The Man’s Decree

“You can't even see him anymore. We should go,” Jared said to the lovesick Pearl.

“What's the rush? How annoying...” She rolled her eyes at him. “Look, even if you go, it'll only be a waste of time. I don't trust your alchemy skills. Just look at Roderick. He's young and already a Fifth Level Low Tier alchemist. He's almost on par with my master. What's more, he's elegant and very gentle and caring.”

She seemed capable of talking endlessly about Roderick and kept singing his praises.

Jared smiled and said, “It appears you have a thing for Roderick.”

“Of course! Who wouldn't like someone like him?” she admitted readily.

“But it doesn't seem as though he likes you, and he has so many women around him.” Jared could tell from Roderick's eyes that the latter had no feelings for her.

“What utter nonsense! How rude can you be? If you have nothing nice to say, keep your mouth shut. Roderick likes me, of course. Those women hanging around him are merely an act. I'm the one he truly likes. It's just that my master watches me like a hawk. Otherwise, we would have been a couple already.” With that, she walked straight ahead and paid no more attention to him.

They soon arrived at the evaluation site. Many were already queuing up to take the exam. They were probably also those who were hoping to attend the Alchemist Fair but had yet to pass the exam.

Using her position as a disciple of Solaris Sect, Pearl led Jared in through the back door, skipping the queue entirely.

She led him straight up to an examiner and said, “We're here for the evaluation.”

The examiner glanced at them. “Someone from Solaris Sect, eh? I didn't think there was anyone from that sect who hadn't taken the exam.”

“Please don't misunderstand. This person isn't from Solaris Sect. I brought him here, that's all. Please go ahead with the exam as usual. There's no need to take my sect into account.” She did not wish to let Jared rely on Solaris Sect's reputation. The examiner would be a little lenient if Jared was one of them.

The examiner looked at her and nodded before turning to Jared. “Come in, young man.”

Jared followed the examiner into a room. However, the room was completely transparent to prevent anyone from cheating.

Pearl stood outside to watch him take the evaluation. She wanted to see just how skilled he was.

“Here are nine evaluation boxes, one for each of the three tiers—Top, Middle, and Low—under the Third, Fourth, and Fifth levels. Think about which tier you'd like to take the test for based on your capabilities, then open the corresponding box. Don't overestimate yourself. Otherwise, not only will you suffer, but you also won't pass the test,” the examiner cautioned.