My health recovery is incredibly fast.

The three of them flew over the sleeping city and landed precisely on the rooftop platform of the Lumington Tower.

"Gentlemen, I have already arranged the follow-up matters. The Alchemy School has set aside a separate, enclosed area in the outer teaching area for us to study the strange eggs and the deep-sea turtle hatchlings refined by the Church of the Otherworld."

Rexor glanced at Shazo without leaving a trace and said:

"A being within the inner sanctum altered the spacetime rules of that area."

"We can stay inside for up to 24 hours, from the moment we are teleported there until we leave, while only 1 to 2 hours of natural time will have passed."

“Powerful magic…” Hillenburg’s words carried a hint of regret, “but it can’t be used for regular alchemical research. Because our lifespan won’t be affected; the length of time we spend in the area where the spacetime rules are modified will determine how much lifespan we consume…”

Having already experienced the magic of time and space, Xia Zuo nodded silently. Rexor's hint couldn't be clearer: it was the veteran pureblood mage Kristor who had set up that area.

The three entered the teleportation room, where the already activated teleportation crystal shone brightly, engulfing their figures.

Chapter 56 Diffraction Array

After the intense light transmitted by Xia Zuo and the others dissipated, Xia Zuo opened his eyes and saw that he was surrounded by the familiar classical stone brick style.

The alchemists waiting there to participate in the research were all dressed in white alchemical robes.

There was no sign of Krestor's Bloodswirling Domain—a long, blood-red crystal—in the surrounding air. She must have deliberately disguised herself to avoid attracting the attention of those who had no right to know her identity as a pure-blood mage.

Standing before a group of alchemists, the person leading the entire research project was none other than Master Adanavados, Xia Zuo's mentor during his studies.

Unexpectedly, less than half a month after leaving the outer teaching area, he's back again, and this time with his mentor.

Adanavardos looked at Shazo with a kind expression, then stepped forward and spoke to Hillenberg and Rexor:

"Good day, both of you. I already know what's going on. The alchemists behind me are my former students, and they are all high-level mages now. They have all undergone a loyalty ceremony, so there's no need to worry about leaks."

"I'll leave it to you. I'll stay here and keep watch to prevent any trouble." Rexor handed the metal box to the other party, then walked to the wall with Hillenberg and sat down, quietly waiting for the poison alchemists to remove the toxins from the monster eggs.

Adanavados used a gust of wind to steadily place the metal box into the high-pressure, enclosed control panel, then pulled Shazo up and stood before the students, saying:

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is my newly accepted student, named Xia Zuo, from Starry Night Island. As you can see, he is a skilled poison alchemist. Before you arrived here, he had already identified the specific toxic effects of the Strange Egg Toxin."

"Due to time constraints, I won't introduce you all one by one..."

Adanavardos rattled off a list of names and began assigning tasks to crack each toxin.

Everyone present was a master-level poison alchemist, and each person was assigned an expert-level toxin.

Xia Zuo and his mentor were responsible for cracking the Zero Toxin.

It is very difficult to deduce a formula based on the effects of toxicity.

But if you have enough experience, then it's very easy.

Adanavardos has been immersed in poisons for centuries, and his mastery of the meditation alchemy table is unmatched by Shazo.

After Xia Zuo helped him identify the various properties of the Zero Toxin, Adanavados only spent 3 hours in deep meditation before listing out the detailed formula for the Zero Toxin.

After that, the task of developing the zero-toxin and creating the corresponding antidote was handed over to Xia Zuo.

These tasks were relatively easy to perform, which suited Shazo perfectly, while Adanavados walked slowly past the alchemy tables with his hands behind his back, observing the students' work as if he were teaching a regular class.

After several hours of intense refining, Xia Zuo placed two bottles of freshly made poison and antidote on the alchemy table, successfully raising his level.

"The host has successfully created Zero Toxin and its antidote. 1860 experience points are awarded."

"Level up!"

...

[Level] lv.32+1→lv.33

[Experience] 60/15000

[Free Attribute Points] 10 + 11 → 21 points

...

21 free attribute points!

I'm satisfied!

Xia Zuo looked at the two glass bottles in front of him and smiled, believing that he wouldn't have to worry about not having enough free attribute points for quite some time.

"Xia Zuo, have you finished refining it?"

Adanavardos approached the smiling student, picked up the glass bottle, and examined the quality of the poison and antidote. "Hmm~ Not bad, both are of perfect quality. Your poison-making skills are the best and most consistent of all the students I've taught."

Xia Zuo felt a little embarrassed that his mentor was praising him in front of so many high-level mages. He scratched his head and smiled modestly:

“Mentor, you flatter me. If I were to try to decipher the Zero Toxin myself, it would take at least seven or eight attempts to find the correct formula.”

"Hehe~" Adanavados chuckled, then said, "Rest for a while. I'll wake you up once the others are ready to detoxify."

“Yes, mentor.” Xia Zuo bowed to the other party and sat down in the chair next to Rexor.

Rexor asked in a low voice:

"Hillenberger asked me to ask you if you would like to participate in the work of deciphering the structure and working principle of the strange egg after removing the toxins from it?"

"Although you don't have the qualifications of a master-level bio-alchemist, your understanding of erogen and biomimetic alchemy systems is enough to take on some research tasks."

Xia Zuo glanced at the team leader, who was immersed in meditation, nodded in response to Rexor, and then also entered into deep meditation.

...

"Shazo, wake up." Adanavados patted the student's shoulder a few times.

Shazo opened his eyes and found that there were many unfamiliar mages in the alchemy room. Rexor and Hillenberg were talking to these mages.

Xia Zuo stood up, stretched his shoulders, and asked, "Mentor, who are they?"

“A helper sent by the scholars of the Tower,” Adanavados whispered.

"The tower mage leading the team is Master Lemon, who previously entrusted me to collect information about your body. The female mage with long reddish-brown hair is her."

Following his mentor's gaze, Xia Zuo saw Master Lemon looking over and giving Xia Zuo a slight nod.

Xia Zuo noticed that... this Master Lemon... had a similarity between her eyebrows and Christo's. Could they be related by blood?

That's possible. Meeting a pure-blooded mage needs to be kept secret, and when Christo was looking for an Outer Temple mage to make the connection, she would definitely have asked her trusted confidant to act as an intermediary.

"The toxin from the strange egg has been neutralized," Adanavados said, stroking his beard.

"The tower mages are discussing and arranging a powerful magical ritual to ensure they can accurately capture the moment the monster egg explodes. We only have one chance, so we must make sure there are absolutely no mistakes."

"Come, come, let me introduce you to your seniors." Adanavados pulled Shazo along and led him towards the poison alchemists who were sitting together, exchanging updates on their recent lives...

Xia Zuo, who has a strong tendency towards social anxiety, felt his heart race and cold sweat break out on his back. He forced himself to greet the senior students who were several years to dozens of years older than him, and wrote down their names and workplaces. Then, he was arranged by Adanavados to sit next to them and listen to their conversation.

Throughout the process, Xia Zuo acted as if he were invisible, hiding in a corner, praying that the topic wouldn't be steered towards him, while keeping an eye on the Tower Mage's actions.

The mages, dressed in elegant robes, each wielded at least three wind hands simultaneously, inscribing runes on the walls and floors, placing glass spheres of varying sizes, and setting up the magic arrays required for the ritual.

Precise, efficient, silent, and not wasting a single second on communication or hesitation.

The intricate and mysterious magical runes expanded rapidly before the naked eye, eventually filling the entire alchemy room—of course, not the area where the alchemists were seated… The tower mage deliberately avoided this small area when setting up the magic array.

“It’s about to begin,” Adanavados said, sitting in the middle of the group, and the students around him immediately stopped talking.

Adanavardos scanned his students.

"Focus your attention and enjoy the scene that's about to unfold. The scholars in the tower have used an extremely complex diffraction array to capture this fleeting moment. This is a very rare opportunity, and we must make the most of it."

Diffraction array... I've never studied arrays before, what is a diffraction array...?

And the opportunity the mentor mentioned… what opportunity? An opportunity to observe?

Xia Zuo glanced at the focused instructors and senior students and gradually realized that this was not a simple observation activity!

This is the alchemy school trying to learn the Tower Wizard's signature skills!

Xia Zuo squinted and realized that he had fallen into a cognitive trap.

So far, more than half of the high-level alchemists he has encountered have the status of Tower Mages, which led him to assume that it is only natural for alchemists to join the Tower Mages after obtaining the status of high-level mage.

At the same time, the frequent collaboration and cooperation between the tower mage and the alchemist reinforced this misconception in him.

The reality may be more complicated than he imagines.

The Tower Wizards and the Alchemy School are not exactly inseparable...

Perhaps, when joining the Tower Mage as an alchemist, one cannot access the most core magical knowledge. One must completely detach oneself from the alchemy school, possess only the identity of a Tower Mage, and accept some kind of constraint before being allowed to learn this kind of knowledge.

This is actually not hard to guess...

Do you think the alchemy school would allow a mage born from a high tower to learn their most secret skills?

Definitely not.

Therefore, the diffraction array that the Tower Mage displayed this time is an excellent opportunity for the alchemy school to peek into the secrets of the Tower Mage's array!

Xia Zuo understood this point, and his eyes widened as he stared intently at the tower mage and the magic circle, continuously releasing detection spells in an effort to memorize everything he saw.

The word diffraction has a similar meaning in both this life and the previous life, specifically referring to the phenomenon that a certain wave—such as water waves, light waves, or sound waves—deviates from its original propagation path after encountering an obstacle.

The most common form of diffraction is the phenomenon where water waves propagate across the surface of a basin by being patted with your hand, and then propagate in the opposite direction after hitting the edge of the basin.

In the alchemy room, the tower mage set up a total of 16 diffraction arrays, emitting a certain energy wave from different angles toward the strange egg in the enclosed control panel.

The magical light from these energy waves is light green and forms semi-circular arcs. They originate from their respective magic circles and continuously shoot towards the monster egg. Upon encountering the monster egg, they are immediately reflected back.

When the diffraction array was first activated, its power was not very high, and Xia Zuo could still see the semi-circular ripples with the naked eye.

As the high-level mage controlling the magic circle inputs more elemental energy, the ripples emanating from the circle become increasingly dense. Eventually, these ripples combine with the reflected ones, filling every frame visible to the naked eye and every gap in the propagation path, creating the illusion that the magic circle is emitting rays.

Many of the alchemists present, after studying master-level poison alchemy and biological alchemy, are now delving into the study of rare artifact alchemy.

Xia Zuo glanced at his mentor and the older students around him, and then realized that the seating arrangement was also carefully planned.

Whether it's the alchemy school or the scholars of the Tower, older age is often associated with higher aptitude.

The senior students sitting next to Adanavados had all passed the Master-level Alchemy of Wonders test. This type of alchemy is the one most closely related to things like waves, rays, and magic circles.

Adanavados stroked his beard, his lips trembling slightly, as he gazed at the magic circle and the tower mage. His eyes occasionally met those of the students beside him, but neither of them made a sound. They were probably secretly exchanging their discoveries and observations using some kind of magic.

"Let's double-check the parameters one last time."

Master Lemon stood before Rexor and Hillenberg, took out the Image Orb crafted by the Witcher Master, and slowly reenacted the scene of the monster egg exploding inside the orb, saying: