Chapter 111

"One of the best alchemy teachers in the academy, although his spiritual power realm is only a high-level apprentice, he is a senior alchemist."

Huo Erte explained in a low voice, while guiding Luo En toward the registration desk for "Element Affinity":

"His teaching is not limited to textbooks and pays more attention to practical application. For someone who is already a professional potion master, this teaching method is more efficient."

Luo En nodded gratefully: "Thank you for your recommendation."

Huo Erte shook his head slightly: "No need to thank me. Within the school, for those who truly have talent, we are all willing to provide appropriate guidance."

After completing the registration for "Element Affinity," the two walked out of the hall and came to a relatively quiet small courtyard.

The breeze blew, bringing a faint floral fragrance.

"Luo En." Huo Erte suddenly stopped his steps, his tone becoming more serious: "How much do you know about 'Grace'?"

This direct question made Luo En's heart tighten.

"Grace" is one of the secret knowledge of the Wizard Realm and is usually not discussed openly among apprentices.

Huo Erte suddenly brought it up, clearly testing him.

Luo En decided to respond cautiously: "Lady Ailan mentioned some."

Huo Erte's eyes flickered slightly, then he nodded, seemingly satisfied with this answer.

"Sure enough." He said softly, with a kind of relief after confirmation:

"Lady Ailan rarely teaches this core knowledge to ordinary apprentices; it seems she thinks highly of you."

He looked around to ensure there were no bystanders before continuing:

"Since you already understand the existence of 'Grace,' some information might be useful to you."

"Many courses in the school are teaching knowledge on the surface, but in fact, they are also looking for potential apprentices who can provide 'Grace'."

Huo Erte explained, his voice low and calm:

"Just like the two courses you signed up for—they all have advanced directions. After completing the basic courses, tutors will selectively provide more in-depth guidance based on the students' performance."

Luo En nodded thoughtfully, which was roughly consistent with what he had learned from Lady Ailan.

"The most noteworthy thing is." Huo Erte continued, a flash of rare enthusiasm in his eyes:

"In the advanced course of 'Element Affinity,' the tutor will provide a spell model to students who perform outstandingly for free."

"Spell model?" Luo En raised an eyebrow; this information indeed aroused his interest.

"Yes, but it is not the kind of perfect model that can be used directly." Huo Erte explained:

"But a prototype that needs to be perfected, which is the tutor's personal creative idea."

"So that's it." Luo En suddenly realized:

"So this is one of the operating mechanisms of 'Grace'—the tutor provides imperfect ideas and prototypes, and the student tries to perfect them through their own understanding and efforts. The growth and breakthrough generated in this process will feed back to the tutor themselves."

A flash of approval crossed Huo Erte's eyes:

"You understand very quickly. In fact, this is why there are so many academic journals circulating for free within the Wizard Realm, which contain a large number of spell prototypes and theoretical ideas waiting to be perfected."

"By inspiring and inducing others to perfect their own immature ideas, they gain more 'Grace'."

Luo En said thoughtfully: "This is a win-win strategy."

"Exactly," Huo Erte nodded:

"It's a pity that the Black Fog Jungle is too remote, and those high-value academic journals hardly circulate among apprentices. This is also one of the reasons why many apprentices choose to participate in paid courses—this is their only way to access high-quality extraordinary knowledge."

The two continued to walk forward along the gravel road, and the flowers and trees around them swayed gently in the breeze.

"However, I noticed that many people learn multiple wizard skills at the same time."

Luo En said his doubts: "Won't this distract energy?"

Huo Erte shook his head and showed an understanding smile:

"This is a common misunderstanding. In fact, all wizard skills have similarities in essence, especially at the basic theoretical level. After mastering one skill, the speed of learning other related skills will be greatly improved."

He paused, seemingly thinking about how to simply explain this complex concept:

"For example—potion science and alchemy both involve material property changes and energy conversion, just with different application directions. A potion master proficient in potion science will learn alchemy much faster than ordinary people."

"That makes me feel much more at ease," Luo En laughed: "I have always been worried that learning multiple skills at the same time would be too distracting."

Huo Erte looked at the sky and nodded slightly:

"It's getting late, and I still have law enforcement team tasks to deal with. Your first 'Alchemy Practice' course should be this afternoon; good luck."

"Thank you for your information and suggestions, Senior Huo Erte."

Luo En said sincerely: "If there is anything I can help you with in the future, you can send someone to find me at any time."

"Don't say that. In the school, knowledge sharing is beneficial to both parties. Next time you have questions about potion science, I also hope to ask you at any time."

Huo Erte waved his hand, a trace of vague regret appearing in his eyes:

"It's a shame to say, I have also been learning potion science for almost ten years, but now I can only be considered a relatively senior potion apprentice; the distance to a professional potion master is still far away. This may be the huge gap between mediocre people and real geniuses..."

Watching Huo Erte leave, Luo En's thoughts surged.

"Alchemy Practice, Element Affinity..." he muttered in his heart: "Plus the research on bloodline activation, this month will be very busy."

In the afternoon, Luo En arrived at the classroom for "Alchemy Practice" on time.

The classroom was a spacious hexagonal space, with a huge alchemy workbench in the center, surrounded by twelve smaller student workstations.

Each workstation was equipped with basic alchemy tools and some commonly used materials.

The students arrived one after another; most of them wore the gray robes of elementary apprentices, and only a few wore professional badges.

Luo En noticed that among the students present, the youngest looked several years older than him.

When everyone was in place, an old man with silver hair walked into the classroom.

He was wearing a dark brown robe with silver edges embroidered on the cuffs and collar, and it was clear at a glance that he was the lecturer here.

"Welcome everyone to 'Alchemy Practice'." The old man's voice was low and powerful:

"I am professional alchemist Tang Pusen, and I will guide you to step into the world of alchemy in the next month."

His gaze swept over every student present, and when he saw Luo En, a flash of interest crossed his eyes.

"Today we are going to learn the first basic skill of alchemy—material purification,"

Tang Pusen said, while taking out a seemingly ordinary black stone from the inside of his robe:

"Before carrying out any alchemy changes, ensuring the purity of materials is the most basic requirement."

He placed the stone on the workbench, made a peculiar gesture with both hands above it, and then the surface of the stone began to glow, gradually separating several substances with different colors.

"A seemingly simple stone actually contains multiple elemental components," Tang Pusen explained: "The first step of alchemy is to learn to distinguish and separate these components."

In the next two hours, Tang Pusen explained in detail the basic principles and several common methods of material purification and personally demonstrated some basic operations.

Luo En recorded every detail with full attention; as a potion master, his understanding of materials was already quite deep, which made learning the basic knowledge of alchemy relatively easy.

"Now, everyone has a piece of stone material to be processed in front of them," Tang Pusen announced: "Please try to use the method I just taught to carry out preliminary element separation."

Luo En looked at the gray stone in front of him and took a deep breath.

He had read similar operation descriptions in "Alchemy Basics" before, but this was his first time actually operating it.

He followed the gestures he just learned and simultaneously mobilized his spiritual power, carefully touching the surface of the stone.

At first, there was no reaction.

Luo En adjusted his spiritual power output method and tried to guide the energy in a gentler way.

Suddenly, the surface of the stone began to glow faintly, and several thin lines of different colors emerged from it.

【New skill recorded: Alchemy (Entry)】

【Alchemy (Entry) experience value +1】

"Very good, Potion Master Luo En." Tang Pusen's voice suddenly came from behind:

"Your spiritual power control is very precise, which is the most critical foundation in alchemy."

Luo En was somewhat surprised that the old man would remember his name, but still nodded modestly to thank him:

"Thank you for your guidance, Tutor Tang Pusen. Potion refining also requires precise spiritual power control, which might have given me some advantages."

"Potion science and alchemy do have many similarities,"

Tang Pusen agreed, a flash of approval in his eyes:

"Both pursue the realization of specific purposes by changing the form of matter, just with different focuses."

The old man reached out and pointed to the light lines emerging on the stone:

"See these? Red represents fire element, blue is water element, and these tiny golden particles are extremely rare light elements."

Luo En observed carefully and could indeed feel that the energy fluctuations emitted by light lines of different colors were different.

Tang Pusen seemed very satisfied with his understanding ability and continued to explain:

"The next step is to learn how to separate and preserve these elements. In advanced courses, we will teach how to recombine these elements to create new substances with specific properties."

"Is that the core of alchemy?" Luo En asked, his eyes flickering with the light of seeking knowledge.

"You could say that." Tang Pusen nodded slightly:

"Decomposition and recombination, understanding the composition of the world, and then reshaping it according to your own will—this is the essence of alchemy."

The old man's words reminded Luo En of that simulated battle device, which was undoubtedly the product of the combination of alchemy and spiritual spells, creating a virtual but real experience by changing the composition of reality perception.

"Tutor Tang Pusen."

Luo En hesitated for a moment before asking the question in his heart: "To what extent do you think alchemy can change reality?"

A flash of deep light crossed Tang Pusen's eyes, and he looked at Luo En meaningfully:

"That is a good question. Where is the limit of alchemy? This is the ultimate question that every alchemist is exploring."

He said slowly:

"Some say alchemy can only change the form of matter, while others believe it can touch the essence of reality. If one day you can melt all three mainstream wizard skills into one furnace and become the legendary 【Ancient Alchemist】, perhaps you can find the real answer."

【Ancient Alchemist】 needs to melt all three mainstream wizard skills into one furnace?

This information provided by the other party fully aroused Luo En's interest.

Perhaps the advancement path of future high-level professions is reflected in this kind of fusion... he guessed secretly.

In the following time, he devoted himself to the study of alchemy basics, not letting go of every detail.

【Alchemy experience value +1】

【Alchemy experience value +1】

【Alchemy experience value +1】

【Current progress: Alchemy (Entry 13/50)】

When the course ended, Luo En's understanding of this new skill also reached the preliminary stage.

Sure enough, just as Huo Erte said before, these wizard skills can be learned by analogy; with his potion science foundation, he can get started quickly.

"That's all for today's course."

Tang Pusen finally summarized:

"I hope everyone can review what they learned today after going back. In the next class, we will learn how to preserve the separated elements and their basic properties."

The students began to leave one after another, and Luo En was preparing to pack up his tools when Tang Pusen came to his side.

"Potion Master Luo En."

The old man's voice was low: "You seem to have an extraordinary understanding ability for alchemy. If you are interested, you can stay after class for some extra practice."

Luo En understood that this was a rare opportunity—Tutor Tang Pusen clearly saw his potential and was willing to provide more guidance.

"Thank you very much for your proposal, Tutor Tang Pusen." He said sincerely: "I am very willing to accept this opportunity."

Tang Pusen nodded with satisfaction: "Very good. Alchemy is a subject that requires constant practice; relying on theory alone is far from enough."

When other students had all left, Tang Pusen took out a small metal box from the inside of his robe: "I think you might be interested in this."

Luo En took the box and opened it carefully; inside was a crystal emitting a faint purple light.

(End of chapter)