Regardless of gender or race, the most unforgettable experience was almost always the first.
In the many years since Anbaixiu transmigrated, he had had many teachers: those who taught him magic, those who taught him lockpicking, those who taught him commerce, and those who taught him how to enjoy life... but all of them were gone now.
Longevity remained out of reach for the vast majority of mortals. If becoming a spellcaster was one in ten thousand, becoming a legend was one in ten million—and reaching the legendary realm was merely the threshold to longevity, with countless mishaps that could still claim a legendary powerhouse's life.
The blind, one-armed old man before him was the very first teacher Anbaixiu had met after his transmigration.
Back then, Anbaixiu was a fresh arrival who knew nothing about this world. Furthermore, as a transmigrator without so much as a system, he passed out from hunger in the dirt just three days after arriving.
When he finally woke, this same blind, one-armed old man had taken him in.
What followed were eighteen rather unremarkable years of apprenticeship.
The old man was a poor conversationalist. His eyes and an arm had been blown off in an alchemy experiment. Passing by and seeing Anbaixiu on the verge of starving to death, he had taken pity and brought him home. At the time, Anbaixiu thought he had run into a reclusive master, so he took diligent care of the old man and studied day and night.
The result, however, was deeply disappointing. Anbaixiu learned very little from this teacher—at best, the bare basics of alchemy. Back then, Anbaixiu's understanding of alchemy was even less than Isabel's.
Nor did the old man possess any hidden treasures, secret inheritances, or an overwhelmingly prestigious hidden identity.
None at all. The old man was just an ordinary fellow maimed by alchemy. In the final twilight of his life, he picked up a completely clueless youth to serve both as a student and as retirement insurance.
The old man had a foul temper and a vicious tongue, frequently bickering with Anbaixiu. Even so, he had been earnest in teaching his apprentice. Grateful to him for saving his life, Anbaixiu cared for the old man for over a decade until he drew his last breath. It was from that day onward that Anbaixiu officially became an adventurer. What followed were centuries of wandering and hardship, right up until his recent transformation into a lich.
He had thought this was merely an unforgettable memory of the past, never expecting to meet this teacher here of all places.
"So you weren't a third-rate alchemist after all! You put on an act for eighteen years and made me take care of you for eighteen years..." Anbaixiu's voice grew increasingly agitated, culminating in a furious roar. "Are you out of your mind?! You old bastard! Before faking your death, you even destroyed all the materials I painstakingly gathered, forcing me to dig your grave with my bare hands!"
Anbaixiu was genuinely enraged. He hadn't thought those eighteen bitter years were so terrible back then—he had chalked them up to bad luck and life's tribulations. Considering that his teacher had also been disabled, Anbaixiu hadn't harbored much resentment. But now, seeing this bastard standing alive and well before him, striking the pose of some hidden boss, those eighteen years of suffering instantly felt like a cruel joke.
It was only because he had transformed into a lich that he could somewhat suppress his emotions. Otherwise, he would have hurled a triple barrage of Magic Missiles at the old geezer right then and there.
The crippled old man shifted his appearance once more, returning to that of the young alchemist Gold Coin. Only then did he say to Anbaixiu, "Now, don't get angry. I didn't fake my death—I really died back then. It's just that nobody could have predicted that after I died, I would actually ascend to godhood."
"Like hell I'd believe you!" Anbaixiu had intended to ignore this suddenly reappeared teacher, but then realized he had just heard something extraordinary.
"Wait, you said you ascended to godhood?" Anbaixiu asked dubiously.
"That's right. I am the God of Alchemy, Arkham Solomon."
"Back then, you claimed your name was Old Pete," Anbaixiu sneered.
The youthful deity smiled and said, "After ascending to godhood, that name was far too ordinary, so I changed it later—borrowing a name from those little stories you used to tell me. My student, care to become my chosen?"
Anbaixiu was done humoring this bastard. Turning toward the Guildmaster, who had transformed into a one-eyed tentacled aberration, he said, "I want to make a wish."
Regardless of whether this God of Alchemy was real or fake, Anbaixiu decided to secure his benefits first.
However, the Guildmaster seemed not to hear Anbaixiu at all. His lone remaining eye stared fixedly at the God of Alchemy as he demanded, "You are the God of Alchemy? Why have you never bestowed your favor upon us all these years?"
The God of Alchemy wore an odd expression. "You hold no faith in me, and you even sought to create a new deity to replace me, yet you ask why I haven't favored you? I am merely a predecessor who has walked further along the path of alchemy than you. Toward a bunch of juniors who lack even basic respect, I have already been exceedingly polite."
The Guildmaster immediately countered, "Yet you cursed us, leaving alchemists forever unable to create new formulas!"
The God of Alchemy adopted a grave expression and explained to the Guildmaster, "I lack the ability to do that. That was a punishment Oghma placed upon you. The Lord of Knowledge believed that the alchemists back then had crossed serious boundaries, and that if not stopped, it would bring about irreversible consequences. He consulted with me to temporarily seal away your creativity. Naturally, I agreed, for I also felt you had crossed the bottom line.
"Gary Watts, you cannot possibly be ignorant of what the City of Alchemy was doing back then. Those experiments surpassed the limits of morality; even the devils of the Hells would hang their heads in shame. My only regret is that I shouldn't have left behind a chance for you to break the curse, which led to today's outcome."
Oghma, the Lord of Knowledge, the Namer of All, was a powerful deity of the True Neutral alignment. It was said he could determine whether a new idea would appear in this world; sealing away the creativity of alchemists was child's play to him.
Hearing this, Anbaixiu found it rather outrageous. To drive a deity of True Neutrality to cast down divine punishment—just what heinous atrocities had these alchemists committed?
The pupil of the Guildmaster's lone eye shrank, as though he had suffered an immense shock.
"You even created the seven towers to humiliate us!"
"Whether it is humiliation or a reminder depends entirely on how you look at it."
The God of Alchemy was dismissive of the Guildmaster's questioning, adopting an admonishing tone. "Those seven towers represent seven of the most common mistakes in alchemy, the very foundation of nearly all experiments. Over these years, hasn't the rate of basic errors among your apprentices fallen dramatically?
"Naturally, it has. Every day when they open their eyes, they see those seven towers. When conducting experiments, they instinctively take care to avoid those seven foolish blunders—yet you actually took it as humiliation.
"Insignificant creature, do not presume to measure the thoughts of gods with your mortal mind."
Listening to this, Anbaixiu felt a strange sense of amusement. Weren't those the exact words the Guildmaster had used earlier to mock Dippel? In barely any time, the boomerang had struck him squarely in his own head.
Seeing the Guildmaster on the verge of an emotional breakdown, Anbaixiu hurriedly cut in, "Ignore him! That guy has a vicious mouth! There's no point arguing with him—hurry up and grant my wish!"
But before the Guildmaster could respond, the God of Alchemy snapped his fingers, and the entire world seemed to fall dead silent.
It wasn't merely silence; even the flow of air had stopped. This was the effect of Temporal Stasis, yet it was no longer cast via scroll as Anbaixiu had witnessed before—it was cast in person by a deity.
In an instant, time throughout the entire City of Alchemy was frozen, including the two sides fiercely battling on the surface.
The entire city froze in place, leaving only Anbaixiu and the God of Alchemy capable of movement.
"There. Now we have time to talk at our leisure." From who-knew-where, the God of Alchemy produced a table and chairs, tea already prepared. Waving toward Anbaixiu, he said, "My student, won't you truly reminisce with your teacher?"
Gritting his teeth, Anbaixiu sat down across from the God of Alchemy and said coldly, "Do I have another choice?"
The God of Alchemy poured Anbaixiu a cup of tea, then said, "Don't be like that. You are the student I admire most. The first time I saw you, I was drawn to your clear eyes, wholly unpolluted by magical knowledge."
Anbaixiu replied mercilessly, "Give me a break. You were already blind when you met me! And isn't that just a roundabout way of calling me stupid?"
"You see? That's what makes you clever—you spotted my flaw immediately."
After sighing with emotion, the God of Alchemy added with deep sorrow, "But I must correct you on one point: you are definitely not stupid, merely far too greedy. You wanted to learn everything, know everything, and the result was that you mastered nothing. I never doubted you could reach the legendary rank, but look at what you've done—what use is this legend of yours? If you had stuck with alchemy back then, you might already be my subordinate deity by now."
Hearing this, Anbaixiu felt not the slightest shred of gratitude. Instead, he gave a mocking chuckle and told the God of Alchemy, "Back then, we were so dirt-poor we could barely scrape together a meal. You misled me into believing that sticking solely to alchemy would end with me begging in the streets! If I hadn't studied magic and learned to pick pockets, we would've starved to death long ago!"
No matter how Anbaixiu turned it over in his mind, something didn't add up. Back then, the old man hadn't known much about alchemy either, so how had he become the God of Alchemy? That old rascal must have hidden a great deal, though he certainly wouldn't confess it. Still, Anbaixiu figured there was no point dwelling on it now.
"My dear teacher, get one thing straight: I have never been your follower. Don't try to saddle me with your religious nonsense. You taught me the basics of alchemy, and I supported you for over a decade. No matter how you tally the ledger, I came out on the losing end! So stop acting all heartbroken, as if I owe you something. Now, let's get back to business. What exactly are you after?"
Having become a lich, everything from his mortal life should have vanished like smoke; it was better to focus on the immediate gains in front of him. Anbaixiu only wanted to know why the God of Alchemy had appeared here. Was he looking to stir up trouble, or swooping in to reap the spoils?
The God of Alchemy sighed. "Rest assured, I know you want the effect of the Wish spell. We haven't seen each other in so many years, and your teacher wouldn't mistreat you. This Wish is yours; the other gods have already agreed to it. You don't have to worry."
Anbaixiu immediately caught the critical detail and pressed, "The other gods?"
The God of Alchemy took a sip of tea and explained, "Indeed. Though Gary Watts is mad, his intellect truly reached the realm of divinity. Transforming himself into an artifact capable of casting Wish—and actually succeeding—truly astonished the gods. But did you honestly think the gods would just sit by and watch?
"Wish was already the chasm separating mortals from deities. To be able to cast Wish without restriction—that is practically a godhead ready for anyone to pick up and wield. How could the gods possibly allow a stray godhead to wander the mortal realm?"
Anbaixiu pondered for a moment and found himself agreeing with the God of Alchemy's reasoning.
"The Nine Kingdoms would go to war over this artifact, and no one would escape it. Because no matter how bad things got, seizing this artifact would put an end to all trouble. If I were to keep this artifact, I would be targeted by every legend across the entire continent, and they would swarm over me and tear me to shreds."
The God of Alchemy nodded. "Exactly. I knew you could figure it out. If those legends banded together, they could even slaughter weaker deities. That is why I came today: to seal away this artifact. Otherwise, the entire continent would be consumed by war. Even so, allowing one Wish to slip your way before it's sealed is hardly an issue.
"Well? Has your teacher treated you fairly, or what?"
Hearing this, Anbaixiu showed no sign of pleasure. Instead, he said with disappointment, "That's it? I've been running ragged this whole time, and ownership of the Wish ritual was rightfully mine to begin with. You pop up out of nowhere claiming you're taking it away, tossing me a single wish, and you have the nerve to say it's for my own good? Teacher, you're as shrewd with accounts as ever."
The God of Alchemy's expression stiffened slightly. Resigned, he said, "I knew this wouldn't be settled so easily. But, my dear student, haven't you misunderstood something? This arrangement was decided after consultation among the gods. Do you truly have the confidence to defy the will of the gods?"
Anbaixiu smiled faintly at his words. "The gods? You mean the lawful gods, don't you? After all, there is far more than just one deity who wants to watch the world burn."
Chapter 86