My health recovery is incredibly fast.

Piek Fortress, First Clerk, Lieutenant Wilson.

Wilson was a middle-aged man with a scar on his face.

Their first meeting was in an upscale pub. That day, Audrey was unusually dressed in a long, slit dress.

I wonder how business is going for the circus lately...

Several images flashed before Xia Zuo's eyes, and the look of reminiscence lasted only a few seconds before he calmed down and began to read the military report.

After gathering troops at Piek Fortress and thoroughly wiping out the bandits within its borders, they crossed the border and advanced southward.

To the south of the kingdom, there are no other countries, only vast wilderness, endless forests, and mountain peaks.

The army's main enemy was the long-established bandit forces.

Thirteen bandit strongholds and a sizable slave town were destroyed.

The opening and middle sections of the report describe the casualties and spoils of each battle.

The latter half details the sins of each wicked person and their ultimate fate.

Xia Zuo's parents died about two and a half years ago during a bandit raid.

The murderers were a leader of a slave town and his three bandit gangs; all of them have been sent to the guillotine.

Upon seeing the contents of this page, Xia Zuo's expression froze, his thoughts racing.

This...this is...revenge for me?

If the real "Xia Zuo" were here, he might burst into tears.

She happily shed tears, then knelt down to pray for her deceased parents?

No, no... If the real "Xia Zuo" hadn't been transported to this world, he would have died in the cave long ago, and he certainly wouldn't have entered Xingye Academy.

Xia Zuo was at a loss for how to react. He gripped the military report tightly, his fingertips turning white and his hands trembling slightly. He could only mechanically read the words "the culprit has been brought to justice" over and over again, his mind a tangled mess that grew tighter and tighter.

Kurov's voice echoed in the silent alchemy chamber:

"Seventy years ago, during my first year at the university, my advisor was the Dean, Beatrice. She handed me a letter and whispered, 'The army of Spree has avenged you.' When I heard the news, I had the same reaction as you."

Kulov walked from the sofa to the desk and sat down, speaking to the student with a complex expression:

How similar you are to me now!

"cough"

He coughed lightly and changed the subject:

"Let's get back to the main point. Let's not waste time on sadness or other emotions, as that has a negative impact on our mental well-being."

Xia Zuo stuffed the military report back into the envelope, rubbed his stiff cheeks a few times, and looked up at his mentor.

"Professor, what can I do for you?"

"The final exams for general education courses are in a month. How are your preparations going?"

Kulov pointed to the chair opposite him, gesturing for the other person to sit down and talk.

Xia Zuo knew that his exceptional memory was already known throughout the entire academy, so there was no need to hide it any longer. He answered directly:

"I have memorized all the knowledge points in 25 textbooks."

"That's not enough."

Kulov slowly shook his head:

"Final exams are different from regular quizzes in class."

"There are not only multiple-choice questions, but also application questions that involve alchemical operational experience."

"You have some talent and insight in poison alchemy, but that doesn't mean you have the same talent in other branches of alchemy."

Xia Zuo remained silent, gazing at his mentor.

Since the other party said those words, they must have already thought of a countermeasure.

After all, exams are not just a competition among students.

Within Starry Night Academy, the basic income of each professor comes from Ms. Starry Night.

The professors trained alchemists for Lady Starry Night, and Lady Starry Night provided them with financial and material support.

If professors want to earn more resources, they have to rely on the mage apprentices they train.

Therefore, the exams within the university also involve the additional income that each professor can earn in the future.

The better a student's exam scores, the higher their alchemy skills will be, and the more teaching resources they will receive within the academy, thus increasing their chances of becoming a mage apprentice in the future.

As the name suggests, a monk's apprentice is just an apprentice who has to pay a price to learn something.

It's just that Starry Night Academy is very generous, which is why the mage apprentices can learn first and then pay the tuition later.

Before becoming a fully qualified Dharma Master, any Dharma Master apprentice must give back to their mentor.

After the establishment of the Mage Guild at Starry Night Academy, each time a mage apprentice completes a bounty and receives a reward, they must hand over a small portion of it to their mentor.

Kulov hasn't finalized the rules yet, but instructors in other alchemy branches have already published their commission details within their disciplines.

For example, the Department of Alchemy, which has the largest number of students.

It is divided into two disciplines.

The disciplines of trauma medicine and tonics, and functional pharmacology.

The professor of functional medicine, Beatrice, who is also the head of the academy, will provide functional medicine to every student who goes out to do bounty missions.

She will take 1 to 5% of the task reward as a cut.

The more mage apprentices under one's command, the greater the total commission, and the more resources from outside the academy.

Kulov originally had three students under his command, but he drove two of them away, leaving only Shazo.

The extra income he can earn in the future will be pitifully small.

However, he himself seemed very uninterested in this income, as if he had never thought of relying on apprentice monks to increase his income, and his face never showed any sign of worrying about money.

Does it mean they know they can't win and have chosen to give up permanently?

Kulov has never said anything about this.

Xia Zuo never asked, assuming everyone has different pursuits, and maybe the other person just likes to curl up on a soft sofa and meditate.

Under the watchful eyes of his students, Kulov stroked his beard, pondered for a moment, and then said:

"In this afternoon's class, we will not learn about new poisons or identify compound toxins."

"You've mastered the alchemical procedures and identification methods of poison alchemy quite well."

"It's time to give you a crash course in the practical aspects of other branches of alchemy."

He took several books from the bookshelf and made them float above the desk. "Are you sure you've memorized all of these books?"

Xia Zuo glanced at the book title on the cover.

Essentials of Alchemy

Injury drugs, supplements and human anatomy

Oil Identification Guide

These three books are textbooks for general education course exams.

"I'm sure I've memorized it all."

"Let's start with oil alchemy. Come on, let's move the poison bottle a bit further away."

Kulov stood up from his chair and rolled up his sleeves to his elbows as he walked toward the shelf.

When concocting toxins and poisons, one cannot use magic, nor can one delegate the task to elemental servants.

This was something Kulov specifically instructed him to do during the first lesson.

Moreover, Kulov is extremely cautious whenever toxins are involved.

He refused to use magic to make the poison bottles fly to the designated location, instead carrying them with his bare hands and a small cart, being extremely careful with every movement.

The two spent half an hour clearing out a small area.

Then, Kulov went into the storage room, manipulated a leather suitcase to come out, and placed it on the desk:

"The smell of oil is hard to wash off, and once it gets on you, it will linger for a very long time. You need to be extra careful later."

He opened the lid of the suitcase and counted the bottles of oil inside. "Smell them one by one and see how many of these 30 bottles you can distinguish."

The basic textbooks for oil alchemy include Complete Explanation of Oils, Guide to Oil Identification, and Blending of Oils.

During the apprenticeship stage, you will be exposed to 30 types of oils, all of which are highly volatile.

When exposed to light and temperature, the evaporation rate increases.

They require light-proof brown or green glass bottles for preservation, and some even must be stored in specially made leather bags or tin cans that are completely opaque.

Unless the oil is poured out, and its color and liquid form cannot be seen, the best way to identify an oil is by its smell.

I learned about identifying oils in my course on oil alchemy.

The teacher for this subject is Professor Zhuo Lang.

An elderly man with balding white hair, usually wearing round-rimmed glasses. He is very humorous and likes to joke with students.

During his first class, he jokingly remarked on the smell of oil on his body, calling himself a walking oil box.

However, jokes aside, Professor Zhuo Lang is very serious when he teaches.

It took him more than three months to give a detailed introduction to all 30 common oils.

Xia Zuo had memorized the smells of these common medicines in his oil-based medicine class, so distinguishing them now was a piece of cake.

He could use his detection spell on the oil bottle to find out what was inside.

But he still obediently uncorked the bottle a little, brought it to his nose and took a sniff, then pretended to think for a few seconds before saying the name of the oil.

Kulov nodded with a smile. "Very good. It seems you have indeed memorized the key points of oil identification. Did Professor Zhuolang teach you about the book on oil blending?"

Xia Zuo put the last bottle of oil back into the suitcase, making sure it was securely inserted into the recessed part of the cushion:

"Not yet. He just finished explaining the guidelines for oil identification this morning."