Chapter 160: The Inventory

Bone smiths are craftsmen who use various bone materials as raw materials to make accessories for light armor, a profession known to very few.

However, making a light armor engine was something Ye Chong had never considered, because this required altering the intrinsic properties of the bone materials themselves, which arguably exceeded the scope of a bone smith. In Ye Chong's view, a bone smith's role was to maximize the inherent excellent properties of the bone materials. Yet the problem before him now involved altering those properties, and the two concepts were fundamentally different. Nevertheless, with the difficult challenge staring him in the face, Ye Chong had no choice but to bite the bullet and proceed.

He requested a large batch of bone materials from Vici. Although Ye Chong already possessed quite a few bone materials himself, and all of them of top quality, he was not foolish enough to waste his hard-earned materials on this. At the same time, he specifically asked for a high-precision analyzer designed for compound preparators. This gadget was far more advanced than the one belonging to Madman Guan, and its operation was considerably more intelligent.

Since the types of bone materials were extremely numerous and varied greatly from one another, Ye Chong had no choice but to test every single one of them.

First, Ye Chong selected several types of bone materials with outstanding physical properties, placed them into the analyzer one by one, and utilized the optical brain's automated analysis mechanism to conduct the tests.

This initial step involved an immense workload. After all, the sheer variety of bone materials was staggering, and even after the first round of screening, a considerable number still remained. The bone materials Vici sent over ended up packing Ye Chong's entire room to the brim, among which were not a few rare specimens. Ye Chong was in no mood to worry about whether these rare materials would affect his final grade evaluation; in his view, managing to build an all-bone engine at all would be nothing short of a miracle!

After spending a full month, Ye Chong finally completed this step. Not only did he obtain potential compounding formulas for various bone materials, but he also gained other rewards. However, this was largely thanks to Shang. Taking advantage of the opportunity to finally come out and catch a breath, Shang suggested that Ye Chong take this chance to collect data and information on other aspects of these bone materials. Ye Chong thought about it and found the idea quite sensible. Since the analysis was already being done, they might as well carry out a comprehensive analysis; these data might prove useful later on. Of course, the collection work was naturally handed over to Shang. There were still too many empty spaces in Mu and Shang's massive database.

Ye Chong could not help muttering to himself that Shang was actually capable of coming up with a useful suggestion.

Naturally, this remark met with strong backlash and massive indignation from Shang.

And so, in addition to obtaining potential formulas for various bone materials, Ye Chong also acquired comprehensive data and informational profiles of these bone materials generated by the analyzer's analysis.

The formidable power of Guan's automated analysis mechanism was once again demonstrated without a doubt. Ye Chong obtained a total of over three hundred sets of formulas. When Shang provided him with this figure upon completion, Ye Chong almost tumbled out of his chair!

Over three hundred sets? This—this was simply too terrifying! Originally, Ye Chong had predicted that getting around thirty sets would be quite impressive, but he never expected there to be over three hundred! This data was genuinely startling!

Vici was currently feeling extremely depressed. She had to carve out time every day to run over to Ye Chong's place, and Ye Chong's quarters had practically turned into a bone graveyard. Although Vici had received rigorous training, being surrounded by such a bizarre array of bones still made her skin crawl at times. Yet her professional duties did not allow her to leave, and she now only hoped that this examination would end soon so that she could return to her studies at the Sect Research Institute.

This seemingly young Mr. Ye was not an easy master to serve. The long list of bone materials she had been given last time had almost given her the immediate impulse to faint. When she ran to the warehouse, the warehouse supervisor actually told her that many of the bone materials could not be gathered, explaining that a recent emergency requisition of rare bone materials by the Sect Research Institute had resulted in a shortage of several items on the list.

Vici had been dumbfounded at the time. Of course she knew what the so-called emergency requisition was all about—wasn't it just gathering materials to send to this Mr. Ye in exchange for bone accessories? With no other choice, Vici had to track down Master Fan, who was in charge of this Level 4 examination. Master Fan had pondered for a moment before directly ordering seven standard combat squads to head to the nearest base and transport the missing bone materials from the list at maximum speed. This left Vici dumbfounded yet again: dispatching seven standard combat squads just to deliver a few pieces of bone materials for a single person?

That was a bit too exaggerated! Hearing Master Fan issue the order through the communicator, Vici stood frozen like a wooden chicken!

Yet afterward, Ye Chong asked her for an analyzer, which shocked her even more. She had studied pharmacy, a field that involved a great deal of knowledge in compounding, so she could hardly be called a stranger to it. The equipment Ye Chong requested was a specialized analyzer for compound preparators—could it be that he was also a compound preparator?

Vici was filled with suspicion, which made her pay even closer attention to Ye Chong in the following days. However, throughout this entire month, Ye Chong had merely been frantically analyzing these bone materials. What on earth was he doing? Not knowing Ye Chong's examination questions, Vici found his actions completely baffling. After reporting to the elder, the elder's instruction to her was to continue close surveillance.

Ye Chong and Shang had long since noticed Vici's abnormalities. The automated analysis mechanism was only ever used when Vici was absent, and it was kept in a state where it could be wiped at a moment's notice. If this contraption were to fall into the hands of the Sect Research Institute, the trouble would be massive!

Over three hundred sets of formulas, with each set requiring no fewer than ten types of raw reagents, and some even requiring over a hundred. Moreover, the vast majority of the reagent raw materials were completely unknown to him.

Shang handed him another list of items: "Leaves, this is the master list of everything required!"

Although it was considerably shorter than the previous list, it was still dizzying, and Shang had added numerous compounding instruments and various reagent bottles to it.

When Ye Chong handed this list to Vici, its sheer length instantly caused Vici to turn to stone, and it was not until half a minute later that she managed to squeeze out a strained sentence: "Are all of these absolutely necessary for you?"

Ye Chong nodded. Meanwhile, Shang sympathized in the depths of Ye Chong's mind: "Poor little girl, Leaves, they've scared her!"

Although receiving this list was undoubtedly an extremely painful task, Vici was also able to confirm one thing through it: this young Mr. Ye was not only a formidable bone smith, but likewise an extraordinarily powerful compound preparator. Whether Ye Chong was a formidable bone smith, Vici could not judge, but as for Ye Chong being a compound preparator, Vici could state with absolute certainty that he must be an exceptionally brilliant one.

Perhaps the word "brilliant" was no longer sufficient to describe him. That list revealed far too much information, involving countless reagent raw materials, some of which were extremely obscure, along with numerous instruments that only senior operators would know how to use.

Vici did not hand this list to Master Fan immediately; instead, she first presented it to the elder and articulated her own perspective. As he looked over the list and listened to Vici explain her views, the elder's expression grew increasingly grave. He tapped the optical brain on his desk and gave a low command.

Before long, a middle-aged man walked in. Taken aback, Vici blurted out, "Teacher Haite!"

This middle-aged man named Haite was Vici's instructor in compounding. Handsome in appearance and always maintaining a polite and courteous demeanor, he was immensely popular among the female students within the Sect Research Institute.

The middle-aged man turned his face, smiled slightly at Vici, and then turned to bow to the elder: "Elder, I am unaware of what instructions you have for summoning me?"

"Haite, take a look at this list." The elder's hoarse, low voice echoed in the room, and with a gentle tap on the optical brain upon his desk, he finished speaking.

The holographic projection of Ye Chong's list immediately expanded and floated in the air before Haite.

Upon seeing the instruments listed at the beginning, Haite could not help raising an eyebrow slightly, a look of considerable interest appearing on his face. However, his relaxed expression vanished almost instantly, replaced by one of profound solemnity.

"Can you make anything out of this? This is a list of items requested by an applicant participating in this year's Level 4 examination. We have no prior records regarding his background in compounding, but I believe you should be able to deduce something from this list. Most importantly, can you roughly estimate his proficiency level in compounding? This is very important to us. A bone smith proficient in compounding—how could we possibly let such a talent slip away?" The elder uttered his final sentence leisurely.

Haite pondered for a moment before speaking: "Judging by this list, this applicant should possess a remarkably high level of compounding proficiency. For instance, this item—Biming powder—is extremely obscure. Even many compound preparators within our Sect Research Institute are unaware of it. Biming powder needs to be used in conjunction with Felters fluid; even fewer people know this, and I only discovered it by chance in the notes of a master compound preparator. Sure enough, I found Felters fluid listed further down. Furthermore, looking at the list, there is a considerable quantity of plant materials, ores, and other non-extracted reagents, which differs sharply from currently prevailing compounding theory. Hmm, I suspect he might be a compound preparator belonging to some ancient school of thought."

A sharp glint flashed in the elder's eyes as he asked with keen interest, "Oh? An ancient school of compound preparators? That sounds quite intriguing. Is there anything special about them?"

Vici, standing to the side, pricked up her ears. Ordinarily, she rarely had the opportunity to hear such confidential lore.

Haite hesitated for a moment before explaining, "The compounding philosophy of ancient schools is completely different from the prevailing practices of today. They revere nature, keep a remarkably low profile, and remain largely unknown to the public. Most of them pass down their knowledge through family lineages. Due to their long history, the depth of their reach within the field of compounding is far broader and deeper than that of modern compound preparators. They have their own specialized domains, and they seem to share a certain tacit understanding among themselves. Well, I don't know much about them either; this was merely revealed through scattered fragments in that master compound preparator's notes."

"If he is indeed a compound preparator from an ancient school, and he manages to enter our Sect Research Institute, what do you think his value would be?" the elder asked playfully.

"Ah! That value would be incomparable! Absolutely incomparable! We know next to nothing about these ancient schools of compound preparators; they possess a theoretical system entirely distinct from modern compounding. Moreover, their family-style heritage holds so many things that seem unbelievable to us. If we can acquire all of this, I believe the compounding proficiency of our Sect Research Institute will enter an era of rapid development, and we will undoubtedly leave the Black Horn and the Master Armorers Association far behind us. The benefits this would bring us are likewise peerless! Elder, we must not let this person get away!" Haite's face had flushed red with excitement.

Vici looked in astonishment at Teacher Haite, who was usually so cultured and gentle, yet had become so agitated over a single person.

"Hmm, what you say is correct! Now that we know there is a possibility he belongs to an ancient school of compound preparators, there is naturally no reason to let him go. That bunch of good-for-nothings at the Research Institute still can't even make the simplest bone accessories after all this time—hmm, if we keep him, that problem can be resolved as well. Bone accessories are wonderful things, after all!" The elder's cloudy eyes grew increasingly bright.

Vici withdrew from the room, her mind unsettled for a long while. She never would have imagined that this young Mr. Ye would be regarded with such high esteem by the elder and Teacher Haite. Yet, thinking how such a genius had his fate decided right there in that dim room, and that the person making the decision was not even himself, a sense of unbidden melancholy welled up within Vici's heart.

Sighing, she reminded herself that matters like this were not something a minor figure like her could decide, and furthermore, the elder's decision was made for the sake of the Sect Research Institute. Perhaps staying at the institute would ultimately prove more advantageous for him. She attempted to comfort herself this way and mustered her spirits. Yet the faint sorrow lingering in her heart stubbornly refused to disperse.

The instruction the elder had given her was to provide full cooperation to Mr. Ye and report his every move back to the elder.

When Vici handed that list over to Master Fan, the master's nearly protruding eyes and wonderfully expressive face made Vici want to burst out laughing.

Ye Chong quickly received all the requested reagents and instruments.

With over three hundred formulas, if the intelligence of these instruments had not been sufficiently high, merely gathering the components for these formulas would have been enough to make Ye Chong spit blood. Even so, assembling the ingredients for these three hundred formulas still took three full days. However, what annoyed Ye Chong was that Vici, who previously only dropped by for a part of each day, now practically spent entire days lingering by his side.

The only thing that brought Ye Chong a sense of relief was that Shang no longer displayed that spine-chillingly terrifying enthusiasm toward Vici, allowing Ye Chong's ears to enjoy a rare moment of peace.

Watching Vici observe his every move, the vigilant Ye Chong sneered inwardly. The complexity of these formulas was such that even with his superior memory, looking at the formula charts would not allow him to memorize them overnight. Furthermore, the maceration of bone materials involved a great deal of profound technique; without someone's guidance, outsiders could never discern any clues whatsoever.

Therefore, the possibility of stealthy learning approached zero infinitely.

Sure enough, it was not long before Vici abandoned this meaningless endeavor. In her eyes, those compounding formulas were utterly like heavenly books. Even after racking her brains to memorize a single, simplest formula and taking it back to show Teacher Haite, Teacher Haite had also been left scratching his head in confusion, unable to make head or tail of it.

This only made her hold this Mr. Ye, who was of a similar age to her, in even greater awe and admiration.

Yet for such a genius, his fate...