Chapter 42: The Bookish Female Associate Professor

Only after hearing Lin Xi agree did Associate Professor An finally set down the book in her hands, slightly turned her head, and looked at him. "If that's the case, then you can start coming here tomorrow."

Seeing that Associate Professor An had no intention of sending him away immediately, Lin Xi obediently nodded while curiously surveying the layout of this Medical Department preparation room.

He saw many books, and jars filled with bizarre roots and herbs. On top of these jars were sticky notes written in graceful and tidy handwriting:

"Keke, don't forget this needs to be simmered over a low flame for five hours…"

"Keke, don't forget that the Sawleaf Chrysanthemum needs to be harvested by students in five days…"

"Keke, don't forget to visit Professor Lan…"

"Keke, what you want to see is on page thirty-six of this book…"

Naturally intrigued, Lin Xi asked, "Professor An, do you have a student named Keke helping you here?"

"No." Professor An seemed a bit tired from reading, massaging her temples as she replied, "Those are notes I wrote to myself."

Lin Xi was momentarily stunned, then a bit embarrassed. "So, your surname is An, and your given name is Keke?"

"I'm An Keyi," she shook her head. "Keke is just a childhood nickname my family uses."

Lin Xi laughed sheepishly again. But suddenly remembering something, he asked with a hint of personal curiosity, "Professor, you're from the Medical Department, right…? Doesn't your department have a Chosen Student too? Why didn't you have her help you earlier?"

An Keyi answered plainly, "Gao Yanan isn't bad, but I tend to be forgetful. Her temperament is somewhat lax and careless too. You, on the other hand, seem calm and meticulous."

After a slight pause, she glanced at Lin Xi, her tone becoming uncharacteristically serious:

"The research topic I'm working on is fairly important to the Academy. If it succeeds, many people will benefit. I'll likely be promoted to full professor. You'll get two academic credits, and there will likely be additional rewards. So you must be careful and thorough. If I forget anything or make a mistake, you need to remind me."

"Extra credits?"

Lin Xi's brows furrowed. He immediately understood that An Keyi's research must be quite significant.

"Your fingers still need time to recover," she continued. "So Instructor Tong Wei said you don't need to go to the Medical Valley today. You can go straight to the Freshman Trial Valley instead. Many new students have already started entering."

"Trial Valley?"

Recalling the traditions left behind by that middle-aged uncle, the challenge from Qiu Lu in the dining hall, and the legendary voice-changing mask, Lin Xi was instantly curious. Moreover, students of the Warfare Department were required to enter the Trial Valley at least six times a month. So he nodded without any hesitation.

"The Freshman Trial Valley isn't far from your new student dorm of the Warfare Department," she explained. "It's southwest of the Medical Valley where you and Bian Linghan usually train. You can go directly to the southwest corner of our Medical Department's mountain peak. Next to the Apothecary Hall, there's a silver cable that leads straight to the Freshman Trial Valley. The Apothecary Hall is a two-story building with yellow bricks and green tiles."

"Oh right…" As Lin Xi was already at the doorway, this very bookish female professor suddenly remembered something. "The credit you just earned can be used anytime for rewards. Your cultivation is still low, so since you're passing by the Apothecary Hall, I recommend exchanging it for a Fragrant Essence Pill, which will slightly boost your cultivation."

Lin Xi stopped in his tracks. He hadn't expected to earn a credit so quickly and was unfamiliar with how to exchange them. He turned back to the professor, who was rubbing her temples, and asked,

"Professor, where can I see all the things that can be exchanged with credits? Do I have to go to different buildings for different items?"

An Keyi was clearly much more patient than the one-eyed black-robed instructor. Without any irritation, as if simply retrieving information from memory, she explained in a calm tone:

"Not at all. Every student dormitory peak has a Merit Hall, which contains catalogs of everything that can be exchanged for credits. They include detailed descriptions. Once a credit is used, it can't be used again, but the record remains. Accumulate sixteen credits, and you can take first-year elective courses instead of only freshman ones. As for how many credits are required to access certain areas, all of that is detailed in the Merit Hall."

"However, after selecting items to exchange in the Merit Hall, an instructor will deliver them when available. If you go directly to the Apothecary Hall, you can register and receive items on the spot."

Lin Xi thought for a moment and asked, "So in your judgment, the Fragrant Essence Pill is the most suitable for me now?"

An Keyi nodded. "Yes."

"Alright then, I'll go exchange for the pill first."

Ever since seeing the stone stele left by Dean Zhang, Lin Xi had regarded cultivating soul power as pouring water into bowls—others had one bowl, he had two. If he could fill his two bowls with more water, of course he was happy.

Seeing that Professor An was patient and approachable, he decided to ask something that had been bothering him:

"Professor, how exactly is soul power cultivation ranked?"

Worried his question might be too vague, he clarified,

"I know the ranks are Soul Disciple, Soul Master, Grand Soul Master, National Scholar, Grand National Scholar, Sage Master, and Grand Sage Master. What I mean is—how does the actual combat strength differ between these levels? Are there clear dividing lines?"

An Keyi glanced at him. "There are books on that in the Academy; you can look it up."

"But it's faster if you just tell me," Lin Xi said honestly. "My talent is only level two. I need more time to train, which means my cultivation is already falling behind."

This blunt honesty seemed to resonate with An Keyi. She looked at him with some appreciation and a hint of realization.

"That makes sense… Actually, it's simple. A low-level Soul Disciple can easily lift a 100-catty stone ball. A mid-level Soul Disciple can lift 200 catties. A high-level Soul Disciple can lift 300 catties. Once you reach Soul Master, physical strength won't increase much, but you can channel soul power to your body. Without exhausting your soul power, a low-level Soul Master will have about 350 catties of force, mid-level 400 catties, and high-level 450 catties."

"Once you reach Grand Soul Master, your physical strength increases further, and you can infuse soul power into your soul weapon. If the weapon's material is strong enough, a mid-level Grand Soul Master can cut through thirty suits of heavy black iron armor in succession."

"Only thirty?" Lin Xi frowned slightly.

An Keyi stopped talking there. Her bookish, earnest expression made her intentions clear—it was as if she meant to say: "That's enough for you to know for now. Anything more would be overreaching."

By now, Lin Xi understood how difficult it was to even reach the Grand Soul Master stage at Qingluan Academy.

For him, hundreds of catties of force was already impressive—enough to send a burly man flying with a punch. But being able to only break through thirty suits of armor? That sounded pretty dangerous on a battlefield.

"No one just stands still to let you strike them. And no cultivator relies solely on brute strength," An Keyi calmly explained.

"In combat, it's mostly about clashing techniques. Unless there's no choice, every cultivator will aim for the opponent's weakest points. Against normal heavy-armored cavalry, a mid-level Grand Soul Master could kill a hundred without much trouble. But usually, enemy cultivators won't sit idly by. So ultimately, cultivators mainly fight other cultivators."

To help Lin Xi understand better, she held up her thumb.

"Ordinary parts of black iron armor are about this thick," she said. Then she picked up a bamboo slip. "But many joints are only as thick as this bamboo strip."

Her serious demeanor as she compared finger and bamboo made Lin Xi smile.

Seeing his smile, An Keyi slightly frowned in confusion, which only made Lin Xi's amusement stronger.

Trying to suppress his laughter, Lin Xi bowed respectfully and left her Medical Department preparation room.

Sunlight tilted gently. It was still early.

An Keyi's prep room was in a small gray three-story building, halfway up the Medical Department's mountain. From there, he could clearly see the slope where the Firewood Pavilion once stood.

That slope was now just a field of charred remains.

"So cultivation at the Academy… is really about gaining greater power and then learning to strike more precisely and efficiently at an enemy's weak spots..." Lin Xi mused as he looked at the wreckage. He didn't think too deeply, unaware of the fierce undercurrents hidden beneath that fire.

The Academy's layout still felt complicated to Lin Xi. Just like this world, it held too many unknowns.

But as a traveler who had merged into this world, his thoughts were simple:

No matter how complex the world became, as long as he could appreciate the present and live well, that was enough.

He continued up the path from An Keyi's prep room, passing a slope dotted sparsely with strange black-leafed grass that looked like tufts of long black hair. A wooden walkway ran through it in silence. In the distance, an ordinary brick building covered in green vines stood within a forest of tall red maples.

Following An Keyi's directions, Lin Xi soon found the Apothecary Hall, the yellow-bricked, green-tiled two-story building amidst the many halls of the Medical Department at the mountain's peak.

After explaining his purpose to a sickly-looking, extremely strict black-robed instructor inside—thin as bamboo—the man handed him a white porcelain pill bottle without hesitation.

"Well done."

After instructing him to take it immediately, this unusually strict and reserved instructor even offered Lin Xi one unexpected sentence before turning away:

"You did well."