"How many times should we knock every day? How many knocks each time?"

"There’s no fixed requirement, but mainly don’t do it too frequently, once or twice a day, one or two knocks each time will do... Being too deliberate with this kind of thing is not a good idea, going with the flow is best."

"So, Doctor, have you found out why they are showing these abnormal conditions?"

"There are many possibilities. As I’ve said before, without concrete ’analysis’, even I find it hard to make an accurate judgment based on very limited appearances. As for whether their anomalies are related to you, I can’t be sure. This must be further tested after they truly awaken."

What is called ’concrete analysis’ is dissecting one of the little sprites.

Perhaps in Doctor Du Zemu’s view, this is just a very normal method in alchemy research, but for Zheng Qing, it was hard to accept.

Therefore, he resolutely ignored the doctor’s suggestion and brought up another matter that had caught his attention earlier: "Well, Doctor, you mentioned earlier that the tuning fork ’can awaken the spirituality of life, activate the deepest magic power source within life, and promote life’s transformation and evolution’... It seems beneficial for everyone? I mean, why don’t we listen to them more often?"

"Does life’s transformation always go in a positive direction? What if someone’s magic power is already very active and receives further stimulation? Do living people need others to awaken their spirituality?"

Doctor Du Zemu did not answer Zheng Qing’s confusion directly but instead posed three rhetorical questions. After asking, he summed up: "It’s like vitamins, using them in moderation is necessary, overuse leads to toxicity. Everything is about ’avoiding excess’. Specifically at 741 Hz or 528 Hz, besides the restraint of ’amount,’ there’s another important factor, unconsciousness. Simply put, according to current magic theory analysis, if you are aware that you’re listening to a frequency that’s beneficial to you, then they won’t work, and might even be harmful..."

"Couldn’t the school play this sound for us secretly?" Zheng Qing immediately thought of another solution.

"It’s certainly a method."

Doctor Du Zemu nodded appreciatively: "In earlier years, the school specifically set up ’Morning Bells and Evening Drums’ for this purpose. But as more and more people became aware of it, the effects of the Morning Bells and Evening Drums declined sharply, and many negative effects occurred, so the school had to cancel this benefit..."

Ta-ta.

Elder Constantine pushed open the door, holding a tray with two cups of tea, along with a plate of nuts, a plate of fruit, and a plate of snacks.

Zheng Qing awkwardly thanked him, took the tea, picked up a salted Arhat bean, and popped it into his mouth, chewing carefully, his gaze lingering on the three little sprites as he pondered over a topic Jiang Yu had discussed with him earlier.

"Is there anything else?"

Doctor Du Zemu apparently did not notice the boy’s hesitation, but clearly felt the sprite issue had been resolved: "If there’s nothing else, you can take these little ones back with you..."

Before he finished speaking, he seemed to feel his words were a bit harsh, paused, and added: "...Of course, after you’ve finished this cup of tea."

Zheng Qing couldn’t help but smile.

"I plan to graduate early this term." He wanted to clarify his situation to the doctor first. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

"Graduating early is a good choice. I also graduated early back in my day." Doctor Du Zemu nodded slightly, then his eyes suddenly focused: "Wait, I remember you’re only a sophomore this year?"

"That’s right."

Zheng Qing agreed, not minding the doctor’s somewhat sentimental expression, but cautiously brought up his request: "Because graduating requires submitting a thesis... But I currently don’t have a good project. Coincidentally, the situation with these little sprites is very special. So I was thinking, can my graduation thesis be written on the evolution of sprites... If possible, I hope you can be my advisor."

The doctor raised his hand and rubbed the corner of his eye.

Zheng Qing always felt that at the next moment, he would extend two fingers to dig out his eyeball. Fortunately, this time he didn’t wait for that bloody scene, as the doctor opened his eyes.

"I’m willing, just afraid you won’t agree."

He half-jokingly raised a finger, waving it in front of Zheng Qing: "Before discussing whether you’re willing, let’s list the objective conditions first. Firstly, for this idea of yours, I think ’the time is insufficient’..."

He pointed to himself and then to Zheng Qing, explaining: "...I don’t have enough time, and you don’t have enough time. Sprite evolution is a very serious subject, and you don’t even know when they will awaken. If they sleep for a year and don’t wake up, will you not write your thesis? This is actually a common dilemma for many alchemists. Sometimes, an observational experiment may need to last two to three years, or even longer... This is your time issue."

Then he extended his second finger: "And my time. Remember I mentioned to you yesterday that the Abnormal Life Research Institute is collaborating on a big project with the Edge Academy. This project is very important to both of us, extremely important. Even for the First University, it’s very important. I probably don’t have time to specifically guide you through a particular experimental project. If your alchemy scores are good, you might be able to complete the thesis independently under my occasional guidance. But I remember, your alchemy..."

Doctor Du Zemu kindly stopped without finishing the sentence.

Zheng Qing laughed awkwardly.

His alchemy grades were indeed average; he certainly couldn’t complete the thesis alone.

"Additionally," Doctor Du Zemu extended his third finger, holding it sideways, pointing at the little sprites sleeping in the glass jar:

"As I’ve emphasized before, alchemy is a very rigorous discipline, and we cannot draw any conclusions based solely on simple observation. Similarly, if you’re planning to write a thesis on sprite evolution, you can’t just include photos of sprites flying around in pretty outfits. At the very least, you’ll need comparative anatomical diagrams. One of an unmutated sprite, and one of a mutated sprite. And it would be best if these two sprites come from the same source. If you’re being rigorous, you’ll need to present the relevant organizational structure of the mutated sprite in the thesis as tangible evidence..."

Zheng Qing didn’t wait for him to finish, shaking his head repeatedly.

The doctor shrugged his shoulders: "That’s why I said, ’I’m willing, just afraid you won’t agree.’ Subjective and objective conditions are both inadequate. For this matter, you will have to seek help from someone else who is more capable."