Teacher by day, Farmer by passion-Chapter 193: Abyss [1]

The room buzzed with disbelief. Even Emilia stared, wide-eyed, at the six pills on the table.

Ace let the silence stretch for a moment longer.

Then he smirked.

"Well, I suppose you all are not completely without a surprise after all."

The students chuckled, some nervously, others with newfound excitement.

Ace clapped his hands.

"Alright. Next."

Following Clara's impressive display, the classroom atmosphere shifted.

Confidence began to blossom, and one by one, more students stood up, each eager to prove themselves.

Some failed. Others barely managed a single cracked pill. But a few succeeded, adding a glimmer of hope to the group's potential.

Among them, another one soon stood out with quiet astonishment.

Anna.

She walked to the cauldron with neither the flair of Clara nor the nerves of Emilia. She simply moved with a steady grace, her calm focus radiating with each step.

Anna began her refinement with deliberate slowness. She didn't rush, didn't push the fire, and didn't try to impress. Her control was solid, methodical and exact.

Ding. One pill rolled out, smooth, radiant, with a sheen of light swirling across its surface.

Ding. A second.

Ding. A third.

Then… nothing.

Anna didn't try to force the process. She closed the flame, stepped back, and folded her arms behind her back, staring at the cauldron with a sense of finality.

Ace walked up, looking at the pills.

"All three are high grade," he said. "Why stop?"

Anna bowed her head slightly. "I knew the others would be waste, so I stopped."

Ace blinked once.

Then he chuckled, low and approving.

"Impressive," he said. "Being able to detect when the refinement turns sour is no small feat. That sense alone saves more resources than any technique."

The class murmured in agreement, surprised by her insight.

"But—" Ace added, lifting a finger, "—it's being able to take that trash and make something useful out of it that makes a true alchemist."

Anna nodded respectfully. "Understood, Professor."

Ace gave a final look to the class. Most were exhausted, some defeated, and a few still burning with ambition.

"That's enough for today," he announced. "Clean your stations. Remember what you learned. And if you failed, remember this—failure is just the first ingredient in refining success."

With that, he turned away, coat fluttering slightly as he walked back toward his table.

The class buzzed with quiet energy as they began packing up, each student lost in thought.

When Ace stepped outside, he noticed the students he had thrown out earlier were nowhere to be seen.

They must have wandered off. Even better, he thought.

Just then, Lotus approached.

"Teacher Ace," she called softly.

Ace turned to face her. "Oh, it's you, Lotus."

"Yes, Teacher. I'm sorry about what happened earlier."

"Let's forget about it," he said casually. "You're just in time. I need you to go inside and write down the names of all the students still in the classroom. Hand the list to me afterward."

Lotus nodded. "Understood."

Then she produced two files from her storage pouch and handed them over.

"Teacher Ace, these are the student files you asked me to look into."

Ace took the files from Lotus and turned to leave, heading toward his apartment.

But before he could get far, a familiar voice stopped him in his tracks.

"Teacher Ace."

He looked up to see Headmaster Amon standing in his path, adjusting his monocle with a slight grin.

"I heard about your class," the old man began.

"They deserved it," Ace replied bluntly, cutting him off.

Amon chuckled. "No, no—I fully support what you did. I just wanted to let you know… one of our professors is missing."

Ace frowned. "missing?"

"Yes. Remember Professor Pot Black?"

Before Ace could ask further, Amon turned and strolled away, humming a light-hearted tune as if the matter were trivial.

Ace narrowed his eyes, a sense of unease creeping in.

Here's a polished version of your scene, keeping the tone lively while improving clarity and flow:

---

Wait… wasn't that the professor Shan Yifeng told me about?

The one who owes him 50,000 taels of gold ingots?

Ace felt a pang of stupidity hit him.

"What a fool," he muttered under his breath. "What happened to my hundred years of wisdom, System?"

He wasted no time and opened Shan Yifeng's system tab.

[2nd Disciple Status]

Status: Alive – Slightly Injured

Rank: Peak Dark Gold

Talent: Heavenly

Special Physique: Iron Barbarian Physique (Activated)

Soul-Bond Beast: Spirit Sovereign Wolf (Ancient) – Upgrading to Unique Rank

Ace stared at the screen, flabbergasted.

First, there was now a status indicator showing if his disciple was alive or dead.

Second, Shan Yifeng's special physique had activated after lying dormant for so long. What was the trigger?

Third, his soul-bond beast was upgrading in rank? What is this? Plot armor?

And last but no the least; his disciple was still injured.

Ace closed the tab and shot forward without hesitation.

He needed to find Shan Yifeng. Immediately.

At the same time, somewhere deep in the forest near catfish village.

Shan Yifeng sat down beside the fireplace, wincing slightly as he adjusted his injured leg.

The warm crackle of flames brought some comfort, though the pain still throbbed beneath the surface.

Not far away, Liu Mei was crouched by the fire, carefully tending to it. Behind her, a massive bear lumbered over, arms full of firewood like an obedient servant.

Shan Yifeng glanced between the two, then sighed.

"Liu Mei, how did you do it?"

She didn't even look up. "First, it's 'Senior Sister.' Say it properly."

"Tch. Fine. Senior sister," he grumbled, "how did you tame a Tyrant Beast Bear of all things?"

"It's actually quite easy!" Liu Mei beamed. "You see, when I saw this bear sleeping, I went up and just beat him up a little and he eventually gave in. Isn't that right, Mr. Bear?"

She turned to the hulking creature with a wide, innocent smile.

The bear, as if struck by instinct, recoiled

a full step, then slowly gave a submissive nod.

"See?" she chirped. "Such a cute bear. I should've entered the forest way sooner."

Shan Yifeng blinked at the exchange, then looked at the poor beast.

For once, he actually felt sorry for a Tyrant Beast.