"Alright, the herbs have all been distributed. Let's begin!"
"For those who succeed in alchemy, in addition to keeping the batch of Elixirs they have concocted, I will also evaluate your performance based on the time it took, the number of Elixirs produced, and their quality. The top-ranked individual will receive additional rewards of a set of First-grade Detoxification Pill's herbs."
With Teacher Xie Bing's command, all the students burst with excitement, each eagerly beginning their alchemy.
Since the Elixir recipes and herbs were already provided, the main test was essentially one's Fire Control Ability, Alchemy Techniques, and the ability to seize the right moments and other alchemy skills.
"Lin Yuxin, Liu Ping, you two are the top students in the class. You need to set a good example!" Teacher Xie Bing said to the two students with the highest grades.
"Teacher, I will do my utmost to set an example for the class!" Liu Ping confidently said, as he had almost always ranked first in alchemy. Even Lin Yuxin was slightly behind him.
Relatively speaking, boys tend to have stronger hands-on abilities and more resilient mentalities.
Girls naturally fall a bit short in these areas.
Although Lin Yuxin had the top theoretical grades and worked very hard, her alchemy skills always fell short of Liu Ping's.
The alchemy process began, and the forty-some students in the class started to refine herbs in accordance with the alchemy procedures, adding them into the Pill Furnace to refine.
"Tang Lu, your fire is too intense, it's already smoking! You need to reduce the heat a bit!"
"Luo Dingqiang, your silver mercury has not been fully refined, why are you rushing to add the Canghuang? Remember next time, you can't be hasty!"
"Bo Shu, is the order of your herbs wrong? Chicken Lingzi needs to be added before the Siler Root, otherwise, the Siler Root will form crystals with the Canghuang, leading to alchemy failure!"
...
Teacher Xie Bing flitted around like a butterfly, constantly moving from one student's Pill Furnace to another, giving pointers on their alchemy process.
While turning around, she came to Chu Feng's Pill Furnace.
In the past during alchemy classes, Chu Feng either caused the Pill Furnace to explode, becoming a joke, or he burned off his eyebrows with the fire.
To Teacher Xie Bing's surprise, today Chu Feng seemed particularly extraordinary—composed, calm, with Fire Control, tossing in herbs, inspecting, stirring... every action was so skilled, so confident.
This level of performance was almost unbelievable to Xie Bing's eyes.
She had only seen such calm, effortless Alchemy Techniques when witnessing the school principal practicing alchemy.
Even the Dean of Teaching, Niu Baotian, did not have such impressive performance.
"Strange, when did this guy become so formidable? He couldn't even master basic Fire Control Ability before."
"Could it be the Nourishing God Pill I gave him that had an effect?"
Xie Bing could only come up with one seemingly reasonable explanation. She watched Chu Feng closely, because she noticed that at this moment, Chu Feng was a completely different person from his usual frivolous and flippant self.
Serious, focused, as if possessed.
She was certain that at this moment, Chu Feng's vision contained only the Pill Furnace, the Earth fire, and the herbs, and nothing else.
"Could it be that before, this guy was truly a diamond in the rough? Once the alchemy is finished, I'll come back and check on him." Xie Bing's responsibility was heavy, having to teach more than forty students.
Although she wanted to watch a little longer, as an excellent teacher, she had to be responsible for every student.
Chu Feng did not need her guidance, but that didn't mean the other students were as capable as him.
...
As time ticked on, the alchemy session was coming to an end.
Chu Feng leaned closer to the Pill Furnace. His nose twitched, smelling pungent medicinal scents, and a delighted smile appeared on his face.
After his rebirth, he had always been very worried about his alchemy ability.
This was also his first time performing alchemy.
Although it was just a batch of the lowest level First-grade Detoxification Pill, Chu Feng was more serious in making it than when creating Ninth Grade Elixirs.
Only upon success did he finally breathe a sigh of relief.
To rise against the heavens, to avenge the deep-seated hatred of the blood sea, his greatest reliance was the alchemy experience accumulated in his previous life. Originally, he had a faster way to become powerful quickly.
That was to find the disciples he took on in his previous life, as well as the few friends with whom he had good relations, and obtain their assistance.
He would definitely be able to soar rapidly.
However, Chang'e's betrayal made him no longer trust anyone easily. In addition, with the vast power of the Panlong Crown Prince, if any of his disciples, or friends from his past life, betrayed him.
Then he really would have no place to be buried upon his death.
The human heart is unpredictable and must be guarded against.
Moreover, he is no longer the Eternal Life Pill Master who used to be proud and unrestrained in his previous life, his strength has returned to zero. On what grounds could he be a teacher to those disciples again? On what grounds could he sit on equal footing with those friends from his past life?
Chu Feng dares not gamble, nor would he easily trust anyone again.
In his previous life, his two biggest regrets were that he never obtained the Abnormal Fire. The other was that he spent almost all his time and energy on the Alchemy Dao. He hardly cultivated the Sword Dao.
Chu Feng's thoughts in his previous life were actually quite simple.
Because a person's time and energy are limited, especially lifespan, there are great limitations.
He was set on thinking that as long as he could create the Immortal Pill and consume it, he would be able to live forever. At that time, with plenty of time, coupled with his high alchemy skills, astonishing wealth, and various cultivation resources.
He could then turn back to cultivate the Sword Dao and elevate his strength.
If it weren't for Chang'e's betrayal, he might have already succeeded. It can only be said that fate makes fools of people.
...
After Chu Feng refined the Detoxification Pill, he did not immediately open the furnace to release the pill but extinguished the earth fire and let it bake for a while.
There are two benefits to doing this: it can ensure the pill formation rate, and guarantee a better efficacy.
Because if the furnace is opened too soon, the elixirs that have just formed can easily scatter upon encountering cold air.
Moreover, right after the pill is refined, the medicinal energy in the furnace is very dense. By not immediately opening the furnace, allowing it to naturally cool down, through baking, the pill can absorb the medicinal energy in the furnace during the cooling process.
As a result, the quality of the pills would definitely rise to the next level.
Many newcomers, even Pill Masters who have refined pills for many years, don't understand these subtle intricacies.
Chu Feng is a top-notch Alchemy Venerate of the world, mastering every intricate step like the back of his hand.
About half an hour later, Liu Ping could be heard laughing loudly, "Haha! I did it, I succeeded!" He was almost too eager to lift the lid of the furnace and carefully released six dark green Detoxification Pills.
Many students who had failed in their alchemy looked up to Liu Ping with admiration.
This made Liu Ping even more proud, and his eyes swept towards Lin Yuxin beside him. She was still wholeheartedly controlling the earth fire, conducting the final stages of refinement.
Liu Ping couldn't help but feel a little disappointed; it seemed that in order to win Lin Yuxin's admiration and praise, he would have to wait until she finished refining her pills.
After looking at the beauty, Liu Ping subconsciously glanced at Chu Feng.
He had tampered with Chu Feng's ingredients, and he believed that Chu Feng would surely fail in his pill refinement.