"Just a piece of trash…" Shen Haoran's words echoed in Liu Yan's ears. Liu Yan's face turned a furious shade of purple, his expression so thunderous it looked like rain could fall at any moment. This Soul Capturing Pill was a Fifth Grade Elixir he had only succeeded in refining after countless failures. Now, a mere Fourth Grade Alchemist was calling it trash—and this Alchemist was from the Human Race, the very people he looked down on the most!
"Young friend, aren't you going a bit too far?" Hall Master Hong frowned from the side. "I was present for the entire process of Liu Yan refining the Soul Capturing Pill. His technique was nearly perfect, and the resulting elixir is close to Upper Grade. On what grounds do you say the Soul Capturing Pill he refined is no good?" He had initially tried to give Shen Haoran an out because of his status as an Alchemist from the Human Race's Pill Hall. But he never expected Shen Haoran to push his luck and insult an Alchemist from his Medicine Hall—his own Direct Disciple, no less. Naturally, he had to uphold the dignity of the Medicine Hall.
"Hmph, perfect?" Shen Haoran scoffed at Hall Master Hong's words. "Does Hall Master Hong truly believe the refining of this Soul Capturing Pill was perfect? If so, you're a real failure as a Hall Master!"
Hearing this, the plump woman at the side couldn't help but twitch her lips. It was one thing for Shen Haoran to curse out Liu Yan, but now he even dared to insult the Hall Master of the Medicine Hall. 'He really must have nerves of steel!'
"Hmph, is this how your Pill Hall educates its Alchemists? You're nothing but a mad dog, biting indiscriminately, yet you think you're qualified to casually criticize others? The Soul Capturing Pill I refined is a Fifth Grade Elixir. You, a mere Fourth Grade Alchemist, think you can see what's wrong with it? What a joke!" Liu Yan stared at Shen Haoran and said coldly.
"Heh, a Fifth Grade Elixir? The Soul Capturing Pill is indeed a Fifth Grade Elixir, but the one you refined doesn't even qualify as a First Grade Elixir. Any Alchemist from the Pill Hall could tell that what you made is just a simple pellet!" Shen Haoran sneered.
"Fine. Since you don't believe me, I'll offer you some pointers!" Shen Haoran said nonchalantly, gazing at the grim faces of Hall Master Hong and Liu Yan as he clasped his hands behind his back.
"First, let me ask you, what is the effect of a Soul Capturing Pill? Don't tell me you don't even know that. If you don't, I'd advise you to go home and sell sweet potatoes. What business do you have being Alchemists!" Shen Haoran demanded.
"Hmph, of course I know that. It captures one's soul and throws their mind into chaos. The Soul Capturing Pill is an excellent tool used by major influences to interrogate criminals!" Liu Yan snorted coldly.
"Not bad, you actually know its effect. But if you know the effect of a Soul Capturing Pill, then I have to ask, what is this piece of crap you've refined!" Shen Haoran questioned icily.
"When a true Soul Capturing Pill is refined, even its Pill Fragrance should have the effect of disturbing the mind and capturing the soul. Although the effect isn't as strong as the elixir itself, Martial Artists below the Spirit Marquis Tier shouldn't be able to resist it! But what about your Pill Fragrance? Forget capturing souls and disturbing minds, I'd say it has more of a refreshing, mind-clearing effect. Look, this beautiful lady at the front desk hasn't even reached the Spirit Pupil Tier, yet she's still standing here perfectly fine. Are you sure you refined a Soul Capturing Pill and not a Mind-Clearing Pill?" Shen Haoran said, pointing to the plump woman.
Hearing this, a blush crept onto the plump woman's face. Shen Haoran's use of the word "beautiful" had struck a chord with her. Hall Master Hong's expression, however, turned awkward. He had only been focused on the fact that Liu Yan had produced a Finished Pill and hadn't paid any mind to the Pill Fragrance. Now that Shen Haoran pointed it out, it was true. This Pill Fragrance had no mind-disturbing effect whatsoever. Beside him, Liu Yan's face grew even darker, his eyes locked on Shen Haoran as if he wanted to swallow him whole.
But Shen Haoran completely ignored Liu Yan's murderous gaze and continued, "The cause of this result is, naturally, the Alchemy Technique. The two most important Spirit Medicines for refining a Soul Capturing Pill are the Musk Vine and the Chaotic Soul Fruit. To properly refine a Soul Capturing Pill, you need to purify these two Spirit Medicines at least twelve times. However, after twelve purifications, fusing the two is extremely difficult, because both the Spirit Seed and the Spirit Medicine carry a mind-disturbing effect. If the Alchemist is the least bit careless, they will be influenced, leading to failure. So, Liu Yan here settled for second best. In order to produce a Finished Pill, he purified those two Spirit Medicines less than six times. Therefore, the Soul Capturing Pill he refined is completely and utterly useless!"
"Bullshit! I absolutely purified them twelve times!" Liu Yan retorted loudly upon hearing Shen Haoran's words.
"Oh, is that so? Then how do you explain this useless Pill Fragrance?" Shen Haoran said, looking at the still-struggling Liu Yan.
"It's… it was refined too long ago, and the Pill Fragrance has already dissipated! Or maybe the Chaotic Soul Fruit or Musk Vine weren't old enough! Or… they gave me the wrong Spirit Medicine!" Liu Yan's eyes darted about in a panic as he continued to make excuses.
"Oh, not old enough? As an Alchemist, you can't tell the age of your ingredients? And the wrong medicine? If you can produce a Finished Pill even with the wrong ingredients, then your Alchemy skill must be truly unparalleled in history!" Shen Haoran said to Liu Yan, the corner of his mouth lifting in a smirk.
Liu Yan glared at Shen Haoran, his face grim and his eyes filled with venomous hatred. Seeing that Liu Yan still refused to admit his mistakes, Shen Haoran shrugged and continued, "Alright, let's just say for the sake of argument that the ingredients were wrong or not old enough. Then let's talk about your Alchemy Technique and control of the flame!"
After that, Shen Haoran spoke with confidence and eloquence, meticulously recounting Liu Yan's entire process, from warming the Pill Furnace to the final step of forming the pill. For every step, he pointed out dozens of flaws that Liu Yan could not refute.
"How is a person like you, who takes shortcuts and whose ambition outstrips his ability, worthy of being an Alchemist!" Shen Haoran finally shouted at Liu Yan.
As Shen Haoran's voice fell, Liu Yan collapsed onto the floor, his eyes vacant. In his critique, Shen Haoran hadn't been wrong about a single thing. His Alchemy Technique, his temperament, and even his general attitude toward things in life—Shen Haoran had seen through it all. This left Liu Yan feeling utterly defeated. Shen Haoran was right. What right did someone like him have to be an Alchemist?
Hall Master Hong also stared at Shen Haoran in shock. Shen Haoran hadn't seen Liu Yan refine the elixir at all. Everything he had said was deduced solely from the Pill Fragrance still lingering in the hall. 'To be able to discern an Alchemist's technique, their mistakes, and even their character just from the Pill Fragrance… Just what level has his Alchemy reached!?'
"To know your faults and be able to correct them is the greatest virtue. If you lack even this bit of awareness, then you are truly unworthy of being an Alchemist!" Shen Haoran said calmly, looking at the vacant-eyed Liu Yan.
"To know your faults and be able to correct them… the greatest virtue…" Liu Yan muttered, repeating Shen Haoran's words as the light slowly returned to his eyes. A moment later, he suddenly raised his head, gave Shen Haoran a deep, long look, and then bowed deeply to him before turning and walking into the Medicine Hall's Alchemy Room…
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