Chapter 21 - Assessment

In the alchemy room, over a dozen alchemists sat together, all eyes fixed on the young boy. These alchemists were already quite advanced in age, most of them over forty, with the youngest being in their thirties. Now seeing a boy of about fifteen or sixteen claiming to refine pills, everyone was shocked and somewhat incredulous. Some even shook their heads secretly, with a hint of ridicule in their eyes. However, they were all astute individuals and had long heard that Master Yun Qi had specially given a young boy a Dan Apprentice badge. Although they did not know if it was true, no one would foolishly mock him outright. "Long Chen, although I am the president, I can't break the rules. To advance the medicinal materials, you need to refine a pill in front of all the alchemists, and then we will decide your withdrawal limit each time based on the quality of the pill," Master Yun Qi said solemnly. "I understand," Long Chen expressed understanding regarding this matter. After all, the Alchemist Guild was not a personal industry, and given Master Yun Qi's style, he definitely wouldn't give him special treatment. "Here are 187 pill recipes of first-tier pills. You can choose any one of them," an alchemist said, handing over a piece of parchment with a slightly gloating look in his eyes. The pills recorded on that parchment were not ordinary first-tier pills. Their difficulty level was considered mid-to-high among first-tier pills, and general Dan Apprentices had low success rates. Not to mention refining pills in front of all alchemists with a master like Yun Qi present, it would be hard not to be nervous. In such an atmosphere, successfully refining a finished pill was very challenging. The person handing the parchment to Long Chen was also a Dan Apprentice, already in his forties. When he had tested for the advancement limit, he had failed seventeen times before passing. Everyone present was not much stronger than him, generally taking more than a dozen attempts to pass. It was evident that trying to advance medicinal materials from the guild was not an easy task, but once successful, it became much more convenient. Long Chen glanced at the parchment, pointed to the last pill recipe, and said, "This one." "What? Are you sure?" the person asked with a strange look on his face. The pill Long Chen chose was called the Violent Qi Pill, a very aggressive pill. It could allow a person to burst out with powerful combat power in a short time, almost increasing one's combat power by about thirty percent. The Violent Qi Pill was adored by adventurers. Although using it would put a person in a prolonged state of weakness and leave significant aftereffects, for those living under the constant threat of magical beasts, the Violent Qi Pill was undoubtedly a life-saving treasure. However, the Violent Qi Pill was extremely difficult to refine, and it contained several potent medicinal ingredients. Even skilled Dan Apprentices rarely refined such pills. After all, alchemy carried risks. Although the pill's price was high, the materials were not free; they cost money. Moreover, the ingredients for the Violent Qi Pill were exceptionally expensive. If three consecutive attempts failed, the alchemist would incur a loss. So, not many people refined this kind of pill. After all, adventurers couldn't afford the high cost of the materials. If they were really rich, who would still want to take risks? "Yes, that's the one," Long Chen said calmly, ignoring the gloating in the other person's eyes. Master Yun Qi smiled slightly and instructed a medicine boy to prepare three sets of materials. This was the rule of the assessment: only three sets, and as long as one was successfully refined, it would be considered a pass. When the three sets of materials were neatly placed before Long Chen, he wasted no time, taking out his own pill cauldron. A pale yellow flame rose in the palm of his hand. After a breath's time, Long Chen slowly channeled the power of the pill fire beneath the cauldron to preheat it. After preheating came opening the cauldron. Opening the cauldron meant using soul power to drive the pill fire around inside the cauldron once after it was heated. The benefit of this method was that it allowed the cauldron to enter the alchemy state fully, reducing the risk of the cauldron exploding and providing a nurturing effect on the cauldron. In fact, Long Chen had more advanced methods, but he had to use the most basic techniques learned from the Alchemist Guild. He didn't want to be too conspicuous, as that would be detrimental to his future path. If someone harbored ill intentions secretly, it would be pure trouble for himself. Initially, everyone looked down on Long Chen a bit. However, seeing Long Chen's actions, which were meticulous and standard, the disdain on their faces gradually diminished. After all the preparations were done, Long Chen did not hesitate at all, directly placing an Iron Thread Herb into the cauldron to begin refining it. Long Chen's action turned the mild interest that had just arisen in many people into ridicule. The Iron Thread Herb required the longest refining time and was usually placed in the middle to later stages, after the cauldron was fully heated, to be refined. However, only Master Yun Qi had a flicker of surprise in his eyes and nodded secretly. What surprised everyone was that the Iron Thread Herb was only half refined, not completely turned into powder, when Long Chen took it out of the cauldron and set it aside, beginning to refine other ingredients. When the sixth ingredient was refined, Long Chen continued refining the Iron Thread Herb, but still did not refine it completely, and began refining other herbs. This action puzzled everyone, but seeing the appreciation in Master Yun Qi's eyes, they were startled. Was there some trick in the boy's technique? Long Chen refined the Iron Thread Herb a total of thirteen times before it was fully refined. By then, more than twenty kinds of ingredients were all completely refined. Under normal circumstances, a typical Dan Apprentice would take a moment to adjust their breath, easing their tense spirit. However, Long Chen had no time to waste. After refining the herbal essences, he directly began the alchemy process, adding one ingredient after another into the pill cauldron. What baffled everyone was that the essence of the Iron Thread Herb was added into the cauldron in increments. "Whew." Soul power circulated, and the pill fire surged rapidly. A wave of intense heat emanated as Long Chen began the real alchemy process. "Such a strong soul power," everyone was startled. However, they all shook their heads secretly. At this time, increasing the firepower would leave no means to condense the pill when it was formed. Young people are, after all, young, too impatient. Master Yun Qi watched this young man with great interest. Only he understood the significance of Long Chen's actions and liked Long Chen even more. With a strong soul and a willingness to delve deeply into research, such a person was more likely to achieve results. To everyone's surprise, half an hour passed, and Long Chen's soul power showed no sign of waning. Instead, it became increasingly powerful. "Bang." A sound occurred, and the cauldron trembled lightly. A strong fluctuation emanated, and everyone's hearts tightened. They knew that this was the critical moment. The cauldron continued to tremble. At this time, the alchemist should slow down the force of the pill fire to stabilize the cauldron. But instead of slowing down, Long Chen increased his soul power, making the pill fire even hotter and the cauldron's movements more intense. "What's he doing?" someone couldn't help but change their expression. Wasn't this alchemy? What he was doing was trying to blow up the furnace. This was obviously intentional. "Boom." Another explosion sounded as the cauldron tilted. Long Chen suddenly pressed his big hand on the lid, releasing a powerful burst of soul power. "Bang." The violent pill cauldron abruptly ceased its rebellion and settled on the ground, returning to calm. "This lousy method is really exhausting," Long Chen wiped off his sweat. Using this method to refine pills was extremely tiring, mainly because he couldn't reveal his true strength and had to proceed methodically. Long Chen had no choice but to endure it. Pop! The lid was gently lifted, and a rich aroma of pills instantly filled the entire hall, leaving everyone astonished. "He actually succeeded," all the experts present didn't need to look inside the cauldron. Just by smelling the aroma, they knew Long Chen had succeeded, filling many with shock. "Very good. There should be at least one medium-grade pill inside," Master Yun Qi looked at Long Chen, his eyes full of appreciation. Long Chen exceeded his expectations this time. He knew that with Long Chen's soul power, successfully refining pills shouldn't be difficult. However, he wanted to see how solid Long Chen's foundation was. Today's observation showed that Long Chen's foundational techniques were extremely solid, no less than those of some Dan Apprentices who had been practicing for many years. What was most commendable was that Long Chen had a deep understanding of pharmacology, knowing that the Iron Thread Herb, a potent ingredient, needed to be refined several times to reduce its potency, enhancing the pill's effect and increasing the success rate. Such a refining method was unknown in the current Alchemist Guild, but some predecessors had recorded this understanding in the guild's secret archives. Unfortunately, the records were very vague, only expressing a theory: the Iron Thread Herb should have its potency reduced through multiple refinements. But most of those insights were very general methods or undeveloped ideas. How many alchemists would be so great as to share their hard-earned knowledge freely with others? Not to mention others, even Master Yun Qi knew the method of refining the Iron Thread Herb, but he had never mentioned it to anyone. One reason was that he had no obligation to teach others, and another was that as an alchemist, without the courage to innovate, one could never hope for great achievements. When everyone heard Master Yun Qi say this, they were shocked: medium-grade pill? Is that possible? Seeing everyone looking at him, Long Chen smiled slightly, waved his hand, and with soul power guiding, five full and smooth pills appeared in his hand, among which two pills had very conspicuous pill patterns—the hallmark of medium-grade pills. For a moment, the entire place fell silent, and except for Master Yun Qi, everyone's eyes were filled with shock, envy, and, of course, a bit of jealousy. Looking at the five pills in his hand, Long Chen let out a sigh of relief. At this moment, Master Yun Qi said, "Long Chen has succeeded in pill refining and is awarded a second-level credit." Master Yun Qi's words instantly changed the looks in everyone's eyes. A second-level credit meant the right to advance second-tier pills, something enviable and redolent with jealousy. Amidst the complex gazes of the crowd, Long Chen followed Master Yun Qi out of the hall. Master Yun Qi suddenly spoke solemnly to Long Chen: "Long Chen, be careful of that woman."