“Young Master Xu…”
Faced with this unfamiliar title, Wei Yuan and the others instinctively searched through the internal roster of the Celestial Inspection Bureau, looking among the Bureau Chief’s five current personal disciples.
No, this white-robed official said “Young Master Xu” rather than “Senior Brother Xu.” The one giving the lecture wasn’t a disciple of the Celestial Inspection Bureau, but an outsider.
Surname Xu… Could it be… The Imperial Princess’s eyes flickered, forming a bold guess in her heart. She was eager to verify it.
At the same time, a look of realization appeared in Wei Yuan’s eyes, and he too had formed a certain guess.
Song Qing had once told him that Xu Qi An was an extraordinary alchemy prodigy, but Wei Yuan hadn’t paid much attention at the time. After all, Song Qing was the top alchemist in the Celestial Inspection Bureau.
A prodigy in his words might just be someone with outstanding alchemical talent, certainly unable to compare with the top alchemist, let alone be called “my teacher.”
Wei Yuan glanced at his two adopted sons. Their faces and eyes showed the same confusion and bewilderment. They hadn’t connected Young Master Xu with Xu Qi An, and they had forgotten what Song Qing had said that day.
“Father, when did the Celestial Inspection Bureau produce someone surnamed Xu?” Nangong Qianrou, who was in charge of intelligence and interrogation, was extremely sensitive to such suddenly appearing figures.
Yang Yan, who didn’t like to talk, turned his head slightly to look at Wei Yuan with a questioning gaze.
Although the two Golden Gong bearers had forgotten Song Qing’s evaluation of Xu Qi An from that day, they still remembered what Jiang Luzhong had said the day before yesterday.
Wei Yuan smiled, “We’ll know when we go upstairs.”
The Imperial Princess had already lifted her skirt and was gracefully ascending the stairs. She was tall with excellent proportions, and just her back view gave people an infinite sense of beauty.
There was no need to see her face to know she was a woman of incomparable beauty.
…
“The essence of alchemy is equivalent exchange.”
The clever white-robed practitioners used Xu Qi An’s words to answer his question.
“Extracting the essence from things, turning waste into treasure.” Some alchemists also gave answers based on their own experiences.
Practitioners below the sixth rank didn’t answer, listening attentively. The sixth-rank alchemists all spoke up, giving their understanding.
Most of them are one-sided, with answers given based on their own experiences… As for those guys quoting my famous saying, they only know one part but not the other… The Celestial Inspection Bureau’s theoretical knowledge is indeed lacking.
Xu Qi An listened patiently, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.
After the white-robed officials finished speaking, they all looked toward Song Qing in unison.
Song Qing was the personal disciple of the Bureau Chief and the universally acknowledged top alchemist in the Celestial Inspection Bureau. He was immersed in the field of alchemy and refused to advance, only obsessed with alchemy and disdainful of higher ranks.
His other fourth and fifth-rank senior brothers were all inferior to him in the field of alchemy.
Song Qing shook his head and sighed.
…What does Senior Brother Song mean? As the white-robed practitioners were puzzled, they heard Xu Qi An clap his hands.
Everyone immediately turned their attention to this alchemy prodigy.
Xu Qi An met everyone’s gaze and sighed, “In the entire Celestial Inspection Bureau, in the field of alchemy, only Senior Brother Song earns my admiration, someone I consider a peer worthy of respect.”
The white-robed practitioners of the Celestial Inspection Bureau were filled with reverence.
Song Qing smiled slightly, secretly straightening his back.
Xu Qi An continued, “What Senior Brother Song means is that what everyone said is correct, but not comprehensive, so none of it can be considered entirely right.”
Everyone showed thoughtful expressions.
Xu Qi An spoke eloquently, “Alchemy is a very broad field. Those present may understand some of it in their hearts, but it’s all rather vague and general… Well, originally, I only promised Senior Brother Song Qing to impart one piece of knowledge to you all, but Senior Brother Song Qing insisted that I repay with interest, so I’ll speak a bit more, cover a bit more, and be a bit more thorough.”
As soon as he said this, the eyes of the white-robed practitioners instantly lit up with enthusiasm.
“Thank you, Senior Brother Song, thank you, Young Master Xu.”
“Young Master Xu, please begin. I can’t wait any longer.”
The voices suddenly became noisy, just reaching the ears of the Imperial Princess who had ascended to the seventh floor. She paused her steps, not immediately entering, but from afar, discreetly watching the young man standing before the desk, passionately lecturing to the usually haughty practitioners.
Xu Qi An, it is him!
Wei Yuan stopped simultaneously, and upon seeing Xu Qi An, his expression paused for a moment before returning to normal.
As Wei Yuan stopped, the effeminate Nangong Qianrou and the expressionless Yang Yan also looked over the shoulders of the Imperial Princess and Wei Yuan, vaguely seeing Xu Qi An.
So everything Jiang Luzhong said was true… Yang Yan stared at Xu Qi An for a moment, nodding almost imperceptibly.
This Bronze Gong bearer could only be under his command; no one else could snatch him away.
Nangong Qianrou originally wanted to go in directly to audit, to see what this kid could say, but sensing that the Imperial Princess and his adoptive father had no intention of interrupting, he held back and remained still.
Xu Qi An said, “The essence of alchemy is equivalent exchange. This is the overarching principle, but it’s not vivid. Only alchemy masters like Senior Brother Song Qing can truly comprehend the meaning of this statement. Today, we’ll start from the basics and gradually go deeper. Listen as I slowly explain.”
“When mentioning alchemy, laypeople instinctively think of elixirs and potions. Those who know a bit more will immediately think of this…” At this point, Xu Qi An pointed at the simple ornament in Chu Caiwei’s black hair: “Metal!”
The white-robed practitioners nodded slightly.
“What I want to tell you is that these are just two of the fields within alchemy. I categorize them as the medical field and the materials field. Most alchemists only delve into these two fields, occasionally venturing into others. But Senior Brother Song is unique; his gaze is already in another independent field.”
The white-robed practitioners immediately looked at Song Qing. Song Qing was stunned as if he had found a kindred spirit, his eyes suddenly burning with enthusiasm.
He knew that Xu Qi An was about to focus on his field of biological grafting.
Perhaps this lecture would also be an important step for him to enter a completely new alchemical field.
Thinking of this, Song Qing’s breathing became rapid.
Outside, the Imperial Princess and Wei Yuan couldn’t help but look at Song Qing. They were certainly not unfamiliar with this eccentric disciple of the Bureau Chief.
They knew he was always tinkering with some terrifying alchemy, and had even been confined by the Bureau Chief because of it.
Had Xu Qi An’s alchemy reached such a profound level? Could he guide Song Qing?
“Senior Brother Song Qing’s research direction is in the biological field,” Xu Qi An said. “That’s right, alchemy is not just aimed at inanimate objects; living things are equally within the realm of alchemy.”
A white-robed practitioner stood up and said in a deep voice, “Young Master Xu, the Bureau Chief has said before that life is not within the scope of alchemy.”
Although they greatly admired Xu Qi An’s attainments in the field of alchemy, these words contradicted the teachings of the Bureau Chief and conflicted with his ideas.
The other white-robed practitioners also had looks of doubt and disagreement on their faces.
The Imperial Princess turned her head, looking at Wei Yuan with a questioning gaze. The latter smiled and said softly, “My view aligns with that of the Bureau Chief.”
The Imperial Princess nodded and turned back to look at Xu Qi An.
Let’s see what he has to say.
“That’s because Senior Brother Song Qing’s method is wrong, so the Bureau Chief criticized him. But his direction is not wrong,” Xu Qi An said.
He certainly wouldn’t argue with the Bureau Chief. Even if he won the debate, if the old man became unhappy and couldn’t be appeased, he might slap Xu Qi An to death with one palm. Who could he cry to then?
Song Qing, upon hearing this, was quite unconvinced but didn’t refute it. He patiently waited to hear what Xu Qi An would say next.
“Let’s all recall, we extract metals from ores; we extract harder metals from metals; we refine elixirs from medicinal herbs. But we can’t extract potions from metals, nor can we refine metals from medicinal herbs,” Xu Qi An left them in suspense. “Why?”
“Herbs are herbs, ores are ores. Young Master Xu’s question is quite strange.”
“Haha, if we could extract metals from herbs, wouldn’t we be able to extract gold and silver from white rice?”
In the eyes of the white-robed practitioners, Xu Qi An’s question was like asking: Why does the sun rise in the east? Why do people starve if they don’t eat? Why are there twelve hours in a day?
The white-robed practitioners were whispering among themselves, but Song Qing vaguely touched upon something. The noise of his junior brothers was making his head a mess, unable to calm down and think.
“Bang!”
Song Qing slammed the table and stood up: “Silence!”
After shouting, he blushed, breathing rapidly, staring intently at Xu Qi An: “You say it, say it quickly!!”
The white-robed practitioners fell silent. They rarely saw Senior Brother Song like this, and at the same time, they realized that what Xu Qi An was saying was truly profound alchemical knowledge.
Xu Qi An’s gaze passed over the white-robed officials and saw Wei Yuan from afar. His heart sank.
…Damn, just when I was getting into the groove of showing off, the boss came to watch… Xu Qi An instinctively felt resistant, a kind of guilty conscience.
The practitioners of the Celestial Inspection Bureau were like a group of rigorous science nerds. They only cared about alchemy itself and wouldn’t care about the origin of alchemical knowledge.
Even if they found it suspicious, they would automatically ignore it. As long as they could learn profound alchemy, they didn’t care about anything else.
Wei Yuan was different. Wei Yuan was a politician, a military strategist, and a mastermind with a heap of titles. Smart people tend to overthink.
Xu Qi An’s strategy for the white-robed practitioners was to show off in front of people, the more exaggerated the better. But his strategy for Wei Yuan was to show loyalty, to show off within reasonable limits without causing harm.
The current situation was not a small show-off, but a full split.
At this moment, Wei Yuan nodded slightly to Xu Qi An.
“Phew… Looking at it from another angle, demonstrating one’s value in front of the leader is also an effective way to attract attention and increase one’s stakes!”
Xu Qi An took a deep breath, cleared his mind of distractions, and brought his focus back to the classroom.