Pan Long spent more than a month studying the three textbooks until he knew them well and had memorized the sections that required it.
He even fired up a furnace and refined pills several times. From the entry-level Grain-Avoidance Pill to the novice-level Poison-Cleansing Pill, then to the Qi-Boosting Pill made by an ordinary alchemist, he succeeded with all three on his first try except the Qi-Boosting Pill. On his second attempt at that one, he achieved a perfect result.
When Pan Long refined the Qi-Boosting Pill for the third time, producing thirty-six flawless pills in a single batch, Wen Chao said with satisfaction, "Now you can call yourself an alchemist."
"Is it that simple? Don't alchemists usually have to study for years?" Pan Long was skeptical.
"First, those alchemists are mostly ordinary people. Even the more accomplished ones have only reached the Innate Realm. Their mental strength, their control over True Qi, their grasp of ingredient proportions, and their ability to monitor what's happening inside the furnace... all of that depends on experience. When you rely on experience, you can only pile it up over time, growing through failure after failure. But you're a True Person who has reached Return to the Natural State. Your fundamentals are far beyond theirs. You can easily do things that take them months or even years."
Wen Chao raised one finger.
"Second, a seasoned alchemist usually knows how to refine at least thirty or forty kinds of pills. You only know how to make three. All right, if we're talking about formulas, you remember fifty or so, but you've only ever refined those three. For an alchemist, your practical experience is pitifully thin."
Wen Chao raised a second finger.
"Finally, anyone who wants to learn alchemy needs extensive knowledge of medicine and pharmacology.