Miss Green was lying on Benjamin Franklin's shoulder, her two furry big ears drooping, already growing impatient from waiting. With a flick of her long ears, she wrapped them around the bottle and forcibly poured it down William Graham's throat. Whenever William Graham moved, pain shot through his whole body. Though Emma Green was petite, she could easily lift William Graham with her ears—how could he possibly resist in this situation?

As soon as the potion went down, a strange sensation spread from his stomach all the way to his brain. In his ears, he seemed to hear a "pop," and suddenly, he could actually understand the old man's endless chatter.

"...You brat, I am the number one alchemist under the stars! This potion was personally concocted by me. There are countless people across the Three Continents who have offered me fortunes for it, but I refused to give it to them. And yet you don't know what's good for you, making all sorts of excuses..."

"Sir, may I ask where this place is? How did I end up here?" William Graham said. The old man immediately brightened up: "Haha, the Enlightenment Potion is working!"

Enlightenment Potion? William Graham was speechless. Did he really come across as an idiot?

"Boy, although it was my magical pet that summoned you here, you did pass the Cloak of the Goddess of Wisdom, so I'll make an exception and take you as my disciple. Which continent are you from? Your language is quite strange. But it doesn't matter. No matter which continent you're from, you must have heard of me. I am Benjamin Franklin."

The old man smugly straightened his sorcerer's robe, lifted his chin, and waited for the young man—now aware of his identity—to bow down in worship. Unfortunately, what he saw in William Graham's eyes was not fervent admiration, but an indescribable confusion. "Magical pet? Summoning? Cloak of the Goddess of Wisdom? What are these things? Sir, my name is William Graham, and I am the twenty-sixth generation successor of the Ge Sect of alchemical cultivators..."

Chapter 002: What is Alchemy

"Ge Sect? Is that some kind of noble family? But I've never heard of it. Is there a family with the surname Ge on the Three Continents..."

The old and the young each spoke their own minds, neither able to explain the mysteries in their hearts to the other. However, after a while, William Graham figured it out: clearly, this was not the world he had previously lived in.

These mysterious things weren't too hard for William Graham to grasp. Taoist alchemists pursued immortality, cultivating both internal and external elixirs, and were fascinated by the ethereal and unpredictable other worlds. With this background, it was much easier for William Graham to accept and understand this world.

"Take me as your disciple?" William Graham looked playfully at the old man before him: This old guy is really overestimating himself. I am an outstanding disciple of the most renowned Ge Sect in the world of Taoist alchemists, and this old man, an alchemist, actually wants to take me as his student?

Although William Graham had lived in the sect for twenty years, he was by no means ignorant of the outside world. He certainly knew what alchemy was all about. The Ge Sect's records even noted that Western alchemy was deeply influenced by Eastern Taoist alchemy. If it weren't for the Arabs introducing Chinese alchemical thought to Europe, European alchemists might still be simply trying to purify "base metals" into gold.

"Ahem..." William Graham coughed, deciding to follow the teachings of his elders: respect the old and care for the young, and not embarrass the old man too much. "Sir, I believe that the distinction between teacher and student should not be based solely on age. As the saying goes, the capable are teachers..."

"What do you mean?" Benjamin Franklin asked with a frown.

"It means whoever is more skilled should be the teacher."

Benjamin Franklin raised his white eyebrows, nearly laughing out loud: This ignorant brat actually wants to challenge my authority as Benjamin Franklin! He suddenly pointed at Emma Green: "Even it was created by me. Can you do that?"

"Well..." William Graham was a bit troubled. After all, alchemy and Eastern Taoist alchemy are somewhat different, with even greater differences in their development and focus. The Ge Sect's strength did not lie in creating magical creatures. For William Graham to create a living, breathing, soulful magical beast—he really couldn't do it.

"Hmph!" Benjamin Franklin snorted coldly, making up his mind that if this kid admitted defeat and became his apprentice, he would make things difficult for him. Benjamin Franklin was mild-tempered, but his authority was not to be questioned. William Graham actually dared to challenge his status in the world of alchemy, which made him furious.

"Well, although I can't create such a lifeform, I think there are some things I can make that you probably can't."

The old man's stubbornness flared up, and he said angrily, "If I can't do it either, I'll take you as my teacher!" William Graham replied with a grin, "Oh, please don't. At your age, I really couldn't handle it!" Benjamin Franklin was half-angry to death; this guy's tone made it sound like he was sure to win. He barely suppressed his anger: "Fine, so how do you want to do this?"

William Graham's eyes darted: "If I win, you have to tell me how you created this little beast. Ouch..." It turned out Miss Green, unhappy with how he referred to her, had scratched him hard.

"No problem!"

William Graham was truly bare—he didn't even have a single piece of clothing left. In Benjamin Franklin's storeroom, there was an abundance of materials. Although William Graham didn't recognize most of them, some metals were still quite similar to those on Earth. He picked out a few ores, calculated in his mind, and began to craft a magical artifact.