As they walked out of the hall where the evaluations were being conducted, Otto came up behind Xiao Yan and walked alongside him, occasionally glancing at the young man who maintained a calm, serene smile, his gaze somewhat unusual. "What are you staring at me for?" After walking a bit further, Xiao Yan could no longer bear Otto's persistent gaze and shook his head in resignation. "Heh, I'm trying to figure out just how much you still have hidden—how surprising you've been to everyone," Otto said with a smile. At this, Xiao Yan only shrugged helplessly. "But your performance has been so striking this time. I suspect that soon, Chemir, the old man, will come to me asking about your background. Though he may not know your exact strength, having someone only in their twenties achieve an eighth-level refinement of Ironwood Spirit Leaves is quite rare—indeed, one of the few such instances since the guild's founding," Otto added. "I know..." Xiao Yan walked slowly, nodded slightly. When he was refining the Ironwood Spirit Leaf, he had already thought of these points. However, with the grand assembly about to begin, revealing his strength was inevitable. Therefore, there was no need for him to deliberately underperform at this crucial moment. While being humble was always good, being overly humble had indeed brought forth a fair share of dismissive and mocking glances—something that was both bothersome and frustrating. "Regarding my identity, I'd be greatly obliged if Master Otto could help me keep it confidential," Xiao Yan said softly, pressing his lips lightly. "Due to certain circumstances, if my identity were to be revealed, I might no longer be able to participate in this assembly. So, Master, I truly hope you can do your best to assist me." Hearing the serious consequences Xiao Yan had outlined, Otto was momentarily stunned, then furrowed his brows. If Xiao Yan withdrew from the competition, wouldn't the Black Rock City Alchemy Guild have lost a valuable opportunity to achieve a strong performance? This is a significant threat to Otto, who has never achieved major accomplishments since ascending to his position. After frowning and pondering for a while, Otto finally nodded, offering a weary smile, "Well, I'll do my best to keep you under the radar. Fortunately, the member profiles haven't been uploaded yet, so I can still make some adjustments." "Ah, that's most kind of Otto," said Xiao Yan, slightly relieved, and smiled. "I just can't bear to see the excellent player I've been so eager to find leave." Otto sighed, expressing his frustration. Xiao Yan smiled and was about to speak when Frank's bright, cheerful voice suddenly rang out ahead, "Hey, Old Otto, how's it going? Has the assessment finished? How's the young one doing?" At that moment, Xiao Yan and Frank had already stepped out of the corridor. As it was a crossroads, the crowd was quite dense. Upon hearing Frank's laughter, several people paused and turned their attention to Xiao Yan, who was walking alongside Otto. Since the earlier examination had been an internal trial, these alchemists were not fully aware of the final results, though they did know that those who had participated in such trials were typically among the top contenders of the current gathering—remarkably strong in their abilities. As Frank's laughter rang out, Xiao Yan raised his head and looked at Frank approaching steadily with a broad smile. Beside him, Xue Mei, dressed in a silver gown that exuded a striking elegance, and Lin Fei followed closely. Their curious glances were also fixed upon Xiao Yan, clearly eager to learn how he would perform in this level of competition. "It's just acceptable, we've passed, I suppose," Xiang Yin smiled, looking at the three who had arrived. Upon hearing this, Otto rolled his eyes—was this really acceptable? If this was acceptable, then what about the others? They must have been completely inadequate. "Ah, passed? That's good to hear. I was actually a bit worried, especially since the candidates who took the internal assessment aren't exactly average." Frank chuckled. "Hey, you, you're representing Black Rock City this time! While I don't expect you to surpass talents like Liu Ling, at least you should make it into the top ten in this internal test, otherwise you won't have a solid chance at a strong showing at the grand assembly. Just passing simply won't do," Lin Fei murmured, clearly believing that the "acceptable" score Xiang Yin mentioned was nothing more than a bare minimum. "Although Li Ling is talented, he is still a disciple of the Dan King, and moreover, he's older than Xiao... Yan Xiao. To achieve such results is already quite impressive—especially since we haven't even qualified for such a level of performance." Apparently, due to the good words Xiao Yan had spoken on Li Ling's behalf during the last incident involving the Peach Fire, Xue Mei glanced at Lin Fei and said gently, "I know you admire Li Ling, but Yan Xiao is one of our own. If he loses, we won't look very good in front of Black Rock City." "I'm merely speaking from the standpoint of him being our representative from Black Rock City—I haven't said anything negative about him. What does Li Ling have to do with it?" Lin Fei said, somewhat disgruntled. "Ah, well, enough of you two—just be quiet!" Seeing this pair of rivals, Otto shook his head in resignation and smiled at Fulkland, "This time, I think you're going to be astonished enough to drop your jaw." "Oh? What's going on?" Fulkland blinked, puzzled. Otto chuckled, about to speak, when a commotion broke out down the corridor. Turning around, several of them saw the contestants gradually stepping out. Leading the group were precisely Princess Xiao and Li Lin, whose expression was somewhat gloomy. "That must be Li Lin, the disciple of Master Guo He, the Dan King. His presence is truly impressive." "A third-rank alchemist at such a young age—what a remarkable achievement. Truly..." "I'm certain he'll come out on top in this examination." "It's no surprise, really—what a fortunate teacher he has. One can only admire from afar." As the group emerged from the corridor, the surrounding spectators began to murmur among themselves. Xiao Yin slightly turned his head, smiling as he watched Li Lin approach. Stepping out into the corridor with a gloomy expression, Liu Ling immediately spotted the familiar silhouette. Her lips twitched slightly, then she took a deep breath, and as she did so, the hidden tension on her face faded, replaced by a gentle, soft smile. "Mr. Yan Xiao, congratulations!" Liu Ling bowed slightly to Otto and Frank before turning to smile at Xiao Yan. Xiao Yan shook his head with a smile. "Just lucky." "I have other matters to attend to, so I'll leave you now, Mr. Yan Xiao. We'll meet properly tomorrow." Liu Ling clearly wasn't in the mood to chat. After a brief greeting, she stepped past Xiao Yan and the others, cut through the crowd, and disappeared from view. "Mr. Yan Xiao." "Stepping forward a few paces, Princess Li suddenly halted, hesitated, and turned to smile at Xiao Yan, saying, 'There's a gathering tonight attended by many senior alchemists from the Grand Conferences. You...' 'Ah, I'm sorry, but I have other engagements this evening and won't be able to make it,' Xiao Yan replied, slightly taken aback by the unexpected offer. He then nodded, smiled, and said calmly. Xiao Yan's refusal came as no surprise to the princess. She gently moved her lips, stared at him for a moment, and then smiled warmly, saying, 'Then I'll gladly accept that. Should Rock Jiao ever need any assistance, feel free to come to me. Goodbye.'" Staring at the little princess slowly fading from view, Xiao Yan gently pressed his lips together, recalling her attitude toward him before the results were announced, and then comparing it to her current demeanor. A quiet smile of wistfulness played on his lips as he murmured, "Indeed, someone born into the royal family. The difference between someone useful and someone who isn't, in her eyes, is truly remarkable." As the stars in her eyes followed Li Lin's retreating form, Lin Fei finally turned to Xiao Yan, puzzled, "By the way, what did he congratulate you about?" "Nothing special," Xiao Yan replied with a smile. He didn't consider winning against Li Lin to be particularly significant. After all, though he was a disciple of Guxi, the modest recognition meant little to him—having once dared to compare Guxi and Queen Medusa to fish and pearls, and himself to a fisherman, he had long since grown accustomed to such honors. "I have a few matters to attend to," he continued, "so I'll be off. We'll meet again tomorrow." "Without giving Linfi the chance to press further, Xiao Yan smiled, bowed slightly to Otto and the others, then hurried toward the outside of the guild. "The internal test we just conducted was on extracting Ironwood Spirit Leaves," Otto said, watching Xiao Yan's swift departure. He stroked his white-bearded chin, then suddenly added after a moment. "Extracting Ironwood Spirit Leaves? That's quite a challenge—this material is among the most difficult to extract even among medium-grade materials. With my current strength, I can only manage eight or nine extractions myself." Frank was startled, turning to face him. "Indeed," Otto nodded with a smile, gesturing toward where Li Lin had gone. "That young one has managed six extractions." "Six?" Frank's face lit up with astonishment as he heard this. He admired the feat, murmuring in awe. "Remarkable! For someone of his age, achieving this level is truly impressive. No wonder he's one of the disciples of the ancient river clan." "That thing... I seem to be able to refine only twice, and Linfei is no different. Li Ling's aptitude for pharmaceutical preparation truly is exceptional." Snow Mei sighed softly beside them. "Heh, of course. Among the young pharmacists of the Gama Empire, none stands out more than him." Linfei smiled, clearly deeply admiring Li Ling. "Hmm, not necessarily," Otto laughed, shaking his head. "Though Li Ling is outstanding, Rock Jiao is no less so—indeed, he's just as strong. In the just-conducted test, Li Ling refined the substance six times, while Rock Jiao managed eight!" Otto's words struck like thunder, instantly stiffening the expressions of the three members of Foklan. Eight times? That's the level expected of a Fourth-Rank pharmacist—yet Xiao Yan, a Second-Rank pharmacist, achieved it? How could that be possible? "Master... Master, are you jesting?" "Coming back to herself from the shock, Linfei stammered, finding it hard to believe that Xiao Yan had actually outshone Liu Ling. Beside her, Xue Mei also slightly parted her red lips, her usually cool demeanor now slightly stunned. While she had never looked down on Xiao Yan, she had never imagined he could achieve such a brilliant performance. "Otto, are you really saying this?" Frank fixed his gaze on Otto, his face filled with excitement—the more impressive Xiao Yan's performance, the greater the benefits for Black Rock City's branch. "This young man hides such deep talent. Now I'm genuinely looking forward to this grand assembly!" smiling as he watched Xiao Yan fade into the distance, Otto said with a warm smile, "This year's assembly is likely to see Rock Jiao emerge as the biggest surprise!"