The newcomers were a man and a woman, both dressed in black.
However, the man appeared older, around twenty-two or twenty-three years old.
The woman was sixteen or seventeen, with a hint of laziness in her brows.
Dan Chen saw the newcomers and sweetly greeted them.
"Hello, Sister Cao Ying."
"Oh!"
Cao Ying responded with a smile, then unreservedly reached out and ruffled Dan Chen's hair.
Beside them, everyone's faces showed a hint of surprise at the sight.
After ruffling Dan Chen's hair, Cao Ying quickly withdrew her hand.
Dan He then greeted Cao Ying and the man beside her.
"Dan He greets Miss Cao Ying and Mr. Song Qing."
The young man named Song Qing's gaze swept over Qi Lin and the three women beside him, revealing a hint of astonishment.
He had originally thought Cao Ying was already a peerless beauty, but he never expected there to be someone even more beautiful than Cao Ying, and in such diverse styles.
Seeing the subtle closeness the three women showed towards Qi Lin, Song Qing's gaze towards Qi Lin was tinged with jealousy.
Who was this person, to be able to simultaneously win the favor of these three peerless beauties?
Beside Song Qing, Cao Ying also noticed Qi Lin and the three women beside him.
Although the women's appearances surprised her, that was all there was to it.
What truly shocked Cao Ying was the faint spirit power emanating from the three women; two of them even made her feel a sense of pressure.
This indicated that the spirit power of those two women was at least not weaker than her own.
It was known that Cao Ying was born with extremely powerful spirit power; at birth, her overflowing spirit power had almost shocked her mother to death on the spot.
Now, sixteen years later, although Cao Ying was still only a fifth-grade Alchemist, her spirit power was comparable to a seventh-grade Alchemist.
And when her gaze fell upon Qi Lin, the astonishment on her face deepened even further.
She couldn't sense any spirit power from Qi Lin at all.
What did this mean?
It meant that Qi Lin's spirit power was either concealed by some special means, or it was far superior to hers.
Between these two possibilities, Cao Ying clearly leaned towards the latter.
"Elder Dan He, may I ask who these people are...?"
After recovering, Cao Ying asked with a smile.
Song Qing also perked up his ears.
Dan He smiled and said, "This is Sir Qi Lin and his three confidantes. Because he acquired a mansion from the Dan Family yesterday, this old man was fortunate enough to meet him. Today, I happened to see Sir Qi Lin bringing his three confidantes to participate in the assessment, so I brought them in along the way."
"So that's how it is!"
"Meeting is fate. This humble woman, Cao Ying, greets Sir Qi Lin." Cao Ying said with a smile.
Seeing this, Song Qing naturally couldn't do nothing, so he lightly coughed, puffed out his chest, and said with a faint smile, "I am Song Qing. I greet Qi Xiong and all the young ladies."
Qi Lin nodded slightly to the two of them, while Qian Renxue and the other two women showed no expression.
Seeing this, Song Qing's face showed a stiff smile, and then he spoke first.
"Qi Xiong, may I ask what grade of Alchemist you are here to assess?"
Qi Lin shook his head and said, "I'm not here to assess as an Alchemist; they are."
Seeing this, Song Qing continued to ask, "Then what about these three young ladies?"
"Perhaps, the grade we're assessing is the same."
"It's shameful to say, although I've become a disciple of the Grand Elder, I feel I've tarnished my teacher's reputation. After many years of arduous study in alchemy, I am merely a sixth-grade high-level Alchemist."
"This time, I'm here to try and see if I can reach the standard of a seventh-grade Alchemist."
On the surface, Song Qing appeared humble, but the expression in his eyes and the words he spoke gave no impression of humility at all.
After listening, Qi Lin glanced indifferently at Song Qing, seeing through his little scheme.
"My friend, your words are too much."
After speaking, Qi Lin turned to look at Dan He.
"Dan He, where is the assessment area?"
"Haven't we arrived yet?"
Dan He subconsciously said, "It's just ahead."
Then he couldn't help but lead the way for Qi Lin and the others, showing no regard for Song Qing.
Although Song Qing was a disciple of the Dan Ta (Pill Tower)'s Grand Elder, for some reason, Dan He always felt that Qi Lin was even more unoffendable than Song Qing.
And when Song Qing saw that Qi Lin and the others were so disrespectful to him, his expression instantly turned ashen, with a hint of gloom in his eyes.
At this moment, Cao Ying, who was beside him, also followed, leaving only one sentence: "Senior Brother Song Qing, your performance just now was a bit unbecoming!"
Upon hearing this, Song Qing's face became even uglier.
Last year, after Cao Ying was accepted as a disciple by Xuan Kongzi, Song Qing was attracted by her beauty and intended to pursue her.
But Cao Ying had always been indifferent to him.
He had just met three women who were even more beautiful than Cao Ying today, and Song Qing was thinking that since he couldn't pursue Cao Ying, he would change his target.
As a result, now it was good; he pleased neither side.
Gritting his teeth and letting out a cold snort, Song Qing still followed.
On the other side, Qi Lin and the others quickly arrived at a special stone chamber.
The stone chamber was extremely spacious, with a white-haired old man in a gray robe standing in the center. Behind him were four large doors.
The gray-robed old man saw Dan He lead people in and immediately smiled faintly.
"Dan He, long time no see. Are you bringing your family's juniors for testing?"
"Oh, Cao Family's girl and Song Qing are here too. I didn't expect you all to happen to test on the same day."
Dan He smiled and stepped forward, then said, "Elder Han Li, I'll have to trouble you again today."
Han Li waved his hand and chuckled, "What trouble do I have? It's not me who's testing them."
Then he said to everyone, "Tell me, what level of Alchemist badge are you assessing for?"
Song Qing was the first to step out and say, "Elder Han Li, today I want to attempt seventh-grade low-level."
Upon hearing this, Han Li's face showed a touch of emotion.
"Seventh-grade low-level?"
"You only passed the sixth-grade high-level test two years ago, didn't you? Aren't you going to settle for another two years?"
Song Qing flicked his sleeve, his gaze sweeping over the women, his tone calm.
"Two years is enough for me to break through to a seventh-grade Alchemist."
Han Li shook his head with a smile, then said, "In that case, you can enter the Heaven Gate later, and someone will naturally come to test you."
As he spoke, Han Li pointed to the fourth door from left to right behind him.
"Thank you, Elder."
Song Qing cupped his hands faintly, retreated to his original spot, his gaze carrying a hint of pride as it swept over everyone.
And after Song Qing, Cao Ying stretched lazily and stepped forward.
"Elder Han Li, I want to assess for a fifth-grade high-level Alchemist badge."
Upon hearing this, Han Li sighed with emotion, "Indeed, new talents emerge in every generation. I didn't expect you, at such a young age, to have already reached the standard of a fifth-grade high-level Alchemist. No wonder Grandmaster Xuan Kongzi couldn't resist taking you as a disciple."
"Just by chance." Cao Ying replied lazily.
Then Dan Chen also timidly stated the grade she wanted to assess for.
Fifth-grade intermediate.
A bit lower than Cao Ying.
However, she was also a year younger than Cao Ying.
As the two successively reported their respective Alchemist grades for assessment, Song Qing's face no longer showed any proud expression.
Because Cao Ying and the other completely overshadowed him.
And when it came to Qian Renxue and the two other women, everyone's gaze turned to them.
Song Qing couldn't help but swallow.
These three women, surely they wouldn't be like Cao Ying and Dan Chen, would they?
At this moment, Qian Renxue spoke, "The grade we three want to assess for is all second-grade low-level."
As soon as these words came out, everyone's gaze converged on the three of them.
Song Qing even burst out laughing.
"Young ladies, don't you know that this special testing room can only assess Alchemists of fifth-grade and above?"
Han Li's brows also furrowed slightly, then he looked at the somewhat embarrassed Dan He, as if saying: None of them have reached fifth-grade, why did you bring them here?
In reality, Dan He hadn't expected it either.
In his perception, the spirit power of the three women was not low, so he had thought their alchemy skills were all above fifth-grade.
The three women exchanged glances.
There's this rule too?
They came all this way, but couldn't participate in the assessment.
How annoying.
But the three still looked at Qi Lin and said, "A Lin, then let's just not assess today. Anyway, it was just for fun."
Upon hearing this, Qi Lin smiled slightly and said, "It's fine, I'll handle it."
The three instantly felt at ease.
Song Qing, however, looked at Qi Lin with a sneer, thinking: "You'll handle it? Do you think the Dan Ta (Pill Tower) is your home?"
Before the rules of the Dan Ta (Pill Tower), no one's influence mattered!
Qi ignored Song Qing's gaze and looked at Han Li with a faint smile.
A very subtle wisp of spirit power emanated from his body.
In an instant, the world lost its color, and a majestic aura, like a sleeping giant dragon awakening, instantly enveloped the entire stone tower.
Everyone forcibly suppressed the urge to prostrate themselves and looked at Qi Lin in horror.
They saw him slowly open his mouth.
"Elder Han Li, please give me some face!"