Teacher by day, Farmer by passion - Chapter 167

Chapter 167: Man dies for wealth [3]
“Alright,” Ace began, stepping to the front of the classroom and casually leaning against the desk, arms crossed. “Who here knows the basics of alchemy?”

Every single hand in the room shot up with near-military precision.

“Good,” he said, nodding. Then, with a grin that could only spell trouble, he added, “Let’s forget all of that. Wipe it clean. Erase it from your memories. From now on, we’re starting over.”

The class exploded into chaos.

“What?!”

“Is this a joke?!”

“Did he just say forget everything?!”

Even Lotus, standing quietly near the wall, covered her face with a sheet of paper, her ears burning red.

She couldn’t bring herself to meet anyone’s eyes.

Meanwhile Ace looked completely unfazed, if anything, more delighted than before.

Still smiling, he raised his right hand casually. “Alright then, new question. Who here wants to learn farming with me instead of alchemy?”

The silence was instant and deafening.

One student actually choked on his own breath. Another dropped his brush.

“A-are we in the wrong class…?”

“Did I… accidentally sign up for agriculture?!”

Ace simply basked in the confusion, folding open his fan with a snap as he added cheerfully, “You’d be amazed how much alchemy and farming have in common. Both require patience, precision… and both will absolutely explode if you’re careless.”

A few students were now looking at him like he was clinically insane.

He gave them a grin.

Next, he casually flipped his fan shut with a snap while his grin never fades.

“Alright, now that we’ve cleared our minds of useless bookworms dry theory, let’s actually talk about something that matters.”

He reached into a small pouch tied to his waist and pulled out a delicate, translucent leaf shimmering faintly under the light.

“This here,” he said, holding it up between two fingers, “is a Moonstone Herb. Looks fancy, right? Well, don’t be fooled by the name, it’s not a stone, and it sure doesn’t glow under the moon.”

He twirled it once, then tossed it toward a student, who scrambled to catch it.

“It’s a basic tonic herb,” Ace explained.

“Common. Simple. But don’t underestimate it. Its role in medicine is like salt in soup. Leave it out, and things just taste… wrong.”

A few students nodded, some taking notes with earnest expressions.

“Now,” Ace continued, producing a bright-orange root with scorch marks at its tips.

“This spicy thing here is a Yang Solar Herb. Grows only in places soaked in intense yang energy. You’ll often find it near lava veins or in the armpits of fire-type beasts, if you’re lucky or unlucky, depending on your cultivation rank.”

He paused and gave the class a long, slow smile. “As for its use… well, let’s just say it’s what men turn to when their ‘manhood’ decides it’s still taking a nap during showtime.”

There was a moment of stunned silence.

A few boys exchanged alarmed glances, one pretending to scribble notes just to avoid eye contact.

The girls turned crimson, one buried her face in her scroll, another shot Ace a scandalized look… but kept writing.

Ace, however, was completely unbothered. “What? I’m just stating facts. If you want to be an alchemist, you’d better get used to discussing uncomfortable things comfortably. Pills don’t discriminate.”

He moved on as if he hadn’t just shattered half their innocence.

“Next up, Yin Bell Herb. Elegant, subtle, temperamental. Ideal for calming berserk energies or pacifying spiritual beasts. Looks harmless, until it rings in the presence of soul stones.”

A few students leaned forward now, curiosity winning over discomfort.

Ace smiled inwardly.

Good.

He walked over to the table Lotus had set up, lifted another herb with a chime-like stem.

“Next up, Pink Ginger. It’s not edible, unless you’re the kind who enjoys passing out for three hours. Great for stabilizing mental-attribute concoctions, though. Smells like candy, acts like a bomb.”

A wave of murmurs swept through the classroom like a gust of wind.

“Did he just say don’t eat it?”

“But didn’t he bite into one during the competition with Professor Lotus?”

“I saw him chew it! He didn’t even blink!”

Lotus cleared her throat, still trying not to make eye contact with anyone.

Even she remembered that moment vividly. The collective gasp from the crowd, the explosion, the disbelief.

Ace leaned back against the table and folded his arms, completely unfazed.

“Alchemy isn’t about looking good in robes or refining pills in smoky rooms. It’s about understanding the soul of what you use,” he said, gesturing around.

“You’ll learn flame control, essence extraction, sure. But if you don’t respect your herbs, your pills will betray you. Simple as that.”

Ace, continued on even further.

“Let me tell you this, it’s not just about refinement. It’s about connection. Most of you treat herbs like dead things. Ingredients in a cauldron. But they’re alive. And you won’t truly understand them until you’ve grown one yourself.”

The murmurs died down, curiosity returning to the forefront.

Ace gestured to the classroom window where the sunlight poured in.

“If you want to master alchemy, you start with the soil. The root. You’ll learn how herbs behave, not in theory, but in nature. You’ll learn how they change depending on the season, how they fight pests, how they grow stubborn or sweet depending on the moon.”

Ace pointed casually to a student in the front row. “You there. Ever seen a Moonstone Herb bloom under the moonlight?”

The student blinked, caught off guard, then shook his head. “N-no, never.”

“Exactly,” Ace said with a smirk that danced just on the edge of mockery. “And that’s probably why your pill exploded last week.”

The boy’s face turned red. “H-how did you know?!”

Ace stood tall, fanning himself with the leaf-patterned fan at his waist. “Simple. I’m a Master Alchemist.”

Then, with a charming smile still plastered on his face, he added inwardly, Well… technically, I’m not wrong. But honestly, you smell like roasted herbs even from here. I’ve had a cauldron explode on me recently too, and I see it everyday when I had Akha refining pills for the hua family back in the days too… I’d recognize that singed-eyebrow stench anywhere.

Ace’s smile widened. “Relax. You’re not the first, and you won’t be the last. Alchemy isn’t about perfection, it’s about learning how to keep your eyebrows intact while chasing perfection.”