Teacher by day, Farmer by passion-Chapter 190: Alchemy lecture [1]

Ace and Shane sat on a smooth stone bench just outside the bustling kitchen, the late afternoon sun casting a gentle glow over the Divine Garden.

Ace exhaled slowly, folding his arms. "So… I take it things have gotten easier for you lately?"

"Oh yes, Master," Shane replied cheerfully, brushing crumbs off his apron.

"I've been getting plenty of rest. And, as Elder Lily suggested, we've started paying the kitchen workers in gold ingots."

Ace nodded thoughtfully. "Not a bad system."

"And," Shane added with a relaxed stretch, "thanks to the gradual decline in population of the crystal humans, feeding everyone has gotten much easier."

Ace paused mid-nod. "Decline in what now?"

Shane blinked at him, as though he'd just asked whether the sky was blue. "Oh, right. There's been some conflict at the mines. The dwarfs are being blocked by the crystal humans, they don't want their brethren mined anymore. Just last week, they hid their dead brother away from prying eyes,

to preserve.. I guess."

Ace's jaw slackened. "Wait—what?! Why wasn't I informed of this?!"

"Oh, don't worry about it," Shane said breezily, waving a hand as if shooing away a fly.

"The crystal humans are down to just two now anyway. Not much resistance left. The dwarfs have even started talking about how fun it'll be to hunt down old spots where crystal humans could have already died. Real treasure hunter vibes."

Ace stared, utterly dumbfounded. "Shane… what exactly is going on in the Divine Garden?"

Shane leaned back and shrugged as if they were discussing weather. "Eh, mostly just squabbles over soul stone mining. Nothing too serious. Happens every other day now."

Ace ran a hand through his hair, eyes wide in disbelief.

He couldn't decide if the place was running smoothly or spiraling into madness and Shane's nonchalant attitude certainly wasn't helping.

From the side, Qiong Qi floated lazily, gnawing the air like it was contemplating something.

[Human, can I eat the dwarfs?]

Ace frowned. "No. Absolutely not."

He turned to the beast, trying to redirect its appetite. "Why don't you ask Shane to cook that spirit pig for you instead? It'll taste better."

Qiong Qi scoffed.

[Human, we don't eat food tainted by humans cooking. We're far above that.]

Ace rolled his eyes. "Fine. Less work for you, Shane."

Shane gave a carefree smile, clearly unaffected.

"Keep an eye on those last two crystal humans for me," Ace added, his tone more serious now.

With that said, Ace closed his eyes and exited the system space.

* * *

As Ace reappeared outside, a sudden shriek pierced the air.

"Ahhh!"

Followed by a

crash with the sound of ceramic shattering against the floor.

Startled, he turned to find Lotus sprawled on the ground, her tea set shattered beside her.

He stepped forward and offered a hand.

"You okay?"

Still sitting, Lotus glared up at him, scowling.

She slapped his hand away and pushed herself up.

"You idiot! Do you always appear out of nowhere like some ghost?!" she snapped, dusting off her robes in irritation.

Then, with a dramatic sigh, she looked at the scattered remains of her tea.

"That tea took me an hour to brew, you know."

"first fell me, what are you doing here?" Ace asked, raising an eyebrow.

But instead of answering, Lotus pressed on, her voice sharp with frustration.

"What kind of formation is that, anyway? Staying invisible all this time, were you enjoying toying with me?!"

Her eyes blazed with fury as she turned on her heel and stormed out of the house in a fit of rage, slamming the door behind her.

Ace stared at the shattered ceramic on the floor, the fragments of the teacups glinting under the soft light.

Steam still curled lazily from the spilled tea, mingling with the faint scent of herbs and flowers she must've steeped with care. frёeωebɳovel.com

"An hour brewing tea… and five seconds to ruin it," he muttered with a sigh.

Then he shook his head and chuckled.

"She really is dramatic."

Still, he knelt down, picking up the larger shards with care. As he set them aside, he thought to himself:

"I'll have to thank her later… unknowingly, she gave me the perfect cover."

Ace stood up from the floor, dusting his hands and glancing one last time at the broken cups. With a small sigh, he turned and walked deeper into the apartment.

"Time to focus," he muttered, pushing aside the earlier chaos.

He entered his room and opened the storage ring on his finger, summoning out a thick stack of notes, spirit ink, and an ancient jade slip filled with lecture materials.

He pulled out a clean robe, plain, yet dignified and slipped it on. His hair, slightly messy from his time in the system space, was quickly tied back with a ribbon Liu Mei had once given him.

A faint smile touched his lips at the thought.

A small, polished black cauldron appeared beside him with a wave of his hand. He placed it neatly into a storage bag for demonstration purposes.

Then, with a final glance at the mirror to ensure he looked appropriately "professor-like," he stepped out of the room.

* * *

The classroom buzzed faintly with morning chatter as Ace stepped through the doors.

The moment his presence was felt, a ripple passed through the students, some stiffened in their seats, others rose to their feet.

"Greetings, Professor Ace!" a few of them called out in unison, their voices a mix of respect and nervousness.

But that was all,

not everyone paid respect.

Several students remained seated, heads lowered or eyes distant, clearly too proud, or too foolish to offer the proper greeting.

Ace's eyes narrowed slightly.

He'd overlooked it during his first class, assuming formality was optional.

But after spending more time in the academy, he understood now that greetings weren't mere pleasantries here.

They were a sign of respect like how he remembered it to be in his last life.

And disrespect had its own consequences.

He raised a hand, and with a simple flick of his fingers, soul force surged.

Before the confused students could react, their desks rattled and a gust of force swept beneath them.

One by one, those who hadn't greeted were unceremoniously ejected from their seats, sliding toward the open classroom doors as if an invisible broom had swept them out.