Back at the Alchemy Peak, the news was beginning to spread beyond just the hall.
Even a few junior elders raised their brows when they received the names of the test results.
"Han Yu…" Elder Zhou murmured as he sipped his tea. "Didn't I grade his entrance exam with you, Elder Xuan?"
"Oh yes," Xuan replied, placing a crystal file back into a drawer. "The one we thought was a bit crazy."
"Turns out he's crazy and really good."
The two elders shared a rare laugh.
And so, Han Yu's name began to climb up the unspoken rankings within the Alchemy Peak—not just in ability, but in presence.
He wasn't just a promising alchemist anymore.
He was the one to watch.
A day later...
Han Yu walked casually into the betting shed—the same glorified wooden cabin he had visited just before the test. The crooked "Predictions & Entertainment Division" plaque still hung by a bent nail above the entrance. Its unofficial-ness still as apparent as ever.
