The most shameless alchemist in history

"That's not the point. The point is that he actually forced Ms. Camille to back down. Although Ms. Camille was letting him off the hook, it's still unbelievable. What's wrong with this year's freshmen? It's only the first day of school, and they're already doing something so daring." An older student exclaimed in astonishment.

They were well aware of the situation within the academy and knew how formidable Camille was. They had long heard that several extraordinary individuals had joined this year's freshmen, possessing exceptional talent. However, it was unheard of for someone to challenge Camille, one of the academy's strongest teachers, on the very first day of school.

171 Newborn calves

Sterling's interruption of Camille's speech was already quite rude, and many people were worried for him from the start, thinking he was doomed. But Sterling's subsequent actions made people admire his youthful fearlessness.

He actually launched a direct attack on Camille, something Camille hadn't expected. Facing Sterling's relentless advance, Camille calmly countered with one hand. After a few exchanges, Sterling's movements were dazzling, and many people couldn't keep up with them.

But in reality, Sterling couldn't even touch the hem of Camille's clothes. Anyone with eyes could see that although Sterling was exceptionally talented and the best among the freshmen, talent is something that needs time to develop before it can be realized. He couldn't defeat Camille with talent alone.

Furthermore, when Camille was a fourteen or fifteen-year-old girl, her talent was not much worse than Sterling's. Soon, Camille seized an opening in Sterling's storm of attacks and kicked out accurately, sending Sterling flying as he jumped down from the corner of the flag to attack her.

Sterling, who initially seemed to have the upper hand, was kicked more than ten meters away and finally crashed heavily into the wall, raising clouds of dust. If a large rock had been thrown at him, one would have wondered if it would have shattered, let alone a living, breathing human being.

"Hey, what's going on? Why are they getting serious? They could kick someone to death like that! Even a magical beast couldn't withstand such a fierce kick!" A student exclaimed in surprise, finding it hard to believe that Camille's seemingly frail body possessed such formidable strength.

"It's over, it's over, it's over! This is definitely going to result in someone dying. Of all people to mess with, why did that guy have to provoke Ms. Camille? He's really unlucky, he's definitely going to die." Some people sighed, genuinely feeling sorry for Sterling. It would be too pathetic for him to die like this.

"No, look, I'm not seeing things, the wall is dented and cracked, but he's perfectly fine, like nothing happened. Is he a monster?" A sharp-eyed student noticed something was wrong and saw someone walking out of the smoke and dust. It was Sterling.

However, compared to his earlier agility as he searched for opportunities to attack, Sterling now coughed up blood, covered in splattered dust, looking disheveled. But his eyes gleamed with a beastly light as he stared intently at Camille.

"Well done. You only coughed up blood after taking such a hit. It seems I really underestimated you. But don't get too cocky. I only used one-tenth of my strength just now. To teach you a lesson, I've decided to use one-fifth this time."

Camille snorted coldly. She was always a vengeful person. Expecting her to cultivate her own confidants and support her own power was simply impossible. Having been humiliated in front of everyone, all she could think about now was to humiliate Sterling.

"Only one-tenth of your power? Looks like I made the right choice coming to Maple Leaf Academy. Don't even mention one-fifth, one-third or one-half... No, bring out all your power, and I'll take it all." Sterling licked his lips, crouching down as he searched for an opportunity to attack.

Clearly, the previous setback was not enough to discourage him; on the contrary, it made him even more excited, a typical case of becoming more courageous with each battle.

"The result of me using all my power is that I will die, and even that doesn't matter?" Camille asked again.

“Of course, if you can do it.” Sterling showed no sign of backing down and even took a step forward.

“Since that’s the case, then I’ll grant your wish.” Camille wouldn’t allow anyone to challenge her authority. She raised her right hand high, as if to grab something in the air. A crimson light began to spread from her palm, and the surrounding temperature suddenly rose.

"What on earth is going on? A challenge is one thing, but why does it feel like a fight to the death? Have these two gone mad? And Camille-sensei, is she... is she going to summon the Crimson Lotus Blade? Good heavens, her opponent is just a student, is she really going to do this?"

Some students couldn't withstand the pressure and cried out in alarm. If they had previously only been there to watch the spectacle, they couldn't sit still now. Once Camille summoned the Crimson Lotus Blade to attack, the surrounding area would inevitably be affected, and they would suffer the consequences.

"Everyone, let's find somewhere to take refuge! This is too chaotic. What bad luck! Why did we have to come here to watch this commotion?" a student shouted. These were all upperclassmen from the academy who had either witnessed Camille's deeds or heard about them.

Knowing that staying far away from Camille was the best option at this time was to be aware of the situation.

"Durey, what's going on with them? Something seems off." Lance was also startled by the scene.

"What else is there to say? Isn't it obvious? What is Sterling relying on to dare to challenge Teacher Camille? This is just too reckless!" Kelly's face was ashen. She knew that the situation was getting out of control and gestured for Dure and the other to back away.

"Is this the power of magic-powered weapons? It's a wonderful feeling. As long as you have magic-powered weapons, you can fight against powerful magical beasts and even have power comparable to a dragon." Du Lei stared intently at every move on the stage, afraid of missing even the slightest detail.

"Durey, Kelly, everyone's gone to take refuge. Should we go too? If they fight here, everyone will be affected. I've never seen a fight make such a commotion before, especially between students and teachers. Oh, look..."

Although Lance was very curious, he knew that now was not the time to watch the excitement. Just as he was about to back away, he suddenly noticed the changes in Sterling's body, which startled him. He immediately reminded Dure and Kelly to look over.

“Sterling… there’s black light appearing on his body. What’s going on? Could it be that he also possesses magical weapons?” Dure looked at Sterling’s body reaction with suspicion. It was exactly the same as Camille’s when she was preparing to summon the Crimson Lotus Blade.

"I knew you had some guts, kid. So this is it. This delicious and sweet aroma is just right. I'll enjoy this feast." Camille didn't back down but advanced. She raised her hand high, and the light in her hand grew even brighter. Soon, the outline of a battle blade appeared.

"stop"

172 Freshman Assembly

Seeing that Camille and Sterling were about to start fighting, turning the freshman orientation into a brawl, the students who sensed something was wrong retreated and fled for cover, creating utter chaos. Just then, a sharp voice rang out, forcefully stopping the situation from spiraling out of control.

"Professor Camille, what are you doing? Today is the freshman orientation. We invited you here to share your experiences with the new students and say a few simple words, not to fight. Can you please restrain yourself? And you, how dare you attack a teacher? Who gave you the audacity?"

The one who stopped Camille and Sterling was none other than Charlotte. He had originally planned to make a grand entrance at the end of the freshman assembly. As the chief examiner, he could be considered a guide for this year's freshmen to some extent, and he intended to recruit promising talents under his wing.

He had made extensive preparations for this, memorizing his speech several times. However, just as he was confidently preparing to go on stage to give his speech, he heard that Camille had gotten into a fight with a student. Such a thing would be impossible if it happened to someone else, and he didn't believe any of the rumors.

But since this happened to Camille, he wasn't surprised at all. He rushed over, fearing that if he was too late, they would have demolished the academy.

"What, Charlotte? When did it become your business to meddle in my affairs?" Camille didn't take Charlotte seriously and dismissed her words with disdain.

"I was just practicing with my teacher," Sterling explained, sounding completely self-righteous.

"Even if you want to spar, you have to consider the occasion. Today is the freshman assembly, the first day for freshmen. Professor Camille, I'm begging you, please don't hold a grudge against students. Just for the sake of the former dean." Charlotte was truly at a loss for words.

One of these two people was the granddaughter of the old dean, whom he couldn't afford to offend, and the other was an important talent he was eager to win over. This put him in a very difficult position, as it wouldn't be appropriate to help either of them.

"Don't try to pressure me with that old geezer. Who knows where he is now, or even if he's still alive?" Camille retorted irritably, harboring deep resentment towards the old man.

“It looks like we can’t fight anymore. What a pity. Teacher Camille, I won’t forget the grudge from that kick.” Sterling looked at Charlotte, knowing that he and Camille wouldn’t be able to fight. He spat out another mouthful of blood, wiped his mouth, and it was covered in bright red blood.

He was literally smashed into the wall just now. It's unbelievable that his fragile body could withstand such a kick.

"Is that so? I'll be at the academy these next few days, waiting for you to come and take your revenge." Camille was very annoyed that her mood had been disturbed. She glanced around and saw that the people nearby had moved dozens of meters away and were looking over hesitantly. The commotion she had made earlier was quite loud, and some students had even come over to see what was going on.

Charlotte breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that Camille and Sterling had finally stopped.

"You can handle it yourself. I'm leaving now." Camille waved her hand and left without looking back. As for the unfinished freshman assembly, she completely forgot about it. She wouldn't care about such trivial matters.

"Hey, Camille, Camille is really a reckless guy! Hey, your name is Sterling, right? I'm saying, aren't you being a bit too bold, daring to challenge Camille? Do you know she only used less than one-fifth of her power just now?"

Charlotte tried to call out to Camille, but she ignored him completely and quickly walked away. He then turned to Sterling and questioned him reproachfully.

"From one-tenth to one-fifth? I'm looking forward to the day she goes all out." Sterling looked a little disappointed. He wanted to challenge Camille at her peak, not a low-powered version who deliberately suppressed her strength.

"Although you have good talent, you are far behind Camille in terms of experience and cultivation. It's good for young people to have ambition, and it's worth encouraging, but you still have to be realistic about your abilities. I'm talking to you, why did you leave?" Charlotte said earnestly in a lecturing tone.

He intended to win Sterling over, which at first glance seemed like an attitude of protecting Sterling. He also tried to make Sterling realize this. However, before he could finish speaking, Sterling ignored him and turned away. By the time Charlotte realized what was happening, Sterling was already far away.

"Damn it, this guy is so arrogant and rude! Does he know who I am? I'm the future vice dean of Maple Leaf Academy!" Charlotte was furious at losing face. Just then, a staff member hurriedly walked over to him.

"Professor Charlotte, how should we proceed with the freshman orientation?" a staff member inquired about the arrangements for the freshman orientation.

"How else can we host this? It's already turned into this mess. There's no need to hold it anymore. Cancel it. Why are you all glaring at me? Go back to your homes." Charlotte was furious and had no time to attend to any freshman orientation, even though she had stayed up all night and spent a lot of effort memorizing the speech.

But now all of that is meaningless. He swaggered away, leaving the students with emotions that felt like they had been on a rollercoaster.

"What just happened? I keep wondering if I'm hallucinating. Sterling... he actually dared to go head-to-head with Teacher Camille and not be at a disadvantage! That's unbelievable! He's a newcomer, just like us. How can he be so amazing?"

"Ms. Camille definitely didn't use her full strength, not even a tenth, no, not even a hundredth, otherwise Sterling wouldn't have had a chance."

"But Ms. Camille's expression just now didn't seem like she was joking. Anyway, it looks like the days ahead won't be too boring; lots of interesting things are bound to happen." The students whispered among themselves, some sighing and others envious.

Lance, who had been staring at Camille's back, finally looked away after she had completely disappeared from sight.

"Hey, what are you looking at? Is it that good-looking? You're so lecherous. Men are all the same, aren't they?" Kelly glared at Lance and waved her hand in front of his face. Otherwise, who knows how long Lance would have kept staring.

"Beautiful? Of course it's beautiful! Pshaw, Kelly, what nonsense are you talking about? I didn't even look at that Camille teacher. You know, they're both teachers, so why is there such a big difference between her and Charlotte?" Lance compared Camille and Charlotte, looking very melancholy.

173 Magic Armament

What was supposed to be a perfectly good freshman orientation ceremony was abruptly cut short by the brawl between Sterling and Camille. This was not good news for Charlotte, as such an incident at this moment was, to some extent, a dereliction of duty on her part as an administrator.

In fact, during the teachers' meeting, someone used this incident to attack him, which made him furious. However, for the students, this kind of opening ceremony was undoubtedly more interesting than a boring speech, and Lance changed his opinion of Sterling because of it.

"I never expected that Sterling would be so bold as to attack a teacher, and the academy didn't punish him at all. That's really great. That kid doesn't seem so bad after all." Lance didn't have a good impression of Sterling at first.

But through this incident, Sterling made a name for himself. He was the first person to dare to challenge the most difficult teacher in the academy on the first day of school. Of course, the result was not very optimistic. Although Charlotte appeared in time to stop their fight, everyone could see that Sterling had no chance of winning.

"What I'm more concerned about is that Sterling actually possesses a magical weapon, Kelly. Do you have one too?" Dure's approach to the problem wasn't about watching the spectacle; he was very interested in the dark light that Sterling released during his battle with Camille.

“Durey, it’s very rude of you to ask about someone’s magical weaponry,” Kelly shook her head, not answering the question directly.

"Oh, excuse me, why?" Lance was stunned. He looked at Kelly with confusion, not understanding why she would suddenly say such a thing.

“Idiot, magical weaponry is the most important skill we magical users possess. How can we easily leak it out?” Kelly glared at Lance. In her opinion, whatever Lance said was meaningless and could be ignored.

“But everyone knows that Teacher Camille has her magical weapon, the Crimson Blade. What’s there to hide?” Lance still couldn’t understand. He had clearly heard Kelly mention the Crimson Blade when Camille was fighting Sterling.

"Because Teacher Camille is a celebrity. A celebrity is someone who has been through many public battles. Everyone has seen her a lot, so naturally they know the attributes and abilities of her magical weapons. But for other non-celebrity individuals, they will definitely hide their magical weapon attributes well," Kelly explained.

"So why hide it? Isn't that sneaking around?" Lance still couldn't understand.

"Then let me ask you, Lance, are you ticklish?" Kelly suddenly asked a seemingly unrelated question.

"Why are you asking me that? I'm not going to tell you what you're up to now." Langston suddenly became a little flustered.

“That’s right.” Kelly was neither surprised nor angry at Lance’s reaction.

"That's right, what are you talking about?" Lance was becoming increasingly confused by what she said.

“Lance, you’re ticklish, but you don’t want others to know. By the same token, you definitely don’t want others to know your weaknesses in future battles, right? Magic energy has different attributes, and different attributes have mutual restraint. It’s perfectly understandable to hide them.”

After thinking for a moment, Dure realized what Kelly meant and decided to explain directly.

"Hidden attributes? Then we'll find out what attributes they are after one fight. It's not a secret either," Lance continued.

"Do you think magical weapons are just about attributes? Different magical weapons have different characteristics. As the art of war says, 'Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated.' If you keep acting like this, you won't even know how you'll lose to others in the future. Use your brain!" Kelly gradually lost her patience.

"I'm getting more and more confused about these features. Why are they so complicated?" Lance scratched his head, feeling like his brain wasn't up to the task.

"Because magical weapons are made using the crystal cores of magical beasts as materials, and magical beasts have different characteristics. For example, the fire lizard we encountered can breathe fire and belongs to the fire attribute, but in addition to the fire attribute, it has a scorching effect that can continuously burn the opponent."

Kelly held back her outburst because Durex was there; she was explaining this purely to Durex.

"Different characteristics can allow magical weapons to have a surprise effect at specific times. If they are exposed early, the opponent will be prepared, right?" Dure listened carefully to what Kelly said, like a sponge, constantly absorbing knowledge.

“That’s right, and there’s one more thing.” Kelly nodded. Talking to Dure was much easier than talking to Lance.

"What else? Kelly, can you be a little more concise? Why are you always rambling on and on?" Lance urged immediately.

"Magic-powered weapons are not only made from precious raw materials, but their production is also a lengthy process. Only alchemists can forge them. Magic-powered weapons have existed for over a thousand years, yet even today, the most renowned magic-powered weapons can still be counted on one's fingers. You understand what I mean?"

Kelly ignored Lance; talking to him was an insult to her intelligence. She turned to ask Dure instead.

"In other words, excellent magical weapons are passed down from generation to generation, existing as family totems and symbols. Once Kelly reveals your magical weapon, it means you are exposing the family behind you, is that right?" Dure asked tentatively.

“That’s right, so I didn’t mean to hide it from you, Du Lei. But I think you’ll know when the time comes.” Kelly nodded frankly. She was a cautious person and would never reveal her trump card lightly.

“I see, I understand now. So Sterling also has magical weapons, which means he also has a powerful family backing him. But he…” Dure recalled what the gloomy boy had said when he first met Sterling.

Does the fact that someone who hates the nobility also comes from a noble family mean that he hates himself as well?

“I don’t know Sterling’s background either. If he had summoned his magical weapon during the day, I might have known him. Like I said before, as long as we stay here, I think the answers to those questions will become clear.” Kelly shook her head; she didn’t know Sterling.

"You two have been talking for so long, aren't you hungry? Where's the academy's cafeteria? I'm so hungry, I really want to eat something." Lance rubbed his stomach and looked around trying to find the cafeteria. Maple Leaf Academy was just too big.

Even though he is now a member of the academy, he still doesn't understand the academy's environment and layout.