Chapter 407: The Last One
Chapter 407: Chapter 407: The Last One
"Nine-tailed, you understand what Ming Che means, don’t you? Are you willing?" Ning Xuan asked, scrutinizing him.
Nine-tailed shuddered at her words, his fingertips curling almost imperceptibly. He remained prostrated, his voice trembling as he replied, "I am willing, Master."
Ning Xuan chuckled softly, reaching out to lift his chin and force him to look up.
His amber-colored fox eyes were docilely downcast, his long lashes trembling slightly, not daring to meet her gaze.
His skin had a lustrous sheen, and his eyes seemed to sparkle, giving him a pure and refreshing aura.
"Since Ming Che spoke up for you..." Ning Xuan’s thumb gently caressed his jaw, her tone languid, "Then I’ll allow it."
The expression on Nine-tailed’s face flickered for a moment, then a brilliant smile blossomed. "Thank you, Master. Thank you, Lord Husband."
Nine-tailed looked at the two of them, his eyes filled with devotion.
"You may go for now. I’ll pick an auspicious day for everyone to celebrate with you," Yu Mingche said with a beaming smile.
"Yes." Nine-tailed bowed to them both and retreated.
Ning Xuan looked at Yu Mingche and playfully pinched his cheek. "You, are you feeling better now? It’s one thing since you brought up Nine-tailed—he was never really an outsider. If it were anyone else, I might have started to question your intentions."
"I wouldn’t dare suggest anyone else. In my Contractor’s eyes, am I the type of person with no sense of propriety? I just feel that Nine-tailed will be part of our family sooner or later, so I thought we might as well take this opportunity to do it for him too," Yu Mingche explained.
"Mm, if there are no surprises, Nine-tailed will be the last one. I won’t accept any more Contractors," Ning Xuan said.
"Xuanyuan, given your age and potential, I’m afraid that’s not very likely. The matching center won’t agree." Of course, Yu Mingche didn’t want Ning Xuan to have any more Contractors either. However, according to the Interstellar Federation’s matching rules, she would have to undergo at least one more matching, typically ten years after her awakening.
"But aren’t you allowed to refuse the Contractor from the second matching?" Ning Xuan asked. She had looked into this rule before.
"Theoretically, yes. But what if they’re exceptionally talented?" Yu Mingche had already heard that many of the great families were eyeing Ning Xuan’s second matching like tigers watching their prey.
"Let’s not talk about that. It’s still a long way off. What’s right in front of us is our Contract ceremony. If you’re not inviting anyone from your family, who do you plan to invite?" Ning Xuan asked.
"I’m inviting Dean Zhao from the Tianjiao Training Base. I’ve already spoken with him," Yu Mingche replied.
If it hadn’t been for Dean Zhao back then, Yu Mingche feared he would have given up long ago. In his heart, Dean Zhao was like a father to him.
"Alright. Since you’ve already made your plans, I won’t ask any more questions. Since he’s someone you respect like an elder, I’ll go with you to pay him a visit before the Contract ceremony," Ning Xuan said to Yu Mingche.
Yu Mingche nodded with a smile. The fact that Ning Xuan was willing to visit Dean Zhao beforehand to get to know him was a show of respect for Yu Mingche, so of course he was happy.
Ning Xuan spent the next two days with Yu Mingche. Seeing that he was back to his usual self, she was finally able to relax.
For the next while, Ning Xuan focused on her Cultivation, setting aside time to concoct potions. She had already passed the examination for Alchemy Master, and the next Level was Alchemy Grandmaster. In truth, given her skill and speed in Alchemy, she was essentially at the level of an Alchemy Grandmaster. Unfortunately, participating in the Alchemy Grandmaster examination required a verification of one’s qualifications.
These qualifications mainly involved the number of years spent practicing Alchemy—with a strict requirement of at least 15 years—and work experience, which required a minimum of ten years participating in medical rescue missions with a task completion rate of over 80%.
Ning Xuan wanted to complete the Alchemy Grandmaster examination and obtain the title of Alchemy Grandmaster before the Contract ceremony. With this qualification, her status would rise to an even higher level.
"Looking at the examination criteria again?" Yu Mingche asked, walking up beside Ning Xuan.
Ning Xuan suddenly turned, her robes swishing in a clean arc. "Tell me, with my medical records from the K317 Star System, do you think I could submit an application for special approval?"
Yu Mingche’s pupils contracted slightly. He knew that look all too well. Whenever Ning Xuan had that mischievous yet serious expression, it meant she was about to break the rules—and had already scouted the path ahead.
"Medical records from the K-317 multilateral warzone..." Yu Mingche mused, stroking his chin when Ning Xuan mentioned the star system. "The people you saved during those three months in the K-317 Star Domain..."
"I treated four hundred sixty-two seriously wounded individuals, including one hundred and three critical cases." Ning Xuan pulled up a series of encrypted files. A holographic image of a smoke-filled field hospital materialized. "All cases have complete records. They are absolutely authoritative and reliable."
That was a workload most people couldn’t handle in three years, let alone three months.
"I’ve looked into it. As long as you’ve made a special contribution to the Federation, or if your workload of treating acute and critical cases meets the standard, you can apply for a special assessment." Since Ning Xuan wanted to take the exam, she had naturally done her research.
"Yes, but the review process is usually quite slow. If you want to speed things up, I can ask around. However, the Alchemy Grandmaster examination is extremely difficult. Are you truly confident?" Yu Mingche asked.
"There’s only one way to find out. Go and ask around. The sooner, the better," Ning Xuan said.
Just one week before the Contract ceremony, Ning Xuan’s application for special approval to take the examination was accepted. She took the exam along with a dozen other well-known, veteran Alchemy Masters.
Among them, besides Ning Xuan, was a female Alchemy Master over 100 years old named Fu Rong. This was already her third time taking the Alchemy Grandmaster examination.
Fu Rong was very surprised to see Ning Xuan and couldn’t help but ask her a few questions.
When she learned that Ning Xuan was just 20 years old, the envy in Fu Rong’s eyes was almost tangible. "To pass the qualification verification for the Alchemy Grandmaster examination at your age... that shows you have incredible ability. Your future is limitless."
Ning Xuan smiled and said it was a fluke, exchanging a few pleasantries. But this drew the dissatisfaction of someone nearby. A man next to them snorted, "Just a greenhorn girl. What real skill could she have? It’s just because she has a powerful background. But no matter how powerful her background is, when the real test of skill begins, she’ll have to show her true colors."
Ning Xuan and Fu Rong turned to look and saw a male Alchemy Master with a beard. Anyone who could become an Alchemy Master was considered part of the same circle, and Fu Rong recognized the speaker. His name was Lan Shuiyu. He had been an Alchemy Master for even longer than Fu Rong, and this was already his sixth time taking the Alchemy Grandmaster examination.
"Master Lan, don’t spread baseless rumors."