The Mighty Mage-Chapter 410: A-Grade Pill

"However there are few brilliant students, who claim to have reached the peak of the Yellow Rank." Qiao Hange said, but everyone could see the sarcasm in his eyes.

(Rank: Apprentice --> Yellow --> Earth --> Black --> Heavenly --> Master --> Grandmaster)

The students started to whisper among themselves.

"Who is this idiot? Even if they want to lie, they should have said they are at the intermediate stage of Yellow Rank."

(Stages: Initial --> Intermediate --> Advanced --> Peak)

"Exactly! No one in the past few centuries was able to reach the Peak of the Yellow Rank."

"I mean theoretically it’s not impossible if the person had awakened mana at the age of 10 and had amazing alchemy talent, but come on, this is just bragging!"

"Correct, Professor Qiao will definitely not let the imposter slip."

"Ah! The mere thought of seeing the drama has filled me with excitement.

"Me too."

Gu Jin: "..."

Eh? Even though she had tried to reduce her achievements, in the end, she still got targetted.

Professor Qiao calmly said,

"Is there anyone named Gu Jin?"

Gu Jin could only bite the bullet and stand up.

When the students saw that it was Gu Jin who had faked her rank, all of them fell silent, before commenting,

"Gu Jin? Why does she even need to lie?"

"So are you saying that she is truly at the peak of Yellow Rank in alchemy?"

"Heh! As if! Please be a little mature. Even from a logical point of view, Gu Jin being able to reach the Peak of Yellow Rank without the Gu Family would be a dream come true."

"Exactly, if she was a Gu family member from the very start and had awakened mana at the age of 9, then everything was understandable but she had grown up in an orphanage!"

Qiao Hange narrowed his sharp eyes at Gu Jin, his wrinkled face unreadable.

The entire class went silent, waiting for him to speak.

"Gu Jin," he finally said, his tone slow and deliberate.

"You claim to be at the Peak of Yellow Rank in alchemy?"

Gu Jin quickly shook her head.

"Professor, I am not lying! It was just a—"

"Enough." Qiao Hange’s voice was cold.

"Lying about your cultivation rank is not only shameless but also an insult to alchemy itself. Do you think this is some kind of joke?"

Gu Jin opened her mouth to explain, but before she could speak, whispers erupted from the students around her.

"Hah! I knew it! She was just bragging!"

"Seriously, how desperate do you have to be to fake your rank?"

"She must think we’re all idiots! There’s no way someone like her could reach the Peak of Yellow Rank."

"What a fraud! I bet she doesn’t even know how to refine a basic pill."

"She’s from an orphanage, right? Maybe she thought lying would make people respect her."

"Tch. What a disgrace."

Qiao Hange tapped his cane against the floor, silencing the students.

"Since you claim innocence, then prove it. Come up here and demonstrate the alchemy skills of a Peak Yellow Rank alchemist."

Gu Jin frowned.

"Professor, I..."

"I said, prove it." His voice was firm, leaving no room for argument.

The students erupted in laughter.

"Oh, this is going to be good!"

"She won’t even know where to start!"

"I bet she’ll make a mess of the whole cauldron!"

"Maybe she’ll cry and run away!"

Gu Jin sighed. There was no way out of this.

She could either refuse and be branded a liar forever or step up and prove them all wrong.

Straightening her back, she walked up to the stage, ignoring the snickers and whispered insults.

Qiao Hange gestured toward the alchemy station, where a cauldron and various ingredients were laid out.

"Since you are at the Peak of Yellow Rank, refining an A-Grade Vitality Pill should be simple for you."

In advanced alchemy, the pills are either graded with ranks or stars.

The moment Gu Jin stepped up to the alchemy station, the students erupted in whispers again.

"An A-Grade Vitality Pill? Even real Peak Yellow Rank alchemists struggle with that!"

"Hah! She’s doomed! She probably doesn’t even know how to ignite the cauldron properly!"

"Maybe she’ll pretend to faint so she doesn’t have to embarrass herself."

Gu Jin ignored the jeering voices and calmly inspected the ingredients laid out before her.

To her, this was too simple.

After all, she wasn’t at the Peak of Yellow Rank—she was already an Intermediate Earth Rank Alchemist. ƒreewebɳovel.com

Making an A-grade Vitality Pill was nothing more than child’s play for her.

But of course, no one else knew that.

Qiao Hange scoffed as he watched her.

"What are you waiting for? Or are you already regretting your lies?"

Gu Jin didn’t respond. She simply flicked her wrist, summoning a small, controlled flame under the cauldron. The fire burned steadily, heating the cauldron evenly.

"Oh wow, she managed to light a fire. Amazing," a student sneered.

"Yeah, let’s see how long she lasts before she burns everything."

Ignoring them, Gu Jin picked up the first ingredient, a stalk of Moonlight Grass, and dropped it into the cauldron.

It melted smoothly into the liquid, turning the potion into a soft golden color.

Qiao Hange immediately frowned. "What kind of technique is that? Are you just throwing things in randomly? A real alchemist extracts the essence first!"

The students burst into laughter.

"She doesn’t even know how to refine the ingredients! What a joke!"

"Maybe she thought she could just cook them like soup!"

"What a disgrace! How did she even get into this class?"

Gu Jin didn’t even flinch at their words. She continued adding ingredients, one by one, using her own refined technique. Her hands moved swiftly, tossing in the Spirit Orchid next, followed by a drop of Crimson Dew.

Each time she made a move, Qiao Hange’s expression darkened. "Reckless! Absolutely reckless! Are you even an alchemist or just some street vendor mixing random herbs?!"

The students howled with laughter again.

"She’s done for!"

"Can you believe this? What kind of nonsense technique is that? Even I know better!"

"She must be shaking inside right now. Just wait, the cauldron will explode!"

But then, something strange happened.

The potion inside the cauldron began to glow, a faint golden shimmer spreading across the surface.

The fragrance of the herbs blended perfectly, creating a soothing aroma that spread throughout the classroom.

The laughter died down.

"Wait... why does it smell... good?"

"No way. She’s actually refining it?"

Gu Jin remained calm, as if she hadn’t noticed the change in tone. She swirled her hand slightly, directing the energy into the cauldron with expert control. A soft hum filled the air as the liquid inside condensed into three perfect pills, each gleaming with a faint golden sheen.

The class fell completely silent.

Even Qiao Hange, who had been ready to tear into her, froze.

Gu Jin picked up the pills and held them out. "Professor, are these good enough for you?"

Qiao Hange’s eyes twitched.

The students stared at the pills, stunned.

Someone gulped. "...Did she just succeed?"

For a long moment, the classroom was silent.

The golden pills in Gu Jin’s hand gleamed under the light, exuding a faint medicinal fragrance.

However, instead of being impressed, the students began whispering again, their skepticism refusing to fade.

"Tch, it’s too soon to celebrate. Just because she made something that looks like a pill doesn’t mean it’s A-grade."

"Yeah, anyone can throw some ingredients together and make something round. Doesn’t mean it’s worth anything!"

"I bet it’s barely C-Rank! Maybe not even that!"

Qiao Hange, as if coming out of a trance, furrowed his brows and stepped forward.

His sharp eyes locked onto the pills in Gu Jin’s palm. Slowly, he reached out and picked one up, rolling it between his fingers.

The class fell into a tense silence, watching as their professor examined the pill.

One student snorted. "See? He’s taking so long because he can’t even find any traces of A-grade quality!"

"Hah! She might have succeeded in making something, but that doesn’t mean it’s actually an A-Grade Vitality Pill!"

Another student laughed mockingly. "At best, it’s probably D-Grade. Maybe even F-Grade! If such a rank even exists!"

"Hey, Professor, don’t waste time. Just tell us how terrible it is already!"

Qiao Hange remained silent, his fingers still rotating the pill. His expression was unreadable, but his lips moved slightly, as if he was muttering something under his breath.

"Look at that! He’s so disappointed he doesn’t even want to speak!"

"I knew it! That orphan girl just wasted everyone’s time!"

"Hahaha, I almost thought for a second that she actually did something impressive! What a joke!"

Gu Jin simply stood there, her face calm. She didn’t even seem the least bit bothered by their taunts.

At that moment, Qiao Hange finally spoke.

"Idiots."

The room went dead silent. The students blinked, confused.

"Huh? What did he just say?"

Qiao Hange raised the pill and gave the class a sharp glare.