The Mage of Primordial Chaos

As the students entered the classroom one by one, the ones still hesitant began to move along as well, not wanting to fall behind the group. Soon, everyone had entered the room, and taken their respective seats regardless of the smell. It was still uncomfortable, of course, but strangely, it didn't feel as unbearable as initial contact. Our bodies was adjusting to the scent.

But… even after all the students had sat down and the door shut, the old man at the teacher's desk didn't seem to show any sign of budging, still focused on his own work alone. It was as if all of us were simply invisible to him, and he didn't even know he was supposed to be teaching us a class. In fact, the awkward silence prolonged for so long that some students began wandering if this was an actual classroom, and if they had come to the wrong place. Either that, or the timetables just had a mistake.

But the unease in our hearts were soon momentarily put away as a bright radiant glow began emanating from the pill furnace in front of the old man—the sign of an about-to-be successful refinement of an alchemic pill. All eyes were immediately drawn to the light as I held my breath. Such a light has never appeared in my pill refinement before, and according to Xiuying, the brighter this light was, the higher the grade of the pill being refined. Given the blinding radiance in this case… it was safe to assume the old man was refining a very high-level pill, and succeeding.

Xiuying in particular seemed to be interested, and her eyes sparkled like never before with excitement. People who didn't understand alchemy or have never performed it before wouldn't understand, but this was incredible. The amount of knowledge alchemists could absorb by watching other masters practice pill refinement was immeasurable, so naturally Xiuying and I were both invested.

The radiance from the pill furnace grew brighter and brighter as the old master's eyes narrowed in concentration. His hands did not tremble and instead held firm, being an experienced alchemist. Watched by everyone present in the classroom, the old man began the final step of alchemy—pill formation. All the energy required was already fulfilled, and everything fell into place. All that was left was for him to shape the actual pill.

"…!"

With a dignified, unhesitant strike, he condensed the pill with a wave of his hand. Immediately, all the energy in the air dissipated, concocted into the small spherical object, as the old man caught the pill with his fingers and bent down to inspect it closely through his squinted eyes from behind the lenses of his spectacles.

"… Tch. Failed again…"

The crowd was utterly shocked at the words that came out of his mouth. The refinement had been perfect—the resulting pill was wondrous, no doubt very valuable. But the old man simply tossed it into the trash bin beside him, filled with countless other pills of similar construct. 

"Wha… why did he throw that out? It was an amazing pill," Feng Mian murmured. "I don't know alchemy, but even I can tell that much. What does he mean 'failed again'…?"

"… The pill does not, have pill veins," Xiuying said. "That is why, he said it, was a fail."

"Huh? Pill veins?" I arched an eyebrow. "What are those?"

"I've heard about this before," Eve said thoughtfully. "Pill veins are, in a sense, the mark of a perfectly refined pill. It is said that pills with pill veins have ten times the power of pills without, in terms of effects."

At this, everyone around her widened their eyes.

"Ten times the effects?!" Qing Yue whispered sharply. "Isn't that, like, really insane?!"

"Yes. Not many pills in existence have formed pill veins, and those that have are all national treasures. They are the only existing confirmation that pill veins do indeed exist—that's how rare this phenomenon is."

"Wow… so he's trying to refine a pill with pill veins?" Yu An Yan blinked, impressed. "High standards indeed."

"It's not, just that," Zhao Xiuying replied, narrowing her eyes. "From what, I can tell… he wants to, create a formula, with heightened chances of forming pill veins… or even guaranteed."

At this, I was shocked. "What? But… wouldn't that mean he's already refined quite a number of veined pills in the past?"

"Correct. This man, is a master. But… not a well-known one. Even I, have never, heard of him."

Slowly, I glanced back at the old man behind the teacher's desk, who finally stood up from his chair and faced the students sitting before him, surveying them with those deep, aged eyes of his.

"… You all are the brats they told me I had to teach?"

He phrased that like a question, though it was somewhat difficult for us to respond to something like that. As such, no students answered, and the old man let out an annoyed snarl before walking around to the front of his desk and sitting on it, folding his arms.

"… Tell me, brats. What do you think alchemy is?"

Now this was unexpected. Yet another question, but this time it was something everyone could answer… it seemed almost too easy. Just what was with this old man?

"Uh… the practice of refining herbs into pills?" A girl suggested, raising her hand, but the old man shook his head.

"Sir, I know!" Prince enthusiastically butted in. "Alchemy is the embodiment of the Grand Alchemic Way—the pursuit to refine the greatest pill of all time-"

"Argh, no, no, no!"

The old man seemed to be angered by these answers, and shook his head in disappointment before resting his face in his palm.

"… As expected, you're all amateurs. Alchemy is not just about refining pills, idiots. That's just what the practice takes the form of. In reality, alchemy is about refining the mind. Tempering one's own soul, calming it, and preparing it for any situation. To reach a state of utter nirvana is the ultimate goal of being an alchemist—refining excellent pills are just part of that journey."

With a sigh, he turned around and continued.

"Unfortunately, many alchemists nowadays see their craft as a means to make money. Fame. Recognition. Throughout the generations, the true purpose of alchemy has been ironically lost, to none other than the very things alchemy should be pushing one to strive away from. It's a shame, really… but to you, this is all just the ramblings of an old man. Don't take it to heart."