Hogwarts starts with stealing power.

In the end, the two sides reached a consensus.

That means they can make Lin Xia a member of their team, but before that, they need to do a small test.

They first need to know that Lin Xia truly has alchemical talent, and that her talent is quite strong.

This talent isn't just about incorporating alchemical concepts into wand research; it's about actually being able to modify related alchemical creations.

Having alchemical talent and being able to skillfully apply that talent to alchemical items are two different things.

The former is merely a talent, while the latter has transformed that talent into countless experiences.

What their team lacks is the latter.

Lin Xia was instructed to quickly find a way to modify the alchemical glasses once he received them.

If it's the former, they wouldn't be willing to spend several years, or even decades, nurturing her.

Don't think that a period of ten or twenty years is an exaggeration; just look at their team members and you'll understand.

For a qualified alchemist, the accumulation of knowledge is a long process.

Many people are not able to become qualified alchemists until they are in their forties or fifties.

Becoming an alchemist at this age already shows considerable talent.

Look at Master Nico; his talent goes without saying.

He has lived for so long, and no one knows how far his alchemical skills have progressed over time.
Lin Xia originally thought that they would only reveal the answer when she was about to leave.

Unexpectedly, after just having lunch, she received a message from the group of alchemists asking her to participate in a test.

Upon arrival, I saw them solemnly take out a test paper filled with all sorts of questions.

The last major question on the exam paper gave her a product created through alchemy.

She needs to perform alchemical modifications on this product to get full marks.

At the same time, this group of people had an additional condition: she had to solve the last big problem.

If she can't do it, no matter how much theoretical knowledge she has, they won't let her join.

Upon hearing this condition, Lin Xia raised an eyebrow and asked with interest, "If I solve the last big problem, does that mean I don't need to do the previous theoretical knowledge anymore?"

After all, if my grasp of the theoretical knowledge wasn't perfect, I couldn't possibly start modifying the alchemical creations you provided, right?

The other alchemists exchanged glances and discussed for a while before the elder finally spoke up: "It's possible."

"Once you solve the last problem, you can become one of us and share the blueprints for the alchemical glasses with us."

Lin Xia immediately started working on the solution.

The alchemical artifact that this group provided her with was a uniquely shaped key.

It is said to have a unique shape because it is a pebble, a round, slightly flattened object, and is entirely golden.

However, Lin Xia recognized it at a glance as a master key.

The surface of this pebble is not smooth; it has countless tiny pores that are not visible to the human eye.

If she hadn't been using the Extrasensory Charm to amplify her five senses, she wouldn't have been able to immediately perceive that so many secrets were hidden on this small stone.

Lin Xia simply handled it lightly, estimating its weight, and determined through its unique structure that it was a multi-functional key.

Simply place this stone on a hole, and it will automatically expand and deform to match the shape of each lock, thus opening it.

Most importantly, this stone is an alchemical creation, inherently possessing a special and hidden unlocking spell. This is a unlocking spell, but one that is far more profound and powerful than ordinary spells.

Lin Xia suddenly tossed the stone gently upwards, and everyone held their breath.

This stone is quite valuable. If it had fallen to the ground and been damaged, they weren't confident they could repair it. Fortunately, the stone was back in Lin Xia's hands.

Lin Xia said, "I roughly know what's wrong with this master key. One of the magic runes inside is worn out, which causes the unlocking function to malfunction and makes it unable to open some special products."

Suddenly, something occurred to her, and she asked, "Could this be a product returned by the Aurors from the Ministry of Magic? They use this key to unlock things, but they can never open the locks of special items?"

The alchemists looked serious and did not answer Lin Xia's question.

The older man said, "Just solve their problem directly, don't ask where they came from, we won't tell you."

Lin Xia shrugged and continued, "The solution is simple: reconstruct this universal key, open up all the delicate components inside, find the damaged magic rune array, and repair it."

A relatively young alchemist muttered, "You make it sound so simple, why don't you reconstruct and disassemble it? The magic runes inside are extremely complex and can easily confuse you."

Furthermore, the function of many magical runes is unknown; attempting to repair them rashly will only cause further damage.

Lin Xia smiled and said, "You've made a simple problem complicated. Who said that to reconstruct and disassemble it, you have to know everything about the magic runes inside?"
Of course, thorough understanding is only the most basic requirement. As an alchemist, if you don't even know the meaning of these magical runes, what kind of alchemist are you?

As soon as she finished speaking, she found a slightly rough spot on the back of the pebble.

There is a small bump here, but it is very inconspicuous and often overlooked.

Lin Xia grabbed the spot and pressed down hard.

In the next instant, the pebble was stimulated by the outside world and instantly disintegrated in her palm, with the layers of modules and molds separating.

Lin Xia snapped her fingers with her other hand, causing the parts to levitate in the air and gather together, fixing them within a certain area.

This effortless scene made the alchemists present break out in a cold sweat.

They can disassemble the master key, but not as easily and casually as Lin Xia. They disassemble it on a meticulous and rigorous workbench to ensure that no part is lost.

After disassembling it, you will see that each part is engraved with magic runes.

It can be said that the entire universal key is composed of densely packed magic runes.

This is where the difficulty lies in the repair.

It is impossible to determine which part's rune array was damaged, because to the naked eye, these rune arrays are all very intricate and complex.

However, Lin Xia used a very ingenious method. Although the universal key was disassembled, she activated the magic rune array inside.

As she activated it, she said, "Complete runes are mutually attractive, especially in a structure like the Master Key. Each rune must work together to unleash the power of the key. So once one rune is activated, it will quickly find another rune under the attraction, piecing them together like a jigsaw puzzle."

The others watched in shock, exclaiming, "Unbelievable! How could this be possible!"

"Why didn't I think of using the attraction between the magic runes?"

"No, that's not right. The traction force is very weak. You used a special technique to amplify the traction force between them," the older alchemist immediately realized and said.

Lin Xia disassembled each part, but under the pull of the magic rune array, she pieced them back together one by one.

"Yes, I used a special method to amplify this faint power. It's a method I came up with when I was making the wand, and it just happens to work here."

This is a unique technique she developed, and alchemists who want to understand this method must first consult Lin Xia.

The older alchemist astutely said, "Not only is your method unique, but your understanding of runes is also very strong. Have you specifically studied runes?"
Only those who specialize in studying this can easily discover that there are connections between the runes, especially these specific runes, because through long-term use, a weak link has already been established between them.

Lin Xia smiled and said, "I thought you would investigate me before inviting me here, and find out that I am Professor Babling's student."

"Barbling? Professor Barbling from Hogwarts?"

An alchemist exclaimed in surprise, a look of realization flashing across his eyes.

"You actually became her disciple. It seems your talent in magic runes is extraordinary. Her conditions for accepting disciples are very strict."

Another alchemist said, "When I was studying at Hogwarts, I was very curious about ancient runes, so I specifically chose her class."

However, after studying it, I discovered that this ancient script was extremely difficult and required a very high level of talent. I only persisted for one semester before giving up.

Later, I became interested in alchemy, only to discover that it also required learning those complex and obscure ancient runes. So I gritted my teeth and studied it, and slowly I gained some understanding and insights.

The alchemist who spoke gave a wry smile. "I originally thought I had a pretty good talent for ancient runes, but I just didn't stick with it back then."

"At least I persisted in alchemy and learned it quite well, but now it seems that compared to you, I truly have no talent."

If they all had talent in ancient runes, they would probably have been able to use the mutual attraction between rune arrays to make repairs much earlier.

While they were marveling at it, Lin Xia quickly found the problematic magic rune array by piecing it together.

She pointed to a smooth spot, which was not a magic rune array on the surface of a pebble, but a magic rune array imprinted on the internal structure.

Lin Xia said, "The problem is with this magic rune array. You can see that its light is flickering and some lines have stopped emitting light, but half of the lines are still functioning normally, so it can respond to the call of the magic rune array connected to it."

"Now that we've identified the problematic line, let's begin the repair process."

Lin Xia only needed to observe closely to find the worn area of ​​the circuit, and then took out a special mithril pen to redraw the pattern on the somewhat dimmed lines.

With the final stroke completed and the magic rune array reactivated, it began to glow again.

It no longer flickered as before, but emitted a constant light, indistinguishable from the surrounding normally functioning magic rune array.

This direct act of repair caused the alchemists present to have uncertain glances and a hint of shame on their faces.

Even if they found the faulty line, they wouldn't be able to repair it as easily and effortlessly as Lin Xia.

Because they couldn't understand the function of the magic rune array, they had to first find the corresponding pattern of the magic rune array, and then repair it little by little according to the corresponding pattern.

To put it bluntly, they didn't have the same thorough understanding of the magic runes as Lin Xia, who could tell their functions and effects with just a glance.

With the last piece put together, the master key was restored to its original shape as a smooth, golden pebble.

The alchemists were utterly speechless.

Just by repairing it, they realized that the Linxia people were far more capable than them.

The elder no longer hesitated and extended his hand to Lin Xia: "Congratulations, and welcome to the alchemy family."

Everyone who joins must be explained to them about the nature of the team; it's not as glorious or prestigious as people imagine, nor does it come with many privileges.

"We are the alchemy team under Master Nico, but it is a non-profit organization responsible for solving alchemy-related problems in the wizarding world, and we also cooperate with some departments."

Our relationship with Master Nico is that of idol and worshipper; although we are under his tutelage, we have no direct connection with him.

When research progress is at a critical juncture, one can receive guidance from Master Nico, but such opportunities are rare and should be cherished every time…

Through his account, Lin Xia roughly understood what kind of organization this was; to put it bluntly, it was a wolf in sheep's clothing.

But it doesn't matter, at least I'm getting the blueprints for the alchemical glasses.

Having learned of Lin Xia's strength, she not only obtained the construction diagram but also two complete sets of alchemical glasses.

She can disassemble the alchemical glasses and study them.

This was a pleasant surprise; the alchemy team was much more generous than she had imagined.

But in the eyes of others, it was Lin Xia who conquered them with her strength, and they were generous to those who were truly talented.

Lin Xia glanced at the sky outside the window. "It's getting late. I have to get back to Hogwarts. We'll communicate by letter from now on."

I need to carefully study the structure of the alchemical glasses, try to disassemble them, and think about whether there are other ways to reduce the requirements for using mental energy.

This time, no one raised any questions, and the older man even said, "Should I take you to the station?"

Lin Xia smiled faintly: "No need, we're very close."

Once she left, the other alchemists felt free to communicate more openly.

"It's incredible. I don't think I can do that kind of technique even now."

“I can’t do that either. How can she not use a fine workbench? I was even thinking of lending her mine.”

The older man said thoughtfully, "I observed that although she handled alchemical creations with great skill, it was clear that she was an amateur."

Perhaps it's because she hasn't received systematic training that her way of thinking is so different from ours.

Another alchemist said, "I've already given feedback to the Ministry of Magic. Alchemy needs to be spread more widely and more people need to be involved. We can't work in isolation. But the Ministry of Magic still refuses to offer alchemy courses in the major magic schools."

"There's no way to achieve this overnight. After all, the materials used in alchemy research are extremely expensive, and not every magic school can afford it. Additional donations are needed." (End of Chapter)