Black-Haired Young Man Qiao Qi

Back to Jinghai University.

Banners were even hung up on campus, with messages like "Welcome back to the University Team with honors - School of Journalism and Communication" and "Congratulations to the University Team for advancing to the top eight - School of Gastronomy and Energy". The festive atmosphere was more like that of someone who had won the championship than someone who had advanced to the top eight.

Bai Xiaowen could understand it after thinking about it. Jinghai University had been holding back for too long in the CUAA league, so much so that even a spot in the top eight felt like a huge bargain.

Walking around campus, Bai Xiaowen was truly a household name. Even the other members of the University Team, such as Li Shuyi and Xiang Hui, had become prominent figures on campus.

However, Bai Xiaowen didn't care about that. Back at Taoran Residence, his life returned to its busy and fulfilling rhythm.

Routine training, live streaming, potion making, collecting information about Ancient Egyptian Civilization...

Time flies, and it's Friday again. There are only two days left until Sunday's game.

Inside Taoran Residence.

"Phew..." Bai Xiaowen stretched. "The new batch of potions is finished. I'll send it over to the potion shop."

Li Shuyi, who was doing yoga nearby, was wearing a shapewear outfit and performing a challenging yoga pose. The shapewear perfectly accentuated her curvaceous figure. Upon hearing Bai Xiaowen speak, she stopped her movements.

"I'll go with you. I just got a call; Dad wants us to come home for dinner..."

Suddenly, a crackling sound rang out. This time it was Bai Xiaowen's cell phone.

"Oh, it's Master Sun from the pharmacy calling. He's probably asking about the medicine..." Bai Xiaowen answered the phone.

"Hello? Master Sun... Yes, the medicine is ready, I was just about to deliver it... What, is there something else? You mean... Ah? Oh, I see..."

Bai Xiaowen hung up the phone.

Li Shuyi, who was changing clothes, curiously peeked half her head out from behind the room. "What's wrong? Is something the matter?"

"It's nothing, someone I've met before is looking for me..."

From this angle, Bai Xiaowen could just see a section of Li Shuyi's fair neck. He felt a surge of desire and, shamelessly, went over. "Let me help you get dressed..."

Li Shuyi usually wears clothes that expose her neck, so that nothing below her neck is visible. But for some reason, now that half of her head is sticking out, it makes Li Shuyi Bai Xiaowen's imagination run wild.

Li Shuyi repeatedly refused. "Go away, if you help me get dressed, I'll miss dinner." She slammed the door shut.

Bai Xiaowen rubbed his nose and chuckled. He labeled the potion and put it in a special combination lock suitcase. A little while later, Li Shuyi came out after changing her clothes, and the two drove to the Super God Potion Shop in the Chihuo District.

As soon as I entered, I saw Sun Hecheng. It seemed he had been waiting since the phone call.

"Master Sun, this batch of medicines is all here." Bai Xiaowen handed over the briefcase with the combination lock, and then stuffed a piece of paper with the combination lock into Sun Hecheng.

"Okay..." Sun Hecheng nodded.

"Where is that person looking for me... Qiao Qi?"

"Look, he's sitting at the front desk flirting with young girls..." Sun Hecheng shrugged. "At least he didn't cause any trouble."

Bai Xiaowen looked over and, sure enough, saw Qiao Qi, the eccentric and flamboyant young man.

To Bai Xiaowen's surprise, Qiao Qi's hair color had returned to normal. It used to be a riot of colors, like a giant dye shop, but now it was all black. No wonder Bai Xiaowen hadn't noticed him at first...

Qiao Qi also saw Bai Xiaowen and quickly raised her hand to call out, "Brother Bai, over here!"

"Well..."

Bai Xiaowen was a little uncomfortable with the enthusiastic cheering.

Sun Hecheng picked up the briefcase, patted Bai Xiaowen on the shoulder, and said, "Go and deal with him. This guy seems to have something important to discuss with you." With that, he left the front hall.

Bai Xiaowen shook his head helplessly and sat facing Qiao Qi.

"You wanted to see me? Is something wrong?"

"Of course, otherwise why would I come all this way..." Qiao Qi started to say, then suddenly realized something, coughed, and added, "Um... I'm just a habitual speaker, don't mind me..."

"..." Bai Xiaowen felt it necessary to check if the sun had risen in the west.

"Just say what's on your mind," Bai Xiaowen decided to get straight to the point.

Qiao Qi adopted a solemn expression, as if taking an oath to join the Party: "Um... Comrade Bai Xiaowen, I am now formally inviting you to attend the 18th International Alchemist Exchange Conference..."

"International Alchemist... Conference?" Bai Xiaowen was stunned. What did this have to do with anything? Qiao Qi had absolutely nothing to do with the International Alchemist Conference.

Qiao Qi nodded in confirmation. "That's right... this is a good thing."

"That's right." The voice of the shop manager, Zhang, rang out from the side. Bai Xiaowen and Li Shuyi immediately stood up and greeted Zhang Jing, the shop manager who had just arrived.

Qiao Qi was sitting down, but after thinking for a moment, he stood up, though his expression was a little awkward.

"I heard you arrived, so I came to see you." Old Shop Manager Zhang Jing now truly regarded Bai Xiaowen as a rare treasure. Even without Qiao Qi's arrival, he would have come to see this living advertisement. Moreover, Qiao Qi had a criminal record, and Old Shop Manager Zhang was afraid that Bai Xiaowen, young and impulsive, might start another fight...

Zhang Jing nodded in acknowledgment and continued, "The International Alchemist Exchange Conference is a major event in the Alchemist community. People within the industry, including major guilds, pay close attention to it—no less than ordinary people pay attention to the Super Cup ... Little Bai, you're currently only well-known in the Jianghai Region of China. If you could make a splash at the Alchemist Conference, your World Fame would skyrocket. However, strictly speaking, you shouldn't be able to participate in such a conference..."

Qiao Qi found Zhang Jing very agreeable and added, "My family has a recommendation that can get Brother Bai to participate in the Young Alchemist Exhibition Match."

"The youth group competition?" Bai Xiaowen thought for a moment, "Then can I participate in the senior group... oh no, the master group competition?"

Zhang Jing smiled and said, "The conference only has competitions for the youth group, a stage for the new generation of Alchemist to showcase their achievements. Established pharmacist masters will not participate; at most, they will serve as judges. The masters attend mainly for academic exchange, such as reading pharmaceutical papers and presenting their improved formulas, etc..."

"Oh." Bai Xiaowen then realized her mistake.

"When is this competition?" Bai Xiaowen asked Qiao Qi.

"The 10th of next month, that's about twenty days away," Qiao Qi said.

"Really? Then I'd better not go..." Bai Xiaowen shook his head. He'd been too busy lately and couldn't find the time. "The CUAA tournament isn't over yet, it's the 10th of next month."

"Um... could you do me a favor?" Qiao Qi scratched her head. "Let me do the math for you. The CUAA finals are only after the 10th of next month, which means if you're eliminated before then, there won't be any time conflict... Uh, that's not what I meant..."

Seeing the strange looks Bai Xiaowen and Li Shuyi were giving her, Qiao Qi quickly changed her tune, "Well, if you make it to the finals, it should also be held in Beijing, right? This year's Alchemist Conference is being held in Beijing China, so it won't interfere with your competition..."

"Wait a minute, there must be quite a few young Alchemist vying for this recommendation qualification, right? How come it's with you..." This was beyond just a hot potato; Qiao Qi's attitude was more like a pregnant beauty looking for a sucker, extremely impatient.

"Ahem... Okay, I'll confess..."

Qiao Qi knew she couldn't hide it from Bai Xiaowen, so she had no choice but to tell the truth.

The Alchemist profession, due to its close connection with Awakened Ones, is undoubtedly a popular discipline in the Psychic Energy Era. The youth group Exhibition Match at the International Alchemist Exchange Conference, while seemingly a "performance," is actually a arena for emerging Alchemist from various countries to vie for honor, attracting attention comparable to the Olympics in the Common Era, and perhaps even more intense.

The reason is simple: there are 302 gold medals in the Olympics. If you can't win in one event, you can win in the next.

However, the Young Alchemists Exhibition Match is a single event with only one first place, so everyone wants to compete for a top ranking.

There are quite a few young Alchemist in China, and their overall level is not bad. Among them, five young Alchemist who have won international medals multiple times at a young age are the benchmark for the new generation of Alchemist in China and have been awarded the title of "Central Plains Five Little Masters".

In the Alchemist profession, only those "masters" certified by the CS Association are qualified to wear white coats, so "Little Bai" means "little master," a title that truly embodies the public's expectations for these five young Alchemist.

"This..." Bai Xiaowen didn't have time to complain about this silly nickname, and pressed on, "Isn't this great? With Five... Five Little Bai around, China's ranking this time is guaranteed."

Qiao Qi said sullenly, "What do you know...? One of the Central Plains Five Little Masters has defected."

"Defection?"

"To use a more fashionable term, it's called 'naturalization'," Qiao Qi said, her disdain evident. "Huang Xuan, one of the Five Little Bai, naturalized in Japan and is now a new generation of Alchemist in the island nation."

"Then we still have four left over here," Bai Xiaowen said.

"Huang Xuan is the strongest among the five Little Bai..." Qiao Qi said, "That's why I wanted to invite you to participate in the competition. If you can surpass Huang Xuan, you'll definitely gain worldwide fame, and the Super God Potion Shop will benefit from that!"

It must be said that Qiao Qi's two sentences were quite insightful.

"I understand," Bai Xiaowen said, looking at Qiao Qi. "One last question. Why are you bringing this up with me? Shouldn't this kind of thing be handled by the authorities? Can you represent them?"

Qiao Qi scratched his head. "Actually, I just contacted you privately... My grandfather doesn't know I contacted you yet. However, he has looked into your background, and if you're willing to compete, he will definitely agree!"

Bai Xiaowen finally understood: Qiao Qi had acted on her own. This somewhat immature third-generation official was trying to gain some credit in front of her elders...

"Excuse me for asking, but is your... grandfather the one in the State Council...?" Zhang Jing whispered a name.

Qiao Qi nodded. "Yes, you guys didn't know?"

"He's actually Lord Qiao's grandson..." Bai Xiaowen and Zhang Jing exchanged a glance. Thinking of Lord Qiao and then looking at Qiao Qi in front of them, they both felt a sense of "tiger father, dog son"... no, it should be called "tiger grandfather, dog grandson".

"Is this matter very important to Lord Qiao?" Bai Xiaowen asked, frowning. Even if the International Alchemist Exchange Conference is important, it's unlikely that a high-ranking official from the Central State Council would personally inquire about the selection of one of the participants.

Qiao Qi hesitated for a moment, then said, "That defector... has some connection with my family."

Qiao Qi was unwilling to elaborate on the specifics. Bai Xiaowen frowned and thought for a moment, then came up with several guesses.

Regardless of which guess is more plausible, Bai Xiaowen is certain of one thing: Lord Qiao attaches great importance to this Alchemist exchange conference and hopes that a promising young talent from across the country can surpass Huang Xuan. If Huang Xuan takes first place... Lord Qiao and the Qiao Family's reputation might suffer.

Bai Xiaowen glanced at Qiao Qi again.

Undeniably, after learning that Lord Qiao was Qiao Qi's grandfather, Bai Xiaowen's opinion of Qiao Qi improved considerably—this wasn't out of snobbery, but because Lord Qiao had helped Bai Xiaowen before, and regardless of the reason, Bai Xiaowen remembered this favor.

In addition, apart from being a bit eccentric and flamboyant during their first meeting, Qiao Qi has shown improvement in the subsequent two meetings, including this one, and has become much more respectful towards Bai Xiaowen. It's normal that Bai Xiaowen's impression of Qiao Qi has improved.

After mentally calculating the exact date, Bai Xiaowen nodded. "I agree to participate."

"Really? That's great!" Qiao Qi said excitedly.

"But what you say doesn't count," Bai Xiaowen shrugged. "That so-called recommendation qualification...does what you say count?"

Qiao Qi chuckled and said, "Don't worry about that... Hmm, I'll have my sister talk to him! Among the younger generation, my sister is the old man's favorite."

"Leave your phone number. Contact me when you have a definite answer." Bai Xiaowen still had doubts about Qiao Qi's ability to handle things.

After leaving his contact information, Qiao Qi left the Super God Potion Shop excitedly, without even flirting with the receptionist.

"It's rare to see this spoiled brat actually doing anything productive for his family," Zhang Jing chuckled.

"Old store manager, have you noticed that Qiao Qi has changed a lot? For example, his hairstyle... Could it be that he's had a personality change?" Bai Xiaowen still vividly remembered Qiao Qi's colorful and flamboyant style.

"Hmm, I noticed," Zhang Jing nodded. "I don't know if he's changed his ways... but one thing is certain: he's probably going to meet his elders..."

"Is that so?" Bai Xiaowen was slightly taken aback, then nodded. "It really is possible."

"This is an opportunity. Just like Qiao Qi said, if you can make a name for yourself at the International Alchemist Conference, it will be extremely beneficial to you. If the Super God Potion Shop benefits from this, it will also have a great opportunity for development. What's more, you can use this to establish a relationship with the Lord Qiao family..." Zhang Jing pondered and said, "Should we try to pull some strings? The number of nominations from each country is limited, so they must be very valuable."

"No need. I don't want to get close to the Qiao Family ..." Bai Xiaowen shook his head and said, "This matter is actually me helping them, and also to repay a favor to Lord Qiao. As for what reputation I gain in the Alchemist industry, I don't really care. If Qiao Qi can get this spot, I will participate in the competition. If she can't, I will be free and can devote my energy to the CUAA finals."