The Youngest Third-Grade Alchemist

Lin Ming had no idea what Elder Huo was thinking. Hearing Elder Huo urge him on, Lin Ming assumed the old man simply wanted to witness the birth of the Academy's youngest Third-Grade Alchemist as soon as possible!

He went over the refinement methods for every Medicinal Material needed for the Liquid Energy Pill, as well as the required degree of extraction, once more in his mind.

Once he was sure there were no issues, Lin Ming took out the Bronze Medicine Cauldron and placed it on the ground. He then laid out the Medicinal Materials needed to refine the Liquid Energy Pill one by one for easy access.

After completing all the preparations, Lin Ming Took a Deep Breath. He then placed one hand over a fire vent on the Bronze Medicine Cauldron and circulated his Dou Qi. Golden Flame rose within the Bronze Medicine Cauldron.

Lin Ming grabbed a crystal containing a Milky White, jelly-like substance and tossed it into the cauldron through its ingredient inlet to begin refining it. This crystal containing the Milky White, jelly-like substance was called a Jade Marrow Crystal.

The Jade Marrow Crystal was one of the main ingredients for refining the Liquid Energy Pill. The Milky White, jelly-like substance within it was the crystal's essence, Jade Marrow. What Lin Ming needed to do now was melt away the outer crystal and extract the Jade Marrow within.

After the time it took to brew a cup of tea, Lin Ming had melted the crystal exterior of the Jade Marrow Crystal and extracted the Jade Marrow inside. The Technique of Pill Fire deserved much of the credit for extracting the Jade Marrow so quickly. By Lin Ming's estimation, without using the Technique of Pill Fire, refining the Jade Marrow Crystal would take at least One Third longer.

Without dwelling on it further, Lin Ming began refining the next Medicinal Material. As time passed, the Medicinal Materials at his side became fewer and fewer, while the Jade Bottles containing extracted Medicinal Material Essence became More and More numerous.

An Hour later, apart from a Scarlet Red Magic Core, there were no Medicinal Materials left beside Lin Ming. In their place were more than a dozen Jade Bottles containing Medicinal Material Essence.

Looking at the Scarlet Red Magic Core, Lin Ming considered it and decided to stop and recover some Dou Qi before refining this Third-Order Fire Attribute Magic Core.

After all, once he had finished extracting all those Medicinal Materials, he had very little Dou Qi remaining. This Magic Core was Third-Order and Fire Attribute, giving it extremely high fire resistance. This would be a drawn-out battle for Lin Ming, so he needed to restore himself to peak condition before refining it.

Seeing Lin Ming enter a meditative recovery state, Elder Huo nodded approvingly. He greatly agreed with Lin Ming's approach. During Pill Refining, an Alchemist needed to make adjustments according to his actual condition and could not simply force his way through everything.

Lin Ming's actions pleased Elder Huo greatly. Even though only this final Magic Core remained unrefined, Lin Ming had not rushed to refine it after realizing that his Dou Qi was running low. Instead, he had taken the time to restore it first.

Not every Alchemist could do that. When many Alchemists saw that only the final Magic Core remained, they could not resist immediately beginning the refinement.

Yet refining with insufficient Dou Qi either resulted in direct failure and the ruin of the Magic Core, or a barely successful extraction that would cause the later Pill Fusion to fail because the Magic Core Essence had been extracted too poorly. Such things happened often during the Pill Refining of many Alchemists.

After less than half an hour, Lin Ming stood up, grabbed the Third-Order Fire Attribute Magic Core, and tossed it into the Bronze Medicine Cauldron.

Boom! Golden Flame surged within the Bronze Medicine Cauldron, enveloping the Dark Red Third-Order Fire Attribute Magic Core. Lin Ming controlled the Golden Flame, leaving several visible gaps in the flames that had completely wrapped around the Magic Core.

From the outside, the Dark Red Third-Order Fire Attribute Magic Core looked as though it were bound by a golden net.

"A mastered Technique of Pill Fire!" Elder Huo murmured softly. Lin Ming had truly shocked Elder Huo again, causing him to make a sound even while Lin Ming was refining pills.

Looking at Lin Ming's control over the flames, Elder Huo knew that Lin Ming had already mastered the Technique of Pill Fire. Yet Lin Ming had only obtained the technique a few days ago!

Back when Elder Huo had trained in the Technique of Pill Fire himself, it had taken him a full two months to reach the level of mastery.

If Lin Ming had known what Elder Huo was thinking, he would definitely have praised himself for not coming to Elder Huo to refine pills the day after he had mastered the Technique of Pill Fire. He had deliberately delayed for several days; otherwise, they would have been even more shocked.

Lin Ming steadily refined the Magic Core, and nearly another half hour passed in the process.

Seeing that the Energy Shield around the Magic Core had become extremely dim, Lin Ming knew that this Third-Order Fire Attribute Magic Core was finally about to give way and be refined by him. Before long, the Energy Shield around the Magic Core shattered.

Sensing that he had finally refined away the Energy Shield around the Magic Core, Lin Ming hurriedly pressed his advantage. He refined cracks into the Magic Core's shell and extracted the Energy Orb within.

Crack! As fissures appeared on the Magic Core's shell, a Dark Red, jelly-like Energy Orb gradually emerged. Seeing the Magic Core's Energy Orb finally exposed, Lin Ming increased his Dou Qi output, and the temperature inside the cauldron rose even higher.

A moment later, the Magic Core's shell had been completely burned to ashes and fallen away. Within the Golden Flame, only an egg-sized Dark Red Energy Orb remained.

After extracting the Energy Orb from the Magic Core, Lin Ming stopped supplying Dou Qi, drew the Magic Core Energy Orb out of the cauldron, and placed it in a Jade Bottle.

Next came the final fusion of the medicinal liquids into a pill. This time, Lin Ming only meditated briefly before beginning the next stage of refinement. He still had half his Dou Qi remaining, enough to see him through the Successful Refinement of this pill.

Golden Flame rose within the Bronze Medicine Cauldron once more. Lin Ming placed the previously extracted Medicinal Material Essence into the cauldron one by one and began fusing them.

One type of Medicinal Material Essence was added, then two types—successful fusion! The third type was added—successful fusion! The fourth type was added... Finally, the last type of Medicinal Material Essence was added—successful fusion!

Having reached this point, Lin Ming knew that the most crucial stage had arrived. Next, he needed to add the Magic Core Energy Orb and trigger Pill Formation.

Seizing the right moment, Lin Ming added the Magic Core Energy Orb into the cauldron and controlled it as it approached the mixture of Medicinal Material Essence.

The instant the Magic Core Energy Orb came into contact with the Medicinal Material Essence mixture, it was like a Water Droplet falling into boiling oil, immediately erupting into a violent reaction. Even the Bronze Medicine Cauldron began to tremble slightly.

"Quick! Immediately control the Medicinal Material Essence mixture to cover more of the Magic Core Energy Orb, or the cauldron will Explode Cauldron due to the imbalance of energy!" Elder Huo's urgent voice rang out.

Although he had never seen the Liquid Energy Pill Formula and did not know its refining method, Elder Huo was a Peak Fifth-Grade Alchemist with decades of Pill Refining experience. Now that this Third-Grade Pill had reached the final stage of Pill Formation, if he still could not determine the cause of the phenomenon inside the cauldron, then he would not deserve to be called a Peak Fifth-Grade Alchemist.

Lin Ming also knew where the problem lay. He was doing everything he could to make the Medicinal Material Essence mixture cover more of the Magic Core Energy Orb, thereby neutralizing the Violent Factor within the Magic Core.

However, the Bronze Medicine Cauldron shook more and more violently until, with a boom, the ingredient inlet was blown open. The medicinal liquid essence and Magic Core Energy Orb inside the cauldron were ruined.

"Cough, cough." Lin Ming coughed as he looked at the cauldron before him, which no longer had a lid.

"Lin Ming, are you all right?" Steward Yang asked at this moment.

After a moment of silence, Lin Ming raised his head and looked at Steward Yang and Elder Huo. "Brother Yang, I'm fine. It was only one failed refinement. It won't discourage me." After saying that, Lin Ming even gave them a smile.

"Good! It's good that you weren't discouraged, Kid. Everyone makes mistakes when refining pills, especially when refining a new pill, where the chance of failure is even greater. Lin Ming, you need to find the reason for that failure. Only then can you achieve Successful Refinement," Elder Huo explained.

"This student understands that, so the failure just now did not discourage me. Moreover, I have already found the reason for the failure. I believe there will be no more problems with this refinement." Lin Ming respectfully replied to Elder Huo's explanation. This was the valuable experience of a master Alchemist, and respect was only proper.

Seeing that Lin Ming had not developed any Negative Emotions because of this failed refinement, Elder Huo was even more satisfied. After all, if an Alchemist wanted to go further, he would inevitably encounter many refinement failures.

If someone could not endure even a simple failure, then no matter how talented he was, he could never go far. Once he failed, he would begin doubting himself, and once he started doubting himself, he would fail again in the next refinement. He would then be trapped in such a vicious cycle with no escape.

Lin Ming's talent and mentality greatly satisfied Elder Huo. He believed that it would not be long before Lin Ming reached his level and then surpassed him.

After meditating for the time it took to brew a cup of tea, Lin Ming began a new round of refinement. He still had Two Sets of Medicinal Materials, enough for another attempt.

He picked up the Cauldron Lid and placed it back on the Medicinal Cauldron. Circulating his Dou Qi, Golden Flame rose once again within the Bronze Medicine Cauldron.

Lin Ming began the new round of refinement in an orderly manner.

Three hours later, Lin Ming reached the final step once again. As the Magic Core Energy Orb came into contact with the Medicinal Material Essence mixture, the Bronze Medicine Cauldron began shaking again. But this time, Lin Ming would not give it the chance to Explode Cauldron.

At that moment, Lin Ming directly mobilized a large amount of Spiritual Strength into the cauldron, completely mixing the Magic Core Energy Orb and the Medicinal Material Essence mixture in an instant. The cauldron, which had been shaking moments before, stopped and became stable again.

Seeing that the cauldron was no longer shaking, Lin Ming Breathed a Sigh of Relief. When he saw the Pill Prototype inside the Bronze Medicine Cauldron, joy immediately spread across his face. Having reached this stage, the Pill Refining could basically be considered a success. All that remained was to maintain a stable temperature and nourish the pill.

Less than half an hour later, a Light Reddish-Brown pill appeared in Lin Ming's hand.

Looking at the Light Reddish-Brown pill in Lin Ming's hand, round in shape and lustrous in color, three different laughs rang out in the Pill Refinement Room.

Because this signified the birth of the youngest Third-Grade Alchemist since the founding of Jia Nan Academy—a Third-Grade Alchemist not yet fifteen years old.