Elixir of Immortality

"Since that was the case, then leave early." Alva wore a complicated expression. Seeing Adam choose the letter, he felt both disappointed and relieved.

"You are still my teacher. Even if I will no longer study under Teacher Alva, I will still respect you." Adam held the letter and spoke pleasant words, though he knew they would most likely be useless.

"Don't say such hypocritical things." Alva turned around, picked up his brush, and began to paint.

"That is what I truly think," Adam said. After bowing in salute, he took the letter and pushed the door open to leave.

"Do not do something you will regret." Alva spoke softly. This was his final piece of advice to this student.

"I won't." Adam paused, but did not stop. He strode outside.

Clutching the letter in his hand, Adam did not look well. When facing people like Alva, he could only adapt to circumstances, and too many things about them lay beyond his expectations.

"Looks like I can't go to the church often anymore." Adam found it somewhat regrettable, but not unacceptable.

Adam believed that plans could not be rigid. Once fixed in place, they would be shattered by unforeseen accidents. An excellent planner should be able to alter their plans as events developed.

Take the plan to infiltrate the church, for example. After Adam realized that he lacked understanding of the strong, he had intended to abandon it.

His state was not set in stone. If the chief priest or one of the church's powerful figures discovered him someday, he would be walking straight into death.

Like this time: his bloodline had awakened, changing his spiritual bearing. The chief priest had then given him Alva's address, while Alva had used the Thousand Paintings House to lure out any abnormalities in him.

Had Adam not previously experienced the power of bloodline awakening that resembled retracing the past, he might have revealed his own unusual state. Then what awaited him would not have been two choices, but a disaster.

Sensing Adam's departure, Alva stopped his brush. He did not know whether recommending Adam to study under that person had been the right decision, but Xia Ya's proposal was something he always felt unable to carry out.

Xia Ya believed that although Adam possessed ambition and extraordinary talent, he could attain redemption so long as he was guided correctly. He was well suited to inherit Alva's legacy and become Alva's true student.

But Alva had failed to follow Xia Ya's wishes. He had always believed Adam to be a calamity, just like his younger self.

Thus, Alva had no confidence in guiding Adam. His first choice, as he had said, was to teach Adam the painting techniques of his lifetime and let Adam inherit his gallery. But beyond that, he would teach Adam nothing else, suppressing Adam's talent and turning him into a painter.

He had hoped Adam would choose that option, yet when Adam chose the letter, he did not know why he felt somewhat relieved.

"Xia Ya, you have always believed that I have already attained redemption. But have I truly?" Alva looked sorrowful.

"Master, Mr. Alfred has brought Mr. Chuck's note, saying he was here to collect a painting on his behalf. I have invited him into the sitting room." Ai slowly approached Alva's side and spoke softly.

"Then let's go see him. Also, if Shan Chuck comes again in the future, do not let him through the door." Alva reined in his emotions.

"Ai understands." Ai nodded and made a note of it. The next time Mr. Chuck came, what excuse should he use to refuse him? That he had gone to the wrong door?

Alva had Ai carry a dried painting and followed behind him toward the sitting room. The old man sat upright in his chair with both hands resting on his cane, and the coachman stood behind him.

"This is Chuck's painting. Inspect it, Mr. Doug." Alva reclined in the chair opposite him, pointed at the painting Ai was carrying, and spoke with some impatience.

"Walker." The old man called out, and the coachman behind him immediately took the painting.

"Master Alva, I will speak plainly. The reason I came under this pretext was to..." The old man did not even glance at the painting beside him, instead speaking directly to Alva.

"It is impossible for me to give it to you." Alva interrupted him, rose to his feet, and said, "Mr. Rom, if you are here to request a painting, you are welcome. But if you have come for that thing, forgive me for being unable to receive you. Take the painting and leave."

"You should understand my situation, Mr. Alva." Doug gripped his cane tightly, his voice rising slightly. "Not one of my descendants has amounted to anything. How can I rest easy passing the noble name of Rom down to them?"

"Your problems with education have nothing to do with me, Mr. Doug Rom Alfred." Alva changed his form of address three times in succession, making his displeasure unmistakably clear.

"But I must solve this problem." Doug lowered his voice, speaking with exhaustion. "I need the Elixir of Immortality."

The moment the words "Elixir of Immortality" were spoken, the air in the sitting room seemed to grow much colder.

"Give up on that idea." After leaving behind those words, Alva turned and walked away without another thought for him.

"This way, please. The exit is over here." Smiling, Ai extended a hand to point out the direction. He added, "Forgive my bluntness, but that thing does not taste very good."

Doug raised his head to look at Ai's innocent smile. His hand tightened further around his cane. He suddenly rose to his feet, making it clear that this old man was tall and broad, looking more imposing than most people. On the back of his hand, a black circular crest appeared, filled with all manner of symbols.

Ai glanced at it, then remained in the same pose, still smiling.

"Let's go." The crest vanished, and Doug headed outside.

Walker carried the painting behind Doug. He turned and met Ai's gaze. In an instant, the air blurred, then shattered apart as a gale swept through, making the nearby curtains billow.

Neither of their expressions changed. Walker withdrew his gaze and carried the painting after Doug as he left, while Ai went to the window and neatly arranged the slightly disordered curtains once more.

Before walking out through the fence, Doug turned back for a look, his eyes filled with resolve. He would definitely get his hands on the Elixir of Immortality.

There were many methods of immortality in this world, but most came with severe side effects.

One side effect they usually shared was altering one's bloodline.

Such methods of immortality had mostly been developed by sorcerers. For sorcerers, the longer they cultivated, the less human they became. Could altering one's bloodline even be considered a side effect?

But to nobles, it might be even harder to accept than death.

A noble's crest was inherited from their ancestors. The most important requirement was that their bloodline matched and their life aura aligned.

Once they no longer matched, the crest would peel away and await inheritance by another bloodline. Moreover, accepting such a method of immortality might even taint an ancestor's achievements and provoke the church's hostility.

The church upheld the natural laws of birth, aging, illness, and death. It believed that priests should not seek long life in this world, but should peacefully accept death after living a complete life and go to meet their god.

Those who used all manner of immortal methods to evade death easily drew the hostility of priests. Some methods of immortality would even cause their users to be directly classified as aberrations and hunted by the church.

Alva Ratu, the most gifted priest in the Holy Sound Kingdom in the past century, had been stripped of all his holy power for inventing the Elixir of Immortality. He could only live in the border city of Roa under the protection of his old friend Xia Ya.

The church had sealed off this information. If Doug had not possessed certain channels, he truly would not have known.

Alva had undoubtedly used the Elixir of Immortality. Otherwise, how could he still retain the appearance of a forty-year-old at over eighty?

The crucial point was that Alva's life aura had not changed in the slightest. This was a method of immortality suited for nobles.

Doug had come several times over this matter. Before, he had only probed vaguely. This time, he had even needed to use another noble's name just to enter the door. He understood Alva's attitude, so today he raised the matter directly.

Though he had expected it, Alva's utterly merciless refusal still left Doug exceptionally furious. Sitting in the carriage, Doug suppressed his anger, refusing to let himself lose a noble's etiquette.

"Master." Walker's voice suddenly sounded. The carriage slowed slightly. Doug knew that this loyal servant had noticed something. He lifted the curtain a little and saw Adam walking by the roadside.

"Go investigate his identity later."

"Understood."

I've noticed that all of you really love using the name Doug for minor characters. Since a noble name was needed this time, I combined and revised the names of two minor characters who were both named Doug, resulting in Doug Rom Alfred. Quite a few minor characters from the minor-character thread have already appeared. If you wish, you can create a minor character you like in the comments section's minor-character thread, and Xuming will select from them as appropriate.