Perfection

You all think too highly of the people who came before you, you all think that their knowledge is the best there is. But none of you thinks of using their knowledge to learn and create something new…you all are just a bunch of monkeys… Monkey see, monkey do.

The heat kept rising and the smell of burnt material kept rising, it smelled like something was overcooked then overburnt, and everyone thought I had failed.

Especially since the Cauldron began shaking and black fume rose from within it.

"Why are you doing this Shen Bao, you have already lost, don't you realize that your alchemy had failed?" she said mocking.

"That's not for you to decided, until I open the cauldron, everything is still undecided," I said.

"We'll see about that attitude of yours once the cauldron is open and there is nothing but ash there," she said.

I smiled then continued applying heat.