Chapter 298: The Worst Plan

After waiting for almost four hours, it was finally Jiang Cheng's turn.

At that moment, in the alchemy room, only he and Shen Ming in a white lab coat remained.

"What is your name? What level Spirit Thought Master are you?"

The latter asked.

"My surname is Zhang, given name Cheng, I am a Level 1 Spirit Mind Practitioner," Jiang Cheng replied.

"Level 1, huh."

Shen Ming frowned slightly, "Then you must hurry. The three people just now, none were below Second Level, and one was a Fifth-level Spirit Thought Master. The more Spiritual Power you have, the more chances for trial and error. You're only Level 1; I'd estimate five or six hours of refining per day is the limit, unless you take pills…"

He shook his head.

A Level 1 Spirit Mind Practitioner's Spiritual Power is 100~200 times that of an ordinary person.

To fully restore Spiritual Power, one needs at least 30 Basic Tranquil Pills; the Basic Tranquil Pill isn't cheap—market price is ten thousand yuan each, so 30 makes three hundred thousand.

Relying on taking pills to boost refining skill is unaffordable even for senior Spirit Thought Masters.

"Come a bit closer; let me first show you how to clean the crucible. After each batch of pills, it's best to clean it once, removing the residue inside.

If you don't clean it, one or two times isn't a big deal, but accumulated neglect will lower the success rate of forming pills."

Jiang Cheng listened attentively.

Afterward came an introduction to the herbs and the processing method; after more than ten minutes, they finally began the first batch of pills.

The consumption of Spiritual Power was about the same as when he watched Shen Ming refine, roughly an hour passed.

A batch of pills emerged.

Two of them were finished pills; the rest were residue.

Jiang Cheng looked at the Panel before him.

He saw the Alchemy Technique's Experience Bar rise by one‑tenth.

That made him somewhat pleased.

Because if he refines nine more batches like this, the Alchemy Technique will reach Entry.

"Hmph, don't get too happy yet."

Shen Ming's voice sounded beside his ear.

"You only managed this under my guidance; left to refine alone, you'd probably not produce a single pill."

"Brother Shen is right."

Jiang Cheng quickly nodded in agreement.

As the saying goes, knowledge comes at different times; the other's current refining level indeed surpasses his, so showing respect is appropriate.

Moreover, his Spiritual Power isn't low; he's been consuming it all morning, yet his face shows no fatigue.

"Mm, it's fine that you know."

Shen Ming gave a slight nod.

"Rest for a while first; once you're rested, I'll guide you through two more batches. Oh, it's getting late, you can go have a meal and then return."

"Brother Shen, that's unnecessary; I can still hold on, let's continue."

"Alright."

Shen Ming gave Jiang Cheng a glance.

He thought, this kid isn't bad.

But he's seen many of this type; diligence matters, yet compared with talent, the gap is huge.

Take him, for example: through sheer stubbornness he reached Alchemy Master Level 2, able to refine Intermediate Spirit Nourishing Pills.

But that's as far as he goes.

Those four‑ or five‑level ones, not even to mention making Intermediate Spirit Nourishing Pills; even senior or top‑grade pills are like a game to them.

That's the gap between people.

He then refined two more batches.

The second batch yielded only one finished pill.

The third batch produced three, which averages to about two per batch.

The Alchemy Technique's Experience Bar rose to thirty percent.

The bad news is Jiang Cheng's Spiritual Power hit its limit. Shen Ming had anticipated this, waved his hand at Jiang Cheng, telling him to go rest and return when his Spiritual Power recovers, or come back tomorrow morning.

Jiang Cheng, of course, could not wait until tomorrow.

Imagine, if he refined alone now, after each session the Experience Bar would certainly rise by less than a tenth.

But under Shen Ming's hand‑on guidance, it could.

That also means, barring any mishaps, in two days his Alchemy Technique will reach Entry.

To be cautious, he must seize the time to prove his worth to Yang Chun.

He always makes the worst‑case plan: the Dawn Society hasn't found this place yet, but that doesn't mean they never will; merely relying on his Fifth-level Force Warrior status isn't enough.

He must also attract Yang Chun's attention through refining, otherwise if the Dawn Society discovers him, he could still be treated as a discard.

Thus, by evening,

Jiang Cheng returned to the alchemy room, and under Shen Ming's hand‑on guidance refined two more batches before leaving.

What he didn't know was that after he left, Shen Ming shook his head.

From Jiang Cheng's performance, he didn't think the former was a gifted person.

Because in the subsequent two batches, the number of finished Spirit Nourishing Pills stayed between one and three.

Everything fears comparison.

Moreover, those three people performed better than Jiang Cheng on the first day; one man, under his guidance, produced as many as five or six finished Spirit Nourishing Pills! The facts also show the other's later performance was indeed good—within less than half a month, when refining alone each time, he could yield three or four finished Spirit Nourishing Pills, occasionally reaching five; with a few more days of practice, passing the Assessment would surely be easy.

He would only think about such things in his mind, never speak them, lest he offend anyone.

The next day.

Jiang Cheng and the other three returned to the Lian Dan Shi.

Like yesterday, the four first watched Shen Ming's demonstration.

Of course, unlike the other three, Jiang Cheng did not keep watching with Spiritual Power, since using it would waste an opportunity.

Soon, one of the four men stepped forward.

The man was confident, smiling; in fact, he indeed had some skill, and throughout the process Shen Ming offered not a single word of guidance.

They waited for the pills to finish refining.

To their surprise, five finished pills emerged! The man and woman beside them couldn't help but widen their eyes.

Their eyes were full of envy.

"Not bad, not bad."

Shen Ming's face showed a smile, "You have met the requirements and can undertake an Assessment Task at any time, but I suggest you become more familiar; also, there were a few issues in the earlier process—pay attention to them..."

The man listened attentively, then hurriedly thanked him.

"Thanks, Brother Shen. If you hadn't constantly guided me, I, Han Tao, could never have achieved this result."

"Hehe, it's only natural, only natural."

Shen Ming smiled.

Forming a good relationship with a Fifth-level Spirit Mind Master has obvious benefits; if the latter later becomes a senior alchemist, even more so.

Besides that, there is also a sense of accomplishment.

Han Tao turned, swept a glance at Jiang Cheng and the others, and finally his gaze settled on the only woman among them.

"Next, who among you wants to go up?"

Hearing this, the woman stepped forward.

Han Tao, seeing this, moved aside, not hurrying to leave but watching from the side.

In the end, the woman refined a batch of pills, producing only four Spirit Nourishing Pills.

Shen Ming was fairly satisfied and offered some guidance.

The woman turned and left; before departing she glanced at Han Tao, who, seeing that, also followed her.

"You two, which one will go first?"

In the room, Shen Ming's gaze fell on Jiang Cheng and the other man.

(End of chapter)