He wanted to say of course, but he couldn't speak these two short words for a while.
Xia Fan asked himself, his original intention has not changed, but to this day, some inexplicable things are getting in the way of his goal.
For some reason, the scene of the old lady happily thanking him suddenly appeared in his mind.
"I think it's better for you to think less about this kind of problem." Shangguan Cai came over and said, "Of course there is a reason for the Privy Council's arrangement. You may have your own ideas, but why should it listen to you? You can still Can't you make it look at you with a straight eye?"
"Sister Shangguan, what are you talking about?" Luo Youer asked doubtfully.
"It's nothing. I lived in Gyeonggi before and met too many people who don't know how to be wise. Having an idea but no power to realize it will only increase your troubles in the end." She shrugged, "Actually, I am the same, so that's why Will be assigned to Shenzhou."
"I don't understand what you mean..." Xia Fan shook his head.
"Actually, you understand, you just don't want to admit it. To put it in layman's terms, just recognize the reality and stop competing with the Privy Council." Shangguan Cai walked forward with his hands behind his back, "We alchemists, listen to me honestly. Just give orders. It would be nice to help ordinary people when you have time and earn some extra income. Maybe you will get tired of it after a few years."
"How many more years can he have?" Luo You'er expressed deep doubts. "With the atmosphere at that time, I even suspected that the master was going to kick him out on the spot."
"It's normal to drive him away, but since Mr. Zhang didn't do that, he probably wanted to give him another chance to see the consequences, right?"
Shangguan Cai turned around and raised the corner of his mouth, "However, no matter what the Privy Council Palace looks like, you will not be willing to give up everything you have now. Am I right, Mr. Xia?"
Being so aroused by her, Xia Fan calmed down.
That's right, fantasy is meaningless. Just because he can't change it now doesn't mean it will be the same in the future. Besides, there is no conflict between studying alchemy and eliminating evil spirits. There is no need for him to be limited to the moment.
"What I do has nothing to do with you. Thank you for your concern."
"You're welcome." She didn't mean to shirk at all.
"Okay, okay, let's not talk about this." Seeing that the atmosphere was a bit weird, Wei Wushuang took the initiative to suggest, "How about we have dinner together today? I'll treat you. It's a banquet for the establishment of the first alchemist team in Jinxia City!"
"Agree!" Luo Youer immediately raised her arms and agreed.
"I don't care," Shangguan Cai glanced at Xia Fan, "It depends on this one."
"Brother Xia..." Wei Wushuang winked.
Xia Fan sighed. Although he was choked by Shangguan Cai, if it weren't for her, he wouldn't have recovered so quickly. Rejecting now seems a bit stingy on his part. In addition to his reputation as a fellow countryman, it wouldn't hurt to accompany him.
By the way, I can also pack some delicious food for Li.
"I know, let's go."
…
In the next week, Xia Fan's life became unexpectedly regular.
Similar to how a civil servant clocks in for work, the alchemist has to report to the Privy Council every morning to confirm whether there are any new tasks that need to be handled today. Newcomers also need to spend a morning training. For example, some magic techniques, as well as how to identify evil spirits and attack their weaknesses.
Especially in the techniques of performing magic, the Privy Council has made considerable improvements. For example, the alchemist's suit has six to eight pockets, which can be used to put medicinal materials into categories; the movements of taking out materials are also regulated accordingly, and the two-finger method and the four-finger method can be used in a single operation. He used his hands to pull out two to four different types of materials. Compared with the various techniques used by the candidates during the military examination, these quick movements actually had the air of a chivalrous duel.
What is even more extreme is to tattoo the talisman on the arm, so that the alchemist can perform the second level of magic without the need for medicinal materials. However, this approach is contrary to the concept of "the hair and skin of the body are influenced by the parents", and once the tattoo is tattooed, it cannot be improved, so not many alchemists choose to do this.
In addition, Xia Fan discovered that repeated use of alchemy can indeed enhance the effect of the spell. For example, since he performed a shock without reservation in Qingshan Town, he found that his magic ability had improved again. This is not a vague feeling, but can actually be observed.
In the past, when he performed the first-level technique without the help of primers and talismans, he could only feel a slight numbness on his skin, but now, he can pull out a small streak of lightning at his fingertips, accompanied by a tingling sensation.
This is slightly different from the common sense he was familiar with in the past - the control variable method does not work here, or in other words, the most important prerequisite of the magic: "Thinking" has also been added to the variables. Unfortunately, the energy consumed by the first-level technique and the third-level technique is basically the same, and the improvement in effect is close to nothing.
After the classes in the morning, there is free time in the afternoon.
The place where their group goes most often is the Department of Records, where many books and secret records are stored, but the number of spells is not as many as Xia Fan imagined. For example, regarding the earthquake technique, apart from the thunder technique that he has mastered, there are only two other complete secret records, namely the flow of light technique and the snake shadow technique.
Zhang Fuzi’s explanation is that most of the techniques spread in the world are basic techniques. After long-term use and understanding, these techniques will be imprinted with personal characteristics and have their own characteristics when used. As for what improvements the casters have made and what experiences they have accumulated, only they themselves know. Whether they are willing to announce it or not depends entirely on the individual, and the Privy Council cannot interfere.
This statement also confirms from the side why the shock technique is the least among the eight alchemy arts - just trying to test new insights on weekdays has to spend dozens or hundreds of taels of silver, and it may not produce results. I am afraid that normal people will know Retreat from difficulty.
The newly learned earthquake technique "Streaming Light" is easy to understand. It is almost a weakened version of the thunder technique. It is not affected by the terrain and can be used normally even in places isolated from the sky such as caves. The effect is an electric arc bursting out from the palm of the hand.
The shock technique "Snake Shadow" is very strange. The material it requires is actually fresh snake spine. According to the description in the secret record, this technique can improve the body's reaction speed and the acuity of the five senses in a short period of time. It's a pity that this medicine guide is a bit off-beat, and he can't get it even if he wants to experience it.
Compared with the expensive alchemy to learn, another type of books aroused Xia Fan's interest.
He discovered that the Ministry of Records actually collected a lot of Jianghu martial arts.
There is the movement technique that Luo Qingqing mentioned here.
It's just that these movements are not so mysterious as to step on the instep of the left foot and the right foot, or fly into the sky with a single leap. Most of them are based on the coordination of steps and breath to achieve higher efficiency of action.
In addition to the common body skills and fists, feet and stick skills, Xia Fan even found several books titled "Acupuncture Points", "Secret Techniques" and "Magic Kung Fu".
However, on the covers of these books, there is an eye-catching red note with the words "Unverified, lack of principle description, doubtful effect, please practice with caution".
It seems that the scientific literacy of the Privy Council is quite high.
In addition, in the Record Department, he also found several books introducing famous families - it turns out that both the Fang family and the Luo family were originally descended from the heroes who had the merit of following the dragon. In order to protect the long-term prosperity of his family, the Holy Emperor gave the responsibility of recruiting people from all over the world to these meritorious people, which also reduced the burden of the Privy Council in disguise. The prohibition on the transmission of magic knowledge makes it impossible for the family to exist independently of the Privy Council. If you want to climb up, you must become an alchemist within the system.
In other words, Luo Youer and Luo Qingqing have no biological relationship. They just happened to be included in the Youzhou Luo family. This can also be regarded as the answer to another question in Xia Fan's mind: since the sense of qi is determined by nature and cannot be controlled by humans, how did the family accumulate a large number of people who are qi sensers.
At the same time, the existence of Sanmen is easy to understand. Either he was picked up early and came into contact with the world of magic from another way; or like Wei Wushuang, his family has some background and does not want to entrust his son to a noble family. , even if I can't learn it, I don't want to change my surname.
He even had reason to suspect that even if he did not rely on aristocratic families, truly powerful children from rich families could still get a similar level of alchemy education as Luo Qingqing, or they could directly enter the Privy Council without taking the exam.
After all, special moves exist in any era.
After a week, Xia Fan has greatly supplemented his knowledge of alchemy, and has basically caught up with the progress of the disciples of the aristocratic family - after all, with most of the knowledge of alchemy being monopolized by the Privy Council, the latter's first-mover advantage lies more in literacy. Enlightenment and Entrainment Duration.
Apart from studying, he also took the time to visit several blacksmith shops in Jinxia City two or three times, breaking down his trump cards and letting them build them. The price of pure copper, that is, red copper, is not very high. It is slightly cheaper than wrought iron. Magnetic magnet stones are even more expensive. The material cost is less than a drop in the bucket compared to lightning-strike wood.
The only difficulty lies in refining copper into copper wire. In ancient times, there was no special wire drawing equipment and had to be polished by hand by blacksmiths. As a result, the efficiency drops a lot. In seven days, he prepared a total of four magnet copper rings, with an average price of half a tael of silver each, most of which was the labor cost.
The regular life after joining the Privy Council made Xia Fan feel like he was back in college. Hungry and running around were far away from him. He no longer had to sleep with his clothes on and be constantly on guard against attacks by wild beasts or other refugees.
Just when Xia Fan thought that this would be the content of his life for a long time after becoming an alchemist, an urgent message came to Jinxia City and broke the peace.
During the morning report, Master Zhang took them to the headquarters for a rare occasion.
A sixth-grade alchemist took over the role of team leader.
"I am the Divine Judge of the Privy Council's Office. My surname is Zhang. I am good at Kunshu. You can call me Zhang Divine Judge. Yesterday, I received a report from Gaoshan County, Shenzhou. There are suspected cases of evil spirits in the county, which has now threatened the safety of the entire county." He Looking around at everyone, he said slowly, "Master Fang, who is in charge of the command department, ordered me to lead a team to deal with it. This is also a good opportunity to test the results of what you have learned. I will give you half an hour to prepare, and we will set off on time!"