“This is the key point I wanted to share with everyone in today’s lecture,” Xu Qi An, well-versed in the art of cliffhangers, deliberately paused here, smiling at the eager gazes of the white-robed alchemists.
From the corner of his eye, he glanced at the doorway, seeing Wei Yuan watching him, and beside Wei Yuan, a stunningly beautiful woman also observing him.
Who is she? How can someone be so beautiful… Xu Qi An coughed and continued, “Within all things, there exist extremely minute substances that make up the myriad worlds we see. These substances are interconnected and follow certain patterns. To explain with the simplest example, an elixir requires dozens of medicinal ingredients to refine, but each ingredient has different effects.”
“Why is this? It’s because certain medicinal ingredients have similar microscopic material properties, so they can react and fuse. The same principle applies to refining metals.”
Xu Qi An tried to express these concepts in the most straightforward terms possible, avoiding chemical terms like “atom” that would only increase the difficulty for the alchemists to understand.
The eyes of the alchemists present sparkled with excitement, as they clearly understood the value of this knowledge.
Not only them, but Princess Long and Wei Yuan outside, both highly educated individuals, were also intrigued. The more profound and esoteric the knowledge, the more interested they became. They realized that what Xu Qi An was teaching was extremely advanced secret knowledge in the field of alchemy.
The noble princess and the high-ranking eunuch stood there patiently listening.
Xu Qi An continued, “In that incomplete alchemy manual, there was a mnemonic for the similar microscopic material properties. I call this mnemonic: the Periodic Table of Elements.”
Instantly, rapid breathing echoed through the hall as the white-robed members of the Astronomical Bureau tightly clenched their fists in excitement and joy.
“I understand now, I understand!” Song Qing had a sudden realization. He stood up excitedly, staring at Xu Qi An as if seeking confirmation:
“The reason my living alchemy failed was that there were no similar properties between them. Of course, how could a cat and a tree possibly have similar properties? They’re completely different things.”
…Your understanding is somewhat reasonable! Xu Qi An smiled and said, “Senior Brother Song is indeed a genius in alchemy, with outstanding comprehension abilities.”
This was the truth!
Song Qing frowned slightly: “Although I understand your reasoning, how can we verify the similar properties between living things, and what is the correct direction for living alchemy?”
Good question, I’ve been waiting for the right moment to straighten you out.
Xu Qi An clasped his hands behind his back, standing straight as a pine tree, like a great Confucian scholar founding a school of thought, and said leisurely, “The direction for living alchemy is cells.”
“Cells?” Song Qing was stunned, encountering yet another unfamiliar term.
Yes, cells, but before that, you might want to consider making something like a microscope. I don’t understand it either, but it’s not my problem… If you succeed, it’s because of my good teaching; if you fail, it’s because of your poor attitude.
Xu Qi An took out a booklet from his pocket, “This is the second blue book I’m giving to the Astronomical Bureau. It contains the mnemonic for the Periodic Table of Elements, my annotations, and the correct direction for Senior Brother Song’s living alchemy. It’s all in here.”
Song Qing rushed over eagerly, snatched the booklet, and began flipping through it hungrily.
The first line read: The cell is the beginning of life!
“Ha, haha, hahaha…”
As he read, Song Qing gripped the booklet tightly and burst into laughter, throwing his head back.
What’s written in that booklet… I want to know so badly… The intense gazes of over forty white-robed alchemists were fixed on the booklet in Song Qing’s hand, their hearts itching like cats scratching.
Song Qing composed himself and said in a steady tone, “As Xu Ning’yan said earlier, the field of living things is too profound, and your levels aren’t there yet. When I fully comprehend it, I’ll naturally pass on the teachings on behalf of the master.”
The “master” he referred to was not Xu Qi An, but the Supervisor.
Everyone noticed that Song Qing’s knuckles were turning white as he gripped the booklet tightly.
His inner excitement was far more intense than what he showed outwardly.
Chemistry encompasses various fields, such as electrochemistry, nuclear chemistry, quantum chemistry…
Xu Qi An himself only had a vague understanding and didn’t plan to continue lecturing. It wouldn’t be good to empty all his knowledge at once, and they weren’t Fufu Xiang, not worth imparting everything to.
Equivalent exchange should be a gradual process.
Whoosh~~
The white-robed alchemists stood up in unison and bowed to Xu Qi An: “Thank you, Young Master Xu, for imparting your knowledge.”
Outside the door, Princess Long witnessed everything, her expression slightly dazed.
The alchemists of the Astronomical Bureau bowing to martial artists as disciples—this was probably unprecedented since the establishment of the Astronomical Bureau.
Based on this alone, Xu Qi An was worthy of a brief mention in the history books.
Song Qing let out a breath and patted Chu Caiwei’s arm beside him: “Junior Sister, Princess Long has come to see you.”
Song Qing had long noticed Wei Yuan and his group’s arrival, as he was the one with the highest cultivation level present.
But even though they had arrived, Song Qing wouldn’t disrupt the rhythm of the class just because of Princess Long’s noble birth or Wei Yuan’s immense power.
Because no matter how noble and beautiful Princess Long was, or how powerful Wei Yuan was, they were still worldly matters.
Chu Caiwei turned her head in surprise and indeed saw the peerlessly beautiful Princess Long.
Xu Qi An stepped forward quickly and cupped his hands, saying, “Lord Wei.”
Wei Yuan smiled and gestured to the woman in the gorgeous long dress beside him: “This is Princess Long.”
Seeing her up close, Xu Qi An was momentarily stunned by the beauty of this peerless princess. He cupped his hands and said, “Thank you, Princess Long, for your recommendation.”
Li Yuchun had told him that his entry into the Night Watchmen was due to Princess Long’s recommendation.
Xu Qi An could have not mentioned this, but by doing so, he gave Princess Long a good impression of someone who remembers and repays kindness.
Princess Long nodded with a smile, her voice melodious: “An alchemy secret manual?”
“It was a secret alchemy manual passed down to me by a great master I encountered in my youth,” Xu Qi An replied. If Princess Long or Wei Yuan asked to see it, he would say he had unfortunately lost it, but the contents were all memorized in his mind.
Using the same knowledge, he could exploit the Astronomical Bureau’s white-robed alchemists and then exploit Princess Long and Wei Yuan again.