"See? This is what it means to lie without batting an eye," Zhuque scoffed.
Zhu Shu stared at Bai Ran, his gaze fixed, and after a long while, he sighed.
"I say, can you stop spouting lies the moment you open your mouth?"
Bai Ran looked up, a mix of helplessness and disdain in Zhu Shu's eyes. "Looking at you, you're only thirteen or fourteen."
"To reach the fourth rank of Alchemist at thirteen or fourteen, do you know what that signifies?"
Cultivation can begin at a young age, but alchemy is different.
To practice alchemy, one needs to find a fire seed on their own or possess the rare talent to spontaneously generate one.
The earliest one could acquire a fire seed was twelve.
Reaching the fourth rank of Alchemist at thirteen or fourteen meant advancing several ranks in a single year. What kind of prodigy could advance several ranks in a year?
Even the current Valley Master, who was hundreds of years old, was only at the Emperor rank, first star.
Bai Ran interrupted him. "I'm fifteen."
Zhu Shu was somewhat speechless. Was this about age?
"In any case, our Medicine Valley has always upheld the principle of honesty. Every new disciple must have their Alchemist rank tested upon entry."
Bai Ran's brow twitched. Tested?
"How will it be tested?"
Zhu Shu pointed to a slightly raised building next to the new disciple's courtyard. "See that? That building contains a spirit pillar for testing fire seeds."
The higher an Alchemist's rank, the more refined their fire seed.
This meant that high-ranking Alchemists had extremely high fire seed concentration and temperature.
"It's over, the little ghost can't hide anymore," Xiao Zi's tail wagged behind him, looking thoroughly amused.
"Whether it's true or false, the test will tell."
Zhu Shu led the way, gesturing for Bai Ran to follow.
Bai Ran hesitated for a moment before stepping forward. "What if I reached the seventh rank of Alchemist before the age of twenty?"
Zhu Shu let out a scoff, not even looking back. "The Valley Master would probably have nightmares if he saw that."
Bai Ran fell silent and obediently followed him into the building.
"Master—" Zhuque lowered her voice. "Use the Sky Burning Flame—"
Xiao Zi was utterly bewildered. "What? This voice transmission within the space can't be heard outside. Why are you whispering like a mosquito?"
"The Sky Burning is a divine artifact with its own divine flame. It can mimic the concentration of a fire seed."
Bai Ran nodded subtly and entered the building.
The exterior walls of the building were dilapidated and somewhat damaged, but the interior was incredibly luxurious, with even the floor inlaid with precious pearls.
"This..." Ting Lan gazed at the pearls scattered on the ground, about to shed more tears.
These were shed by their kin. So many, how many years would it take to cry them all?
Humans ate their flesh and drank their blood, and even collected their tears to sell.
"Damn it, one day I will kill all humans!"
"Thump!"
Ting Lan received a heavy blow to the head. He clutched his head and looked up.
"Your Majesty the Demon Emperor? Why did you hit me?"
"I just don't like the look of you."
"..."
In the center of the main hall stood a pillar emitting a reddish glow, approximately three people wide.
"See the palm print in front of the spirit pillar? Place your hand there and release your fire seed."
Zhu Shu watched Bai Ran walk forward, still looking composed, and couldn't help but sneer.
"Your lies are about to be exposed."
He grinned, watching Bai Ran as if expecting a good show.
Bai Ran's lips curved, and she cast a fleeting glance at him. "Not necessarily."
There was an indentation on the pillar, shaped like a palm. Bai Ran's hand fit perfectly into the groove.
At this moment, the Sky Burning Flame was working hard to alter the concentration of the fire seed.
As soon as the Sky Burning Flame was unleashed, the pillar immediately turned a vibrant red, its dazzling glow filling the entire hall.
The spirit pillar test measured both the temperature and concentration of the fire seed.
The Sky Burning Flame could fake the concentration, but it was powerless against the temperature.
Zhu Shu's eyes widened, his jaw dropping. "The temperature!"
"The temperature is exactly the same as the Valley Master's!"
A miracle was unfolding before him. Snapping back to reality, he quickly sounded the alarm.
Instantly, disciples throughout the Medicine Valley heard the resonating chime of the bell.
"Could she truly be a once-in-a-hundred-years genius!"
Zhu Shu's heart pounded. No, she was far more than a fourth-rank Alchemist!
A fourth-rank Alchemist could never possess such a high-temperature fire seed!
Disciples rushed over, and just as they arrived, the vibrant red light began to fade.
"What's going on! What happened!" a man rushed in, his brow furrowed with anxiety.
Zhu Shu extended his hand, pointing at Bai Ran with a tremble. "This, this new disciple's fire seed, it rivals the Valley Master's!"
Everyone looked at Bai Ran. The pillar was now emitting a faint orange glow, making the recent crimson light seem like an illusion.
"Zhu Shu! When did you start lying too!"
"Her flame's concentration is only at the level of a low-ranking Alchemist?"
"The spirit pillar can't lie. It's just ordinary orange light now?"
"A waste of time, coming here for nothing."
The disciples arrived, not witnessing the temperature test, but the concentration test.
Since the concentration had been faked by the Sky Burning Flame, they only assumed Zhu Shu had tricked them.
"No! I'm not lying! Her flame's temperature truly rivals the Valley Master's!"
Zhu Shu tried to explain, but no one believed him.
If a person's fire seed temperature was extremely high, how could its concentration be low?
These two were intrinsically linked!
The disciples looked at Zhu Shu, their faces full of disappointment. "Zhu Shu, stop lying!"
Seeing that no one believed him, Zhu Shu turned to Bai Ran. "Test it again! Test it again!"
Bai Ran tilted her head, looking at him. Test it again? Was she crazy?
"Senior Brother Zhu, I'm just a new disciple. There's no need to praise me like this."
"With my mediocre talent, I can compare to the Valley Master?"
Zhu Shu looked at Bai Ran, who had suddenly changed her demeanor, and felt utterly speechless. "You! You weren't like this just now!"
"Zhu Shu!" a stern reprimand echoed, and Jing Yuanming, the senior disciple, strode forward.
"Slap—"
A crisp, resounding slap echoed throughout the hall.
Jing Yuanming, the Valley Master's eldest disciple and the senior disciple to all, was known for his intense dislike of deceit.
"You don't need to praise this woman so highly. If she truly had the strength, she wouldn't need these flashy things to prove herself!"
"As the guide of the Medicine Valley, you engaged in deception. Do you know your mistake!"
Zhu Shu was stunned by the slap, covering his face and struggling to comprehend.
He hadn't lied... truly...
If a fire seed's temperature was high, its concentration must be high. It was impossible for one to be high and the other low.
This was common knowledge, and the reason why no one believed him.
Because they had personally witnessed the orange glow on the spirit pillar when Bai Ran tested her concentration, Zhu Shu's explanation seemed incredibly weak.
"Go to the wood storage and reflect on your actions for three days." Jing Yuanming looked at Zhu Shu with disappointment before turning to leave.
Gradually, the surrounding disciples shook their heads at Zhu Shu and departed with a hint of disdain.
Bai Ran watched the dejected and dispirited Zhu Shu and sighed.
"Serves him right! Who told him to mock Master earlier!" Zhuque watched with immense satisfaction.