Chapter 108

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

Holt explained in a low voice, while guiding Luo En toward the "Elemental Affinity" registration desk:

"His teaching is not limited to textbooks and focuses more on 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."

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

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

A breeze blew, bringing a faint floral fragrance.

"Luo En." Holt suddenly stopped, 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 hidden knowledge of the wizarding world and is usually not discussed openly among apprentices.

Holt suddenly mentioned it, clearly testing him.

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

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

"Sure enough." He said softly, his tone carrying a sense of relaxation 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 was no one else 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 reality, they are also looking for potential apprentices who can provide 'Grace'."

Holt explained, his voice low and calm:

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

Luo En nodded thoughtfully; this coincided with what he had learned from Lady Ailan.

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

"In the advanced course of 'Elemental Affinity', the instructor will provide a spell model to students who perform well for free."

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

"Yes, but it's not the kind of perfect model that can be used directly." Holt explained:

"It is a prototype that needs to be perfected; it is the instructor's personal creation."

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

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

A flash of approval passed through Holt's eyes:

"You understand very quickly. In fact, this is why there are so many academic journals circulating for free within the wizarding world, containing 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." Holt nodded:

"It's a pity that the Black Fog Forest is too remote, and those high-value academic journals are almost not circulating 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 along the gravel road, and the flowers and trees around them swayed gently in the breeze.

"However, I noticed that many people are learning multiple wizarding arts at the same time."

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

Holt shook his head, revealing an understanding smile:

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

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

"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."

"This makes me feel much more at ease," Luo En laughed: "I have always been worried that learning multiple arts at the same time would distract my attention too much."

Holt looked at the sky and nodded slightly:

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

"Thank you for your information and suggestions, Senior Holt."

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."

"No need to 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."

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

"Shamefully, I have also been studying potion science for nearly ten years, but I am still only considered a relatively senior potion apprentice, and I am still far from being a professional potion master. This may be the huge gap between mediocre people and true geniuses..."

Watching Holt leave, Luo En's thoughts surged.

"Alchemy practice, elemental 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 "Alchemy Practice" classroom on time.

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

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

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

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

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

He was wearing a deep brown robe with silver edges on the cuffs and collar, and one could tell at a glance that he was the main speaker 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 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 flashed in his eyes.

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

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

"Ensuring the purity of materials is the most basic requirement before any alchemy changes."

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

"A seemingly simple stone actually contains multiple elemental components," Tang Pusen explained: "The first step of alchemy is to learn to identify 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 concentration; 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 stone material to be processed in front of them," Tang Pusen announced: "Please try to use the method I just taught to perform preliminary elemental 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 the first time he had actually operated it.

He followed the gestures he just learned, mobilized his spiritual power at the same time, and carefully touched 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 fine lines of different colors emerged from it.

[New skill recorded: Alchemy (Introductory)]

[Alchemy (Introductory) experience points +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, Instructor Tang Pusen. Potion refining also requires precise spiritual power control, which may have given me some advantages."

"Potion science and alchemy do have many commonalities,"

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

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

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

"See these? Red represents fire elements, blue is water elements, 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 the advanced course, 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 thirst for 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 a product of the combination of alchemy and spiritual spells, creating a virtual yet real experience by changing the perception composition of reality.

"Instructor 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 passed through Tang Pusen's eyes, and he looked at Luo En meaningfully:

"That's 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 the three major wizarding arts into one and become the legendary [Ancient Alchemist], perhaps you can find the real answer."

[Ancient Alchemist] needs to melt the three major wizarding arts into one?

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

Perhaps the advanced path of 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 points +1]

[Alchemy experience points +1]

[Alchemy experience points +1]

[Current progress: Alchemy (Introductory 13/50)]

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

Sure enough, just as Holt said before, these wizarding arts can be understood by analogy; having a foundation in potion science allowed him to get started quickly.

"That's it 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 of alchemy. If you are interested, you can stay after class for some extra practice."

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

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

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

When the 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, revealing a crystal emitting a faint purple light inside.