Ling Han accepted their bows of respect without an ounce of guilt. Previously, he had indeed been teaching these two men. With these teachings from him, it was very likely that these two men had gained a chance to advance to each become an Earth Grade alchemist. Otherwise…. they couldn’t even dream of achieving such heights within this lifetime.
He could be considered as half the Master of these two men. As a result, it was only right for him to receive a bow of respect from these two men.
“If Young Master Han has any problems in future, please do come to Heaven’s Medicine Pavilion to seek me out,” Fu Yuan Sheng said solemnly. He did not dare to address Ling Han as Young Friend any longer.
Wu Song Lin did not say anything along these lines. After all, Ling Han was a disciple of Hu Yang Academy, so he could see Ling Han at any time that he liked. He would of course not allow Ling Han to suffer any grievances in his territory.
Ling Han smiled softly. He was not the type of person to selflessly offer gifts. The reason why he had taught these two men was because of their high status, and thus, he would have gained two powerful supporters in the imperial city, so he would have fewer qualms when doing certain things in this city.
Fu Yuan Sheng excused himself and departed. A lot of the difficult problems in the field of alchemy that had been troubling him had been solved, so he needed to immediately return to digest this new knowledge and completely transform it into his own understanding and comprehension.
“Old Man Wu, return my disciple quickly!” It was at this very moment that an old man barged in, while the teacher in charge of enrollment followed behind. Needless to say, this was one of the Headmasters of Hu Yang Academy, Lian Guang Zu.
“What your disciple!” Wu Song Lin immediately glared at this intruder, “This is obviously a disciple of our Alchemy Department, when did he become a disciple of your Martial Arts Department?”
…Hu Yang Academy was actually divided into two departments, the Martial Arts Department and Alchemy Department. However, because there were indeed too few alchemists, when people talked about the Hu Yang Academy, they were actually referring to the Martial Arts Department.
In Wu Song Lin’s opinion, Ling Han’s level of comprehension and understanding of alchemy was at quite scary heights, and his theoretical knowledge of the field was even deeper than his own. Then, naturally, he should be enrolled into the Alchemy Department, and concentrate his efforts on concocting alchemical pills, advancing step by step to the top of the field.
“Nonsense, this brat’s battle prowess is outstanding, so of course he belongs to our Martial Department, and you actually plan to have him learn how to concoct alchemical pills. This is practically leading him astray!” Lian Guang Zu was furious. He took great strides and was soon in front of Wu Song Lin, pointing a finger at the latter while being so close that his finger was almost at the tip of Wu Song Lin’s nose.
“You’re the one talking nonsense. This brat’s understanding of alchemy is so high that there has practically been no precedent. To have him practice martial arts is the greatest waste of talent!” Wu Song Lin, not to be outdone, also pointed a finger at Lian Guang Zu’s face.
“Old Man Wu, I’m warning you, don’t point your finger at my face!” Lian Guang Zu threatened.
“You were the one who pointed your finger at me first!” Wu Song Lin humphed, “Withdraw your finger first!”
“Pei, you take it back first!”
“You first!”
If you added the age of each of these two old men, it would exceed one hundred and fifty years old; these two old men completely looked like two stubborn bulls, glaring so intensely at each other that their eyeballs seemed to be in danger of popping out from their eye sockets.
Li Si Chan could not stop herself from pressing a hand to her forehead. Lian Guang Zu and Wu Song Lin had actually been friends for many years, yet these two old men had always been way too prone to arguing with each other. They’d be shouting and pointing their fingers at each other for each small issue, as if they were two mortal enemies.
As for the teacher in charge of enrollment, he was completely dumbstruck by this scene. He knew that Ling Han was exceptionally talented, with outstanding battle prowess for someone his age. But to actually cause these two Headmasters to almost come to blows just to have him enroll in their own Department, this was something that he had never imagined would happen.
Hiss, wouldn’t this brat be able to do as he liked in Hu Yang Academy in the future? No, no, no, with these two Headmasters watching over him, he’d even be able to do as he liked in the whole imperial city!
You have to understand, these two men were not only powerful warriors of Spiritual Pedestal Tier, they were also the Headmasters of the Academy, and have taught uncountable numbers of elites, so their status was incomparably revered. Moreover, Wu Song Lin also had the additional status of a Black Grade high level alchemist, so even the Emperor of Rain Country had to address him respectfully as Grandmaster when they met.
The teacher in charge of enrollment could not help becoming so envious that his eyes had turned red.
“Fine, I will not lower myself to your level, but this brat is a disciple of my Martial Arts Department, so I’m going to take him back!” Lian Guang Zu grabbed hold of Ling Han’s shoulder.
“Nonsense, this is the future star of my Alchemy Department, and he is going to be the hope of the entire field of alchemy, how could I allow you to waste his talent like that!” Wu Song Lin quickly held onto Ling Han’s other shoulder.
“Let go!”
“You let go!”
The two old men each tugged at one shoulder, both intending to pull Ling Han to their side. However, they did not dare to put too much strength into it so as to avoid directly tearing Ling Han into halves—they could only glare furiously at each other and gasp continuously in exertion.
These two men were extraordinarily outstanding individuals that could cause the entire Rain Country to tremble with a few stomps of their feet, and now they were actually about to come to blows as they fought over a young man. Who would believe that such a thing could be possible?
Li Si Chan was flushing in embarrassment. These two old men really did not act their own age. They were so old already, and yet they still liked to bicker with each other like two little kids.
Meanwhile, Hu Niu gave a loud burp. She had really enjoyed her meal.
“Young Master Han, just say the word. Are you going to learn martial arts from this old man, or enter our Alchemy Department, and join us in researching alchemy?” Wu Song Lin asked. He did not want to have this genius of alchemy take a misstep in life.
“Don’t be afraid of this old man, just tell him the truth. Don’t you want to learn martial arts?” Lian Guang Zu hurriedly said. Due to his agitated state, he had not noticed that Wu Song Lin had used the respectful address of ‘Young Master Han’.
“Young Master Han, if you agree to enroll in the Alchemy Department, I will immediately give you a thousand academic points!” Wu Song Lin gave him a very sincere offer in exchange for his agreement.
What!
Li Si Chan and the teacher in charge of enrollment were both dumbstruck with shock. A thousand academic points!
Within the Hu Yang Academy, academic points could be exchanged for a multitude of various items: cultivation techniques, martial arts techniques, alchemical pills, as well as various natural treasures. But it was very difficult to obtain academic points. Even a genius like Liu Yu Tong may not have accumulated a thousand points altogether throughout the years she spent in the Academy.
“Hey, hey, hey, Old Man Wu, you can’t just simply give out academic points any which way you like. Rewarding with academic points is very strictly regulated, and you’re not exempted from the rules!” Lian Guang Zu hurriedly spoke.
“Hey, hey, do you think I’m that kind of man?” Wu Song Lin said proudly, “Young Master Han has just completed the recovery of the Storm Pill. Does such a beneficial contribution not deserve a mere thousand academic points?”
“What?!” Lian Guang Zu gasped quickly, “Hadn’t you recovered the Storm Pill a long time ago?”
“The pill formula I recovered could only produce a pill of eight Stars, yet the pill that this young friend had just concocted managed to reach thirteen Stars!” Wu Song Lin said extremely proudly, as if he was the one who had accomplished such a magnificent feat.
Lian Guang Zu could not help but begin to feel as if he should concede, but then he immediately recalled Ling Han’s extraordinary talent in martial arts: reaching the fourth, no, the fifth layer of Element Gathering Tier at the young age of seventeen! Moreover, at the mere level of the fourth layer of Element Gathering Tier, he managed to defeat Qi Yong Ye!
Such a talented genius of martial arts, what was he going to learn if not martial arts?
But the problem was, Ling Han had not yet made any significant contribution in the name of the Martial Arts Department, so he could not really afford to reward Ling Han with any academic points.
The old man began to sweat uncontrollably due to his anxiety.
At this moment, Ling Han finally spoke, “I’ll just learn from both Departments!”
He was the Alchemy Emperor, so if he casually offered some long-lost ancient pill formulae, he’d be able to get a huge pile of academic points. He would of course not surrender such an easy and attractive opportunity. Moreover, he did not intend to resume his old path of alchemy, and would be concentrating the majority of his efforts on the path of martial arts.
The two old men looked at him doubtfully. After all, whether it was the field of martial arts or the field of alchemy, both were wide-ranging and profound fields of knowledge. Even if one spent his whole lifetime, it was practically impossible for him to reach the top of the field, what more to simultaneously practice in both fields.
“I’m a genius, so there won’t be any problems!” Ling Han said confidently.
Li Si Chan had half-opened her mouth in shock. She was astonished by the level of shamelessness Ling Han could go to. How could someone praise himself to such an extent? But then she recalled Ling Han’s previous performance—even two Black Grade high level alchemists ignored their pride to seek his teachings. There indeed does not seem to be much problems with regards to the field of alchemy.
“There really won’t be any problems?” The two old men asked in unison.
“Definitely no problem!” Ling Han said with a smile.