Chapter 48 The Mentor's Promise

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Chapter 48: The Mentor’s Promise

8:00 that morning.

Xia Zuo entered the Poison Alchemy District.

Kulov set down the book in his hands, rose from the soft sofa, and yawned. He beckoned a teacup over, took a sip, and then asked, “How are you doing with those five introductory textbooks on Oddity Craft?”

“Professor, I’ve memorized them all.”

Xia Zuo stood before him with his hands at his sides, looking utterly earnest.

Kulov gave a silent, hoarse chuckle, wearing an expression that said he had expected nothing less.

“Since you’ve memorized them all, which branch of alchemy would you like to study first? Continue with introductory poison alchemy, or study Oddity Craft, which interests you?”

They could choose their own lessons? Xia Zuo blinked and looked at his mentor with mild surprise.

“After passing your final examination, you will officially become a student of the academy. Your treatment will be the same as that of students with innate affinity.

“The alchemical school places interest first, and painstaking study second.”

Kulov clasped his hands behind his back and declared with complete confidence, “As long as it doesn’t involve master-level material, I can teach you anything.”

Xia Zuo wanted to study Oddity Craft Alchemy and gain an early glimpse of the wonders of the Life Philosopher’s Stone, but the contents of those five textbooks had made him abandon the idea.

Oddity Craft was a branch of Relic Alchemy.

Relic Alchemy differed markedly from potion, poison, and oil alchemy.

Its alchemical procedures, methods of thought, and raw materials were entirely different from those of the other three branches.

Choosing to study Oddity Craft now would amount to starting a completely new branch of alchemy from scratch.

In terms of the efficiency of gaining experience, it would be a poor bargain.

After pondering for a moment, Xia Zuo reached his conclusion.

“Professor, I would like to study introductory poison alchemy.”

Kulov nodded with a smile. “Your poison alchemy is already quite good. In terms of proficiency with alchemical procedures alone, you are already approaching the level of a skilled alchemist. Still, we should conduct the examination according to academy regulations.”

He took an examination glass orb from his desk and pressed his hand against it, closing his eyes in silent thought for several seconds.

The orb slipped free of his palm and floated in midair, radiating white light.

Kulov turned to his student and pointed at the wall clock.

“The Dean will serve as examiner. If you can refine five different apprentice-grade poisons within two hours, you will pass the examination.”

Xia Zuo thought, How hard could that be?

He bowed respectfully to the glass orb, then put on a mask to protect himself from splashing venom. He walked to the poison cabinet and took out more than a dozen basic toxins.

The alchemical table was alive with activity. The furnace periodically belched blazing flames, the ventilation ducts overhead roared without pause, and strange odors drifted from the cauldrons to fill the alchemy chamber.

After two hours of frantic work, Xia Zuo, his mask spattered with droplets of every color, placed five freshly brewed poisons on the desk before the glass orb.

Each bottle had reached one hundred percent completion. They were entirely flawless and had achieved perfect quality.

Through the glass bottles, the Elemental Vision revealed countless dim points of light flowing within the poisons.

The glass orb circled the five bottles at close range, then descended steadily onto the desk. The white light within it vanished in an instant.

“You have passed this examination under the witness of the Dean and me.”

Kulov came over and said, “From this moment onward, you are an introductory poison alchemist. Give me your pendant. I’ll replace it with a new one.”

The corners of Xia Zuo’s mouth lifted. He removed the pendant from beneath his robe and handed it over, while at the same time checking the information transmitted by his golden finger.

“Detected a change in the host’s identity. Character template updated.”

Identity 2: Poison Alchemist

Identity Rank: Apprentice → Introductory

Promotion Requirement: Pass Mentor Kulov’s poison-making trial to become a skilled poison alchemist.

No other changes.

“Professor, what will I study next?” Xia Zuo rubbed his hands together expectantly.

“You can attempt to brew ordinary introductory poisons on your own.

“I will focus on the more difficult part of this stage: enhancing poison potency.”

Kulov took a reference book from his desk and opened it to the introduction, motioning for Xia Zuo to come over and read.

The book was titled Enhancing Poison Potency.

According to the book, there were two approaches to enhancing poison potency.

The first was to increase the explosive force of the poison at the cost of shortening its duration—in other words, to increase its intensity.

The second was to extend the duration of the poison’s effects.

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The alchemical treatment corresponding to the former was called poison refinement.

The latter was known as poison prolongation. Usually, simply increasing the dosage would extend the duration of the poison’s effects.

To increase both the intensity and duration of a poison, one had to alternate between refining and prolonging it until its effects reached the desired level.

The book also mentioned that the speed at which a poison took effect varied according to the method of administration.

Injection was the fastest method.

If poison was applied to a sharp weapon and driven into the target’s body, its effects would take hold almost instantly.

This method of administration had one awkward drawback.

Under ordinary circumstances, if one could pierce the target’s armor and skin, why go to the trouble of applying poison? One could simply stab repeatedly or bleed the target out and be done with it.

Moreover, applying poison to a weapon could result in accidental injury to oneself.

Thus, in battle, specialized sword oil was generally used instead of poison.

The second-fastest method was ingestion.

All poisons had a smell, and even ordinary people could detect it. Mages, naturally, were even more sensitive; even a mage’s servant could see the dim points of light within a poison.

Although the conditions required for this method were somewhat demanding, mixing poison into strongly flavored food was still a common means of poisoning someone.

The remaining methods were far less effective, and took much longer to work, such as applying poison to the skin or inhaling its fumes.

Once the target noticed something was wrong, there would be ample time to leave the poison’s area of effect.

Unless otherwise specified, all lessons on enhancing poison potency would use ingestion as the method of administration.

Enhancing Poison Potency was a very thin book, containing only a dozen or so pages.

It took Xia Zuo less than twenty minutes to absorb the entire book into his Knowledge Reserve.

One term was mentioned repeatedly—poison refinement powder—but no detailed explanation was provided.

Xia Zuo scratched his head.

“Professor, what is the poison refinement powder mentioned in the book…?”

Kulov took another book from beneath his desk and waved it in the air.

“Same as before. If you go four consecutive months without making a mistake, I’ll give you this Guide to Producing Poison Refinement Powder.”

Xia Zuo’s eyes lit up, and he nodded repeatedly, impatient to try poisons with even greater potency.

Greater potency meant more experience and more Will attribute rewards.

As long as the poison did not kill him outright, he could always recover with his Immortal Body and powerful regeneration.

Seeing his student’s enthusiasm, Kulov’s face showed what seemed to be a smile of approval.

He instructed Xia Zuo to wait beside the alchemical table, then went to the poison cabinet and brought over a tray of glass bottles.

“True poison refinement powder is an extremely complex compound toxin.

“It is the product of master-level poison alchemy. At the introductory level, you only need to learn its simplified formula.”

Kulov counted the glass bottles before him. “There are sixteen basic toxins here.”

He separated four of them and placed them on another tray.

“These four basic toxins are all related to the Fire Element. They serve as auxiliary materials for poison refinement powder.”

He then divided the remaining twelve basic toxins into three equal groups and placed them on three separate trays.

“These four trays each contain four basic toxins. Each tray corresponds to one elemental type.

“The four basic toxins on each tray correspond to four different traits of that element.”

Elemental traits.

Xia Zuo instantly caught the key information.

This new term had never appeared in any of the books he had read.

According to his mentor, if each tray held four basic toxins, then one element possessed four traits. Four elements would therefore possess sixteen distinct traits.

What could those traits be?

Xia Zuo restrained his thoughts and continued listening to his mentor’s lecture.

Kulov spread his arms and drew a large circle in front of himself, enclosing all four trays.

“If you can understand the relationship between these sixteen toxins and elemental traits, you will be able to become a skilled poison alchemist.

“Your memory and comprehension are both excellent. You can first memorize these sixteen toxins, then refine the simplified poison refinement powder while gradually sensing the connection between the toxins and the elements.”

As Kulov watched Xia Zuo concentrate on memorizing the toxins, he sensed the young man’s passion for poison alchemy.

He patted Xia Zuo on the shoulder.

“Advancement in any branch of alchemy depends on both talent and accumulated experience.

“The products of poison alchemy are highly toxic.

“Accumulating experience in this branch is equivalent to allowing difficult-to-remove toxins to build up within your body.

“That is why our branch has always had so few practitioners in the alchemical school. Those who reach the expert or master level without exception rely on outstanding alchemical talent.”

Meeting his student’s gleaming eyes, Kulov said solemnly, “The course in which I help you conceptualize elemental traits will be placed at the very end of the introductory curriculum.

“If, before I formally teach that course, you can comprehend all the elemental traits on your own—

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“Then after you become a skilled poison alchemist, I will grant you an introductory meditation method ahead of schedule.”

“Really?” Xia Zuo cried excitedly.

Kulov nodded. “Of course.”

Wow.

Xia Zuo felt as though an exceptionally broad and level road to advancement had suddenly appeared before him.

Under the normal procedure, one had to become a skilled alchemist in all four branches of alchemy before receiving an introductory meditation method from one’s mentor.

Kulov’s promise undoubtedly offered him a shortcut, saving him years of arduous waiting.

Xia Zuo drew a deep breath to calm his surging emotions, then slowly said, “Professor, just watch me. I’ll definitely comprehend the elemental traits. Who knows? Perhaps I’ll even become an expert-level poison alchemist someday.”

Kulov gave a soft laugh.

“Conceptualizing all the elemental traits will not be as easy as you imagine.

“The higher the level of your spiritual ocean, the more easily you can detect elemental traits. You simply do not recognize them for what they are.

“Like water… Ahem.”

He had nearly let something slip. After a light cough, he continued, “In any case, without formal instruction, whether you can comprehend elemental traits depends entirely on whether you have paid attention to the details around you in the past.

“If you fail to comprehend them on your own, you must not lose heart. Most formal mages learn about them through lessons.”

That might be true, but time was everything.

Since there was a shortcut—and it would not delay his normal studies—he had to give it a try.

Xia Zuo clenched his fists tightly. He was determined to comprehend all sixteen elemental traits on his own.

Kulov reached out and picked up a bottle of toxin. After a brief pause, he put it back.

“Your temperament, personality, and alchemical talent are all excellent. You always remind me of myself in my younger days…”

He stroked his beard, his eyes flickering as a look of remembrance appeared on his face.

“My mentor was the Dean.

“About fifty years ago, after I became an introductory poison alchemist, it took me two months to comprehend all the elemental traits.

“My mentor then passed an introductory meditation method on to me. She said it was the work of my spiritual ocean.

“As people grow older, their burdens multiply. Only children can play freely and without restraint.

“If you possessed a decent spiritual ocean during childhood, then the elemental traits would already have been engraved in your mind.

“All you need to do now is summarize them and put them into concrete words.

“I was fortunate. When I was born, my spiritual ocean was already close to transformation. After I entered the academy, everything went smoothly…

“But later…”

Kulov’s voice gradually faded, and he sank silently into his memories.

The wall clock ticked on. The clicking of its second hand was the only sound in the room.

About a minute later, he came back to himself and asked in a low voice, “Since you aspire to become an expert-level poison alchemist, I can give you some assistance in comprehending the elements.”

Kulov left the alchemical table and walked toward one of the chamber’s walls. He reached out, flipped open a section of stonework, and pulled a lever hidden inside.

The stones in the wall slid to the left, revealing a passage illuminated by lamps.

Xia Zuo followed closely behind his mentor. After turning at a right angle, they arrived in another alchemy chamber.

The layout here was somewhat more compact than that of the outer chamber.

The main difference was that the central alchemical table was far more professional and complex.

Its footprint was more than twice as large, forcing the poison cabinet against the wall.

The alchemical table outside had a cauldron in the center and storage racks on either side, making for a relatively simple structure.

This table, however, had four storage racks, one at each corner.

In the middle of the table, besides the heating cauldron and furnace, there was also a condensation stove, a baking oven, and a basin filled with flowing clear water.

These four pieces of alchemical equipment surrounded a circular central platform.

The four storage racks in the corners were empty.

Kulov instructed his only student present to bring in the trays from outside and place them on the designated racks.

As Xia Zuo carried the bottles of toxin, his gaze was unconsciously drawn to the patterns beneath his feet.

On the stone floor of the alchemical table, rectangular grooves outlined the positions of the four pieces of equipment. Circles marked the locations of the storage racks and central platform, and straight lines connected the two.

The empty spaces on the floor were filled with patterns of stars and moons.

End of Chapter