Alchemy Academy (2)

Upon entering the Alchemy Academy, it felt like stepping into a different world compared to the previous academies. The contrast was stark, not in terms of the quality of the buildings, as the entire Royal Academy's architecture and landscape design were uniformly rigorous, with no favoritism shown.

However, it was precisely this design and construction that seemed to amplify the contrast.

This contrast was in the academy's popularity. While other academies were bustling with people along the way, here, you'd only see one or two people after a long distance, and sometimes not even those.

Although the Alchemy Academy wasn't as large as the other two academies, its sparse student population made it feel vast and empty, creating an illusion that the Alchemy Academy was the largest part of the entire Royal Academy.

The Alchemy Academy at the Royal Academy typically only had two classes, with fewer than a hundred students. This was normal; those who could enter the Royal Academy were from prestigious families, so why would they choose a discipline that wasn't highly regarded?

But the Alchemy Academy had a unique characteristic: the number of teachers far exceeded the number of students. This was quite understandable. Most of these teachers wanted to use the Royal Academy's resources to validate their alchemy. The materials for alchemy were not something ordinary people could afford to consume.

The Royal Academy also liked to invite such alchemy teachers. Those with achievements would be absorbed as Royal Alchemists. This applied not only to teachers but also to some students.

Because of this, the Alchemy Academy had the oldest students in its history, as well as students with the longest attendance, and this record was constantly being broken.

Of course, freshmen like the Thirteenth Young Master wouldn't encounter those students. Those students were holed up in laboratories, focusing on their craft. The Thirteenth Young Master's class was the only freshman class in the Alchemy Academy, with twenty-one students, nine of whom were female. This was also the year with the highest number of female students in history.

Within the Royal Academy, the Magic Academy had the highest proportion of female students, followed by the Martial Arts Academy. The Alchemy Academy had the lowest proportion and the fewest numbers. The entire Alchemy Academy combined didn't even have as many female students as one class in the Magic Academy.

In terms of quality, among the Thirteenth Young Master's nine female classmates, there were all sorts of figures. Don't misunderstand, the "plump" ones weren't plump like Yang Guifei, but truly overweight. One female classmate named Zhen Xiaoyan was so large she could occupy half the female student population.

Of course, there were also beautiful girls. Shalan, with her blonde hair and blue eyes, was a prime example. According to some professional perverts, no, female connoisseurs, Shalan would grow up to be an incredibly beautiful and alluring sex symbol.

As for the other girls in the class, to use their words, they were all girls with good temperament. With some dressing up, they would be quite presentable, except for the exceptional ones like Zhen Xiaoyan.

However, the Thirteenth Young Master rather liked Zhen Xiaoyan because she never chased him. He didn't know that it wasn't that she didn't want to chase him, but rather that she knew she couldn't catch up.

When the Thirteenth Young Master and Tiger Girl stepped into the spacious and bright classroom, the discussions that had been going on inside immediately stopped. Everyone stared at the Thirteenth Young Master as he slowly entered the classroom and took an empty seat.

"Pfft..."

Almost everyone nearby immediately stood up and moved to the other half of the classroom, putting as much distance between themselves and the Thirteenth Young Master as possible. Then, they resumed their discussions as if nothing had happened.

The Thirteenth Young Master didn't mind. He simply took out his alchemy book and started reading. Seeing him reading the book seemed to relieve everyone. They were still paying attention to what he would take out; if it were something strange, they would have to be on guard.

Since it was a book, they could temporarily ignore him. Everyone knew that he was quietest when reading and wouldn't make any other moves, so they peacefully went back to their discussions.

As for the Thirteenth Young Master? He never discussed things with others. Firstly, his discussion skills were limited. Secondly, his ideas would drive people crazy, and no one would agree, making discussion impossible.

Soon, class time arrived. As usual, their class instructor came and began teaching. Alchemy Academy students could choose any alchemy teacher as their instructor, but there would still be a class instructor to teach them, as not all students would seek out an instructor.

Or, one could say, some students couldn't find instructors willing to take them. These instructors were all proud individuals who wouldn't take just anyone. If it were someone exceptionally gifted, it would be one thing, but for someone like the Thirteenth Young Master, they absolutely wouldn't take him.

If the Thirteenth Young Master were merely dull, they might be willing to take him on. This way, they could build connections with the Ye Family and also receive a lot of free materials. Wasn't that why they stayed at the academy?

However, the problem was that the Thirteenth Young Master Ye's alchemy was truly unanswerable. No one could guide him. To be his instructor, one would need to be Lu Ban reborn.

"In our alchemy, the two most important things are Alchemy Formulas and Alchemy Arrays. They are precious treasures left behind by our predecessors through countless efforts, so we must familiarize ourselves with them." This was the class instructor's opening statement.

"Alchemy Formulas are an extremely complex field of knowledge and the most difficult aspect of alchemy to master. The effects in the middle are ever-changing, and you must experiment yourselves. Relatively speaking, Alchemy Arrays are much simpler, all composed of basic alchemy arrays. Essentially, they can be divided into Conversion Arrays and Synthesis Arrays, and by effect, they can be further categorized into attack, defense, recovery, and so on."

"A Conversion Array refers to the transformation of one substance, a change in shape or form. This is a relatively simple type of array. A Synthesis Array, on the other hand, is the process of combining two or more different substances and transforming them into another substance. Different combinations of Alchemy Arrays will produce different effects, which also requires your experimentation."

As the class instructor spoke from the front, some students below were mouthing the words, almost perfectly in sync, as if these were lines they had memorized and recited countless times.

"I say these things every day to make you understand that alchemy requires a foundation, and it requires repeatedly memorizing these fundamental subjects every day. Only with a strong foundation can you attempt more experiments and have a chance to reach the pinnacle of alchemy. Perhaps one day, you will realize that the basic knowledge you now consider useless is what you have been pursuing all along, the key to solving your problems."

The class instructor said with deep emotion. He seemed to have noticed the students' reactions, but he still persisted in his habit of delivering the exact same opening remarks every day.

This was truly dedication that spanned decades!