After sitting on a high stool with his eyes closed for a minute and reviewing Sun Hecheng's mixing procedure in his mind, Bai Xiaowen opened his eyes and began preparing the potion.
However, this time, Bai Xiaowen did not completely "replicate" Sun Hecheng's steps.
Although Replication had a high success rate, if Bai Xiaowen wanted to learn more, he needed to carry out the process according to his own understanding.
Now that he had a teacher like Sun Hecheng guiding him, preparing potions based on his own understanding would give him more chances to identify problems.
Watching Bai Xiaowen meticulously weigh the medicinal ingredients and make the initial preparations, Sun Hecheng nodded slightly. He discovered that Bai Xiaowen was extremely gifted. He had only demonstrated the process once, yet when Bai Xiaowen did it himself, he remembered every step, from the ratio formulas to the measurements of the ingredients, and performed them all very well.
Besides being amazed, Sun Hecheng also recalled Bai Xiaowen's earlier performance. As an assistant, whenever he helped prepare complicated Enhancement Potions, no matter the formula, as long as he had seen it made once, from the second time onward, Bai Xiaowen remembered every step perfectly, without the slightest mistake.
Intelligent, rigorous, pragmatic...
Those qualities in a teenager practically made him a born Alchemist.
Sun Hecheng could not help developing an appreciation for talent.
And after Bai Xiaowen successfully prepared a bottle of Savage Bull's Might, that appreciation turned into shock.
"Master Sun, I succeeded."
Bai Xiaowen let out a breath. He had followed his own understanding through the process and had actually succeeded, which surprised even him.
Still, this was a relatively low-grade combat potion, and the process was fairly simple. If it had been one of those complicated Enhancement Potions, it would have been basically impossible for Bai Xiaowen to succeed based on his own understanding. He would have had to use Replication.
"Have you ever prepared Savage Bull's Might before?" Sun Hecheng asked, suppressing his astonishment.
"No."
"You succeeded on your first attempt..." Sun Hecheng smiled bitterly. "This is the first time I've ever encountered something like this. I honestly don't know what to say."
Bai Xiaowen chuckled. "You taught me well, Master."
"Bai Xiaowen, have you ever considered becoming a full-time Alchemist?" Sun Hecheng put on a serious expression. Combined with his thick brows, large eyes, and square face, he looked like a still from some over-the-top wartime drama, where an underground Party member was recruiting an eager new supporter.
Bai Xiaowen shook his head. "I want to become an Awakened. I'm willing to learn alchemy too, but it won't be my main profession."
"What's so good about being an Awakened? Alchemy is the proper path. If you can reach our old manager's level, countless Awakened will be begging you for help," Sun Hecheng said, sounding frustrated that Bai Xiaowen failed to appreciate his potential. "Becoming an Awakened would be a complete waste of your talent."
Bai Xiaowen smiled. "Master Sun, I'm only a high school student right now. It won't be too late to consider becoming a full-time Alchemist after I finish university."
That reminded Sun Hecheng of Bai Xiaowen's age.
"Only seventeen, not even an adult yet..."
Sun Hecheng could not help wondering how old he had been when he first successfully prepared a potion.
At that thought, Sun Hecheng became somewhat dispirited.
"What a pity. If you were willing to become a full-time Alchemist, the shop would sign a contract with you immediately. With your intelligence, it wouldn't be long before you had your own potion-making room, just like Zheng Li," Sun Hecheng said.
Bai Xiaowen shook his head and said with a smile, "I still think it would be better to work under Master Sun as a part-time assistant."
If this had been when he had first crossed over, Bai Xiaowen might have been overjoyed by an Alchemist contract. But after half a month of settling in, he had come to understand his own abilities clearly.
The world of the Awakened—especially the rich and mysterious Spirit Realm, with its countless dimensional spaces hiding countless secrets—was Bai Xiaowen's true destination. Compared to the excitement of being an Awakened, a ten-square-meter potion-making room was far too small. Even if he could earn a great deal of money, what would be the point of spending his entire life there?
He had already had enough of the shut-in lifestyle in his previous life. He wanted to live life to the fullest!
Sun Hecheng poured the potion from the beaker into a bottle, carefully sealed it, and handed it to Bai Xiaowen.
"Take it. Keep it as a memento," Sun Hecheng said with a smile.
Bai Xiaowen accepted the potion. In truth, the first potion he had ever made was the Enhancement Potion he had already drunk, but naturally, he was not about to say that.
"The production workload isn't heavy these next few days, so I have plenty of free time. Read this copy of Alchemist Basics first. If there's anything you don't understand, come ask me anytime." Sun Hecheng pulled a thick book from a drawer and handed it to Bai Xiaowen.
Bai Xiaowen took the book and sincerely thanked Sun Hecheng. This Alchemist who looked so much like an underground Party member really was a good man.
Three days passed quickly.
Over those three days, Bai Xiaowen learned the formulas for two more Enhancement Potions. One was the Strength-type enhancement Gargoyle's Might, while the other was the Agility-type enhancement Ravager Beast's Speed!
Bai Xiaowen collected medicinal residue and successfully made two bottles of Ravager Beast's Speed.
Bai Xiaowen drank one bottle. With his Spirit as high as 7.9, he withstood the potion's side effects and successfully completed his second enhancement. His Agility increased by 2.1, directly doubling to 4.2! However, he could faintly sense that he had reached his limit. If he attempted a third enhancement, the failure rate would definitely be above 90%!
His total attributes had reached 18.7, leaving him less than two points away from the Awakened threshold.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Bai Xiaowen also raised Basic Combat to level 3 in one go.
The only drawback was that his Physique had not been enhanced. With a Physique attribute of only 2.1, Bai Xiaowen's stamina was poor, and his ability to withstand blows was also very weak.
Bai Xiaowen did not think a total of 18.7 attributes was especially impressive, because 7.9 of that was inflated Spirit. Honestly, in actual combat, the Spirit attribute was far less useful than Strength, Agility, and Physique.
"Attention, all students of Class 17. Board the buses now. We depart in fifteen minutes!" The voice of their chubby homeroom teacher, Xiao Jinsheng, came through the loudspeaker, interrupting Bai Xiaowen's thoughts.
The students headed toward two separate coaches.
Bai Xiaowen spotted Zhou Yi, as well as Wu Xiaoyan beside him, clinging to his side like a little bird.
Zhou Yi lagged behind the other students and made a throat-slitting gesture at Bai Xiaowen. Wu Xiaoyan's face turned somewhat pale as she urged Zhou Yi onto the bus.
Is this idiot short on intelligence or something? Bai Xiaowen recalled the childhood trauma of being chased and bitten by dogs.
Dogs that bite do not bark. Threatening and intimidating people like Zhou Yi did not have any real effect; it only made others more wary.
However, in Zhou Yi's eyes, Bai Xiaowen was probably just a rookie he could take out whenever he wanted, so he looked down on him.
When I used Insight at the hospital last time, Zhou Yi's total attributes were 15.5! His Spirit is very low, and his Agility is average, but his Strength and Physique are both high. Adding the gap in Combat Specialty, I don't really have much of an advantage.
But I've already been completely transformed. I'm no longer the rookie he can casually "accidentally" beat to death. If he really tries anything crooked, I won't go easy on him either.
Bai Xiaowen took out his battered phone, sent Xiao Jun a text message, and boarded the coach.
Before you continue