The Geared Immortal

An Academy Life: 18

/*unedited*/

Ever since the start of the crafting shop built by Prince Mingsha Wu, the name Ai Ji began to circulate throughout the city of Wu's upper echelon. Her name is like a song of praise to those adults who wanted to inspire their young children to work hard.

Words like…

"If Ai Ji, a young mortal can be a tier 2 artificer. Then you can be one too… she that working hard is the key so you must work hard."

Or

"You must not lose to a mere mortal. Ai Ji is just a lowly mortal yet; she can create artifacts if you want to have a future then work hard."

These comments would always be heard from the parents of those upper echelons to inspire their children in doing something, especially those cultivators in the top families in the city.

So when the five people heard her name, at first they showed a suspicious look on their faces. But when they realized her looks and her age, every one of them suddenly froze in disbelief.

Who is Ai Ji? She is not only one of the youngest most famous artificers in the city, but also the idol of many young mortals and cultivators alike. It's like walking along with their idol without knowing who she really is.

"Is… is this true…" suddenly May Wu asked with disbelief still plastered in her face.

"No… we… we must not let others know that she is with us. This would make the whole campus become chaotic." Men Tang immediately said as he signaled everyone.

The group walks towards the now dumbfounded Ai Ji.

"Little sister, follow us for a bit okay." Xun Ye said with worry and excitement clearly written all over her face.

Ai Ji, on the other hand, didn't have a choice but to follow the group. She is not aware of her fame within the city due to the protection given to her by Mingsha Wu himself. Although he let his cousin Sai Wu bring Ai Ji in the academy, he is not worried about the consequences because he is sure that Sai Wu is aware of his wrath and that nobody would dare to harass Ai Ji in Sai Wu's presence.

But the situation is not part of Mingsha Wu's plan at this moment.

So the five people found a vacant room and stealthily bring Ai Ji inside.

"Is it safe?" Men Tang asked the silent Zhan Xiemen who became the lookout of the group.

With a nod of his head, he confirmed that no one followed them.

Upon learning this, everyone heaves a sigh of relief. Then their eyes turn towards the confused small young woman in the midst of them. Her innocent reaction and naivety almost made the five people laughed at themselves.

They are worried about her, but she is acting like this never concerned her.

"Little sister… Ai Ji." May Wu said while trying to lower her voice upon saying her name.

"You are the 2nd tier artificer Ai Ji right?" she asked trying to verify her name.

Ai Ji suddenly realized what had happened but still nods her head in confusion.

"Why the fuss about my identity? What is happening here?" Ai Ji thought.

"Really!? I mean… you really are her?" May Wu suddenly exclaim.

"Hush… are you crazy? Do you want others to know?" suddenly Men Tang berated May Wu.

"Sorry, sorry… I was just too excited. I didn't expect that I would meet a very famous person in the academy. Hihi…" May Wu said with a smile.

"Famous? Who? Me?" Ai Ji suddenly interjected with confusion clearly written all over her face.

Since she is protected, she is not aware that her identity is already well-spread and is treated like a celebrity.

"Don't be too humble little sister… I mean artificer Ai Ji. We… we are actually your admirers." Suddenly the silent Zhan Xiemen said making the rest of the group dumbfounded.

"Wait! Aren't we supposed to be in class right now?" suddenly Haoyin Fu said upon remembering something.

The group also realized this and began to plan. They needed to hide Ai Ji's identity while trying to bring her along with them. So the group decided to calm down and immediately go to their class.

On the way, no-one recognized Ai Ji which gave the group a sigh of relief.

When the two old men who are watching everything saw this, they too felt a little worried about the gravity of the situation. At first, they think that it would be interesting to follow the little girl but soon realized that it would cause trouble if someone found out.

So the principle decided to continue following Ai Ji along with the old man from the crafting association. The two would jump into action if ever there is something that would happen to prevent chaos from happening. From the reaction of those five nobles, they can see the influence of the young artificer, so how much more if those common folks would know her identity. It would truly cause chaos in the academy.

Ai Ji and the group entered the class and luckily the teacher is not yet in. So they sat in their usual place along with Ai Ji who looks around with excitement clearly written in her face.

"Little sister, is this your first time entering a class?" Xun Ye asked in a low voice.

"Umm… I only learned through my master, and I think that he is a great teacher." Ai Ji replied with admiration clearly written all over her beautiful cute face.

"I guess your master is a truly awesome man. I'm guessing that he is an old eccentric fellow right?" May Wu also asked since Ai Ji is seated between the two girls.

"Umm… no, my master is actually not an old man. He is a very handsome young man, and he is in this academy too." Ai Ji said in a low voice trying to hide the fact that she is trying to find her master.

"Really, do you mean…"

"Umm… I call him my master, but in my heart, he is my older brother." Ai Ji said feeling a bit shy.

When the teacher came in the three stopped talking. But the five people's heart is full of curiosity. They wanted to know, who is this great master that is able to teach a young woman, and turn her into a 2nd tier artificer, even though she is just a mortal.

But they held their curiosity and listen to the class.

The class that they are having is about the different kinds of herbs and their effects. When Ai Ji saw this she became interested and began reading the book. Seeing that the thick book contains almost 50% of all the known herbs in the cultivation land, she decided to record them all. Taking out the glasses from her spatial tool, she busied herself in browsing through the content of the book, while listening to the lecture of the teacher.

Many students became bored, but Ai Ji's eyes are sparkling while listening to new information she is currently learning.

When the class was over she felt a little disappointed as she wanted to listen and learn more. Seeing her reaction the five felt helpless and then realized why Ai Ji became proficient in her crafting. She is a person who is hungry for knowledge and learning, and she would not stop until she got what she aimed for.

"Little sister, you didn't feel bored in class right?" suddenly Haoyin Fu asked.

"No, actually I am really interested in alchemy now. I wanted to learn more." Ai Ji said with a sparkle in her eyes, making the rest of the group felt helpless.

So they decided to go to the laboratory which is their next class.

It is called a laboratory but unlike her workshop which is full of high-tech equipment, what Ai Ji saw was a wooden table with mortar and pestle and a simple cauldron on top of a furnace.

Seeing the confusion in her eyes, May Wu decided to explain.

"This is the alchemy table where we practice concocting pills and potions. Here we use cauldron along with the furnace, or if you want you can directly use the furnace if your spiritual Qi is strong enough… then the medicinal herbs can be taken from that counter over there. But you have to write down the formula first before you are given the chance to concoct a pill..."

Upon learning the basics of alchemy, Ai Ji immediately turned excited, she can't wait to try and make her own pill. But first, she needed to observe so she stood in the corner and watched the five seniors began concocting the pill they wanted to practice.

While doing so, Ai Ji suddenly realized something. As she observes the flow of the energy within the herbs, she suddenly has enlightenment and decided to craft something. But first, she needed to research the effect of the medicinal herbs.

Unlike Shin Jiao, Ai Ji has a special gift. And that is her keen sight which can see every detail in any object she observes. So with this gift, she began to record the medicinal herbs data, from its form to its effect. She then began to record the different reactions of the herbs when they are concocted.

Because of her cultivation and enlightenment, Ai Ji suddenly began to see some calculations and formulas about the medicinal herbs and how they react to each other.

As she busies herself she is not aware that she is already gaining the attention of the students in the class.. Even the teacher, began to take note of her appearance.