Chapter 143: The First Day at the Alchemy Academy

Dugu Qingli appeared in the western frontier, and the second-ranked rising star defeated the fourth-ranked with a single sword strike. When the news reached the capital, it fiercely upheld the credibility of the Demon Suppression Division's rankings, and the Editor-in-Chief received commendations.

Even more worthy of praise was that the addition of the judgment remarks caused the sales of this issue of the Heroes' Ranking to double compared to before, and it even generated extra revenue...

Old Sheng had never expected that letting his daughter manage this mess would yield unexpected gains, and he was so pleased that he even gave out an internal commendation. When Sheng Yuanyao received the commendation, she finally understood what Shen Tang's happiness was—without having to think about anything, benefits just fell right into her hands...

She was eager to go and thank Lu Xingzhou again, but she could no longer find him.

By this time, Lu Xingzhou had already brought A-Nuo to enroll.

The Alchemy Academy and the Imperial Academy were connected, but the Imperial Academy students were mostly capital elites who didn't live on campus, whereas the Alchemy Academy students did. Firstly, because they mostly came from all corners of the land, and secondly, because alchemists needed to be stationed at the alchemy grounds. Each Alchemy Academy student was assigned an independent alchemy cave dwelling, equipped with top-tier alchemy furnaces and earth fire.

Even A-Nuo was assigned an independent cave dwelling, right next to Lu Xingzhou's.

After all, she was enrolled as an independent student, not as Lu Xingzhou's attendant.

Even though they usually stayed in small inn courtyards where everyone had separate rooms, which was no different from living in adjacent cave dwellings, for some reason, it gave A-Nuo the feeling that she had been separated from her Master. From start to finish, she kept her mouth pouted high: "Clearly, the cave dwelling could be partitioned; why did they have to assign a separate one..."

Lu Xingzhou laughed: "Listen to you, you're not satisfied even though you've been allocated more resources."

"What use do I have for these resources..." A-Nuo sniffled: "Didn't you hear them say earlier? In a few months, we have to choose a mentor to follow and specialize in a certain direction. A-Nuo has a Master; I don't need any mentor."

Advanced studies after becoming a Top Graduate were called Hanlin in ancient times, which was a much higher tier than modern university students. Here, it was at least equivalent to a combined bachelor's and master's program... The intimacy with such a mentor exceeded that of teachers who gave collective lectures, but it didn't reach the level of the traditional concept of a Master.

A traditional Master was a teacher for life, raising you from childhood until you finished your apprenticeship, and sometimes even looking after you for a lifetime; whereas this kind of mentor took on students batch by batch, and once the term was over, it was over, with no continuity. Therefore, many alchemists from sects who already had their own Masters didn't find it conflicting to follow a mentor here as well.

Of course, such mentors were still undoubtedly regarded as teachers in terms of sentiment and public perception, imparting the Dao, teaching skills, and resolving doubts, leaving a heavy mark. For a place as politically dense as the Capital Alchemy Academy, choosing a mentor based on research direction was not as important as choosing a side.

"We'll just follow Instructor Meng when the time comes, if he takes students." Lu Xingzhou didn't care about these things, but he was quite interested in the Alchemy Academy's advanced study model.

Ordinary people learned alchemy just to learn alchemy; perhaps only the official Alchemy Academy would make such subdivisions.

Whether one was determined to heal the sick and save lives, or only refine immortal pills for cultivation breakthroughs, or only interested in theoretical research, or specialized solely in the art of alchemy itself... Things that were originally comprehensive were highlighted into branches here. Among them, for the direction of healing the sick and saving lives, internal and external medicine were also distinguished in a way that shouldn't belong to the ancient era.

After all, this was a world of cultivation; the understanding of the human body, medicine, and treating injuries was incomparable to conventional ancient times.

Lu Xingzhou initially learned alchemy mainly to recuperate from the internal injuries and poison he had suffered since childhood and to treat his legs. Therefore, both he and A-Nuo were typical researchers in the direction of healing the sick and saving lives, and they were proficient in both internal and external medicine. However, because they had to feed A-Nuo, the refining of cultivation-type pills actually accounted for a larger proportion; after all, someone was eating them like meals.

As for the future, it was indeed worth considering a specialization.

It had been said long ago that Lu Xingzhou wasn't actually particularly interested in alchemy, nor did he have the ideal of becoming a doctor to heal the sick. Now that his legs were healed, his only motivation for advanced study at the Alchemy Academy was to gild his own reputation and work hard to marry the Princess.

But it was a skill he had practiced for ten years, reaching the level of the third-ranked rising star; it would be a pity to abandon it now. Lu Xingzhou pondered that he could shift toward specializing in cultivation-type pills—the effect of the Dragon-Elephant Strength Pill last time was quite good... As for healing the sick and saving lives, he could specialize in combat trauma treatment.

As for healing the sick and saving lives, A-Nuo was actually more suited for it, as long as the child herself was willing. Then, he would specialize in refining pills to improve cultivation for her to eat as meals, making her self-sufficient.

A-Nuo had no objections after hearing her Master's thoughts, only saying: "If Master says so, then we have to pray that Instructor Meng also specializes in this direction. But I see that Instructor Meng is mainly into theoretical research; his classes aren't even related to alchemy."

On the schedule, the first class was Meng Li's, which was about loyalty to the Emperor, patriotism, and the importance of alchemy development to the country and the people.

Lu Xingzhou watched with amusement, as if he had traveled back...

"Let's go, let's go to class and experience the university life of this world." Lu Xingzhou said with a smile, and A-Nuo pushed the wheelchair, frolicking toward the classroom.

Compared to modern universities, the Alchemy Academy had far fewer classrooms, totaling only a dozen or so, looking a bit shabby.

Because there were only about a hundred students in the entire Alchemy Academy, and Lu Xingzhou's batch had twenty-eight in total.

When A-Nuo pushed the wheelchair into the classroom, it was already full, with only the two of them missing. A-Nuo didn't change her expression, pushing her Master to the front row under the gaze of twenty-six people, and sat down next to him.

Someone sneered and muttered: "Master and disciple as classmates, what a disgrace."

Lu Xingzhou turned his head and glanced; unsurprisingly, it was Daoist Xuanqing.

Lu Xingzhou said leisurely: "Since ancient times, father and son taking the imperial examinations together hasn't been rare. Brother Daoist looks like a man of the Dao, yet you are quite uncultured. Perhaps it's because you've eaten too much of the Huo family's food... I hope the advanced study at the Alchemy Academy can improve your character a bit."

"You..."

"Master, who is this Daoist? Are you very familiar with him?" A-Nuo asked curiously.

"Oh, he's just the one whose alchemy skills couldn't compare to yours. Not familiar."

A-Nuo blinked: "If his level is so poor, he doesn't feel ashamed of himself; how does he have the nerve to talk about others?"

A-Nuo the Great had always been very aggressive, but these words were a bit of a blanket attack. Lu Xingzhou rubbed A-Nuo's head: "Knowing he was cultivated by the Huo family, you should have been prepared; he wouldn't be any good. Normal people wouldn't be as conspicuous as him."

Xuanqing sneered: "Aren't you a member of the Huo family?"

Lu Xingzhou said indifferently: "You should be glad. If I were truly a member of the Huo family, what you should be considering is whether to kneel down, not to argue with me here."

Someone on the seats let out a low chuckle, leaving Xuan Qing stuck there, not knowing how to respond.

Indeed, if Lu Xingzhou were to return to the Huo family, he would have to address him as Seventh Young Master; how could he dare to talk back?

Lu Xingzhou sneered and said, "That is why being someone's dog is like this; it is pathetic and sad."

"Knock, knock~" The open classroom door was tapped, and Meng Li appeared at the entrance, scanning the room.

The entire room fell silent.

"You are here for advanced studies, not to argue," Meng Li said indifferently, walking to the front: "Today, I will teach everyone the first lesson: school rules. Rule number one, unity and mutual assistance..."

Xuan Qing was so frustrated he was about to explode. Being interrupted by the instructor just as he was about to retort felt exactly like having his mouth covered mid-sentence; it was extremely uncomfortable.

Meng Li ignored him entirely and began his first lecture on his own.

The school rules were one thing, but who was this nonsense about loyalty to the Emperor, patriotism, and refining elixirs for the people meant for? Was this lecture even intended for humans?

These sect disciples from all over had never heard such political drivel, and they all listened in stunned silence. Lu Xingzhou, however, found it quite amusing; he grinned, wanting to applaud—it was all so nostalgic...

Meng Li's gaze toward him grew increasingly gentle; what a sensible young man!

The students finally endured the drowsy hour-long lecture, and Meng Li finally stopped, taking a sip of tea: "Looking at your expressions, you are all very moved, which shows you have taken my words to heart. Do not be overwhelmed; there will be three such sessions every month from now on..."

Everyone: "..."

"The time is still early, and today will not be entirely about these things. Since this is the Alchemy Academy, I must give you all a bit of an 'alchemy shock' on your first day."

Following his words, a beautiful figure suddenly appeared at the door.

A woman wearing a light veil stood there quietly, her eyes deep and tranquil like the stars.

This beauty alone drove the sleepiness of everyone present away without a trace.

Lu Xingzhou had to admit that Lady Ye was truly beautiful. Although wearing a veil made one appear generally more attractive—much like those people wearing masks in films... after all, it could hide many flaws. But Lady Ye was in a completely different league; her temperament and her eyes were truly like a high-mountain lotus or stars in the sky. One could imagine how breathtaking she would be once the veil was removed.

"This is Lady Ye, a top-tier alchemy grandmaster I went to great lengths to invite. She will be responsible for teaching you the theoretical essentials of the upper three grades of alchemy," Meng Li said. "You are luckier than previous students. Lady Ye only occasionally accepted invitations to share her insights in the past, but for this cohort, she will be responsible for teaching the theory from the third grade up to the first grade."

First grade!

Everyone's heart skipped a beat.

In the entire Great Qian, how many first-grade alchemists were there? At the very least, these students had no access to them. If one had a first-grade alchemist in their own family, who would travel thousands of miles to study at the Alchemy Academy?

Among the few first-grade alchemists, many were hidden within powerful sects like the Tianyao Holy Land, listening to orders but not responding to summons. How many had actually entered the system? The vast majority of teachers at the Alchemy Academy were only second or third grade; the only first-grade one was the Academy Head, Qin Zhiyu!

Where did this first-grade Lady Ye even come from?

Ye Tinglan walked slowly onto the stage and began her lecture calmly.

She did not look toward Lu Xingzhou and his apprentice, acting very naturally; no one could tell she knew Lu Xingzhou.

But Lu Xingzhou had a very clear feeling—the lecture she was giving was meant specifically for him.

It was all about the test paper he had completed at Meng Li's house last time, offering a simpler way of thinking for the parts he had answered... It happened to be suitable for these students to hear, and it also happened to provide him, Lu Xingzhou, with pointers and reflections from a different direction.

Then Lu Xingzhou discovered that the obscure knowledge of the Maha was being explained by her from another angle, and it suddenly became much clearer. The difficult points that had previously stumped him were suddenly illuminated under her analysis.

To be able to glimpse the inheritance he had obtained from that test paper, to see at a glance where his difficulties lay... and to be able to dissect the Maha's clearly overly ancient way of thinking using modern methods.

Her gaze seemed to see through the past and present, like an eternal galaxy that had passed through ten thousand years of change and still remained there.

A Nuo was stunned on the side: "Master, this old woman... is amazing..."