Chapter 113: Zero Marks?
Rather than calling him Zhong Haoran’s disciple, it would be more appropriate to call him his junior martial brother.
It turned out that the person’s name was Zhang Chengfan. Zhong Haoran’s master had made an exception and accepted him as his disciple when he saw his talent. However, he had been delayed by matters and didn’t have the time to teach him, so he had decided to accept him as Zhong Haoran’s disciple first. The ceremony to acknowledge him as his master would be held after a period of time.
“To be able to catch his master’s eye, one could imagine his talent. He is definitely a difficult opponent. Based on your current strength, your chances of winning aren’t high.”
Chen Yan let out a faint sigh. He had originally thought that Lin Bai should be a piece of unpolished jade after refining a grade seven spirit replenishing pill. As long as it was slightly sculpted, it would be able to shine brilliantly. However, he hadn’t expected that, the difficulty of sculpting this piece of unpolished jade far exceeded his expectations.
“It’s useless to say so much now. You’ve already agreed to the competition. Tomorrow, you can only brace yourself and go on stage. Hopefully, a miracle will occur.”
Chen Yan felt that his chances of winning were somewhat slim. If he was given more time to teach Lin Bai, it might still be possible. However, right now, he did not have any confidence.
Compared to Chen Yan’s worries, Lin Bai acted as if nothing had happened. Soon, it was time for tomorrow’s competition. Many people who had received the news came over to join in the fun, including Qian Ran and the others who had bullied Foo Li earlier.
Of course, they weren’t here to cheer for Zhang Chengfan. They were here to see how Zhang Cheng Fan will trample on Lin Bai.
“Previously, elder Zhou was supporting this kid. Let’s see who else can help him now!”
“Exactly. We’ve been copying the commandments for the past few days so much so that our hands are almost broken. I hope senior brother Zhang can help us vent our anger and let that kid know how powerful we are.”
“How can he be compared to senior brother Zhang? You should know that senior brother Zhang has the heavenly flame in his hands, so there’s no pressure at all for him.”
As the crowd whispered to each other, Lin Bai was led by Chen Yan to meet Zhong Haoran, Zhang Chengfan, and the others.
Zhong Haoran had a mocking look on his face. “I didn’t expect you guys to have the courage to fight. I thought you guys would find an excuse not to come. If you admit defeat now, it’s still not too late.”
Chen Yan also wanted to do that, but if he did that, he would admit that he was not as good as Zhong Haoran. Not only would his reputation be damaged, but he would also implicate his master. Perhaps Zhong Haoran and the others would even use him to tarnish his master’s reputation.
“What’s there to be afraid of? Before the final moment, the outcome is still unknown. How do you know that you will win for sure? Don’t slap your own face when you lose and embarrass yourselves here.”
Zhong Haoran looked as if he had heard the biggest joke in the world. “We will lose?” He looked at Lin Bai contemptuously, “I’m afraid that you haven’t found out about the background of my disciple. However, I do know how your disciple came to be.”
“I heard that he came from a remote small city. There’s not even a branch of the Alchemist Association. I’m afraid the highest alchemist there is a third or fourth level, or maybe not.”
Chen Yan did not know that Zhong Haoran had already investigated Lin Bai thoroughly. As the saying goes, know yourself and know your enemy. He even sent people to secretly monitor his every move in the Alchemist Association.
However, because the He family had suppressed the matter of Lin Bai refining pills, very few people knew about it. Therefore, Zhong Haoran’s information was not accurate, so he did not take it seriously.
“The competition rules are very simple. Two out of three wins, a total of three matches. As for the content of the competition, it will be decided by drawing lots. In order to show fairness, I will let you guys draw lots to choose. You will compete in whatever you catch.”
As Zhong Haoran spoke, he got someone to take out a bamboo stick tube. There were more than ten bamboo sticks inside. Lin Bai randomly picked three of them. They were theoretical knowledge, refining detoxification pills, and refining fifth-grade pills.
Upon seeing the first content, Chen Yan’s reaction was that he was going to die. What he was afraid of came true. Unfortunately, Lin Bai’s theoretical knowledge was the weakest.
The others did not know. After all, which one of them who could enter the Alchemist Association did not pass many tests? Even if there were exceptions like Lin Bai, they would definitely have something extraordinary about them.
“Looks like this kid’s luck is not bad. The first test of theoretical knowledge should not be a problem. After that, the refinement of detoxifying pills should be alright. Except for the third one, which is a little difficult, they might end up in a draw.”
“What if they end up in a draw? Wouldn’t there be no winner or loser?”
Everyone felt that Lin Bai was quite lucky after hearing everyone’s whispers. After all, theoretical knowledge wasn’t too difficult for them. However, Chen Yan revealed a bitter smile on his face.
Lin Bai looked at the test questions in his hands. After a while, he calmly picked up the pen beside him.
Due to concerns of cheating and interference, Lin Bai and Zhang Chengfan were separated from the crowd. The others could only see their movements clearly and didn’t know what they were writing.
Seeing that Lin Bai seemed to have a plan in mind, Chen Yan couldn’t help but feel a glimmer of hope. Perhaps Lin Bai had already crammed in theoretical knowledge these past few days.
Soon, the time was up. The two of them handed over the test questions in their hands. In order to make the competition fair, they invited the most impartial and impartial judge in the Law Enforcement Hall, Zhou Zhengqing, to be the referee.
Zhou Zhengqing had almost finished reading Zhang Cheng Fan’s test questions with a single glance. He said calmly, “Full marks.”
However, when he saw Lin Bai’s test questions, he was stunned for a moment. Then, he raised his head to look at Lin Bai and then looked at the test questions. Only then did he say, “Zero marks.”
? ? ?
Not only did Zhou Zhengqing not believe him, even the other disciples had confused expressions on their faces. “Did I hear correctly? What did elder Zhou say? Zero marks?”
No matter how bad one’s theoretical foundation was, it was impossible for one to get zero points, unless one had never heard of it before.
At this moment, Zhang Chengfan’s question had been passed down to everyone. Everyone knew the questions and contents of the question. Although there were some difficult and tricky questions, one shouldn’t have gotten zero marks.
Even if they weren’t as perfect as Zhang Chengfan’s, it wouldn’t be a problem for any of them to pass the test.
However, Lin Bai scored zero.
Chen Yan’s eyes darkened. On the other hand, Zhong Haoran and the others were surprised at first, then revealed extremely mocking expressions. They almost laughed themselves to death.
“It’s actually zero. Chen Yan, where did you find such a funny disciple? You should know that even the apprentices of our Alchemist Association wouldn’t score zero. I really don’t know what you’re thinking. Don’t tell me you found someone to brush us off.”
Zhong Haoran felt that he had an eighty percent chance of winning, but he was a little worried that something unexpected would happen. Now that Lin Bai had failed at the first test, he was completely relieved.
The next two rounds would definitely be a crushing defeat. After all, how could a person who had even scored a zero in the basic test point refine a good pill.
He would definitely win this match!
It was not only Zhong Haoran who thought so, but the other people present also thought so as well.