Dawn arrived, and with it, the time for the alchemy lesson, which Liam approached with a mixture of anxiety and curiosity.

Liam simply wasn’t teacher material. He was sure he was bad with words and believed he wasn’t fit to teach alchemy to anyone, and mistakes could create problems in a Sect that was already resorting to ploys.

At the same time, Liam wanted to see what passed for alchemists, or at least apprentices, in the Roaring Thunder Sect. He didn’t really know when someone could claim the title of master, so checking the rest of the world’s level couldn’t hurt.

Still, nothing could have prepared Liam for the disappointments that morning held, which started as soon as Philip escorted him to the first plateau carved into the cloudy mountain.

The area had changed after Liam had completed his public demonstrations. The central platform was no more, and the same went for the numerous crowd.

Now, only a dozen cultivators occupied the vast area, with most being foundation experts. Talismans were already in place, and the same went for Qi-enhanced cauldrons and everything alchemy needed, which was the first issue to stand out.

"Master William," Unified greetings resounded from the sitting disciples as soon as Liam’s cloaked figure stepped onto the plateau.

Liam didn’t even respond to the salutes, instead heading for the nearest cauldron that featured the issue he had spotted, pointing at an item under it.

"What is this?" Liam asked.

The disciple behind that specific cauldron was a young foundation expert who followed Liam’s hand but hesitated to reply, both out of awe for his status and genuine confusion.

"Master William," The disciple eventually muttered, lifting his head. "It’s a log."

Liam could see that it was a log, but it was a terrible one, one that would have earned him quite an intimate session with his Master’s cane.

"You can’t use that," Liam said, turning to point at other cauldrons. "Or that. Definitely not that. Not that one, either."

The disciples complied, putting aside the logs Liam had pointed at. They knew better than to contradict someone they had seen perform a thousand concoctions in a row flawlessly.

However, the disciples had also seen Liam respond to any question that reached him, so they didn’t hesitate to voice their doubts.

"Master William," One of the affected disciples called. "We are aware these logs are of low quality, but can’t they work, too? The imperfections on the final product would be mostly negligible."

Liam heard everything, but nothing clicked in his mind. Whatever that disciple had said, it was simply unfathomable for him.

"Imperfections?" Liam repeated.

"Yes, Master William," Another disciple announced. "The quality might suffer, but it’s possible to concoct decent alchemical products anyway."

"No, it’s not," Liam declared. "Only perfection is allowed."

Gasps and looks that reeked of profound respect flew in Liam’s direction, which he found strange since he believed he had said the most normal thing in the world.

Still, since the matter was done with, Liam moved to the second problem he had spotted.

"Why have you arranged your ingredients like this?" Liam questioned.

Not everyone had taken out their ingredients already, but those who did had laid them in manners that Liam couldn’t fit under any category. All the arrangements were different, too.

"Master William," A confused, braver disciple called. "Isn’t the arrangement of ingredients about personal comfort? We all have different habits and preferences."

Once again, those words failed to click in Liam’s mind.

"What do your preferences have to do with alchemy?" Liam asked. "You must become one with the concoction, no different than the very ingredients you are using."

More gasps resounded, joined by positive comments about Liam’s wisdom, which he completely ignored to move to the next topic.

The cauldrons were fine, so Liam started with the very foundation of alchemy.

"I need to see your alchemical flames," Liam declared, and the disciples complied.

Most used matches. Only a few relied on the basic friction technique common in that field, immediately showing what was the biggest problem yet.

Alchemical flames lit up everywhere. Some were tall, others short. Almost all flickered chaotically, and a few even struggled to maintain the right red shade.

All cultivators were different, but alchemy was a noble art that stressed precision above all, and there was no standard in what Liam saw, let alone an ounce of stability.

’Are they attempting concoctions like this?’ Liam considered, despite not believing his own thoughts.

Some of the alchemical flames in Liam’s view could work in a concoction. They might produce products, but the process would be nothing short of a gamble, heavily luck-reliant, which was nowhere close to the alchemy he had learned.

And, precisely for that disbelief, Liam felt the need to confirm his considerations.

"Put them out," Liam ordered. "Help me understand something. Did none of you master the alchemical flame?"

The fires went off, replaced by general confusion. The disciples exchanged looks until one of the few rooting experts finally decided to speak.

"Master William, we all have aspects of the concoctions we are better at," The rooting expert said. "If we prioritize them, we can obtain faster results."

Every ingredient behaved differently. Even the unpredictable variables could belong to fields that individual cultivators would find easier or harder to deal with, depending on their inborn inclinations.

Liam had been there, too. That had been one of his first questions to his Master, when he still thought he could focus on poison and ignore everything else.

Which was exactly why those words sounded like heresy in Liam’s ears.

Now, Liam had no idea how teaching should go, but he was big on imitation, and he knew exactly what had taken his brain to learn.

"Fellow Daoist Philip," Liam addressed the rooting expert watching the scene from the railings. "I need a cane."

The request perplexed Philip, but Liam had already moved his attention back to the disciples, his following order featuring the same words his Master had once told him.

"None of you is allowed to touch a cauldron until you master the alchemical flame," Liam said. "I want to see nothing but pristine red fire. You’ll only work on logs until you can summon a hundred of those in a row."