Strongest Scammer: Scamming The World, One Death At A Time

Elder Zhou blinked as the script unfolded.

At first, his brows furrowed. Then lifted.

Then rose again.

"…Wait a second."

Elder Xuan paused mid-scroll and tilted her head. "Hmm?"

"Check this answer to Question Five. Look at the rebalancing on the three-herb clashing matrix. Who the hell uses Rainroot as a bridge between Night Vine and Ghost Pepper?"

Elder Xuan skimmed the lines and sat forward slightly. "That's not in any of the standard books."

Zhou narrowed his eyes. "But it works. He neutralized the overheating property by leveraging Rainroot's latent dampness instead of relying on external cold-type ingredients. Smart."

They both kept reading.

Every few lines, Zhou made a quiet sound of surprise.

By the time they reached the final section, Elder Xuan muttered, "Who the hell is this kid?"

Zhou tapped the floating scroll.

"Not only did he pass every section, he showed high-level theory work in Simulated Compositions. Some of these answers look like they're from an advanced Alchemy Peak Disciple—not an Outer Court brat."

He flicked to the identity line.

"…Outer Disciple. Han Yu. Recent Outer Hall registrant. No alchemy credits on record."

The room went silent.

Elder Xuan slowly took off her glasses.

Then she looked at Zhou.

And said—

"…What the fuck?"

Back in the Testing Hall, the orb in the center flickered again.

Everyone fell silent.

A new message scrolled into the air.

"Top scores under final review. Full results will be delivered in person within the next hour. Selected disciples will be escorted to the next stage."

Han Yu simply nodded and leaned back in his chair.

He could feel it.

Something was shifting.

Not just his status.

But the very path ahead. Love this story? Show support at MV2LEMPYR.

Li Mei had once told him that if he passed loudly enough, someone would take notice.

'Let them,' he thought.

'I came to the sect to survive. Now… I might just thrive.'

Han Yu sat there in silence as one name after another was called.

Each disciple would rise from their seat, straighten their robe, and head toward the side corridor, guided by a formation light that shimmered to life with every call. The excitement, fear, and tension were thick in the air, but for Han Yu, the silence was stranger.

Minutes passed.

Then more.

One by one, the room emptied.

And still… no one called his name.

Eventually, Han Yu was the only one left.

He looked around, the large Testing Hall eerily quiet now. He glanced up at the orb in the center, half expecting it to flicker and say something—anything. But it remained still, dimmed now after performing its duty.

Five minutes passed.

Then ten.

Han Yu blinked slowly and sighed, drumming his fingers lightly on the desk.

"Did they forget me? Seriously? Did the elders just… go on a lunch break?"

He leaned back in his chair, not anxious but vaguely irritated. After everything, getting ghosted by some elderly alchemists was just rude.

Finally—just as he was about to get up and walk toward the door—a deep, slightly amused voice echoed through the room.

"Han Yu. Proceed to the inner chamber."

He stood and stretched his limbs, then made his way toward the door at the far end of the hall. It opened without him touching it, a smooth, silent swing revealing a room that glowed with faint golden alchemical light. Arrays on the walls hummed with subtle warmth.

Inside sat Elder Zhou and Elder Xuan, the two junior alchemy peak elders. They were seated behind a low wooden table, scrolls neatly piled beside them, a small tea set steaming gently between them.

They didn't look amused.

Nor stern.

Just… neutral. Calm.

'Too calm.'

It was that unusual calmness that made Han Yu feel the first faint prick of nerves.

He schooled his face into a polite expression and bowed properly.

"Disciple Han Yu greets Elders."

Zhou nodded once. "Sit."

Han Yu obeyed, seating himself across from them.

A few seconds of silence passed before Elder Xuan leaned forward, adjusting her spectacles and smiling ever so slightly.

"Let's begin the oral defense. We'll go over a few sections of your test—just to ensure your understanding wasn't by accident or… cheating."

Han Yu gave a small smile. "Understood."

Elder Zhou unfurled a scroll midair with a flick of his finger. "We'll start simple. On the section discussing volatile ingredient interactions, you recommended neutralizing Ghost Pepper's heat spike using Rainroot. Explain that."

Han Yu nodded. "Rainroot has a slow-release water affinity that binds with unstable heat-type energies. While it doesn't traditionally appear in combinations with Ghost Pepper due to its slow onset, using it in finely powdered form, added midway during the cauldron's third temperature cycle, allows it to diffuse and dampen without extinguishing the alchemical reaction."

Zhou gave no visible reaction.

Xuan, however, scratched something on her scroll.

Zhou continued, "In the section on dual-polar herb blending, you used a rather… controversial approach. The Mirror Reed with Frozen Lotus sap—without a stabilizer. Why?"

Han Yu didn't even blink. "Because the instability is artificial. Mirror Reed only becomes volatile in flame arrays of standard energy rhythm. By using a variable rhythm array—one that pulses energy every seven seconds instead of every three—it stays inert long enough to complete extraction. Frozen Lotus Sap reacts slowly enough not to trigger its volatility in that window."

Zhou tapped the scroll again. "And the part about simulating a triple-process refinement with two-stage cauldron cycling?"

Han Yu hesitated for a split-second.

"…That was mostly theoretical," he admitted. "I've never tested it as my flame control isn't good, but in theory, by using staggered Spirit Qi injection points and rotating flame pressure from two flame talismans simultaneously, one could mimic the temperature profile needed for three-stage pill refinement. But only if the ingredients aren't overly reactive."

A pause.

Then Elder Xuan set down her brush.

She clapped.

A clean, crisp sound.

Elder Zhou, for his part, leaned back with a small smile and said, "Good. Good."

Han Yu blinked.

"…So… do I pass?" He asked the question that had been bothering him the most.