The most shameless alchemist in history

The girl laughed as she said this, but although she was smiling, her eyes were still full of mockery and resentment.

"If it wasn't completely destroyed, what happened next?" Dure's expression turned serious. This was a major oversight and a serious situation.

"Later, the remains of the Void creatures attacked those who were dancing with excitement at having driven away their ugly enemies, including that man. They were all killed by the Void creatures. Although my sister sensed something was wrong and rushed back, it was too late."

The girl shook her head as she spoke, her expression sorrowful and bitter. She was denying everything her sister had done. If her sister hadn't gone back then, things certainly wouldn't have turned out that way. She felt no pity for the person who committed the crime being punished; she felt sorry for her sister.

"So, this country that once existed in the forest was retaliated against and completely destroyed after it drove away its savior? Then what about your sister?" Although Nono was not a witness to history, she became increasingly angry after hearing what the girl said.

"My sister had already been heartbroken by that man once. She should have left him long ago, stayed far away from him. But she still couldn't let him go, and she still rushed back to protect him, using her last strength to fight the creatures of the Void Abyss, ultimately perishing together with them."

As the girl spoke these words, the frozen state had completely dissipated. If she wanted, she could have easily killed Nono and Dure's group, but she didn't. She lay on the ground with her hands on the ground, crystal tears rolling down her cheeks as she sobbed softly.

"What a pitiful person, yet also a great one. So this is the true history that happened in Ash Tower? I finally understand." Nono nodded. After hearing this story, she felt melancholy and her mood became very low. She felt some sympathy for the girl in front of her.

"This place was destroyed by the creatures of the Void Abyss, so how did you end up here?" Du Lei asked, unlike Nuonuo who was more sentimental.

"I followed my sister because I was worried about her, but by the time I arrived here, it was too late. This place has been completely turned into ruins. Everyone is dead. That man is dead, my sister is dead, and I am all alone," the girl said, choking back tears.

She hugged her knees with both hands, and at that moment she looked like an ordinary girl, so lonely and helpless.

"So how did you end up trapped here?" Dure pressed on with this question.

"Durey, do you have any compassion at all? Everyone else is already in this situation, and you still..." Nono glared at Durey.

“I wanted to take my sister away. I didn’t want her to stay with these despicable humans. But when I arrived at this tower, which had turned to ashes where my sister fought the creatures of the Void, I triggered the sealing barrier here, sealing me away until today,” the girl continued.

"What sealing barrier?" Du Lei frowned.

"It must be a sealing barrier left behind by that man," Nono answered the girl's question.

"He who stayed behind, isn't he dead?" Dure still couldn't understand.

“Although I hate that man and he’s definitely no good, I have to admit that alchemists who can open the Gate of the Void are top-tier beings of their time. He must have made preparations before opening it, trying to seal away the creatures of the Void,” Nono said softly.

"So, the sealing barrier was prepared for the creatures of the Void Abyss? If you decided to seal it, why summon it out?" Du Lei was still confused.

"You really are an idiot. I already said that he wasn't after the creatures of the Void Abyss, but rather what was behind the Gate of the Void Abyss. Those things don't even exist in this world. Anyway, the barrier was definitely left by that man to deal with the creatures of the Void Abyss, but she accidentally triggered it."

Nono explained impatiently, but she quickly realized she had said a bit too much and stopped in time.

"There's one more question." Du Lei nodded, not asking any further questions.

"Aren't you annoying? Why do you ask so many questions?" Nono said, sounding a little annoyed.

"Ask me anything, I'll answer whatever I can," the girl said, wiping away her tears and choking back sobs.

"What exactly is hidden in this Ash Tower that attracted Kashu's covetousness? And it seems that the box doesn't contain what he wants, which means that something here was taken first. How did this happen?" Dure asked the key question.

"Is this what you're asking about? There is indeed something hidden inside this Ash Tower, a gift that man gave to my sister. However, my sister was heartbroken later and didn't take it, leaving it inside the tower." The girl remembered this and answered softly.

"What is it?" Dure asked, staring into her eyes.

"A starstone," the girl answered truthfully.

206 Let's leave together

Upon hearing this word, Du Lei's heart skipped a beat, because it was not unfamiliar to him. In fact, he had seen it not long ago. Of course, the one he had seen was not the one in the Ash Tower, but the one hidden under the vast snow mountain north of Hot Spring Village, which had caused a lot of people to fight over it.

But in the end, he, an unknown boy, became the ultimate victor, and even managed to kill everyone at one point. Dure didn't know how Kashu escaped, nor did he know whether the others trapped underground like Kashu were also safe and sound.

The star stone he had finally managed to obtain was ultimately given to a person from the Eastern Continent named Nan Yin. He didn't understand why he did it, nor did he feel annoyed or regretful. Nearly a month later, he discovered traces of the star stone again.

"There's actually a Star Stone hidden around Maple Leaf Academy!" Nono, who was originally immersed in the story the girl was telling, suddenly became nervous. Her expression became flustered, and she was obviously very concerned about the Star Stone. Even Flying Fish next to her suddenly became serious.

"Yes, there is indeed one. As a top alchemist, that man possessed many treasures, and the Star Stone was one of them. He gave it to my sister, and she liked it very much, but she never used the power of the Star Stone. She kept it only as a souvenir."

The girl nodded. She knew very well about her sister's affairs and had never forgotten them even after hundreds of years.

"But the Star Stone isn't in the Ash Tower now, which means it's been taken away?" Nono asked intently.

"I'm not entirely sure about that either. When I was first sealed, that star stone was the core of the seal. It was precisely because of that power that I was able to be sealed and fall into a long slumber. Now that the star stone is gone, the power of the sealing barrier is slowly fading away, and that's when I woke up."

The girl wasn't quite sure about this either; before she was sealed away, she clearly remembered how dazzling the starstone looked.

"It seems that Kashu got the information from somewhere that there was a star stone hidden in the Ash Tower, so he risked coming here. But someone beat him to it and took the star stone. Damn it, how come I didn't know about this? Someone beat me to it." Nono clenched her fists.

Her expression was one of great frustration. She cared deeply about Star Stone, and Dure noticed all of this.

"What's going on here? Cough cough. Um, that's Teacher Nuonuo and Feiyu over there. Are you all alright? I'm coming to help you. Hey, who's that guy?" Just then, a commotion came from outside, and someone rushed over.

Dure instinctively turned around and saw a girl leading a group of people clearing away the broken rubble as they rushed over. Dure was new to Maple Leaf Academy and didn't know many people, but he recognized this girl because they had met not long ago; she was Elune, a senior student.

"Elune, why are you taking so long to arrive? We were almost killed just now." Feiyu was no stranger to Elune. Although Elune was one of the most unapproachable people in Maple Leaf Academy, Feiyu seemed to have a fairly close relationship with her, so he could complain about her.

“I also wanted to get here as soon as possible, but a large number of swamp monsters appeared nearby, and they held us up for some time. Also, the roads inside the tower were broken. We risked the tower collapsing to get here. How did you end up here?” Elune answered Flying Fish’s question.

At the same time, her attention was focused on Dure. She clearly remembered that this guy was the newcomer who had annoyed her on the training field a few days ago. Now, in this dangerous place, she was seeing someone she didn't want to see, which inevitably made her a little angry.

"The reason I'm here is because..." Dure was also somewhat surprised by Elune's appearance and didn't know how to answer hastily.

“I brought him here for practical training. So, Xiao Ai, do you know him?” Nono answered the question for Dure, helping him out of the awkward situation. At the same time, she blinked and looked at Elune, then at Dure, looking somewhat curious.

"Teacher Nono, you brought him here to teach? There must be some mistake here!" Elune was very surprised by this result.

“That’s right, that’s right, I’m the one who brought him here to teach, there’s absolutely no mistake about that. So, Ai, is there a problem?” Nono gave an affirmative answer again. She scrutinized Dure and Elune, trying to find some clues between them.

"No problem, then who is this girl?" Elune realized she was being too concerned about something and immediately denied it, glossing over the question of meeting Dure, and instead asked the girl who was gradually thawing from her frozen state.

"She is, she is..." Nono was stumped by Elune's question. She hesitated, unsure how to answer.

"This tremor is bad, it's not good. The Ash Tower is going to collapse. We must leave here immediately. We can talk about everything else once we're out." Dure's ears twitched. Although the Ash Tower had stopped making loud noises earlier, the sound of tiny cracks spreading hadn't stopped.

Now, as he listened carefully, he heard the "click" sound again, and the noise was getting louder and louder, which gave him a bad feeling.

“Understood, Flying Fish, Xiao Ai, let’s go quickly. We can discuss other things outside. Also, come with us. I know you’ve been through a lot and endured a lot, but we’re not bad people. Please believe me.” Nuonuo looked around.

Although her hearing was not as good as Dure's, the noise from the Ash Tower was getting louder and louder, and solid cracks were appearing on the walls, spreading faster and faster, threatening to collapse. While gesturing for Flying Fish and the others to leave, she also invited the girl to leave with them.

"Leave, leave this place?" The girl hesitated, she had never thought about such a thing.

“It’s time for you to break free from the shackles of the past. Your sister certainly wouldn’t want to see you forever wallowing in the pain of the past, right? Let’s go.” Nono extended her hand again, her attitude very sincere.

"I understand. I trust you. I'll leave with you." After hesitating for a while, the girl finally nodded.

"Alright, let's go quickly." Nono breathed a sigh of relief after getting the girl's consent. At her signal, the group hurriedly left the collapsing tower through the exit.

207 Don't mess with her

The commotion at Ash Tower was significant, affecting the entire Maple Leaf Academy. Ordinary students were confused about what had happened, assuming it was just a normal earthquake. However, the academy's teachers and elites were well aware of the situation, and a steady stream of people rushed to Ash Tower.

However, they were much slower than Nono and the others. By the time they arrived, the tower that had stood for hundreds of years was slowly collapsing. It could be seen clearly even from several kilometers away, with a large amount of dust and ash rising into the sky accompanied by a loud rumbling sound.

The ground trembled, startling the birds in the forest. The giant clock on the academy's clock tower was also affected, its second hand swinging back and forth, unable to move correctly. Students who had reached the outer perimeter of the Ash Tower quickly moved away to avoid being hit by the flying, broken boulders.

"The Ash Tower! The Ash Tower has collapsed? This has never happened before in all these years! This is terrible! Oh, right, where is Teacher Nono? Didn't she already enter the Ash Tower? Hey, hey, she wouldn't have..." Someone in the crowd exclaimed. It was Teacher Fant.

"Tch, that annoying woman died along with the Ash Tower? I never expected to see her end like this. It's really a shame." Some people lamented that Nono hadn't escaped in time, while others were dismissive of the situation.

"Teacher Owl, isn't that a bit too harsh? Teacher Nono is our colleague, a member of the academy, and she went to Ash Tower to track down the murderer." Someone was very dissatisfied with Owl's remarks.

"It's clearly because she was too eager for quick success and rushed in without proper preparation. Then, she lacked the necessary skills, so this is how she ended up. Who will sympathize with her? She deserves it all." Owl scoffed at this. She and Nono didn't get along well to begin with; they were practically enemies.

"Cough cough, that was really dangerous just now! I heard flies buzzing around from the beginning, and I wondered who it was. Oh, it's you, Teacher Owl! What, are you surprised to see me?" Just then, a figure emerged from the rising dust.

"Oh, it's Teacher Nuonuo! You're still alive and alright! That's wonderful!" Someone recognized Nuonuo and her group emerging from the smoke and dust and exclaimed in surprise. Nearby students also gathered around, cheering and jumping for joy.

"Although the process was a bit tortuous, we managed to escape safely in the end. I'm really sorry that we didn't let some people get what they wanted." Nono brushed the dust off her body and emerged from the ruins in a disheveled state. Her words were barbed and directed at the owl.

"If you're so eager to die, I wouldn't mind giving you a hand. Tch, what an annoying woman. Standing next to you makes the air feel like it's rotting. I'm leaving now." The owl glared at Nono, crossed her arms, and quickly strode away.

"Goodbye and don't come back." Nono watched the owl leave, the two of them exchanging barbs, their tone full of tension.

"That child is so young, is she also a student at Maple Leaf Academy?" Du Lei asked疑惑地问道 after watching the owl leave.

“Student, do you think she looks like a student? She’s a teacher, a teacher at the academy like me. Actually, there are some differences.” Nuonuo spoke with disdain for the owl, but when she mentioned the differences, she hesitated and didn’t continue.

“What’s different?” Dure felt that the owl looked familiar, but he couldn’t remember where he had seen her before.

"It's nothing. Just know that we don't get along. I don't like her, and she doesn't like me. Oh, by the way, let me tell you something." Nono glossed over this, not intending to explain in detail, nor did she think it was necessary.

"What is it?" Du Lei asked suspiciously. Although Nono was sharp-tongued, their relationship was not bad after this trip to the Ash Tower.

"You've gotten into a grudge with that young lady, Yuffie, haven't you?" Nono asked Du Lei, squinting her eyes.

"I guess so. How did you know?" Du Lei hesitated for a moment, then nodded and readily admitted it.

"This matter has spread like wildfire, the whole academy knows about it, of course I know, and it's not just Euphemia, you've offended Ai too, haven't you? She hasn't given you a kind look since just now." Nono pointed to Elune, who was talking to another teacher in front of her, and was reporting the situation.

"There were some misunderstandings, but it's all okay. By the way, you haven't told me what happened to that young lady Euphemia." Dure felt a headache coming on when he saw Elune. He had provoked her because of Lance. Back in Ash Tower, her eyes could have killed him.

“Euphrates is the owl’s student, the only kind of student he teaches,” Nono said earnestly.

“Her students, but she looks younger than Euphemia,” Dure said, somewhat surprised.

"I know you have great talent. I've heard them mention it before. You have the talent for red magic energy reaction. Although I haven't figured out where your talent lies yet, the magic energy reaction crystal doesn't lie. But you should know that this world is never short of geniuses."

As a teacher at the academy, Nono has many sources of information. Although she only met Du Lei for the first time today, she already knows about his situation.

"You mean..." Du Lei agreed with Nono's words, but for a moment he couldn't figure out why she would say that.

"Although it's hard to admit, Owl's talent is very strong, not just ordinary strong, so you should avoid provoking her. Of course, that young lady will definitely cause you trouble. I advise you to avoid her if you can." Nono earnestly advised Du Lei, and it didn't sound like a joke.

"Thank you for reminding me. I'll try my best. By the way, I have a question." Du Lei shook his head slightly. If it weren't for what happened when he first arrived in Maple City, he might have been able to tolerate it. But after running into Yuffie one after another, their relationship had deteriorated to a very bad point.

"What's your question?" Nono asked, frowning.

"How does your talent compare to that owl teacher?" Dure asked, curious.

"Well, guess!" Nono winked at Du Lei, her face beaming with a smile.

The afterglow of the setting sun shone down, illuminating her profile perfectly; it was breathtakingly beautiful.

208, which direction?

When Du Lei finally arrived at the cafeteria after a long day, it was already evening. He had already missed the peak dining hours, and there were still only a few people scattered around. Although the Ash Tower had caused quite a stir, the academy's explanation was that it had collapsed due to years of disrepair.

"Hey, Dure, do you really believe the statement the academy gave? People are saying all sorts of things behind your backs, and it all feels a bit suspicious. By the way, where did you go during the day? You looked like something was wrong, and it seems like you were injured," Lance asked from the side.

He hadn't seen Dure all day, until after sunset when he saw Dure walk over listlessly. He asked Dure how he was doing, but Dure didn't say anything, he just came over to eat. Seeing that Dure was still preoccupied, Lance couldn't help but ask him.

"It's nothing, just a small accident, it's alright. Are you referring to the academy's statement about the Ash Tower? Everyone will forget about it soon enough, so there's no need to worry about what happened." Du Lei shook his head.