Hidden genius: Black belly snake

"Here you go." Marvin stood up and confidently handed over his parchments.

He was one of the last few disciples to turn the parchments in.

Now there were only a dozen or so disciples left, including Tang Yue.

Marvin smiled wryly and shrugged his shoulders as if he couldn't understand how the others hadn't completed answering the questions yet.

"Disciples these days…" He shook his head in disappointment and murmured.

The Master alchemist who collected his exam parchments also chuckled wryly. He was already used to this.

Every lunar cycle, without fail, they did come across these special disciples who loved to hold onto their parchments until the very last moment, even if they don't know the answers.

But the exam rules were set in stone, so no one dared to hassle the slowpokes.

As soon as the Master alchemist received Marvin's answer sheets, he used high-grade rune magic to instantaneously transfer the information scribbled on the parchments to a jade slip on his palm.

He then flicked the jade slip to transfer that information to his mind where he impartially graded Marvin's answers.

The entire process took only about a second and everything was smoothly completed.

It was customary to wait until the last disciple finishes the exam to announce the results, so the examiner stayed silent. But his eyes were visibly stunned after grading Marvin.

He couldn't help but look at the young elf in front of him under a new light.

Marvin had received a perfect score in the disciple exam and would most probably bag the first place as well!

How could a dragon give birth to a snail? Like father like son!

It was inevitable that Marvin would also soar through the ranks of alchemists to reach the grandmaster rank very soon just like his father.

The master alchemist nodded in approval and sighed at his own limitations. The difference between him and someone like Marvin was already set in stone.

A few more minutes passed and eventually, the gongs sounded to mark the end of the examinations.

The remaining disciples including Tang Yue walked over to the master alchemist one by one for their grading turn.

Since everyone was eagerly waiting for the results, the atmosphere was pretty lively. The crowd was chaotic and onlookers were loudly gossiping.

In the midst of this festive atmosphere, almost everyone failed to notice the weird look on the examiner's face.

His hand clutching Tang Yue's parchments slightly trembled.

This time not one, but two disciples had actually managed to get a perfect score!!!

The master alchemist couldn't believe his eyes. Since when did our exams become this easy?? He wiped the sweat off his forehead and stared dumbfoundedly.

"Master, is something wrong?" Tang Yue nervously asked.

The middle-aged elf immediately removed the unsightly expression from his face and cleared his throat. "No. No. Please wait there for the results."

Tang Yue slightly frowned and walked over to the waiting area, where the rest of the disciples had gathered.

She was worried if Dranuk did something fishy to mess with her. So she kept turning around and looking at the examiner repeatedly.

"Ha Ha. Stop being so nervous princess." Marvin chuckled and weaved through the crowd to stand next to the beautiful snake.

"This is just the first tier exam. Almost everyone passes!! Nothing to worry!!" He gave her a thumbs up and rubbed his chin like a sage.

"Thanks for the words of encouragement, young master Marvin." Tang Yue politely replied. She was indeed anxious.

Once all the disciples were graded, the examiner swiftly silenced the crowd and started announcing the much-awaited results.

Only the names of the disciples who had passed were announced, and several squeals of joy echoed with every name that was called out.

Despite the test being somewhat beginner-friendly, several disciples ended up failing.

They could only blame themselves for not preparing enough and left the courtyard in exasperation to work hard for the next exam cycle.

As the master alchemist kept mumbling one name after another, it looked like almost everyone was called out and Tang Yue started getting worried.

Even Marvin cast a disdainful glance at her.

He knew why his name was not called out yet. They always announced the disciple who topped the exam at the end.

But he noticed that Tang Yue's name was also skipped. That could only mean that the snake fared poorly in the tests.

"Ha Ha. Turns out the princess was all beauty and no brains." He sneered inside.

Master Dranuk as well had a similar expression on his face. He was roaring with laughter inside, very pleased with the snake's misfortune.

He almost couldn't wait to get a hold of Tang Yue later and give her a piece of his mind.