“You’re just bragging. Let’s see how you fail when you’re crafting pills. I’ll be waiting to see you blow something up. Crafting a Fifth Level Top Tier pill is dangerous. If your mental energy isn’t enough to control the spiritual fire, it can explode. Then you’ll be blown up, and I’d love to see how you’ll brag then.”
Even though Jared had passed the first stage, Pearl still looked down on him. Jared only smiled faintly and didn’t respond.
He exuded unwavering confidence. With a sufficient supply of herbs, he believed he could concoct pills of an even higher level than Fifth Level Top Tier.
For him, the process of alchemy itself wasn’t challenging; the real difficulty lay in obtaining the rare herbs needed for crafting these Top Tier pills. The examiner led Jared to an alchemy room, and Pearl followed along.
Due to Pearl’s status, the examiner didn’t stop her. After all, Jared couldn’t cheat during the crafting. The outcome was entirely dependent on his skill. Inside the room, there were several pill cauldrons of different shapes and sizes.
“For fairness’ sake, you can’t use your own pill cauldron during the assessment. We provide pill cauldrons here, and you can choose the one you’re familiar with. However, there’s also a time limit. You must craft the pill within the specified time. While failure is allowed within the time limit, if you can’t craft the correct pill in time, you’ll fail the assessment. As Fifth Level Top Tier pills are high-level pills and require a significant amount of time to craft, the assessment only requires you to produce a semi-finished product,” the examiner explained the assessment rules to Jared.
Crafting a Fifth Level Top Tier pill would usually take several days for a Fifth Level Top Tier alchemist. Since the assessment couldn’t last for days, a semi-finished product would suffice for passing the assessment. “Sir, can I not use the pill cauldrons here? I’m not used to them…” Jared asked the examiner.
“Didn’t I mention this? You can’t use your own pill cauldron. It wouldn’t be fair if someone used a specialized cauldron for crafting pills. The result wouldn’t accurately reflect their actual alchemical skills,” the examiner said.
“I won’t use my own pill cauldron.” Jared shook his head. “What are you planning to use, then?” the examiner asked, puzzled.
“I’ll use that…”
Jared pointed at a crucible on a nearby table. “Are you joking? That’s a crucible, not a cauldron. How can you use it to craft pills?” The examiner was baffled.
“Jared, are you out of your mind? Is there anyone who crafts pills using a crucible? This is a Fifth Level Top Tier pill we’re talking about. Do you think you’re crafting some common low- level pills?” Pearl said to Jared disdainfully.
“I was just asking. If it’s not allowed, then forget. it.” Jared shrugged. “There’s no rule against using a crucible to craft pills, but you should know that crafting pills with a pill cauldron has benefits. Don’t you want the enhancements that come with a pill cauldron?” the examiner asked.
“For a mere Fifth Level Top Tier pill? I don’t need enhancements from a pill cauldron. Even if you gave me a broken piece of tile, I could craft the pill on it,” Jared replied nonchalantly.
“Sir, just let him use the crucible. I’ve never seen someone as boastful as him. I want to see how he crafts a Fifth Level Top Tier pill with a crucible,” Pearl said, looking at Jared in frustration.
In truth, Jared was deliberately annoying Pearl. Ever since they met, she had been looking down on him. Jared wanted her to witness his true skills.
“All right. I’ve been an examiner for so many years and have never seen anyone use a crucible to craft pills. Today, I’ll make an exception. Let’s see how you craft a pill with that crucible, the examiner said and emptied the contents from the crucible, then tossed it to Jared.
