"Hmm? Both are Earth-grade lower-tier alchemists?"
Lin Xuan's gaze swept over the chests of the president and vice president, a flicker of surprise crossing his eyes.
He had initially assumed that the Alchemist Guild's president would be at least one grade higher than elders like Master Mo and Master Ren Yuan.
Yet, unexpectedly, they were both Earth-grade lower-tier.
However, Lin Xuan quickly came to understand.
Even among Earth-grade lower-tier alchemists, there were significant differences.
An Earth-grade lower-tier alchemist could refine seventh-tier pills.
But seventh-tier pills were also divided into lower, middle, and upper grades.
For an alchemist's assessment, as long as they could proficiently refine one type of lower-grade pill, they could pass.
For instance, earlier, he and Mo Ruyan had only refined a sixth-tier lower-grade Spirit Nourishing Pill to pass the Spirit-grade upper-tier alchemist assessment.
Thus, even among Earth-grade lower-tier alchemists, the gap could be vast.
It was likely that elders like Master Ren Yuan could only refine seventh-tier lower-grade pills.
Meanwhile, the president and vice president could refine seventh-tier middle-grade, or even seventh-tier upper-grade pills.
Hence the disparity in their status.
But Lin Xuan was more concerned with how many treasures the attribute panels of these two presidents could provide him.
His gaze swept over.
Swish!
"Name: Shen Anyu."
"Cultivation: Spirit Origin Realm, Sixth Layer."
"Talents: Spirit-grade Cultivation Talent, Spirit-grade Alchemy Talent, Supreme-grade Strength Talent, Supreme-grade Speed Talent, Supreme-grade Blade Dao Talent, Supreme-grade Gale Attribute Talent, High-grade Sharp Metal Attribute Talent, Supreme-grade Crimson Fire Attribute Talent, High-grade Thick Earth Attribute Talent, Supreme-grade Azure Wood Attribute Talent."
"Martial Arts: Wood Blaze Fire Origin Art (Eighth-tier Lower-grade, Minor Mastery), Flame Manipulation Art (Seventh-tier Upper-grade, Minor Mastery), Crimson Flame Sky-Shaking Palm (Seventh-tier Upper-grade, Minor Mastery), Extreme Shadow Wind Step (Seventh-tier Upper-grade, Minor Mastery)..."
"Intent: 35% Blade Intent, 50% Fire Intent, 50% Wood Intent, 30% Wind Intent, 20% Metal Intent."
"Portable Treasures: None."
Looking at the attribute panel of this president floating in the void before him, Lin Xuan's heart trembled inwardly.
As expected of the Alchemist Guild's president, he was indeed dripping with wealth.
This attribute panel was the richest he had ever seen.
As for Vice President Zhou behind him, he had also checked his panel.
It was slightly inferior to the president's, with cultivation at Spirit Origin Realm, Fifth Layer, but still a cut above elders like Master Mo.
Then, Lin Xuan turned his gaze to his own attribute panel.
"Still have 1.5 million energy points? That's enough."
With a thought.
"Ding, consumed 100,000 energy points, replication successful, obtained [Spirit-grade Alchemy Talent]."
"Ding, consumed 200,000 energy points, replication successful, obtained [Wood Blaze Fire Origin Art (Eighth-tier Lower-grade, Minor Mastery)]."
"Ding, consumed 100,000 energy points, replication successful, obtained [50% Fire Intent]."
"..."
In an instant, he had copied all the treasures he fancied from both the president and vice president.
Gazing at this bountiful array of treasures, Lin Xuan's eyes gleamed with satisfaction.
As for the energy points resetting to zero again, he simply ignored it.
Once he fused and absorbed these treasures, his talent, potential, and strength would all surge to a new level.
By then, earning another large batch of energy points would be a breeze.
All of this happened in the span of a breath, unnoticed by anyone present.
"Little friend Lin, I observed your entire refining process just now.
It was truly impressive.
In terms of talent, you can be considered a top-tier genius in the alchemy path, and even I am no match for you."
President Shen Anran's light laugh rang out.
Shen Anyu looked at Lin Xuan, his eyes filled with admiration and astonishment.
He hadn't expected that today, at the Alchemist Guild, such a genius in the alchemy path would appear.
As the head of the Fengyun City Alchemist Guild branch, his vision far surpassed that of Earth-grade alchemists like Ren Yuan.
He had seen countless geniuses from across the entire Red Sun Domain.
Yet among them, Lin Xuan could still rank among the top.
That was why he had taken the initiative to come out and win Lin Xuan over.
Even if Lin Xuan was committed to the martial path, with alchemy as a secondary pursuit.
Given Lin Xuan's alchemy talent, his achievements in alchemy would undoubtedly be remarkable, and he would never lack cultivation resources, ensuring his martial path would not be low.
Moreover, Lin Xuan, knowing his own alchemy talent was extraordinary, still chose to focus on martial arts.
This showed that his martial talent was certainly not ordinary either.
Thus, even if Lin Xuan couldn't fully unleash his alchemy talent due to limited time in the future,
he would still become a formidable martial powerhouse.
So, he was worth the effort to approach.
After all, in this world, strength reigned supreme.
"Thank you for the praise, President!"
Lin Xuan replied with neither humility nor arrogance.
Shen Anyu nodded slightly and continued:
"I also observed your process of refining the Spirit Nourishing Pill.
Your alchemy skill is already on par with many Earth-grade lower-tier alchemists.
However, since you haven't undergone the Earth-grade alchemist assessment, according to guild rules, you're not yet considered an Earth-grade alchemist.
That being said, how about we set your treatment in the guild as that of a nominal elder?"
As his words fell, the crowd was once again stunned.
Though they had all witnessed Lin Xuan's refining process and knew his alchemy skill was high,
they hadn't expected it to have already reached Earth-grade level.
And this was stated by the president himself.
There was no way it could be false.
After all, in the guild, which Earth-grade alchemist hadn't reached that level after thirty?
And Lin Xuan? He was only sixteen, not even twenty yet.
At that age, many alchemists were still distinguishing herbs and memorizing medicinal principles, not even starting to truly refine pills.
In comparison, the crowd was even more astounded.
"Nominal elder?"
Lin Xuan murmured.
Shen Anyu smiled and explained:
"A nominal elder is an elder whose name is registered in the guild.
Aside from being required to step in and assist during major guild crises, there are no other obligations.
The guild won't restrict your movements either.
At the same time, a nominal elder's status is equal to that of other elders.
However, the benefits and treatment for a nominal elder are only one-third of those for regular elders."
Shen Anyu explained in detail, and Lin Xuan quickly understood.
This was quite good, exactly what he wanted.
He then nodded and said:
"Thank you, President. This treatment is very satisfactory to me, junior."
"Here is the token for a nominal elder. Take it."
Shen Anyu, hearing this, showed a hint of a smile.
He took out a token with a black base and silver trim.
Raising a flame of alchemical fire at his fingertip, he engraved a few marks on the token before tossing it to Lin Xuan.
Lin Xuan caught it, his gaze sweeping over the dark, heavy token.
The front was carved with a cauldron pattern, while the back bore the words 'Nominal Elder' in large characters above, and his name, Lin Xuan, below.
Lin Xuan's eyes gleamed with satisfaction.
This trip's gains had once again exceeded his expectations.