Elder Zhou chuckled as he heard Han Yu's nervous question. "Pass?"
Elder Xuan leaned forward, her eyes gleaming with amusement.
"You passed an exam that ninety-nine percent of candidates fail. With a score above seventy-four percent, according to our judgment."
Han Yu blinked. "Seventy-four? That's it?"
Elder Zhou raised a brow. "That's excellent. Only two other Outer Court disciples in the last decade managed more than seventy. And most Inner Court candidates don't even break fifty."
Xuan nodded. "Frankly, if we weren't already informed you had no formal alchemy training, we would have assumed you were already a low-grade certified alchemist."
Han Yu resisted the urge to grin.
Instead, he simply bowed his head. "Thank you, Elders."
"Still," Zhou said, folding the scroll, "you'll need refinement. Theory can only take you so far. But we're willing to grant you direct entry into the Alchemy Peak's Outer Pavilion."
