Academic gathering with Lich colleagues

The dragon used the protruding, deformed bone beside it for support. Why would the undead care if it was useful or not? As long as it could conduct magic, you could give it a piece of wood and it would run very fast.

"What about the sternum? Don't tell me that this seemingly normal spine and ribs were also modified piece by piece by you."

Lyle chuckled twice.

“I didn’t make any changes to this sternum because I exchanged it with the student next door. He has a mountain of these normal bones, and I just picked the best-looking one from them. I’m so lucky.”

Mr. Dragon felt he couldn't breathe.

My plan to become a 100% academic superstar has failed.

This prized disciple truly gave him a huge surprise.

I spent two hours explaining the wonders of creation to him, giving him the best possible land. And here you are, acting like a bone-setting master?

The dragon glanced at the strange skeletons piled around it, then found a few stones from a mountain of gold and stacked them in front of it. In a way, the Plague Doctor was indeed a genius, perfectly avoiding all the correct answers.

Looking at the perfectly normal human skeleton under his control.

I gave you a bunch of good stuff, and you just created a skeleton soldier that you could summon with a flick of your wrist? My description was wrong; it was a perfectly crafted skeleton soldier, meticulously crafted with a lot of modification materials.

The dragon gasped, then covered its face with its claw gloves and didn't take them down again.

You're really something, doctor!

Lyle looked at Mr. Dragon with anticipation, hoping that his meticulous craftsmanship would be recognized.

The dragon was in a dilemma.

How can I politely express that my beloved student's creation is truly rubbish?

Respect for necromancy ultimately led the dragon to tell the truth.

"Plague Doctor, the purpose of creation and modification is to pursue power, not beauty. If there were a beauty contest for skeletons, you would be number one in my heart. But, child, your creations are too normal, so normal that they have no distinguishing features. Plague Doctor, you have failed the course of creation and modification."

The dragon uttered its last few words, and then began a self-examination.

In fact, the epidemic doctor's basic knowledge was quite solid; judging from his technique, he already possessed the necessary skills. However, ultimately, his thinking pattern was the major problem, and he didn't meet the standard. If it were any other student, he might have praised his skills and focus, allowing him to pass. But the epidemic doctor was his most valued student, and the one he had the highest expectations for. The greater the expectation, the greater the disappointment. That sense of loss had already affected his sanity.

Did I speak too harshly? I'm probably feeling terrible right now. Am I a bad teacher?

Lyle let out a breath.

There was some disappointment, but it wasn't enough to break me.

"So, teacher, how can I pass?"

"Aren't you frustrated? Plague Doctor, from your description just now, I can tell you must have put a lot of thought into this skeleton soldier..."

“Sometimes, hard work doesn’t always guarantee a reward, teacher. Instead of wallowing in self-pity, why not spend time improving yourself? The world is constantly evolving, and staying stagnant will only turn you into a remnant of history. I’m sorry to have disappointed you, especially since Mr. Dragon took such good care of me. I also want to work hard and meet your expectations.”

If the parties involved aren't discouraged, what is there for me to worry about? The dragon swept away its slump.

"Plague Doctor, you possess all the qualifications to become a scholar. I also look forward to the day when you become a 'scholar' in the field of necromancy."

"After class, you stay behind, and I will arrange a follow-up course on modifying and creating objects."

"Okay, teacher."

The dragon reviewed all the students' work, ultimately praising the best pieces. Even as the course ended and the students left, the dragon never uttered the name of the top student, the Plague Doctor, whom he had always mentioned. This unusual behavior was noticed by the other students. They saw the silent Plague Doctor not far away, and exchanged unspoken understandings.

"The Plague Doctor's results don't seem to be very good." Bian Tong whispered to his brother, "It seems that there are no perfect people in this world. Even the Plague Doctor, who was so outstanding before, has his own shortcomings."

He disregarded his brother's comfort, declaring, "The plague doctor is my goal."

"My brother, aren't you a little too competitive?"

"Is it wrong to be competitive? Is it wrong to challenge the strong? I will face off against the Plague Doctor in the final exam, and I need you to create a suitable venue. Will you help me?"

"Of course, for my dear brother's sake, I'd also like to see the overall strength of the new students from the Academy."

"First, I'll go first. Second, be flexible; you're the younger brother."

"Okay, I'll let you have your way, little brother."

……

The dragon walked up to Lyle.

"Your tutoring session is about to begin. Are you ready, my student?"

Chapter 130 Arnoin

"Your mindset has limited your abilities. Medical knowledge is your skill, but your instinct as a doctor makes you look at the creatures in this world with a critical and corrective eye. This is why your creation and transformation have completely gone awry."

Mr. Dragon led Lyle back to Andre Castle, heading straight for a spiral staircase leading underground. The black stone walls exuded a sense of melancholy and oppression, and the narrow space seemed to be converging towards the center every second. The winding staircase seemed endless, and the strange feeling of endlessly standing still oppressed the passersby.

This road leads to the place where the dragon spoke of the tutoring course, and along the way, Mr. Dragon is pointing out Lyle's problems.

"Our purpose in this form is to free you from your narrow knowledge of biological structure. There are many creatures in this world that challenge our understanding, and we hope that after getting up close and personal with them, you can change your attitude towards life."

"The doctor, the gentleman we are about to visit is my teaching assistant. But let me state beforehand that he is also one of the people I hate the most, so I generally do not have contact with him except for official business. He has a strange temper, a dark personality, and a terrible character."

"Arnoin, a deep-sea creature researcher, a fanatic obsessed with sea monsters, a disgusting fellow. He's also an expert in life modification. As for why he became my teaching assistant..."

“The creations made through spirit possession can be divided into three main categories: skeletal modification, flesh modification, and soul modification. Those who perform soul modification are mysterious and unpredictable. I am skilled in skeletal modification, while Arnoin is skilled in flesh modification.”

"What I really find disgusting is that although he studies life and death, he has absolutely no respect for them. He conducts live experiments on living organisms, and after obtaining the data he wants, he completely disregards the life or death of the modified organism, leaving its remains to be devoured by other monsters in the deep water."

As they spoke, the two had already reached the end of the stairs.

In the candlelight, a large white archway blocked the way, like a giant, closed pearl oyster, overlapping each other, leaving only a central gap through which a chilling aura far lower than that of the silent ancient castle emanated.

"No need to knock, he can't hear you, and even if he did, he wouldn't open the door. We need to demolish it by force."

Mr. Dragon took out a blue leather bag, pulled open the thin rope sealing it, and two huge skeletal arms crawled out of the bag, grabbing the two sides of the shell door. The enormous force acted on the door, and a lot of dust on the surrounding walls was scattered due to the vibration.

With a creaking sound and cracks appearing on the shell, the door finally opened, just wide enough for one person. A gust of cold wind blew in, bringing one back to winter.

"Teacher, you broke that door."

"It's alright, he might just use barnacles to seal the door next time. Don't be shy, Arnoin won't use proper hospitality anyway."

Stepping into this chilly area, the surface is a large circular platform with a research table, materials and equipment fixed to the wall, and glass bottles on the counter. A tentacle is exploring its surroundings, but because of its short body, it can't touch anything except the air at the bottle opening.

Not seeing the so-called Mr. Arnoin, Lyle searched for the area where he might be and found it: the deep blue water at the edge of the platform, engulfing the steps.

That wasn't a small pond or river. The deep blue water was fairly clear, but you still couldn't see the bottom. Lyle had a feeling it was a depth he couldn't even imagine. In this body of water stood several marble pillars that reached the ceiling, with rope nets binding stones that emitted a pale yellow light, preventing the underwater area from being completely dark, but not very bright either.

"Mr. Arnoin, underwater?"

"Of course, this disgusting guy didn't retain many of the habits of a normal person."

Mr. Dragon picked up the jar containing the small tentacles, which swayed like sea anemones.

It wasn't until Mr. Dragon poured it into the water that he discovered a human eyeball connected to the end of its tentacle, with dense blood vessels extending all the way to the dilated pupil, but it didn't move or blink.

The tiny tentacles swam leisurely towards the bottom of the water, paddling around.

Lyle, having accepted Nia's new look, even found her somewhat cute.

Just as it was about to fade from Lyle's sight, a swift figure emerged from underwater, its gaping maw swallowing the small tentacle whole. Accompanied by a scream that sounded like that of an adult male, blood wafted from between the shark's teeth, attracting even more sharks.

They clashed over the bloody scent in the seawater and began tearing at each other, instantly turning the once calm tide into a raging torrent.

Until a dark figure appeared.

He slowly emerged from the water.

The head was covered in dark skin, and the all-black eyeballs were sunken, casting a venomous gaze from the hair that resembled both seaweed and water snakes. As those eyes stared at Lyle, he felt as if a giant spider was crawling on his face.

His voice was hoarse, and with each gulp of his mouth, he would spit out a mouthful of disgusting black mucus.

"You stupid, filthy bug, you interrupted Arnoin's experiment once again, and in the process killed Arnoin's precious number 736."

“I’m not going to keep my precious things locked away in a jar. Arnoin, I will never let you pollute the air around me unless it’s absolutely necessary.”

“Official business? It’s not time to start the flesh and blood transformation course yet. You should still be teaching those useless newbies who are playing with bone blocks. You shouldn’t be wasting Arnoin’s precious time.”

Arnoin's eyes twitched as he looked at Lyle. "Another one, disgusting new bug. Stink, the stench of mud. Arnoin has to get back in the water. Arnoin is about to faint from the stench. Big bug, get this over with. What is it? I really don't want to spend another second with you trash."

"Nia hates him."

Nia extended her tentacles from behind Lyle, her large eyes narrowed as she stared at Arnoin.

Arnoin saw him too, and the disgust on his face vanished, replaced by fervor and excitement.

“Anoin’s darling has appeared, Anoin’s beauty, ah, she will be Anoin’s, she is so beautiful.”

Arno, with his deformed legs, stepped onto the steps and left the water.

He walked toward Nia with a look of infatuation, like a dirty, ugly, festering dwarf.

White bone claws opened in the air, and a huge palm slapped Arnoin back into the water.

Mr. Dragon withdrew the Bone Claw. "According to the rules of Andre Academy, Arnoin, the property of its members is inviolable."

Arno climbed back to the surface, spitting out even more filth from his constantly cursing mouth.

"Dirty Andre Academy, those damned bugs, stole Arnoin's beauty."

Chapter 131 Mermaid

"So what exactly are these bedbugs trying to do here?"

“This is a top student among the new students of the Conjuration Studies program. I brought him here to learn about enhancement and modification in advance, including the flesh and blood materials you are dealing with. As one of Andrei’s teachers, you have an obligation to help your students understand knowledge.”

"He's a slightly better bug. What does he have to do with Arnoin? There's no course plan or school notification. Get out of here, Arnoin."

The dragon approached the dwarf, who was completely enveloped in shadow by its massive body.

"What if I told you this was the Dean's direct request, to support the development of spirit possession? Would you go against Andrei's will?" The dragon casually fabricated the Dean's order.

"Absurd! Why wasn't Arno informed?"

"Didn't I just notify you? Maybe because nobody likes you, they didn't send a special representative. If you have any questions, you can consult the director yourself and leave your sweet water nest..."

Arnoin clearly disliked moving around. "Damn Dean, damn Academy. Arnoin, do whatever you want." He pointed to several walls across the water, and Lyle then realized that they were ice barriers formed by magic. "Behind each wall is a strange race. Bug, pick one, make contact with my darling, and then get lost."

Lyle pointed to a patch of ice.