Chapter 467: Peerless Potential

Hearing Elder Ru Qi’s bewildered response, Elder Tao snorted and said, rolling his eyes, "Look at you acting all surprised now, you cheeky brat. You want me to repeat your student’s accolades again, right? Don’t you? Fine! I’ll do it.

That young man... Yi Chen was able to refine a mortal pill with a 55% efficacy rate in the second test. Moreover, as per the instructions from the higher-ups, we had to add a third test in the Pill Apprentice Examination, which consisted of identifying various rare mortal herbs.

That guy...he performed phenomenally in even that test, correctly answering all sixty herbs that were presented to him when the passing criteria had been set to identifying five herbs, per official instructions.

Just where the hell did you find such a talented student? Do you have any idea how much difficulty I’m having suppressing my urge to rush towards him and make him my personal disciple?"

’He really did reach a 55% Efficacy rate?! And this... identifying all sixty of the herbs? That definitely isn’t something just anyone can do!’

"This... Elder Tao, I’m not acting surprised at all... It’s really my first time hearing about Yi Chen’s capabilities. The only thing I knew was that he was pretty knowledgeable about various herbs and was also a very quick learner... at least, that was my evaluation of him based on what he had demonstrated and told me so far.

However, if what Elder Tao has just said is true, then just calling him a rare genius won’t be enough..."

Elder Ru Qi stated with an anxious confusion evident in her tone.

Seeing Ru Qi doubt his words, Elder Tao was almost about to burst with anger, but hearing the last bits of her words, he couldn’t help but frown abruptly and asked, "You... what do you mean?"

"Yi Chen... I first met him during one of the lectures at the Sect’s Pill Hall. He had acted as one of my assistants during the refining process, and all his actions from that day are clearly embedded in my mind.

At that time as well, he was able to identify almost all the mortal herbs that I needed for refining the pill, so his performance in the third test, although surprising, isn’t all that shocking when compared to his 55% efficacy rate..."

Elder Ru Qi muttered while taking in a silent breath. She was still finding everything too much to wrap her head around.

"That’s exactly why I stated that he’s a rare genius... What? Do you think that he’s even more talented? We don’t even know whether he can properly refine an immortal pill yet at this stage... Do you not remember how difficult it is to increase the efficacy rate of an immortal pill when compared to a mere mortal pill? It’s still too early to judge.

Though there’s still a chance that he’ll surpass our expectations even at that stage and make a name for himself, that’s something that hasn’t been confirmed yet, so there-"

Elder Tao seemed to have lost his bearing a little, seeing Elder Ru Qi doubt his judgement. Even though both of them were Tier 3 Pill Masters, being at a High Grade, he still possessed much more experience than she did.

Therefore, trying to correct Elder Ru Qi’s statements, he started explaining his reasoning to her in depth, but before he could fully complete his words, Elder Ru Qi interrupted him in between.

"He... he jumped from a 10% efficacy rate to 55% in less than a month’s time." Elder Ru Qi said the very next instant, wanting to make Elder Tao truly realise her reasoning behind stating those words.

"This... what did you just say?" Elder Tao asked with a bewildered expression while thinking to himself, ’Did I hear it wrongly?’

However, Elder Ru Qi’s answer soon made it clear that there was nothing wrong with his hearing.

"I said that Yi Chen was able to jump all the way from an efficacy rate of 10% to 55% in less than a month. Taking into account how closely he was listening to my explanation about Pill Refining and the doubts he asked me later on... it won’t be wrong to assume that he’s someone who had picked up refining only after entering my sect..."

"That’s barely two months ago..." Elder Tao said with disbelief evident in his eyes.

"Exactly... that’s exactly why I had stated that calling him a genius isn’t enough anymore! He’s a talent the likes of which have never been heard of on the entire continent!" Elder Ru Qi stated her true thoughts the very next moment.

"You... are you really sure about this?!" Elder Tao asked with a serious expression on his face.

"Yes, I’m certain." Elder Ru Qi nodded in confirmation the very next moment and continued, "There are a lot of uncertainties about him, but this is one thing I can say for sure, as the questions he had asked me back then weren’t something an experienced Pill Refiner would ask someone like me..."

As Elder Ru Qi was saying those words, her voice decreased gradually as she couldn’t help but think to herself, ’Or he had been deliberately asking those questions to make me think this way...’

Elder Ru Qi shook those thoughts away the moment they entered her mind while waiting for Elder Tao’s response.

"Still... keep a close eye on him and send me your confirmation in a few days’ time. If he truly possesses such peerless potential, then I must inform the higher-ups about him as soon as possible. So, make sure to report your findings to me at the earliest!

A talent of this level shouldn’t be confined to the Heavenly Azure Dragon Sect, lest the sect end up regretting it later... I hope you understand the magnitude of my words, Ru Qi."

Hearing those words, Elder Ru Qi slowly nodded her head and said, "I understand... Elder Tao."

With that, the stones lost their previous lustre as their transmission came to an end.

Meanwhile, Yi Chen, who had no clue that such important decisions were being made with regard to his future at the moment, was rushing through a forested pathway that was completely covered in darkness.

Thanks to his special physique, despite the pitch-black darkness, he was clearly able to see the pathway and make his way through at the highest possible speed.

As a result, the more than two-hour-long journey was cut short, and within only an hour’s time Yi Chen reached the sect’s premises.

The entrance was shrouded by an illusory array, and if not for Yi Chen’s identification beads, which had started to glow the moment he arrived in its proximity, it would have been extremely difficult for him to find the entrance.

"There it is," Yi Chen muttered after finding the entrance as his steps slowly came to a stop.

One would expect that he would straightway walk inside through the illusion array, but he didn’t.

Instead, he turned around the next moment and said, while bowing respectfully in a particular direction, "Thank you for safely escorting me back to the sect."

The moment Yi Chen said those words, two figures who were wrapped in black robes made their presence known.

One of them, who seemed to be the one in charge, pulled the mask that was covering his face the next moment and said, "Young Master Chen is too humble. Seeing your movement technique in such close proximity, we realised that even if you were to face a sudden threat, you are more than capable of running away from it.

Even we who are at the Ninth Qi Absorption Stage had to utilise everything we had to keep up with your speed."

As the man stated those words, an embarrassed smile appeared on his face.

"Hahaha." Yi Chen let out a soft chuckle upon hearing those words and said, "Still, that doesn’t undermine the aid your presence gave me in today’s journey. I’ll be going inside then."

As Yi Chen finished his words, he gestured towards the entrance. Seeing this, the two men subtly bowed in Yi Chen’s direction and left.

"Let’s go then..." Yi Chen muttered after seeing the two men from the Zhou Clan disappear into the darkness before passing through the illusion array.

’I just can’t get used to this ticklish sensation...’ he muttered while feeling as if his entire body was passing through a large wall of water without getting drenched.

Covered in sweat, Yi Chen soon made his way towards the sect’s gates and, after confirming his identity, made his way inside.

’It’s been a tiring day...’ he thought before realising that he still needed to practice his swordsmanship and cultivate later on.

Letting out a silent sigh, he muttered while walking past lines of trees, "Whatever... I’ll take a warm bath first before taking care of those things."

’??!’

From the corner of his eye, he noticed a blurry figure in white leaning on one of those trees while facing his direction, which immediately prompted him to turn his head to his left.

"So, you’ve finally arrived," Elder Ru Qi said with a welcoming smile the moment their eyes met.

However, to Yi Chen, nothing about that smile looked welcoming at all, as he exclaimed, falling on his butt the very next instant, "AH! GHOST!"