Mountain and River Festival

Chapter 157 The First Day at Dan Academy

Dugu Qingli appeared in the western border, and the second-ranked newcomer instantly defeated the fourth-ranked one with a single sword strike. The news reached the capital, severely upholding the credibility of the Demon Suppression Division's ranking system, and the editor-in-chief received praise.

What's even more commendable is that the addition of judgments doubled the sales of this week's rankings, and also generated revenue...

Old Sheng never expected that letting his daughter manage this mess would bring such unexpected benefits, and he was so happy that he even gave her an internal commendation. When Sheng Yuanyao received the commendation, she finally understood what Shen Tang's happiness was—no need to think about anything, the benefits just fell into her hands…

I was so excited to go and thank Lu Xingzhou again, but I couldn't find him.

At this time, Lu Xingzhou had already taken A Nuo to school.

The Alchemy Academy and the Imperial Academy are connected, but the students of the Imperial Academy are mostly from the capital and do not live on campus, while those of the Alchemy Academy do. This is partly because students come from all over the country, and partly because alchemists need to be stationed at their alchemy sites. Each student in the Alchemy Academy is assigned an independent alchemy cave, equipped with a top-notch alchemy furnace and underground fire.

Even Anuo was given a separate cave dwelling, right next to Lu Xingzhou.

After all, she enrolled as an independent student, not as Lu Xingzhou's student.

Even though they usually stayed in the inn's courtyard and in separate rooms, which was no different from living in the cave next door, for some reason, Ah Nuo felt like she had separated from her master. She pouted the whole time: "The cave can be divided into sections, so why are we having to separate into different caves..."

Lu Xingzhou laughed: "What are you saying? You're not satisfied even though others have been allocated more resources."

“What would I do with this resource…” Anu sniffed: “Didn’t you hear what they said? In a few months, we will have to choose a mentor to follow and choose a certain direction for further study. Anu has a master, so I don’t need any mentors.”

In ancient times, the advanced studies of a top scholar were called "Hanlin" (a high-ranking academic institution), which was far superior to that of a modern university student. In this context, it would at least be called a combined bachelor's and master's degree program... The intimacy of such a mentor exceeds that of a teacher in a typical group lecture, but it does not compare to the traditional concept of a master-disciple relationship.

Traditional masters are mentors for life, guiding you from childhood to graduation, sometimes for a lifetime; while these mentors are passed down through generations, with no continuity. Therefore, many alchemists from sects may have their own masters, but this doesn't prevent them from having a mentor here, and there is no conflict.

Of course, such mentors remain, emotionally and in the public eye, true teachers and mentors, imparting knowledge, guiding students, and resolving their doubts—carrying a heavy imprint of their role. In a politically charged place like the Imperial Academy of Peking, choosing a mentor based on research direction is less important than choosing a particular faction.

“We can just go with Instructor Meng together when he takes on students.” Lu Xingzhou didn’t care about these things; he was more interested in the advanced study model of Dan Academy.

When people learn alchemy, they simply learn alchemy; perhaps only official alchemy academies would differentiate between the two.

Whether one aspires to cure diseases and save lives, or only refines elixirs for spiritual breakthroughs, or focuses solely on theoretical research, or specializes only in alchemy itself… what was originally a comprehensive field will now be highlighted by specific specializations. Within the field of curing diseases and saving lives, internal medicine and surgery are further differentiated in ways that shouldn't exist in ancient times.

Ultimately, this is an era of spiritual cultivation, and our understanding of the human body, medicine, and healing is incomparable to that of the conventional ancient times.

Lu Xingzhou initially learned alchemy mainly to treat his childhood internal injuries and poisoning, as well as to heal his legs. Therefore, he and A Nuo were both typical researchers focused on healing and saving lives, and were proficient in both internal and external medicine. However, due to the need to feed A Nuo, the refining of cultivation-related pills accounted for a larger proportion, since someone needed to eat.

Going forward, specializing in a particular area is definitely something we can consider.

As mentioned long ago, Lu Xingzhou himself wasn't particularly interested in alchemy, nor did he have any ambition to become a doctor and save lives. Now that his leg was healed, his only motivation for pursuing advanced studies at the Alchemy Academy was to enhance his reputation and strive to marry the princess.

But after all, he had practiced his skills for ten years, reaching the third-highest rank among rookies. It would be a shame to give it up now. Lu Xingzhou pondered and decided that he could switch to specializing in cultivation-related pills. The Dragon Elephant Mighty Pill he made last time had worked quite well... As for healing and saving lives, he could specialize in combat healing.

In terms of healing and saving lives, Ah Nuo is actually more suitable, as long as the child herself is willing. Then, she can specially refine elixirs to enhance her cultivation so that she can be self-sufficient.

Ah Nuo had no objection to her master's idea, but said, "If that's what you're saying, then we have to pray that Instructor Meng is also an expert in this field. But I think Instructor Meng is mainly focused on theoretical research. His classes are not even related to alchemy."

The first lesson on the schedule was about Meng Li, which discussed loyalty to the emperor and patriotism, as well as the importance of the development of alchemy to the country and its people.

Lu Xingzhou looked on with amusement, as if he had traveled back in time...

"Let's go to class and experience university life in this world," Lu Xingzhou said with a smile, and A Nuo pushed her wheelchair and ran happily towards the classroom.

Compared to modern universities, Dan Academy has far fewer classrooms, with only a dozen or so buildings, which looks rather shabby.

Because there are only a little over a hundred students in the entire Dan Academy, and Lu Xingzhou's class has a total of twenty-eight students.

When Anuo pushed the wheelchair into the classroom, it was already full, except for the two of them. Anuo remained calm and, amidst the stares of the twenty-six students, pushed her master to the front row table and plopped down next to him.

Someone sneered and muttered, "Master and student, classmates, what a disgrace."

Lu Xingzhou turned his head and glanced at it. As expected, it was Xuanqing Daoist.

Lu Xingzhou said leisurely, "It is not uncommon for fathers and sons to take the same exam throughout history. Brother Dao looks like a Daoist immortal, but he is quite uncultured. Perhaps it is because he has eaten too much Huo family food... I hope that further studies at the Dan Academy will improve your quality."

"you……"

"Master, who is this Taoist priest? Are you very familiar with him?" Anuo asked curiously.

"Oh, it's that guy whose alchemy skills aren't as good as yours, I'm not familiar with him." A'nu blinked: "With such poor skills, don't you feel ashamed? How dare you criticize others?"

Emperor Anuo has always been very aggressive, but this statement is a bit of a generalization. Lu Xingzhou rubbed Anuo's head: "Knowing that he was trained by the Huo family, you should be prepared that he won't be a good prospect. A normal person wouldn't make such a fool of himself."

Xuan Qing sneered: "Aren't you a member of the Huo family?"

Lu Xingzhou said calmly, "You should be glad that if I were really a member of the Huo family, you should be considering whether or not to kneel down, instead of arguing with me here."

Someone chuckled softly, and Xuan Qing choked up, not knowing how to respond.

Indeed, if Lu Xingzhou were to return to the Huo family, he would have to call him Seventh Young Master; how could he dare to talk back?

Lu Xingzhou sneered, "So this is what it's like to be a human's dog, pathetic and pitiful."

"Knock knock~" Someone knocked on the open classroom door, and Meng Li appeared in front of the door and glanced at it.

The entire audience fell silent.

"You're here to learn, not to argue," Meng Li said calmly, stepping to the front of the stage. "Today, I'll teach you your first lesson: school rules. The first rule is unity and mutual assistance..."

Xuan Qing was about to explode with pent-up anger when the instructor interrupted him just as he was about to retort. It felt like his mouth had been covered halfway through his sentence, which was extremely uncomfortable.

Meng Li ignored him and began the first instructional lesson.

The school rules are one thing, but who is this nonsense about loyalty to the emperor, patriotism, and alchemy for the people meant for? Is this class for people?

These sectarian disciples from all over the country had never heard of such political stuff before, and they were all dumbfounded. Lu Xingzhou, on the other hand, found it quite amusing, grinning as if he wanted to give it a thumbs up. It was all about hometown sentiment...

Meng Li's gaze softened even more. What a sensible young man!
After the students had barely endured the drowsy half-hour, Meng Li finally stopped speaking, took a sip of tea, and said, "Judging from your expressions, you are all very shocked, which shows that you have all taken what I, the instructor, have to heart. Don't be shocked, there will be three such lessons every month from now on..."

Everyone: "..."

"It's still early, so we won't go into all of this today. Since this is the Pill Academy, we should give you all a real shock on the first day regarding pill refining."

As the words were spoken, a beautiful woman suddenly appeared at the doorway.

A woman wearing a light veil stood there quietly, her eyes deep and still as stars.

Her beauty alone was enough to dispel all sleepiness from everyone present.

Lu Xingzhou had to admit that Madam Ye was truly beautiful. Although veils generally make people more attractive, like those masks on photos... after all, they can hide many flaws. But Madam Ye was on a completely different level. Her temperament and eyes were like lotuses on high mountains and stars in the sky. One could only imagine how stunningly beautiful she would be if she removed her veil.

"This is Madam Ye, a top alchemy master whom I have painstakingly invited. She will be responsible for explaining the theoretical essentials of the three grades of alchemy to everyone." Meng Li said, "You are more fortunate than previous students. Madam Ye was only invited to give a lecture once or twice in the past, but this time she will be responsible for explaining the theory of the three to the first grade."

One product!
Everyone's heart skipped a beat.

In the entire Great Qian Dynasty, how many first-grade alchemists are there? At least these students can't come into contact with them. If they had a first-grade alchemist in their own family, who would travel thousands of miles to study at the Alchemy Academy?

Among these few first-grade alchemists, many are hiding in powerful sects like the Tianyao Holy Land, obeying orders but not summons. How many have actually entered the official system? The majority of teachers in the Alchemy Academy are only second or third grade, and there's only one first-grade alchemist, Dean Qin Zhiyu!

Where did this Madam Ye come from, a first-rank official?!
Ye Tinglan walked slowly onto the stage and began her speech calmly.

She didn't seem to care much about Lu Xingzhou and his apprentice, acting quite casually, and no one could tell that she knew Lu Xingzhou.

But Lu Xingzhou had a very clear feeling—that the lectures she gave were specifically for him.

Those were the test papers I did at Meng Li's house last time, and my answer to the questions was presented in a simpler way... which was just right for these students to hear, and also gave Lu Xingzhou another direction of guidance and reflection.

Then Lu Xingzhou discovered that the obscure knowledge of Mahayana was explained from another angle, and suddenly became much clearer. Some of the difficult points that had previously stuck him were suddenly enlightened under her analysis.

From that original exam paper, one can glimpse the inheritance one has received, and at a glance, one can see where one's doubts lie... and one can dissect the Mahayana's obviously overly ancient way of thinking using modern interpretations.

Her gaze seemed to see through the past and present, like an ancient galaxy that has endured countless changes and is still there.

Ah Nuo stood there dumbfounded: "Master, this old woman... she's amazing..."

(End of this chapter)