Chapter 151: Why Ten Times?

"Once?!!!" Chimer's expression turned utterly bewildered upon hearing this.

Even an ordinary First-Rank Alchemist can refine once; a Two-Rank Alchemist can manage at least two to three times—what do you mean by "once"?!!

Otto walked over, patted Xiao Yan's shoulder, and comforted him: "Young brother, don't rush. There's still time. This test isn't about refining once—it's about repeatedly refining to increase purity."

Hearing this, Chimer suddenly understood—he had spoken unclearly and caused a misunderstanding. He quickly explained: "Ironwood Spirit Leaf is special—each refinement is several times harder than the last. Even with my Four Grade Bloodline, I can only refine it ten times at most. Beyond that, it's pure waste."

Refining medicinal materials simply involves heating with flame to thermally decompose them, then using methods like sublimation, crystallization, filtration, extraction, liquid separation, distillation, and dialysis to obtain high-purity active components.

But no matter what, refining can never yield one hundred percent active substance—just as gold's maximum purity is 98K, infinitely close to one hundred.

The more times you refine, the higher the purity—that's correct.

Xiao Yan tilted his head, utterly confused. He picked up the wooden box and walked back into the small black room, staring at the pure white powder inside, sinking into deep thought.

"Can this still be refined? Won't refining it again destroy it?"

"Does the Jia Ma Empire's Alchemist Guild have some special method that can make Ironwood Spirit Leaf reach true one hundred percent purity?!!"

His gaze sharpened. Instantly, Xiao Yan's competitive spirit surged. He pulled out his Alchemy Furnace and began studying it.

Time passed second by second. After thirty minutes, Liu Ling emerged first, as expected. He glanced around, then at Xiao Yan's small black room—seeing no one else had come out, he smirked.

Soon after Liu Ling emerged, a light, graceful figure darted out from behind the black curtain. When she saw Liu Ling already standing in the Hall, her delicate face instantly showed disappointment.

She slowly walked to the center of the Hall and muttered: "Big Brother Liu, I didn't expect you to be this fast."

"Hehe, Xiao Princess, you're not slow either," Liu replied with a smile.

"Hmph. Even if you finished earlier, your refined material might not be purer than mine!" Xiao Princess Yue raised her snow-white jade fist toward Liu Ling and sniffed.

Soon, more and more Alchemists began emerging one after another.

As the black curtain kept rising, the sand in the hourglass neared complete depletion. Yet Chimer and Otto frowned tightly—Xiao Yan still hadn't emerged.

"Only him left."

"Why so long?" Chimer was equally puzzled. This was way too long.

Just as Chimer announced time was up, Xiao Yan still hadn't come out!

Chimer sighed, walked to Xiao Yan's small room, and softly said: "Young brother, time's up. No matter what, come out now."

As soon as he finished speaking, the black curtain was pulled aside. Xiao Yan walked out, shaking his head, looking utterly defeated. As soon as he stepped out, he asked curiously: "Does your Alchemist Guild have some special technique? This Ironwood Spirit Leaf clearly can only be refined once."

Xiao Yan's voice wasn't quiet. Other Alchemists all heard it.

"Once?"

"Hahaha, I thought he just forgot to wear his Alchemist Long Robe—he didn't even have one!"

"Even when I was a Pill Apprentice, I could refine once. Don't take advantage of backdoors too much."

At this moment, many Alchemists standing nearby burst into laughter at Xiao Yan's rustic ignorance.

Chimer shook his head and patted Xiao Yan's shoulder, comforting him: "It's fine. You're still young. There'll be other chances."

Only Liu Ling, who hated Xiao Yan the most, frowned—he knew that even if Xiao Yan was weaker than him, he could never have refined only once.

Moreover, Liu Ling had heard from Nalan Yanran that Xiao Yan once crafted a Third-Rank Elixir for Grandpa Nalan Jie. That meant Xiao Yan was at least a Third-Rank Alchemist—how could he have refined only once?

"Big Brother Liu, why are you paying so much attention to that man?" Xiao Princess Yue noticed Liu Ling had glanced at Xiao Yan several times and asked curiously.

"He's at least a Third-Rank Alchemist," Liu said.

Yue's eyes widened in shock as she stared at Xiao Yan. A Third-Rank Alchemist refined only once? That was impossible. Was he lying on purpose?

Chimer said no more. He walked to the center and announced: "This is a purity-measuring device crafted for our Alchemist Guild by renowned metallurgists. It accurately measures the purity of your refined material."

Chimer stroked the dark machine and pointed to a groove: "This is where you place your sample. The scale runs from one to ten—ten is highest, one is lowest, four is passing. Tell us how many times you refined."

"Liu Ling, you go first."

Under everyone's gaze, Liu Ling calmly stepped to the testing device, took a Jade Bottle from his ring, poured some gray-white powder into the groove, and smiled at Chimer: "My ability is limited—I could only refine six times."

As soon as Liu Ling spoke, everyone in the Hall gasped sharply, then erupted into uproar. Even those below and Chimer and Otto exchanged startled glances.

Refining Ironwood Spirit Leaf five times requires at least peak Third-Rank Alchemist ability. Six times?!!! That Fire Control Power is extraordinary.

That meant Liu Ling's Fire Control Power was equivalent to a Four Grade Bloodline.

After flickering for a moment, the screen slowly displayed a large "7".

"Seven points. Congratulations, you've passed," Chimer smiled.

Liu Ling smiled, then stepped aside. His gaze casually drifted toward Xiao Yan, standing at the very back. He didn't care why Xiao Yan lied—but the result would prove he was the strongest!

At this moment, Xiao Yan's brow was tightly furrowed, his expression strangely bewildered—as if he'd seen something incomprehensible.

Next came Xiao Princess Yue. Unfortunately, though she also refined six times, her purity was slightly lower than Liu Ling's.

Watching more and more people step forward to test purity, Xiao Yan sighed. I finally understand where the problem lies.

When everyone had finished testing, Chimer looked at Xiao Yan and softly said: "Xiao Yan, young brother, come up and test yours."

Xiao Yan nodded slightly, picked up the small wooden box, and slowly walked to the testing platform.

Otto asked: "Did you refine only once?"

Xiao Yan nodded, calmly replying: "Yes. Only once."

As the crowd below snickered, Chimer and Otto gasped as they saw Xiao Yan open the wooden box: "Pure white?!!!"

The screen suddenly erupted in blinding Golden Light. A massive "10" flashed across it like a giant slap across every laughing face.

Xiao Yan looked strangely at Vice-Chairman Chimer and asked: "Vice-Chairman, if a medicinal material can extract its full potency in one refinement—why do you require ten?"

(End of Chapter)