Chapter 43: Can He Really Refine Elixirs?

“Yang Zishuo claims he doesn’t know how to refine medicine at all—what do you think?”
“But he scored impressively high in the previous rounds. To say he knows nothing about alchemy seems a bit much.”
“Still, refining medicine is about experience and technique; it’s not just a matter of talent.”
“So does he actually know how to refine or not?”
“Who can say for sure…”
After Yang Zishuo’s display, people found themselves growing even more curious about Li Jian-san.

“Look, it seems he’s about to begin.”
“Huh? What’s going on?”
“He just threw all the ingredients into the cauldron at once!”

On the stage, Li Jian-san, without hesitation, dumped all the medicinal herbs from the table into the cauldron in one go. This action left the onlookers utterly shocked. As everyone knew, every herb in this world possessed its own unique properties and effects. That was why an alchemist needed to be intimately familiar with the characteristics of each ingredient—only then could the herbs be properly combined and the timing of each stage of refinement be arranged to suit their nature. Properly allocating the herbs was the most basic task in alchemy, and refining them in separate steps was a fundamental rule every alchemist followed. None of them had ever seen anyone attempt to refine all those wildly different ingredients together at once.

Li Jian-san’s move left them all dumbfounded.
“Why would he throw everything in at once?”
“Doesn’t he know you have to sort and prepare the herbs according to their properties before refining?”
“Looks like he really doesn’t know what he’s doing. He’s just putting on a show!”
“Is he courting disaster, or is he just that confident?”
“Are you kidding me? You still think he actually knows how to refine medicine? Don’t make me laugh—he’s just asking for trouble! Look at him, tossing all those different herbs into the cauldron. Even a third-rank alchemist wouldn’t dare try to refine a pill like that. Do you really think he’s surpassed a third-rank master?”
“He’s a complete outsider—probably never even tried to refine a pill before. He’s just here for a laugh today.”

Seeing Li Jian-san’s actions, the crowd around him began to mock and jeer:
“Exactly. Earlier, Master Xu Fu even gave him extra time, but he insisted half an hour was plenty. Back then, I was a little surprised—thought maybe someone was really that talented, able to complete a pill in half an hour. Now I get it. He was just boasting, and I almost believed him. Now I want to see how he plans to get out of this mess. But I never expected him to be so brazen, daring to put on a show in front of three masters, making fools of them. Is he tired of living?”

Hearing the crowd, Yang Zishuo sneered as well:
“I said all along, that kid’s a useless nobody. He doesn’t know the first thing about alchemy—he’s just here for laughs.”
Then, turning to Li Jian-san, he mocked:
“In the entire Kingdom of Jiang, there’s no one I admire more than you. Not even able to prepare the herbs, yet you dare to embarrass yourself at the Alchemists’ Guild—impressive, truly impressive. To put on such an act in front of the three masters, you’re openly provoking them! I’d like to see how you handle their wrath.”

With that, Yang Zishuo quickly glanced at the three masters. Sure enough, he saw that all their faces had darkened. These were renowned third-rank alchemists, giants of the guild. Never before had anyone dared to make a mockery of alchemy in their presence, treating the craft as if it were a game.

Of all of them, Master Jin’s expression was the most severe.
“This brat is not only making fools of us, but mocking the art of alchemy itself. This isn’t just an insult to us—it’s an insult to all alchemists! He’s truly vile. Today, I won’t let him off so easily!”

As he spoke, Master Jin stormed down from his seat. At that moment, Xu Fu quickly interjected, “Perhaps he really does know how to refine medicine. It’s possible.”
Hearing this, Master Jin stopped and turned to glare at him, scoffing, “You’re still defending that brat? Be honest—did he bribe you or something?”
At this, Master Mo, standing behind Xu Fu, said calmly, “I personally guided him. I trust him.”
“Let him finish what he has to say.”

Master Jin flicked his robes and kept his face stern.
“To refine herbs with such differing properties all at once isn’t entirely impossible—there is a certain technique that could achieve it.”
Master Mo’s face shifted. “You mean the alchemical method we’ve practiced for years without success?”
Master Jin let out a cold laugh, “Don’t joke with me. You think he could master it? Let’s not forget, the three of us old men spent half our lives and still haven’t unraveled that technique. How could a greenhorn like him possibly have learned it? The methods are so obscure and complex—let alone practicing them, even understanding them is difficult. Even with three of us working together for three years, we barely grasped a fraction. How could that boy manage it? If he understood the first line, that alone would be remarkable. And more than that, mastering the technique requires extraordinary spiritual power.”

Given all these demanding conditions, they considered it impossible for Li Jian-san to have learned the technique.

“Don’t forget, Li Jian-san’s spiritual power has reached the seventh tier!”
“Seventh-tier spiritual power should be enough to practice that method, shouldn’t it?”
Xu Fu knew a thing or two about that technique as well. After he finished, the three masters’ expressions all changed dramatically—but only for a moment, before they regained their composure.

“Never mind his spiritual strength. Even if his talent was enough to master this technique, it’s still the most closely guarded secret of our guild—never once has a word leaked out. Many first-rank alchemists don’t even know it exists. And within the guild, it’s protected by the strictest secrecy. Even you have no right to view it. There is simply no way Li Jian-san, an outsider, could have obtained the method. So, the boy is only putting on an act, and I absolutely cannot tolerate it. Today I must teach him a lesson—otherwise, people will only grow more and more disrespectful toward our Alchemists’ Guild!”