Chapter 144: Learning (2/2)

”Eh, that’s good! Teach Hei Zi in the meanwhile, he may be a little opaque but he’s very grounded, and is never lazy!”

”Yes.” Ye Chong replied. Even if the old man did not say so, Ye Chong had planned to do it all along.

The old man’s expression suddenly turned serious, and focused his eyes on Ye Chong. ”Ye, if you’re thinking of leaving the Orbits, never let anyone know that you can build full-skeleton mechs. Or else, you may have to live your entire life under the eyes of the Sanctuary. Of course, if it’s like that, you won’t have much to worry besides your freedom. For example, about your strange illness, the Sanctuary would never let a skeleton carver capable of building a full-skeleton mech to die of illness. As for the Sanctuary’s power, I believe you understand that completely. Haha, well, can you accept this way of life?”

”No!” Ye Chong replied decisively. Without freedom, Ye Chong could never accept it.

The old man broke into a grin. ”Haha, as I guessed. But if that’s the case, Ye, you must be careful, never let anyone realize that you know how to build full-skeleton mechs. Remember, never! Or else, if the Sanctuary knew, you’ll never leave the Orbits. I’ve reminded Hei Zi, and he’d never tell anyone. That full-skeleton mech that you have, it’s best not to use it unless necessary, now that there are many who could tell the difference. Hmm, best if you paint the mech, so that it wouldn’t be so obvious!”

Ye Chong silently applauded the old man’s experience, but was also moved from the old man’s concern about him.

Ye Chong left the old man’s room and met Hei Zi again. Hei Zi gave Ye Chong an odd look. He could not understand how someone would intentionally make his own mech ugly! Besides, this was his rational Junior Brother, and that perplexed him.

Now that Ye Chong was not occupied, he spend his days revising the coursework given by Lunatic Guan. While Lunatic Guan’s threats of punishment did not bother him, he still appreciated the knowledge, since he understood that it would form part of his strength, and might one day be crucial for his survival.

For someone who valued life as much as Ye Chong, that was the most convincing reason.

Other times, Ye Chong would teach Hei Zi about the foundational theories of mechs. However, the entire system of knowledge was too vast, and Hei Zi was not as good as Ye Chong was in terms of intelligence and foundation. Hence, he improved slowly, and Ye Chong could not do much about it.

Ye Chong also allocated some time for Room 5, using the authorization password from Lunatic Guan to activate the room’s photon processor and studied the secretive news and rules related to the ancient occupation that was alchemy. As he read on, Ye Chong gradually grew terrified. The world before him was a very mysterious one, an isolated world, with its own rules and social norms.

What Ye Chong was most interested in was the abilities of some unusual alchemists from obscure branches of the field. They mostly seemed inconceivable to Ye Chong.

One such example was a branch in microorganism studies. They could grow and multiply certain types of microorganisms up to tens of thousands of their original number. There was once a person who developed a grudge against one of them, and was secretly infected with this microorganism together with a special kind of catalyst. In the blink of an eye, that person began to age and wither quickly, and died a curious death.

This narrative immediately got Ye Chong’s attention. Ye Chong was always vigilant against unknown forces . This was terrifying! Fortunately, these people were not battle enthusiasts, and had never sought conflict with others by their own initiative.

This mysterious world was mainly made up of ancient aristocratic families. Through a long history of accumulating knowledge, they could reach further depths in their field. As for those who supported academy establishments, traditional alchemists often thought it beneath themselves.

Ye Chong had never heard of the news in here. Even with Ye Chong’s boldness, he was still chilled as he read through some of the information. There were too many strange things going on!

After finishing his reading, Ye Chong felt moved. The world was a vast place. How much more remained unknown? How many worlds remained to be discovered?

Lunatic Guan finally returned, looking fatigued, worn out by the journey, her expression betrayed some sense of desolation. She saw Ye Chong and exchanged some casual words before returning to her room to rest.

The next morning, Lunatic Guan woke Ye Chong up for her so-called test.

The entire afternoon was spent taking the test.

Lunatic Guan’s face did not show any emotions, but her heart was swirling like a tsunami. The coursework she gave Ye Chong was partly meant to make things difficult for him. While they were basic knowledge, but the content was abundant. For someone without any basics in alchemy, it would impossible to master them in such a short time. However, Ye Chong had done it!

”This guy is a genius!” The thought flashed past Lunatic Guan’s mind. At the same time she found herself feeling a little excited!

She was not aware that Ye Chong was not entirely without any foundations in alchemy. Besides, the amount of information was nothing compared to what Shang had pestered Ye Chong to learn on alchemy.

Lunatic Guan nodded in approval on the surface, ”Good god, your homework was done quite well! Hmm, since you’re done with homework, we’re going to continue on with the next phase of learning. This phase will focus on the basic skills in alchemy. Of course, theoretical studies will continue.

”Remember, for an alchemist, practice, is always more important than words!”

Lunatic Guan spoke her last sentence with a rare expression of seriousness.