Mechanical Alchemist

Su Lun watched as Jike and Phoebe busied themselves organizing the laboratory, a slight smile on his face.

Glancing around, he remarked casually, "So this is your lab? Not bad at all."

The lab was filled with all sorts of alchemical equipment, with operating tables holding a multitude of flasks and test tubes filled with colorful liquids. In the reaction boilers, a green potion bubbled and boiled beneath the flames.

The air was thick with a rich mix of potion scents.

It resembled a pharmacist's lab.

But upon closer inspection, many of the containers held explosive potions that were highly reactive to touch.

Those who could understand these materials would think this place was more akin to an ammunition depot than a laboratory.

Beyond the hazardous substances, there were also precision instruments connected to energy devices hard at work in the lab.

The most striking piece was the "Higgs T3-type high-pressure test machine" with a diameter of more than ten meters.

Su Lun recognized the device as one from the military sector of Mafa, a top-tier machine in the field of plane mechanics, used for testing experiments under extremely high pressure and temperature.

He knew it because the mechanical factory in the minor void realm had two of these.

These were gifts from Lucien Pepys Grandmaster, one of the founders of the Mechanical Empire, when he joined the Dawn with Dora.

Su Lun was also surprised to find such top-tier equipment in Jike's lab.

"Hmm."

Jike, seeing his teacher's interest in the lab, began to explain enthusiastically, "Teacher, we evacuated all this equipment from the mechanical academy before Caperton fell. It just so happened that I needed it for my research on 'antimatter bombs,' so everyone let me move it into the lab."

Standing beside a top-level powerhouse like his teacher, Phoebe appeared somewhat reserved.

And given that Jike was his teacher and mentor, she too felt the nervousness of meeting an elder.

Upon Jike's cue, Phoebe came to her senses and brought over some stools from the lab, "Mr. Su Lun, Mentor, please take a seat."

Uncertain how to address Mr. Jing, she followed along and called him "Mentor" as well.

Mr. Jing smiled slightly hearing this.

Both men took their seats.

Though the setting was simple, the atmosphere was warm.

...

Su Lun had noticed the numerous scars on Jike's body back in the bunker and guessed that his disciple must have had a rough time these past years. After all, before today, Mafa was purely occupied territory, constantly beaten back by the beings of the Celestial Plane.

He asked, "After the planar invasion, have you been with the resistance all this time?"

"Yes, teacher,"

Jike nodded, then went on, "Originally, we, the students of the academy, were among the first who could evacuate. But I thought that my knowledge in ammunition could help the front lines, so I stayed. Phoebe decided to stay as well when she saw that I wasn't leaving."

He briefly recounted his experiences over the years following the occupation - a series of hide and seek guerrilla tactics, with several near-death moments.

Although the impact the resistance had on the enemies of the Celestial Plane was limited, it let the people in the occupied areas know that there were still those who steadfastly fought.

Listening to his words, both Su Lun and Mr. Jing could hear the hardships of these years between the lines.

Jike continued, "However, the damage the mechanical technology can inflict on the large mage units is still too limited, and the resistance is suffering heavy casualties, with cities continually falling... I have always wanted to create an explosive capable of inflicting damage on the mage units. After consulting ancient texts for inspiration and utilizing these experimental devices, I was able to create the 'dark matter bomb'..."

Upon hearing this, Su Lun's expression subtly changed.

He had been surprised by the bomb that created a blue mushroom cloud and heavily damaged the large mage unit for it seemed to have an effect at the level of laws.

His visit to seek out Jike was also to inquire about the situation.

Now that the topic had come up, he asked directly, "Jike, what exactly is this 'dark matter bomb' you're talking about?"

When the conversation turned to his specialty, Jike became very talkative. Excitedly, he said, "Oh! Teacher, I actually have some related questions I was hoping to consult you on."

He paused, then added, "As my professional rank is too low and my understanding of the laws is weak, I have indeed created the 'dark matter bomb,' but due to my limited knowledge, I still don't understand many of its principles. However, I feel it could be perfected. That's why I wanted to consult with you..."

Without rush, Su Lun listened quietly.

....

"Since I wanted to create an explosive that could break through the domains of high-ranking professionals, even killing high-ranking mages within their sanctuaries, I realized that it wasn't enough to design the bomb solely on the basis of energy fluctuations. The new explosive had to have the characteristic to penetrate those high-order domains..."

"But this idea was difficult to implement, as the most powerful bomb in Mafa remained at the level of energy. So, I thought to look for clues in ancient texts. After all, the plane of alchemy was once magnificent, and perhaps a predecessor had researched it. Then I started to comb through various ancient texts. Oh, I must say, the academy's collection was a tremendous help..."

"..."

Jim began to speak at length.

Su Lun listened with great satisfaction.

He had already seen the shadow of a future Great Alchemist in this disciple of his.

It should be known that ancient texts are not so easy to browse through.

To comprehend the manuscripts left by Alchemists from various eras, one must be proficient in many areas, such as ancient texts, cryptography, mysticism, and even ethics, customs, geography, archaeology, and so on.

The Great Alchemists of ancient times took pride in encrypting their research findings. The more advanced the text, the more sophisticated the encryption.

To understand them, one needs extraordinary willpower and talent.

Jim then said, "Fortunately, I found a fragment of 'Dirac's Book of Dark Matter' among those ancient alchemical documents, and I finally made a discovery after decryption. In the field of alchemy, nearly everyone agrees that the universe began with the 'primordial creator.' And it is possible that all things in the universe evolved from the 'primordial matter explosion.' But then Master Dirac posed a question: What kind of explosion would that have been?"

"..."

Upon hearing this, Su Lun fell into deep thought.

He was familiar with this viewpoint, and it was even mentioned in many alchemical texts.

For countless years, alchemists in pursuit of truth naturally considered the origin of the universe and how the world came into being.

"The Primordial Explosion" is one of the mainstream views.

But Jim's approach was clearly different.

His considerations were not as profound; he only cared about "the explosion."

He continued, "The problem lies with the 'explosion.' In 'Dirac's Book of Dark Matter,' the master wrote that the conversion of primordial matter into matter, this kind of explosion, must be different from explosions as we understand them; it cannot merely be a change of energy states. There must be something we are overlooking. For example, some special energies, patterns, laws, or something else. Like a catalyst, they completed this process, but due to certain constraints, we cannot observe them..."

When Su Lun heard the beginning of this explanation, he felt a strange familiarity.

Upon closer thought, wasn't this the same as Sir Isaac's conjecture theory about "dark rules" in his fifth alchemical manuscript?

Jim continued to speak, "The master wrote in the book that he thinks our usual understanding of equivalent exchange might be erroneous... The conclusion is correct, but the process was misunderstood. There must be a special kind of matter involved in this process, otherwise, the explosions we understand would not achieve the effects of the original explosion. This special matter is invisible to the naked eye, unobservable, not revealed in the outcome, like a 'ghost' lurking in the dark. They do not exist after the reaction, but that does not mean they were not involved. They are a real existence. And Master Dirac referred to this ghostly matter as—'Dark Matter.'"

"..."

Su Lun's eyes shifted slightly upon hearing this.

He probably understood the meaning of these words better than anyone else.

Mr. Jing, who was listening on the side, also showed a thoughtful expression. Although she had also read the fifth Isaac manuscript, she had not yet touched upon that field.

Now hearing a similar theory from another source, she naturally became very interested.

Seeing the serious expressions on their faces, Jim wondered if his own description was too crude and felt a bit perturbed.

After all, the theory did sound quite preposterous.

He paused for a moment, then said, "Teacher, Senior Master, I know this theory sounds absurd to you. I felt the same when I first encountered it. But please keep listening. Because, in later experiments, I confirmed that Master Dirac was right. Because my 'Dark Matter Bomb' came from this principle."

"Hmm."

Having witnessed it with their own eyes, Su Lun and Mr. Jing naturally did not doubt it.

They nodded without saying much and listened quietly for what was to come.

Jim went on to say, "The book 'Dirac's Book of Dark Matter' is incomplete, and I don't know how the original master discovered 'Dark Matter.' But it says in the book that it is an existence that cannot be observed on a human level. I have tried as well, but so far, no method can observe it. So, I cannot provide any evidence for this theory. Of course, that's not the point I want to make. Because everything about 'Dark Matter' is just too profound, even now, I don't understand it at all."

"What I want to talk about is the issue of Dark Matter explosions."

He paused before saying, "In the book, Master Dirac comes to a conclusion, which is that when that kind of Dark Matter comes into contact with the matter we normally observe, annihilation occurs. And this process of annihilation releases vast energy and disrupts certain high-level laws. This was the inspiration for my 'Dark Matter Bomb'..."

Upon hearing this, Su Lun already understood most of it.

His disciple knew nothing about the level of rules but had used this annihilation property to create a bomb.

This was actually the ancient method of Alchemy.

Ancient Alchemy does not delve into the specific micro-level actions of the materials, focusing instead on the overall effects of the recipe.

To put it simply: it works, so there is no need to ponder why.

Pointing at the experimental apparatus, Jim said, "Dark Matter is very unstable; it annihilates upon contact with regular matter. So the production process is difficult, requiring extremely high temperatures and a perfect vacuum to occur. With these conditions, it is almost impossible under normal circumstances. However, I found an ancient recipe in the Dwarven metallurgical Potion formula that can create extremely high temperatures. By using these devices, I finally achieved the environmental conditions... and then, I successfully created 'Dark Matter'!"

Seeing his research results, Jim's face was filled with excitement, gesturing wildly as he spoke, "Teacher, do you know? The power of this annihilation is a million times stronger than ordinary explosives; only one gram is needed! Just one gram, to achieve the previous effect. But Dark Matter is very unstable and can only be controlled by me on-site. That's why you saw me in the bunker before, Teacher..."

Not only was Jim excited, but Su Lun was also very proud after listening.

"The dark matter bomb" could definitely be considered as a milestone discovery in the field of mechanical alchemy.

The explosion could destroy high-level Power of Laws—only then could mechanical alchemy be truly considered to have entered the realm of top-tier alchemy in the context of combat.

This discovery was enough to immortalize the name of Jike James in the annals of history.

However, the technology was clearly not yet mature.

....

"I have also asked some senior ammunition experts and mechanical grandmasters, but no one could give me an answer. So, I wanted to ask my teacher..."

Having said this, Jike's excitement cooled down.

This unsolvable issue was his greatest trouble.

It even kept him awake at night.

The problem really was beyond the scope of the curriculum.

Because it simply wasn't within the realm of human comprehension.

If Jike had asked anyone else, even a ninth-order practitioner might be totally confused after hearing it.

Maybe even less knowledgeable than Jike himself.

But his teacher happened to be Su Lun.

He might be the only one on this plane of existence who could explain the principles of this bomb to Jike.

After hearing about Jike's discovery of dark matter, Su Lun was also full of sentiments: Talent in certain fields really mattered.

Otherwise, when an apple fell to the ground, most people would just realize the apple was ripe; only a few would wonder why it fell to the ground instead of rising into the sky.

Although Su Lun had been silent just now, he had in fact fully understood the principles of this antimatter bomb.

He pondered for a moment before speaking solemnly, "Jike, your idea is correct, but perhaps you've misunderstood. This dark matter bomb doesn't just destroy the laws on a regulatory level, but a higher level of 'rules'."

Jike cast a puzzled look, "Rules?"

Clearly, this was not what he understood by 'rules'.

At the same time, he was filled with anticipation; his teacher really knew!

To him now, nothing was more exciting than solving the doubt in his heart.

Su Lun nodded and explained, "'Rules' are forces that can only be mastered above the rank of gods—they are secrets hidden deep within the universe. And the dark matter you speak of, is also an area of study for your mentor, Sir Isaac..."

This "dark matter" was actually a physical manifestation of some aspect of Sir Isaac's "dark rules," similar to how flame is a physical manifestation of the fire element.

His student clearly hadn't reached that level of understanding and was only using the part relevant for making the bomb.

But the topics of "rules" and "dark rules" were not something ordinary humans could comprehend.

Fortunately, after drinking from the "Spring of Mimir," Su Lun had gained enough wisdom to describe "rules" in a way mortals could understand.

Mr. Jing, himself a ninth-order practitioner, managed to understand a good portion of it.

While Jike and Phoebe listened very attentively and even took notes, the troubled expressions on their faces made it clear that they found it very challenging.

It took Su Lun the whole night to explain.

...

Before they knew it, morning had arrived.

In the laboratory, Su Lun was still continuing his explanation.

Jike and Phoebe, showing not the slightest hint of fatigue, listened intently.

They listened and recorded at the same time, their notebooks becoming thick with notes they were unaware that, in the many years to come, would become one of the holy texts of the alchemy plane.

Su Lun, having walked this path, understood clearly that certain realizations were beyond grasp if one's professional rank did not reach a certain height, no matter how well explained.

He did not expect that after talking all night, Jike would fully understand.

The content served more to "guide the way" than to be understood in and of itself.

It would let Jike know the direction his path was heading in the future.

As he spoke, Su Lun moved away from the arcane alchemy knowledge and concluded, "I can only explain so much about the rules. This knowledge is too profound for you at present. You will need to progress to a higher rank in the future to truly understand."

Although the lesson was structured from simple to complex, it may represent the sum of knowledge that an average alchemist would accumulate over hundreds of years, nearly encompassing the pinnacle of alchemy that humanity could currently master.

Even with Jike's astounding talent, he might spend many years immersed in this content.

It was only when Jike heard these words that he snapped back to reality from the immersed state of listening to the lecture.

He quickly stood up and bowed deeply, "Thank you, Teacher."

Phoebe, who was at his side, also dutifully bowed in respect.

Su Lun smiled and added, "Advanced alchemy knowledge cannot be obtained overnight. Study hard, and you will surely reap rewards in the future. The field of ammunition experts, in particular, holds much promise..."

After listening to top-tier alchemy knowledge all evening, Jike felt as if his mind was suffering from indigestion and responded blankly, "Yes, Teacher."

Su Lun, seeing his disciple's state, could tell that he was probably already eager to begin experimenting and continued, "However, you mentioned that you want to use 'dark matter explosives' in machinery to make it more stable. I do have something very special here that you could use as a reference."

As he spoke, he displayed the projection of an item that looked black and glossy, similar to obsidian.

The item was too unique, and he didn't dare to take it out from the small pocket dimension.

This was the energy stone from an ancient weapon, the "Twilight of the Gods," a demonic energy cannon, found in the secret chamber of the Goruan Tribe's temple in the Dragon Country Waters.

"Twilight of the Gods"

Detailed description: Also known as 'Zosimus Dark Matter,' a miraculous substance named after its discoverer; once, the mythological dwarven race discovered this magical ore in the endless void of the dark world, containing immense energy and high-order powers of laws beyond your comprehension; through research, the dwarves found it to possess special properties that could counter the divine power of faith, thus making this stone a taboo among the gods;

Upon seeing this item, Jike's gaze seemed to sharpen as he returned to his senses from his dazed state: "Teacher, this is...?"

"This is a special type of 'dark matter.'"

Su Lun previously couldn't understand this item.

Even after he understood it, he didn't know what it meant.

It was only after viewing Sir Isaac's fifth manuscript and now Jike's book "Dirac's Dark Matter" that he gained a firm understanding.

This was indeed a solidified piece of "dark matter."

Although he didn't know how this natural material came to be, and it seemed different from what Jike had made,

the essence was the same.

There were many aspects from which it could be learned.

Moreover, this piece was much larger compared to the one or two grams that Jike could temporarily produce, which were incomparable.

What was most crucial was that it was stable and had a mature method of use.

Upon hearing this, Jike's eyes widened in shock, "This... this..."

He seemed to see a treasure vault opening its doors to him, completely captivated.

There are those who specialize in specific trades, and in the small void world, no one understood this material. Su Lun felt there was no one better than Jike to study it and added, "There is a very complex alchemical matrix on this crystal core that confines and isolates the dark matter, which is why it hasn't been annihilated. You could study it. Perhaps it will stabilize the dark matter you make, reaching a state where it can be stored. Also, in the small void world are blueprints of the ancient weapon's casing, with methods on how to precisely release the energy of this dark matter. You might refer to it to apply it to modern machinery..."

When Su Lun obtained the blueprints and the crystal core, he only viewed them as a weapon.

Since he didn't know how to make the dark matter used as ammunition, once it was used up, it was gone.

But he hadn't anticipated that his disciple would coincidentally be researching the same thing.

Once the research yields results, it would mean that this item might become a sustainable technology.

A gram being capable of severely damaging a ten-thousand-member mage group—what about such a large piece?

If the effect is the same as determined by the blueprint, this could become a weapon capable of threatening gods themselves.

If there were a dozen or so cannons like this, wouldn't they be god-slaying weapons?

If armed with all the mechanical troops, then what fear of interdimensional invasions?

However, Su Lun felt that this god-countering weapon should not be exposed before he had the ability to protect himself.

Let's not talk about the cost of production.

If it were to be exposed, it might not only be the celestial planes that would be alerted; gods from other dimensions might come to destroy it as well.

Jike, unable to contain the urgent desire for research within him, excitedly said, "Teacher, I want to go to the small void world!"

Su Lun smiled faintly, "Hmm. But before that, I think you should speak to your companions first."

Jike responded joyfully, "Hmm!"