Chapter 184: What Is Your Relationship with the King of Hell?

Today's class was taught personally by Qin Zhiyu, a practical alchemy course, and also the one most valued by the alchemists.

For other classmates, Qin Zhiyu's class was also the most worth attending, because he was the only first-grade alchemist in the Alchemy Academy—Lady Ye was said to be first-grade, but others were not quite sure; asking around yielded no stories about this Lady Ye. Let alone the Alchemy Academy, hardly anyone in the entire capital had heard of her; it was as if she had entered through the back door.

If one were to choose a mentor, Qin Zhiyu would absolutely be the most popular in the world, with the threshold about to be crushed by the crowd. Those seeking Lady Ye were far fewer, and most probably did not seek her for her knowledge; the likelihood of seeking her for her beauty was even greater...

Of course, Lu Xingzhou would absolutely not admit to being the latter; of course, he revered her because of Lady Ye's high skill level. As for beauty, with a veil on, no one knew.

On Qin Zhiyu's side, the popularity was high, but few were fortunate enough to be selected, and it would be more politicized.

Even without Lady Ye, Qin Zhiyu probably would not have chosen the Lu master and disciple anyway; it was too troublesome... Besides, the people cultivated by the various princes and dukes were not enough for him to divide.

Actually, if Chen Yu had not caused that incident during the trial, he would most likely have followed Qin Zhiyu, but now Qin Zhiyu was very resistant.

It is understandable that the Prince of Jin stretches his hand far, but you cannot break the rules.

What kind of thing is directly ordering someone to kill a student? If you have the ability, go kill them outside!

However, judging solely by Chen Yu's quality, he was indeed commendable; knowing full well that Qin Zhiyu had a strong objection to him, he watched Chen Yu's practical alchemy work, and he was still so steady, showing no sign of panic at all.

Qin Zhiyu watched from the side for a while, then shook his head: "Pity."

Chen Yu's face did not change: "Please, Dean, offer guidance."

"Internal pill and external pill, though seemingly different, are actually one. The pill originates from within and manifests without; it is born from without and promoted from within. If the heart-fire is unstable, how can the alchemical fire be at peace?"

Chen Yu fell silent.

Qin Zhiyu patted his shoulder: "If the heart of the zither is not settled, how can one soar on clouds? Be cautious."

After speaking, he left Chen Yu's alchemy furnace and walked over to the side of Lu Xingzhou and his disciple.

A'nuo was roasting sweet potatoes.

Qin Zhiyu: "..."

Although today was a practical class for fourth-grade pills, useful for most students, it indeed held little meaning for your master and disciple... but if you two have the ability to skip grades, go ahead; what does roasting sweet potatoes in my class mean?

"Ah, Mr." A'nuo smiled apologetically: "My breakfast was snatched away, so I'm a bit hungry; may I eat a sweet potato first, Mr.? I will complete the alchemy assignment on time..."

"... Who snatched your breakfast?"

"It was the bad guys from the Imperial Academy; they ran over to our Alchemy Academy to provoke us! Dean, you must stand up for our Alchemy Academy!"

Qin Zhiyu held back a face full of "Are you kidding me" expression; the old man with a rigid temperament had no idea how to deal with such chaotic nonsense.

Just like his little granddaughter causing trouble at home, he was stuffed with both anger and amusement, and finally could only throw out a sentence: "If you cause trouble again, I'll go beat your father."

So he really went to scold A'nuo's father: "How are you acting as a master, sending your disciple to school hungry?"

Lu Xingzhou: "..."

A'nuo needs to eat pills; food simply cannot fill her stomach; she is just craving...

Forget it.

Qin Zhiyu sniffed: "What pill are you refining again?"

Practical courses naturally arrange for everyone to refine the same pill; why does only your scent smell wrong in the whole class?

Lu Xingzhou smiled apologetically: "Just, just messing around on my own."

Qin Zhiyu looked with a stern face: "This effect... promotes hair growth?"

"Yes, yes; many people are troubled by their hairlines; we alchemists should solve the urgent needs of the people, Dean, don't you agree?"

Qin Zhiyu's lips moved, but in the end, he made no sound.

Hairline? Your hairline is quite dim, isn't it?

But then again, since this fellow can refine down to promoting hair growth in specific areas, of course, it can be refined down to the head; for the vast number of people troubled by hairlines, this is truly a merit. Qin Zhiyu looked with a stern face for a while, then finally said: "The materials could be made even cheaper and more universal; keep working on it."

Lu Xingzhou hurriedly said: "Certainly."

Qin Zhiyu said: "The bone-marrow replacement method you proposed has been under study by the Alchemy Academy these days; currently, the first case has begun experimentation. Do you want to go see it personally?"

Lu Xingzhou said: "I only have some theory; my practical skills are inferior to those of the various Mr. s, so there is no need for me to see... If it truly becomes the first case, just tell me."

Qin Zhiyu gazed at Lu Xingzhou: "If so, the name left for this matter may not necessarily include you."

Lu Xingzhou smiled freely: "Originally, I have no merit; the various Mr. s who have been researching are the primary merit; what does my offering a few words amount to?"

Qin Zhiyu's eyes became somewhat complex: "I hope you truly are so indifferent to fame and profit."

"I still want fame..." Lu Xingzhou smiled: "The fame in the Dean's heart is also fame."

Qin Zhiyu was silent for a moment, then switched to voice transmission: "Your mentor has been set as Lady Ye, not me."

"That is unimportant; the Dean is ultimately still our Mr."

Qin Zhiyu nodded: "Lady Ye is also observing the bone-marrow replacement experiment at the academy today; go find her after this class ends."

"Understood, thank you, Dean."

After school, he arrived at Lady Ye's office; Lady Ye was leaning back in her chair, resting her eyes.

Lu Xingzhou hesitated a bit; why did she look so tired... If this were a male Mr., he could go up and flatter him, help give a massage or something, but this is a female Mr....

Lu Xingzhou gave A'nuo a look; A'nuo reluctantly stepped forward and lightly tapped Lady Ye's shoulder with her small fist.

Ye Tinglan did not open her eyes; her tone was half-smiling: "What, so reluctant... Lu Nuonuo, are you not my disciple?"

A'nuo said: "I have great strength! I'm afraid if I'm too heavy, Mr. will hurt." "Heh." Ye Tinglan was very displeased: "Forget it, no need for you to tap."

A'nuo immediately let go and stopped, adding: "My master's technique is very good; do you want him to come?"

Ye Tinglan: "?"

Lu Xingzhou: "..."

A'nuo looked at Lu Xingzhou with contempt; what kind of expression was that? Both cowardly and useless; A'nuo is truly worried sick for you.

But then she heard Ye Tinglan say: "Today's bone-marrow replacement method was very successful; once it reaches Your Majesty, I wonder what thoughts he will have."

Lu Xingzhou weighed his words: "Mr.'s meaning is that you do not wish for Your Majesty to try this?"

"His condition makes it useless; I fear he will mess around blindly and order the people to match themselves for him, which would exhaust the people and waste resources." Ye Tinglan paused here for a moment: "However, if such a situation truly occurs, you need not blame yourself. This matter has nothing to do with you; your method is good and can save many people."

Lu Xingzhou roughly understood why Lady Ye, with such powerful cultivation, still looked exhausted; it was actually mental fatigue. The Son of Heaven made many knowledgeable people feel uneasy, and she was not the only one.

"So why, Mr.? You are just a teacher in an academy... even if your sect is a hidden one. The mundane world rises and falls; what does it have to do with you, Mr. He Gan?"

"Since I have entered the academy, naturally I have the idea of scouting the way for the sect's return."

"So Mr. is examining the current Son of Heaven to see if he is suitable for the sect's return?"

"More or less." Ye Tinglan opened her eyes and smiled: "Do you think he is suitable?"

Lu Xingzhou said directly: "It is not the time. We can continue to observe."

Ye Tinglan asked with interest: "You slander the Son of Heaven right in front of me?"

"Mr. is important. Since Mr. asked, then regardless of the Heavenly King or the Old Man, the answer is whatever the answer should be."

"So honest?"

"That is natural."

"Then can you tell me why, after two days of not seeing you, your primal yang is gone?"

Lu Xingzhou widened his eyes: "You can tell that?"

"I am a pill master, and a top-tier one." Ye Tinglan was disappointed in him like iron that cannot be forged into steel: "You are also a pill master yourself; you should know clearly that preserving primal yang is extremely beneficial for many types of cultivation! Not being able to hold it at such a young age, do you not want a future?"

"But my cultivation has increased..."

Ye Tinglan looked down on him: "It is nothing but the evil path of draining and supplementing; what is there to be happy about? What difference is this from those people taking pills to practice?"

"But this is orthodox dual cultivation."

"Impossible, absolutely impossible!"

What orthodox dual cultivation can increase so much in one night! Although Ye Tinglan had never eaten pork, did she not have this bit of knowledge?

"That..." Lu Xingzhou pondered for quite a while before saying: "What is learned from books is shallow in the end; to truly know this matter, one must practice it personally..."

A'nuo widened her eyes.

Master, A'nuo wrongly blamed you. Just now I said you were cowardly, but it turns out you are not; your courage has even grown hair on the sides!

"Bang!" An invisible big hand slapped Lu Xingzhou to the ground; he twitched a few times and then stopped moving.

Ye Tinglan acted as if she had done nothing, leisurely picked up the cup on the table, and took a sip of spirit tea: "The poem is not bad, but the strength is lacking. I don't know what messy things you learned in the Yama Palace."

"Cough, cough." Lu Xingzhou struggled to get up from the ground: "Are Mr. and the Yama Palace familiar?"

"Not familiar, just know two or three." Ye Tinglan glanced at him: "Since you said that when Mr. asks you a question, the answer is whatever the answer should be... then if I ask you about the Yama Palace?"

Lu Xingzhou thought to himself, here it comes.

The reason Lady Ye looked at him differently and wanted to take him as a disciple was that the intention to monitor the "Yama Palace Judge" nearby accounted for at least half; it was rare that she held back until now to ask.

Lu Xingzhou thought for a moment and laughed helplessly: "Except for things that might endanger the Yama Palace's privacy which cannot be spoken directly, there is nothing else that cannot be said."

Ye Tinglan nodded: "Then what is your relationship with the Yama Lord?"

"As everyone knows, superior and subordinate."

Ye Tinglan was obviously not satisfied with this answer. Looking at Lu Xingzhou's open eyes, she finally did not press further, only saying: "As you know, is the Yama Lord's cultivation really only first grade?"

Lu Xingzhou smiled: "The first question stumped me, because I truly do not know the Yama Lord's specific cultivation... if she intended to hide it."

"Even you are kept in the dark? Even if you are just a subordinate, you are her right-hand man and left-hand woman."

"The Yama Lord personally ascends to first grade, her name shakes Great Qian, yet she is unwilling to treat a mere broken leg for a subordinate... is this treatment like that of a right-hand man and left-hand woman?"

Ye Tinglan fell silent.

In fact, it was precisely this reason that led many outsiders to believe the Judge had become a marginalized person in the Yama Palace. If he truly had power, he could personally order subordinates to find medicine to treat his leg; why must it be the Yama Lord?

So some people who guessed Lu Xingzhou's identity would feel that capturing him had no value for the Yama Palace, but Ye Tinglan instinctively did not think so.

Yet she heard Lu Xingzhou continue: "She has hidden many things from me... I still do not know what her origin is. Does Mr. think she trusts me, a former Judge, very much? Actually, her intimacy with me is not even as good as Mr.'s with her disciple... if Mr. would not tell me her secrets, then she certainly would not."

Ye Tinglan smiled; Lu Xingzhou's words were also countering the general, equivalent to asking whether Yuan Muyu's origin was related to her "Cloud Hidden Xian Sect."

She finally spoke slowly: "Then alright, I will change the question... The Yama Lord's strength is rare in the world; there are many plans to found a sect, so why choose to be a killer organization? Is there a reason for this? — The Yama Palace was established by you from start to finish with your assistance; you must know the beginning and end, is it convenient to speak?"

Lu Xingzhou, who was originally standing in front, heard this, casually pulled a chair, and sat down: "This is a long story; I want to drink water."

A'nuo cautiously glanced at Lady Ye.

There is only one water cup on this table, and it is the one Lady Ye just drank from; where else is there water?

(End of this chapter)