Meeting Again

At the intersection of several streets in the Left District of the Imperial Capital, a massive building stands, perpetually shrouded in the faint fragrance of elixirs. Above its towering gate, the five ancient characters of "Alchemist Guild" in a flamboyant style gleam with a pale silver light, drawing awe-inspiring glances from passersby.

This Alchemist Guild is the headquarters of the Jia Ma Empire's Alchemist Headquarters. Because of the immense power behind the alchemists, the Alchemist Headquarters is extremely prestigious throughout the empire, and even members of the Imperial Family must show deference to it.

The Alchemist Tournament is about to begin. Outside the gates of the Alchemist Guild, alchemists who are rarely seen on ordinary days are hurrying to and fro, their robes of different colors proudly proclaiming their ranks.

As the two of them stepped into the Alchemist Tournament, a rich fragrance of pills wafted towards them, making them involuntarily take a deep breath and feel instantly refreshed.

The area here is extremely vast. The eastern part is where alchemists trade and find treasures, while in the south, some alchemists are refining pills, and some lower-level alchemists are whispering and exchanging pill-refining experiences.

The west hall was much quieter than the east and south halls. Some low-level alchemists passing by looked at it with awe and envy. There were also some guards standing at the entrance of the hall.

Xiao Yu pointed to the west hall and said to Xiao Yan, "Let's go straight there. That should be where the presidents of the various branches of the Alchemist Guild are located. I know one of them!"

Xiao Yan was somewhat surprised, but he didn't say anything, only nodding slightly and saying, "Okay!"

The two went straight to the quiet west hall. When the guards at the door saw how young Xiao Yu and Xiao Yan were, and noticed the badges on their chests, their originally indifferent expressions became respectful.

"Sir, this is the branch president's area of the Alchemist Guild. Only Third-grade Alchemist are allowed to enter, so..." The guard looked at Xiao Yu with some difficulty. Xiao Yu was not the branch president; he could go in himself, but he couldn't bring anyone else in.

Xiao Yu smiled and said, "Please inform Master Bulin in Shi Mo City or Master Otto in Black Rock City that Xiao Yu."

The guard nodded respectfully, took a step back, and quickly slipped upstairs.

Xiao Yu and Xiao Yan stood at the door waiting. Not long after the guard went upstairs, a series of hurried footsteps came from upstairs. A moment later, an old figure appeared in Xiao Yu's sight, his face full of joy.

The old man quickly arrived at the gate, his eyes sweeping over Xiao Yu and Xiao Yan. Seeing their youthful faces, a hint of surprise flashed through his mind, but he quickly ignored them.

His gaze swept around, but he couldn't find the person he was looking for. His smile froze slightly, and he frowned, hissing softly to the guard beside him, "Where is he? You didn't chase him away, did you?"

The guard's face fell. That was Third-grade Alchemist; how could he dare to chase him away? Just as he was about to point out that it was Xiao Yu and his companion in disguise, Xiao Yu smiled and said, "Master Otto!"

Hearing the somewhat familiar voice, Otto looked at the unfamiliar young man before him. "You..."

After a long pause, Otto said in astonishment, "You're Xiao Yu? What happened to you?"

Xiao Yu chuckled and said, "It's a long story, let's go inside and talk!"

"Uh, alright!" Otto stopped asking questions upon hearing this, and turned to the two guards sternly, saying, "You didn't hear anything about what happened today, understand?"

The two guards nodded hurriedly, and then Otto pulled Xiao Yu upstairs.

Xiao Yu pointed to the young man beside him and said, "This is my third brother, also an alchemist, who came with me to attend the Alchemist Tournament!"

"Oh?" Otto looked at Xiao Yan with some surprise, and said with some shock, "You two brothers are both little monsters, already Second-grade Alchemist at such a young age!"

As he spoke, Otto suddenly stopped in his tracks. Xiao Yu frowned and asked, "Master Otto, what's wrong?"

Otto stared in horror at the Alchemist Badge on Xiao Yu's chest, swallowed hard, and said, "You, when did you become Third-grade Alchemist?"

Xiao Yu shook his head and laughed, "On my way back, I went to Shi Mo City to take the Third-grade Alchemist exam. Master Bulin personally conducted the exam. Didn't he tell you?"

"Hmph, that old bastard didn't tell me! How dare he keep it from me!" Master Otto cursed, his face flushed red.

Then, with a pained expression, he said, "Wait a minute, this old guy helped you with the assessment behind our backs. Now he can brag to headquarters, and maybe even get a lot of funding and rare medicinal herbs!"

Xiao Yu didn't know what to say; these old men were all like children. He could only smile wryly and say, "Perhaps Master Bulin forgot!"

"Bullshit! How could that old bastard forget? I'm furious! I'm going to teach that old bastard a lesson later!" Otto said angrily.

As they walked and talked, Otto led Xiao Yu and Xiao Yan to a spacious room and stopped. Before they even entered, they could hear cursing coming from inside.

Otto smiled and said to Xiao Yu, "Remember that girl Xue Mei? She just traded a Fourth-grade Pill Formula for a Peach Blossom Fire Seed, which broke her teacher Frank's heart. By the way, he's also the president of the Alchemist Guild in Black Rock City. I'll introduce you two!"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Yu chuckled. Otto pushed open the door and entered. Xiao Yu and Xiao Yan also stepped into the room. With a quick glance, they saw an old man in an alchemist's robe, his face ashen, scolding Xue Mei standing in front of him with spittle flying. Xue Mei stood there silently, while on the other side was a woman in red, watching Xue Mei being scolded with schadenfreude.

This person was none other than the lively Lin Fei. Hearing the door open, she quickly turned her gaze over, her eyes sweeping over Xiao Yu and Xiao Yan behind Otto. She muttered in surprise, "Such young Third-grade Alchemist. When did Teacher meet these two?"

Fokland, who had been shouting insults, stopped, glanced at Xiao Yu and Xiao Yan, and then asked Otto, "Old Otto, who are these two?"

Otto immediately laughed, "This is the little monster I've been telling you about, the one we found in Shi Mo City, Xiao Yu. And this is his third brother, uh, what's his name?"

Xiao Yan smiled slightly and said, "My name is Xiao Yan!"

Xiao Yu reached out and peeled off the Ice Silkworm Silk from his face, putting it into his Storage Ring, revealing his original handsome face. Xiao Yan, on the other hand, ate a pill, and his appearance changed slightly to a delicate and fair face.

Seeing the two of them perform what seemed like magic, the others looked over with amazement and curiosity. Xiao Yu smiled and said, "Hello, Xue Mei, Lin Fei, long time no see!"

Xue Mei looked over, and Xiao Yu exchanged a glance with her before giving her a polite smile.

"It really is you! You still remember our names, that's great!" Lin Fei jumped off the table and came over with a grin.

"By the way, where is Sister Xiao Yi Xian? I haven't seen her." Lin Fei looked behind him and asked with some confusion.

Xiao Yu chuckled lightly, "She went to the Chuyun Empire."

"Okay!" Lin Fei, somewhat disappointed.

Frank looked at Xiao Yu with some shock and said, "Little guy, so you're that little monster. But, I heard from Old Otto that you were Second-grade Alchemist? How did you become a third-grade one?"

Upon hearing this, Xue Mei and Lin Fei realized that Xiao Yu had actually become Third-grade Alchemist!