Eternal Cultivation of Alchemy

Chapter 2128  The Next Test

"It is even more difficult, so it may take you some time. You may choose to prepare yourself before we give you the next task," the Alchemists said.

Alex was rather curious about what they were going to ask of him. Was he going to have to make a ton of new pills? Or was there some other sort of test here? Maybe something that only a Supreme Alchemist should be able to complete.

As long as the test didn't have something to do with his cultivation base, or worse his Origin or Spirit, he was very sure he would pass it rather easily.

"So, what is it that I need to do?" Alex asked.

The eldest Alchemist told him about the next test. "The pill you have made was an amazing one. But now, your task is to improve the recipe. Improve it so that you can make a pill with at least 95% harmony.

Alex narrowed his eyes when told what the test was. "That's it?" he asked.

"That's it?" the Alchemist chuckled a little. "Does it sound easy to you? Go ahead and do it. Once you're done, you will be given the rank of the Supreme Alchemist."

"Okay," Alex said. "Then I'm done."

The Alchemist gave a confused look, while the others looked back toward him as well. "What do you mean?"

Alex pointed at the pill recipe. "I already did that," he said. "That is the best the recipe can become. If you have the talent, you can reach 100% with it too."

"No," one of the other Alchemist said. "You have to improve it, don't you? You only made what you could for the first time."

Alex shook his head. "I made the best version it could be," he said. "If you have the talent and resources, you can make it reach 100% too."

"That's not… possible, right?" one of the other Alchemist asked. "On the first try? Surely not."

"I can prove it to you," Alex said and went to sit back down next to Memory. The formations came back up and he went through the pile of ingredients he had been given.

They had all been prepared for him to be used during this test, so they had all been bought from the Silkstone Alchemy store that was capable of improving the ingredients to their greatest height.

He didn't need to think much about which of the ingredients were good. He could grab anyone and start.

It took Alex no longer than a minute to prepare the ingredients, at which time Memory was plenty heated up as well. Since he had made the pill once already, he knew what he had to do this time around.

He put the ingredients into the cauldron one by one, and in just under 10 minutes came up with another pill. He took down the formation and walked before the group of waiting Alchemists.

"Here," he said. "As I said. I'm already done."

The Alchemists rushed over to grab the pill and place it into the pill tester. They did so, and the result came out after what felt like forever to the lot of them.

97%.

"Dear god!" one of them said in exclamation. "He really did it. He made it over 95% on the first try."

"Alchemist Dawnblade, how… how did you do it?" someone else asked.

"1 day. Has… has anyone passed the Supreme Alchemist test in a single day?" someone else asked.

The test was the same for everyone. Since only the ones that were capable of making good pills based on other's recipes were generally approved for the test, the thing they tested the Alchemists on was whether or not they could make pill recipes of their own and then improve them.

That proved that the Alchemist wasn't just someone who relied on someone else and could instead do their own thing as well.

When the test was presented, almost everyone took no longer than 3 to 5 hours to come up with a recipe for a stable pill— unlike Alex, who took an entire day.

However, they then spent 2 to 3 days slowly improving the recipe, changing all but the ingredients. The longer they took, the less chances they had to pass the test. If they crossed a week, they were asked to try again at a later time.

It was very rare for anyone to do it in less than 2 days, let alone in just a single day.

That alone would've been the cause of shock among the Alchemists, but the fact that Alex had not only done so but also ended up making such an incredible pill was beyond their understanding.

Was it luck or talent? Alex looked at them. "What next, seniors?" he asked.

The many alchemists felt rather embarrassed at the question suddenly. Being called a senior by someone clearly their peer, and perhaps even more talented was not a fun thing to experience. Especially when said person was so much younger.

"It is done," one of the Supreme Alchemists said. "Congratulations, Daoist Dawnblade, you are now a Supreme Alchemist."

Someone brought out a leaf-shaped medal and handed it to Alex with the words 'Supreme Immortal Alchemist' indented into the metal. He had finally done what he had been wanting to do for such a long time.

He smiled gleefully, wearing the medal without waiting any further. "Thank you, seniors," he said.

"Don't… call us that," one of them said. "We are fellow Alchemists now."

"You are still my senior, by age if not by rank," Alex said, making the Alchemists feel a little happy.

"We shall announce the result to the continent soon enough. For now, let us discuss this pill you have managed to make. It is an incredible pill, but we know the recipe. Do you wish to sell it to us?"

"Do you all wish to purchase the recipe?" he asked.

"Of course. Such an excellent pill; we cannot not purchase it," one of them said.

Alex thought for a bit and nodded. "How much will you pay for it?" he asked. He hadn't done these sorts of things, so he wanted to see how much they would put up on their own.

"For a recipe of this quality, I suggest at least 120 thousand Spirit Stones per person here," one of them said. "Of course, that means we get to sell this pill recipe as well."

Alex nodded, understanding what that meant.

He looked at all 12 of the Supreme Alchemists that were gathered in the room and thought for a moment.

"I will bring it down to 80 thousand spirit stones per person," Alex said. "But in exchange for making it cheaper, I wish to ask you all to not sell this pill for a period of time."

The Alchemists seemed concerned. "How long do you wish to put a ban on this?" one asked.

"I don't want to make it too long, but I don't want to make it that short too," Alex said. "My apologies, but would you accept 50 years?" "50 years?" the Alchemists looked at each other with curious faces. 50 years… was nothing to them.

Everyone agreed almost immediately, not giving Alex to change his mind at all. They began setting up contracts immediately. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

"Speaking of which," one asked. "What should we call this Pill?"