Eleanor's Laboratory
The scene of purifying moonstripe by hand in the alchemy workshop played like a recurring magical image in Professor Eleanor Silverstalk's mind day and night. Each recollection caused a new crack to appear in her rock-solid magical worldview.
She had locked herself in the laboratory for two whole days. The heavy curtains were drawn tightly, cutting off all light and sound from the outside world. Only the faint hum and flashing lights of the sophisticated magical instruments on the lab table illuminated her serious and tired face.
On the experimental table, as if enshrining rare treasures, several items were placed: a small piece of crystal-clear moonlight moss purified by Ling Yao; a bottle of standard "Ling's No. 1" stamina potion sold by Finn; and a small bottle of "Oriental Radiant Skin Dew" that she had obtained through special channels and at a considerable cost from a noble lady.
Professor Eleanor's goal was simple and unwavering—she wanted to analyze! She wanted to use the most rigorous and scientific magical methods to unravel the secrets contained within these creations and discover the operating principles of that unknown force!
She first used the highest-magnification magical microscope to observe the microstructure of the moonmoss. The results puzzled her for the first time. The structure seemed... to be essentially no different from unpurified moonmoss? It was just "cleaner," with an astonishingly low level of impurities, as if it had been forcibly stripped away by some force, rather than transformed or decomposed through magical means.
“This does not conform to the law of conservation of energy… Removing impurities requires energy, but where does the energy come from? Why is there no residue?” She pushed up her glasses and quickly jotted down her questions in her lab log.
Next, she activated the elemental analyzer, guiding the magic beam to scan the "Ling's No. 1" medicinal liquid. Data on various elements rapidly flashed across the instrument's screen, most of which were within expectations and consistent with its herbal composition. However, a few extremely faint, never-before-recorded energy spectral lines flashed by, too fast for the instrument to detect or identify, leaving only some chaotic interference signals.
"Unknown energy residue? Interference? Or is the instrument's precision insufficient?" Eleanor's brows furrowed deeper. She tried stimulating the potion with different magical frequencies to observe the reaction. The potion behaved very "inertly," without the expected elemental resonance or magical activation; the several unknown energy spectral lines remained hidden.
She turned her gaze to the most mysterious bottle of "Oriental Radiant Skin Essence." She had heard about the craze this product had sparked in aristocratic circles. She carefully dropped a drop of the essence into a pure crystal petri dish, then activated the most expensive precision array in the laboratory, capable of multi-dimensional energy field scanning.
The magic circle lit up, casting a soft glow over the petri dish. Countless tiny streams of data refreshed on the central screen like a waterfall.
Suddenly, the array emitted an unstable hum, and the data stream on the screen began to fluctuate violently, displaying a large amount of garbled text and error messages!
"Warning! Unknown high-dimensional energy interference detected!"
"The energy field structure cannot be modeled!"
"Analysis failed!"
Professor Eleanor jumped to her feet, staring incredulously at the screen. This array, capable of analyzing the energy structure of most legendary magical items, couldn't even analyze a single drop of potion?
She was unwilling to give up, believing the dosage was too small. She gritted her teeth and dripped in another drop. This time, the array's buzzing was even sharper, and wisps of blue smoke even rose!
"Force termination! Terminate the analysis immediately!" She quickly shut down the array, looking at the expensive instrument with heartache, her heart bleeding.
Two drops of luminous skin dew lay quietly in the petri dish, emitting a soft yet eerie glow, as if silently mocking the powerlessness of modern magical technology.
A wave of frustration washed over her like a cold tide. But Professor Eleanor's inherent stubbornness was fully unleashed. The more inexplicable it was, the more it proved to contain revolutionary, unprecedented knowledge!
She changed her approach. Since she couldn't directly analyze the finished product, she would start with the process! She recalled Ling Yao's actions in the workshop—no incantations, no magic circles, just a touch with her finger.
She tried to imitate it. She found a piece of ordinary moonshine moss, extended her index finger, gathered pure magic power, and carefully tried to simulate the effect of "peeling" and "purifying". The result was either no reaction at all, or the magic power was too strong and directly burned the moonshine moss to ashes.
She then attempted to simulate the process of refining "Ling's No. 1," strictly adhering to the material ratios she could analyze, using the most standard potion-making techniques, and even adding rare materials from the workshop's warehouse that supposedly had similar energy fluctuations as substitutes. The resulting potion, however, was mediocre at best, even inferior to the standard potions issued by the academy, and vastly different from "Ling's No. 1."
Each failure was like a heavy hammer blow to the very foundation of the magical system she had believed in all her life.
She sat back down in her chair, exhausted, and looked at the unproductive samples and data on the lab bench. For the first time, she had deep doubts about her academic career.
The magical knowledge he possessed, the alchemical principles he relied on, the laws of energy he firmly believed in... all seemed so pale and powerless, so... outdated, in the face of the "miracle" casually performed by that black-haired girl?
This realization was undoubtedly a devastating blow to a scholar who had dedicated his life to magical science.
"Could it be... that there are huge blind spots in the existing magical theories that we have not noticed? Or... that it is a completely different system of rules that we cannot understand?" Eleanor murmured to herself, her voice hoarse.
She recalled Ling Yao's eyes, which always held a hint of nonchalance yet seemed to see through everything. Deep within those eyes, there appeared to be a kind of pity for the "backward" technology of their world?
This thought made Professor Eleanor feel a pang of unease and resentment.
Just then, there was a gentle knock on the laboratory door. Her assistant, a young alchemist, entered carrying a cup of invigorating hot drink, her face filled with concern.
"Professor, you haven't rested for two days...would you like to...?"
The assistant was only halfway through her sentence when she saw the mess on the lab table and Professor Eleanor's haggard yet unusually bright eyes, and immediately swallowed the rest of her words.
Professor Eleanor abruptly looked up at her assistant and asked urgently, "Do we have any records in our storeroom about... about energy theories from ancient times or other dimensions? Are there any records of non-magical power systems?"
The assistant was taken aback by the question, and shook his head blankly: "Professor, the academy's library mainly focuses on modern magic systems, and most of the ancient documents are incomplete. As for other dimensions and non-magical systems... those are more like myths or chivalric romances..."
A flicker of disappointment crossed Professor Eleanor's eyes, but it quickly returned to its firmer resolve.
“Myths and legends… chivalric romances…” she repeated these words, her eyes darting around, “Perhaps… the truth really is hidden in those records that we consider absurd?”
She waved for her assistant to leave, then fell into deep thought once more. Existing magical theories couldn't explain Ling Yao's methods, so perhaps the breakthrough wasn't in the academy's vast collection of magical texts, but rather in those considered unreliable anecdotes, legends, or even… folk tales?
This idea is bold, even a bit crazy, but for a scholar whose worldview is collapsing and being rebuilt, any possibility is worth trying.
She immediately got up, not even bothering to rest, and left the laboratory, heading straight for the most secluded and dusty "Mythology and Folklore" section of the academy library. She was going to search through the old documents for any possible clues about another power system.
Meanwhile, at the "Eastern Secret Medicine" shop, Ling Yao was completely unaware that a top potion professor was on the verge of collapse because of her and was about to open the door to a new world.
She watched with growing impatience as Finn, holding a brand-new, magnificent ledger, excitedly reported to her the astonishing profits brought by "Radiant Skin Dew" and how many noble ladies and young women had extended banquet invitations.
“Miss Ling! Countess Harris invites you to her weekend salon! The Duchess of Morgan would like you to be her private beauty consultant! Name your price!” Finn’s eyes gleamed with the light of gold coins.
Ling Yao yawned, completely uninterested. Attending a banquet? Being an advisor? She'd rather use that time to absorb a couple more magic cores. She only cared about two things right now: energy and peace and quiet.
However, the tree may wish to remain still, but the wind will not cease.
She vaguely sensed that the surveillance gazes from the courthouse outside the shop seemed to have become more intense and anxious. Moreover, recently, there had been other, more calculating glances. Some were filled with greed, others with scrutiny and calculation.
It was as if an invisible net was quietly tightening.
Ling Yao frowned slightly. The trouble was getting stronger.
She glanced at Finn, who was still rambling on about his grand business plans, and decided to give him a little reminder.
She reached out, pointed out the window, and then made a "be careful" gesture.
Finn was engrossed in his story when he paused, following Ling Yao's finger to look out the window. He only saw a few pedestrians hurrying by. He scratched his head, somewhat puzzled: "Miss Ling, are you saying... the weather's been bad lately, we should be careful not to catch a cold?"
Ling Yao: "..."
Forget it, it's like casting pearls before swine.
She withdrew her finger, deciding to rely on herself. She'd face whatever came her way. Once she regained enough strength, all the demons and monsters would be nothing but paper tigers.
She picked up the high-quality dark purple magic core she had just received that day, feeling the energy it contained, which was much purer than that of ordinary magic cores, and her mood improved slightly.
At least, making money is still very useful.
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