Tournament Registration, Rivals

"Master Otto!"

When Xiao Yan arrived at the Black Rock City branch office, he saw a familiar elderly figure.

"You are?"

Master Otto looked doubtfully at the dark-skinned, ordinary-looking young man before him.

"I'm Han Li."

Xiao Yan smiled, then injected Dou Qi into the Ice Silkworm Mask on his face, restoring his original appearance.

"So it's little brother Han Li."

Master Otto looked excited as he asked,

"Are you here to register for the Alchemy Master Tournament?"

Xiao Yan nodded.

"Good, good, good. With you participating in the Alchemy Master Tournament, Han Li, our Black Rock City guild will surely become famous throughout the empire."

Otto laughed heartily and led Xiao Yan to the second floor, stopping outside a room with luxurious doors.

The two pushed the door open and entered, only to see Frank scolding the silver-haired girl, Xue Mei.

It turned out that Xue Mei had traded a precious fourth-tier pill formula for a Peach Blossom Flame Seed in the trading area downstairs. Frank was heartbroken over it.

When Xiao Yan appeared, the two girls in the room immediately looked delighted and hurried to his side, each wrapping her arms around one of his.

"Big Brother Han Li, why did you leave without saying goodbye last time? You made me sad for several days."

Lin Fei shook Xiao Yan's arm and spoke with a coquettish pout.

"That's right, Big Brother Han Li. I wanted to invite you to my home as a guest, but you vanished the very next day. Am I really that annoying?"

Xue Mei raised her pretty little face, her jade-like ears reddening as she spoke.

Feeling the soft touch against his arms, Xiao Yan secretly thought, If I didn't leave, you two would have eaten me alive.

Xiao Yan chuckled. "Sorry, I had something urgent to deal with at the time."

Seeing the two girls compete for Xiao Yan's attention, Otto and Frank exchanged smiles. This youth possessed talent even greater than Pill King Gu He's. If their disciples could win Xiao Yan over, they would be more than happy to see it happen.

"Han Li, you're here to participate in the Alchemy Master Tournament, right?"

Frank asked with a smile.

Xiao Yan nodded.

"That's wonderful. With your alchemy skills, Big Brother Han Li, you'll definitely take first place."

Lin Fei giggled, looking at Xiao Yan with a face full of admiration.

Xue Mei's eyes were also filled with little stars.

The two of them were now first-tier Alchemy Masters. Their main purpose in coming to the imperial capital for the Alchemy Master Tournament was to broaden their horizons. As for achieving any results, they did not even dare think about it.

"Excellent, I'll register you right away."

Frank looked thrilled. With Xiao Yan participating, the Black Rock City Alchemy Master Guild would surely achieve a respectable result. Then, they could ask headquarters for more funding.

As for the championship, Frank did not dare hope for too much.

"Han Li, the Alchemy Master Tournament will begin in three days. Come find us here then."

Frank finished writing Xiao Yan's registration form. All that remained was to submit it to the tournament staff at headquarters.

Imperial capital, Mittel Clan headquarters.

The head of the Mittel Clan, one of the Jia Ma Empire's ten strongest experts and a Dou King, Mittel Teng Shan, looked excitedly at Hai Bodong.

Seeing the outstanding younger members of the clan looking confused,

Teng Shan solemnly introduced him. "Elder Hai, founder of the Mittel Clan, a Dou Emperor expert known as the Ice Emperor!"

At those words, everyone looked at Hai Bodong in shock. The Ice Emperor's name resounded throughout the entire Jia Ma Empire.

The young members of the Mittel Clan looked at Hai Bodong and felt honored by association.

"Elder Hai, I think you should return home and live here," Teng Shan said eagerly as he looked at Hai Bodong.

The strongest combatants of the empire's three great clans were all Dou Kings. If the Mittel Clan had a Dou Emperor like Hai Bodong watching over it, it would indisputably become the number one clan.

Hai Bodong shook his head. "My appearance will inevitably draw the attention of that old monster in the imperial family. If he becomes wary of the Mittel Clan, the losses will outweigh the gains. You have managed the clan very well over the years, so I will not return to involve myself in clan affairs."

Teng Shan said respectfully, "No matter where Elder Hai is, you remain the Mittel Clan's Supreme Elder and possess the highest authority."

"The reason I was able to return this time was because I met an outstanding young man named Xiao Yan.

"If the clan can win Xiao Yan over, it will bring enormous benefits to the clan's future.

"I see that Ya Fei is familiar with Xiao Yan. She is the key to winning him over, so from today onward, let Ya Fei officially take charge of the auction house at clan headquarters."

Hai Bodong said with a smile.

"Thank you, Supreme Elder!"

Ya Fei was slightly excited. Xiao Yan, because of you, your sister has been promoted again. I really don't know how I should repay you.

"Everyone must keep Xiao Yan's matters confidential. No one is to provoke him either, or they will be severely punished!"

Teng Shan's stern gaze swept across the younger generation as he spoke in a deep voice.

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

In order to win the tournament championship, Xiao Yan spent those three days continuously practicing alchemy in the space.

It felt a little like cramming at the last minute.

However, those three days of intensive training brought tremendous improvement.

Within the space, Xiao Yan's soul power was amplified. His realm, originally at the peak of the Mortal Realm, reached the late stage of the Spirit Realm, nearly advancing by an entire major realm.

With such a powerful soul realm and Medicine Elder's careful instruction, Xiao Yan's alchemy advanced by leaps and bounds, improving rapidly with each passing day.

When he took the third-tier Alchemy Master assessment in Black Rock City, he already possessed the ability of an ordinary fourth-tier Alchemy Master. Now, he had reached the level of an elite fourth-tier Alchemy Master.

There were differences even among Alchemy Masters of the same tier, roughly divided into beginner, ordinary, outstanding, and elite.

After leaving the space, Xiao Yan walked to the guild. Though he was walking, he was no slower than the carriages on the road. In the blink of an eye, he appeared several meters ahead.

With the Alchemy Master Tournament drawing near, the inns in the imperial capital had been completely booked recently.

The inn where Xiao Yan stayed was nearly ten li from the guild. Even through the winding streets, it took him less than a quarter of an hour to reach the Alchemy Master Guild.

After familiarizing himself with the route, he headed directly to the office of the imperial capital's Alchemy Master Guild.

"Hehe, Han Li, if you had come any later, I would have sent someone to the inn to find you."

When Frank saw Xiao Yan arrive, he smiled and handed him a number plate.

"This is your competition number."

Xiao Yan's competition number was 94748.

That did not mean he was the 94,748th contestant.

Although Alchemy Masters from other countries were participating in this tournament, there could not possibly be nearly a hundred thousand of them.

If there were so many Alchemy Masters, it would no longer reflect how rare and distinguished Alchemy Masters were.

In this number, 94 represented Xiao Yan's competition zone, while 748 was his registration sequence number.

Xiao Yan pinned the competition number to his chest and said,

"Do I also need to take a preliminary assessment today?"

"I didn't expect you to know so much about the tournament procedures. You even know about that?"

Frank was slightly surprised before continuing,

"You are a seeded contestant recommended by Black Rock City, and all seeded contestants must undergo the preliminary assessment. If you pass, your competition zone can be changed to the seeded zone, where you'll be the focus of countless eyes."

In truth, this preliminary assessment also tested the judgment of the guilds' recommenders. If their contestants passed, those guilds would receive many benefits as well.

"Then let's go."

Xiao Yan said calmly.

The two arrived at the preliminary assessment hall. Many young Alchemy Masters were already there, and many of them were third-tier Alchemy Masters.

Frank quietly pointed out several potential rivals to Xiao Yan.

One was Liu Ling, the disciple of Pill King Gu He.

Another was Yao Yue, the little princess of the imperial family and disciple of Qie Mi'er, the vice president of headquarters.

Xiao Yan gave them an indifferent glance and did not take them too seriously.

His appearance did not attract much attention either.

After all, he was merely Han Li, an ordinary-looking third-tier Alchemy Master.

Xiao Yan was happy to have some peace and quiet. He hid in a corner, closed his eyes to rest, and waited for the assessment to begin.

Very soon, the assessment began.

Just as Xiao Yan remembered, they were to refine Black Iron Spirit Leaves.

The refinement of medicinal ingredients tested one's control over the heat, and that happened to be Xiao Yan's greatest strength.

Everyone present, including the guild presidents, was no match for Xiao Yan.

Black Iron Spirit Leaves were extremely resistant to scorching heat, making them very exhausting to refine.

However, for Xiao Yan, who possessed a Heavenly Flame, it was exceedingly easy.

By the time one-fifth of the sand in the hourglass had run out, Xiao Yan had refined the Black Iron Spirit Leaf four times before stopping.

Xiao Yan did not care much about the assessment result. There was no reward, so why put in so much effort?

When the time was nearly up and the hourglass was almost empty, Xiao Yan emerged from the small dark room.

Next, a purity instrument was used to test the purity of each Alchemy Master's refined Black Iron Spirit Leaf. The results were scored out of ten.

Liu Ling refined his six times and received an outstanding score of 7.

The little princess refined hers five times and received 6.5 points, second only to Liu Ling.

Xiao Yan refined his four times and received 5.5 points.

However, Xiao Yan was the youngest, not yet twenty.

Liu Ling was twenty-seven, while the little princess was already twenty-five.

Therefore, even though Xiao Yan had concealed his true ability, his score of 5.5 still drew the attention of many people.

After the assessment ended, Xiao Yan returned directly to the inn and waited for the tournament to begin the next day.