Rise of the Alchemy God

Chapter 217: First Week of Training

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A week had passed since the meeting, and in that time, apart from teaching the alchemists of the Peng family, Ethan hadn't done much else.

Teaching the seven members of the Peng family was initially challenging, mainly due to two alchemists, one at the expert level and the other a Three-Star Adept.

Both were dissatisfied with Ethan.

While they could accept Ethan's superiority and respected his rank, when Ethan told them that everything they had learned so far was practically useless, their pride took a serious blow.

It's worth noting that being an Adept-level alchemist of the highest rank was a significant point of pride for most, even more so for someone at the Expert level.

For these two individuals, who had enjoyed a degree of fame due to their status, hearing that their accomplishments amounted to nothing irritated them greatly.

Although they didn't openly oppose him, they decided to remain skeptical about everything they would learn from Ethan.

Ethan could only shake his head at their childish behavior and realized that if these two weren't brought in line from the start, they wouldn't learn anything.

Thus, he made a slight adjustment to his plans and decided to start with them before moving on to the younger, less experienced members.

Ethan's teaching itself wasn't anything extraordinary.

What set him apart was his deep alchemical knowledge, both in terms of refining techniques and his understanding of materials.

On the first day, he summoned these two and asked them to refine some pills.

He told them to produce the most high level pills they could, and what he saw left him far from pleased.

One managed to refine high-grade Level 1 pills with a purity of 76%, barely above the minimum requirement for that grade. The other, produced low-grade Level 2 pills with a purity not far from the minimum needed for that level.

Seeing this performance, Ethan realized that the general standard for alchemists of this level was far lower than he had expected.

He had already noticed their traditional, inefficient refining methods, but seeing that their final products were subpar only made him shake his head further.

In the end, he decided to rewrite their entire foundation in alchemy and refining techniques from scratch.

He called the two of them closer. Thinking they had done a decent job, they approached, expecting praise or acknowledgment.

What they received, however, was something that left them both grateful and terrified at the same time.

Ethan decided to use a soul-based technique to link with them and directly transfer knowledge into their minds.

Normally, transferring knowledge wouldn't require using one's soul.

However, during his studies on the soul and its manipulation, Ethan discovered that combining this technique with others would amplify its effects.

And indeed, it worked just as he expected.

As soon as the two stood in front of him, Ethan touched their foreheads with his fingers and overwrote their alchemical knowledge.

Doing something like this wasn't easy. It was challenging for both the one performing the transfer and the one receiving it.

The two felt as if they had been struck by lightning for who knows how long, and in the end, both fainted.

Ethan didn't worry about it. He simply woke them up with a slap to the face.

The two were understandably unhappy with the treatment, but when Ethan told them to refine pills again, they had no choice but to obey.

As soon as they got to work, they immediately noticed something different.

For some reason, their understanding felt sharper and more precise, and their refining process seemed smoother.

They didn't know what was happening, but they decided to go with the flow and refine the same pills as before.

The results shocked both them and Peng Yu, the patriarch who was observing.

The purity percentages of both alchemists' pills had drastically improved, bringing their creations to nearly the next grade.

With this first demonstration of his capabilities, Ethan gained everyone's trust.

They resolved to follow his instructions to the letter, and the results didn't take long to show.

In less than a week, the two alchemists made tremendous progress.

One reached the peak of their current rank, while the other advanced to the next, becoming a Two-Star Expert Alchemist.

The other five, who were still beginners, were no less impressive.

Nearly all of them were at the apprentice level, meaning they had some theoretical knowledge but little else.

Their refining skills were almost nonexistent, but Ethan saw this as an advantage.

It was easier for him to teach them from scratch.

Using his soul-transfer technique, he imparted theoretical knowledge to all of them.

This information was engraved into their minds so thoroughly that they knew it by heart, as if they had studied it for years.

Afterward, Ethan decided to first work on improving their cultivation levels.

Since they were still beginners, they didn't have proper refining methods.

So he planned to teach them spiritual Qi refinement techniques, but for that to happen, they needed to reach at least the second stage of mortal cultivation.

For the first month, he focused on raising their cultivation levels.

With his current abilities, helping them quickly reach and surpass the first stage wasn't difficult.

By using some body-strengthening pills and techniques he had devised, he managed to bring all of them to the second stage of cultivation in just over a week.

Normally, something like this would take much longer, but since this involved only the first stage, Ethan could accelerate the process.

From this point on, they would have to advance on their own. Strengthening the body was one thing, but refining Qi was something he couldn't do for them.

Nonetheless, this level was already more than enough.

Now, with their bodies strengthened and their cultivation bases at the second stage, they could finally sense Qi more clearly, refine it, and even begin to manipulate it to some extent.

Ethan intended to dedicate the coming months to training both their cultivation and the Qi refinement technique.

In this regard, the work with these five was more demanding, but it was worth it.

Seeing the initial results, none of them hesitated or held back.

They understood that being personally taught by Ethan was an unmissable opportunity.

While Ethan continued teaching them, Peng Yun, who had just recovered, was once again astonished.

Not only did he now have two stronger alchemists, but he also suddenly found himself with five second-stage cultivators.