Midday the next day.
Xia Zuo and his companion strolled out of the academy's low walls in their standard uniforms.
Their attire and textbooks granted them free access to the exhibition hall. It wasn't far from the academy, making it a perfect post-lunch excursion.
The resident mage of Nightstar City was Beryl.
This sage, over two hundred years old, had witnessed myriad worldly changes, understanding that pure light often breeds hidden darkness.
In the southeastern corner of Nightstar City, she maintained a territory in the dilapidated district named the Ruins, where the underbelly of society thrived.
That area was off-limits to the academy students. However, elsewhere in the city, they roamed freely without concern for trouble.
Beryl wasn't the only one ensuring the students' safety.
Administrator Dim inscribed a few lines in the "Castle Regulations":
【Clause 17: When leaving the academy during weekends or holidays, wearing a copper pendant is mandatory. In case of an emergency, dropping the copper pendant on the ground or wall will alert my elemental attendants, who will rush to assist promptly.】
With dual safeguards in place, academy students navigated the crowded streets as effortlessly as if strolling through the academy's gardens.
"I see the exhibition hall over there."
Anju, linking her arm with Xia Zuo's, excitedly pointed toward the white building about twenty or thirty meters ahead.
A three-story exhibition hall with three doors stood before them—the middle one for commoners, the left closed, and the right for academy students and other dignitaries.
Showing their textbooks and copper pendants to the guard, Xia Zuo and Anju entered the ground floor of the hall.
Anju glanced at the hall's map, whispering softly by Xia Zuo's ear:
"Let's start with historical paintings. They might be a bit hard to grasp stylistically, but they cover the most comprehensive techniques."
Xia Zuo smiled and nodded, letting the delicate hand guide him towards the staircase.
Between his two lifetimes, he had seen more comic book illustrations than flat paintings...
Perhaps due to never having attended art exhibitions, he found it hard to grasp the allure of artistic paintings.
It wasn't until they entered the historical painting gallery, standing before a gigantic painting, that he truly felt the impact of oil painting.
A work covering the entire wall, 3 meters in height and 10 meters in length, depicted a group of lumberjacks in brown overalls chopping wood in a forest.
The play of light and shadow was vivid, the strokes meticulous, even the wood chips from the axe hitting the trees were visible.
Standing a couple of meters away from the painting, Xia Zuo gazed at the expressions and postures of the lumberjacks, feeling moved.
Observing such a lifelike painting, with a bit of imagination, the static image could become as lively as a VR video.
Anju stood beside him and murmured softly:
"It's impressive, right? My teacher brought me to see historical paintings first too."
She tugged at Xia Zuo's sleeve and gestured an oval shape under the lumberjacks' feet, then pointed at the wildflowers behind the lumberjacks in the bushes.
Xia Zuo's gaze shifted between the wild grass and flowers, furrowing his brow, feeling there was some connection between the two.
The painting portrayed a drizzle turning into sunshine. The grass had many damp mud imprints, swaying in disarray.
The flowers in the bushes had spots of brightness on their petals—undropped raindrops—and slightly leaned to one side.
A realization dawned on Xia Zuo—it was the wind!
Closing his eyes, he visualized the historical painting in his mind.
Three or five lumberjacks swung axes, shouting slogans, cutting down a giant tree. Their actions stirred up a breeze that tore through the natural wind wafting among the trees.
Opening his eyes, Xia Zuo noticed the fallen grass portrayed their postures under the influence of the wind.
Portraying the intangible with tangible elements.
Using the poses of lumberjacks and wildflowers to depict different wind directions.
Xia Zuo's eyes gleamed with understanding, marveling:
"This painting is undoubtedly a masterpiece. No wonder it's placed near the entrance of the historical gallery. Even without the symbolic lines indicating wind direction, it still depicts the interaction of different winds. Truly remarkable."
Anju curved her lips, blowing gently on Xia Zuo's neck, causing him to instinctively tighten and chuckle, saying:
"Unless it's a portrait or still life, wind is the soul of a painting. In landscape paintings, water is equally crucial."
Xia Zuo once again employed his probing ability on Anju.
【Character Name】 Anju
【Identity】 Nightstar Academy Mage Attendant
【Health】??? (Healthy)
【Resistance】
【Wind Resistance】 3%
【Water Resistance】 2%
【Strength】 2
【Agility】 3
【Endurance】 2
【Vitality】 2
【Perception】 5
【Willpower】 5
【Spirit】 11
【Charisma】 6
【Character Specialties】:
【Alchemical Linguistics】, 【Elixir Alchemy·Apprentice Level】...
【Artistry·Artisan Level】
【【Artistry Mastery·Wind】 Able to sense changes in wind direction and depict them with a paintbrush.
【【Artistry Mastery·Water】 Able to sense changes in water flow and depict them with a paintbrush.
Anju's spirit had risen from 10 to 11, likely due to reading alchemical books.
Like Keli Muller, the miller's daughter, she too had awakened wind and water resistances, solely from observing wind directions and water flows.
With sufficient spirit attributes, to awaken fire resistance, one could study Strange Alchemy, meditate near the forge to comprehend Moben Liley's specialty, 【Forging Mastery·Fire】, or similar abilities.
For earth resistance, studying Poison Alchemy, understanding Kurov's specialty, 【Toxin Mastery·Compound】, during poison-making and antidote processes.
Xia Zuo noticed his uniqueness compared to others.
He hadn't obtained these resistance-related specialties through conventional means!
Instead, he acquired them by selling blood, gaining rewards from the golden finger.
Skipping the arduous process of years of accumulation!
It was akin to a fire breather—lung capacity, toxin resistance, fire-breathing skills—all requiring extensive practice.
But by utilizing high regeneration, using highly intense and toxic fire elixirs, he forcefully obtained the 【Fire Resistance】 from the identity bonus.
Beryl defined elemental resistance as post-natal affinity.
Whether post-natal or prenatal affinity, possessing four elemental affinities allowed entry-level meditation, thus becoming a mage.
Learning alchemy was just one way to acquire these post-natal affinities.
It was faster than avenues such as painting, herb gathering, or working at the furnace.
However, all these common paths accessible to people lacked the speed and convenience of exchanging blood for rewards.
Could it be...
A miraculous idea surged in Xia Zuo's mind!
Perhaps, with the help of the golden finger, he could create an entirely new path to advance his identity.
Flow of vitality!
Sell blood, gain rewards, regenerate, sell blood again...
As long as the requirements for identity advancement could be achieved by selling blood, wouldn't he become a perpetual motion machine...
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