Chapter 56: Rebirth

Chapter 56: Rebirth

Xia Zuo was momentarily stunned.

He hadn’t expected that after all his meticulous calculations, the only flaw would be right on his own face.

That damn old man… you’re going to have to take the blame for this.

“Well… it’s a long story. Let’s talk as we walk,” Xia Zuo said, pulling An Ru’er outside the shop. As they strolled along the street, he briefly explained the abnormality about himself.

“…It’s precisely because of the potion I drank down in the underground chamber that I gained excellent regenerative abilities. That’s why the fire-breathing potion didn’t leave any scars in my mouth.”

“I see,” An Ru’er nodded thoughtfully. “I’m really envious.”

She lifted her hand and gently rubbed his face a few times. “It feels so smooth and elastic.”

Seeing that her delicate hand was reluctant to stop, Xia Zuo took a potion bottle from his robe pocket.

“Guess what this is?”

An Ru’er took the bottle, removed the stopper, and sniffed. “Is this the fire-breathing potion?”

“Yes, it is.”

Bathed in the glorious afterglow of the setting sun, Xia Zuo stopped in his tracks, turned to face her, and asked, “Then, beautiful lady, would you like to watch my fire-breathing performance? Tonight, by the lake at the academy, just the two of us.”

“I would~” An Ru’er capped the bottle and wrapped her arms around him, burying her face in his chest. “Absolutely would~”

“Then it’s settled. We’ll sit in the restaurant until dark, then head to the lake.”

“Alright~”

The two walked leisurely through the streets, slowly making their way toward the academy.

An Ru’er seemed unaware of why the performance was planned for tonight, and Xia Zuo inwardly rejoiced. With such a willing audience, the evening’s show would be even better.

…

7 p.m.

The night sky was deep and vast, dotted with countless stars; a pristine crescent moon reflected on the rippling surface of the lake.

Xia Zuo and An Ru’er walked a stretch along the stone path illuminated by alchemical lanterns, then stepped onto the grass beside the lake.

Beneath their feet, the shoreline was paved with stones and pebbles, a safe distance from the grass, so there was no risk of accidentally igniting it during the fire show.

Not far behind them, a watchful guard silently hovered.

The Castle Code didn’t forbid fire performances within the academy grounds.

Dim couldn’t interfere with Xia Zuo’s show. Perhaps after tonight, Dim would add a clause about this to the Castle Code.

Xia Zuo glanced around.

There was no one else nearby.

He asked An Ru’er to stand a little farther back, took a potion from his pocket, and swallowed it.

Then he struck a match and lit the torch with it.

“Pff~”

“Hoo~”

A white flame appeared before his eyes, illuminating the surrounding grass.

“Wow,” An Ru’er clenched her hands at her chest, staring at the pure white flames with her mouth slightly agape.

Xia Zuo hadn’t breathed fire for a long time, but his lung capacity remained undiminished. The white flames lasted nearly twenty seconds before fading.

He changed potions, consecutively breathing out flames of different colors: white, red, purple, green…

An Ru’er was completely absorbed, keeping the same posture, staring blankly as the colorful flames danced over the lake’s surface.

Xia Zuo wiped the moisture from the corner of his mouth.

The torch’s light gradually dimmed, the flames flickering out.

He looked at An Ru’er and smiled.

“Let me guess, is this your favorite color…”

He poured the last potion into his mouth.

“Pff~”

“Hoo~”

A vivid aqua blue flame shot upward like a fountain spraying toward the sky.

“This is the color…” An Ru’er’s eyes shimmered with light. “How did you know…”

Xia Zuo exhaled the last trace of potion, the aqua blue flame flaring brilliantly before dissipating into the air.

“Hehe. Guess.”

He wiped his mouth, gathered the torch and fallen matches, and said, “Do you remember what happened at the Rosak City testing station? You walked behind the curtain, and Thales asked you to choose one of two glass bottles. You picked the aqua blue one.”

An Ru’er nestled into his embrace. “You’re so good to me—you even remember that.”

Xia Zuo gently stroked her hair and whispered by her ear.

“Happy birthday.”

The delicate body in his arms stiffened briefly, then trembled slightly, emitting faint sob-like words.

“Thank you, Xia Zuo. How did you… even remember? I hardly remember myself.”

People in this world also celebrated birthdays.

Just as in his previous life, as people grew older, their birthdays became increasingly vague, gradually forgotten amidst the daily toil.

Yet if someone remembered a birthday and took action to celebrate it, it would inevitably create fond feelings.

“The tutor has the student roster. I got it from him.”

Xia Zuo patted her back and took a small box from his pocket, handing it to her.

“This is your birthday gift. Open it and see.”

An Ru’er covered her mouth in surprise, staring at the square box with trembling eyes.

She lifted the lid, revealing a slender cord threaded with several tiny aqua blue gemstones.

“This is…”

Xia Zuo knew such small boxes often caused people to mistakenly think there was a ring inside.

But that wasn’t the case.

“This is a hair tie.” He suppressed a smile as he watched her loop the cord around her slender wrist.

“Oh, you should have said so earlier…” An Ru’er lightly tapped his chest, removed the black tie from her ponytail, and replaced it with the new one. “Does it look good?”

“Very good.” Xia Zuo wrapped an arm around her waist. “So, would you…”

“I would.” An Ru’er answered quickly, hooking her arms around his neck, her eyes slightly dazed.

“From today on, we’re officially together.” Xia Zuo promptly stopped her lips with his and glanced toward the guard and any onlookers.

The rest was inappropriate for public display.

He planned to skip it.

“All done. Let’s head back. Hmm… it’s still early; I’m planning to visit the poison alchemy section for some practice.”

Xia Zuo changed the subject and placed his right hand on her waist as they walked toward the castle.

Leaning against her boyfriend’s chest, An Ru’er asked, “When’s your birthday?”

Xia Zuo glanced at the castle lights and winked. “I’m not quite sure. I’ll have to ask the tutor.”

…

Poison Alchemy Section.

After escorting An Ru’er to the dormitory corridor, Xia Zuo entered alone.

He had spent a month reducing the time needed to refine the black eye poison powder from an initial 1 hour 20 minutes down to about an hour.

He planned to further study the transitions between each alchemical step and optimize his movement among the equipment.

Once he could stabilize the refining time well within one hour, he would begin crafting the next refined powder.

His study sequence mirrored that of the apprentice stage.

He would refine the powders for White Palate, Black Eye, Brown Foot, Golden Star, and Blue Bone poisons, from simplest to most complex.

Approaching the basic alchemy room, Xia Zuo lightened his steps and unexpectedly saw his tutor sitting at the desk, simultaneously wielding three steel pens, swiftly writing in three notebooks.

“You’re here.”

Kurov looked up, and the pens paused.

“Come, have a seat. I have something to discuss with you.”

“Good evening, Professor,” Xia Zuo said briskly, sitting down. His instincts told him the tutor was in a good mood.

“Take a look at these.”

Kurov placed three photo albums on the desk.

“These are the new student rosters for the next intake of poison alchemy. In a month, they’ll arrive at the academy. You’ll be responsible for teaching their apprentice-level material.”

“Ah? Me?”

Xia Zuo straightened up and stared wide-eyed at the albums.

Kurov placed his hands on the desk, fingers interlaced.

“Yes, that’s right. You’ll be their instructor. Look, we don’t have elemental familiars here, unlike other alchemy sections that can use familiars to assist new students. Here, you’re the only one who can serve as assistant instructor.”

“Assistant instructor…”

Xia Zuo pondered the term carefully… could this be a part-time role?

Taking on this position would surely cut into his poison refining time.

But if the assistant instructor role offered new ways to gain experience, perhaps it was worth trying.

Xia Zuo pointed to the “Gender” column in the first album.

“Professor, the female student… oh, I mean, I’m not discriminating against women. I just want to ask if a woman’s physical constitution can handle poison trials?”

He had another concern he hadn’t voiced.

The Black Eye poison caused hallucinations.

Setting aside the tiny floating lights inside the body…

Each person’s hallucinations varied and were unrelated to willpower.

In Xia Zuo’s case, objects twisted and spun before his eyes. An Ru’er saw similarly distorted lines.

Mason and Brandon were less fortunate.

One saw dense, constantly scaling black dots.

The other saw everything morph into banana shapes.

During their first poison trials, Mason was so frightened by the dense dots he convulsed, and Brandon obsessively licked his own forearm.

After several trials, their symptoms worsened, and they knocked over many glass bottles containing poisons.

Before their hallucinations caused more trouble, Kurov transferred them to the potion alchemy department.

Generally, boys brushed off these embarrassments easily.

But girls were more sensitive, and there was only one female among the new students.

If an embarrassing incident occurred, it could be difficult to manage…

“Don’t worry. When new students first try the Black Eye poison, I’ll watch closely. If their hallucinations aren’t the distorted lines, I’ll transfer them to another department.”

Kurov took a wooden box from the drawer and placed it before Xia Zuo.

“Open this and drink the potion inside. After that, you can continue testing poisons. Otherwise, the stack of poisons on the shelf might kill you.”

“Oh, yes, Professor.”

Finally, he could test poisons again and gain experience.

Xia Zuo calmly picked up the potion bottle, cast a divination spell, and examined the crystal-blue liquid under the alchemy lamp’s glow.

[Item Name] Unknown

[Item Type] Unknown

[Item Grade] Unknown

[Item Quality] Unknown

[Associated Resistances] Unknown

[Item Description] Creator unknown.

[Item Effect]

After drinking, expected to increase vitality attribute by 2 points.

(Due to insufficient Knowledge Reserve, no further information acquired.)

Huh? That was a quick turnaround.

He had just concluded that no alchemical product could enhance vitality.

Yet here it was tonight?!

No wonder Kurov’s vitality attribute exceeded 5 points—it must be the effect of this potion.

Xia Zuo noticed a faint red thread swirling inside the crystal-blue liquid.

He glanced at the tutor manipulating three pens, knowing he wouldn’t be told what it was, then opened the bottle and drank the potion.

He licked his lips; the potion had no taste and caused no reaction.

No waves of heat, no skin bubbling with black sludge.

A voice echoed in his mind—the golden finger:

“Successfully consumed unknown potion. Vitality attribute increased by 2 points. Gained 150 experience points.

[Level] lv.12

[Experience] 350+150→500/1600

[Free Attribute Points] 5

[Vitality] 14+2→16

[Health] 45+2+3→50

[Base Health Regeneration Rate]

0.12 points/minute (7 points/hour)”

150 experience points!

Equivalent to memorizing three or four books and drinking dozens of self-made poisons!

Such a richly rewarding potion that directly grants attribute points—could he get a few more of these?

Suppressing his excitement, Xia Zuo replaced the bottle, closed the wooden box, and said, “Professor, what’s the use of this potion? I don’t feel anything at all.”

“The toxicity has been removed, so naturally you won’t feel anything. Do you want to writhe in pain on the ground? This potion alone costs enough to buy shops on two streets.

“As for its use… just think of it as clearing toxins from your body. When you become a skilled poison alchemist and prepare to advance to expert level, you’ll understand.”

Without looking up, Kurov continued.

“Read through these three albums. I’ll write down the assistant instructor’s responsibilities for you, so you don’t make mistakes. Stay late tonight; I’ll notify Dim. We need to discuss the teaching arrangements for these three new students.”

“Yes, Professor.”

Xia Zuo lowered his head to study the albums, the sound of continuous writing ringing in his ears.

He hadn’t expected that after just one year at the academy, he’d be leading new students.

He chuckled, wondering if the assistant instructor role came with a salary.

Not wasting time daydreaming, he looked forward to the assistant instructor benefits and focused on reading the new student rosters.

The admission process at Starry Night Academy involved application, background check, affinity test, spiritual ocean test, and enrollment.

The two tests came after the background check. Anyone with unclear origins, a tainted record, or flawed character was disqualified from testing.

Thus, every new student was among the best of their age group.

The three new poison alchemy students were no exception.

Two were males: one named Hodges from Yanan Province, the other Bissanger from Spurl Province. Both were nineteen, a year older than Xia Zuo.

According to their resumes, Hodges’ father owned several mines, and his acquired affinity was earth resistance.

With such a family fortune, he likely had ample access to books, and his spiritual ocean was naturally strong.

He excelled in the spiritual ocean test. By the third minute of placing his palm on a glass bottle, he showed almost no pain and entered a calm state in seconds.

His spiritual attribute was roughly 12 or 13 points.

If it weren’t for his acquired affinity being earth resistance, Hodges might have been snatched by the elemental embodiment department.

Bissanger was less impressive—born ordinary, just barely passing the spiritual ocean test.

Based on this semester’s studies and exams, Bissanger was the type to be cannon fodder.

It was blunt and harsh but true.

For students like him, spending two years at the academy and then returning home to secure a better job was the greatest achievement.

His descendants would grow up in better conditions with more books, increasing their chances of further study at the academy.

This was likely the academy’s deeper purpose in recruiting acquired affinity students en masse: to raise the kingdom-wide output of such students.

The academy’s perspective was different from an individual’s; it always considered the long term—like centuries ago, when natural forests were cut down to plant alchemical trees that drove away beasts.

These were merely Xia Zuo’s speculations based on his past life’s experience. Any resemblance is purely coincidental.

Acknowledgments:

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(End of chapter)