Alchemist Competition

For the next three days, Otto and Frank worked intensively to refine Soul-Nourishing Pills for Su Heng, while Lin Fei and Xue Mei assisted them.

Su Heng's parents stayed behind to help him recuperate, while Xiao Li and the brothers accompanying the Desert Iron Mercenary Group took charge of security.

With rare leisure time on his hands, Su Heng had nothing to do and could finally review everything, wondering exactly where he had gone wrong.

After two days of careful thought, Su Heng finally reached an answer: forcing himself beyond his level and overworking himself.

At Su Heng's current Da Dou Shi level, having only just advanced, controlling five kinds of Six-tier Beast Flames was already enormously taxing. On top of that, refining Peak Fourth-grade Pills consumed a terrifying amount of Dou Qi and soul power.

Under such circumstances, an ordinary Fourth-grade Alchemist refining one pill a day would already be at their limit.

Yet Su Heng had worked day and night without pause. After finishing one pill, he would drink some water, take a brief break, then continue refining the next. Whether he succeeded or failed, he refined nearly two to three Fourth-grade Pills a day.

It could be said that Su Heng had been madly draining his soul power at an extremely high intensity this entire time.

Xiao Yan had also refined pills at high intensity before, even refining pills beyond his level.

However, Medicine Elder had been watching over Xiao Yan. He knew when Xiao Yan needed to rest and when he could continue. With a teacher's guidance, there had been a complete plan.

Su Heng, on the other hand, had no plan whatsoever. He relied entirely on his own feelings when refining pills.

Moreover, after successfully refining a pill, Su Heng could quickly see the people around him advance in cultivation, receiving immediate positive feedback.

So even when his body felt somewhat uncomfortable, Su Heng was still willing to force himself to continue refining. He could see his family's delighted expressions and their endless gratitude.

He found that incredibly gratifying, and so he delayed his rest.

It was like a fitness beginner who had just reached the point of barbell squatting one and a half times his body weight, then eagerly ran off to the gym to work out.

Originally, he would be exhausted after ten barbell squats and need to rest. But the people in the gym cheered him on, and beautiful women encouraged him from the side.

In a moment of excitement, the rookie did thirty barbell squats at one and a half times his body weight without stopping, developed rhabdomyolysis, and was carried straight to the hospital for emergency treatment.

Su Heng was in a similar situation. He had only just become capable of fully refining Fourth-grade Pills, then began desperately overworking himself until he developed "rhabdomyolysis" and had to be carried away.

That was the downside of not having elders around. Many things had to be figured out alone, and young people were prone to getting carried away. One careless mistake, and they could ruin themselves.

Fortunately, Su Heng usually did good deeds and treated the people around him well. When a real crisis arose, everyone around him did everything they could to help him. That was how he survived this ordeal without causing a major disaster.

"I still need to be more careful from now on. If this happens again, it won't be a matter of bad luck—it'll be a matter of bad judgment."

Su Heng was truly behaving himself now. He no longer dared to exhaust himself doing things. He would act within his limits in all matters; if he could lie down, he would never stand. His life was his own, and nothing mattered more than that!

After three days of recuperation, Su Heng's body had gradually recovered. He had now made every preparation to win the Alchemist Competition!

The next day, the sky was clear for miles, blue and cloudless. The sunlight was warm and gentle, while the occasional breeze brought an indescribable comfort.

A day like this could not have been more suitable for holding the Alchemist Competition.

Today's event was the grand gathering held once every eight years in the Jia Ma Empire—the Alchemist Competition, which gathered Alchemists from across the entire empire.

Besides the Jia Ma Empire's own Alchemists, Alchemists from neighboring countries who met the age requirements would also come to participate.

No one would pass up the chance to make a name for themselves, especially not a group of gifted young talents.

When the first rays of morning sunlight shone over the streets of the Imperial Capital, several figures dressed in Alchemist robes had already appeared on the previously quiet streets.

Alchemists were exceptionally esteemed figures on the Dou Qi Continent, and even in the Imperial Capital, they were rarely seen on ordinary days.

Yet today, these noble Alchemists poured out continuously from lodging places throughout the Imperial Capital like ants swarming from their nest.

Even Su Heng, who had never liked getting up early, had become one of them.

As he walked down the broad streets, passersby continuously cast respectful and curious looks his way.

There were also many carefully dressed young women with graceful figures standing along both sides of the streets, doing everything they could to catch the attention of the young Alchemists.

This Alchemist Competition only allowed Alchemists under thirty to participate. It was precisely the age when male Alchemists were at the peak of both physique and appearance.

Those Alchemists who were handsome and exceptionally gifted were like princes on white horses, making the young women's hearts flutter. They practically wanted to rush up and share a passionate night with them on the spot.

The city's lively excitement had utterly swept away the Imperial Capital's usual solemn and dignified atmosphere.

Many people were immersed in this fervor. Su Heng also wanted to enjoy the atmosphere, even if only to join in the fun.

But unfortunately, his physical condition would not allow it. He could only pull on a white hooded cloak and hurry through the crowd as quickly as possible.

"The venue for this competition isn't the Alchemist Guild, but the Royal Plaza. All Alchemists who have come from other places must first go to the guild to verify their identities before entering the Royal Plaza."

"Little Su, Frank and I have already verified your identity for you. We can head straight to the Royal Plaza."

Considering Su Heng's limited stamina, Otto had arranged everything in advance so they would not have to run back and forth, wasting time and energy.

Following Otto's lead, the group easily passed through the crowd. Before long, the Royal Plaza Otto had mentioned appeared in their sight.

Su Heng looked into the distance and was surprised to discover that, as far as his eyes could see, he could only make out one corner of the enormous plaza.

Outside the plaza, fully armed Imperial troops were stationed to maintain order. At their head stood a tall, heroic woman clad in splendid brocade armor. She was Princess Yao Ye of the Jia Ma Empire's Imperial Family.

As commander of the Imperial Guard, she was naturally responsible for the competition's security.

"She really is a beauty. What a pity..."

Standing amid the crowd, Su Heng glanced at Yao Ye. She was indeed beautiful, but unfortunately, the Jia Ma Empire's Imperial Family was not a particularly promising power. Reaching Peak Dou Emperor in the future would already be the limit of Yao Ye's life.

She had not received the "major benefits" of this land.

At the entrance to the Royal Plaza, inspectors arranged by the Imperial Capital Alchemist Headquarters stood guard. Only members of the Alchemist Guild and contestants were allowed to enter through there.

As for the spectators, they had a separate entrance.

With Otto leading the way, Su Heng's group entered the plaza without the slightest obstruction.

After passing up a sloping entrance path, the enormous plaza stretching for ten thousand zhang in every direction finally came fully into Su Heng's view.

Standing at the top of the slope, Su Heng looked at the absurdly vast bluestone plaza and could not help but feel impressed.

The entire plaza was circular. Tens of thousands of seats had been arranged along both sides, forming the spectator stands.

Across from the spectator stands was a lavishly decorated elevated platform filled with numerous distinguished seats. It was presumably reserved for the higher-ups of the Alchemist Guild and the leaders of the Jia Ma Empire's major factions.

At the center of the plaza, the Jia Ma Empire Alchemist Guild had already set up over a thousand bluestone platforms. They were lined up in neat, orderly rows, clearly the product of much effort.

At that moment, quite a few Alchemists who had arrived early were already seated quietly on stone chairs behind the bluestone platforms, waiting for the competition to begin.

As time passed, more and more Alchemists in long robes entered through the passageways, then searched for their places according to the number tags they had received.

Otto looked up at the great clock above the plaza and said with a smile.

"Little Su, let's head to the VIP room first. There's still some time before the competition begins. Many important figures will be here today, and getting to know them may benefit you."

Since his teacher had said so, Su Heng naturally would not refuse.

By the time the group reached the VIP room, quite a few important figures who had come to observe the competition were already there.

Su Heng knew every one of their names if they were mentioned, but if they simply stood there in person, he would not recognize a single one of them.

Still, among those unfamiliar people, there was one person he recognized.

"Mr. Yan Xiao, long time no see. How have you been?"

Although Xiao Yan had adopted the alias Yan Xiao and wore a mask that concealed his aura, his build had not changed much.

More importantly, he was still wearing the black Alchemist robe issued by the Black Rock City Alchemist Guild.

Hearing Su Heng call out to him, Xiao Yan was visibly startled. But he quickly composed himself, clasped his hands in greeting, and came over to meet Su Heng.

"Brother Su, long time no see. Has your health improved?"

Xiao Yan naturally knew of Su Heng's condition, so that was the first thing he asked.

"Not bad. If I can win this competition and obtain the formula for the Soul-Melting Pill, there's still hope."

At the words "Soul-Melting Pill," Xiao Yan's expression visibly changed ever so slightly.

"Mr. Yan Xiao, did you come for the Soul-Melting Pill formula as well?"

Su Heng quickly noticed the change in Xiao Yan's expression. He naturally knew Xiao Yan's difficulties, so he took the initiative to bring it up.

Xiao Yan had come to compete this time mainly because Queen Medusa had coerced him. If he failed to obtain the formula for the Soul-Melting Pill, Queen Medusa might very well kill him.

That adorable Seven-Colored Heaven-Swallowing Python was still sleeping in Xiao Yan's pocket!

Xiao Yan nodded helplessly, admitting it.

"If that's the case, then we can have another proper contest at this Alchemist Competition. Excellent!"

The two had met through a pill-refining contest, and now that they had met again, they were once more competing in alchemy.

Although Su Heng was injured, he wanted to know which of them was stronger: himself, with five kinds of Six-tier Beast Flames and a cultivation level one realm above Xiao Yan's, or Xiao Yan, who possessed two Heavenly Flames.

"In my view, among the thousand-plus Alchemists here, only you and I have the strength to win."

"No matter which of us takes the championship, if we let the other read the Soul-Melting Pill formula once, wouldn't that be the same as obtaining two copies of the formula?"

"Not a bad idea, right?"

Winning and losing mattered, but the competition's final prize did not. At least, given Su Heng and Xiao Yan's friendship, it did not matter who took the reward.

After all, pill formulas were not recorded with paper and ink. They were inscribed using an Alchemist's soul power.

Once someone obtained a formula, they only needed to scan and read it once with their soul power to deeply imprint everything recorded within it into their mind.

So whether Su Heng or Xiao Yan obtained the formula, they only needed to read it once with soul power to master the method of refining the Soul-Melting Pill. A single pill formula could be read around five times.

Unless the Soul-Melting Pill formula had already been read four times, there was no need to worry about who it belonged to.

"Hmph, where did this country bumpkin come from? How dare you be so arrogant!"

Just as Su Heng's arrogant words drew everyone's attention, a crisp voice like silver bells, tinged with irritation, sounded from behind him.

Everyone turned and saw a young girl slowly entering the VIP room behind an old man dressed in luxurious golden robes.

The girl wore a specially tailored pale green Alchemist robe. Golden threads embroidered lotus patterns along the loose cuffs, giving her an elegant air.

She was petite and charming, not very tall, with a bit of baby fat that made her look exceptionally adorable. But her words from a moment ago had not been adorable at all.

"Where did you come from? How dare you say that only the two of you here have the strength to win? Who do you think you are?"

The little girl marched angrily up to Su Heng, her face darkening as she demanded sharply.

"I am Su Heng of Black Rock City, a Peak Fourth-grade Alchemist. And who might you be?"

Although he did not know this little girl, Su Heng could roughly guess her identity. She was likely Princess Yao Yue of the Jia Ma Empire.

And the person beside her was the Jia Ma Empire's protector, the most cowardly Peak Dou Emperor in history, Jia Xingtian.

"What? A Peak Fourth-grade Alchemist? Who are you trying to fool? You're clearly only third-grade!"

Hearing Su Heng's words, the little princess shuddered in fright. But she quickly noticed that the badge on Su Heng's chest was third-grade, not the Peak Fourth-grade rank he had claimed.

"I simply haven't taken the fourth-grade examination yet. As for my actual ability, Master Otto and Master Frank can both testify for me. I have no reason to lie to you."

Su Heng smugly turned his gaze toward Otto and Frank. Under everyone's expectant gazes, Otto and Frank nodded rather proudly as well.

"You really are a Fourth-grade Alchemist, and even a Peak Fourth-grade Alchemist?"

Little Princess Yao Yue had always been willful, arrogant, and contemptuous of others. Now, having been rendered speechless by just a few words from Su Heng upon their first meeting, her little face flushed red as if she were about to explode.

"I believe Brother Su's words are no empty boast."

Just as the little princess stamped her feet in frustration, her chest filled with rage, another familiar face stepped forward to drive the knife in deeper.

"Brother Su, long time no see!"

Liu Ling entered the VIP room in a plain white robe, folding fan in hand, accompanied by a peerlessly beautiful woman.

On Liu Ling's chest hung a purple Alchemist badge. Four silver ripples gleamed upon it beneath the sunlight, shimmering brilliantly like phosphorescence.

"Brother Liu, long time no see. How have you been?"

Several months had passed, and Liu Ling's temperament was utterly different from when they had last met. He was now gentle and confident, while the beautiful woman by his side was soft and graceful, possessing a beauty that made people feel completely at ease.

"Everything has naturally been well. Brother Su's harsh rebuke back then woke me up considerably. I have now broken through to become a Fourth-grade Alchemist. I owe all of this to Brother Su."

Liu Ling spoke sincerely. After being utterly defeated in his duel with Su Heng, Liu Ling had been depressed for a long time. During that period, Nalan Yanran had cast him aside like garbage and ignored him completely.

Instead, the woman now beside Liu Ling had stayed with him through it all, showing him every possible care and affection.

Liu Ling might have had the temperament of a hopeless simp, but he was not beyond saving.

In the end, Liu Ling came to a complete realization: between someone who loved you and someone you loved, you should ultimately choose the one who loved you.

Liu Ling successfully pulled himself together, worked even harder, and cultivated diligently. A month ago, he finally passed the Fourth-grade Alchemist assessment and advanced to become a Fourth-grade Alchemist.

And this time, he was clearly determined to shine brilliantly at the Alchemist Competition.