The first phase of the Elite Tournament was an examination in alchemy.
This alchemy exam was quite different from every other alchemy test Jiang Chen had encountered before.
Over the years, Jiang Chen had participated in numerous alchemy assessments and competitions. However, those previous exams had placed greater emphasis on theoretical knowledge.
This time, the content was entirely focused on practical application.
Simply put, every question was designed to test real-world utility.
For example: if you sustained a certain type of injury, what Spiritual Medicine should you use for treatment, or what pill should you take to recover?
For example: if you were poisoned with a certain toxin, how should you respond? What method would you use to expel the poison? Or perhaps, what technique would you employ to avoid it altogether?
The exam consisted of ten questions in total.
"Completing eight or more correctly will be deemed excellent. Seven is considered average. Six is a pass. Five or fewer results in immediate elimination from the sixty-four-person roster."
Though this first alchemy phase had no specific scoring system, it still carried clear benchmarks for evaluation.
If someone couldn't even answer five questions correctly, no matter how well they performed in the second phase, they would have no chance of making it into the sixty-four-person list for the third phase.
Completing eight or more, on the other hand, marked outstanding performance and would be given priority consideration.
One had to admit, the design of these questions was far more reasonable than many exams that tested nothing but theory. At least the direction was practical.
For cultivators walking the martial world, practicality came first. No matter how dazzling one's alchemy techniques, no matter how vast one's theoretical knowledge, if it lacked practical value, it was nothing more than armchair strategy.
And so, Jiang Chen found himself genuinely impressed with whoever had designed these questions.
Regardless, there was no grandstanding here, no lofty philosophical musings—just a pure, practical exploration of alchemical skill and proficiency.
What could be applied in practice represented true mastery.
Jiang Chen settled in and began working through the exam with full concentration.
For him, questions at this level were not particularly challenging.
However, Jiang Chen did not allow his exceptional alchemy abilities to make him careless or complacent. On the contrary, he approached every single question with utmost caution and seriousness.
This time, Jiang Chen had learned his lesson. He knew that if he appeared too extraordinary, it would inevitably draw unwanted attention from all quarters.
So even for things he clearly understood, he did not rush to answer. Instead, he pondered at length, sorting through every angle of his reasoning before putting pen to paper.
The result was that each of his answers appeared carefully considered, leaving little room for criticism.
Even so, Jiang Chen deliberately did not complete all ten questions. He knew that anyone who achieved eight or more correct answers would be virtually unheard of.
If he stood out too far above the rest, he would inevitably become a target.
And so Jiang Chen chose not to chase perfection. He intentionally made errors on two of the questions, keeping his accuracy at exactly eight.
The remaining two he answered vaguely, letting them pass in a haze of half-measures.
With this approach, Jiang Chen's submission was thorough enough to be complete, yet not so flawless as to draw the eye.
After turning in his answers, Jiang Chen left the examination area in thoughtful silence and was immediately escorted to another enclosed zone.
Clearly, those who had finished the exam were absolutely forbidden from returning to the previous venue. Otherwise there would be a risk of leaking the questions, or accusations of cheating.
Thus, Jiang Chen found himself in yet another unfamiliar place.
According to the rules, upon arriving at this second zone, he would wait here and proceed to the martial arts phase of the second round.
The martial arts exam bore a striking resemblance to the earlier qualifying rounds—it was another gauntlet-style challenge. The content was largely similar as well, though the difficulty had been ratcheted up another level.
It was obvious that the organizers had not bothered to invent anything novel for this phase. They simply kept raising the bar on difficulty.
Jiang Chen continued at his own unhurried pace, calm and composed as ever.
And so, in the martial arts phase of the second round, Jiang Chen once again passed every test—this time with a narrow margin that kept things exciting without ever truly putting him in danger.
Moreover, his score landed precisely on the line for "excellent."
In this way, Jiang Chen earned outstanding marks in both alchemy and martial arts.
Excelling in both fields filled Jiang Chen with a quiet confidence.
"Outstanding in both alchemy and martial arts—if that isn't enough to make the sixty-four-person list, then there's no point in competing at all."
Sure enough, just as Jiang Chen had predicted, his registration number appeared prominently on the final sixty-four-person roster. He had earned the right to compete in the third phase—the elimination rounds.
This third phase was the true centerpiece of the entire tournament.
The sixty-four contestants would be whittled down to the final eight. That meant winning three consecutive elimination matches to advance.