With that thought Wu Chen couldn't help but dive in his mind to check the system.
{STATUS}
[ CREATURE: HUMAN ]
[ POWER TYPE: SUPREME INTELLIGENCE ]
[ POWER RANK: GODLY ]
[ Power Level : Mortal 3 Master. ]
[ Skill: Saint Shift ]
"This system is unlike anything I've encountered," Wu Chen mused, studying the glowing interface in his mind's eye.
The words [POWER RANK: GODLY] pulsed with an almost arrogant brilliance.
If something bears the title of 'Godly,' it must be extraordinary. Perhaps... perhaps this could be my solution.
The path of Occupations wasn't for the faint-hearted. Wu Chen knew his limitations, he was no prodigy, no once-in-a-generation talent.
What he did possess was this enigmatic system, a wildcard that might just level the playing field.
But is it enough? The doubt gnawed at him. Failure would mean not only public humiliation but maybe Ban from the Guild, yet inaction guaranteed financial ruin.
His coin purse had grown dangerously light, and options were dwindling faster than his remaining funds.
After a long moment of contemplation, Wu Chen made his decision. Better to try and fail than to wither in uncertainty.
He called for his butler, issuing few instructions before preparing to depart.
Alchemy had been an obvious choice - the prestige, the potential earnings, the respect it commanded.
Though, mastering it typically required decades of dedicated study, but Wu Chen wasn't aiming for mastery. Just enough to survive. Just enough to earn!.
"Teacher, are you heading out?" Li Wei's voice interrupted his thoughts. The young disciple stood in the doorway, curiosity written plainly across his face.
Wu Chen adjusted his plain linen robes. "To the Alchemist Guild. I'm testing my luck."
"May I accompany you?" Li Wei asked, already stepping forward eagerly.
Wu Chen arched an eyebrow. "Wouldn't you rather continue your meditation?"
Li Wei shuffled his feet. "I... I'd like to see more of the capital. The guild is famous, isn't it?"
With a noncommittal shrug, Wu Chen gestured for the young man to follow.
The butler bowed deeply as they departed, his expression carefully neutral though his eyes betrayed his skepticism.
The morning sun cast long shadows as they walked, the bustling streets of the capital slowly coming to life around them.
Wu Chen moved with purposeful strides, his mind already racing ahead to the challenges that awaited at the guild.
Behind him, Li Wei nearly tripped twice trying to keep up while simultaneously taking in the sights.
'This gamble had better pay off,' Wu Chen thought grimly. 'Because if it doesn't...' He didn't allow himself to finish the thought.
Failure wasn't an option he could afford to consider.
The Alchemist Guild's towering spires dominated the capital's skyline, their golden filigree catching the morning light like liquid fire.
The massive jade doors stood open, exhaling an intoxicating blend of rare herbs.
The sharp bite of frostbloom, the earthy richness of spiritroot, and something faintly metallic that tingled at the back of Wu Chen's throat.
From within came the rhythmic hum of activity: the chime of glass vials, the hiss of alchemical flames, and the murmured incantations of masters at work.
Wu Chen strode forward, his plain hemp robes whispering against the polished obsidian steps.
Around him, guild members moved in flowing silks embroidered with celestial patterns, their belts hung with jade tokens marking their rank.
The contrast couldn't have been more stark - where they were like peacocks, he was a sparrow.
"Teacher," Li Wei whispered, his fingers clutching at Wu Chen's sleeve, "are you certain about this?"
The young disciple's eyes darted between the grand architecture and the haughty expressions of passing alchemists. "This place... it's for true masters."
Wu Chen's lips quirked. "Interesting place. Good money." His blunt response hung in the air like an unfinished equation.
Li Wei's jaw worked soundlessly. If the guild elders heard their sacred art reduced to mere commerce, they'd likely combust on the spot.
Most devotees spent decades mastering the delicate balance of fire and herb, considering it near-religious work.
Yet his teacher spoke as if discussing a temporary job at a teahouse.
As they crossed the threshold, a chorus of derisive snickers erupted from a cluster of apprentices lounging by a pill furnace.
"Look at this," sneered a pockmarked youth, twirling a silver identification token around his finger. "Another backwater fool thinking he can master the art in a season."
His companion, a girl with elaborate braids, tittered behind her sleeve. "Shall we wager how long before he burns his eyebrows off?"
Wu Chen moved past them as if they were furniture, his gaze fixed on the registration counter where a gaunt clerk sorted through scrolls with languid disinterest.
The man didn't look up until Wu Chen's shadow fell across his ledger.
"I'd like to register as an alchemist," Wu Chen stated, his voice cutting through the guild's ambient noise like a cleaver through mist.
The clerk, a thin-faced man whose silver-streaked hair was pulled into an excessively tight topknot, peered down his nose at Wu Chen.
His ink-stained fingers paused over the ledger as he repeated the question like a bored magistrate: "Do you possess a letter of recommendation?"
Wu Chen met his gaze evenly. "No."
The clerk's nostrils flared slightly. "Noble lineage then? Any affiliation with the great houses?" His brush hovered expectantly over the clan affiliation column.
Wu Chen tilted his head. "Is bloodline a requirement here?"
A sharp exhale through the nose. "For common applicants," the clerk said, loading the word 'common' with enough disdain to wilt herbs, "we require passing an entrance examination. Herb identification and basic flame control."
He snapped the ledger shut with finality. "Unless you'd prefer to spare yourself the embarrassment?"
From the perfumed shadows near an elaborate pill furnace, a clear voice rang out: "He'd need to recognize flame essence first to be embarrassed."
All eyes turned to the speaker - a young woman in layered violet silks, her hair pinned with silver needles shaped like blooming nightshade.
Xu Qing, the guild's rising star who'd achieved full alchemist status at nineteen, stood examining her jade-polished nails with theatrical disinterest.
Wu Chen didn't even glance her way. "I'll take the test."
Xu Qing's fingers stilled. In the three years since her groundbreaking work on moonlight refinement, no newcomer had dared ignore her presence.
This peasant in his scratchy hemp robes hadn't so much as acknowledged her!
The surrounding apprentices held their breath. The great Xu Qing, daughter of the Head of one of the Kingdom great Clans, being treated like... like a piece of furniture?
A dangerous glint entered Xu Qing's eyes as she reassessed the impertinent stranger.
Either this man possessed shocking confidence... or he was the most spectacular fool to ever walk through their guild doors.
The way he stood there shoulders relaxed, breathing even.
Suggested either supreme mastery or complete ignorance.
And Xu Qing desperately wanted to discover which it was.