Mechanical Alchemist

Su Lun had seen Mr. Jing take action before and knew she possessed a bizarre method of displacement that was no less powerful than Spatial Displacement.

It was like a projection of mirror images, shining over, and there she would be.

He didn't know how far she could teleport, but coming from Old Lington City would definitely not take long.

Su Lun was quite certain that Mr. Jing had come.

He even guessed that she had been there for a while, watching the spectacle from the sidelines.

But it was precisely because it was a guess that he was so uneasy.

What if she hadn't come?

The enemy's intent to kill was tangible; Su Lun had no choice but to fight with all his might.

But fishing with one's own body ultimately requires someone to net the catch.

....

With that shout from Su Lun, Milo too was frightened, secretly thinking that there indeed was backup.

He wanted to kill Su Lun quickly to complete the mission.

Yet he found the newcomer to be more terrifying than he had anticipated.

Right after that shout, the air around them suddenly became sticky, making him feel as if he was trapped in a swamp, sinking deeper into despair.

This technique, even repressing him, a fifth-tier strength-focused assassin, was terrifyingly high in rank.

How could there be such terrifying professionals underground!

The thought flashed through his mind.

Without any hesitation, Milo turned and fled.

But,

how could they possibly let him escape?

Since Su Lun had lured him to this uninhabited cavern, it was precisely to keep the battle unnoticed.

Mr. Jing could strike without any reservations.

Previously, Mr. Jing couldn't strike at will because she feared revealing herself.

It wasn't that she feared the people of the Black Tower finding out, but rather that the Fallen Angel would notice.

Now that the danger from Pestoia had been completely neutralized, she no longer had these concerns.

As long as they killed thoroughly, there wouldn't be any problem.

Su Lun watched the enemy flee and breathed a sigh of relief; the cuts on his body were turned inside out, with white bones even visible in several places which were somewhat terrifying.

But as long as he didn't die on the spot, it wouldn't be a big problem.

With a pinch of his sorcerer's seals, the green hexagram of Life Alchemy lit up, casting down dozens of curse crystals, swiftly healing both the poison and wounds.

This sort of "money for life" emergency technique, Su Lun mastered particularly well.

Since Mr. Jing personally took action, there was no suspense in the subsequent fight.

Su Lun waited for a while, hearing the noise gradually diminish, and then followed the traces.

He wasn't going to meddle in the fight but was waiting to collect the body.

Sure enough, by the time he arrived, he saw that the assassin from earlier had already become a corpse. The wounds on the body were terrifying, with shards stuck all over like broken glass, resembling a victim of dismemberment.

As Su Lun arrived, he saw Mr. Jing in a cloak and greeted her, "Mr. Jing."

Mr. Jing turned her head to glance at him and nodded, "Mm."

Not knowing Mr. Jing's identity was one thing, but now, facing this top-tier professional who had lived for a thousand years, Su Lun always felt a certain awe.

Yet, having heard her name "Ophelia" from Pestoia and confirmed her identity, the respect remained, but the mystery somehow vanished.

After all, in terms of seniority, the person in front of him...

He would have to call this person "Senior Sister"!

If he wasn't mistaken, Mr. Jing's real name was "Ophelia Fei Isaac". She was Sir Isaac's eldest daughter, Pestoia's own sister!

Su Lun still remembered, on the first day after his transmigration, in the cursed space of the Stormy Estate, he had seen that family portrait in the library, and that name was on it.

Pestoia later invited him to attend the "Bloody Banquet". At the time, three people important to her had been made into dolls on the dining table. Apart from Sir Isaac and Celeia, there was one young lady, and that was her.

Su Lun hadn't thought about it before, only hadn't expected that she truly lived for a thousand years.

Since Su Lun was adopted as a disciple by Celeia, his rank was pulled very high, making him a contemporary of Mr. Jing.

Their relationship was also very close.

Shouting that way was probably like being unable to win and calling for a parent, nothing to be ashamed of.

....

Mr. Jing left the corpse behind, naturally waiting for Su Lun to harvest the memories.

Su Lun didn't hesitate, walking straight over and devouring the gray fog.

"Obtained 'Milo Jials' Soul Shard*7'"

"You acquired a piece of information, 'I didn't expect the new regime would fail... Killing this Feck, for the survival of the Regaldi family, the clan council won't hold us accountable either...'"

"You have comprehended a vast amount of assassination knowledge."

"You have acquired the 'Airborne Kicking Technique' and comprehended the body technique 'Airborne Combo Kick'"

"You have mastered a substantial amount of '1st to 5th rank Alchemy knowledge'"

"You have comprehended the incomplete fifth rank Wind Elemental laws and mastered the Elemental Refinement Technique 'Mystic Art: Wind Elemental Cut'"

"You have acquired extensive assassin-type combat experience, Combat Experience +411."

"Spiritual Power +4.6"

Those who advance to the fifth rank are all individuals of exceptional talent.

This guy's Soul Shard certainly didn't disappoint.

As expected, he harvested many abilities related to assassin-type professions, but although Su Lun can use those assassin skills, their effectiveness is far from that of a professional assassin, which is somewhat of a letdown.

However, the assassin skills are secondary, the most important gains are those high-level, incomplete Wind Elemental laws!

"Wind Elemental Cut?"

Su Lun assimilated that segment of the memory and immediately realized the prowess of this alchemy.

This is not a common skill that just anyone can learn but rather a nuanced understanding of elemental manipulation.

It's somewhat similar to 'Stepping on Air'; not something you can learn just by studying, you have to spend considerable time to "perceive" it.

This is also a capability that those below the third rank cannot hope to master.

If 'Adamantine' adds layers of metallic elemental barriers to the body, then 'Wind Elemental Cut' is akin to adding a "sharp" temporary enchantment to the body, or even to a weapon.

That assassin could easily cut through Su Lun's threads, not just because of the sharp dagger, but more critically due to this elemental layer of "cutting" attribute.

This is a very useful and formidable high-level technique.

It counters targets known for being tough and beefy, useful for cutting and breaking defenses!

"If used with threads transmitted to a puppet, the puppet's physical damage capability would significantly increase..."

Su Lun already had in mind the practical combat application of this technique combined with trick puppets.

Merely relying on blade sharpness already seems somewhat inadequate in high-rank practitioners' fights.

Whenever an opponent uses even a few protective techniques, breaking through becomes difficult.

Yet, the defensive-breaking effect brought about by the same-rank 'Wind Elemental Cut' is at least several times higher than that of 'Sharpness Runes'!

The combination of the two perfectly compensates for the shortcoming in the trick puppet's ability to breach defenses.

Gaining knowledge is one part,

stripping away the 'Assassin Leader' of this Regaldi family,

Su Lun finally understood the identity of the original host.

.....

Having stripped away some memory shards before, and now stripping away some more, he had nearly pieced together the map of the world on the ground.

The world on the ground had two major empires: one was the island nation "Ruying Empire," and the other was the "Magic Mechanical Empire" to the east.

Both empires faced each other across the sea, separated by the Ruying Strait.

Besides these, there were various small kingdoms, duchies, and independent territories.

But most of them were under the influence of these two empires.

Beyond these, the far north's frigid lands included vast ice fields known as the "Barbarian Lands," where ice trolls, orcs, giants, and barbarians roamed.

This region was synonymous with chaos, primitivity, and savagery.

'King of the North Sea,' Oleg, and his group of Viking pirates hailed from the northern ice fields.

Of course, these were just the nearby known territories of the two major empires according to Su Lun's stripped memory shards, limited to areas where humans were active.

This world held too many unknowns.

In the southern part of Magic, there was also the so-called "Monsters Mountains" of the Endless Mountain Range. This area was teeming with all kinds of magical beasts, with legends of half-humans, hill dwarves, and half-elves... these ancient intelligent races.

Moreover, to the west of the Ruying Empire lay the vast ocean, and no one knew where the ocean ended. It was a paradise for maritime races and various sea monsters. Ancient adventurers' travelogues and minstrels sang of islands inhabited by dragons, islands of beautiful mermaids, and the nightmarish Island of Sealed Evil God... and so on.

The deep sea concealed endless treasures buried in the dust of history, sunken ships filled with gold and silver, ancient battlefields from wars, and the Pirate King's treasures...

Or perhaps, a cave on land might hide the secrets left by an ancient civilization... Explore stories at empire

The weighty historical depth gives this world a thick brush of the unknown and mysterious.

It's like a thick tome; when you turn one page, there lies another even more fascinating page beneath it.

Page by page, you could eventually reach the dazzling era of the gods' creation.

....

The status of the original owner's Regaldi family was quite special.

It was a territory attached to the Ruying Empire, but it was different from other territories.

Strictly speaking, they were exiled royalty, once the royal family of the Ancient Magic Empire.

Over a hundred years ago, a mythological dwarf relic was discovered, sparking a technological revolution. Steam machinery and various mechanical technologies sprang up like bamboo after rain.

A fraction of the alchemists began to get involved in researching various machines.

The new school of "Mechanical Alchemists" was thus born.

They delved into mechanical alchemy, inventing and creating various mechanical equipment. The power of machinery gradually influenced daily life. Mechanical alchemists used their knowledge to create mechanized warships, steam airships, mechanical equipment, and various powerful firearms. Even untrained ordinary people could possess the combat abilities of professionals with mechanical equipment...

But technological revolutions usually mean conflicts with some ancient orders.

Machinery replaced manpower, abolished slavery, and granted rights to common people...

The mechanical revolution made the nobles feel threatened in their entitlements.

The reason the nobles were noble was fundamentally because they had the superiority of enslaving their own kind.

Initially, those powerful mechanical alchemists founded the "Mechanical Sect."

As time passed, this organization's influence among the common people grew larger and larger.

The nobles felt an impending sense of crisis that order was about to collapse.

Thus, in those years, Magic Emperor Regar XI began to suppress the Mechanical Sect, hoping to nip mechanical alchemy in the bud.

Then...

The outcome was tragic.

Mechanical alchemists overthrew the corrupt Ancient Magic Empire and established the new Mafa Mechanical Empire.

As royalty, the "Regaldi family" then began their exile.

Eventually, with the support of their old rivals, the Ruying Empire, they took over a southern island as their territory, where they remain to this day.

The current world's two major empires, along with Old Lington's structure, roughly resemble the two factions of alchemists.

The Old School and the New School.

....

"Constantly thinking of restoration, this script feels so familiar..."

After digesting that segment of memory, Su Lun finally understood why the original owner was being pursued.

Because they were royalty a hundred years ago, the Regaldi family still took pride in this fact and even considered themselves as an ancient family on par with the imperial families of the two great empires.

Always thinking of restoration, connecting with various forces everywhere...

And because the Mafa Mechanical Empire was becoming increasingly powerful, some divisions appeared within the Ruying Empire.

They faced the same situation as the old Ancient Magic Empire; the mechanical revolution could shake the rulers' powers and change the existing social order.

The most critical aspect was the failure in war.

This hundred-year war started with the Ruying Empire having a one-sided advantage, then became a stalemate in the middle, and now gradually fell into disadvantage...

At the same professional level, the old school alchemists definitely had an absolute combat advantage.

Especially among top-level professionals, the gap with mechanical warriors would grow even larger.

But training a third-order professional takes many years, and also requires one-in-a-million talent, countless resources;

Whereas manufacturing a battle mech with equivalent combat capability of a third-order professional on an assembly line would roughly only take a day.

One can foresee the future decline of the Ruying Empire.

Therefore, part of the empire also wanted to reform.

Then came various political struggles.

The current family head, also the original owner's father Kelson Regaldi, was a staunch royalist. After all, they were once royalty and naturally wanted to maintain the original noble-centric order.

About a year and a half ago, the revolution succeeded, the new party came to power, Ruying Emperor Bonaparte IX was forced to abdicate, and died soon thereafter in deep sadness.

Kelson happened to be in the imperial capital and also got involved, was detained, waiting for trial.

His offspring were either exiled or imprisoned, and the original owner was one of the unlucky ones.

The Regaldi family now flourishes even more than a hundred years ago.

With this surname, there were probably tens of thousands of people in the "Region of Aorn."

The main family was weak, while the branch families were stronger.

It had been thought that the Family Head was surely doomed, and the branch families within Regaldi started causing trouble, aiming to take over.

To prevent any future issues, they planned to eradicate all the descendants of the main family.

This was why the original protagonist was exiled and even had a bounty on his head.

However, a few months later, the plot twisted.

The Empress returned powerfully, her iron fist suppressing various factions, the revolution failed, and the Bonaparte dynasty was restored.

And now, the protagonist's father was about to return to his territory...

Apparently, the branch family members had no intention of letting the original Family Head return alive to the territory.

...

Su Lun, the transmigrator, had absolutely no interest in any family infighting.

Nor had he wanted to become some "royal descendant."

But looking at the situation, it seemed the other party intended to erase them completely.

However, it wasn't a big issue, the world on the ground was endlessly vast, and avoiding that Regaldi family would be enough.

Countless thoughts flashed through his mind, but only a moment had passed in reality.

Mr. Jing stood quietly beside Su Lun as he assimilated the Soul Shard.

Obviously, she had realized that Su Lun had guessed her identity.

Although her face could not be clearly seen, it seemed somewhat... resigned.

Su Lun looked at this powerful figure who had come to save him, and sincerely thanked her, "Thank you, Mr. Jing."

Mr. Jing shook her head, seemingly unconcerned, "Not bad."

Su Lun knew that her comment was about the battle before.

The fact that she had arrived so timely also meant she had been there early, watching all along.

Her purpose was clear, naturally wishing him to face a fifth-tier enemy himself, to experience that oppressive feeling.

Su Lun also felt he had handled it quite well, at least a second-tier lasting so long against a fifth-tier was something any person could be proud of.

Unexpectedly, after a pause, Mr. Jing then uttered a profoundly meaningful phrase, "Without experiencing Death, you will never truly understand the Law of Death, nor will you comprehend some deeper aspects of 'meaning' and 'spirit'... Without a spirit, it's like a body without bones, regardless of skill, your achievements will be limited. That's something no one can explain clearly, not even a 'Reaper of Death' can reap it, you can only understand it yourself."

Upon hearing this, Su Lun knew that Mr. Jing was guiding him on some very advanced cultivation secrets.

With a moment's thought, each word seemed imprinted in his heart, immediately enlightening him.

His expression serious, he responded, "I've learned much, Mr. Jing."

Hearing this, Mr. Jing gently shook her head and even took the initiative to say, "You probably guessed my identity. When there are no outsiders, you can call me... Sister-teacher."

Being of the same generation, calling her "Mr." was naturally inappropriate.

Especially since she was his mother's disciple.

Listening, Su Lun also nodded, "Alright, Sister-teacher."

Mr. Jing didn't plan to stay much longer, adding, "We need some intelligence from the outside, Emmerich is handling the few on the city walls, you don't need to worry about that."

After a pause, she looked at Su Lun and added, "Also...take good care of yourself."

Su Lun nodded.

Looking up again, the cloaked Mr. Jing had already dispersed before his eyes.

....

Su Lun looked at the body on the ground, silently incorporating it into his storage space.

Without lingering, he immediately left the battle scene.

Although Mr. Jing had spoken cryptically, those words guided not only his cultivation but also served as a warning.

He immediately understood.

One's mindset can change in a comfortable environment, yet they remain unaware.

This is human nature.

These words awakened Su Lun.

When he had first transmigrated, survival had been a challenge, forcing him to stay alert at all times.

Now, having met some powerful allies, his subconscious had developed a dependency on enjoying comfort.

This Sister-teacher, though appearing aloof, was keenly observant and genuinely cared for Su Lun, her junior.