Alchemist Grand Meeting

Early in the morning, Frank brought a girl to Xiao Heng's inn. The girl had silver hair, and paired with her white robe, she looked rather aloof.

"President Frank!" Inside the inn, Xiao Heng, with Bear Two behind him, greeted the two of them.

"Young Friend Xiao Heng!" Frank looked at Xiao Heng with a smile. His eyes suddenly flicked toward Bear Two, his gaze sharpening before quickly returning to normal.

"This magical beast of yours is no ordinary one, Young Friend Xiao Heng! I heard that a high-level magical beast capable of speech had appeared in the city these past few days. That would be it, right?"

"Mm! My master was simply worried about me. It isn't some high-level magical beast, merely one with exceptional talent." Xiao Heng laughed it off without revealing Bear Two's strength. Still, everyone knew the score. Even a magical beast with a special bloodline could not possibly be too weak if it could speak.

Frank was an expert himself, so he did not press the matter and let it pass. The Silver-haired Girl beside him quietly watched Xiao Heng. Then she suddenly asked, "I heard you're a second-grade alchemist. How old are you?"

Frank frowned. "Xue Mei, don't be rude!"

She was more interested in the youth before her. She considered herself quite talented, and with her teacher's guidance, there were few people her age in the city who could surpass her. Yet two days ago, her teacher had suddenly told her that a youth possibly around her age had already passed the Second-grade Alchemist examination. Naturally, she did not doubt her teacher, but she had become deeply curious about this young prodigy. This morning, she had been the one to ask her teacher to bring her along.

Seeing his disciple behave so rudely, Frank somewhat regretted agreeing to bring her along that morning. He said apologetically, "My apologies, Young Friend Xiao Heng. My disciple was simply curious. Please don't take offense."

Xiao Heng was not especially broad-minded, but he would not stoop to arguing with a young girl who had not seen much of the world. "President Frank, there's no need to mind it."

He looked at the girl and continued, "I am quite a bit older than you, miss. My alchemy skills are merely the result of good fortune. I believe it won't be long before you catch up."

Xue Mei nodded. Although Xiao Heng's answer left her quite dissatisfied, she was not the sort to relentlessly pursue the matter.

Seeing that his disciple had stopped speaking, Frank breathed a sigh of relief. If the little girl had kept talking and made things awkward, he truly would not have known how to broach the subject afterward. He chuckled and handed over a Storage Ring.

"Young Friend Xiao Heng, these are the medicinal ingredients you requested. Most of them are already inside, but there are still a few high-grade ingredients that we don't have for the time being. I'm truly sorry."

Xiao Heng accepted the Storage Ring and swept it with his Soul Power. It was packed full of medicinal ingredients, all of excellent quality. He immediately cupped his hands in thanks.

"Many thanks, President Frank. If you ever have need of me in the future, I will certainly do my utmost."

This was precisely what Frank had been waiting to hear. He immediately said, "Speaking of which, Young Friend Xiao Heng, where do you plan to travel next?"

Xiao Heng replied, "I do not know either. Since I am traveling, I'll simply wander wherever I please. Does Senior have some matter in mind?"

Frank smiled casually. "In two years, the Imperial Capital will hold an Alchemist Grand Meeting. If you are interested, young friend, you may go take a look. Otto and I will both be there then. If you arrive by that time, you can come find us."

He estimated that he probably would not participate in that meeting, but whatever. Frank had not said he had to attend. "Rest assured, President Frank. If I arrive there by then, I will certainly pay President Frank and Master Otto a visit."

At this point, Frank's objective had effectively been achieved. "Young Friend Xiao Heng, are you leaving today?"

"Mm! I'll be leaving today. Since I came out to gain experience, naturally I can't remain in one place for too long."

Hearing Xiao Heng's words, Frank could not very well urge him to stay. "Then I wish you a smooth journey, young friend."

After bidding Frank farewell, Xiao Heng left Black Rock City with Bear Two and continued on his journey.

Under the blazing sun, a youth carrying a sword on his back traveled steadily forward, accompanied by a bear over two meters tall.

Xiao Heng's Dou Qi had originally been Attribute-less, but after devouring the Heavenly Flames, the Dou Qi within him had become primarily fire-attributed. Thus, cultivating under such blazing sunlight was still quite beneficial to him.

"Xiao Heng, when will we reach the next town?"

Earth-attributed energy was naturally not scarce here either, but Bear Two still preferred lying around comfortably. Moreover, he had become especially fond of human towns. Every town had lots of delicious food.

Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Xiao Heng felt that the greatest benefit of having Bear Two with him was that he was no longer so lonely. At least, he always had someone—no, a bear—to talk to. Bear Two was also better at finding heavenly treasures along the way, and he could stand guard for Xiao Heng while he cultivated.

However, every advantage came with drawbacks. First, Bear Two ate far too much. Second, Bear Two's presence always attracted trouble from some fools. The first was nothing much, but the second was truly irritating—like the group ahead of them.

"Everyone, it's scorching out. Hiding can't be very comfortable either. Why not come out and make some friends?" Xiao Heng called loudly toward the hills ahead.

Hearing that they had been discovered, the dozen or so burly men stopped hiding and emerged from behind a small hill with weapons in hand.

The brawny man at the front stared at Xiao Heng and said, "Kid, hand over everything you have, and you can get lost."

Xiao Heng shook his head. "I'll give you one chance. Leave everything behind, and I'll let you go."

The lead brawny man burst into laughter. "Kid, I like your confidence. But this isn't your home. You don't get to call the shots here. Obey me nicely, and I might spare your life."

The lead brawny man was named Li Cheng. He had once been a guard for a small clan. He had decent talent, and the clan leader had valued him highly, but he ended up having an affair with the clan leader's wife. One time, after their tryst, the clan leader caught them in the act. Li Cheng could only flee. Later, after arriving here, the merely average Li Cheng used some tricks and, within a few years, gathered a group of more than ten men. They called themselves mercenaries, but in truth, they made their living by murder and robbery.

He had seen plenty of rich young masters like Xiao Heng—relying on their clan backgrounds, arrogant and conceited, daring to come out and gain experience at such a young age. Of course, many travelers had protectors with them, but Li Cheng was no fool. He only acted after confirming that those young masters had no guards.

This time, Xiao Heng was his target. At such a young age, no matter how gifted he was, how strong could he possibly be? Li Cheng had broken through to Dou Shi not long ago. As for the magical beast beside him, it was merely an ordinary magical beast at most first tier. This was exactly the kind of business he liked: weak prey with plenty of money. As for being hunted down afterward? Heh. In this godforsaken place, once he killed someone and hid the body anywhere he pleased, who would know he had done it?

"I'll give you one more chance. Leave everything behind now, and I'll spare your lives." Xiao Heng did not wish to kill. Between life and death, he left the answer to their own choice.

Upon hearing Xiao Heng's words, the dozen men burst out laughing.

"Hahaha! This kid actually said he'd spare our lives. Did you hear that?"

"I heard it, Boss. Is this kid crazy? He actually wants to spare us."

"Yeah! Boss, this kid's nuts. But Boss, this kid looks pretty good, doesn't he? Can you leave him to me later?"

"Black Two, sure. You go first later. Take him down, and I'll reward him to you."

Li Cheng and his men mocked him without restraint, not taking Xiao Heng seriously in the slightest. It was as if the youth before them were already prey in their grasp.

At that moment, Bear Two spoke again. "Xiao Heng, they're so annoying! Hurry up and kill them!"

Bear Two's sudden words made the dozen men's hearts tremble.

"A high-level magical beast...!"

"It can speak—a high-level magical beast."

"What do we do..."

Li Cheng was the first to react. He had carefully sensed it just now; this Magical Beast had seemed utterly ordinary. How could it possibly be a high-level Magical Beast? He shouted, "Brothers, don't panic! It's just a low-level Magical Beast. It might be putting on a show to scare us. Don't be afraid—follow me!"

Though he said that, doubt had already crept into his heart. But there was no turning back once the arrow was on the string. Things had reached this point; retreat was no longer possible.

With that, he led the others toward Xiao Heng, intending to kill him.

"Those who bring ruin upon themselves cannot be saved."

"Flame Kill!"

Vermilion flames erupted before Xiao Heng, and a pillar of fire instantly incinerated everything in front of him into ash.

Even though he had used it many times already, Xiao Heng still had to marvel at the power of the Heavenly Flames. In just an instant, more than ten people had all turned to ash. For beings this weak, such temperatures were fatal.

He withdrew his Dou Qi into his body and remotely drew over a Storage Ring, easily breaking the remnants of Soul Power upon it.

"Hmm! Quite a few Gold Coins. Looks like they'd done plenty of evil. Huh! There's even a Xuan Rank Dou Technique scroll. Unfortunately, I don't need Dou Techniques anymore. System, absorb it."

Host: Xiao Heng

Cultivation: Six-Star Dou Shi

Cultivation Art: "Ascension Art"

Dou Techniques: Immortal Slaying Sword Art, Explosive Step, Flame Kill, Rashomon, Lion King's Wrath, Mountain Breaking Strike.

Heavenly Dao Points: 5

Energy Points: 700

Cultivation Art Points: 10

Combat Skill Points: 15

Cultivation Art Points and Combat Skill Points increased very slowly, mainly because Xiao Heng did not have that many cultivation arts and Dou Techniques for it to absorb. Energy Points were much simpler—useless medicinal herbs, Magic Cores, and everything else could all be converted into Energy Points.

"Xiao Heng, what are you looking at?" Bear Two curiously waved a hand before Xiao Heng's eyes, checking whether there was something in front of him.

The others could not see the panel. Xiao Heng was quite reassured about that, which was why he dared to inspect it so openly in front of Bear Two.

Closing the panel, Xiao Heng said casually, "Nothing. Let's go! The next town isn't far away. I'll take you to eat something good."

"Mm! Then let's hurry, Xiao Heng." At the thought of all that delicious food, Bear Two was already drooling.