Chapter 371: Proficiency in Alchemy
Chapter 371: Proficiency in Alchemy
"It seems like he is indeed the Grandmaster from the Black Market."
In the alchemy chamber, Jiang Cheng's heart echoed these thoughts.
However, he remained calm, as there was no direct connection between them. Even after joining the Black Market, he hadn't caused any trouble for those participating in the auctions.
Moreover, the other party's presence here was due to Gu Changkong's invitation.
Jiang Cheng decided to focus his attention on alchemy.
Time flew by unnoticed, and several hours passed.
As a new batch of pills emerged from the furnace, his skill in crafting Awakening Spirit Pills reached the Proficient level.
His experience bar increased by three times its original amount.
After processing the newfound information in his mind, Jiang Cheng studied it further and resumed his alchemy.
One hour passed.
Then two hours.
Nearly three hours later, the medicinal power in the furnace was completely consumed.
A faint smile appeared on Jiang Cheng's face.
Although the refining process took a long time, the results were worth it.
Inside the furnace, there were seven Advanced Awakening Spirit Pills and three Ultimate Awakening Spirit Pills.
His experience bar increased by 1-A, a whopping 7.65%!
In other words, if he refined just twelve more batches, his alchemy skill would reach the Proficient level.
Jiang Cheng felt that if he attained proficiency, with a bit more time and effort, he could consistently produce Ultimate Awakening Spirit Pills.
In reality, reaching proficiency might not require twelve batches; ten might be enough. As his experience increased, his alchemy skills would improve, and each batch would yield more Advanced and Ultimate pills.
The experience gained from each batch would also increase.
"If Big Brother Gu knew about this, he'd be delighted."
Jiang Cheng gazed at the pills in the furnace.
This batch contained only three Ultimate Awakening Spirit Pills, worth 3 million each, and seven Advanced Awakening Spirit Pills, each valued at 300,000. In total, they were worth 5.1 million.
The cost of ten portions of ingredients was just 500,000.
This meant that his alchemy was no longer a loss-making venture. He was breaking even and making a small profit, albeit a tiny one. As he progressed, his profits would grow.
Moreover, now that he could refine Ultimate Awakening Spirit Pills, he wouldn't need to buy them from the Inner District. He could directly use the ones he crafted, and even if he wanted to use some underhanded methods, Gu Changkong likely wouldn't notice for a while.
But as soon as these thoughts arose, Jiang Cheng dismissed them.
After all, Gu Changkong had treated him with honesty, and he intended to do the same.
Besides, given Gu Changkong's character, if he truly wanted to use some Ultimate Awakening Spirit Pills, he'd just ask, and the latter would likely not refuse. There was no need for dishonorable tactics.
"Let's wait a bit longer."
Jiang Cheng's lips curved upwards.
Once his alchemy reached proficiency, refining ten portions of ingredients into a batch of Ultimate Awakening Spirit Pills would yield a profit of 5 million.
Then he could bring up his request, and Gu Changkong's agreement would be more forthcoming.
Time flew by, and soon it was evening.
When Gu Changkong saw the Ultimate Awakening Spirit Pills among the day's refined pills, his breathing quickened.
"Jiang, did you refine these? Your alchemy skills have improved again?"
"Yes."
Jiang Cheng nodded slightly.
"The technique for Awakening Spirit Pills is indeed more challenging, but it shares some similarities with the Second Rank Calming Spirit Pill. Once you find the trick, it's not that difficult."
Gu Changkong took a deep breath.
These words are just for listening, nothing more.
Otherwise, why would Xu Hai and the others, after all this time, still struggle to refine even a Second Rank Calming Spirit Pill?
People are not all the same.
After taking inventory of the alchemical pills, he once again sucked in a breath of cold air.
Because the value of these pills was almost the same as the cost of the herbs, and might even be slightly higher.
At least he wasn't losing money.
This realization instantly lightened the burden on his shoulders.
What if Jiang Cheng's alchemy skills continued to improve?
His hands couldn't help but tremble slightly.
"Brother Jiang, didn't you say this morning that you'd guide the others in alchemy in a couple of days? I think we should postpone it for a few days, or I could pay someone to come and give them some pointers."
"It's fine."
Jiang Cheng smiled and said, "I'll do it myself. If someone else did it, they might not be as enthusiastic, and the person you hire might not give it their all."
Of course, there was one more thing.
Unless that person had also reached perfection in refining Calming Spirit Pills, their skills wouldn't be as good as his.
"That's true."
Upon hearing this, Gu Changkong was deeply touched.
He was also worried about wasting Jiang Cheng's time, but the latter still agreed.
"Brother Jiang, as long as I, Gu Changkong, have something to eat, you'll have something to drink."
He patted Jiang Cheng's shoulder and said sincerely.
Jiang Cheng nodded heavily.
This statement was different from saying, "As long as I have something to eat, you'll have something to drink." The difference was too great.
However, the matter he was thinking about in his heart could wait until his alchemy skills reached mastery.
Three days passed peacefully.
Neither of them encountered any of the troubling issues they had been worried about.
The waters were calm.
For the past two days, Jiang Cheng had been refining pills on his own.
With each furnace, his experience points increased from 7% to 9% and even exceeded 10%.
On the third day, Jiang Cheng kept his promise and spent a day teaching the other alchemists, giving them a thorough lesson.
When they parted ways, they all looked extremely grateful, and it seemed that in a few days, the black market's monthly profits would increase significantly.
On the fourth day, in the afternoon, the experience bar for alchemy on the panel finally reached perfection, achieving mastery.
Jiang Cheng once again absorbed and digested the information in his mind, and began refining pills.
This time, he spent a little over three hours to complete the task successfully.
Inside the alchemy furnace, there were ten pills, all of which were Ultimate Spirit Awakening Pills.
"Not bad."
A smile appeared on Jiang Cheng's face.
As a trade-off, each furnace took a bit longer, and refining four furnaces in a day was the limit.
The experience bar after reaching mastery was about five times longer, and refining one Ultimate Spirit Awakening Pill increased the experience bar by 0.3%, and ten pills in one furnace increased it by around 3%.
With over thirty furnaces, his alchemy skills could break through again.
However, at this point, the quality of the pills had reached its limit, and there was no further improvement.
At most, as the experience points increased, the time required to refine a furnace would decrease from over three hours to three hours, and then to two hours or so.
Jiang Cheng had no choice in this matter; the higher the quality of the pills, the more time was needed for refining, even if his alchemy skills were perfect.
Fortunately, the profit increase was significant.
Each furnace refined brought a profit of 5 million, and with four furnaces per day, the daily profit reached 20 million!
(End of Chapter)
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