Chapter 78

It has to be said, in this aspect, cooking food is no match for alchemical potions. Although food can also enhance memory, it absolutely does not have the same effect as these alchemical potions. For short-term memory improvement, alchemical potions are more reliable.

"However, this potion cannot be used consecutively. You can only use one bottle every three days, or your brain won't be able to handle it. The more you use it, the less effective it becomes, so you need to use it wisely." Sergay mentioned some of the drawbacks of this alchemical potion.

Jiran nodded, already planning to use these memory potions to memorize all the historical and geographical materials in the library. This way, he could save a lot of time and focus on improving his strength and studying alchemy.

The next day, Jiran found David.

"I've decided to accept Professor Lawrence's request and study swordsmanship with him."

To be honest, Jiran's statement was a bit... how to put it, too arrogant? Studying swordsmanship with a swordsmanship master! Even among the other staff members of the academy, few would have such qualifications!

But Jiran said it as if it were a matter of course. The swordsmanship he mastered might not be the strongest in this world, but it was definitely the most unique. In terms of research value, it was not much worse than the swordsmanship of a master.

Lawrence needed to break through based on his own swordsmanship, while Jiran needed Lawrence's swordsmanship to improve his foundation. It was a fair exchange.

In this regard, Jiran had a strong sense of equality. But this attitude, which was out of place in this world, made him quite unique and more appreciated by the masters...

Is human nature inherently base...

When Jiran met Professor Lawrence, the swordsmanship master was examining a sword.

Even without holding the sword, Jiran, with his over a hundred levels of forging knowledge, could tell it was a fine sword.

The materials used in this sword were far superior to those in the Dawn he possessed. The sword's light flowed, and just by looking at it, one could sense a powerful energy sealed within. One could imagine how terrifying the combat power a Gold Rank swordsman would have with this sword!

He secretly used the Appraisal Skill, but it was all question marks. The sword's level was too high for Jiran to appraise it at the moment.

"A sword is a swordsman's best companion. Swordsmanship is the best way for a swordsman to connect with his companion. Understanding a sword also affects the performance of swordsmanship. The essence of swordsmanship also has different requirements for the sword... A swordsman needs to find the most suitable swordsmanship and the most suitable sword for himself."

Professor Lawrence sighed and picked up the sword, his wrist trembling slightly, and the long sword suddenly hummed, as if rejoicing.

"However, relying too much on a specific sword is not a good thing. It will make you overestimate your strength and react poorly in unexpected situations. So, you should value your sword, but also be able to let it go."

Saying this, Professor Lawrence extended his hand and hung the long sword on the wall.

Jiran looked at Professor Lawrence with great admiration.

Look at the words of a swordsmanship master, how profound and thought-provoking! Why couldn't I understand a single word!

"...How about it, do you feel I'm a bit profound?" Suddenly, Professor Lawrence said such a sentence.

The aura of a hermit sage instantly turned into a joker.

"...A bit, at least just now, it was quite fitting for a swordsmanship master." Jiran thought for a moment and answered honestly.

Professor Lawrence smiled, a sly smile: "So, to be a master is not easy. You need to maintain an air of authority and occasionally act profound. Otherwise, people will think you are not a true master and lack the necessary stability."

Jiran nodded vigorously. To be honest, his first impression of Lawrence was indeed similar to the masters in legends, making him immediately believe in Lawrence's identity as a swordsmanship master. If he had shown this attitude at their first meeting... he would have had to doubt it.

"So, you don't need to be restrained here. Everything we do is to improve our strength—whether it's Gold Rank swordsmanship or the most basic foundation, they are equally important."

Professor Lawrence stood up, and the aura of a master was evident.

"Then, let's start now."

The exchange with Lawrence was quite pleasant. Jiran explained some of the principles of his swordsmanship to Lawrence, of course, in the simplest terms. The more profound aspects, he himself only vaguely understood, and it was impossible for him to explain them at the moment.

However, even so, Professor Lawrence gained a lot, often drawing quite reliable conclusions after a bit of thought. This made Jiran marvel that a swordsmanship master was indeed a master, with a much stronger ability to apply knowledge to new situations.

The various foundations and training methods that Professor Lawrence explained to him also benefited Jiran greatly. He was currently most lacking in foundation, after all, in the game, he couldn't train the basics of swordsmanship.

Lawrence's in-depth and accessible explanations and demonstrations made Jiran deeply understand how important the foundation was and how to quickly make up for it. With Professor Lawrence's explanations, he didn't need to attend the swordsmanship class much—no matter how good the instructor was, they couldn't be better than a Gold Rank swordsmanship master.

The exchange was very pleasant, and both sides were quite satisfied. However, just as the exchange was temporarily ending and Jiran was about to take his leave, Lawrence suddenly asked another question.

"I heard you and Anya have a good relationship?"

Jiran immediately shook his head wildly: "Please don't misunderstand, we are just friends!"

Lawrence immediately gave him a look that said, "I understand": "Mm-hm, it usually starts with ordinary friends... The key is, my granddaughter has very few ordinary friends... Don't worry, I'm not a rigid person. As long as it's mutual affection and the other person is not too much of a scoundrel with ill intentions, has a bad character, and lacks any notable strengths... I won't object to Anya's choice. So, you should try your best."

Jiran was drenched in sweat, what should I try my best for!

"I really don't have those intentions... at least not now. Besides, is it really a good idea to promote your granddaughter to someone you don't even know much about?" Jiran didn't know how to comment on this old man.

"Haha, I'm not promoting... and you're right, your background is still a mystery. To be honest, it's not very reassuring. That's why I'm telling you to try your best. Try to prove yourself, prove that you are a trustworthy person." Professor Lawrence laughed.

"Alright, you need to start training your foundation now, and I need to ponder the things you told me. Come over when you have time. I believe, with your talent, it won't be difficult for you to grow."

Professor Lawrence's personality was something Jiran hadn't expected, after all, the profound and mysterious impression from their first meeting was too deep. But such a Lawrence was also not bad, right?

Jiran's life returned to a normal track—of course, it was different from before.

He now basically didn't attend classes much. Both Lawrence and Sergay had instilled in him the idea that the Sky Blue Wind Academy's dropout system seemed strict, but it was only for ordinary students. Truly talented students, once discovered, would find it hard to drop out even if they wanted to.

There were multiple ways to pass exams, and memory potions were one of the simplest methods. If that didn't work, you could even persuade the invigilator to help—of course, you needed a master-level teacher for that.

Of course, if you could avoid using privileges, you should. Passing exams by other means was also very simple. In short, if you had enough appeal to catch the attention of the academy's professors and masters, you had enough ways to pass the exams.

Upon learning this, Jiran couldn't help but sigh, it was too corrupt! It was like, all crows are black!

So, he now rarely attended the four courses.

For history and geography, he had memory potions. For swordsmanship, Lawrence's class was clearly more powerful. And for alchemy... now that Jiran was participating in Sergay's large-scale alchemy experiments, did he really need to attend the alchemy class?

Thus, when Ester learned this news, he naturally gnashed his teeth in anger. That kid, actually being invited by Sergay to participate in the experiment project! Why not me! That kid just got lucky once, why not me with my solid foundation?

Of course, Jiran wouldn't know about Ester's thoughts... or even if he remembered this classmate. He was now happily working with Sergay on various designs for his experiments.

Outside the academy, Uncle Ries finally set off for the Erei Empire with the others. His strength had recovered to the fifth level, though not at its peak, it was still quite significant. After reaching the fifth level, his source of fighting spirit began to have some self-healing ability, and even without the Essence Gathering and Qi Supplementing Soup, he could slowly recover, though the effect was much worse. He would likely be fully healed after returning and taking the soup for a while.

This way, Jiran didn't need to leave the academy every two days, saving him even more time. However, his money was running out, and if Ries and the others returned late, he might really need to take on two missions to survive.

However, this situation greatly improved after Sergay's experiment officially began.

Because, he discovered that Salgar's laboratory was filled with mountains of discarded magical items!

Yes, these were the various magical items that Sergay had ruined over a long period of experimentation! The materials used in these magical items were quite high-end, at least much better than what Jiran could buy. But due to various issues during the refining process, these magical items were either too ineffective or completely useless. The efficiency of extracting materials from magical items in this world was abysmally low. For higher-grade rare materials, it might still be worth it, but for these items, the materials extracted might not even be as valuable as the catalysts used in the extraction process.

Thus, these items were piled up there. Throwing them away would be a waste, and who knew when they might be useful.

Jiran's eyes truly sparkled at the sight of these items.