Logo sorted through the alchemical knowledge in his mind as he worked with the various metal materials on the floor.
Alchemy was an extraordinarily vast and comprehensive field, with four major areas of research and over a hundred main branches.
The four major areas of research were matter, energy, spirit, and the mysterious.
The hundred-plus main branches included mechanics, pharmaceutics, bloodline studies, magic arrays, runology, materials science, astronomy, particle studies, macroscopic alchemy, microscopic alchemy, alchemical dynamics, puppet studies, toxicology, bacteriology, mycology, virology, bionics...
There were also a host of related disciplines, including structural engineering, energy circuits, metal materials, plant knowledge, information engineering, bloodline extraction, and bloodline bestowal...
All of these together formed the magnificent, boundless field of alchemy.
Logo planned to start by studying Alchemical Mechanics.
In the Astral Realm's Second Epoch, technological civilizations represented by the Northern Spirit Empire had risen rapidly. Mechanics had grown increasingly important, and its future was bright.
There were countless supernatural professions related to machinery: gunners, mechanics, mechanical warriors, mechanical martial artists... All were quite promising, both in combat power and future prospects.
They were collectively known as mechanical-type supernatural beings.
In the early stages, mechanical-type supernatural beings equipped with various firearms could improve their strength very quickly and rapidly develop formidable combat power. This was also one of the important reasons Logo had chosen to study mechanics first.
People who studied alchemy were known as alchemists.
Alchemists were divided into professional alchemists and amateur alchemists.
A professional alchemist was a supernatural profession with its own professional skill tree and template. As professional alchemists expanded their professional knowledge, their life rank would also rise; the two complemented each other.
Amateur alchemists were different. They were comparable to scientists on Blue Star, studying alchemy purely as a field of knowledge, without involving supernatural power.
There were strict limits on the number of primary professions a supernatural being could hold.
This was because the powers of different professions would clash severely.
For example, a spellcaster's mana and a knight's battle qi were entirely different in nature and structure. If they met in the same body, it would be like dry wood meeting a raging fire: boom, an explosion on the spot.
A magical energy circuit and a life seed could not coexist in the heart either.
Ultimately, a person had only one body, and there was a limit to what it could withstand.
A person's energy did not allow them to take up multiple supernatural professions at once, either. Doing so would only lead to mediocrity.
Power was often linked to focus, and those were no empty words!
The greatest difference between professional and amateur alchemists was that the former possessed the Fire of Birth.
This was a bodily energy unique to professional alchemists. It was extremely overbearing, directly igniting and assimilating other energies within the body.
That was also why professional alchemists could not combine their profession with other supernatural professions: the Fire of Birth would not allow it.
Amateur alchemists did not have the Fire of Birth in their bodies, so they faced no such restriction.
Whether they were mages, knights, warriors, martial artists, or ability users, all could study alchemical knowledge if they wished, without suffering any backlash.
Spellcasters were the most typical example.
Nearly all spellcasters studied alchemical knowledge.
So-called magical enchantment ultimately drew on knowledge from alchemical runology.
Using the power of runes to give weapons various supernatural properties was what was known as "enchantment."
Thus, there was a saying in the Astral Realm.
Alchemy had originally been a branch of magical studies, only becoming an independent discipline later, with the rise of the alchemists. The Astral Realm Alchemist Association neither acknowledged nor denied this, always remaining silent on the matter.
In Logo's view, this was most likely true. Otherwise, given how proud alchemists were, they would have argued back long ago!
Logo was studying alchemical knowledge with the aim of becoming a professional alchemist, of course. He had coveted the Fire of Birth for a long time.
Taking up the profession of alchemist was not difficult.
One only needed to reach the beginner level in any branch of alchemy, then use that knowledge as fuel to stir spirit and energy and ignite the Fire of Birth.
This step was recorded in great detail in the Aslant Civilization, so Logo could simply follow the instructions.
After breaking through to become a full-fledged knight, his spirit attribute had risen to 4 points, making the effects of his Truth Analysis talent even more apparent.
Truth Analysis, passive: Your learning ability and insight into all things in the world will receive a certain degree of enhancement based on your spirit attribute. (This talent comes from the Eye of Insight)
Mechanics was a popular branch of alchemy. It encompassed hundreds upon thousands of smaller subdisciplines, also known as foundational disciplines.
Mathematics, chemistry, physics, materials science, molecular science...
To reach the beginner level in mechanics, of course, he did not need to study every one of these subdisciplines. Logo focused on mathematics, materials science, physics, and structural engineering.
With the help of his Truth Analysis talent, he learned extremely quickly. To him, all manner of lengthy, complicated formulas were as simple as adding and subtracting numbers under ten. A single glance was enough for him to calculate the answer.
Mechanical blueprints whose complex structures would dazzle an ordinary person were something Logo could grasp at their core in an instant. He could quickly analyze, understand, and memorize them, then reconstruct them in his mind.
In just five days, all four foundational disciplines reached Lv10.
The levels of foundational knowledge rose very quickly, but its importance could not be underestimated. A towering building rose from the ground; without a solid foundation, the earth would shake and the mountains would tremble.
With four subdisciplines at Lv10, Logo's Alchemical Mechanics rose to Lv1, bringing him to the true beginner level.
Now that he had reached the beginner level, it was time to condense the Fire of Birth.
After shutting the laboratory door tight, Logo sat casually on the floor and directed his spiritual power, slowly circulating it along a peculiar route.
The method was somewhat like making fire by rubbing sticks together. Spiritual power was the wood, and Mechanics Lv1 was the tinder; the two rubbed against each other to produce a flame.
Time passed bit by bit. An hour later, a spark appeared between Logo's brows and blazed fiercely within the Eye of Gendaya. Within a dozen seconds, it spread to every corner of his body.
Reflected in the silver metal walls, the golden-blue flames were soft and flowing. Though they blazed fiercely, they gave off no heat at all.
But a closer examination revealed the terrifying resilience and precision they contained.
This was a flame formed by igniting the spirit, symbolizing the supreme wisdom of alchemists.
As soon as the Fire of Birth ignited, it rushed toward his heart.
The life seed throbbed violently, its battle qi ready to burst forth, but Logo kept it firmly suppressed.
Although the knight profession likewise had vast prospects, it was not the one best suited to Logo.
While his life rank was still low and the sunk cost was small, giving it up as soon as possible was the wisest choice.
With its master Logo personally taking sides against it, the life seed could not resist, however powerful it was.
As if showing off its might, the Fire of Birth circled the life seed twice before enveloping it.
Ignite, devour, assimilate!
This was a rather lengthy process. The Fire of Birth's level was too low, and it would take at least half a month to completely devour the life seed's battle qi.
Throughout that time, Logo stayed in the laboratory, never setting foot outside, wholly focused on studying all kinds of alchemical knowledge.
He only called Lunbate over and drew more than a dozen blueprints for various precision mechanical parts, asking him to find different alchemists to make each of them.