C8 The Top Student, Brother Luo

"Cough cough, Master Liang, when you look at me like that, I get a bit embarrassed. As I clearly explained earlier, we're dealing with a very basic issue. The medicinal properties of Water Moon Grass and Cinnabar Flower clash, and adding a catalyst only intensifies the reaction. That's why I was certain the test tube would explode."

Luo Ke cleared his throat and, noting Master Liang's eager expression, felt compelled to repeat his earlier explanation.

"But that doesn't make sense. I wouldn't overlook such a simple matter of conflicting properties. I've already neutralized them with other medicinal liquids. Why would there still be an explosion?" Master Liang said, his face etched with frustration.

He had invested considerable time in preparing the One-star Super Elixir.

As a four-star pharmacist, he was well aware of the explosive dangers of incompatible medicinal properties. He had taken great care in the initial stages, and everything seemed perfect until it all fell apart at the last second.

"Um, Master Liang, could you have missed something?" Luo Ke interjected timidly as Master Liang pondered.

"Missed something?" Master Liang echoed, taken aback.

"Take the One-star Body Strengthening Elixir you're concocting. It's designed to temper a martial artist's body, enhancing their physical attributes. Therefore, the base ingredients are highly potent. I didn't notice anything else, but it seems the catalyst you added negatively interacted with the properties."

"Actually, this is all covered in the basic pharmacology textbooks—page 3864, second to last line," Luo Ke murmured helpfully.

"Page 3864, second to last line?" Master Liang repeated, bewildered.

Basic pharmacology felt like a relic of the past.

Even a one-star pharmacist might struggle to recall such details. The gap in knowledge was vast.

"Keep talking big. Master Liang calls you out, and you're out of breath. Don't listen to him, Master Liang. The basic pharmacology series is nearly ten thousand pages. No one could remember all that. I'll check it myself; this kid is clearly full of hot air. Oh... shoot." The previously dismissive skinny pharmacist scoffed.

He tapped his wristwatch, pulling up the basic pharmacology textbook.

But his confident speech trailed off abruptly.

The person next to him peeked over and their eyes bulged. They looked at Luo Ke with newfound awe.

Page 3687, second to last line—it matched exactly what Luo Ke had said.

Damn.

Had this kid actually memorized it all?

Clearly, Luo Ke's statement had stunned everyone into silence.

A few skeptics began thumbing through the textbooks themselves, but upon reading the words, they too fell quiet.

The room was enveloped in an eerie hush.

"Young man, you seem to have a deep understanding of basic pharmacology. Tell me, if I'm to refine a One-star Super Elixir without a catalyst, I won't achieve the necessary reaction. Is there an alternative?" Master Liang finally broke the silence.

Luo Ke's eyes sparkled at the question.

"Absolutely, there is a way, but..."

Standing tall and confident, Luo Ke extended a finger, his gaze warm and gentle as he looked at Master Liang, as if he were beholding a precious treasure.

"One question for 10,000 yuan."

...

As evening fell, the third-year teachers' office at Shanhai High School was still buzzing with activity.

"Ms. Cheng, still at work? You're quite the workhorse."

"Any standouts in this batch of pharmacy exams? The test was brutal. Not a single student in our class broke 90 – it's driving me up the wall." Teacher Chen entered the office to find Cheng Linglong, the homeroom teacher of Class 6, still at her desk. He greeted her with a mix of concern and a wry smile.

"Don't remind me. Your class is the cream of the crop. If you don't have any students hitting 90, what chance does my class have? I heard from the pharmacy paper marker that only Lin Jing managed an 85. The rest... well."

"This diagnostic test was ridiculously tough. First-tier cities really are something else, setting such a high bar even for pharmacy." Cheng Linglong let out a bitter laugh, voicing her frustration.

"Tell me about it. But at least your class has a martial student. It's just unfortunate the test was so challenging. We don't want to crush their spirit."

Teacher Chen rolled her eyes, sharing in the collective dismay.

Martial students were a key focus for Shanhai High School, but students with a high matching degree were rare. Pharmacy, ranking just below the martial arts program, was also highly sought after.

This time, the test papers had been borrowed from a first-tier city.

The school had hoped to measure the gap between Shanhai High School and top city schools, but the post-exam grading left all the teachers in shock.

With Shanhai High School's average score floundering around sixty, there was simply no comparison to be made.

Upon hearing this, Cheng Linglong stretched languidly, nodding in agreement.

The two teachers were venting about the school's insular policies when suddenly—

Bang!

The office door swung open.

Another teacher burst in, slapping a test paper down on Cheng Linglong's desk.

"Teacher Yang, what's gotten into you?"

Cheng Linglong blinked in surprise, pressing for an answer.

"Ms. Cheng, never mind me. Just look at this test paper. It's unbelievable. Luo Ke from your class scored a perfect mark in pharmacy. I nearly jumped out of my skin grading it."

Teacher Yang took a gulp of water, catching her breath from the excitement.

She was genuinely astonished.

"A perfect score? Luo Ke?"

Cheng Linglong's eyes went wide with disbelief.

"A perfect score? Luo Ke? Teacher Yang, are you certain? I proctored Ms. Cheng's class. I'm familiar with Luo Ke. I told you before, he submitted his test after just five minutes. How could he possibly achieve a perfect score?" Teacher Chen was outright skeptical.

"He couldn't have cheated, could he?" she added, a tinge of envy in her voice.

Yet, as she spoke, Teacher Chen had to concede that cheating was unlikely. Setting aside the fact that the test was a last-minute loan from a first-tier city, no one at Shanhai High School could boast such impressive results. Even Lin Jing, the star student of Class 6, had only scored an 85. To cheat one's way to a perfect score, there would have to be someone to copy from in the first place.

The thought of such an extraordinary student emerging from an ordinary class left Teacher Chen feeling uneasy.

While Teacher Chen grappled with her feelings, Cheng Linglong was equally taken aback.

Her eyes locked onto the test paper on the desk, and she was momentarily speechless.

Every single multiple-choice question was correct.

The fill-in-the-blank responses were spot-on.

The arguments in the debate section were incisive.

Could this truly be the work of a student who typically lags at the bottom of the class? Even if he took the test himself, it's doubtful he could achieve such a result. This test paper is flawless.

As the homeroom teacher, Cheng Linglong had the most insight into her students' performance.

No one knew Luo Ke better than she did. Always late, leaving early, his grades barely clinging to the bottom rung of the class—he was the epitome of an underachiever.

Yet now, this very underachiever had scored full marks?

It was almost too incredible to believe.

"Luo Ke..."

Clutching the test paper, Cheng Linglong resolved to have a serious conversation with this student.