Zhong Kui's Concept of Alchemists, Encounters from a Past Life

"You must be careful and attentive," Zhong Kui said. "Refining elixirs and medicines requires extreme caution. The purpose of refining these elixirs... these medicines, is mostly to help oneself or others become stronger."

"An alchemist is a profession that helps others grow stronger. Even if one is not particularly powerful themselves, they can help others reach great heights."

"In ancient records, alchemists were highly revered and held prestigious positions. Although their personal combat strength might not be high, the key is their ability to help others grow, even turning the mediocre into geniuses."

"That is why alchemists are worshipped. My requirement for you is not necessarily that you must be powerful, but that you must possess the ability to craft medicine and understand how to help others improve."

"Refining elixirs is about altering a person's constitution, allowing them to possess the capacity to cultivate and become stronger."

"It is just like a Soul Tool master. A Soul Tool master might not be adept at combat, but they are skilled at crafting Soul Tools."

"Everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses."

"It is the same for an alchemist. While some alchemists may not be skilled in combat, their ability to make others powerful is a strength in its own right."

After Zhong Kui finished speaking, everyone nodded, agreeing with his words.

"Understood, Master Zhong Kui."

"Then you must work harder, be careful in your refining, and also pay attention to your own safety. Be obedient, and do not give up after a single failure. Failing once is not terrifying; what is terrifying is failing and being unable to stand back up."

"Yes," the apprentices replied.

This method of education should be correct; one must not suppress students, but rather encourage and guide them in the right direction.

(Note: In the world of Battle Through the Heavens, as well as in the worlds of cultivation novels, alchemists are fundamentally there to help others become stronger. At least, that is my concept of it. It is almost always about turning the 'trash' into geniuses; that is my concept. Take Yao Lao, for instance. Although Xiao Yan was a small genius in his own right, that was only within the context of the Northwest Continent. The resources Xiao Yan received and the education he was exposed to were basically limited to the Northwest Continent, or even just small cities within the Jia Ma Empire. Furthermore, the strongest person in the Xiao Clan at the time was only a Dou Grandmaster, namely Xiao Yan's father, Xiao Zhan. Therefore, in my view, no matter how talented Xiao Yan was, without Yao Lao's help, he would have remained a genius of a small city on the edge of the Northwest. Although Yao Lao initially absorbed Xiao Yan's Dou Qi, turning him into a 'waste' because he needed the energy, he later helped Xiao Yan. In my opinion, given the resources and education Xiao Yan received, without Yao Lao's help, he would have at most helped the Xiao Clan become a family with a Dou Emperor in the Jia Ma Empire. He might have had the qualifications to attempt to break through to Dou Ancestor and see the wider world, but he would have had no chance of reaching Dou Saint, let alone becoming a Dou Emperor. Thus, without the medicine, Xiao Yan could never have become a Dou Emperor in this lifetime; at most, he would have reached Dou Zun. Therefore, the protagonist's concept is that an alchemist is someone who helps others become stronger, capable of turning even the 'waste' into a genius.)

After Zhong Kui said these things, everyone worked even harder.

Because Zhong Kui's words made perfect sense. Zhong Kui had become a Soul Emperor-level powerhouse at a young age, even surpassing the two geniuses of the Red Dust Family from the Sun Moon Empire, Meng Hongchen and Xiao Hongchen.

This further proved that being an alchemist is a profession that helps others or oneself become stronger; one does not have to be powerful themselves, but they can help others become very powerful.

Moreover, everyone knew the background of Zhong Kui. Those who came from the Sun Moon Empire knew that the alchemists Zhong Kui learned from had some background, talent, and insight.

They also knew that Zhong Kui came from the Douluo Three Kingdoms and was born into a family of ordinary soul masters.

They were aware of all this, and they also knew that before Zhong Kui joined the Imperial Academy of the Sun Moon Empire, he had never studied at any other academy in the Douluo Three Kingdoms; he had basically relied on his own exploration.

His Innate Soul Power was also not like that of the geniuses at Shrek.

Therefore, in their eyes, Zhong Kui had relied on alchemy to turn himself into a genius, so they all believed what he said.

Otherwise, who could explain how someone from an ordinary soul master family with no background, no connections, and who had never joined any prestigious academy could become a Soul Emperor at such a young age?

Thus, they believed that Zhong Kui must have discovered ancient alchemical ruins, learned the art of alchemy, and become a powerful alchemist, transforming himself into a powerhouse and a genius.

There was one more point: Zhong Kui was a very gentle teacher who was patient with his students. If they failed, Zhong Kui would patiently guide them, so everyone felt that Zhong Kui must be a very gentle person.

One must know that under the education of the teachers at the Sun Moon Imperial Academy, learning was a very serious and strict affair. Because they had long been losing to Shrek, the education in the Sun Moon Empire was quite rigid.

This resulted in many students feeling exhausted while studying to become stronger.

Could they feel happy and motivated when encountering such a gentle educator as Zhong Kui?

At the very least, they wanted to respond to this kindness from Zhong Kui.

In truth, the reason Zhong Kui treated these apprentices—who were not much younger than him—with such gentleness was because of the differential treatment he had received from teachers at school in his original world.

Although he hadn't suffered any great grievances, the fact remained that he had been subjected to differential treatment as a child; teachers were good to excellent students and had a poor attitude toward average students like him.

When Zhong Kui had a conflict with an excellent student in the past, even though it was the excellent student who had provoked him first, the teacher treated them differently because the other person was an 'excellent student' in the teacher's eyes, while Zhong Kui was just an average one, which only deepened the conflict.

When excellent students encountered difficult problems in class, the teacher would carefully guide them, but for an average student like him—especially one who had previously had a conflict with the teacher—the teacher would treat him differently, directly asking why he hadn't been listening carefully!

So, as Zhong Kui taught everyone alchemy and acted as a teacher, he used those former teachers as negative examples, reminding himself not to become a teacher like them.

He simply hoped that since he had once been caught in the rain, he could hold an umbrella for others; he did not want his own experiences to happen to others, to those children. At the very least, in Zhong Kui's view, he had lived to adulthood in his previous life, and adding his ages together, his soul was much older than these students.

Therefore, he held a certain attitude of an elder toward the younger generation, hoping that these students could become successful and excellent, but he would not engage in oppression or differential treatment, choosing instead to treat these students with the gentleness he believed in.