Chapter 165: The Eve of the Trial

Ye Tinglan had been pretending to hold a position at the Alchemy Academy this year; naturally, Meng Li had arranged an office for her, though she rarely came, teaching only a few classes a month.

Fortunately, she had come today.

A'nuo pushed Lu Xingzhou to the office in a flash. Ye Tinglan looked up from a pile of alchemical research materials, eyeing the pale Lu Xingzhou with some curiosity: "What's wrong with him? He usually looks so arrogant; did he take a laxative today?"

A'nuo said anxiously, "I don't know! Master has been in pain since morning; I checked his pulse but couldn't find the problem. Mr., please take a look..."

Ye Tinglan glanced at her sideways: "No longer calling me 'old woman'?"

A'nuo smiled apologetically: "Mr., you are the only Mr. I recognize at the Alchemy Academy!"

Ye Tinglan continued scanning Lu Xingzhou: "Why not let the Mr. who teaches your classes take a look on the spot?"

A'nuo said, "Because my Master recognizes only you as Mr.!"

"I still prefer your arrogant and domineering self from back then," Ye Tinglan said leisurely, reaching out to place her fingers on Lu Xingzhou's wrist to check his pulse.

After a moment, her expression changed: "There is no illness here."

A'nuo hesitated, wanting to speak but holding back.

Just wait; if she still can't make sense of it later, it won't be too late to call her an old woman again.

Ye Tinglan asked, "How exactly does it hurt? Tell me."

Lu Xingzhou had no way to say it directly, so he chose his words carefully: "It feels as if someone is casting a spell on me from afar, attacking me across the distance nonstop."

"That's not right; there are no signs of a spell." Ye Tinglan thought for a moment: "Let me first try to temporarily isolate the influence of the substances that were once separated from your body upon yourself."

Having spoken, she flicked her slender fingers; a soft light shield seemed to pass over, and Lu Xingzhou blinked his eyes, suddenly sitting upright.

"Is it gone?"

"It's gone." Lu Xingzhou was overjoyed: "Lady is truly a top grandmaster; effortless!"

"..." Ye Tinglan fell silent for a moment, her eyes full of suspicion: "If you are making an excuse to see me, then it is quite a failure."

Lu Xingzhou was indeed not afflicted by a spell; Ye Tinglan never thought the opponent had been struck by her own technique, and it was simply caused by her obedient disciple practicing repeatedly in the room...

"Making an excuse..." Lu Xingzhou heard this and was stunned: "Why would Lady think that?"

What Sheng Yuanyao said... Ye Tinglan hadn't said that; she only sneered: "Everyone else knows to call me Mr.; why do you keep calling me Lady without end?"

"Don't women all hate being called Mr.?"

"What ignorant fools are those?"

"There is no way to explain that to you..."

Ye Tinglan said coldly, "Enough. Since you are fine, go back to class."

"Um..." Lu Xingzhou hesitated somewhat.

"What?"

"Since I am already here, can Lady pretend to treat my leg?"

Ye Tinglan said, "Have you finally grown tired of the wheelchair?"

"It was in today's class; Mr. mentioned organizing a trial in a few days. I feel that in such a moment, with everyone watching, there is a great risk of exposing that my leg is healed, so I need to plan ahead."

Ye Tinglan fell silent for a moment, then nodded: "You seem unreliable, but your thinking is actually detailed and cautious; some of your previous achievements are understandable. Just put more of your mind to the right path..."

"How is my mind not on the right path? I read alchemical books until midnight last night." Actually, he had been pulled awake and couldn't sleep.

"But before that, weren't you on a date with the Pei family daughter? Dugu Qingli challenged you and directly broke in; many people saw it."

Lu Xingzhou: "..."

Ye Tinglan truly felt like a blacksmith unable to forge steel when speaking of this: "With such talent and a boundless future, how can you engage in such chaotic things just days after entering school? Being bewitched by women at such a young age, what future can you possibly have!"

Lu Xingzhou, though being scolded, felt no resistance in his heart; instead, he felt a rare sense of emotion.

This truly felt like an elder grieving for you... something he had never experienced in this life.

He finally sighed: "Mr...."

Ye Tinglan was stunned; wasn't she unwilling to be called Mr.? Why did she suddenly call me that after just a few scoldings?

But she heard Lu Xingzhou continue: "A'nuo and I both want Mr. to be our mentor; we do not know if Mr. is willing to accept us?"

"No, get out."

The master and disciple were both baffled.

Didn't this Mr. previously offer to take them on voluntarily? Why, now that he proposed it, are they being kicked out?

Playing hard to get?

Ye Tinglan said coldly: "I am a first-grade alchemist; people who want to choose me as a mentor are as numerous as ox hairs. Do you think I need you specifically? If you wish to study under me, then perform well in this trial, and I will consider accepting you accordingly."

Of course it was playing hard to get; they came knocking to be taken as disciples, yet these two put on airs, and now that they are being tested, they suddenly know how to cherish it, don't they?

Lu Xingzhou asked, "May I ask what the nature of this trial is?"

"Most alchemists sit idly refining pills, rarely undergoing trials; in reality, this is very one-sided," Ye Tinglan said. "Those who have not yet entered the upper three grades are fine; what they lack is merely control, flame temperature, and understanding of medicinal properties... but the higher you go, the more unique each becomes. For example, when refining certain pills, heart demons arise; or evil ghosts gather, seizing the pill from the furnace; or poisonous insects and fierce beasts are attracted to attack the alchemist... all such instances are too numerous to list."

Lu Xingzhou understood: "So some environmental trials are needed to let alchemists familiarize themselves with such situations in advance?"

"Yes; generally, alchemists need guardians, which is precisely this meaning, not merely for defending against external enemies. But we believe one cannot rely entirely on others for guardianship; one must also possess the ability to cope oneself."

"Understood."

"Furthermore, low-grade alchemists can refine pills using ordinary fire techniques; if truly insufficient, borrowing earth fire can also suffice. But as requirements rise to higher grades, suitable earth fire becomes increasingly hard to find; relying on yourselves, what capabilities do your flames possess? I fear you cannot even dissolve the medicinal effects. Thus, there is a need to cultivate special fire techniques, or seek special fire seeds to refine your own unique flames."

"Can this trial location provide such things?"

"Perhaps yes, perhaps no; it depends on opportunity and wisdom," Ye Tinglan said indifferently. "Even when various sects cultivate their members, there are benefits from trials. Since you have entered the Royal Academy, you certainly will not merely listen to lectures. But since it is a royal matter, it will naturally not be given for free, nor distributed equally; whether you obtain it depends entirely on your ability."

"Understood; thank you, Mr., for the guidance." Lu Xingzhou bowed.

This Lady Ye is also stubborn; saying "No, get out," yet actually holding high expectations. These words are precisely what a mentor would say to their own student; who else would talk to you so much and so in detail?

Anyway, whatever trial it is, now that the pain is gone, there is nothing to fear.

Ye Tinglan said indifferently: "I need to inform you in advance that no Mr. will accompany you in this trial, to prevent you from developing a dependent mindset and losing the original intent of the trial. At most, there will be some hidden guards, drawn from the Demon Suppression Bureau or the Holy Land; they may not be able to fully protect your safety, and accidents are not uncommon."

Lu Xingzhou smiled freely: "Lu is not merely an alchemist."

Ye Tinglan looked deeply at Lu Xingzhou. When he killed Ye Wufeng a few days ago, he had just broken through to the fifth grade; now his lower fifth grade is extremely solid, and he is about to reach the mid-fifth grade stage. How many days has it been?

Even someone as knowledgeable as Ye Tinglan had never seen such cultivation efficiency. Unless he was pill-dumping, but Lu Xingzhou was clearly not a pill-dumper; his foundation was very solid. Where did this efficiency come from?

Lu Xingzhou, of course, knew exactly how his cultivation came about.

First, the energy reserves of his Water and Fire legs gradually absorbed and released more as his cultivation ceiling rose; second, the shameless results with Pei Chuyun. Although that dual cultivation effect was average, doing it many times still benefited both parties.

Otherwise, even if Pei Chuyun burned with desire, she wouldn't have stolen a moment in the pond at noon and then gone for a wheelchair stroll on the tree-lined path in the evening...

Besides the comfort of knowing the taste of marrow, it was, of course, for cultivation.

"The Alchemy Academy is about to hold its first trial." In a certain secret room, Huo Qi, the eldest son of the Huo family, asked the Daoist Xuan Qing before him: "Do you have confidence?"

Daoist Xuan Qing's expression was somewhat despondent: "I have been pondering the answers of Lu Xingzhou and his master, as well as the pills refined that day... I am indeed no match for them."

"Fool! The trial does not compare alchemy ability! It is first the ability to handle various special situations, second the opportunity to find fire seeds and the like, and there may even be other strange treasures! That is the Demon-Slaying Domain!" Huo Qi sneered: "If you must ensure that even if you gain nothing yourself, Lu Xingzhou gains nothing in the trial, do you have the confidence?"

A hint of ferocity appeared on Daoist Xuan Qing's face: "I don't know if I have the confidence, but I like this mission."

Huo Qi glanced at him, finding it somewhat amusing.

Jealousy makes one unrecognizable; indeed so.

Daoist Xuan Qing added: "However, last time the Fifth Young Master hired assassins to kill Lu Xingzhou and failed, Your Majesty was furious. Does the Young Master still dare to plot against him? Moreover, your father's side..."

"Normally, of course, I would not dare," Huo Qi said leisurely. "But in the trial grounds, accidents happen frequently; whatever situation arises has nothing to do with us. As for my father..."

He paused, then sneered: "They have finally cast aside unrealistic fantasies."

From the perspective of Huo Liancheng and Huo Xingyuan, there was still a certain possibility for Huo Shang to return to his ancestral clan, and with Shen Tang's factor standing there, they had hesitated previously and did not want to take things to the extreme. Only brothers like Huo Qi did not want Huo Shang to return from the start; the last assassination attempt was done by Huo Qi and Huo Jin behind the elders' backs.

But under blow after blow, the entire Huo family has also realized that Lu Xingzhou will not compromise. This time, it is not Huo Qi messing around privately; standing behind it is the consensus of the entire family.

Daoist Xuan Qing said in a low voice: "Since it is your father's will, then..."

Huo Qi knew what he wanted to ask: "Of course, you will not fight alone. At that time, people will cooperate. Making Lu Xingzhou gain nothing is just the minimum goal; if possible..."

As he spoke, he made a chopping gesture.

Daoist Xuan Qing took a deep breath. Killing during the Alchemy Academy trial is a serious political incident; just thinking about it makes one's heart drum with fear.

Huo Qi added: "There will be no teachers in the trial; even if there are, we will take care of them. The rest, do you dare?"

Daoist Xuan Qing's originally handsome face was twisted by jealousy into something terrifying: "Of course I dare."

(End of this chapter)