177: Chapter 177: This isn't cheating, this is industrialization

Master Huorong pointed at Jiang Ning, cursing and raving like a madman.

Everyone looked over, wanting to see what Jiang Ning would say.

Everyone knew in their hearts that this definitely wasn't some illusion.

One hundred cultivators breaking through simultaneously—that surge of spiritual power couldn't be faked.

Yet, everyone was also curious about how Consultant Jiang would respond to this old man who had lost all face and was on the verge of a breakdown.

Would she bother with him, or would she offer a few sarcastic remarks?

Jiang Ning's reaction surprised everyone again.

She wasn't angry, nor did she mock him.

She even looked quite calm and gentle.

She looked at Master Huorong, who was acting like a madman, and said slowly, "Master, please calm down."

"I understand how you feel."

"When someone has believed in one way of doing things for hundreds of years, and it's suddenly overturned by something new, it's only natural to feel angry, skeptical, and unable to accept it. That is perfectly normal."

"This isn't cheating."

Jiang Ning's words didn't sound like an explanation; they sounded more like a statement of fact that no one could refute.

"This thing is called industrialization."

"Industrialization?"

Another new term. Everyone present, including Master Huorong, was stunned.

"That's right, industrialization."

Jiang Ning continued, "Master, what do you think is the most important part of alchemy?"

Master Huorong replied without hesitation, "That would obviously be the fire control techniques, having a strong divine sense, and understanding the nature of the medicinal herbs! These three things are indispensable!"

"You are right," Jiang Ning nodded.

"Traditional alchemy is indeed like that. Therefore, how many times alchemy succeeds depends entirely on the alchemist's mood that day, their mental state, and even the weather can have an impact. Isn't this process full of variables?"

Master Huorong was unhappy, but he still nodded.

That was indeed the case.

"But with industrialization, the first thing we do is eliminate all these variables."

Jiang Ning pointed to the "alchemy god generation iii" alchemy machine.

"This machine has no temper, it doesn't get tired, and it certainly doesn't have bad days."

"We use something called 'sensors' to precisely convert the temperature, pressure, and spiritual energy density inside the furnace at any given moment into 'data' that can be analyzed."

"We use something called a 'central processing unit' that stores tens of thousands of pill formulas and data models from hundreds of millions of alchemy experiments."

"It can process the real-time data sent back by the sensors ten thousand times faster than a human brain, and in the blink of an eye, adjust the heat and medicinal power fusion to the most precise level."

"We have also standardized the processing of medicinal herbs, ensuring that every portion of materials put in has the exact same age, weight, and spiritual energy levels."

With every sentence Jiang Ning spoke, the eyes of the cultivators present widened a little more.

Although they couldn't understand terms like 'sensors,' 'data,' or 'central processing unit,' they could roughly grasp what Jiang Ning meant.

She was saying that this machine broke down the incredibly mystical process of alchemy into countless small steps that could be calculated and controlled.

It replaced the alchemists' variable-filled, "relying on intuition" operations with a kind of absolute rationality that was almost like the "Dao."

"So, Master, do you understand now?"

Jiang Ning looked at the stunned Master Huorong and concluded.

"The reason it can succeed one hundred percent of the time isn't because it knows some crooked path, nor is it because it understands the 'Great Dao' better than you do."

"It is simply because it is more stable, more precise, and less prone to mistakes than any alchemist."

"What it represents is not one individual's technique, but an entire complete, rigorous, and vast system of knowledge."

"We call this system science."

Science.

This word struck everyone's heart like the tolling of a great bell, heavy and resonant.

Master Huorong was completely dumbfounded.

He stood with his mouth agape, eyes vacant, his mind filled only with Jiang Ning's words, spinning over and over again.

Stable... precise... error-free...

He thought of his five hundred years of alchemy.

How many times had a whole furnace of pills been ruined because of a tiny mistake?

How many times had a divine pill failed to form just because his mind had wandered for a split second?

So... so alchemy could actually be like this?

So, the experience and skills he had always been so proud of were, in the face of absolute precision and stability, actually so... useless.

He hadn't lost to a person, nor had he lost to a machine.

He had lost to an entirely new "era" that he couldn't understand at all.

"I... I..."

He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but couldn't utter a single word.

Finally, his proud head slowly lowered.

In an instant, he looked as if he had aged several decades.

Seeing this scene, everyone fell silent.

Everyone knew in their hearts that one era had passed.

A new era had already begun.

Jiang Ning looked at the dejected Master Huorong, feeling little joy in her victory.

She understood that this kind of ideological shock was quite harsh for someone from the old school.

But this was a revolution, and there was always a price to be paid.

She cleared her throat, drawing everyone's attention back.

"I know what everyone wants to know most right now is how much this machine costs."

Here it comes!

Everyone pricked up their ears to listen.

Especially those from the large sects and powerful families; their eyes were burning with desire, looking as if they were determined to buy one no matter what.

Such a machine that could continuously produce divine pills—no matter the cost, they had to get their hands on it!

This concerned the rise and fall of their entire sect for the next hundred years!

"Before I announce the price, I must let everyone perform a blind test first."

Jiang Ning decided to build some suspense.

She had someone place the three high-grade Barrier-Breaking Pills that Master Huorong had just refined, along with one high-grade Barrier-Breaking Pill produced by the machine, into four identical jade boxes.

"Now, I invite the notary elder of Wanbao Pavilion, as well as all seniors present who are at the Golden Core Stage or above, to come up on stage and take a good look."

"See if you can distinguish which one was refined by the machine and which ones were refined by Master Huorong himself."

This proposal immediately piqued everyone's interest.

Soon, a group of powerful cultivators, including the Nascent Soul Stage general manager of Wanbao Pavilion, went up on stage.

One by one, they picked up the jade boxes, examining them closely and probing with their divine sense.

As a result, a quarter of an hour passed.

The people on stage all frowned.

"Strange... these four pills are almost identical in appearance, pill essence, and medicinal power!"

"No, look closely, there is still a slight difference."

The Nascent Soul elder from Wanbao Pavilion thought for a moment and said, "Although these three are all high-grade, if you look closely, you can still sense a 'human touch,' and each one is slightly different."

"But this one..."

He picked up the pill from the fourth jade box, his expression becoming extremely serious.

"It... it is too perfect. So perfect that it's like a circle drawn with a ruler. There are no flaws, no... variations at all."

"If I have to point out a difference, the Master's works are pieces of art."

"And this one is... an industrial product."

He looked up at Jiang Ning and gave his answer.

"The result is already very clear."

"Works of art have their own value."

"But for most of us, what we want is not a piece of art that only appears occasionally."

"Instead, it is an infinitely replicable, perfect, industrial product."

His words brought this contest between old and new concepts to a close.