Assessment

In the alchemy room, over a dozen alchemists sat around, staring intently at a young man.

Most of these alchemists were no longer young, with the majority over forty years old, and the youngest in their mid-thirties.

Now, seeing a fifteen or sixteen-year-old boy claiming he could refine pills, everyone was astonished and somewhat incredulous. Some even shook their heads secretly, a hint of mockery appearing in their eyes.

However, they were all sharp and perceptive individuals. They had heard that Master Yun Qi had specifically given a young man a Pill Apprentice token. Although they didn't know if it was true, no one was foolish enough to openly mock him.

"Long Chen, although I am the Guild Master, I cannot break the rules. To pre-order medicinal ingredients, you need to refine a pill in front of all the alchemists. We will then decide the amount you can withdraw each time based on the quality of the pill," Master Yun Qi said with a serious expression.

"The kid understands."

Long Chen understood the situation. After all, the Alchemist Guild was not a personal enterprise, and Master Yun Qi's style meant he would absolutely not give him special treatment.

"Here are the pill recipes for one hundred and eighty-seven Tier 1 Pills. You can choose any one," an alchemist said, handing over a piece of beast hide paper with a hint of schadenfreude in his eyes.

The pill recorded on the beast hide paper were not ordinary Tier 1 Pills; their difficulty was in the mid to upper range among Tier 1 Pills. The success rate for most Pill Apprentices was not high.

Furthermore, refining a pill in front of all the alchemists, with a master like Yun Qi present, it was no wonder they felt nervous. Under such circumstances, it was extremely difficult to successfully refine a finished pill.

The person who handed Long Chen the beast hide paper was also a Pill Apprentice, already in his forties. When he took his assessment to pre-order ingredients, he had failed seventeen times before passing.

Everyone present was not much better; most had taken over ten attempts to pass.

This showed that it was not easy to pre-order medicinal ingredients from the guild, but once successful, it made things much more convenient.

Long Chen glanced at the beast hide paper and pointed to the last recipe. "This one."

"What? Are you sure?"

The man's expression was somewhat strange. The pill Long Chen chose was called the Qi Burst Pill, an extremely potent concoction.

It could allow someone to unleash powerful combat strength in a short period, almost increasing their combat power by nearly thirty percent.

The Qi Burst Pill was highly favored by adventurers. Although using it would leave them in a prolonged state of weakness and with significant side effects, for those who lived daily under the claws and maws of magical beasts, the Qi Burst Pill was undoubtedly a life-saving treasure.

However, the Qi Burst Pill was very difficult to refine. It contained several medicinal ingredients with extremely potent properties, and even experienced Pill Apprentices rarely refined such pills.

After all, alchemy carried risks. While pills commanded high prices, the materials were not free; they cost money.

Moreover, the ingredients for the Qi Burst Pill were exceptionally expensive. If they failed to refine it successfully three times in a row, the alchemist would incur a loss.

Therefore, not many people refined this type of pill. The high cost of ingredients was also something adventurers couldn't afford. If adventurers were truly wealthy, who would still choose to risk their lives?

"That's right, this one," Long Chen said calmly, completely ignoring the schadenfreude in the man's eyes.

Master Yun Qi smiled slightly and asked a medicine boy to prepare three portions of medicinal ingredients. This was the rule for the assessment; only three portions were allowed. As long as one portion was refined successfully, it would be considered a pass.

When the three portions of medicinal ingredients were neatly laid out before Long Chen, he did not hesitate. He took out his Pill Cauldron, and a pale yellow flame rose from his palm.

After a breath's time, Long Chen slowly circulated his Pill Fire beneath the cauldron to heat it. Heating was followed by opening the cauldron, which involved using Soul Force to guide the Pill Fire to circulate within the cauldron after it had been heated.

The benefit of this method was that it could bring the Pill Cauldron into a complete alchemical state, reducing the risk of the cauldron exploding and also nourishing the cauldron.

Actually, Long Chen had more advanced methods, but he had to use the most basic techniques learned at the Alchemist Guild.

He didn't want to reveal too much of his skill, as it would be detrimental to his future path. If someone harbored ill intentions, it would simply be asking for trouble.

The crowd, who had initially looked down on Long Chen, gradually lessened their contempt as they saw his methodical and standard movements.

With all preparations complete, Long Chen did not hesitate and directly threw the first Iron Wire Grass into the cauldron to begin refining it.

Long Chen's action caused the slight interest that had just risen in many people to immediately turn into mockery.

Iron Wire Grass required the longest refining time. It was usually added in the later stages, after the cauldron had been thoroughly heated.

However, only Master Yun Qi's eyes flashed with a hint of surprise, and he nodded inwardly.

To everyone's astonishment, the Iron Wire Grass was only halfway refined, not yet completely turned into powder, when Long Chen took it out of the cauldron, set it aside, and began refining other medicinal ingredients.

After refining the sixth ingredient, Long Chen continued refining the Iron Wire Grass, but still did not complete the refinement. He then proceeded to refine other herbs.

This action puzzled everyone. However, seeing the admiration in Master Yun Qi's eyes, they were startled. Could there be some hidden technique in this kid's methods?

Long Chen's Iron Wire Grass was refined a total of thirteen times before the refinement was complete. By this time, over twenty types of medicinal ingredients had all been refined.

Under normal circumstances, a typical Pill Apprentice would take a moment to adjust their breathing and relieve their nervous tension at this point.

However, Long Chen had no time to waste. After refining the essence of the herbs, he immediately began the alchemy process, adding the ingredients into the Pill Cauldron one after another.

What puzzled everyone was that Long Chen only added the essence of the Iron Wire Grass into the Pill Cauldron after several stages.

"Hoo."

Soul Force circulated, and the Pill Fire rapidly surged, emitting a wave of intense heat. Long Chen began the actual alchemy.

"Such powerful Soul Force!"

Everyone was startled, but at the same time, they shook their heads inwardly. Starting with such strong heat at this stage, what would they use to gather the pill when it was formed? Young people were young people, too impatient.

Master Yun Qi watched the young man with great interest. Only he understood the significance of Long Chen's actions, and he grew to like Long Chen even more. He had strong Soul Force and was willing to put in the hard work to study; this was how one achieved results.

To everyone's surprise, after half an hour, Long Chen's Soul Force showed no signs of depletion. Instead, its output grew stronger.

"Bang!"

A sound echoed, and the Pill Cauldron vibrated slightly. A strong fluctuation emanated from it, causing everyone's hearts to tighten. They all knew that this was the critical moment.

The medicine cauldron kept rumbling. Normally, at this point, the alchemist should have reduced the intensity of the Pill Fire to stabilize the cauldron.

However, Long Chen not only didn't slow down but increased his Soul Force, making the Pill Fire even hotter. The rumbling within the medicine cauldron grew more violent.

"What is he doing?"

Someone's expression couldn't help but change. This wasn't alchemy; he was clearly trying to blow up the cauldron. This was deliberate.

"Boom!"

With another explosion, the cauldron lifted. Long Chen suddenly brought down a large hand, firmly pressing the lid. Instantly, a powerful wave of Soul Force was unleashed with full force.

"Bang!"

The turbulent pill furnace suddenly stopped its rampage, fell to the ground, and returned to its calm state.

"This darn method is really troublesome."

Long Chen wiped the sweat from his brow. Using this method to refine pills was exhausting. The main issue was that he couldn't reveal his true strength and had to proceed meticulously. Long Chen had a bitter tale to tell.

Snap!

The lid was gently lifted, and a rich pill fragrance instantly permeated the entire hall. Everyone was astonished.

"He actually succeeded."

Everyone present was an expert. Without looking inside the cauldron, just by smelling the pill fragrance, they knew Long Chen had succeeded. Many were filled with shock.

"Very good, there should be at least one Mid-grade Pill in there."

Master Yun Qi looked at Long Chen, his eyes filled with admiration. Long Chen had far exceeded his expectations this time.

He knew that with Long Chen's Soul Force, successfully refining pills shouldn't be difficult, but he was curious about Long Chen's fundamental skills.

After today's observation, he saw that Long Chen's basic techniques were incredibly solid, not inferior to some Pill Apprentices who had been practicing for many years.

What was most commendable was that Long Chen deeply understood medicinal principles, knowing that the potent Iron Wire Grass required multiple refinements to reduce its fierceness, which would improve the pill's efficacy and success rate.

This method of refinement was unknown in the current Alchemist Guild. However, in the guild's secret manual library, some seniors had recorded their experiences and insights.

Unfortunately, those records were very vague, merely stating a theory: Iron Wire Grass, after multiple refinements, should have its fierceness reduced.

But most of those insights were extremely common methods, or immature ideas. How many alchemists were great enough to share their life's work for free?

Not to mention others, even Master Yun Qi knew how to refine Iron Wire Grass, but he had never mentioned it to anyone.

Firstly, he had no obligation to teach others. Secondly, as an alchemist, if one didn't dare to innovate, they would never achieve great things in their lifetime.

Hearing Master Yun Qi's words, the crowd was shocked: Mid-grade Pill? Was that possible?

Seeing everyone looking at him, Long Chen smiled slightly, waved his hand, and with his soul power guiding them, five plump, round pills appeared in his hand.

On two of the pills, there were strikingly obvious patterns – Pill Patterns, the very characteristic of Mid-grade Pills.

For a moment, the entire venue fell silent. Apart from Master Yun Qi, everyone's eyes were filled with shock, envy, and of course, a hint of jealousy.

Looking at the five pills in his hand, Long Chen breathed a sigh of relief. At that moment, Master Yun Qi said, "Long Chen has successfully refined pills, granting him Level 2 Credit."

Master Yun Qi's words caused everyone's gaze to change instantly. Level 2 Credit! That was the right to pre-order Tier 2 Pills, which made people intensely jealous.

Amidst the complex gazes of the crowd, Long Chen left the hall with Master Yun Qi. Master Yun Qi suddenly said to Long Chen with a serious expression:

"Long Chen, be careful of that woman."