Chapter 14: Sorry, I Succeeded Again!

"No way… he actually wants to refine a Body Tempering Pill?"

One of the students stared at Jiang Chen like he'd lost his mind.

"Hah," another scoffed, "making one little low-grade pill and now he thinks he's some big shot. Ridiculous."

"The Body Tempering Pill is a first-grade pill. Even proper first-rank alchemists fail half the time. What confidence does this nobody have?"

Their mockery rolled off Jiang Chen like water off stone.

Lin Yang, of course, was louder than anyone. "Go on then, Jiang Chen. Try it. I can't wait to watch you blow yourself up."

Jiang Chen only smiled faintly, his voice calm but brimming with quiet confidence."With the strength of a second-rank alchemist… and a hundredfold success rate… if I can't refine a Body Tempering Pill, then I really should quit alchemy altogether."

"The materials for the Body Tempering Pill are still missing Bone Forging Grass and Weeping Blood Flower," he said, glancing at the podium. "Teacher Su, could you provide them?"

Su Lingxiang didn't hesitate. With a flick of her delicate wrist, she retrieved the herbs from her storage ring and placed them before him.

Jiang Chen nodded slightly, checked the ingredients, and began his work.

His movements were fluid, deliberate—raising the furnace, controlling the flame, adding each ingredient in precise order.

Even Lin Yang had to grudgingly admit: this wasn't the work of an amateur.

In less than ten minutes, all the ingredients were in the furnace.

And then—

Whoosh.

A stray breeze slipped through the classroom door, licking across the flames.

Immediately, the fire under Jiang Chen's control wavered, and the pill furnace rumbled ominously.

The podium shook.

"Oh no—" gasps rippled through the classroom.

This was clearly the prelude to a furnace explosion.

Su Lingxiang's heart sank.

"What a pity…" she thought with a sigh.

Jiang Chen had been doing astonishingly well. By her estimation, he had at least an 80–90% chance of success.

But alchemy was merciless. A single disruption—wind, noise, anything—could ruin an entire batch.

This was why true alchemists refined in sealed chambers, away from the world.

"It's over," she thought. "Even I wouldn't be able to save this batch now."

But before she could mourn the loss, Jiang Chen's hand blurred.

He grabbed a stalk of Yanyang Grass—a completely unrelated herb—and with deft precision, plucked two leaves and tossed them into the furnace.

Whoom!

The unruly flames instantly stabilized.

The pill furnace, once trembling like a boiling cauldron, grew calm.

Su Lingxiang's beautiful eyes widened in shock.

"Yanyang Grass… as a stabilizer? That's… that's alchemical improvisation on the level of a seasoned master!"

Even she had never seen someone react so quickly, so decisively, with such perfect execution.

"Hahaha!"

Lin Yang's laughter cut through the silence like a blade.

"Are you serious, Jiang Chen? Yanyang Grass isn't even used in Body Tempering Pills! You don't even know the recipe. You're just throwing in random herbs. This is going to blow up in your face!"

His sneering voice echoed across the room.

Jiang Chen ignored him.

His hands formed the final pill-condensation seal, pressing it into the furnace.

And then—

A rich, dense fragrance filled the classroom.

It was several times stronger than the earlier Powerful Pill.

Ding!"You successfully refined a first-grade Body Tempering Pill. Gained 1000×100 experience!""Congratulations! You have advanced to a third-rank alchemist!

Jiang Chen slowly opened the furnace.

Inside lay a flawless Body Tempering Pill, glowing faintly with medicinal light.

He plucked it out, turned toward Lin Yang, and grinned.

"Sorry…" he said casually, holding up the pill between his fingers.

"I succeeded. Again."

"W–what?!"

Lin Yang's face went white as chalk. His jaw hung open.

He felt as if he'd just swallowed a fistful of live flies.

"He… really refined it?"

"Holy… even a first-grade pill, on his first try?!"

"Golden Class. He's going straight to Golden Class!"

The classroom erupted in disbelief, awe, and envy.

But Jiang Chen?

He simply tucked the pill away with a calmness that made the others even more unsettled.

As if refining a first-grade pill on his first attempt was nothing more than… routine.