Chapter 77

Just as Ji Ran was enjoying a brief moment of peace, Professor Alexander was at his residence.

"Your meaning is that you failed to recruit Ji Ran, who possesses Golden Rank swordsmanship, and even got into a fight with him, which you lost?" Professor Alexander looked at Hein with a blank expression.

Professor Alexander was slender, with narrow, elongated eyes that seemed to pierce through people like a venomous snake.

Hein was drenched in sweat: "Actually, I didn't lose; I just didn't have the upper hand at first. But if given time, I would definitely win..."

"In short, you disgraced yourself in public?" Alexander's expression remained unchanged.

Hein's face turned pale, as if he wanted to argue. After much effort, he finally lowered his head in defeat: "Yes."

"Worthless." Alexander turned away, no longer looking at him.

Hein's body trembled slightly, whether from fear or anger, it was hard to tell.

"Never mind, don't go looking for him for now. I don't have the time to deal with him either. Wait until I have the time. Be on your best behavior recently, don't cause trouble. I don't want to hear that my disciple has disgraced me more than once, understand?"

Hein secretly breathed a huge sigh of relief upon hearing Alexander's words. What he feared most was that Alexander would say nothing and just let him leave, which would basically mean he was being ignored. Though it was publicly known that Alexander had twenty-two disciples, in reality, many more had been eliminated. Only those who remained could bear the name of Alexander's disciple.

Now that he had said this, it meant he hadn't completely given up on him. As long as he could make the teacher happy next time, this failure would be a thing of the past!

"Yes, Teacher, I will be careful," Hein replied respectfully.

Alexander waved his hand, and Hein left the room wisely. Alexander stared out the window for a while before suddenly speaking.

"What you propose is a great risk for me. However, the price you offer seems worth it, so I can agree. But don't expect me to show up actively. I can only provide some convenience. Also, at least half of what you promised must be given to me first."

There was no one else in the room, and it was unclear to whom he was speaking.

But soon, a sharp voice echoed in the room.

"Up to one-third. This matter is of great significance to our cult, and we cannot afford to fail. We don't want to pay the price and not get the help we need. Rest assured, if the matter succeeds, the remaining two-thirds will not be withheld."

Alexander remained silent, still looking out the window with his hands behind his back.

"Cult? Haha... Fine, one-third it is. But the swordsmanship insights of the Sword Saint Caron from three hundred years ago must be included! You must understand, I am risking being discovered by the Azure Wind, which would result in the entire academy hunting me down... It is necessary for you to pay the price upfront, right?"

The sharp voice laughed wickedly.

"Fine, our deal is done. However, we cannot give you Caron's swordsmanship insights now. We will only hand it over after the operation begins and we have proof that you have truly helped us. With this insight, you might break through to the Master Swordsman level, or even surpass the Golden Rank. Such an important thing, you wouldn't mind waiting a couple of days, right?"

Alexander snorted coldly: "I hope waiting a couple of days doesn't mean you're going to break the deal! I, Alexander, am not someone to be trifled with!"

"Of course, of course, our cult doesn't want to provoke a Golden Rank Master Swordsman for nothing! Rest assured, as long as we achieve our goal, we won't be stingy with the price..."

The voice grew fainter and finally disappeared.

After waiting for a while to ensure the other party was gone, Alexander finally showed a hint of a cold smile.

"Cult rats, dreaming of turning the tide? But if it brings me benefits, cooperating with you isn't a problem..."

In the following days, Ji Ran's life indeed became chaotic.

During class, some students would look at him with strange glances. After class, walking around the academy, people would point and whisper about him. Even a few hotheads directly challenged him to a duel—though he dismissed them with a blunt "Not interested."

Not everyone planned to force the issue, but Ji Ran had learned his lesson. As soon as someone tried to start a fight, he would immediately call for the Student Council members. Since he always walked in busy areas, the Student Council members would arrive quickly, preventing several private duels.

"How's it going? I'm fully cooperating with your work, right?" Ji Ran smiled and chatted with a Student Council member who had come to maintain order.

The member glared at him angrily: "You're increasing our workload! The academy's dueling arena is open every day. Can't you go there to satisfy them?"

Ji Ran shook his head: "If I satisfy everyone who challenges me, will I have any time for myself? It's better to trouble you. You are the Student Council, after all. The greater the ability, the greater the responsibility."

The Student Council member glared at him, but Ji Ran left without a care.

As a result, his reputation in the academy grew even more. Of course, opinions were mixed. Those who wanted to duel him gradually decreased. The less powerful ones disliked the Student Council's interference, while the more powerful ones wouldn't lower themselves to challenge him—a mere Second Rank Swordsman. No matter how strong he was, how strong could he be?

It could only be said that Hein's Fifth Rank Swordsman status was overrated.

So, although Ji Ran became a celebrity in the academy for a while, after he persistently refused multiple challenges, the attention gradually died down.

Lydia was very dissatisfied with this.

"Brother Ji Ran is definitely stronger than them!" Lydia stared at Ji Ran intently during a meal, trying to boost his morale.

Ji Ran smiled and patted Lydia's head: "Whether strong or not, we know it ourselves. Strength isn't for showing off, but for protecting ourselves, those important to us, our ideals, and our freedom. Those who seek attention are not worth worrying about."

Although Lydia seemed to only half-understand, she no longer got angry at those who called Ji Ran a fraud.

This incident even reached the ears of Ji Ran's alchemy teacher, Sergei.

"Rumor has it that your swordsmanship is quite good, and you even defeated a Fifth Rank Swordsman?" Sergei casually asked Ji Ran during a private conversation.

Ji Ran looked at Sergei and laughed lightly: "I do know some swordsmanship, but I haven't reached the level of defeating a Fifth Rank Swordsman. We just exchanged a few blows. The rumors outside are just that—rumors."

Sergei smiled: "I doubt that guy had much of an advantage either, or the rumors wouldn't have spread like this. Speaking of which, you are the most talented alchemist with swordsmanship skills I've ever seen. You know, swordsmen and alchemists are... different."

Sergei made a gesture of separation.

"... somewhat incompatible. Generally, studying magical artifacts or even alchemical potions is an advantage for spellcasters. Your case is quite rare."

Ji Ran smiled.

"My elders back home told me that all the energy in the world is the same. Warriors and spellcasters merely use energy differently. Alchemy, as a universal technique, can be driven by energy. Once you master the method, even a warrior can use alchemy."

This was clearly an excuse, as his alchemy was powered by mana... But currently, there were clear signs of mana and true qi merging, so what he said wasn't entirely baseless.

Unexpectedly, his words earned Sergei's high praise.

"Exactly! What you said has been proposed and verified by many alchemists recently. However, many alchemists still stubbornly believe that energy like Aura is different from mana and cannot sustain high-level alchemy. They think that Aura, being more condensed, cannot adapt to the intricate changes required in alchemy... But I believe they are wrong!"

Professor Sergei became even more excited.

"Since the essence is the same energy, there must be a way to make them compatible! At least in the realm of alchemy, Aura can be applied! We just haven't found the method to apply Aura to advanced alchemy yet! I think you are the key to verifying this theory!"

Ji Ran was drenched in cold sweat. Master, I was just giving myself an excuse, why did you take it seriously! I don't want to bear such a heavy responsibility...

"I have a large alchemy experiment coming up, where I plan to apply your alchemy inheritance theory in conjunction with existing alchemy theories to create a work that surpasses the current alchemy system. I believe this work will bring a significant breakthrough to the alchemy world! How about helping me?"

This was an invitation? Ji Ran was somewhat surprised. If this were in his original world, it would be like a world-renowned professor at a university inviting you to be an assistant on a project... If successful, fame and fortune would surely follow!

After some thought, Ji Ran nodded.

"I am very interested, but I'm worried that my limited knowledge might hold you back. If you don't mind, I would be more than happy to help. However, I still need to attend classes, so I might not have enough time..."

Professor Sergei waved his hand: "What's the point of classes! They teach the most basic and outdated things. I heard your courses are swordsmanship, alchemy, and history and geography? Alchemy is a given; I'll ensure you pass the exams. History and geography... if memorizing facts can stump an alchemist, it's a joke!"

Sergei turned around and took out a few bottles of alchemical potions from a cabinet behind him.

"Memory Elixir! Drink it, and your memory will significantly improve for twelve hours. You won't forget anything you read! Drink this, then go and devour the books in the library. You'll be fine for the final exams!"

Ji Ran looked at the bottles of elixir and swallowed hard. Is this how alchemists solve problems—so straightforward and brutal?

But I like it!