The splits

Young Master Xu.

Faced with this unfamiliar title, Wei Yuan and the others instinctively searched through the internal list of the Bureau of Astronomy and among the five surviving direct disciples of the Director.

No, the person in white is referring to "Young Master Xu" rather than "Senior Brother Xu." The one giving the lecture is not a disciple of the Bureau of Astronomy; he is an outsider.

Could it be that the surname Xu is...? The princess's beautiful eyes sparkled, and a bold guess formed in her mind. She couldn't wait to verify it.

At the same time, Wei Yuan's eyes showed a look of sudden realization, and he also had some guesses.

Song Qing had once told him that Xu Qi'an was an extraordinary Alchemy genius, but Wei Yuan didn't pay much attention to it at the time, since Song Qing was the top Alchemy in the Bureau of Astronomy.

The prodigy he spoke of might simply possess exceptional alchemical talent, certainly not comparable to the foremost Alchemy, let alone someone addressed as "my teacher."

Wei Yuan glanced at his two adopted sons, whose faces and eyes showed the same confusion and bewilderment. They clearly hadn't connected Young Master Xu with Xu Qi'an, and they had forgotten what Song Qing had said that day.

"Godfather, when did a person surnamed Xu appear in the Bureau of Astronomy?" Nangong Qianrou was in charge of intelligence and interrogation, and was extremely sensitive to such suddenly appearing figures.

Yang Yan, who didn't like to talk, turned his head slightly and looked at Wei Yuan with a questioning look in his eyes.

Although the two Golden Gongs had forgotten Song Qing's evaluation of Xu Qi'an that day, they still remembered Jiang Luzhong's words from the day before.

Wei Yuan smiled and said, "You'll see when you go upstairs."

The eldest princess, lifting her skirt, gracefully ascended the tower. She was tall and well-proportioned; even her back view was breathtakingly beautiful.

You don't even need to see her face to know she's an exceptionally beautiful woman.

"The essence of Alchemy is Equivalent Exchange."

The clever white-robed Warlock answered his question using Xu Qi'an's words.

"Extract the essence from things, turn waste into treasure." Alchemist also offered this answer based on their experience.

The Warlock below the sixth rank did not answer, but listened attentively. The Alchemist of the sixth rank spoke up one after another, giving their own interpretations.

Most of them are one-sided, based on their own experience. As for those who use my famous saying, they only know one side of the story and not the other. The theoretical knowledge of the Bureau of Astronomy is indeed lacking.

Xu Qi'an listened patiently, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

After the people in white finished speaking, they all turned to look at Song Qing.

Song Qing was the personal disciple of the Director of the Imperial Observatory and was also recognized by the Bureau of Astronomy as the number one Alchemy. He was so immersed in the field of Alchemy that he refused to advance in his career. He was only fascinated by Alchemy and disdained higher realms.

His fellow disciples of the fourth and fifth ranks were not as skilled as him in Alchemy.

Song Qing shook her head and sighed.

"What does Senior Brother Song mean by this?" The white-robed Warlock wondered when they heard Xu Qi'an clapping his hands.

Everyone immediately turned their attention to this Alchemy prodigy.

Meeting everyone's gaze, Xu Qi'an sighed, "In the entire Bureau of Astronomy, in the field of Alchemy, only Senior Brother Song commands my respect; I regard him as a master I can rival."

The white-robed Bureau of Astronomy stood in awe.

Song Qing smiled slightly and subtly straightened her back.

Xu Qi'an continued, "What Senior Brother Song actually means is that what everyone here said is correct, but not entirely accurate, so none of them are entirely correct."

Everyone wore thoughtful expressions.

Xu Qi'an spoke eloquently, "Alchemy is a very broad field. Many of you here may have some understanding of it, but it's all rather vague and general. Well, originally, I only promised Senior Brother Song Qing that I would impart one piece of knowledge to you, but Senior Brother Song Qing insisted that I repay him with interest. So I'll go into more detail, make it broader, and more thorough."

The moment these words were spoken, the white-robed Warlock ' eyes instantly turned fervent.

"Thank you, Senior Brother Song. Thank you, Young Master Xu."

"Young Master Xu, please begin! I can't wait!"

The noise suddenly became chaotic, reaching the ears of the princess who had climbed to the seventh floor. She stopped in her tracks, not going in immediately, but watching from a distance, discreetly, the young man standing before the desk, passionately lecturing the usually arrogant Warlock.

Xu Qi'an, it really was him!

Wei Yuan paused, and upon seeing Xu Qi'an, his expression faltered for a moment before returning to normal.

As Wei Yuan stopped, the effeminate Nangong Qianrou and the expressionless Yang Yan also glanced over the shoulders of the Princess and Wei Yuan and vaguely saw Xu Qi'an.

It turned out that Jiang Luzhong was telling the truth. Yang Yan stared at Xu Qi'an for a moment, then nodded almost imperceptibly.

This gong can only be used by him; no one can take it from him.

Nangong Qianrou originally wanted to go in and listen in, to see what the boy could say, but realizing that neither the princess nor her adoptive father intended to disturb her, she held back and remained where she was.

Xu Qi'an said, "The essence of Alchemy is Equivalent Exchange. This is the key principle, but it is not very vivid. Only Alchemy masters like Senior Brother Song Qing can understand the True Intention of this sentence. Today, I will explain it to you slowly, from the shallow to the deep."

"When Alchemy is mentioned, laymen instinctively think of elixirs and potions. Those with a little knowledge will definitely think of this." Xu Qi'an said, pointing to the simple jewelry adorning Chu Caiwei's hair. "Metal!"

The white-robed Warlock nodded slightly.

"What I'm telling you is that these are just two areas of Alchemy, which I categorize as: medicine and materials. Most Alchemist only delve into these two areas, occasionally venturing into other fields. But Senior Brother Song is unique; his gaze has already set on another independent field."

The white-robed Warlock immediately looked at Song Qing. Song Qing was taken aback, as if she had found a kindred spirit, and her eyes suddenly burned with passion.

He knew that Xu Qi'an was about to focus on his field of grafting biology.

Perhaps this lecture will be an important step for him into the new field of alchemy.

Thinking of this, Song Qing's breathing became rapid.

Outside, the eldest princess and Wei Yuan couldn't help but look at Song Qing, the eccentric disciple of the supervisor, whom they were quite familiar with.

They knew he was always dabbling in some terrible Alchemy, and was even imprisoned by the warden for it.

Is Xu Qi'an's Alchemy really that advanced? Is he really capable of guiding Song Qing?

"Senior Brother Song Qing's research focuses on the field of biology," Xu Qi'an said. "That's right. Alchemy isn't just for inanimate objects; living things are also within its Alchemy."

A white-robed Warlock rose and said in a deep voice, "Young Master Xu, Master Jianzheng said that life is outside the realm of Alchemy."

Although I greatly admire Xu Qi'an's expertise in Alchemy, these words violated the teachings of my mentor, the Supervisor, and contradicted his principles.

The other white-robed Warlock present also looked skeptical and unconvinced.

The eldest princess turned her head and looked at Wei Yuan with a consultative gaze. The latter smiled and said softly, "My opinion is the same as the Supervisor's."

The eldest princess nodded and looked at Xu Qi'an again.

Let's see what he has to say.

"That's because Senior Brother Song Qing's method was wrong, so the Supervisor criticized him. But his direction was not wrong," Xu Qi'an said.

Of course, he wouldn't argue with the supervisor. Even if he won the debate, what if the old man was unhappy and couldn't be appeased? He might just slap him to death, and then who would he complain to?

Upon hearing this, Song Qing was very Qi Ingestion, but she did not refute it and patiently listened to what he had to say next.

"Let's recall," Xu Qi'an said, "We extract metals from ores; we extract harder metals from metals; we refine elixirs from medicinal herbs. But we can't extract medicines from metals, nor can we refine metals from medicinal herbs." He then asked in suspense, "Why?"

"Medicinal herbs are medicinal herbs, and ores are ores. Young Master Xu, your question is quite strange."

"Haha, if metals can be extracted from medicinal herbs, can't we extract gold and silver from white rice?"

To the white-robed Warlock, Xu Qi'an's question was like asking: Why does the sun rise from the east? Why do people starve to death if they don't eat? Why are there twelve two-hour periods in a day?

The white-robed Warlock whispered amongst themselves, but Song Qing vaguely sensed something. The noise from his junior brothers in white robes was making his mind a mess, preventing him from calming down and thinking.

"Smack!"

Song Qing slammed his hand on the table and stood up. "Clear the area!"

After yelling, his face was flushed, his breathing rapid, and he stared intently at Xu Qi'an: "Speak, speak now!!"

The white-robed Warlock fell silent. They had rarely seen Senior Brother Song like this, and they also realized that what Xu Qi'an was saying was truly profound Alchemy knowledge.

Xu Qi'an's gaze swept past the men in white and landed on Wei Yuan from a great distance, causing his heart to sink.

Damn, he was showing off when the bosses started watching. Xu Qi'an instinctively felt defensive; it was a sign of his guilty conscience.

The Warlock of the Bureau of Astronomy were like a group of meticulous science nerds; they only cared about Alchemy itself and didn't care about Alchemy origins.

Even if they find something suspicious, they will automatically ignore it; as long as they can learn profound Alchemy, they don't care about anything else.

Wei Yuan was different. Wei Yuan was a politician, military strategist, and tactician—a brilliant man with a whole host of achievements.

Intelligent people tend to overthink.

Xu Qi'an's strategy with the white-robed Warlock was to display his divine power in public, the more exaggerated the better. His strategy with Wei Yuan, however, was to show loyalty, and within reasonable limits, to put on a harmless little show of bravado.

The current situation is clearly not just a little showing off, but a full split.

At this moment, Wei Yuan nodded slightly to Xu Qi'an.

"Look at it from another angle: showcasing your value to your superiors is also an effective way to gain attention and increase your leverage!"

Xu Qi'an took a deep breath, cleared his mind of distractions, and focused on the lesson.