Chapter 118 Practicing Alchemy, Making A Bet

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After mastering the method to create the Five Elements Flame, Arthur began to learn in-depth about the process of concocting pills.

One of the major reasons why concocting pills was so hard was because of the difficulty in controlling the temperature of the flames.

Those that use wood to make the fire and use a controlling technique to manage the heat, face a huge amount of obstacles and have an abysmal success rate.

That is why almost all alchemists are those who have flame martial spirit or special physiques.

Those that are alchemists and do not meet this requirement, generally find it more difficult.

At the same time, most of them are not able to reach very high levels, aside from the extremely rare exceptions that break common sense.

The Five Elements Flame was a miraculous flame that has the synergy of the five elements.

Due to its unique properties, it is hard to create but once that stage is passed, controlling the temperature is easier.

"So Alchemy is basically about the extraction of herbal essence and the condensation and fusion of this essence into pills."

"Yes, but although it sounds simple, things are a bit more complicated than that," said Cora.

"I understand," Arthur knew what she meant.

"So how fast do you think it'll take me to learn this time?" Arthur smirked.

Cora showed a thoughtful expression as she had changed her evaluation of Arthur's talent for Alchemy.

"Hmm, the fastest time I know of is a week to successfully concoct a Tier 0 pill for the first time. But, you might succeed in just a few days," Cora felt a hit in her pride as she said this.

'Back then I was among the greatest geniuses that only took a week to create their first pill. And I was praised to have the same level of talent as the Alchemy Emperors of ancient times.'

"A few days, huh? Would you believe me if I said that I can learn to make Tier 1 pills in just half a day?" Arthur grinned.

"What? That's impossible! See, I agree that your talent is beyond whatever I have seen but to not only learn Tier 0 pills but Tier 1 in half a day? I don't believe it," Cora disagreed.

"If you said a few days then maybe I would be skeptical but I wouldn't be able to say for sure if you will fail, but to do that in less than a day is impossible."

What Arthur said was absurd. It will take the best geniuses in the upper realm a week for a Tier 0 pill.

While a Tier 1 pill can take as much as half a month to learn to concoct.

"So you don't believe?"

"No," Cora said bluntly.

"Then, I will make you a believer," Arthur stepped closer to her.

"Hmph! You are becoming too arrogant. I would like to see you try."

"Oh, then how about we make a bet?" Arthur proposed.

"A bet?"

"Yes, and the winner of this bet can ask anything of the loser."

"Anything?"

"Yes, anything."

"You're on!" Cora smirked.

'This is good. I can simply ask him to remove the soul bind, and maybe to call me master, as I am teaching him alchemy after all.' Cora already counted this as her win.

"Why are looking like you already won?" Asked Arthur.

"Don't assume so early, so you won't be shocked at my request," Arthur raises the corner of his lip and looked at Cora's body.

"You wouldn't," Cora stepped back a bit.

"Hmm, we'll see."

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Arthur brought out a set of Tier 0 herbs.

He was going to concoct the 'Body Tempering Pill'.

This pill was one that is meant for those in the Body Tempering Stage of the Physique Transformation Realm.

Cora 'lent' him her alchemy cauldron, which she said was very precious to her.

She told Arthur to take care good of it.

'Divine Pheonix Cauldron. It is a fitting name,' Arthur said in his heart upon seeing the superb and artistic craftsmanship.

Cora did not mention what grade the cauldron was but Arthur could tell that it was a top-tier artifact even in the upper realms.

Without wasting time, Arthur set the alchemy furnace and threw the herbs inside the cauldron.

*Puff*

A five-colored flame appeared in his hand and he inserted it into the hole in the furnace.

Arthur used his spirit power to see through the cauldron and monitor the situation inside.

The herbs began to get heated up and their herbal essence was being extracted slowly.

But suddenly there was an explosion and the herbs turned to ash.

Arthur frowned, 'I got distracted there for a bit.'

Arthur took note of his mistake and brought out another set of herbs. But the same thing happened multiple times again.

"Hehehe, you see how difficult it is now? You have to be conscious of the temperature while still controlling the herbal essence."

Cora folded her arms around her bountiful chest, giving Arthur a view of her cleavage.

Arthur didn't act like a gentleman and looked on in appreciation of her assets. While Cora was not the least bit shy as she felt that maybe giving Arthur a little distraction should further ensure her win.

"I know what to do, now." Arthur already knew what he will ask her to do.

Arthur resumed his attempts.

This time he was sure of his success because while he had failed multiple times now, it was mostly because he was doing some experiments with the process.

And through those trials, he knew what he needed to do to bypass his lack of experience.

'Ditch the essence controlling technique and use spirit power instead.'

Aside from learning a flame-controlling technique, alchemists also use a special technique to control the herbal essence within the cauldron.

It is also with this technique that the pill is condensed.

At the beginning levels, this technique is fueled by the alchemist's essence energy.

But this will only work for herbs below Tier 5.

Tier 5 herbs and above require the use of spirit power to control the herbal essence and condense the pills.

This is because of the chaotic nature of the different ingredients and the herbal essence's increased ability to resist fusion.

Now using his spirit power for more than watching the herbs within the cauldron, separates the herbal essence of the different herbs and prevented them from coming together prematurely.

Time passed and Cora began to get anxious because it seemed as though Arthur was about to succeed.

She wanted to use her spirit power to probe what was going on within the cauldron, but that was like a taboo amongst alchemists.

'Come on...come on...fail already.' She prayed inwardly.

A few minutes later...

Arthur dispersed the flame and sighed dejectedly. Then he turned and looked at Cora with a frown.

"What, did you fail again?" Cora smiled, as she felt relieved.

But her relief did not last for long as Arthur suddenly smiled arrogantly.

"See for yourself."

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