Warm sunlight spilled across the earth. Deep autumn had already arrived, and even the wild grass stubbornly growing by the roadside had to follow nature's laws, its lush green turning withered yellow.
Drops of dew gathered and fell, bringing hope once more to these tenacious lives.
And amid this beautiful picture of an autumn dawn, a man in tattered clothes, reeking from head to toe, ran stumbling down the road toward Hui Dun City, his face full of panic.
Anyone unaware of the situation would have thought vicious ghosts were chasing him from behind.
When he neared the city gate, the guards caught the overpowering stench of fermented cow dung coming from him.
Still dazed and muddled, he tried to enter the city, but the gate guards immediately raised their spears and blocked his way.
Yet before the guards could drive him away, the man who had seemed muddle-headed suddenly appeared to regain his soul.
The confusion and panic vanished from his cow-dung-smeared face, and his previously listless eyes became extraordinarily excited.
At that moment, some commoners who had been waiting a long time to enter the city noticed him. But upon smelling the stench on him, they all hurriedly kept their distance.
Covering their noses, they cursed, asking where this madman had come from.
His legs gave out then, and he fell to his knees before the city gate.
Then he lunged toward the guards ahead of him and shouted with all his strength:
"Alchemists... there are alchemists... alchemists..."
After saying those words, the man immediately breathed his last. The commoners waiting to enter the city and the guards were stunned at first, but many soon recalled the terrifying rumors about alchemists that they had heard from traveling merchants.
According to the rumors, alchemists were not a single person, but a group.
They were a pack of lawless villains who committed every evil under heaven.
At first, they had merely been a group of impoverished mages without the money to support their magical cultivation. Then, in a wild flight of fancy, they wanted to create some kind of alchemy and turn stones into gold.
That had been the original purpose behind their gathering.
But once they grew in scale, their research began to change.
Though their ultimate goal was still to turn stone into gold, the process became extraordinarily bloody and cruel.
And in order to achieve their so-called goal, they even developed a complete cultivation system belonging to evil practitioners.
For example, potion control.
Potion control had originally been a collection of strange potions developed by alchemists for Midas Touch, but later, it became potions that could truly drive people mad.
These potions had different effects. Some could make people lose their minds, while others could turn the dead into undead creatures, deathless and indestructible.
And after these Demonic Beasts were created, they would be controlled by the alchemists and bring disaster to an entire region.
That was only one of their methods.
Whenever these people arrived somewhere, they would use all sorts of strange alchemy-related magic they had researched. In the end, most of those spells would create a terrifying monster that slaughtered an entire area.
After researching alchemy, these people became increasingly bizarre, until they ultimately became synonymous with danger and evil.
Thus, whenever alchemists appeared, the local authorities had to send their strongest people to exterminate them and immediately report the matter to the Royal Capital.
The commoners standing at the city gate erupted into an uproar. They no longer cared about entering the city, and one after another, they headed straight for their villages outside the city.
They were going back to warn their villages. The alchemists had come, and everyone had to move into the city at once.
The guard was also frightened into breaking out in cold sweat. He did not dare make a decision on his own and immediately headed for the city's security office.
Security Officer Tofis had been on edge these past few days. He now knew just how foolish his previous actions had been.
He was truly afraid that Wisdom Shield would drive him away in a fit of anger. If that happened, everything he had learned over so many years would have nowhere to be used.
Wisdom Shield had not ordered any punishment for him these past few days, but that only left him trembling with anxiety all day, with no mind to handle the affairs below.
At that moment, someone knocked on his door, and his already suspended heart gave a violent jolt.
He had long told his subordinates not to come looking for him these days unless there was something urgent. Could it be that Wisdom Shield had made a decision about him?
Tofis got up and opened the door, where he saw a weapon-bearing guard staring at him with a nervous expression.
Seeing the armed guard, Tofis thought to himself:
Ah, the result has finally come. It seems this old life of mine is about to be accounted for.
At that thought, Tofis nearly fainted from fright.
Fortunately, this guard was not someone who dragged his feet. He immediately reported what had happened at the city gate.
When Tofis realized the guard had not come to kill him, he was happy at first. But when he thought of the alchemists' appearance, his heart instantly rose into his throat again.
Why would those brain-sick mages called alchemists come to their remote little city? Should he immediately report this to the count at the academy?
Tofis did not think for long. What had happened before had already turned him into a bird startled by the mere twang of a bowstring. It was better to be honest and cautious this time.
But before leaving, he stopped the guard and instructed him:
"Go find an artist to draw the messenger's face, then announce throughout the city that we are seeking anyone who knows him.
Once you find someone who knows him, immediately ask where he came from. Send people at once to the place where he lived and investigate whether this is true.
Then go to the Church and ask Bishop Jamir to send priests to examine the cause of this man's death. I want answers to all of these matters before the count arrives at the scene."
Once Tofis made up his mind, he displayed all his seasoned methods of handling affairs and immediately issued orderly instructions.
The guard nodded nervously and acknowledged the orders. Just as he was about to leave, Tofis stopped him again, took out his security officer's seal from his desk drawer, and handed it to him.
"I do not have time to write you an authorization. Take my seal and handle it.
If anyone obstructs you, throw them straight into the dungeon."
Watching the guard leave, Tofis composed himself, then ordered someone to prepare a carriage to take him to the academy.
At the academy, because Wisdom Shield had come here to study, all the noble students were thinking of how to show themselves more before the count and make Wisdom Shield remember them.
If they could become familiar faces, then when they inherited their family titles in the future, perhaps the count would think of them first whenever something good came up, simply because of that familiarity.
Their behavior made it impossible for Wisdom Shield to read quietly in the library.
They never imagined that by disturbing Wisdom Shield's studies, they had already been placed on Wisdom Shield's list of disliked people. There would likely be no good opportunities for them in the future, though Wisdom Shield would definitely think of them first whenever there was trouble.
At that moment, the only person in a bad mood was little Coles. These past few days, he had been secretly observing Chen Cheng, hoping to see the enraged count order Chen Cheng's execution.
The reason he did not parade around before Wisdom Shield like the others was because he had a guilty conscience and feared that Wisdom Shield would recognize him as the one who had placed the Image Recording Crystal.
Yet in the past few days, he had not seen Wisdom Shield deal with Chen Cheng. Instead, he had seen Professor Pempes occasionally call Chen Cheng away for private tutoring.
Honestly, little Coles truly had a talent for concealing his tracks, lurking, and spying.
He should not have been studying upright and honorable spellcasting duels. He should have learned the methods of hiding his traces, concealing himself, lurking, and assassinating.
Perhaps one day, another king of assassins would emerge on this continent.
And even if he failed to become a king of assassins, becoming a legendary thief would still be more than within his grasp.
But clearly, this little villain had not noticed his talent for sneaking around at all.
Of course, Professor Pempes's so-called tutoring for Chen Cheng was merely an explanation for outsiders. In Principal Adolf's eyes and the others', Pempes was treating Chen Cheng's body every few days.
Yet they could never have imagined that the two were neither on the first level nor the second, but on the third.
The truth was that Chen Cheng was teaching Professor Pempes, or rather, the two were holding academic discussions.
They discussed and researched the foundational rune-corridor structures of basic magic.
This was an enormous undertaking.
They needed to dismantle each Magic Runes spell one by one. The rune corridors produced through the dismantling had to possess a certain degree of universality, while the effects of their Magic Rune patterns could not be lost.
Previously, Chen Cheng had been able to conduct research in the Sea of Magic through his vast reserves of Magic Runes, but his final result had only been an unstable Gold Rank spell.
So it truly was a long road ahead, with heavy burdens to bear.
With the addition of a senior like Professor Pempes, many unnecessary trial-and-error steps could be skipped, greatly shortening the time required.
As for Chen Cheng's internal injuries, a few days ago, when he had been bored and probed with his mental power, he discovered that the Crystal Pendant his mother had given him before her death could strengthen his mental power.
Thus, he could completely clear away those shattered Magic Rune patterns himself. At the same time, he could study them, examine directions for future improvements, and see whether they could be made even more stable.
It could be said that Chen Cheng was still immersed in the pleasure of constantly exploring and discovering the unknown. Perhaps this was also the destiny of a research genius like him.
In the church's rear courtyard, Jamir frowned slightly after hearing his subordinate's report, then waved his hand and dismissed him.
He had never expected alchemists to arrive here at such a time. Was all this not too much of a coincidence?
After all, because he had previously needed to frame Wisdom Shield, the warning statue in the church had been damaged. And as luck would have it, the alchemists arrived at precisely this moment.
Then Jamir said to the priest outside:
"For the time being, have Father Haodos lead the prayers. If anyone from the government comes seeking assistance, have Father Haodos handle it as well."
A voice answered in acknowledgment. Then a priest dressed in white robes with black facings hurriedly left to deliver Bishop Jamir's orders.
Meanwhile, Jamir began pondering what this alchemist who had come from afar truly wanted, and how much benefit he could gain from this for the Church.
Or perhaps he could make some plans and use this alchemist crisis to get rid of Wisdom Shield.
After all, his spies had reported unpleasant news a few days ago: that old fellow Professor Pempes had become Wisdom Shield's new teacher.
Yet what no one knew was that this alchemist already had an army of Undead Skeletons by his side.
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