Translator: AnubisTL
Click.
He removed his monocle, revealing eyes as sharp as a hawk's.
Without using any additional tools, he picked up an irregular lump of gold, about the size of an adult's fist, and held it up for the apprentices to see.
"Now, I will demonstrate. Observe carefully!"
With that, Clark deliberately projected his mental power, causing the gold to detach from his hand and hover in mid-air.
Jieming could clearly sense the extraordinary stability of Clark's mental power fluctuations, like a gentle stream that possessed immense resilience.
Guided by Mentor Clark's mental power, the irregular lump of gold seemed to come alive.
It didn't melt or deform rapidly. Instead, within an invisible force field, it gradually and steadily reshaped itself.
The rough surface smoothed out, sharp edges rounded, the entire process flowing smoothly and stably.
In just over ten seconds, the irregular lump of gold transformed into a perfectly smooth, sharply defined cube, as if it had been cut by the most precise machine. The surface was so polished it could reflect images like a mirror.
Mentor Clark withdrew his mental power, and the golden cube settled quietly back onto the table, radiating a faint luster.
"This is the most fundamental shaping technique in alchemy. Through repeated practice, you must master precise control of your mental power over the physical form of matter." He put his glasses back on. "Now, collect your materials and tools, and begin practicing."
With a wave of Clark's hand, the supplies stored in the laboratory cabinets flew out, and each student received an irregularly shaped piece of gold roughly the same size as the one in the mentor's hand, along with a basic toolkit.
In addition to the standard crucible, tweezers, protective gloves, and goggles, the toolkit also contained a metal disk engraved with intricate runes.
Jieming collected his materials and tools and returned to his workbench.
The moment he touched the disk, he clearly felt the truth runes within his mental sea rapidly activate. The small rune at the center representing alchemy resonated with the numerous runes on the disk.
"Since you haven't yet completed the first three truth runes in your meditation technique, you'll need to use the Alchemy Plate as an aid for now. Once you've fully inscribed the three truth runes representing alchemy into your mental sea, you'll be able to perform alchemy without this device, using only your hands."
Clark calmly reminded the group, "The Alchemy Plate is very expensive. Consider this first one a free tutorial, but if you break it, you'll have to purchase subsequent ones with merit points..."
Jieming donned protective gloves and goggles, then followed Clark's instructions to place the Gold nugget in the recessed groove at the center of the metal disc.
Controlling the physical form of matter with mental power... truly incredible. Is this a unique aspect of the wizard system? Jieming mused.
Cultivators' divine sense was primarily used for perception, scanning, attachment, and direct mental attacks. They could also manipulate true essence to retrieve objects from a distance.
While directly altering the physical form of matter was possible, it relied on brute external force to forcibly compress it. This was fundamentally different from alchemy, which seemed to induce intrinsic transformations within the material itself.
Jieming took a deep breath, sank into his mental sea, and extended his mental power through the truth rune. After connecting with the Alchemy Plate, he carefully enveloped the Gold nugget.
Hum!
He felt a faint but distinct "repulsive force" emanating from the Gold, as if it were resisting his mental power.
Following the principles of meditation techniques for guiding elemental power, he focused his mental power into a concentrated beam and directed it toward a raised protrusion on the Gold's surface, attempting to make it indent.
The result...
Crack!
In his momentary burst of excessive force, the gold didn't dent; instead, a small flake chipped off its surface.
Jieming startled and quickly adjusted his approach.
He tried again, this time carefully channeling a concentrated stream of energy into one corner of the gold, aiming to round it off.
The result...
Sizzle...
The localized temperature spiked instantly, causing the gold's surface to melt slightly, transforming into a flowing liquid.
"Damn it! This feels completely different..." Jieming cursed inwardly.
He had instinctively applied the mental power control methods of immortal cultivation to this wizard system operation, and the sensation was utterly unfamiliar.
It was like asking a stonemason skilled in carving sculptures with a chisel to suddenly embroider delicate patterns. The way force was applied and the techniques involved were entirely different.
He glanced around at the other apprentices, most of whom were in similar disarray.
Some metal blocks were pockmarked with craters, others had melted into puddles, and some had even crumbled into dust during attempts to decompose them.
Of course, there were exceptions.
Jieming noticed Amy beside him. Though her movements were slow, her energy fluctuations were remarkably stable. Under her control, the gold block gradually changed shape, still rough but clearly showing signs of being molded.
Jieming took a deep breath, forcing himself to forget his habitual methods of manipulating mental power and instead mimicking the mental energy fluctuations Mentor Clark had demonstrated.
He enveloped the gold with his mental power again. This time, he didn't rush to shape it. Instead, he adopted a gentle, sustained approach, like a Cultivator nurturing a magical artifact. He allowed his mental power to "interact" with the gold, sensing its inherent properties and resistance.
Failure... try again... failure...
The once-intact gold gradually became more and more deformed under Jieming's hands, but he was also gradually grasping the essence of alchemy.
"Understand, decompose, reconstruct... So that's it."
The key was "understanding." The remaining two steps were built upon this foundation.
"Understanding" meant comprehending a substance's internal structure, properties, and even energy fluctuations. Only then could one guide its transformation according to its nature, rather than relying on brute force.
After numerous attempts, he finally managed to shape a piece of gold into a crude, barely recognizable cube.
The object was crooked and misshapen, its surface marred by traces of repeated melting and solidification. Its edges were blurred, a far cry from the perfect cube crafted by Mentor Clark.
"Is this my first alchemical creation?" Jieming stared at the ugly lump of gold in his hand, a mix of amusement and frustration swirling in his heart.
Just then, Mentor Clark descended from the podium and began inspecting the apprentices' workstations. His sharp gaze lingered on each creation, whether successful or failed, occasionally offering brief critiques.
When he reached Jieming's workstation, his eyes fell upon the misshapen gold lump. Jieming felt a rare pang of nervousness.
Mentor Clark's hawk-like eyes scrutinized the gold lump before glancing at Jieming.
"Mental power control... reasonably stable," Mentor Clark said in his usual flat tone. "But energy output is unstable. Temperature and force field control are poor."
He pointed to the melted traces and distorted edges of the gold lump.
"Return and practice basic meditation to strengthen your mental power stability. Familiarize yourself with manipulating elemental power. When practicing alchemy, pay closer attention to the material's structural details." With this advice, he moved on to the next apprentice's workstation.
Jieming nodded inwardly in agreement. Mentor Clark had immediately pinpointed the core issues.
The unstable elemental power output stemmed from his constant maintenance of inner circulation. Trying to simultaneously isolate himself while channeling energy inevitably led to such inconsistencies.
Suddenly, a painful scream and the shattering of metal erupted from the other side of the laboratory.
Boom!
(End of the Chapter)
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