The Fourth-Grade Spirit Alchemist evaluation was about to begin! The six people stirred, some expectant, some nervous, all unable to remain seated and rising to their feet. Nie Kong, however, was not as anxious as they were, merely waiting quietly in his seat. As expected, nearly a quarter of an hour passed before a young maidservant emerged from the room.

"Those participating in the Fourth-Grade Spirit Alchemist evaluation, please form an orderly line!" The young maidservant’s gaze swept across the corridor before settling on the six who had stood up.

"Third Aunt, I'm going now."

Nie Kong spoke, ignoring whether Mu Lengxing, who was conserving his energy with closed eyes, had heard him, and rose to stand behind the old man. The maidservant couldn't help but glance at Nie Kong a few extra times, a hint of confusion in her eyes, seemingly quite surprised by his youth, but she didn't say anything further.

"Seven of you, please follow me inside."

The maidservant smiled gracefully, turned, and walked in, the door slamming shut behind them.

Upon entering, they found themselves in a corridor tens of meters long. It was a short passage, and suddenly, the space before Nie Kong and the others opened up, a vast area filling their view. In this chamber, ten low tables were arranged, each neatly furnished with an alchemy cauldron, medicine boxes, and various other implements.

Opposite these ten tables, a long table was set up. Behind the long table sat a middle-aged couple dressed in white, and a blue-robed elder with an extremely long beard. All of them wore solemn expressions, looking utterly unsmiling, presumably the personnel presiding over the Fourth-Grade Spirit Alchemist assessment.

Once the seven were seated, the middle-aged man spoke in a highly standardized tone, "There are paper and pens on the tables; please fill out all required information in detail, including your name, age, nationality, and cultivation level. After completing this, place your Third-Grade Spirit Alchemist credentials on the tabletop for inspection."

"Yes."

The group quickly picked up their brushes and began writing. This was mostly procedural, as no one would be foolish enough to forge a Third-Grade Spirit Alchemist credential, nor would they attempt to take the assessment on someone else's behalf. This was because, upon passing the evaluation, one's spiritual essence must immediately merge with the credential; lending it to another would expose the fraud instantly upon testing—a method that completely eliminated cheating via impersonation.

Not long after, the middle-aged woman left her seat to collect the completed forms and assign numbers.

Perhaps due to the monotony of repeating the same action for a long time, the middle-aged woman was clearly somewhat distracted. After collecting Nie Kong's documents, she was about to turn away when she seemed to recall something. Her eyes slid back over Nie Kong's desk, causing her to pause, frown, and ask, "Nie Kong... where is your credential?"

As she spoke, the middle-aged woman rapidly scanned Nie Kong's information again, a flicker of an unusual expression crossing her gaze. "Nie Kong, you haven't even participated in the First-Grade Spirit Alchemist assessment before, yet you are jumping straight to the Fourth-Grade Spirit Alchemist assessment this time?"

"That is correct."

Nie Kong nodded. At this moment, the others couldn't help but look at Nie Kong with amused, slightly mocking anticipation. Of course, their anticipation wasn't for a brilliant performance from Nie Kong, but rather to watch how this arrogant, self-unaware fellow would make a fool of himself.

The middle-aged woman nodded slightly, returned to her seat, handed Nie Kong's documents to the blue-robed elder, who then passed them to the middle-aged man. Both showed subtle surprise in their expressions. While jumping the first three grades to directly attempt the Fourth-Grade assessment was not unheard of, a person as young as Nie Kong—only twenty years old—attempting the Fourth-Grade Spirit Alchemist assessment was unprecedented in the Medicine Platform of Jingyan City.

"Cultivation!"

The old man waved his hand, letting the two syllables drop cleanly from his mouth.

The young maidservant waiting nearby immediately approached with delicate steps and placed a palm-sized "Spirit Testing Stone" on Nie Kong's table. For such a cross-grade assessment, confirming strength was naturally the first step. If one's power didn't meet the standard for a Fourth-Grade Spirit Alchemist and they still demanded assessment, it would be nothing short of disruption; there would be no need for further testing—they would simply be escorted off the Medicine Platform.

Nie Kong didn't hesitate. He placed his right palm directly onto the "Spirit Testing Stone," channeling a surge of spiritual energy into it. Instantly, a dazzling, dark-green glow burst from the runes on the stone. Then, those runes began to rapidly twist and transform, momentarily forming four distinct characters: "Spirit Transformation Eighth Grade!"

"Spirit Transformation Eighth Grade?"

Several gasps echoed through the room, including those from the six alchemists being assessed, the old man among them. Their smiles froze on their faces, their expressions changing drastically, their eyeballs nearly popping out. Cultivating to Spirit Transformation Eighth Grade at the age of twenty—this was utterly inconceivable!

Even the most exceptional young disciples from spiritual master holy lands like Mount Moluo, Heaven and Earth Sect, Ink Snow Sect, or Spirit Imperial City could hardly surpass this, could they? Or perhaps, this Nie Kong, whom they had mocked openly or subtly, was on par with the disciples of those super-sects? The realization dawned on them. Those who had been anticipating Nie Kong's downfall suddenly felt their cheeks burn, their expressions awkward. The clearly visible "Spirit Transformation Eighth Grade" on the testing stone seemed glaringly bright, as if grinning widely and mocking their previous blindness.

It wasn't just the six examinees; the two middle-aged individuals and the blue-robed elder could no longer maintain their previous composure, scrutinizing Nie Kong with astonishment. However, since these three were selected to oversee the Fourth-Grade Spirit Alchemist assessment in Luoyan City, their experience was considerable. After the initial shock, they quickly calmed down.

"Nie Kong... Nie Kong..."

The middle-aged man murmured the name repeatedly. After a moment, his expression shifted suddenly. "Early last year, at the 'Thousand Spirit Medicine Meet' held in Jiyang City by the 'Spirit Treasure Pavilion' of the Great Achievement Empire, I heard a descendant named Nie Kong from the Nie family won first place in the grand competition of the medicine meet..."

Saying this, the middle-aged man looked directly at Nie Kong.

Nie Kong understood his implication. Such matters could be easily verified, so there was no need for secrecy. Nie Kong was slightly surprised by how well-informed the Medicine Platform was, managing to know even about someone as minor as himself. With that thought, Nie Kong smiled and nodded: "That is correct. I am that Nie Kong."

The middle-aged man nodded. "When the Spirit Treasure Pavilion held the 'Thousand Spirit Medicine Meet,' you were still a Spirit Channeler, correct? I never imagined that in just over a year, you would advance from Spirit Channeling to Spirit Transformation Eighth Grade. I hear that before September of the year before last, you were always at Spirit Gathering First Grade, and your cultivation began to advance rapidly only from late September onward. Such swift cultivation speed—currently, across the entire Heavenly Spirit Continent, few people can match it."

Throughout his speech, the middle-aged man could no longer conceal the admiration in his heart.

Nie Kong smiled faintly, not responding. In the past, when traveling alone, Nie Kong would certainly have tried to avoid contact with a "Spirit Testing Stone." Once his cultivation was exposed and his true identity discovered by someone with ill intent, danger would follow inevitably. But now, Nie Kong had absolutely no need to worry. Setting aside the fact that he had Third Aunt Mu Lengxing, a Heavenly Spirit expert, by his side, there were few in Spirit Imperial City who could threaten him, let alone the fact that behind Spirit Imperial City lay the Yin Ruins! This was certainly the advantage of having powerful backing! Nie Kong remained silent, but the surrounding Third-Grade Spirit Alchemists could no longer suppress the astonishment in their chests, letting out involuntary gasps.

Advancing to Spirit Transformation Eighth Grade at twenty years old—such a figure was rare, but not unprecedented.

However, achieving the miraculous feat of cultivating from "Spirit Gathering First Grade" to "Spirit Transformation Eighth Grade" in less than two years, especially as a young man of twenty, meant that one would be hard-pressed to find another such monster in the entire ten-thousand-year history of the Heavenly Spirit Continent—perhaps they could be counted on one hand.

Unconsciously, the way the others looked at Nie Kong became even stranger.

At that moment, the blue-robed elder suddenly spoke, "Nie Kong, though you are young, your strength is quite impressive. Are you willing to come to my Medicine Platform?" As he spoke, the elder’s calm voice carried an immeasurable allure. "Not one of the subordinate platforms under the various imperial cities, but the Medicine Platform of the Spirit God Hall!"

The Medicine Platform of the Spirit God Hall! For a place to bear the title "Spirit God," one could imagine how formidable it was. The Spirit God Hall was founded by a mighty Spirit God, and rumor had it that the most recent Spirit God on the Heavenly Spirit Continent was born within the Spirit God Hall. It was also rumored that this Spirit God currently resided in seclusion somewhere on the continent...

Because of this, the Spirit God Hall held an transcendent status on the Heavenly Spirit Continent, feared even by spiritual master holy lands like Mount Moluo and the Heaven and Earth Sect. Now, this elder, representing the "Medicine Platform" of such an organization, was issuing an undisguised invitation to Nie Kong—what an immense opportunity! Although the numerous "Medicine Platforms" spread across the Heavenly Spirit Continent originated from the Spirit God Hall's platform, they were ultimately subordinate institutions. The Spirit God Hall's own platform held a world of difference. It was said that within the Spirit God Hall, the current "Medicine Platform" served as the center for cultivating outstanding junior disciples for the Spirit God Hall.

It could be said that disciples emerging from this platform were destined to become the pillars of the Spirit God Hall in the future. In an instant, the eyes of those few Third-Grade Spirit Alchemists turned red with crushing jealousy, envy, and resentment! It was regrettable, however, that among those present, only Nie Kong was receiving such an undisguised invitation; it had nothing to do with them.

Nie Kong also hadn't expected the elder to say such a thing. He paused for a moment before replying with an apologetic tone, "I apologize, but I am a disciple of the Inner City of Spirit Imperial City."

Nie Kong's multiple statuses—Inner City disciple of Spirit Imperial City, a half-spirit race member of the Yin Ruins, and a disciple of the Nie family in Jiyang City—made it difficult for him to accept the recruitment offer from the Spirit God Hall Medicine Platform. Setting aside these matters, the mere existence of the "Fire Tree Silver Flower," which was originally the property of the Spirit God Hall and which Nie Kong had acquired by chance and kept hidden in his pet backpack, made him uninterested in the Spirit God Hall.

"He refused? Nie Kong actually rejected such a rare opportunity without hesitation?" Those Third-Grade Spirit Alchemists could barely believe their ears! After carefully examining Nie Kong's expression, they realized they hadn't misheard, which only intensified their jealousy, envy, and resentment! Being able to enter the Spirit God Hall Medicine Platform—what was being an Inner City disciple of Spirit Imperial City compared to that?