The most shameless alchemist in history

If Elune's words had given Durree a glimmer of hope, what she said now was undoubtedly a bucket of cold water.

"Then what you said is the same as not saying anything at all, Dure. I knew she was just looking for trouble and making fun of us. Let's ignore her and go." Lance couldn't stand Elune giving people hope only to personally extinguish it, and angrily tried to drag Dure away.

“Although it can’t be permanently repaired, it can temporarily plug the gap and prevent the crystal bottle from leaking for a short time. However…” Elune ignored Lance’s furious, almost murderous look. She paused here and turned to look at Dure.

"But what?" Du Lei knew from her words that she definitely wasn't just there to tease him, but actually had a plan.

"However, there may be significant side effects. I advise you to think carefully before deciding whether to try it," Elune said solemnly.

"Hey, you're not deliberately trying to trick Dure, are you?" Lance immediately became wary.

“No problem, we can try it,” Du Lei nodded emphatically.

"What, Dure? Don't believe her so easily. Don't forget how she messed with us before." Lance was a little flustered.

"You're going to try it without even asking about the potential side effects?" Elune gave Dure a playful look.

"No matter what the aftereffects may be, I cannot fall here. So bring it on. Even if I become lame or lose an eye, I will not hesitate for a moment," Du Lei said resolutely.

His alchemical research had only just begun and was showing some promise. If he were to collapse here, not only would all his efforts be in vain, but his future would also be bleak. He didn't want to slink back to the hot spring village in disgrace.

He firmly believed that he had a much larger stage ahead of him, and even if he were to fall one day, it would be on the path of struggle, on the path of striving to climb to the summit, not as pathetically as he was now.

274 Advancing into the Fire Pit

As night falls, the bustling Maple Leaf Academy gradually falls silent. Occasionally, a few buildings still have scattered lights flickering, but they are not far from being turned off. For example, the training grounds are open until 10 o'clock at most, and this is about the time to close.

Looking towards the training ground from afar, only one light was shining forlornly. Faint sounds came from inside the training ground, as if some people were reluctant to leave and were still carrying out their final training. Meanwhile, on the secluded path outside the training ground, shadowy figures flickered.

"Leo, what's wrong with Elune? Didn't she have a grudge against that kid? Why did she suddenly change her attitude and go to help him? And you too, last time you actually used a precious crystal bottle to curry favor. I really don't understand what's wrong with the two of you." Someone kept complaining.

In the dim light, his features were not clearly visible; one could only vaguely discern that he was a very handsome young man.

"I think the reasons I gave him the crystal bottle and Elune will help him are probably the same." The young man called Leo thought for a moment and gave this answer. In the dim moonlight, you could see the gold-rimmed glasses on his nose. He was well-dressed and had a noble air about him.

"What's the reason?" The other young man was stunned for a moment, and immediately asked. He knew Leo and Elune.

He knew very well that neither Leo nor Elune had any good feelings towards the guy named Dure, yet under these circumstances, both of them were showing goodwill towards Dure, which he found to be an incredible thing.

"Because of one person," Leo said softly, not hiding anything from him.

The young people became interested in "who they were".

“A little girl named Sherry, her father is a long-time employee of our college, so we have to give him some face,” Leo explained.

"But what is the relationship between that Sherry and Dure?" the young man asked, increasingly puzzled.

"Because Dure and Sherry seem to have met because of something, and they're quite close." Leo wasn't entirely sure about this either.

The young man had assumed there was some special reason, but this reason clearly disappointed him.

“That’s right, that’s it. Pope, I know you promised Boro you’d do his bidding, but I have to remind you of something.” Leo was focused; he knew the temperament of the guy named Pope standing in front of him.

"Alright, alright, I know. What else can you remind me to be careful or not offend anyone, Leo? I'm not as cautious as you. Is there anyone in Maple Leaf Academy that I can't afford to offend? Besides, you know that my relationship with Boro is different. We're best buddies."

Pope scoffed at Leo's reminder, interrupting him and even showing a hint of disdain in his eyes.

“I know about your relationship with Boro, Popp, but…” Leo was still a little worried.

"There are no buts. I will definitely complete the task that Boro asked me to do. You are such a coward, so you don't need to worry about this." Pope patted Leo on the shoulder, turned around and left. A person as willful and lawless as him has never known what fear is.

"I'd be more than happy if you didn't need me to take care of it." Leo had been looking timid and hesitant when he spoke to Pope earlier.

But now that Pope has gone far away, he gave a strange smile, which clearly revealed a hint of conspiracy, but unfortunately Pope couldn't see it.

“Leo, why don’t you just tell Pope that Sherry’s father is that Iron Heart teacher? That’s the real reason you’re trying to befriend that guy named Dure. Instead, you just say he’s an old employee. Isn’t that pushing Pope into a fire pit?” A voice sounded behind Leo.

Soon a person came out. With the help of the hazy moonlight, it could be seen that she was a young woman. However, the night was like a veil, obscuring her face. Only a graceful woman could be vaguely discerned.

“I was going to tell him, but he interrupted me in a hurry, so I can’t blame him.” Leo shook his head slightly.

"Is that really the case? Knowing Pope as you do, you know he would definitely do that and wouldn't listen to you, right?" This woman knew Leo well. Although Leo said one thing, she knew that the truth was definitely not like that.

"This is his own fault. Pride and arrogance blinded him, and he looked down on everyone. His family provided him with meticulous protection, so he almost never encountered setbacks. Occasionally experiencing setbacks is not a bad thing," Leo said with a smile.

“But the Leo I know isn’t the kind of person who would consider others’ needs in everything he does.” The woman shook her head, unconvinced.

“On the issue of the crown prince, his family and my family have disagreements, so…” Leo smiled meaningfully.

“I see. I understand now. He’s truly unfortunate, and of course, his family is even more unfortunate. They’ve built up their family’s fortunes over so many years, only to have it all destroyed because of him.” The woman nodded in realization, her eyes filled with pity as she watched Pope’s departing figure.

“This is a crazy era, a terrifying era. People like him will only be abandoned and eliminated by the times. There is nothing to pity or regret. As for the others…” Leo turned to look at the training ground, which was still lit up.

"Are you referring to those two people in the training field?" the woman asked tentatively.

"Perhaps they cannot be called people, but only chess pieces. The only difference is in whose hands they fall and what role they will play." Leo did not continue speaking. He quickly turned and left, looking up at the vast moonlight before leaving.

"What a beautiful night," Leo remarked before disappearing into the moonlight.

"If you treat others as pawns, then who are you, the chess player, or just a puppet manipulated by others? The smarter a man is, the more pathetic he is. For me, the only thing I'm fortunate about is that I'm a woman."

After watching Leo leave, the woman also disappeared, but she left in a different direction than Leo.

Those who stand together are not necessarily like-minded; they might just be gravediggers.

There was probably only one thing she could agree on with Leo.

The moonlight is indeed beautiful tonight.

275 Bottle crack

Elune's appearance was a timely help for Dure, but whether she provided a warm fire in the freezing cold or a dangerous flame that could burn a hole in someone was still uncertain. At least when he left the training ground, Lance was still uneasy.

“Hey, Dure, you don’t actually believe what that woman said, do you? And what she gave you, is it really going to work? What if it’s poison? I really can’t understand why she would be so kind as to help us.” Lance continued to persuade him, trying to change Dure’s mind.

“It’s really puzzling what Senior Elune did. She doesn’t seem like the type to meddle in other people’s business. But since she doesn’t say anything, we have no way of knowing the answer. As for this thing, Lance, do you think I have any other choice besides this?” Dure smiled bitterly.

He opened his palm, revealing a vial containing a single, bright red pill, about the size of half a fingernail.

"There are still two days left. There's always a way. And even if she wasn't lying and what she said was true, Du Lei, don't forget what she said next: even if it can temporarily plug the hole in the crystal bottle, once the effect ends, it will make the hole even bigger."

Lance solemnly reminded Dure that although he still didn't understand the crystal bottle or anything like that, he knew it was definitely not a good thing.

"The problem of the leak in the crystal bottle is indeed very troublesome. It's already difficult to deal with now, and if the crack gets bigger, it will be even more troublesome. It's like a poison pill. If you take it, you can live for a few more days, but the consequences of the next poisoning will be more serious. If you don't take it, you will die now."

After a moment's hesitation, knowing that he couldn't convince Lance with those complicated theories, Dure used the most direct and clear analogy.

"Can death be this exaggerated?" Lance was startled by Dure; he was a person who easily took things to heart.

"Of course, it's not actual death, just to some extent." Dure shook his head; he was just using an analogy.

“That’s alright, it really scared me to death. But Du Lei, if it really doesn’t work out, we can just leave. There’s more than one Maple Leaf Academy in the world, we can go somewhere else. Don’t worry, if you get expelled, I’ll go with you,” Lance said with certainty.

“No, you can’t.” Du Lei shook his head.

"What"

"This problem will still exist even after leaving Maple Leaf Academy," Du Lei sighed.

"Durey, I don't quite understand what you mean." Lance scratched his head; this question was far too complicated for him.

“If leaving Maple Leaf Academy would solve the problem of the crystal bottle’s crack, I would leave without hesitation. But even if I leave Maple Leaf Academy, the crack will still exist,” Du Lei explained further.

“But maybe we can find a solution after we leave Maple Leaf Academy. It’s better than letting the problem get worse.” Lance wasn’t good at thinking, but he still understood the most basic principles.

“This world is vast. Without any clues, how long would it take to find anything? Besides, we are not strong enough yet, and we don’t have the conditions to venture out. So, I won’t leave here until I’m fully prepared.” Du Lei was very clear about the current situation.

"Are you really going to take this risk?" Lance believed that he himself would not have made such a choice.

"It's just an adventure, nothing serious," Dure chuckled lightly, speaking nonchalantly.

"But," Lance still disagreed.

"Hey, isn't that Lance?" Just then, a male student called out to Lance from not far away.

"You're Kabu, what do you need?" Lance recognized the male student; he was someone he had met at the training ground.

"Well, I have something I need to discuss with you in detail. Can we go over there and talk? It'll only be a little while." Kabu looked at Lance, then at Dure, hesitating as if he wanted to say something but couldn't.

"There are no outsiders here, why can't we just say what's going on here, why do we have to go over there?" Lance felt a little confused.

"Well, it's a bit difficult to say," Kabu forced a smile, looking quite embarrassed.

"It's alright. It might be something very private and important. Lance, you go ahead. I'll head back now." Dure could tell that Kabu was hesitant because of his presence, and that he was clearly trying to avoid him, the third party, when he was telling Lance what he wanted to say.

"Alright then, I'll be back in a bit." Lance nodded in agreement since Dure had said so.

"Thank you for understanding, Du Lei. Lance, come here quickly, let me tell you, this is what happened." Kabu breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Du Lei relent. He immediately pulled Lance aside, and they walked away, whispering to each other, their figures and voices growing further and further away.

“Simply sealing the crack in the crystal bottle temporarily isn’t enough; it must be filled with magical elements. We only have two days? That’s rather tight.” Dure looked at the potion bottle in his hand, appearing quite confident in front of Lance.

But now he is showing his worries, because he is not sure what level he can reach even if he repairs the crystal bottle in a short time. Besides, having the bottle alone is useless; it has to be filled with water.

“There’s no use worrying about this now. We can only take it one step at a time.” Du Lei sighed and walked along the quiet, tree-lined path. It was quiet all around and there was hardly anyone around, but Du Lei didn’t care. He had been doing this often for the past month.

Aside from occasionally seeing male and female students on dates, I didn't encounter anything unusual during that time.

"Strange, how did that guy named Kabu know my name? I've never seen him before. Did Lance tell him? But there's no reason for him to recognize me so quickly and say my name. Besides, this is my first time at the training ground." Dure suddenly remembered something.

This seemingly innocuous detail made him stop in his tracks.

"Lance has been gone for far too long, and Lance and I just came out of the training ground when we ran into him. It's as if he knew we were in the training ground beforehand and was waiting for us there. It's suspicious, really suspicious." The more Dure thought about it, the more uneasy he felt.

After he realized there was a possibility, he quickened his pace, realizing something was wrong.

But at that moment, a beam of white light suddenly descended in front of him.

276 has unleashed his ultimate move.

A sudden white light falling in the darkness is not a good omen. In fact, it was a blade of light reflecting the pale moonlight. Du Lei reacted quickly and dodged the attack. However, the attacks from the shadows were not limited to this one. A buzzing sound of blades followed him closely.

It was obvious that the first strike was just a feint to distract him, and the next one was the real killing blow. If it were an ordinary person, even someone like Lance, he might have already been hit, but Dure reacted quickly, and he had even considered this possibility.

He narrowly escaped the successive attacks, a purely instinctive reaction, without any conscious thought. This is understandable, though; if he had to spend time thinking about how to dodge, there wouldn't have been enough time, and he would have been chopped into mincemeat long ago.

Even though Du Lei managed to dodge with a combination of alertness and luck, his opponents were not going to give up so easily. Five or six figures jumped down from the nearby trees in quick succession. They worked in perfect coordination and their attacks were decisive and ruthless, giving Du Lei no time to catch his breath and keeping him constantly on the run.

Even with his exceptional reflexes, there's a limit to his stamina and speed. Once he reaches that limit, it's only a matter of time before he gets hit.

"What's wrong with that guy Kabu? He's been dragging his feet on such a small thing for ages. I have no patience to listen to him. Go back and get some sleep. Hey, what's going on up ahead? What are you doing?" Lance walked over at this moment.

Kabu was about to pull him along to say something more, but Lance was never the patient type. After a long while, he still couldn't get anything out of Kabu, so Lance said goodbye and left. Although Kabu tried to drag him away, Lance wasn't having any of it.