Chapter 119: True Pill Debate (Part 2)

"Obviously, the constitution theory does not hold!"

"Therefore, Alchemist Zhang Jian also studied it seriously and finally left his conclusion in 'On Quenching Pills'. This book detailed his view that the varying effects of Body Quenching Pills are not due to constitution, but to uneven distribution of medicinal power during refining! Even pills of the same grade from the same batch can have different potencies!"

"This theory persisted for several years until twelve years ago, when it was questioned and overturned! The challenger was not an alchemist but a one-star master, who said: if the medicinal power is unevenly distributed during refining, why does this only happen with Body Quenching Pills and not with other pills?"

"So, he proposed a bold hypothesis, recorded in 'Sayings of Ning Han'. This book has a very small market circulation, and only the elementary library of the guild has a copy. If you haven't read it, you can check it out when you have time—it's in the far right corner of the nineteenth bookshelf!"

Zhang Xuan chuckled and continued: "This master named Ning Han put forward a bold conjecture, believing that the reason for this phenomenon in Body Quenching Pills is due to differences in the main ingredients or refining methods! Of course, he only proposed the theory and did not practice it."

"Eight years ago, alchemist Zhao Le of Hongxuan Kingdom was inspired by this book and conducted experiments, replacing a full eighteen main ingredients and forty-two refining methods, finally reaching a conclusion! He also wrote down his research results and published a work called 'Detailed Discourse on Body Quenching'. Coincidentally, our guild's elementary library has it, on the upper left of the twenty-seventh shelf, together with 'Yang Zhen on Alchemy' and 'Methods for Refining Blood Jasper Pills'! If you don't believe me, you can have someone fetch it and take a look!"

"I believe the answer in this book is correct and sufficient to answer your question!"

Having said this, Zhang Xuan stopped, waved his hand grandly, and signaled Ouyang Cheng to send someone to fetch the book.

"No need..."

The previously smug Alchemist Jin Chen, upon hearing this, turned ashen, stumbling back two steps as if he had aged several years.

"What's wrong? If we don't bring the book, I'm afraid Alchemist Jin won't acknowledge my answer!" Zhang Xuan said.

"Your answer is correct. I have read this book, and it is exactly as you said!" Alchemist Jin Chen nodded.

"Correct?"

"Exactly as he said?"

"Impossible... Alchemist Jin Chen casually posed a question, and he answered offhand, even citing so many books and remembering their exact locations... How is that possible?"

"Is he even human? Real or fake?"

...

Hearing his admission, the room erupted again.

The crowd had just arrogantly assumed that Zhang Xuan, limited by his age, had not read many books. Now they realized that compared to him... they were the ones who had truly read nothing!

He not only clearly remembered the content and timing but could also name the books and their positions in the library...

As for them... remembering the content was already a feat!

It seemed there really was a damn gap between people!

"Since Alchemist Jin acknowledges my answer is correct, then please proceed with the second question!"

Zhang Xuan smiled.

A contest of memory?

Ridiculous. With the Library of Heaven's Path in his mind, he could summon books with a thought and read them aloud. No matter how good your memory, could it be more accurate than his recitation?

"The second question: when refining first-grade [Strength Increase Pills], why do cracks appear in the furnace, making it difficult to continue?"

Alchemist Jin Chen hesitated, pondering for a full ten minutes before speaking.

"Impressive!"

"This question is sharp!"

"Indeed, when refining first-grade Strength Increase Pills, furnace cracking often occurs. On the surface, this is the alchemist's problem, but it is also related to the artifact smith!"

"Yes, let's see how he answers!"

...

Hearing Alchemist Jin Chen's second question, the crowd was stirred again.

An alchemist's furnace is forged by an artifact smith. Cracking during refining goes beyond the scope of alchemy, crossing boundaries.

Of course, upon closer scrutiny, it still falls within the alchemy domain. Because of this ambiguity, many alchemists never pay attention to such issues, let alone answer them.

Everyone understood his intent, and Zhang Xuan was no exception. He curled his lips and said: "This question is covered in Alchemist Wu Xiao's 'Furnace Maintenance', Alchemist Zhao Qian's 'Matters to Note in Alchemy', Alchemist Niu Xuan's 'Detailed Miscellany', Alchemist Pang Bo's 'New Furnace Maintenance'..."

Without a pause, he rattled off a dozen book titles, finally concluding: "...All these books have records. In fact, it's not really a problem. The furnaces you use are made of ordinary nine-refined iron. Although this iron is hard, it cannot withstand the impact of heat and cold. The main ingredient of Strength Increase Pills is the blood of cold ice savage beasts, carrying extreme yin and cold energy. When it meets a hot furnace, it naturally cannot endure!"

"If you want to solve it, it's best to use a dark iron furnace! Or replace the furnace after each batch of Strength Increase Pills!"

Zhang Xuan said with a smile.

This question seemed tricky, but it was actually recorded in the elementary library. However, the library had too many books. All the guild's apprentices were focused on quick alchemy methods to pass the formal alchemist exam. Why would they carefully study some useless books?

Moreover, once they became formal alchemists, their status changed, and they had more social engagements and authority, leaving even less time for reading. Much knowledge was available in the library, but they never looked for it, or even knew about it.

Thus, these questions stumped other alchemists, but for Zhang Xuan, who had copied the entire elementary library into his mind, they posed no difficulty.

"I wonder if this answer satisfies Alchemist Jin? If not, I can continue..."

"No need, your answer is very correct!"

Cold sweat broke out on Alchemist Jin Chen's forehead.

When he first started refining Strength Increase Pills and encountered this problem, he asked around and finally found the answer in a book—Alchemist Pang Bo's 'New Furnace Maintenance', which Zhang Xuan had just mentioned.

He thought only that one book recorded this matter, so he seized the chance to embarrass him. Unexpectedly, this guy listed over a dozen books in one breath.

Good thing he hadn't rashly mentioned the book title; otherwise, with the other party listing so many, he would have surely lost face.

Damn, what was this guy's brain made of?

How could he remember so clearly?

Seeing his expression, Ouyang Cheng and Du Man exchanged glances and smiled bitterly. This was nothing. If they knew that this guy could even recall which page of which book a sentence came from, they wouldn't have sought stimulation by engaging in this pill debate!

To be honest, if he had said he would refine pills and point out flaws, that would have increased the difficulty. But competing with him in knowledge and hoping to win...

That could only be a dream!