Rise of the Alchemy God

Chapter 14: Waking Up

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Since a young age, Feng Huang's ability to evaluate a person's talent had never been wrong.

It was like a sixth sense for her, reacting whenever she encountered someone special.

This person didn't necessarily have to be a genius in cultivation.

Her ability wasn't limited to that but extended to any kind of talent.

From the best chef to the best strategist, these were talents she could perceive.

But only perceive, nothing more.

The specific type of talent these individuals possessed could only be discovered over time.

But she didn't mind.

Thanks to her ability, Feng Huang surrounded herself with talented people and nurtured them, leading her to become the next sect master of the Phoenix Sect at only 30 years old, making her the youngest sect master ever.

Since she ascended to power, the Phoenix Sect had continuously risen, and its position, which had started to waver as one of the top three sects in the empire, was reestablished by her.

Therefore, she was so sure that the boy she had found at the slave auction was special.

At this moment, Feng Huang was in her study, reading the results of this year's entrance exam.

Reading them, she was very pleased.

Although the number of people who turned out to be good seedlings was lower than last year, there were some very good talents.

In fact, one of them even surprised her when she read that he had lasted 61 minutes in the third trial, coming very close to the current record held by her.

Reading about these recruits, she couldn't help but have high expectations for the boy she had saved some time ago at the illegal auction house.

She was very curious about his scores in the various trials, but her expectations were crushed when she read his results.

"First trial: 21 points - Rating: failed"

"Second trial: 11 branches - Rating: mediocre"

"Third trial: 35 minutes - Rating: above average"

Reading these results, she couldn't help but sigh, shaking her head slightly in disappointment.

'Could I have been wrong?' she wondered.

Although her ability had almost never made a mistake in evaluating a person, seeing these results, she couldn't help but doubt it.

"Haa, maybe he's just not suited for cultivation," she said to herself, thinking that perhaps Ethan's talent lay elsewhere.

At that moment, however, she remembered something, and her expression changed to a strange one.

"Could his talent truly lie in domestic chores?"

***

In the infirmary building, in a room, there was a boy asleep on a bed.

The boy lay with his eyes closed as if he were sleeping, and around him, a girl with a wooden cart was the only other person present.

The girl was an outer disciple of the Phoenix Sect, working in the infirmary.

She had become a disciple just last year, and since then, she hadn't made much progress in her cultivation, so she decided to be more useful to the sect by working in the infirmary, where work was never scarce.

Every day she treated various injured individuals. From those with minor injuries to those with severe ones that, if they surpassed a certain threshold, more experienced disciples than her would take over.

After working here for almost a year, she had to admit that she liked it very much here.

Even though there were days when she went crazy due to the number of people arriving for treatment, like yesterday, the day of the entrance exam for the sect.

Just remembering having to run from one person to another the entire time gave her a headache.

At that moment, she was preparing to administer medicine to this disciple, who had been one of the victims of the third trial, when he suddenly opened his eyes.

"Haaa" The girl was startled and almost dropped the medicine.

Ethan, who had just woken up, calmed down and sat up, looking around.

"Where is this place?" he asked as he looked around, searching for something to tell him more about where he was at the moment.

Finally, his gaze settled on the girl, who was looking at him a bit annoyed, as if he had done something to her.

"Um, excuse me, but can you tell me where I am?" he asked, trying to ignore the irritated look of the girl.

She, hearing him, calmed down and then spoke to him.

"You almost gave me a scare.

Currently, you are in the sect's infirmary," she said.

Hearing her, Ethan remembered what had happened before he fainted.

'Right, I was taking the entrance exam for the sect,' he thought as he calmed down, remembering what had happened, but then his expression changed.

'Wait, if I fainted then, maybe...'

"Don't worry, you passed," said the girl as if reading his mind.

"You, how..." Ethan didn't know what to say.

How on earth did she know what he was thinking, he wondered.

'Could she have used some kind of technique?' he wondered, excited at the thought that there were indeed all kinds of techniques in this world.

But just before his imagination could run wild, the girl brought him back to reality.

"It's because of your face. Almost everyone who wakes up after the trial has a similar expression," she said as if she was used to it by now.

"I see," Ethan said, a little disappointed.

"Then, can you tell me what I should do from here on?" he asked, as he wasn't sure what he was supposed to do now.

"For today, you will stay in bed. Although you were the last one to be brought here, you were the first to wake up," she said, recalling the group of five disciples who had rushed in with Ethan on a stretcher.

From the way they were in a hurry, she thought the patient they had brought was at death's door, but upon checking his condition, she noted that he was simply unconscious.

If it hadn't been for the fact that they were inner disciples of the sect, she would have scolded them.

"Since the others have yet to wake up, the entrance ceremony will be held tomorrow morning, so until then, you will stay here," she said, handing him the glass with the medicine she had in her hand.

"Thank you, what is this?" he asked as he looked at the greenish liquid inside.

"A medicine, drink it quickly, it will do you good."

And so Ethan stayed there, and one by one, throughout the day, the other exam participants began to wake up.

Ethan chuckled a little at the sight of the girl from before, going back and forth explaining the same things to everyone.

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FRANK_LEE_JUNIOR:

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