High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 2156: Chapter 377: An Unexpected Clue

With Jiang Yu serving as the ’mediator,’ Li Meng finally stopped acting out.

The group of four arrived steadily at the teaching building.

Today is Friday, and there is an Alchemy class in the morning. Although there is only a month left until the final exam, Professor Tesla, who teaches the course, has frequently been absent. He has only appointed his graduate students as course lecturers, making most students lack sufficient reverence for this course.

Of course, another reason for the lack of reverence is being ’too reverent.’

This statement may sound contradictory, but that is indeed the case. Because the process involves the mystical transformation of ’matter and spirit,’ Alchemy has remained an independent and high-end discipline from the classical magic era to the time of Dimensionism’s dominance, challenging every wizard determined to explore the path of magic.

The manifestation in the classroom is that the content of this course is too obscure and difficult to understand. Apart from the freshman year learning content, which only touches on the development direction and theory of modern Alchemy, the later course content immediately feels like a different course. To use an inappropriate analogy, it is like how, before entering university, many students had just learned that one plus one equals two; during the freshman year, the professor uses Peano’s axioms to explain why that result exists; and then by sophomore year, the content becomes how to prove ’one plus one.’

On the surface, it seems quite similar to what was learned before, but in reality, the distance between the two is vast. Students lacking sufficient talent, wanting to score high on exams, can only opt to memorize the entire set of lecture notes from the professor—these lecture notes being another criticized aspect of the course, as Professor Tesla has not designated a course-specific textbook, leaving everyone having to frantically transcribe his notes with little time for thought and questions during class.

Zheng Qing feels like he’s listening to celestial scriptures every time he’s in class, yet neither Professor Tesla nor his grad students seem to understand where the bewilderment in the eyes of young wizards during class originates. The contradiction between the two results in more and more students treating this course with ’respect but distance,’ concentrating solely on memorizing the professor’s lecture notes.

”...Professor Tesla comes from Atlas Academy and is a firm believer in science. He believes that the dual attributes of Alchemy (spirit and matter) are its most subtle distinction from other magical arts, and only with a sufficiently pure spirit and adequately practical experimentation can the most exquisite Alchemy reactions truly be realized.”

Xiao Xiao carries his black notebook, chatting continuously, serving as the atmosphere group for the group of four, discussing topics others can’t join in on, only able to listen silently:

”In the eyes of old-school alchemists, the luxurious arrogance of Alpha, the proud secularism of Jiuyou, and the reckless rashness of Starry Sky — these essences make it hard for us to have a truly pure and sincere spirit, unable to provide a good reaction environment for Alchemy... So memorizing lecture notes becomes a non-choice choice... In a certain sense, focusing on memorizing lecture notes is also artificially creating a sufficiently ’pure’ mental state, which aligns perfectly with Professor Tesla’s Alchemy philosophy.”

As they spoke, the group had already reached the classroom door.

Zheng Qing and Li Meng breathed a sigh of relief, one before the other, hurriedly squeezed into the classroom, and ran to their seats. The doctor, still wanting to say a little more, turned around to look at Jiang Yu, but saw the witch already raising a hand to greet Liu Fei Fei.

He could only sigh in resignation and slowly head toward the back row of the classroom.

When he reached his seat, Zheng Qing was rummaging through his last class’s Alchemy homework; Zhang Ji Xin hadn’t arrived yet, and the fat wizard was engrossed in the Alchemy lecture notes in front of him, as if possessed by the group of good students sitting in the front row of the classroom.

Except for the occasional wiggle of his backside, telling others he wasn’t as focused as he seemed.

After seating, the absolution diviner eagerly continued the previous topic: ”...How to reconcile the oppositional yet unified state between matter and consciousness is a lifelong research topic for every alchemist. Fusion, fission, and even fusion are among the validated pathways. It is well known that the Philosopher’s Stone is the culmination of Alchemy, and Doctor Duzem’s experiments have also told us that the ’purity’ contained within that gemstone not only can purify the aging body, guiding the arrival of youth and new power, but can also cleanse all impurities, reorganizing a spirit tending towards chaos...”

Zheng Qing had originally been silently praying in his heart, hoping a great being could make Doctor Xiao shut up quickly, yet inexplicably, he paid attention to the last sentence the doctor said.

Then, the first thought that floated in his mind was about those ravens.

”Those ravens are conducting illegal experiments on demon flesh transplantation.” He suddenly spoke up, lightly interrupting the doctor’s endless references.

”What?” Xiao Xiao was very pleased that someone could join his discussion but didn’t immediately catch on to what Zheng Qing wanted to convey.

”Those ravens are conducting illegal experiments on demon flesh transplantation.” Zheng Qing turned his head, looked at Xiao Xiao, with a peculiar glow in his eyes: ”The biggest challenge of demon flesh transplantation is contamination... and the Philosopher’s Stone can ’cleanse all impurities, reorganize a spirit tending towards chaos.’

He quoted the doctor’s words verbatim.

Xiao Xiao’s expression changed slightly, his face gradually becoming serious.

”So what?” he cautiously asked.

Zheng Qing, however, didn’t have this concern, quickly analyzing: ”So, those ravens’ recent activities have suddenly intensified, indicating their experiments have made enough progress... meaning they have made significant strides in cleansing the contamination from demon flesh and resisting the demon spirit’s invasion... Before Doctor Duzem’s manufactured Philosopher’s Stone emerged, the Philosopher’s Stone was a very precious and rare treasure, but now, even Nicholas has a small piece!”

Xiao Xiao instinctively turned to look at where the Northern District Wizard was seated.

Nicholas wore a brand-new ring on his hand, the irregular small gemstone on the ring sparkling with an enchanting glow. It was the ’inferior version of the Philosopher’s Stone’ jointly crafted by Doctor Duzem and the Korma Sage, intended to slowly replace the current practice of using frogs for spellcasting by Northern District wizards, reducing internal Alliance aversion towards ’sacrificial magic.’

Seemingly sensing Xiao Xiao’s gaze, Nicholas turned and looked over, nodding slightly in acknowledgment.

”So what you mean is, Doctor Duzem is helping those ravens?” Xiao Xiao retracted his gaze, no longer beating around the bush, directly pointing out Zheng Qing’s suspicion.

”Not necessarily intentional assistance.” Zheng Qing slightly dialed down his excitement: ”Those ravens might also have obtained Doctor Duzem’s research results through other channels... But ultimately, it’s a new clue, right!”