Dual Cultivation (WN)
Chapter 574: The Third Tes

Once the ten minutes had passed, Su Yang handed out another piece of paper to everyone in the room and said, "It'll be just like the first test. The scroll will automatically record your thoughts, and it does not allow you to guess an answer, so if you do not have a confident answer, the scroll will not treat it as though you don't have an answer."

Despite his words, nobody in the room willingly left the room. Even if they were not confident about their answers, they still had to try.

Sometime later, when everyone in the room has their result, Su Yang spoke, "If your scroll is blank, you have failed the test, and you may leave."

Immediately after he said those words, almost all of the people in the room stood up and left the place.

A few minutes later, less than 100 participants remained in the room.

"Now, if your scroll has a number that's lower than three, you may also leave this room."

Those who had either number one or two on their scrolls immediately sighed, before leaving the room.

"If you have the number three on your scroll, it means that you have barely passed the test by getting three out of the five available answers correct. If you have number four, it means you have a powerful nose. If you figured out all five ingredients in your mixture, then you have a special nose that's suited for Alchemy, as only 1 in 10,000,000 people are born with a nose that can smell all five aromas from the mixture." Su Yang said to the remaining 20 people in the room.

"W-Wait a moment, Senior. Are you saying that only certain people with a special nose are able to smell all five aromas no matter what? Then what was the point of giving everyone a unique aroma?" Senior Zeng asked him, as he only managed to guess 3 out of 5 aromas, barely passing the second test despite ranking highly in the first one.

Su Yang smiled and said, "Everybody actually had the same mixture in their glass bottle. However, the mixture itself is very unique, and it will smell different depending on the person, hence why I said every glass bottle has a unique scent. As for the ingredients, they are all of the possible scents from the mixture."

"The mixture I gave you is called the 'Ever-changing Perfume', and depending on how sharp your sense of smell is, you can only smell whatever it allows you to."

"And if you cannot discern three or more aromas from the Ever-changing Perfume, it simply means that you do not have the nose to learn the techniques that I will be teaching my disciples."

Su Yang then spoke, "Show me your results. If your result is three, I will give you 10 points. If your result is four, I will give you 25 points, and if you have a perfect result, I will give you 50 points."

Sometime later, Su Yang began naming out every individual with the same result.

"Hong Yu'er, Su Xun, Senior Feng… 10 points."

"What? Hong Yu'er also barely managed to pass?"

The people there looked at her with surprised looks.

'Hmph. This body was not born with any talent for Alchemy, hence why I could only smell three out of five aromas. This is something even I cannot change. As for the first test, if not for my mental strength assisting this body, it would've been impossible for Hong Yu'er to have memorized all 100,000 ingredients…' Tang Lingxi thought to herself.

"Bai Lihua, Luo Yixiao, Wang Shuren… 25 points."

After naming everybody in the room except one person, Su Yang turned to look at the young lady who sealed her glass bottle four minutes into the test.

"You are the only one who has managed to discern all 5 aromas from the mixture. What's your name?" Su Yang asked her.

The young lady stood up and gave him an elegant bow before speaking, "This Junior is called Cai Yan, the youngest daughter of the Cai Family."

He nodded and continued, "If you can pass the final test and become my disciple, I have a technique that'll further strengthen your sense of smell. If mastered, you can smell certain things even from miles away."

"This Junior will do her best in order to not disappoint the Senior." Cai Yan bowed to him again before returning to her seat.

A few moments later, Su Yang looked at the remaining participants and said to them, "This will be the last test, but before I allow you partake in it, I must warn you that by participating in this test, you might suffer damages to your mind, so I will give all of you a few minutes to rethink this through."

"We might suffer mental damage? What kind of test is this?" Senior Zeng asked him.

"It would spoil the fun if I told you about it in advance." Su Yang shook his head, and he continued, "I can tell you, but you will have to forfeit the test."

The participants there exchanged looks with each other, their expressions filled with anxiousness and skepticism.

However, despite being told that they could damage their mind, nobody gave up, as they have progressed too far to give up now. Furthermore, even if it was risky, they believed that it was entirely worth it if they can be the disciple of a great figure like him.

"Nobody is giving up? Good." Su Yang smiled behind the mask.

And he continued, "Wang Shuren, Hong Yu'er, there's no need for the two of you to participate in this test."

Wang Shuren sighed with relief inwardly after hearing his words, as she did not want to experience that solitude again, or she might really go crazy.

As for Tang Lingxi, there was no point in making her partake in this test, as she was not really trying to become his disciple, and as a fellow Immortal, she was guaranteed to pass the test, anyway.

"As for the rest of you, I want you to sit beside each other in the lotus position and close your eyes." Su Yang said to them.