For the next half month, Duong stayed at Nu Than Academy, enjoying the peaceful comfort of the academy with his friends. Of course, he also had stormy nights with Le and Mong on the small island. Occasionally, he visited Nguyet. He also stopped by the alchemy guild to look for My, but he heard that she had gone to Alchemy City to study and wait for the day to enter the Wisdom building.
The day to receive the Grand Master’s degree came, and Duong went to the alchemy meeting as scheduled.
An Honorary Alchemist Degree is a special degree awarded to those who have made great contributions to alchemy equivalent to that of a Magician, Grand Master, or Grand Master, but have not passed the regular degree examination. In terms of form, it is very similar to paying for a degree, so those who receive this degree are often not considered as respected as true alchemists, so the ceremonies for awarding honorary degrees are much less formal, and very few people attend.
But Yang’s case was completely different. When Yang arrived, although there weren’t many people in the audience, they were all alchemists who were Grandmasters or above, including Grandmaster Wu who had guided Yang on the day of the Grandmaster exam, and Grandmaster Lin who had given Yang the fragment of the Phu Dong Thien Vuong armor. For a genius who had obtained a Grandmaster degree at the age of 13, becoming a Saint Master, or even a Divine Master, was only a matter of time. Therefore, no one who knew about Yang’s Grandmaster degree thought that the Grandmaster degree he received was only an honorary degree, and moreover, it was a degree specially granted by the number one Saint Master in Saigon, which was actually more valuable than a real Grandmaster degree.
Duong received his diploma amidst a round of enthusiastic cheers, then was led by the Heavenly Master to a room on the upper floor of the Alchemy Association building. In the room was placed a large mirror, which was the spiritual gate to Alchemy City.
The Holy Master Thien Ly opened the gate and said:
– I have already declared my identity to you. This honorary Grandmaster certificate is your ticket to enter Alchemy City. Go ahead and find the Alchemy City Lord’s mansion to register to pass the Wisdom Building.
– Huh? Just go in like that? No one goes with you? – Duong asked.
– What do you want? Or do you want me to follow you as a tour guide and a servant to take care of your food and sleep?
– Oh no… I don’t dare…
– Then go in, register and find a house to rent, or you can sleep on the street because Alchemy City’s security is very good. Besides, there are many libraries for you to study and wait for the building to open.
– So where is My?
– I’m handsome, not stupid! I told you so you could kill him?
After answering, Thien Ly Saint Master kicked Duong’s butt, sending him flying into the mirror.
When he stood up again, Duong had set foot in the Alchemy City. The place he was standing was a square with a dome, surrounded by 4 spiritual gates connecting to 4 great cities.
Different from the image of a modern, noisy and bustling city in Duong’s mind, Alchemy City was actually a small, ancient, solemn and quiet city. The paved streets were clean and free of trash, trees were everywhere, and most of the passersby were politely wearing alchemist uniforms, a type of white shirt similar to the white blouses of doctors in his old world.
After a while of admiring the surrounding scenery, Duong walked out of the square and noticed another special thing: there were no vehicles here. Everyone walked or moved quickly with shoes with wheels to ensure quietness and cleanliness.
Duong’s first task was to find the city lord’s mansion in the center of the citadel. The citadel was quite small, and with Google directions, Duong had no difficulty finding the necessary address.
The Alchemy City’s city lord’s residence is a special building built in the shape of an open book, called the Knowledge Building, right next to it is the skyscraper Wisdom Building.
After a rather strict qualification check process, Duong was allowed to enter the Knowledge building, the registration area leading to the Intelligence building. There were a few people waiting in the registration area, Duong took a number and lined up, then sat down on a chair to wait for his turn, on his right was a young man who looked quite young.
Seeing Duong, this person openly started a conversation:
– Hello kid, you’re so young and you already want to go to the Intelligence building?
Duong politely replied:
– Yes! I want to try it out, hopefully I can climb to the 10th floor…
– Haha! You have the will! I first entered when I was 21, only reaching the 8th floor. I am 29 this year, just in time to get the Grandmaster certificate to enter for the second time.
– Really? I’m only 17 years old this year, it’s probably hard to get past the 8th floor…
– Ha ha… what a coincidence, your girlfriend is also 17 and also entered Tri Tue building this time. Judging by her accent, she must be from the South like me, right?
Yes!
The young man leaned closer and whispered into Duong’s ear:
– I’ll tell you this to scare you, my girlfriend is the great-granddaughter of the number one holy master in Saigon, Hoa Thien Ly!
– Fuck…
Duong was so startled that he almost jumped out of his chair. A 17-year-old with a degree in Magic, and the great-granddaughter of Hoa Thien Ly, of course it was My. Duong had asked Google for some information about My, but he had never thought she had a boyfriend so he did not ask about this matter.
The young man continued to boast:
– How is it? Are you jealous of me? She can be said to be perfect, extremely intelligent, extremely beautiful, and has a peerless talent in soul training!
Seeing Duong’s face change color, he covered his mouth and added:
– Also, if I pass the 30th floor this time, she promised to break my virginity! Sounds great, right? But you’re looking for an opportunity to get it first, it’s not easy to pass the 30th floor. Haha…
– Yes… It’s not easy… – Duong’s face was now gray and stiff.
While the two of them were still wondering what else to say, a sweet voice came from the door:
– Thai Tong, have you been waiting for me long?
Hearing the voice, he knew who it was, but Duong was in a fit of jealousy and didn’t bother to look. Thai Tong stood up and replied with a bright smile:
– Not long! I can wait for you my whole life. Come here, let me introduce you to this guy, he’s the same age as you!
– Yes!
My nodded, then Tong took her hand and pulled her to stand in front of Duong to introduce her.
– My name is Thai Tong, and this is Diem My, my girlfriend, what’s your name?
Duong’s stiff face tried to look up and force a smile:
My name is…
– Duong! – My exclaimed, she was so surprised that she let go of her hand and the bag fell to the ground.
– Hi My, long time no see. – Duong tried to form each word with a face as blank as a statue.
Thai Tong was surprised:
– Do you two know each other?
– An old classmate. – Duong explained.
– Oh, I see! No wonder you two are the same age. Ha ha…
When Duong returned to the Goddess Academy, My had already entered the Alchemy City, so she didn’t know Duong had returned. Then My and Duong asked each other a few questions in an awkward situation, then My sat down on the chair to Tong’s right.
There were two people registering each time. Tong got a number for My so they both registered at the same time and left when Duong entered the registration desk.
Sitting behind the desk was a man about 50 years old. Seeing Duong coming, he politely greeted:
– Hello, give me your Magician license so I can check your qualifications.
– No, I want to enter the building as a Grandmaster.
The man raised his eyebrows inquiringly:
– Grandmaster? Show me your degree.
Duong showed the diploma, the man checked it and replied with a less polite attitude:
– Honorary Grandmaster Degree? Although this degree still qualifies you to enter floors 41 to 60, you can’t climb there, so why register?
The person at the registration desk next to him heard the story and immediately laughed sarcastically:
– Using an honorary degree to register to surpass the Wisdom building? The shameless saint has appeared, haha…
Duong was already annoyed with My’s situation, and this made him even more annoyed:
– Then sign me up!
– Okay, if you like to humiliate yourself…