Although the disciples present are all outstanding figures from various sects, they still felt a deep sense of admiration in their hearts when facing the young man in the blue shirt. After all, Lu Feng, their senior brother in the blue shirt, is not only incredibly powerful in cultivation, but also remarkably skilled in alchemy and array formation, which naturally surpasses the average cultivator.

This young man in the blue shirt is not just the top disciple in his sect; he is undoubtedly the number one disciple across the entire thirty-six caverns. No one is a match for Senior Brother Lu Feng. Everyone believes that his excellence in the thirty-six caverns would make him a top-tier existence in the outside world, whether on the entire Donglai Continent or in the Cultivation World.

At this moment, although everyone looked at the composed young man in the blue shirt with admiration, they were all very quiet and tense. The disciples knew that although they could not compare to Senior Brother Lu Feng, they still hoped to achieve good results in the first round of the Great Alchemy Competition.

The elder in the center continued to review the examination papers, and seeing the paper from Lu Feng's disciple brought a slight comfort to his heart, no longer as dejected. The elder understood that he had no reason to feel so despondent. After all, for cultivators in the Cultivation World, possessing alchemic talent is not an easy feat; only a very few have that talent.

Thus, even the most excellent disciples of these thirty-six caverns might not possess much alchemic talent, and even fewer could become alchemists. But at this moment, the performance of Lu Feng's disciple already made the elder feel very gratified, as the other not only had significant alchemic talent but was also a qualified Fourth Grade Alchemist.

Being able to achieve such accomplishments at a young age is incredible.

The elder continued to review the papers, and after going through the paper of Lu Feng's disciple, his face no longer showed that joyful smile. The most he felt was a slight consolation when he saw some papers listing seven or eight kinds of spiritual materials.

After all, these disciples are all very young, and being able to correctly list nearly ten kinds of spiritual materials just by the scent released during refining is already a commendable achievement. The elder naturally could not compare everyone to the talented disciple of Lu Feng.

After all, geniuses like that are only a minority.

At this moment, seeing the elder's steady expression, all the disciples felt even more nervous. The selection competition was a point-based game, and many disciples did not place all their bets on the first item, the Great Alchemy Competition, since there were two more competitions ahead. Even if they did not have alchemic talent, it did not mean they would not achieve good results. Performing well in the following two competitions could compensate for any shortcomings in the first.

However, on the other hand, who wouldn't want to score higher in the first Great Alchemy Competition? Only this way could their total score be higher and their overall result better. Many cultivators remembered the recent Great Alchemy Competition at Dancheng.

All the disciples deeply admired this year's champion of the Great Alchemy Competition. It's important to know that the champion did not win just by a small margin but by a landslide, obtaining first place in all three events, which is simply unbelievable.

The disciples also understood that such individuals are one in a million, and achieving that level was impossible for them. Naturally, they did not dare to wish for it. They only hoped to achieve good results in the first round of the Great Alchemy Competition.

"What! How is this possible?"

Suddenly, as the disciples waited for the elder to review the papers, the elder exclaimed in shock. The disciples couldn't help but look at the elder, confused about what exactly he had seen.

At this time, the elder stared dumbfounded at the paper in front of him, which accurately listed twenty-five kinds of spiritual materials, along with their amounts. This was simply unbelievable. Even the elder did not remember the specific amounts he used when placing the materials.

Recollecting now, the elder couldn't remember the quantities he used, yet this disciple had accurately listed everything. The elder carefully examined and confirmed that all twenty-five kinds of spiritual materials listed were correct, and even the quantities the disciple had written were mostly accurate!

Although the elder couldn't remember the exact quantities used, he did recall the approximate amounts. As long as it matched what he could recall, it was correct. At that moment, the elder's heart was like tumultuous waves; this was simply too incredible!

It must be understood that this was virtually impossible, not just for these young disciples, but even for himself as a Grade Eight Alchemist—he couldn't achieve this. It was simply too astonishing!

When the elder eagerly looked at the name on the paper, he was even more shocked. It bore the large characters—Ding Fan.

The elder couldn't help but look at the Lake Master's elder brother, Ding Fan, with extreme shock in his eyes. His heart couldn't calm down. He had previously paid little attention to that so-called Lake Master's elder brother. While other disciples were desperately observing the changes and scents of the alchemy cauldron, this person had already closed his eyes to rest.

It could be said that while the elder had allotted a stick of incense's time for everyone, this person hadn't used it. By the time the elder had finished placing the spiritual materials, this person probably already finished writing. The elder was deeply shocked, finding it hard to believe; although he didn't know much about Ding Fan, the so-called Lake Master's elder brother.

The elder knew that the Lake Master possessed extraordinary skills and had an exceptional eye, but initially, he really didn't consider what abilities the Lake Master's elder brother had that could make the Lake Master become sworn brothers with him and acknowledge him as the elder brother, even if the elder had previously broken the Wild Wolf Gang's formation.

But the other party is merely a Formation Master who knows a little about cracking arrays. Judging by their age, they absolutely couldn't be a High Level Formation Master. Although they can crack the Nine Stars array, the Elder always thought the other party merely knew some methods to break advanced arrays.

Not only the Elder, but many sect leaders among the Thirty-Six Caverns only showed some respect to Ding Fan for the Lake Master's sake; they weren't really convinced by Ding Fan. This Elder was naturally among them.

But at this moment, the Elder's heart was somewhat chaotic. Is the other party really just a waste who knows a little about cracking arrays? He had correctly written out twenty-five kinds of Spiritual Materials, even marked the quantity of one extinct material that even he had some trouble remembering. Obviously, such a skill might only be done by a top-tier Alchemist.

Now the Elder was full of doubts, utterly shocked. Though he couldn't believe what he saw, the facts were laid out before him, forcing him to believe it. His gaze couldn't help but shift towards Long Ren's side and discovered that the Lake Master was actually exchanging smiles with Ding Fan.

The Elder was shocked. He could see clearly that the Lake Master truly trusted this brother. The Elder wasn't a foolish man; though he didn't know much about this so-called brother, the Lake Master undoubtedly did. The only possibility with such trust was that this brother was anything but ordinary.

The Elder bowed his head thoughtfully, looked at Ding Fan's answer sheet, and directly wrote a perfect score, marking it with a number one. He no longer questioned this brother's answer sheet. He understood the brother was no simple figure, and it made sense for the Lake Master to recognize him as a brother.

The disciples couldn't help but be stunned by the Elder's actions. They had never seen the Elder have such a shocked reaction before. Just what kind of examination paper could cause such astonishment for the Elder?

Moreover, what puzzled the disciples even more was that the Elder had just looked toward the so-called brother of the Lake Master. This made the disciples even more confused. Quite a few had noticed Ding Fan's previous performance. This guy closed his eyes after lighting the incense stick, and at the handover moment, he turned in a blank sheet with nothing written on it; yet the Elder had that kind of expression looking at him!

At this time, some cultivator disciples around Ding Fan couldn't help but look at him with confusion, whispering among themselves occasionally.

"This guy's answer sheet is probably just scribbling, making it impossible for the Elder to grade it!"

"Haha... Maybe so! I really admire someone like him, handing in a blank sheet even though nothing is written, such 'persistent' spirit. No wonder he became the Lake Master's brother; it does seem odd!"

"Haha! But don't bring the Lake Master into it, the Lake Master is a singular ruler, how can he be compared with this guy? It's perhaps the Lake Master's momentary foolishness, letting this petty one succeed!"

"I agree, what he's really after is the power of our Thirty-Six Caverns, just looking for a shield..."

"Truly shameless..."

"..."

For a time, a few cultivators near Ding Fan whispered disdainfully, full of contempt.

Ding Fan continued to cultivate with closed eyes, deaf to everything around him. But suddenly the Elder grading the papers cast a sharp glance towards the crowd, silencing those few disciples who instantly shut their mouths. They knew that, regardless of anything, he was the Lake Master's brother. Though he might be nothing, with the Lake Master's protection, he wasn't someone they could easily offend.

Watching those cultivators quiet down, the Elder couldn't help but sigh inwardly, no longer surprised, recognizing pride as a common fault among some talented disciples.

Soon the Elder had finished grading all the disciples' papers, placing those within the top twenty close together from lowest to highest.

The disciples observed the Elder's actions, knowing he was about to announce the results, feeling very nervous. The area turned extremely silent, with some cultivator disciples even suppressing their breaths in tension, as this selection competition was crucial for whoever had the opportunity to enter the Xuantian Secret Realm.

This was a matter of lifelong significance for these cultivators.

And even those who knew their scores might not qualify for the Xuantian Secret Realm, they still hoped to perform well in this selection competition. After all, the Lake Master had stated that outstanding disciples could earn rich rewards, and those who ranked in the top twenty would receive varying levels of reward.

The rewards from the Lake Master of Thirty-Six Caverns were not ordinary.