The old woman — whose name, Xiao Yan learned, was Elder Yao Ling, and who held the rank of Third Tier Alchemist in the guild — watched him extract the Silver Leaf Grass essence with an expression that flickered between interest and alarm.

Alarm, because Xiao Yan's Flame Control technique was not a First Tier technique. It was a Yao Lao original, refined over centuries by the greatest alchemist in history, and it showed. The flame beneath his cauldron danced with a precision that should have been impossible for a practitioner at his level, each flicker timed to the exact heartbeat, each temperature shift calibrated to the microsecond.

Interest, because Elder Yao Ling had been an alchemist for fifty years, and she had never seen a First Tier applicant who moved like a Fifth Tier master.

'Your technique,' she said slowly. 'Where did you learn it?'

'My master taught me,' Xiao Yan said, which was technically true and completely unhelpful.

'Your master must be quite accomplished.'

'He was... very experienced. Yes.'

The Silver Leaf Grass essence separated from the dregs with textbook precision, the pure extract pooling into a small jade bottle while the impurities scattered to the edges of the cauldron. Xiao Yan sealed the bottle and placed it on the examination table.

Elder Yao Ling inspected the essence with a magnifying lens, checked its color against a reference chart, and finally nodded — slowly, as if the nod was being extracted against her will.

'Pass. For the third task, you may brew any First Tier pill of your choice.'

Xiao Yan chose a Qi Replenishment Pill — the same pill he'd been brewing for months, the one he'd practiced fifty-one times before getting right. It was not impressive. It was not ambitious. But by the time the cauldron settled and the pill emerged — perfectly round, evenly colored, with a faint medicinal fragrance that filled the room — Elder Yao Ling was no longer looking at him with suspicion.

She was looking at him with respect.

'Xiao Yan,' she said, 'the guild certifies you as a First Tier Alchemist. And I would like to know your master's name.'

'He asked me not to share it.'

Elder Yao Ling studied him for a long moment, then nodded. 'Good. An alchemist who protects his master's secrets is more valuable than one who has no secrets to protect.'