Before the Finals (2-in-1)

The International Alchemist Conference ' Youth Exhibition Match has concluded. However, the repercussions of this Exhibition Match are far from over.

Just as Master Yang said, Huang Xuan's naturalization in Japan gave this competition too much political significance and nationalistic sentiment. Almost everyone who cares about pharmacology knows about Huang Xuan, and also knows that Bai Xiaowen's victory over Huang Xuan to win first place is not just about winning glory for the country, but also about preserving face for China.

If Huang Xuan wins first place and makes outrageous remarks on the podium, he will not only be slapping Qiao Xiangdong in the face, but also causing the entire China pharmaceutical industry to lose face.

The process of Huang Xuan entering the training camp to provoke others was recorded at some point, edited, and then circulated online.

Some people even spliced this edited video with Bai Xiaowen's competition victory video to create a longer video:

[Shocking! Prodigy turns the tide, completely shattering the ambitions of Japanese collaborators]

Okay, the title is sensational, but that makes sense.

This long video is very well made, covering the entire process from Huang Xuan's naturalization in Japan, his return to China to compete and his provocations, his disrespect for his former teacher Master Yang Haogu, to his smugness during the competition, his victory over the China seed player Zhou Ziwang, and finally his defeat by Bai Xiaowen.

As if a powerful hand was pulling the strings behind the scenes, the video was uploaded to major websites, including the homepages of Virtual Community, and the whole country now knew Huang Xuan's name. This former top young Alchemist in China quickly became infamous.

Bai Xiaowen was a beneficiary; his fame rose rapidly, and his World Fame quickly surpassed that of B-Tier celebrity.

The Pharmaceutical Development Commission awarded Bai Xiaowen the Special-grade Alchemist certification the very next day; the official department's efficiency this time was exceptionally high.

It is worth mentioning that the CS Association also included Bai Xiaowen in the list of "Top Ten Young Alchemist in the World". After collecting evaluations from several master judges, they gave Bai Xiaowen a comprehensive ability assessment.

Theoretical knowledge: A-

Observational ability: S

Computational ability: S

Operational ability: A-

Having two S-level ratings is very rare among young Alchemist. In contrast, Huang Xuan's four abilities are all A-level, making him significantly weaker than Bai Xiaowen.

Some have questioned whether it is rigorous enough to judge a Alchemist's four-dimensional abilities based on just one competition.

However, the CS Association's official Weibo account quickly responded, "The assessment of Bai Xiaowen's abilities was based on the opinions of five pharmacy masters. They unanimously agreed that Bai Xiaowen's observation and calculation skills are in no way inferior to any true master."

Bai Xiaowen didn't care about this... He was a pragmatic person who only cared about practical benefits; the CS Association's ability rating was just an empty title.

What truly excited Bai Xiaowen was that, with his Alchemist level advancing three levels in a row, he could finally learn the recipe for [Frost Potion]. Moreover, the medicinal materials required for Frost Potion could be conveniently purchased from the Pharmaceutical Development Commission's pharmacy using his Special-grade Alchemist privileges.

A pharmaceutical manufacturing room under the name of the Pharmaceutical Development Commission.

Bai Xiaowen held a reagent bottle that faintly shimmered with blue light in his hand, surrounded by a group of his teammates from Jinghai University.

"This is the Frost Potion... It's used by throwing it. Upon landing, it creates a slowing field, which reduces not only movement speed but also attack speed. Currently, my Alchemist level is 8, so the reduction rate is 25%," Bai Xiaowen explained.

"666, this just adds another skill, right? Is there a cooldown?" Chen Guowei asked.

"This isn't considered a combat potion, but rather an item, with the same 30-second cooldown as other items of the same name," Bai Xiaowen said.

The team members cheered "Wow!" in unison.

Bai Xiaowen said with a smile, "Frost Potion also has its drawbacks. First, it's a trade-bound item, meaning only I and my permanently created teammates can use it. Second, it doesn't distinguish between friend and foe; friendly forces will also be slowed down in the poison's area."

"If that's the case, it still requires a lot of technical skill to use," Xiang Hui said.

"At least we have another trump card, which is good news. I'll report the Frost Potion to the organizers immediately... Our next match is the final battle. Our opponent is stronger than any team we've faced before, and they'll definitely use all their trump cards in the final round. We can't let our guard down."

Yan Xiaoxin paused for a moment, then continued, "Let's have a short meeting to carefully analyze the battle footage of Yanda University and formulate a proper strategy."

"Hehe, what tactics do we need? Just let the opposing support, Senior Qiao Rui, go easy on us, and the championship is ours," Chen Guowei said.

Bai Xiaowen lightly kicked Chen Guowei: "Don't joke around... Senior Qiao Rui already told me that she won't go easy on me. After all, Yanda University is her alma mater."

A quiet bar.

Soft music, dim lighting.

Two young men sat at the bar, having a drink. One of them, with a thin face, was Lin Haoyang. The other, tall and strong, was Ouyang Heng.

The bartender was a tall, alluring woman with curly hair; her slender eyes were lightly made up, giving her a long and seductive look.

The regulars at the bar were all surprised to see this curly-haired beauty and inquired about the identities of the two young people. To be personally served by the bar owner, she must be someone of considerable influence—after all, this owner, named Li Xue, had a powerful background in Beijing, and any unsuspecting individuals who had tried to take advantage of her had met with tragic ends.

How could a woman who runs such a stylish bar in Beijing's Second Ring Road, where land is incredibly expensive, possibly not have a powerful background?

"Mr. Lin, here Thinker you requested." A bubbling wine glass was placed in front of Lin Haoyang.

"Thank you." Lin Haoyang's eyes remained calm, avoiding looking into the beautiful woman's slender and charming eyes. The observant Lin Haoyang had already noticed that when Li Xue handed the wine to Ouyang Heng, her delicate fingers gently brushed against the back of Ouyang Heng's hand—and Ouyang Heng, his childhood friend, seemed completely unfazed by this, indicating that the two were clearly very familiar with each other.

"The new bartender? She's a real beauty, haha..." A drunken man, reeking of alcohol, walked over and plopped down next to Ouyang Heng. "Beautiful lady, give me a drink—Ice and Fire."

Li Xue took a small step back. The bartender quickly came forward. "Yes, sir, please wait a moment."

"Go away, who let you come here..." the drunk man said with a look of disgust. "Have that new beauty pour me a drink."

Li Xue smiled faintly, "Sir, I'm not a bartender."

"Nonsense! Are you looking down on me?" The drunken man slammed his hand on the table. "Such disrespect... watch out, or I'll teach you a lesson..."

His answer was a strong palm.

Ouyang Heng grabbed the drunk man by the collar, lifted him up like a chick, and tossed him into the air. The man's body arced through the air before crashing onto the street with a thud.

Li Xue, with a smile that seemed both reproachful and delighted, gently patted Ouyang Heng's hand. "Why bother arguing with a drunkard like that? Xiao Chen, Xiao Deng, drag that guy away, don't let him block our shop entrance."

Ouyang Heng grasped Li Xue's slender hand in return and chuckled, "Sister Xue, I get annoyed just looking at this vulgar guy."

Li Xue shook her head. Just then, her phone rang. She called out to it and went to the side to answer it.

"How long have you been together?" Lin Haoyang asked.

Looking at Li Xue's swaying, shapely buttocks, Ouyang Heng smiled and said, "This bar has been open for half a year. I took over the shop for her."

"You're really good at hiding things. No wonder you didn't let me bring Ziyi over." Lin Haoyang shook his head.

"It's so boring for a man to go to bars with his wife," Ouyang Heng said with a gleam in his eye. "I'll have Sister Xue find you two virgins later, I guarantee they'll be pure and delicious."

"No, I don't have that hobby, and I'm worried Ziyi will get angry," Lin Haoyang said slowly. "If you do this... does Qiao Rui know? Aren't you afraid?"

"So what if she knows? It's normal for a grown man to have multiple wives and concubines... She's the only legal wife, Qiao Rui, what more could she possibly want?" Ouyang Heng took a sip of his drink and licked his lips. However, thinking of the scene at Tsinghua University where he saw Qiao Rui and Bai Xiaowen, Ouyang Heng's expression darkened.

Just then, Lin Haoyang said, "You two, husband and wife, will be facing Bai Xiaowen this weekend... The reputation of Beijing's university circles depends on you two. Don't let Jinghai University take the championship away."

"You can rest assured about that."

Ouyang Heng said, "I'm not here for just a drink. You've fought with Bai Xiaowen, so your information should be clearer and more reliable than the video recordings. Tell me, what are his skills?"

Lin Haoyang laughed and said, "I knew you'd ask that."

As he spoke, Lin Haoyang took out a few bound pages of A4 paper and handed them to Ouyang Heng.

"This is the Spirit Realm Rules notification information from when our teammate fought him one-on-one."

Lin Haoyang said, "We don't have Insight- type skills, so the information we received is incomplete. However, you should be able to glean something from the damage."

Ouyang Heng frowned as he flipped through the few thin pages.

"I already knew that Bai Xiaowen had Life Sharing and that the bonuses from summoned creatures were very strong, even capable of overpowering Spirit Realm creatures of the same level and template... I didn't expect that his own attack power was also so strong."

"It's mainly the first hit..." Lin Haoyang pointed to one of the combat messages, "See this? The damage is ridiculously high... The crimson light that flashed around him at that time looked a lot like the Berserker's Blood Rage skill, but I can't be sure. Besides that, he also had true damage! It's insane."

"The equipment comes with a skill, right? It should be Top-grade Gold Equipment," Ouyang Heng said.

"In addition, Bai Xiaowen also has recovery ability. When I left the field, he only had a little over 100 health points, but when Mi Dong entered the field, his Life Value suddenly rose to over 200. I speculated that it was because his physical attacks had Blood Drain." Lin Haoyang turned a page and said to Ouyang Heng.

"None of these are problems," Ouyang Heng sneered. "I will ensure he has no chance to fight back, and the Blood Drain will be nonexistent."

"He's not bad in close combat either. Although he's Mental Specialty type, his strength and agility are quite impressive..." Lin Haoyang said. "He has some of Kyo Kusanagi's martial arts moves, and he performs them quite well."

"Ultimately, it's still a magic-based class. It can be a surprise weapon against you in melee combat, but it won't work against me."

Ouyang Heng's finger traced a large X over Bai Xiaowen's name. "If this is all Bai Xiaowen's strength is, then he's doomed to lose."

The CUAA finals were held on Sunday morning.

However, Bai Xiaowen and Li Shuyi were more focused on another match.

The B-League between the Super God Guild and Jingwu Guild will be held on Saturday night.

This match didn't garner much attention; even within the realm of Professional League, it couldn't compare to the hype surrounding the finals, especially in Beijing.

Only in Jinghai City, when competing against each other within the same city, will the competition receive more attention.

Before the match, many media outlets had already predicted that Jingwu Guild Overwhelming Crush Super God Guild. One was a strong team with the potential to Sprint the Class-A League, while the other was a weak team that had been struggling for a long time. It was obvious which one was stronger.

Bai Xiaowen originally didn't have much hope for this match, but Li Beihai had said that the Super God Guild had developed a new tactic... and they would definitely be able to snatch a victory from the Jingwu Guild.

Bai Xiaowen and Li Shuyi watched the entire game on television during their rest time on Saturday night.

The score was 3-0. The Super God Guild suffered a complete defeat.

Well...

Bai Xiaowen felt that it was a process where weak teams played fancy tricks and unorthodox tactics, but their strength couldn't keep up, and their opponents seized the opportunity to take them down in one fell swoop.

"How did they even play? It feels like the guild's main team has several players who aren't as strong as Xiang Hui and me. Overall, they can't even compare to National Tsing Tsinghua University Team, let alone Taiwan University University's." Li Shuyi said angrily.

"That's normal. The top four teams in CUAA are inherently stronger than the weaker teams in the B-League. The Awakened in the Professional League are just more experienced and have higher Battle Specialty and skill levels," Bai Xiaowen said.

Li Beihai was present at the scene; he was desperate for a victory, especially against the Jingwu Guild, which was not his match.

However, things didn't go as planned, and the team was completely wiped out, which made Li Beihai particularly embarrassed on the spot. The nosy director would often cut the camera to the faces of the two presidents, Wu Chonglian, who was all smiles, while Li Beihai was expressionless.

Bai Xiaowen clearly saw that in one of the scenes, Wu Chonglian turned his head and said something to Li Beihai, and Li Beihai's already dark face turned even more ashen.

After the competition, during the routine handshake and speech by the president, Li Beihai turned and walked away, his broad back revealing a sense of loneliness.

Li Shuyi bit her lip and remained silent.

"Okay, okay, don't be angry anymore, or you'll get wrinkles."

Bai Xiaowen let out a soft breath and gently rubbed Li Shuyi's cheek. "Don't worry too much about guild matters. Get some rest and conserve your energy. Let's focus on winning tomorrow's competition first. If we can bring back a CUAA championship, I'm sure Lord Taishan will be very happy."

Li Shuyi felt as sweet as if she had tasted honey, and said coquettishly, "What Taishan? Who gave you permission to call me that...?"

"It's only a matter of time..." Bai Xiaowen whispered with a smile, his arm around Li Shuyi's tight waist.