Teacher by day, Farmer by passion-Chapter 171 - .

Ace smirked, shaking his head as he strolled toward his office.

"Congratulations," he muttered under his breath, "you dodged farming... but you just made my next lesson ten times worse."

Ace sauntered into his office, his robe fluttering lazily behind him.

He flopped onto the oversized chair, kicked his feet up on the table, and stared at the ceiling, deep in thought.

"So... they don't want to raise herbs, huh?"

His grin widened dangerously.

"No problem."

If they didn't want to learn the hard way, then he would just teach them another hard way.

He tapped the table lightly, each knock sounding like the beginning of a new scheme.

"Let's see..." he muttered. "Since you're so noble... how about you all enjoy practicing pill refinement without actual proper herbs?"

He could already imagine the scene vividly:

Golden-robed young masters frantically trying to refine pills with cheap weeds, their cauldrons exploding left and right.

A majestic symphony of failure.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Each blast echoing like a drumbeat for his amusement.

Ace chuckled darkly.

"No interest in raising herbs? Fine. I'll just make them look like fools instead."

First, he will have the system space prepare a batch of defective herbs for this special experience.

Second, he would draft a new assignment titled: Spiritual Connection and Alchemical Empathy Assessment —

very official-sounding, very confusing, and absolutely, completely ridiculous.

"And they can't refuse it," Ace said with a satisfied nod, "because spiritual connection is part of foundational alchemy doctrine."

He kicked off the desk with a flourish, standing up.

"What a good job.," he muttered to himself, clapping his hands lightly. "Let's see how they enjoy explosion going off left and right and not understanding what went wrong."

Whistling cheerfully, he left the office.

Though internally, he felt he was not matured enough to really be a good influence for the students.

* * *

Ace soon returned to his apartment, shoulders slightly slumped, exhaustion creeping into his bones.

He pushed open the door and threw himself onto the couch, finally ready to enjoy a moment of peace for himself.

Knock, knock..

A soft yet firm knock echoed through the small apartment.

Dragging himself up, he opened the door.

Standing there was Emilia, hands neatly clasped in front of her, her eyes filled with clear determination.

"You," Ace said, blinking.

"You are here for the spirit herb, aren't you?"

Emilia nodded, a slight smile tugging at her lips.

"Teacher, you told me to meet you after class and so I came to claim it. In fact I was waiting for you to return since the door was closed when I arrived. I was waiting–"

Ace leaned lazily against the doorframe, crossing his arms cutting in and stopping her from blabbering on.

"Did you not

hear what the committee said in class? The herb-raising project was to be suspended until further notice," he said, amused.

But Emilia didn't waver.

"This is purely out of my own will, Teacher," she said firmly.

"It does not fall under the clauses of the school's rule book and is completely fine. I even double checked, teacher."

Ace raised an eyebrow, half-impressed.

"Ambitious little thing, aren't you."

With a chuckle, he motioned for her to wait.

"Stay here."

Closing the door gently, he turned around and disappeared, but not just into his apartment, but into his system space.

Inside, he wasted no time and closed his eyes until he found himself in front of a building he had barely visited since its construction: the Spirit Herb Shop.

The wooden doors creaked open, revealing shelves filled with seeds of every size and shape, their faint spiritual aura humming quietly in the air.

Ace tapped the seed selection panel, flipping through the options with practiced ease.

No... not this one. Too wild. Not that one, too venomous...

Finally, he stopped at a simple yet noble choice:

Spirit Ginseng Seed.

Cost: 1/4th of a red immortal bead.

"Good for beginners," he muttered.

Grabbing four, he exited the system space and returned to the real world.

Opening the door once again, Ace found Emilia waiting just as before, posture straight, determination shining brighter than before.

Without ceremony, he placed two of the tiny seed in her palm.

"Spirit Ginseng," he said.

"Plant it in loose, rich soil. Keep it shaded during the first month, water it with dew collected before sunrise, and, if you want it to really thrive..."

he leaned in slightly, lowering his voice,

"...sing to it every now and then. This spirit ginger loves a little attention."

Emilia's eyes widened slightly at the last part, but she accepted the seed with both hands, bowing deeply.

"Thank you, Teacher Ace!"

Ace chuckled, watching her clutch the seeds like as if both were sacred treasures.

"Don't kill it," he said teasingly, before shutting the door gently.