My health recovery is incredibly fast.

Xia Zuo followed behind him and asked, "Where are we going? What are we doing? Are there any other enemies?"

Dim sat in the driver's seat, and the car shook a few times.

“We’re going to meet up with Master Rexor. There are more than just the two of us involved this time. Master Rexor is intercepting the cunning enemy in the Storm Mountains to the west. Unfortunately, that blood mage didn’t fall for it and hid on the other side of the mountains. There’s traces of that blood mage’s blood in the Embers of Fritz, and Master Rexor will track him down and teach him a lesson for us.”

Tim flicked the reins, directing Radish to gallop westward.

Xia Zuo asked Dim for a carrot. "Didn't Master Rexor go deep into the continent with the expedition team?"

“Yes, that’s right.” Dim patted his belly. “The expedition crossed the Great Rift Valley, traversed the Storm Mountains, and arrived at the plains on the western side of the mountains. Many natives live on the plains and make a living by herding livestock. Sinful blood sacrifices are prevalent among some native tribes, and Master Rexor stayed there to trace the source of the evil and discovered the blood mage who made a deal with Helms. And that’s how we encountered things this past month.”

Xia Zuo nodded and took a bite out of the carrot with a crunch.

"Oh, and one more thing. Master Rexol will be giving you a check-up later."

Dim reached out and pressed on Shazo's shoulder. "Destroying the Transformers will have some negative consequences. We need to make sure you haven't been tainted."

Dim held up one finger. "You need to remember one thing... anything related to blood magic will affect you to some extent. Although you seem normal now, you talk to me smoothly, and you're enjoying your carrots, the potential effects of blood magic will erupt at some point in the future. We need to eliminate this trouble in advance."

Xia Zuo's expression was complicated when he heard this.

He retrieved the message sent by the cheat system and read it carefully. He wasn't quite sure if the newly acquired talent, [Blood Sacrifice Spellcasting - Incomplete], was the "filth" that Dim had mentioned.

Seeing the other person's state, Dim comforted him:

"Don't be nervous or too worried. The Witcher School has many methods to detect potential defilement. If you are indeed defiled, you just need to cleanse yourself. Besides, Master Rexor is personally handling it, so he will guarantee to clean it completely."

Xia Zuo finished the carrot in his hand in a few bites. "Thank you for your concern, Dim. I also hope to get rid of any filth as soon as possible."

He opened the carriage door. "I'm going to practice throwing and catching."

"Go ahead. I'll call you when we get there." Dim twisted around in the driver's seat a few times, then half-reclined and entered a meditative state.

...

The two traveled west for two days, and a huge canyon running north-south lay before them.

The rocks in the canyon are mostly bluish-green, and when you stand on the edge of the canyon and look down at the bottom, the height difference is several hundred meters.

A wide river meanders through the canyon, its torrents crashing against the rocks, smashing stones, and carrying away silt. The thunderous sound of the water and the howling wind echo through the canyon.

On the western horizon, a colossal mountain range stretched as far as the eye could see. Dark, heavy clouds blanketed its peaks, turning the entire mountain into a black silhouette that replaced the sky, becoming the sole feature of the western landscape. Looking into the distance, one could vaguely see countless flashes of lightning darting through the clouds.

Xia Zuo stood on the roof of the carriage and looked out at the magnificent canyon and mountains.

Dim sat in the driver's seat, fiddling with the coded ring on his left hand. The sound of him turning the paddle paused. "Master Rexor is here."

No sooner had he finished speaking than a figure on horseback appeared on the cliff opposite the canyon.

The bald Rexor reined in his horse at the edge of the cliff. A brown light appeared between the two cliffs, and as the light swirled, a rocky passage appeared out of thin air.

Rexall rode his horse up the rocky passage, seemingly oblivious to the rushing river hundreds of meters below, and rode on, accompanied by the clatter of his hooves.

Xia Zuo dismounted from the carriage and bowed humbly to the figure on horseback, "Good day, Master Rexor."

“Shazo, we meet again.” Rexol nodded in response after dismounting, then cast an inquiring glance at Dim.

"All 108 pieces of meat were burned; not a single one was left. I've checked repeatedly."

Dim took a metal box filled with ash from his pocket and handed it to Rexor, then put his hand on Shazo's shoulder and said:

“I left the opportunity to finish off Fritz to Shazo, and he did a great job.”

Rexor put away the metal box, told Shazo to stand up straight and not move, took out a bottle of potion from under his leather armor, and began to draw intricate patterns with his right hand.

Light shone from the pattern and fell on Shazo. He read the information in his mind and calmly accepted the detection spell. He roughly guessed that Rexor had cast a similar detection spell while he was asleep.

"Very good, it's not stained."

Xia Zuo breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this; his newly acquired skill had not left him.

Rexor waved his hand, and the potion floating in the air flew back into his leather armor.

He took out an alchemy pouch and tossed it to Dim, saying:

"The expedition team discovered new changes deep inland. Hand this bag over to Beatrice."

Dim simply stuffed the pocket into the lining of his leather armor without opening it to check. "Yes, Your Excellency. I will personally deliver it to the Chief."

Rexor stared at Shazo for a few seconds, then asked:

"I heard from Dim that you can only hold less than 10 elements. Why is that so few? I remember you were a mage apprentice three years ago, right?"

“Uh…” Shazo scratched his head and glanced at Dim. It seemed that this tall guy hadn’t revealed his companion’s private life to Rexor.

"I want to save up my points to exchange for a Master-level Elemental Bottle for my lover."

"Oh, I see."

Rexor smiled knowingly. "This isn't a bad thing for you. It's always better to spend a few more years figuring out the spellcasting style that suits you than to regret it after becoming a full-fledged mage."

"I'm off. Have a safe journey back." Rexor leaped onto his horse, waved to the two men, and rode away with a flourish.

Dim pulled Xia Zuo onto the carriage, flicked the reins and turned the carriage around, "Let's go straight back to the academy."

"What about Helmst's accomplices? They spread the Ring-Breath Worms created by the Blood Mage, causing a plague..." Xia Zuo asked.

“Those guys can’t escape. Just hand them over to the resident mage. The trouble they’ve caused has angered the people, and everyone wants to catch them. Our primary task is to hand over the alchemy pouch that Master Rexol brought to the head of the academy.”

Dim pulled out a few bottles of potion from his potion bag and sprinkled them on Radish, which earned him an excited and high-pitched cry. "Good boy, run as fast as you can. When we get to Starry Night City, I'll give you a good bath."

"Swoosh~~"

Radish raised its head and neighed loudly, its four hooves leaping rapidly.

Chapter 39 Primary School of Spells

About a month later, Dim drove his carriage into Starry Night City.

The two agreed not to stop along the way, but when they came across a village in distress, they decided to stop and help the soldiers and the garrisoned mages.

Seeing the civilians suffering from the plague, Xia Zuo felt guilty and repeatedly offered to stay behind alone to help the refugees, but Dim persuaded him not to.

There must be a huge backlog of orders for poisons at the academy right now, waiting for expert-level poison alchemists to refine them. The functional potions made from these poisons are closely related to disaster relief, and the poison alchemy lab is where Xia Zuo should be.

Xia Zuo suppressed his grief and continued to follow Dim to the academy.

From the westernmost to the easternmost edge of the kingdom, the closer one gets to Starry Night City, the more peaceful it becomes. Starry Night City, with Beatrice in charge, is especially serene and unaffected by the plague in Sprill Province.

That morning.

Dim stopped the carriage in the square in front of Starry Night Castle, stepped down, and said:

"Xia Zuo, I'm going directly to the Dean. I might stay in the tower for a while. Go see her after you receive her letter."

Xia Zuo nodded, patted Luo Bo's neck to say goodbye, and followed Dim into the castle hall.

He first went to his dormitory to put down his dirty clothes, took a shower, changed into a clean robe, and then went to the Great Alchemy Chamber to concoct poisons.

As expected, a thick stack of orders appeared on the central table of the alchemy station.

A piece of paper was placed on top of the order:

I took half the order; the rest is yours. — Kurov

Xia Zuo didn't feel that Professor Kulov had taken over his job.

He felt much more relaxed when he realized he wasn't the only one bearing the pressure of the plague.

Xia Zuo carefully put away the slips of paper, quickly read through the orders, categorized them, and then changed into a poison-refining robe to begin refining the poisons.

He worked on the advanced alchemy table until 7 p.m. before putting down the glass bottle and sitting down to rest.

Xia Zuo released his pent-up emotions through poison refining, and his stiff expression on the way back was no longer the same.

I wonder if Anru has come out of the dormitory yet...

Xia Zuo stared blankly at the wall clock.

Around 8 p.m., a piece of paper slipped through the crack in the door and landed in my hand.

Xia Zuo glanced at the contents of the paper, changed out of his poison-refining robe, and went to his mentor's study.

"Professor, I'm here."

Xia Zuo closed the door and asked, "An Ru'er, she..."

Beatrice was still radiant, her long, sun-kissed hair cascading over her shoulders, contrasting beautifully with her fair skin.

She sat behind her desk, smiling and shaking her head. "She hasn't come out yet, don't worry. I went to check, she's still making elemental bottles."

Xia Zuo breathed a sigh of relief. This was good news. He really hoped that the girl could continue to maintain this level of performance.

“Let’s sit down and talk,” Beatrice said, gesturing to the chair across the table. “What lessons did the Helmsster affair teach you?”

“Professor…I think the alchemist’s character is of utmost importance…” Xia Zuo rubbed his temples, deeply moved.

Taking himself as an example, it would be incredibly easy for an expert-level poison alchemist to take revenge on civilians. Some compound toxins are extremely potent; the mere scent they emit can incapacitate civilians with weak immune systems. This process requires absolutely no magic; all you need is hands, materials, and an alchemy lab.

Beatrice nodded slightly. “Every expert alchemist has undergone rigorous screening, but it is still difficult to guarantee that they will always adhere to the principles and oaths and remain loyal to the alchemical school and the Temple of Mages.”

Xia Zuo stared at his mentor and said:

"On the day Hemsworth fell from grace, I saw the coachman who had met him. I regretted not stopping the coachman and summoning the guards to interrogate him."

He sighed silently and continued:

“I even thought that while people’s attention was drawn to Hermster, I could quietly make the coachman disappear completely. Maybe that would stop the plague from breaking out.”

“Hmm…” Beatrice clasped her hands together, resting her chin on the back of her hands. “Shazo, this is not your fault. I equipped the garrison mages with orbs that could predict disasters, but it still couldn’t prevent this plague. So, it’s not an ordinary plague; it appeared very suddenly. I suspect the source of the plague is an item made by a blood mage, and Dim has already gone to the plague-stricken lands to search for it.”

She frowned and said:

"Let me put it this way. Blood magic is an independent school of thought, completely different from the orthodox school of mage magic."

Beatrice emphasized, "Blood magic requires no elements. This means that most detection spells are ineffective against both spells from this school of magic and items made by blood mages."

"Fortunately, blood mages leave traces. Their bodily fluids, blood, saliva, and body remains are all poisonous. Once you become a formal mage, I will teach you the detection spell [Toxin Sense], which is paired with the skill of an expert-level poison alchemist. You can use it to easily search for poisons."

Beatrice flicked a strand of hair, paused for a moment, and said:

"Dim said he gave you a brief introduction to Transformers. Well, let me add something—once a Transformer burrows into a living person's body, it's impossible to detect anything unusual unless an autopsy is performed. Those people with Transformers lurking inside them will live, work, and express emotions normally, and then one night, while they are asleep, they will be devoured by the Transformer, leaving behind a pool of dark blood."

“The plague in Spree Province might be caused by something like the Transformers. We can’t exactly dissect civilians one by one to examine them, can we?” Beatrice said helplessly, spreading her hands.