The Refining Hall in Dongcheng District is Lightning's favorite place to stay on weekdays. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info

The apprentices and disciples carried the materials they needed back and forth, the heat rising from the vessels, the lingering smell of sulphur and acid in the room, and the occasional cracking of glass bottles and the shouting of alchemists.

Although he had been promoted to one of the three chiefs two years ago and had his own independent alchemy room, the crowded, noisy and chaotic hall made it easier for him to burst out of inspiration. Alchemy is like this busy scene, where all kinds of substances mingle together, and most of them become more cloudy, and only a few of them stand out and bloom with brilliant brilliance - this is true of crystal glass, and so is the fierce snow powder.

After burning, melting, and mixing, no one knew that the gray-white fine sand and pitch-black charcoal could be transformed into such a wonderful thing, which is the charm of alchemy. People are no exception, and every year a large number of new apprentices join the Alchemy Society, but in the end, only a few can shed their rough and dull appearance and become the shining pearls of the Society, and Lightnin is one of them. It took thirty-four years to rise from apprentice to chief, and now he is approaching the age of fifty and is nearing the end of his life. But being able to comprehend the beauty of the sage's learning, he felt that this life had been completed.

It's just that what has happened in the royal capital in recent days has made Lightning faintly uneasy.

The biggest change is the change of throne...... After the fourth prince hanged Tifeko, he became the undisputed heir. This had nothing to do with the Alchemy Society, no matter who the king was, they were only responsible for providing alchemy products. But when the scorching snow powder was handed over to Tifeko as war materiel, would they be able to stay out of it as usual?

Now that the royal capital has gradually returned to peace, the fourth prince did not come to visit the Alchemy Society for a long time, but went to the astrology platform first, which seems to be a bad sign.

"Are you still thinking about the astrological association?" someone next to him suddenly spoke, "Always wrinkled by the window in a daze with a bitter face, this is not like your usual you." ”

The one who can talk to himself unceremoniously must also be a chief, and he tilted his head to look at the same gray-haired Rayleigh, "You say...... What is His Royal Highness the Fourth Prince up to?"

"I think those guys who stare at the stars all day are a waste of money, what else can they mean," Rayleigh said disapprerovingly, "It's a pity that he didn't stick to his opinion, those people don't deserve the name of sages at all, and they should have been dismissed a long time ago." ”

As one of the two great sages, the Alchemy Society has its own eyeliner in the Stargazer Society, and has heard a little about the purpose of Roland's visit to the astrological observatory, but it is not clear what the chief astrologer and the fourth prince have secretly discussed, and finally made him dispel the idea of closing the astrological observatory.

"What, are you worried that the Alchemy Association will also fall to this point?" he patted Lightning's shoulder vigorously, "Don't forget how much profit our products can bring to the royal capital! As long as crystal glass and perfume are released from the restrictions on production, the gold dragon earned in a year or two is enough to fill the prince's bedroom, and he will be willing to close the association?"

"But the association refines strong snow powder for Tifeco......"

"So what, can we disobey the King's orders?" Rayleigh scoffed, "If he had a little common sense in his head, he wouldn't have used this excuse to accuse us." Besides, he also has a large number of snow powder weapons, isn't it the recipe he got from the rebel Bol? The successful capture of the royal capital can also be seen as the credit of our Alchemy Association, maybe we can give him a better blend recipe, and we can also get a reward. ”

"I hope so," Lightnin nodded, feeling a little relieved. As Rayleigh said, the Alchemy Association is a big producer of gold after all, and His Royal Highness the Prince was not able to come at the first time, probably because he was entangled in trivial matters.

Just as he was about to instruct the rest of the alchemists, a disciple rushed into the hall out of breath and shouted at him, "First and Chief Lords, Your Majesty and Your Majesty are here!"

"What? Where is he?"

With Lightning's exclamation, the noise in the hall instantly fell silent, and everyone's eyes were on the comer.

"At the top of the courtyard," the disciple swallowed, "Your Majesty is from heaven!"

Lightnin and Rayleigh glanced at each other, each seeing the surprise in the other's eyes, "Go and call Chief Achill over, and the others will come with me to meet Your Majesty." ”

"Yes!"

......

Outside the Alchemy Society, a huge floating ball occupied almost half of the sky, and soldiers armed with snow powder weapons had already surrounded the courtyard, and after they had searched the inside and outside of the association, the sphere began to slowly descend.

"That's probably the witch equipment that the fourth prince used when he went to the astrological platform," Rayleigh whispered into Lightning's ear, "I didn't expect to be able to fly with people." ”

"Anyway, it's finally here," Lightnin breathed a sigh of relief, then grabbed Rayleigh's arm and said, "It's okay for us to call him a prince in private, but we still have to show respect when we meet officially, even if he doesn't have an enthronement ceremony, he is still the king of the Grey Keep, you don't want to be too casual." ”

"Don't worry, I've always been measured," the latter laughed.

The hanging basket landed smoothly, and a gray-haired man with a bright face stepped forward under the protection of the guards. He did not wear ornate clothes, nor a crown or a scepter, but he had an unmistakable majesty in his gestures, which was completely different from the incompetent fourth prince in the previous comments. There was also an old man in a robe beside him, and Lightnin found that he was unexpectedly familiar.

"Your Majesty Wimbledon, welcome to the Alchemy Society. Under the leadership of the three chiefs, many alchemists bowed and saluted together.

His Majesty smiled and said, "When I was still in the royal capital, I often heard my father mention that both crystal glass and perfume were extremely popular alchemical products, and even exported to the fjord islands, bringing rich returns to the royal palace. So after I was sent by my father to a border town, I also established an alchemy workshop in the town. ”

"Poof—" Rayleigh almost didn't laugh out loud. Although Lightning was also trying his best to endure it, he never revealed it on his face, "That's not easy, Your Majesty. There is an old saying that any alchemy is made out of equal weights of golden dragons. ”

"But I didn't invest much in the Golden Dragon...... You should know how barren the place is, and at first I could only set up a few wooden sheds as a refining room, but now it produces a wide range of products, including glass and perfume," said His Majesty lightly, "so I wonder where all the golden dragons you spend each year are spent. ”

"You...... What does this mean?" Lightnin's heart sank.

"This is my chief alchemist, Mr. Kemo Stell," Roland pointed to the old man beside him, "he will review your alchemy results, and if there are no innovative products in the past few years, I think the Alchemy Society is closed." After all, the royal capital has just experienced a war, and many streets and houses need to be repaired by spending gold dragons. ”

This sentence caused an uproar among the alchemists!

"Your Majesty, I don't agree!" Rayleigh couldn't help but stand up first.