My health recovery is incredibly fast.

Xia Zuo took off his outer clothes and hung them on the hanger. He picked up the armor and put it on, recalling the Wild V-shaped alchemical suit that could stop bullets.

Without considering bodily damage caused by rolling after the bullet enters the body, and only considering penetrating injuries.

The power of a revolver bullet within its effective range is roughly equivalent to an energy bullet with the [Sharp] attribute and an energy level of 11. (Note: This is a theoretical value calculated based on muzzle energy and existing damage data, without considering special bullets or special materials.)

The modified gun that Andrew used, which resembled a bolt-action rifle, appeared to use 7.62x54 rifle rounds. Its power within its effective range was roughly equivalent to an energy bullet with a [Sharp] attribute and a power of about 55 points.

The damage and power are so great that even plate armor would be easily torn to shreds, let alone chainmail.

The reckless V-shaped shield blocked several shots, and the shield mounted on its left arm was indestructible, not only withstanding the explosive damage but also protecting its master intact amidst the hail of bullets.

If it weren't for the fact that it couldn't completely negate the impact, the wearer would be momentarily stunned by the oncoming torrent of bullets. The protection provided by the Wild V-shaped shield is unparalleled, equivalent to having a steel plate more than ten centimeters thick added to the body.

Xia Zuo thought to himself that if he had fifty or sixty small earth or wind elementals, he could also do this with protective spells.

However, it consumes a huge amount of energy or vitality.

Because after blocking several bullets, you have to recast a protective spell to maintain your magical barrier or shield.

Therefore... the correct way to save your life is to condense an elemental shell as soon as possible.

Xia Zuo had a sudden thought, patted the chainmail and asked, "Master, what alchemical tools did you install on your elemental body? I mean, the kind of tools that provide protection, like armor."

Rexor arrived at the training ground carrying a mace and shield. "Unlike the elemental husk you'll be creating in the future, my elemental husk is an old trick from the previous era. The alchemical tools installed on it are mostly monster scales. Of course, it's not just about plucking monster scales off and attaching them; it's about processing them using bioalchemy methods to remove toxicity and other side effects before installing them."

“Bioalchemy…” Xia Zuo rubbed his chin, his eyes gleaming. “You mean, besides the products of artifact alchemy, the products of bioalchemy can also be placed on elemental bodies?”

“Hmm...yes.” Rexol paused for a second, then said:

"However, you shouldn't even think about using monster scales."

"The Silvermoon Federation has plenty of products from the art of magical alchemy, so why bother using rare monster scales? Besides, the quality of products from magical alchemy is far superior to that of monster scales processed by bio-alchemy. According to your alchemical school, monster scales are considered components of the first generation of elemental bodies, while products from magical alchemy are second generation."

Rexor was right; Shazo himself indeed had no use for monster scales processed through bio-alchemy…

But the bloodline servants who live deep inland can use it!

If we can gather usable monster scales locally within the territory of Stillwater Town and process them using local production equipment, the Blood Elemental Servant's self-defense capabilities will be greatly enhanced.

Xia Zuo couldn't help but feel a little excited.

He suppressed his inner turmoil, donned his chainmail, and picked up his weapon and shield. "Let's begin, Master."

Rexor looked at Shazo, who had become inexplicably excited, and said nothing more. He took off the mask on his helmet, picked up his mace, and charged forward.

...

Xia Zuo had obtained an introductory textbook on bioalchemy from Beatrice—"Encyclopedia of Biological Organs".

Anatomy focuses more on teaching students how to correctly recognize, handle, and separate animal organs.

Building upon this foundation, the "Encyclopedia of Biological Organs" also includes plants and monsters in its research scope.

In addition, this book also mentions details such as the evolutionary history of organs, and why some organisms in the same environment have certain organs while others do not, etc.

When Xia Zuo was studying this book on his own, he was only focused on unlocking the health bar. He didn't think carefully about the other uses of bio-alchemy and treated it as an alchemy for making breathing techniques.

Upon hearing Rexor's words today, Shazo immediately realized that his understanding of bioalchemy was too one-sided.

You can't blame him for that.

At Starry Night Academy, the knowledge of bio-alchemy that one can access is indeed limited to using this alchemy to concoct potions, since there are no powerful monsters in the Western Continent.

It's completely unnecessary to teach the use of monster materials in such a place.

Now, it's time to properly learn bioalchemy.

After finishing his training with the bald man, Xia Zuo went home and had dinner with Anru and Janice. Then he went to the Mage Guild at Yingrui Academy to exchange for a textbook on bioalchemy compiled by the Bioalchemist Association.

The textbooks used by the university are not all written by the university itself.

Textbooks for herbal alchemy and mineral alchemy are compiled by the corresponding alchemist associations.

The same applies to bioalchemy.

Furthermore, since he was not a member of these alchemist associations and did not have the status of a formal member, Xia Zuo could only exchange for teaching materials at the apprentice to proficient levels. Teaching materials at the expert level and above required the corresponding membership level to unlock and exchange.

It was already 9 p.m. when Xia Zuo, under Janice's admiring gaze, put down a large pile of books on the desk.

Anru was grading homework, so Janice took over the task of peeling fruit.

The little girl placed the fruit plate on the empty space on the table, curiously gazing at the book covers, muttering, "Uncle Xia Zuo, you're so hardworking. Sister An Ru'er said you've been reading until three or four in the morning for several nights in a row, and now you've brought back so many...difficult books..."

Xia Zuo scratched his head sheepishly and looked at the fruit platter. "Have you had any fruit? Would you like some?"

“I’ve already eaten lunch~” Janice smiled, hesitated for a moment when her eyes fell on the fruit plate, reached out her right hand to take a slice of apple, and then reached out her left hand to take another slice. “I’ll eat one slice and take one for Sister Anru’er.”

"Go on, go on." Xia Zuo patted Janice's head, and after she left, he closed the study door.

I'm destined to be reading until the early hours of the morning again tonight...

Xia Zuo sat down at the desk and, as was his habit, switched to the perspective of the Blood Element Servants to see what each of the observed objects were doing.

Huh? The Beast Arena where Servant Number 1 is located is closed?

Xia Zuo sat up straight, bent his arms and placed them on the edge of the table, propping his chin up as he controlled Servant Number 1.

The Beast Arena was deserted, with the main gate on the wall tightly closed, except for the door to the backstage passage, which was half-open.

Could it be that Scarface didn't return on time, and Doom sent his men out to search for him in the wilderness?

Xia Zuo switched to the perspective of Servant No. 5.

It really is so.

Doom was driving a motorcycle, leading five or six gunmen towards the reservoir. It was still more than 30 kilometers away from the forest where Scarface had died, and they expected to arrive there in about an hour and a half.

The place where the two detectives burned the body last night is about one or two hundred meters south of the reservoir wall.

If the patrol team that came to the reservoir this morning hadn't been looking carefully, they wouldn't have been able to find the charred corpse by the wall.

It's understandable that Doum only came to investigate the reservoir at this time.

Xia Zuorang's servant number 6, who was staying in the low building by the reservoir, flew out and went to the dense forest north of the reservoir, where he found a dry tree hole and hid there.

Then, he switched to the perspective of Servant No. 4.

This servant was responsible for tracking Andrew.

The two detectives were taking turns driving the carriage, struggling along the winding mountain road.

Xia Zuo sensed the location of Servant No. 4 through Servant No. 1 in Stillwater Town. Servant No. 4 was located about 60 or 70 kilometers north of Stillwater Town, deep in the Mogus Mountains.

The mountain trade route they took was relatively safe, as they occasionally encountered other people. They didn't have to worry about accidentally trespassing into monster territory; the only thing they needed to be wary of was the passersby they encountered along the way.

So when Andrew slept, he would hug his rifle and lean against the driver's seat, not daring to go into the carriage to lie down, lest the young and inexperienced Ross be treated as a lamb to the slaughter.

Seeing that the two were getting along well, Xia Zuo turned off all the other perspectives and only kept the perspective of the No. 5 servant who was tracking Doom. While the other party was on his way, he read the books on the desk.

There are 5 books on the advanced level of bioalchemy textbooks.

Three of them are part of a set titled "The Function of the Skeleton".

The other two books are "Monster Shells and Scales" and "The Connection Between Magic Herbs, Magic Ore, and Monsters".

Upon hearing the word "skeleton," Xia Zuo instinctively associated it with a bone capsule and immediately opened the first book to read the introductory section.

The skeleton consists of three parts: the periosteum, the bone tissue, and the bone marrow.

The periosteum contains abundant nerves and blood vessels, which supply nutrients and blood to the bones.

The bone marrow is located inside the bone.

It exists in most living things with life force, whether they are ordinary humans or monsters. As long as they can breathe and have bones, they will have bone marrow.

The original text in the introduction says this:

Bone marrow is very important.

It is soft and full of blood.

Taking the bone marrow of a normal person as an example, there are two types of bone marrow in our body - red bone marrow and yellow bone marrow.

Red bone marrow has hematopoietic function, and it can also defend against, immunize, and repair physical trauma.

Although yellow bone marrow is composed of fat, it can transform into red bone marrow to enhance hematopoietic function in cases of severe anemia or blood loss.

When Xia Zuo read this, his eyes widened and he blinked.

In his previous life, he was not a graduate of biological sciences, nor did he study classical or modern medicine.

While common knowledge exists that bone marrow is responsible for hematopoiesis, I've never thought about it in depth, nor have I ever connected bone marrow with the "health regeneration" data on a character template…

Not to mention using bio-alchemy to explain the principles of blood magic...

Now that I think about it, bone marrow may have a profound connection with the bloodline power of pure-blood mages.

Chapter 16 Bone Grafting Operating Table

Xia Zuo's understanding of the relationship between bone marrow and bloodline power can only remain at the level of speculation for now.

Because the book "The Function of Bones" does not expand the scope of teaching to the power of bloodlines, but only focuses on the bone marrow of ordinary humans, ordinary animals and a small number of non-threatening monsters.

More ferocious and vicious monsters, such as water ghosts that live at the bottom of rivers, and humans who suffer from wolf-like diseases due to heredity or curses, do not appear in "The Function of Bones".

Xia Zuo spent some time quickly reading through the text describing the bone marrow, and some thoughts came to mind.

Blood produced from bone marrow and the "health points" on the character template are not exactly the same thing, but they are closely related.

Take Xia Zuo himself, who has undergone data-driven transformation and possesses an "immortal body," as an example.

For him, improving the hematopoietic function of bone marrow is also a way to increase the speed of blood return.

However, improving the speed of blood regeneration through human body modification is not a simple matter.

In conventional medical practice, this would require a bone marrow transplant.

The book "The Function of Bones" does not explain how bone marrow is replaced in alchemy.

Xia Zuo estimated that in the realm of bone magic, the function of [Bone Transplantation] is to replace the bone marrow of the recipient.

Let's speculate further.

The bone grafting procedure that Fabian the Snake Tearer underwent may have involved refining the marrow of the Black Iron Python into a secret medicine and implanting it into Fabian's body, which gave him his extraordinary abilities.