, “Refine three types of first-rank pills. I’ll be given three sets of ingredients for each. To pass, I need to produce ten high-grade pills in total.”

The elder said, “Looks like you’ve done your homework. Which three types will you refine?”

Li Yu had long planned this out. “Qi Recovery Pill, Fasting Pill, and Vitality Protection Pill.”

The elder was slightly surprised. Qi Recovery Pills and Fasting Pills were the easiest of all first-rank pills, and basically required for anyone attempting the test. The Vitality Protection Pill, however, was a bit harder to refine—rarely did anyone choose it for their exam.

Still, candidates were free to choose whatever pill they wanted. If they failed, they had no one to blame but themselves.

The elder pointed toward the herb racks and said, “The ingredients for the Qi Recovery and Fasting Pills are all here. We’re still short a few for the Vitality Protection Pill. I’ll have someone prepare them now. You can begin with the other two.”

The herbs for this test had to be selected personally from the racks. If a candidate was used to having someone else prepare the ingredients or was unable to identify herbs on their own, they might as well turn around and come back next year.

For Li Yu, this posed no difficulty. After all, he’d been a herb-gathering errand boy for over ten years and had a natural talent for recognizing medicinal plants.

“Heavenheart Grass, Snow Ginseng, Spiritblossom, Mint Leaf…”

He circled the racks once and quickly gathered all the ingredients he needed.

During the process, Li Yu realized this step was more challenging than it looked. Many herbs looked nearly identical but had vastly different properties. Without strong knowledge, it would be easy to make a mistake.

Alchemy was an extremely precise art—selecting the wrong ingredient would guarantee failure.

No wonder the pass rate for the first-rank alchemist test was so low. This one step alone could eliminate many candidates.

The elder nodded slightly as he watched Li Yu finish selecting his herbs. Being able to choose the correct ones from such a dizzying array was a sign of solid fundamentals—an essential trait for any alchemist.

With the ingredients collected, the next step was extraction and purification.

This, too, was no issue for Li Yu. Still, he was somewhat concerned. First-rank pill ingredients weren’t high in grade, but when it came to second- and third-rank pills, high-grade materials would be necessary. At that point, he might need to wear special gloves—otherwise, the furnace within his body would automatically absorb all the herbs’ spiritual energy.

But gloves were a hassle to work with. He would really need to properly train Sister Zhou so she could handle these tasks for him in the future.

Refining first-rank pills was something Li Yu could do with ease by now.

If he focused seriously, each batch could yield ten pills—half high-grade, half superior-grade. But he intentionally didn’t go all-out. For the first batch of Qi Recovery Pills, he produced six pills: one superior-grade, five high-grade.

For the second batch, he refined five pills: three high-grade, two superior-grade.

At that point, the elder said, “You’ve completed two batches. You may rest for a few hours before starting the next type.”

Li Yu took out a bottle of Qi Recovery Pills and said, “No need. I’m good to continue.”

He also took two batches to complete ten Fasting Pills. At a time like this, he couldn’t afford to be too outstanding. If the sect discovered he had a 100% pill success rate, they might only give him one set of materials per batch, effectively turning him into a free laborer.

Once the Fasting Pills were complete, he again declined to rest and began refining the Vitality Protection Pills.

For the final batch, he used three sets of materials to refine twelve pills—an average of four per batch. The quality was decent, with eight high-grade and four superior-grade pills.

While Li Yu was refining pills, the second-rank alchemist observed him the entire time.

For this junior who had entered the coveted state of “Heaven-Man Unity” during the grand competition—something alchemists dreamed of—he was filled with curiosity.

In this assessment, however, Li Yu’s performance was steady and by the book. It wasn’t particularly dazzling, and he hadn’t entered the Heaven-Man Unity state again. The quality of the pills he refined was quite good, but his pill formation rate couldn’t compare with the true prodigies of the sect. He could only be considered excellent, not extraordinary.

However, the fact that he had refined seven batches in a row and only showed slight signs of fatigue—that level of endurance was truly impressive.

Li Yu placed three bottles of pills on the stone table and asked, “Senior, is that sufficient?”

The elder nodded and said, “Congratulations. From this moment on, you are officially a first-rank alchemist.”

A moment later, Li Yu stepped out of the stone chamber.

As expected, he had successfully passed the first-rank alchemist assessment without any issues.

In another great hall, Li Yu received a new uniform. Previously, he had worn the standard disciple robes. This new outfit was exclusive to first-rank alchemists, featuring a pill furnace embroidered on the chest with an elegant design that symbolized his official status.

In front of a large sand table, a steward disciple was enthusiastically introducing options to him:

“Senior Brother, you may choose a residence from any of these peaks. Qingyun Peak is mostly inhabited by alchemists—I’d recommend this one the most. Zhaoyang Peak is also quite good; it’s where many of our young senior brothers and sisters live. Among them are talisman makers, formation masters… As for Ziyun Peak, I wouldn’t really recommend it. Most of the residents there are Foundation Establishment elders nearing the end of their lifespan…”

Without a moment’s hesitation, Li Yu said, “I’ll take Ziyun Peak.”

As an alchemist, Li Yu would be spending most of his time refining pills in his own courtyard. The identity of his neighbors didn’t matter much to him.

What he did know was that all those young disciples—whether they were in the Qi Refining or Foundation Establishment stage—without exception were moonlight clan types, living paycheck to paycheck. Every spirit coin they earned was spent on pills to boost cultivation. They’d have no money left to buy anything from him.

But aging Foundation Establishment elders nearing the end of their lifespans? That was a different story

Most had no hope of reaching the Golden Core stage and had begun to enjoy life instead. They were his ideal customers.

Spirit coins weren’t something one could take with them in death. For those with only a few years left, money held little meaning.

They had cash. They were generous. Those were their shared traits.

Moreover, compared to young people, Li Yu preferred chatting with these two-hundred-year-old elders. They had lived far longer than him and had a wealth of life experience. Sometimes, just a few words of advice could save him a lot of detours down the road.