My health recovery is incredibly fast.

Kulov pointed in the direction of the Great Alchemy Chamber:

"The delegation has other matters to attend to during their visit to the university. They need to venture deep into the interior of this continent to thoroughly investigate the situation there."

He paused, looked at the student, and asked, "You should know about the kingdom's plan to expand its territory, right?"

“Yes, Anru’er mentioned it to me.” Xia Zuo nodded.

"This plan still needs the approval of the Mage Temple, which is at least five or ten years away."

Kulov reached out and patted the student's shoulder twice, saying:

"I'm telling you this so that even if you fail to cultivate meditation on your first attempt and your mental sea is severely damaged again, you can still stay in the academy to study poison alchemy. Once your mental sea is repaired, you can try cultivating meditation again."

“Yes, Professor. I will not let you down.” Xia Zuo nodded solemnly in response, feeling the importance the university placed on him.

“This is the treatment you deserve.” Kulov patted the student’s shoulder again.

"Poison alchemy urgently needs young, expert-level alchemists, otherwise the Starry Night Kingdom's plans to expand its territory will be disrupted. By the way, how's your self-study going? Have you conceived of elemental properties yet?"

"It will probably take me another two months to master the basic recipes."

Xia Zuo gestured a rhombus shape resembling a four-pointed star in front of him:

"I've come up with the sixteen elemental traits. But I'm not 100% sure they're correct yet."

Kulov stroked his beard:

Please try to perfect it before telling me the answer.

"Elemental traits determine which spells you can learn in the future. The more comprehensive your conception, the more spells you can learn."

Xia Zuo asked, "Professor, are you saying there is no single correct answer?"

“Yes,” Kulov nodded. “Each element has hundreds of traits. But a mage apprentice can only possess 16 elemental traits.”

Behind them came the sound of papers fluttering; a letter flew in from the Great Alchemy Chamber.

Kulov opened the letter, read it once, and said:

"The inspection team has reached a conclusion on your test. I'll keep that master-level elemental bottle safe for you. You can go do your own thing now; I'll have to stay here for a while."

"Yes, Professor. I'll be going now."

Xia Zuo walked down the corridor and turned into the stairwell, still recalling his mentor's earlier words, ignoring the artworks passing by.

Halfway there, he rubbed his somewhat empty stomach and decided that after having lunch with An Ru'er, they would go to the poison alchemy area to refine poisons.

Chapter 44 Xia Zuo's Idea

Two months later.

I've almost finished self-studying the beginner level of poison alchemy.

Xia Zuo now faces only the challenge of conceiving elemental properties.

He spent a month deep in thought. Every day, besides refining poisons to maintain his skills, he would sit by the table, frowning and deep in thought.

It was Wednesday evening.

On the pebbly path by the lake, two figures strolled leisurely together.

Anru noticed that her boyfriend had been looking rather troubled lately, often frowning.

"Honey, is that same problem still bothering you?"

Hearing gentle words in his ear, Xia Zuo snapped out of his thoughts and looked at his increasingly mature and beautiful girlfriend.

He raised his hand and gently pinched the bun on the other person's head.

Since discovering that her boyfriend liked this hairstyle, Anru has completely given up her old ponytail and now styles her hair into a bun at the back of her head every time they meet.

"Yes, it's still the same question."

Looking at the caring look in the other person's eyes, Xia Zuo suddenly realized that he had been somewhat selfish.

Since mastering the beginner-level formula a month ago, he has been constantly thinking about elemental properties when he is with Anruer. He rarely takes the initiative to talk to her and is almost always pondering profound elemental questions.

Whether it's dining, taking a walk, or picking each other up from [Flower Guardian] on weekends, he is always absent-minded and neglects the other person.

That won't do.

Although women may only hinder the progress of their elemental research, the two have already established a relationship and need to work together to maintain it.

Xia Zuo pulled the other person into his arms, inhaling the faint fragrance of their smooth hair, and recalled his own character template in his mind.

(Unimportant information omitted.)

[Personal Template]

[Name] Xia Zuo

[Gender] Male

【Age】18 years old

[Identity 1] Mage

[Status Level] Mage Servant

Promotion Requirements

1. Increase all four elemental resistances to 5.

Alternatively, complete the four alchemy branch exams at the academy.

2. Obtain introductory meditation techniques from a mentor and successfully complete one meditation session.

3. Use meditation to absorb an element.

Once all the above conditions are met, you will be promoted to a mage apprentice.

【Identity Bonus】: 【Classic Text Combination】

[Identity 2] Poison Alchemist

【Status Level】Entry-level

[Place of Origin] Rosac

[Level] LV17

[Experience] 2250/3600

[Health] 50/50 (Healthy)

[Base Health Regeneration Speed]

012 o'clock/minute (7 o'clock/hour)

[Resistance]

Fire Resistance 2

【Soil Resistance】2

【Water System Resistance】2

【Wind Resistance】2

[Strength] 3+1→4 (Size increases, Strength +1)

[Agility] 2+1→3 (As size increases, agility +1)

[Endurance] 3+1→4 (As size increases, endurance +1)

[Vitality] 16

[Perception] 5

[Willpower] 8

[Mental State] 15

The first stage of the spiritual transformation has been completed. The second stage will begin after practicing meditation.

[Charm] 4+1→5 (Your academic ability and alchemy potential have been confirmed by the Mage Temple, Charm +1)

[Free Attribute Points] 5+11→16

（LV12至LV16，每次升级获得2点。LV16升LV17给了3点。）

[Character Strengths]:

[Immortal Body], [Emergency Hour], [Fire Resistance - Level 4], [Fire Breathing Skill - Expert Level], [Elemental Vision]

[Character Skills]:

[Skills of Detection], [Greeting Etiquette: The Kingdom of Stars]

(Unimportant data and information are omitted)

Last year I taught classes to freshmen, which took up a lot of time; otherwise, I would be around the class of 19 now.

The 16 free attribute points I've saved are for practicing meditation. Once I obtain the beginner-level meditation method, I'll allocate the points according to the instructions to ensure a 100% success rate.

Once the Spirit attribute reaches 15 points, the Spirit attribute bonus provided by books is drastically reduced to the original 10.

Studying solely for the sake of mental attribute rewards is extremely inefficient. It's much better to spend that time concocting and testing poisons.

However, after the four resistances reach 2, the experience provided by the beginner-level poisons decreases, to about 1100 points per month.

Xia Zuo had thought he could tolerate the slow upgrade speed, but now it seemed that wasn't the case.

“I plan to tell my mentor my answer tonight,” he said, gently patting Anru’s back.

"Hmm~ I support you. As long as you feel confident, that's fine." Anru leaned against him, nuzzled his head, and ran his bun across her chin.

“If the mentor thinks there’s no problem,” Xia Zuo whispered in her ear, lowering his head:

"I will soon be practicing beginner-level meditation."

"Uh?"

Anru looked up in slight surprise, clearly not expecting her boyfriend to be thinking about meditation, something that was still a distant concept for her.