Hill seldom cares about others’ admiration of him; most of the time, he just likes to stay alone in a corner, researching things he loves.

He is indeed a solitary guy, with almost no friends, except for Suzi and Saqin... These two are unexpectedly familiar, ignoring Hill’s resistance no matter how much he shows it.

Hill sighed. Like a desensitization reaction, he felt he had grown accustomed to it, and then he asked,

"So when are the two of you planning to get married? Are you going to keep dragging it on?"

At the moment he made the statement, Saqin and Suzi froze in place, their smiles stiffened with inexplicable awkwardness.

This time, it was Hill who wore a smug look; he understood the thoughts of these two all too well.

Suzi’s face turned red directly, while Saqin hesitated, wanting to say something to explain, but when the words reached his throat, his speech became stammered.

Just when the awkward atmosphere was about to explode, the busy Grand Tutor finally spoke up.

He stopped his work, turned around, and asked the three of them, "Is there any progress in the research?"

The Grand Tutor is a workaholic, rarely caring about things outside of work.

"Yes, yes,"

Saqin said repeatedly, relieved, and Suzi nodded repeatedly as well, picking up the prepared thick stack of documents.

Hill’s lips curled slightly, and he also stood up. This research material was completed by the three of them together, although Hill primarily led the research.

The genius Hill, the next Grand Tutor, the Scholars always praise Hill with such words.

In this Golden Palace, the Grand Tutor is the supreme Scholar. As his apprentices, the three of them could already undertake the position of tutor, but they continue their studies as apprentices.

"The research project this time was somewhat scattered, so the results we derived are somewhat loose," Hill reported to the Grand Tutor, "but I think as long as we continue our research, this information can all connect together to reveal the truth."

The Grand Tutor nodded, motioning for Hill to continue.

"Firstly, regarding the research on Ether contamination of matter..."

Mentioning these, Hill felt his breathing become rapid.

The research within the Golden Palace is absolutely confidential; every piece of knowledge studied here is enough to subvert the Scholars’ understanding of the world.

Just like what Hill was about to say next.

"After exploring and excavating deep underground for several months of drilling, we pierced through the crust and extracted many solid and molten material samples from there."

It was a major project, supported by Ether and the Alchemy Matrix, with constant drilling, relentlessly digging towards the center of the earth.

"From these samples, we extracted a substance that had not been contaminated by Ether, validating our idea—Ether is an external energy, and at the same time, it also breaks the foundational knowledge we built based on Ether."

Hill’s expression became serious, his gaze sweeping over Suzi and Saqin, "Through the decision of the three of us, we named this substance the Original Substance."

"Original Substance?" The Grand Tutor nodded lightly, "A fine name."

He began flipping through the documents, reading the words on them. If other Scholars read the contents, their understanding would be subverted, and they might even fall into complete madness.

"Your hypothesis is correct. Based on the samples collected during our excavation, the initially excavated substances still contained the Cold Iron Soul, but as the excavation deepened, the Cold Iron Soul content in the substances diminished and eventually completely lost its soul existence."

Hill continued, "But it did not disintegrate into a pile of dust as per the rules we know. It still maintained its material form."

Suzi said, "The soul is not essential for matter... at least that’s the case for the Original Substance."

The Grand Tutor said, "Continue."

Saqin spoke, "According to your hypothesis, the Ether descended upon this world in some past age. We suspect that after its arrival, it gradually contaminated all external substances and progressively advanced towards the core, which can be inferred from the Cold Iron Soul content in the samples, to deduce backward from the speed of Ether contamination to know when it descended upon this world."

The Grand Tutor began to ponder.

Hill flipped through the documents and continued, "The Ether affects the entire world from the outside, and as the Ether concentration gradually increases, it will completely contaminate the entire world. I’m not sure what will happen then, but based on existing information..."

Hill paused in speaking, becoming hesitant.

"Don’t hold back, say what you have to, Hill," the Grand Tutor said, "We are researching forbidden knowledge; in the past, we would have been burned at the stake."

Hearing the Grand Tutor say this, Hill gave a bitter smile. The knowledge they were researching was almost blasphemous to external Scholars, every line easily piercing through their understanding of the Extraordinary System.

"Obviously, from the research of the Original Substance, it can be found that matter does not possess a soul. The so-called soul is just some kind of derivative born after Ether reacts with matter."