Chapter 29: Promoting to a First-Rank Alchemist

With just a simple healing elixir, Chu Tianchen left Mu Ran completely stunned.

After their previous conversation, Mu Ran had been constantly dwelling on Chu Tianchen’s words about helping him reach the rank of a fifth-grade alchemist within six months. Even after returning to the Alchemy Hall, he remained deeply anxious. After all, the pressure he was currently facing was immense. The Yunmeng Marsh Valley, the Li family, the Liu family, and others—they all coveted the Alchemy Hall.

He had already offended the Yunmeng Marsh Valley; the day he returned from meeting Chu Tianchen, he had flatly rejected the conditions proposed by Yun Yanran. Therefore, if Chu Tianchen could not help him ascend to the rank of a fifth-grade alchemist within six months, the first to move against him would undoubtedly be the Yunmeng Marsh Valley. Although he was currently a senior figure in the Yunhai Academy, with the upcoming academy leadership transition, who would care about a fourth-grade alchemist like him once the sixth-grade grandmaster alchemist Yun Changshan took charge?

However, today, upon seeing the healing elixir Chu Tianchen had refined, his confidence surged. After carefully putting the elixir away, he accompanied Chu Tianchen to his private alchemy chamber.

"Master Tianchen, please," Mu Ran said, his voice laced with excitement.

Chu Tianchen walked around the alchemy chamber, then picked up a third-grade medicinal herb from Mu Ran’s workstation and walked over. "Refine this."

At these words, Mu Ran’s intent stirred. A cluster of flames rose from his palm—the unique "heart fire" of an alchemist. The intensity of heart fire is directly related to one's soul power. He moved his hand, and the flames instantly entered the fifth-grade Fu Dan Cauldron. He took the herb from Chu Tianchen, ready to drop it in, but was stopped by Chu Tianchen.

"Don't use the cauldron for assistance. Refine it directly," Chu Tianchen instructed.

"Understood," Mu Ran replied. He placed the herb in his palm and began to channel his heart fire to refine it. As a fourth-grade alchemist, refining a third-grade herb was naturally no challenge for him. In less than ten minutes, the herb had been reduced to powder.

"Master Tianchen, it is done," Mu Ran said with a smile.

Being a fourth-grade alchemist, he was quite satisfied with his own achievement. A fourth-grade alchemist under the age of fifty was indeed exceptionally talented in the Great Qian Imperial City; otherwise, he would not have become the Master of the Yunhai Alchemy Hall at such an age. Furthermore, this was only a third-grade herb. He felt confident enough even refining sixth-grade materials.

Observing the slightly smug Mu Ran, Chu Tianchen pinched a bit of the refined powder and couldn't help but shake his head.

"Master Tianchen, is there a problem?" Mu Ran asked hurriedly.

"As a fourth-grade alchemist, you failed to remove the most basic impurities while refining a mere third-grade herb. How can you expect high quality when condensing the pill? For pills below the fourth grade, the requirements for purity are not overly stringent, but once you aim to break through to the fourth grade and beyond, it is a different story."

"Fifth-grade pills have extremely high requirements for powder purity—at least ninety percent—before they can condense into a pill. Did your teacher never teach you these things? You are currently able to refine fourth-grade high-tier pills only because you have the fifth-grade Fu Dan Cauldron. High-level cauldrons help you significantly improve the purity during the refining process," Chu Tianchen explained.

Mu Ran nodded repeatedly as he listened. As an alchemist, he knew some of this. "Master Tianchen, I am aware of these things. My teacher once said that the purity of refined herbs is a reflection of talent. Alchemists with great talent possess powerful 'herb-sense,' allowing them to accurately extract impurities. Of course, diligence also plays a part; through practice and increased proficiency, one can gradually improve purity," Mu Ran added.

Chu Tianchen smiled. "Talent is certainly important, but so is methodology."

As he spoke, he grabbed an identical third-grade herb. With a flicker of his intent, a white flame surged in his palm. Chu Tianchen channeled his soul power to envelop the herb, and after about seven or eight minutes, the herb slowly dissolved into powder.

Mu Ran examined the powder Chu Tianchen had refined. It was pure white, and even to the naked eye, one could see how pristine it was. There was almost no trace of impurity. He then looked at his own—it was a dull, grayish color. One had to remember that he was already a fourth-grade alchemist, while Chu Tianchen was not yet an officially recognized one.

"Master Tianchen, how... how did you do that?" Mu Ran asked, his voice trembling with excitement once he regained his senses.

"When refining herbs, you must use your soul power to perceive and communicate with them. Controlling the heat is also crucial. I will teach you a method of fire control," Chu Tianchen said earnestly. "Remember, your soul power must merge with the herb to sense every bit of impurity and refine it into ash, all while ensuring the integrity of the herb itself. You must use your soul power to find the critical temperature point for both the herb and the impurities; different herbs have different ignition points for their impurities and their medicinal components."

Chu Tianchen then guided Mu Ran to feel the ignition point of the third-grade herb. He explained that if the heat exceeded this threshold, the herb would be reduced to nothing but ash. He then proceeded to teach Mu Ran the fire-control techniques he had learned from the inheritance of the Eternal Dragon Emperor.

After three or four hours of effort, Mu Ran finally managed to increase the purity of the third-grade herb to at least ninety percent. Although his face was pale, he seemed to have gained a new understanding of alchemy. Beside him, Chu Tianchen was also diligently refining herbs, though he was using first-grade ones.

Soon, a pile of refined powder lay before him. He attempted to condense the pill; the first two tries ended in failure. On the third attempt, a smooth, round, first-grade healing pill appeared in his palm. Suddenly, a rich, fragrant aroma of medicinal herbs filled the entire chamber.

Mu Ran’s eyes widened once again. "So, Master Tianchen, you... you are only a first-grade alchemist? And one who has just ascended to the first grade?"

Chu Tianchen did not shy away from the truth and nodded directly.

Hearing this, Mu Ran was left utterly speechless, his shock beyond words. The most terrifying part was that Chu Tianchen had refined the pill without even using a cauldron. Even as a fourth-grade alchemist, while he could refine first-grade pills without a cauldron, it would consume significantly more of his energy. More importantly, he knew he could never refine a first-grade pill with such high purity as the one in Chu Tianchen’s hand.

What is a genius? Compared to Chu Tianchen, all of them who were called alchemy prodigies were nothing but a joke.

Just as Mu Ran was about to speak, a knock echoed at the door.

"Teacher, are you there?" It was the voice of Li Zifeng.