Alchemy

Clatter.

He removed his monocle, revealing a pair of eyes as sharp as a hawk's.

Without using any additional instruments, he picked up an irregular lump of gold the size of an adult's fist and displayed it before the many apprentices.

"Next, I'll demonstrate. Watch carefully!"

As he spoke, Clark deliberately released his spiritual power, causing the gold to leave his hand and float in midair.

Benjamin could clearly sense that Clark's spiritual power fluctuations were extraordinarily stable, like a trickling stream, yet filled with powerful resilience.

Guided by Instructor Clark's spiritual power, that irregular lump of gold seemed to come alive.

It did not melt, nor did it change shape too quickly. Instead, within an invisible force field, it slowly yet steadily changed form bit by bit.

The uneven portions of its surface were smoothed away, its edges molded, the entire process flowing and stable.

More than ten seconds later, the irregular gold had become a standard cube with sharp edges and a smooth surface, as though it had been cut by the most precise machine tool. Its surface was so smooth that it could reflect images like a mirror.

Instructor Clark withdrew his spiritual power, and the golden cube quietly settled back onto the table, giving off a faint sheen.

"This is the most basic shaping in Alchemy. Through repeated practice, you must master precise control of material form with spiritual power." He put his glasses back on. "Now, collect your materials and tools, and begin practicing."

With a wave of Clark's hand, the supplies stored in the laboratory cabinets flew out one after another. Everyone received an irregular lump of gold roughly the same size as the one in the instructor's hand, along with a basic toolbox.

Besides a basic crucible, tweezers, protective gloves, and goggles, the toolbox also contained a metal disk engraved with complex runes.

Benjamin collected his own materials and tools and returned to his workbench.

He could clearly feel that the instant he touched the disk, the Truth Rune within his Spirit Sea rapidly became active. The small rune at its center representing Alchemy echoed with the many runes on the disk.

"Because your Meditation Methods have not yet completed the first three Truth Runes, you can only use an Alchemy Disk as an aid for now. Once you have inscribed all three Truth Runes representing Alchemy into your Spirit Sea, you'll be able to cast Alchemy bare-handed without this thing."

Clark reminded everyone in an even tone, "Alchemy Disks are expensive to make. The first one can count as free teaching material, but if you damage it, you'll have to spend points to buy another..."

Benjamin put on his protective gloves and goggles, then followed Clark's instructions and placed the gold in the groove at the center of the metal disk.

Spiritual power can actually control the shape of matter... Incredible. Is this the system unique to Wizards? Benjamin pondered.

A Cultivator's divine sense was more suited for sensing, scanning, attaching itself to things, and direct mental assaults. It could also manipulate True Essence to retrieve objects from afar.

While it could be used to directly alter the physical form of matter, that was merely forcibly crushing it with stronger external force. It was completely different from Alchemy, which seemed to make matter itself undergo a change in form.

Benjamin took a deep breath and sank into his Spirit Sea. Through the Truth Rune, he extended his spiritual power and connected it to the Alchemy Disk, then cautiously enveloped the gold.

Buzz!

He felt a faint but distinct "repulsive force" coming from the gold, as though it were resisting his spiritual power.

Following the method his Meditation Method used to guide elemental energy, he condensed his spiritual power into a beam and "pressed" against a protrusion on the gold's surface, trying to make it cave in.

The result...

Crack!

Because he exerted too much force in an instant, the gold not only failed to dent, but a small chip flaked off its surface.

Benjamin was startled and hurriedly adjusted.

He tried again. This time, he carefully guided a strand of energy toward one corner of the gold, intending to smooth it into a curve.

The result...

Sizzle...

The local temperature abruptly rose, and the gold's surface actually began to melt slightly, turning into flowing liquid.

Damn it! This feels completely different... Benjamin cursed inwardly.

Using the spiritual power control methods he was accustomed to from the Immortal Cultivation System to perform an operation from the Wizard System felt incredibly awkward.

It was like asking a stonemason skilled at carving statues with a chisel to suddenly embroider flowers. Both the way force was applied and the required techniques were entirely different.

He looked around at the other apprentices. Most of them were in as sorry a state as he was.

Some metal blocks were pitted and uneven, some had already melted into pools of liquid, and some had even been reduced to powder while attempting to break them down.

Of course, there were exceptions.

Benjamin saw that Amy beside him was not moving quickly, but her power fluctuations were relatively steady. Under her control, the gold slowly changed shape. Though it was still crude, it at least bore visible traces of shaping.

Benjamin took a deep breath and forced himself to forget his habitual methods of manipulating spiritual power. Instead, he imitated the fluctuations of spiritual power Instructor Clark had used during his demonstration.

He enveloped the gold with his spiritual power again. This time, he did not rush to shape it. Rather, like a Cultivator "nurturing a Dharma Treasure," he used a gentle and continuous approach to let his spiritual power "interact" with the gold, sensing its "nature" and "resistance."

Failure... then another attempt... failure...

The intact lump of gold became increasingly misshapen under Benjamin's hands, but he gradually began to grasp the key to Alchemy.

"Understanding, breaking down, then reconstructing... So that's how it is."

The most important thing was "understanding." The remaining two steps were both built upon that foundation.

So-called "understanding" meant knowing a material's internal structure, properties, and even its energy fluctuations. Only then could one follow the current and guide it, altering the material's form rather than relying on brute force.

After several attempts, he finally managed to turn the gold into a shape that could barely be called a "cube."

It was crooked and misshapen, its surface covered in traces of melting and resolidifying. Its edges were blurred, and compared to the instructor's standard cube, it was as far apart as heaven and earth.

Is this my first Alchemy product? Benjamin looked at the ugly gold block in his hand, caught between laughter and tears.

Just then, Instructor Clark stepped down from the podium and began inspecting the workbenches among the apprentices.

His gaze was sharp, lingering over every failed or successful piece. Occasionally, he offered a brief comment.

When he came to Benjamin's workbench and looked at the crooked gold block, Benjamin felt an unusual flicker of unease.

Instructor Clark's hawk-like eyes carefully examined the gold block, then glanced at Benjamin.

"Spiritual power control... is fairly stable." Instructor Clark's tone remained as flat as ever. "But your energy output is unstable, and your control over temperature and the force field is terrible."

He pointed at the melted marks and twisted edges on the gold block's surface.

"Go back and practice the basic Meditation Method more. Strengthen the stability of your spiritual power, get used to manipulating elemental power, and pay more attention to the structural details of materials when using Alchemy." After offering his advice, he moved on to the next apprentice's workbench.

Benjamin repeatedly agreed in his heart. Instructor Clark had hit the nail on the head at once.

His unstable elemental power output was actually caused by his constantly maintaining the Inner Circulation. Trying to seal himself off while outputting energy at the same time would naturally lead to such a result.

Just then, a pained scream and the tremendous sound of metal shattering suddenly came from the other side of the laboratory.

Boom—!