Zhao Rong pulled a pressure cooker directly from the trunk of his car.
When he carried the pressure cooker from the trunk to the competition grounds, not only were the surrounding students completely shocked, but even Teacher Johnny was stunned. So the Alchemy Divine Artifact Zhao Rong spoke of is actually a pressure cooker? I’ve seen so odd Alchemists before, but never one this bizarre.
On the competition stage, Zhao Rong and Teacher Johnny ford a stark contrast. As a tenth-level Alchemist, Teacher Johnny aid his palms at the large dicine cauldron before him. In an instant, a burst of Samadhi Fire shot out from between his hands, scorching its base. In stark contrast, Zhao Rong had gathered gasoline and dry wood, simply starting a mundane fire underneath his pressure cooker.
When the crowd saw that Zhao Rong was not using Samadhi Fire and was instead starting his own fire, they were all astonished.
"I can’t believe it," a student with very narrow eyes said. "I’ve never in my life seen an Alchemist who doesn’t use Samadhi Fire. He’s actually using kindling to make a fire? It looks like Zhao Rong is bound to lose this ti."
Another student, even shorter than soone from the Island Country, added, "Using a pressure cooker for alchemy is hilarious... How can kitchenware be used for refining Elixirs? And to have it competing alongside a large dicine cauldron is an absolute fantasy... It looks like he’s dood to fail."
A third student, with skin darker than a South Asian’s, chid in, "Zhao Rong not only lacks Samadhi Fire and can’t use a dicinal Cauldron, but he doesn’t even know the thods and steps of alchemy? He’s even looking things up on his phone! It seems Zhao Rong is a complete idiot when it cos to alchemy. We should just get ready to congratulate Teacher Johnny."
Although everyone, without exception, looked down on Zhao Rong’s chances, they were unaware of a key fact. While a pressure cooker is a piece of kitchenware, the principle behind it is remarkably similar to that of a large dicine cauldron.
During alchemy, a large dicine cauldron’s lid must be sealed tightly. This ensures the liquid inside is under a certain pressure, which raises its boiling point. It allows the contents to reach a higher temperature without boiling, which in turn helps fuse the dicinal herbs and speeds up the refining process. In this respect, a pressure cooker is actually superior to a large dicine cauldron. The air pressure inside a pressure cooker is higher than one atmosphere, so its refining effect is significantly better.
When Teacher Johnny had used his Samadhi Fire to heat the water inside his large dicine cauldron to a near boil, he began adding the herbs. As Teacher Johnny added herbs to his large dicine cauldron, Zhao Rong also began adding herbs to his pressure cooker.
When Teacher Johnny saw Zhao Rong imitating him, he shot Zhao Rong a contemptuous look and mocked him, "Kid, my talent for alchemy isn’t sothing you can learn. Just wait for to put you in your place."
With that, Teacher Johnny laughed heartily.
Although everyone, including Teacher Johnny, believed Zhao Rong was certain to lose, Zhao Rong himself was confident that he could pull off a surprising victory and turn the tables.
Once Teacher Johnny had tossed the herbs into the large dicine cauldron, the proper alchemy process began. He gathered his True Qi to intensify the Samadhi Fire while muttering incomprehensible incantations. In contrast to Teacher Johnny’s professionalism, Zhao Rong simply sat by and waited. He neither added more wood to his fire nor chanted any spells.
When Teacher Johnny saw Zhao Rong sitting there motionlessly, he scoffed inwardly. Kid, competing against ? You’re just waiting to lose. First, you have no dicinal Cauldron. Second, you have no Samadhi Fire. Besides, even if you had a top-tier Alchemy Cauldron and Samadhi Fire, you still couldn’t beat .
What no one knew was that Teacher Johnny had already tampered with the herbs for the competition. The herbs he was using to concoct his Elixir were high-quality, very expensive ingredients, while the herbs Zhao Rong was given were ordinary, almost worthless scraps.
While Zhao Rong’s pressure cooker showed no reaction, Teacher Johnny’s dicinal Cauldron had already started to rumble. In alchemy, such a sound signifies that the Elixir is almost complete. With Teacher Johnny’s Elixir nearly ready and Zhao Rong’s showing no signs of progress, everyone was convinced that Zhao Rong’s defeat was inevitable.
Even Tao Hua was breaking out in a cold sweat for Zhao Rong. Why does he have to be so stubborn? I told him not to compete with Teacher Johnny in alchemy, but he insisted. Now what? If he loses, not only will his reputation be ruined, but he’ll have to polish Teacher Johnny’s shoes in front of all the students. That would be terribly humiliating!
The three beauties—Miss Lili, Yu Lan, and Xuelian—also felt that Zhao Rong’s chances were slim to none.
Just then, Teacher Johnny suddenly stopped channeling his Samadhi Fire and ceased his incantations. He burst into loud laughter and announced, "Classmates, I hereby declare that my Elixir has been successfully concocted! Next, I just need to open the large dicine cauldron, take out the Elixir, and consu it. Then, I will directly advance to the next level!"
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