Her voice sounded calm, but Damien could feel the disgruntlement hidden within it. He jolted his head forward and rubbed his eyes.
"Uh...of course not. Your voice was so soothing that I accidentally dozed off." Damien said with a straight face.
The part where he said that her voice was soothing was true, but that was not the reason he feigned his drowsiness. In fact, after listening to her for the first few minutes, he realized that her knowledge in alchemy was deep and not superficial.
She had a clear understanding of concepts and was able to explain them clearly to everyone. He guessed that her interest in alchemy was unmatched that she must have keenly studied them behind palace walls.
Reva's brows creased as she said, "Does that mean you will sleep whenever I talk? If you are not serious about this class, you can leave."
There was no hint of anger or annoyance in her tone, and she was calm as ever. But Damien felt that her words were piercing into his ears.
"Teacher, please don't be angry. Believe me. There can't be anyone more serious than me in this class. Alchemy is like breathing to me." Damien said in a smug tone.
Reva's fingers pinched together, seeing his annoying behavior while the other disciples in the class clutched their thighs in anger.
How could they not be angry and disgruntled when Damien basically insulted them all in front of Reva. He implied that they all were less serious than him and that alchemy was a breeze for him.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})Seeing someone whose cultivation was at least a whole realm weaker than them arrogantly debasing them and praising himself was not something they had ever experienced in their lives.
Even if they all believed that his combat prowess was exceptional, how could the same be said for his soul? As his ethereal cultivation was only at the Nascent Ethereal Realm, then his soul should also be at the Nascent Soul Stage, which would only allow him to concoct Rank 2 Pills at most.
Their soul cultivation was at least at the Soul Transformation Stage and had the potential to concoct Rank 3 Pills.
Even though the difference in rank was only one, it was a huge one as there was a huge gap between them.
So they couldn't understand where this weakling was getting the confidence to act so presumptuously.
Reva's eyes focused as she walked closer, "Is that so? Why don't you tell me the most important thing one must focus on to manifest their etheric fire without restraining its potential? I don't need a general and vague answer like 'soul energy'. I need a precise one. I am sure an alchemy savant like you who breathes and lives alchemy can answer it."
The disciples grinned, seeing the basic yet difficult question put out by Reva to Damien. Even they didn't know the answer as they all thought 'soul energy' explained enough.
"Of course, simple. It is a person's basic thoughts and emotions. They power our etheric fire in a way, and they are more powerful than an etheric fire manifested by simply focusing on one's soul energy." Damien answered with a smile.
Instead of feeling displeased that he answered, Reva was astonished Damien knew about such things.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})What she didn't know was that unlike most who manifest their first etheric flame by concentrating on their soul energy for months, Damien went deeper and focused on what truly made up his soul energy. His thoughts and emotions, to be precise.
Of course, experts knew that these two methods could be used to invoke one's etheric flame. But the second method was not encouraged as it was an unstable way of invoking one's etheric flames.
Focusing on one's emotions and thoughts to manifest their etheric flame was a faster way. Still, one could end up injuring their soul as it would require immense concentration and control over their emotions and thoughts to stabilize their etheric flame.
Thus, this practice was not taught to others. Most of them ended up killing themselves in the process as their souls were inflicted with irreparable injuries.
How could the heads of prestigious families let their geniuses die just because they wanted to speed up the process?
The safest way was to let their soul build up soul energy passively and use them to manifest an etheric flame. But the profundity of the etheric flames would be lesser compared to the second method.
But Luna was confident that Damien wouldn't die following the second method as not only was his soul strong, but he was someone who survived two lifetimes and had a better check on his intense emotions and thoughts.
If Reva knew that Damien could even come up with his own medical formulas to concoct pills, she would realize that Damien had every right to be smug about his alchemy skills.
Even though she would find it hard to believe, she wouldn't dare to believe that he can even formulate Rank 4 Pills. Someone who could formulate Rank 4 Pills at such a young age can't be simply termed as a prodigy but a monster or a freak.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})Only when one had a couple of decades or at least a century of experience in alchemy could they understand the pills' medical formulas and how they affect the pill. And the higher the rank of the pill, the more complex it would be.
But Damien was barely sixteen, and he could even come up with his own medical formulas. If Reva knew that Damien had already created the Rank 4 Blood Returning Pill on his own, she would wonder why he is even sitting in her class.
In fact, he could even start an alchemy school of his own if he wants to.
Impressed with his knowledge, Reva complimented, "Good. It seems like you can live up to your words." Her expression turned solemn as she continued, "You are free to sleep, but if you fail to answer a single question I might ask in the future, the door will always be open for you."
"Don't worry, teacher. How can I leave this class when there's a beautiful and knowledgeable teacher like you?" Damien said casually with a whimsical smile.
Seeing his cheeky and flippant attitude with her, Reva wanted to rebuke him. Not even the heads of the top five families in the empire would dare to look her in the eyes, let alone her disciples.
Even some Profound Ethereal Realm practitioners would have to bow down to her. Her authority and status could only possibly be outshone by the emperor of the Xeton Empire.
But someone who was her student and younger than her by three years dared to show impertinent behavior before her.
However, she couldn't find much reason to say anything as Damien didn't say anything rude with his words. It was only the manner in which he said it, seemed frivolous.
She was sure if she said something, he would tell her that he was simply complimenting his teacher.
She shook her head in exasperation and resumed her lecture.
'Seems like she is not a silver spoon princess.' Damien mused as he confirmed his guess.
However, the disciples were slack-jawed that Reva didn't say anything despite Damien's attitude.
Before, they all were inwardly grinning, thinking that Damien would get punished. But when Damien gave his answer swiftly and how even Reva complimented his answer as 'Good', they wondered how he knew the answer.
But the next thing Damien said made them feel hopeful again as he dared to say words that could be considered borderline flirting. They were sure that he was in trouble this time and probably could even get his grades cut if Reva wanted to.
Even the most arrogant amongst them wouldn't dare to say a single frivolous word to the princess of the Xeton Empire. They valued their heads very much, and the last thing they wanted is to drag down their families.
Even though what Damien said was pretty harmless, it was still an impudent behavior considering the status difference between them in their eyes. They knew the Xeton Empire's princess was not simple or just a figurehead and was highly valued by the supreme existences of the empire.
To see Damien got scot-free infuriated most of them, especially the men. Some thought whether Reva let go of it because of his correct answer or if she was planning to punish him later.
Damien didn't bother about the murmurs around him and was relaxing in his seat when Luna's voice sounded in his mind, "Why are you trying to provoke her?"
