Rumors about prizes being ancient raw materials worth enormous amounts had become such a hot topic that many media outlets picked it up to present as news. Although the "Master Alchemist" competition was a semi-television program competition, there were still many people interested.
In one corner of the city, in a cheap hotel that could be found anywhere, a two-bed room had become the gathering place for a group of three people. They were sitting watching news from the television, which was the only amenity in the room.
"Barbatos, what should we do?"
The young man's melodious, charming voice rang out from the sofa. There, a long-haired young man was sitting cross-legged while watching the news on screen with interest.
As for Barbatos who was mentioned, he was a middle-aged man radiating power. He had gray hair showing his age and experience. But what stood out most were his sharp eyes that seemed able to see through to the minds of those he stared at.
"Being challenged head-on, aren't we?"
The middle-aged man laughed lightly. Meanwhile, he turned to ask the opinion of the newest member who had recently joined them.
"Vepar... as someone from this country, what do you think? Should we take this challenge?"
Vepar wore a hood and covered their face completely, so no one had ever seen their face before. Not even their own comrades knew whether they were a woman or a man.
Because this operation was set up in the country, they were specially called to help.
"...According to the news, there should be at least three Grandmasters there." Vepar's voice was strange because it had been modified with special equipment.
"Grandmaster... that's equivalent to your realm, right?"
Barbatos raised his hand to his chin when he needed to think. He himself and Berith, or that long-haired young man, weren't cultivators. But in his own organization, they'd clashed with or even had cultivators join, giving him some familiarity with these strength levels.
"That's no problem. The three of us can handle it easily."
Berith laughed lightly with a sweet, clear voice.
"...Should we inform my lady first?" Vepar asked with some concern. They seemed reluctant to go again. The matter of them stealing these ancient raw materials the first time was a sudden decision. Their original mission was to track down the "red dragon" that appeared in eastern waters.
"We don't need to trouble my lady with something like this."
Barbatos narrowed his eyes. He reached out to grab equipment that looked similar to a bow and brought it to sling across his back. His eyes gleamed as his body radiated pressure.
"...If they dare to challenge us, we'll show them how the Night Shadow thieves made their name."
.
.
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Back at the studio filming the competition, some contestants had already started moving. To not make it a drawn-out competition, there was a three-hour time limit.
The time limit forced them to hurry. Moreover, certain pills absolutely couldn't be refined within three hours. Some contestants had to reluctantly change from the pills they'd planned.
"...Hehehe."
At the front of the raw materials pile, a young man was smirking. Fu Rong stood staring at the ancient raw materials pile with greedy gleams.
In this Tier 2 division, who else would have abilities superior to his?
He still had his trump card—a high Tier 2 pill at maximum that happened to have perfect recovery properties. This competition round suited him extremely well.
"...Sister Hui'er, Yeye found the Frost Dew Grass!"
In another corner, three little children were huddling together in front of the raw materials pile. They were sniffing while picking up one herb to look at.
"Does its smell seem strange?"
Mei Ying furrowed her brow uncertainly. She handed that herb to the other two children to see. Both of them also sniffed it and made strange expressions.
"Is it spoiled?"
Hui'er answered uncertainly. And when all three looked carefully, they found that in the large group of herbs brought here, some parts had strange characteristics mixed in. They'd learned to notice these abnormalities from touching and tasting with their own bodies countless times, reaching expertise.
"...Then let's change to a new one instead."
Mei Ying put down the herb in her hand. Another hand swooped in to snatch that herb away immediately.
It was Fu Rong's hand. The young man had been selecting herbs when his eye suddenly caught the Frost Dew Grass that was larger than its companions in Mei Ying's hand. He felt regretful at first. If it had already been picked up, he wouldn't be shameless enough to snatch it from a little girl. But when she put it back down, he felt no guilt.
Even if he picked it up now, no one could say anything.
"..."
All three looked at the young man who quickly returned to his table with uncomprehending gazes. Hui'er, who was about to warn him, found it was too late. So she turned back to sniff and select herbs together.
"The children realized it very quickly."
Chen Deming was shocked. At the judges' seats, there were screens broadcasting from many angles. So the scene of all three children selecting raw materials was transmitted here too.
They had set up a small test in those raw materials brought. Excellent alchemists needed to discover abnormalities in the prepared raw materials quickly. Otherwise, once they started refining, it would be too late to go back and fix it.
"...Mm."
Although Bai Fanxian answered quietly, Master Fang Niang sitting beside the young woman could sense the pride in her tone. The middle-aged woman laughed lightly.
Back to the contestants' area again. Because the zones were divided by registered division, contestants could easily assess their own opponents. They tried to peek at what type of pills each person would refine. If it was a pill with more difficulty and inferior properties, they would sigh in relief. But if it was a pill superior to what they would refine, they would pray for them to fail refinement instead.
The three children got tables lined up together. Mei Ying was the one who took out her own cauldron first. It was just a practice cauldron she used most comfortably. Through practice, she became confident enough to use this cauldron rather than the medium-level cauldron that Bai Fanxian and Sword Master Zheng Renyi offered.
Fu Rong secretly glanced toward the table. Seeing that the cauldron the children used was just a practice cauldron, he laughed once before picking up his own personal cauldron.
It was a brown cauldron radiating an aura of antiquity. When the cauldron was opened, faint tremors burst out. Alchemists at nearby tables jumped in surprise. They turned to crowd around watching with admiration mixed with envy.
At least this cauldron must be a mid-level cauldron with an unusual history.
Even Bai Fanxian herself turned to stare at that cauldron for a moment before looking away. She had other things of interest right now.
But while the crowd was giving attention to that cauldron, they suddenly felt hot and cold without knowing the cause.
The culprits were clear—because on the two little children's adjacent tables now were two cauldrons with extreme opposites placed!
On Hui'er's table was a white cauldron radiating cold air, frosting the floor with ice. When her cauldron lid was opened, it spread cold wind out even more, forcing contestants in that area to back away.
While on Tang Yeye's table, there was now a black cauldron trembling lightly. The heat and intensity of it was equivalent to the white cauldron. When they were placed side by side, neither side would yield. The power radiating out clashed, creating certain pressure in the middle between those tables.
These two cauldrons had been delivered to Bai Fanxian's house three days ago. Bai Fanxian modified them further with materials from her warehouse to reach this state and accommodate both children's qi.
They were packed well in boxes that Bai Fanxian drew boundary seals on, so no one had felt the nearly explosive power of both cauldrons before.
"...Begin."
Bai Fanxian's voice was like a signal for all three to start even though she murmured alone. Red flame from the stove below was lit at the same moment. The heat of the flames was adjusted skillfully by all three. All three cauldrons were brought to set on the stoves in unison.
The children's pill refining could definitely attract attention from viewers in the studio. And the director understood very well. He ordered many cameras to move to film all three closely enough to see every process.
"Look at those two children's cauldrons!"
"Hot and cold like that—can they really succeed?"
Those with some knowledge murmured in surprise. It was the same moment Hui'er and Tang Yeye threw some raw materials into the cauldrons.
On Tang Yeye's side, the raw materials nearly melted and burned immediately upon touching the heat.
On Hui'er's side, the raw materials nearly turned to ice immediately too.
But before the viewers could say anything, both children lightly touched the sides of their cauldrons. Their qi suddenly burst out from their bodies and transmitted into the cauldrons. The moment they blended together, the raw materials balanced again. The whole refining process was even faster than normal refining.
"Success!"
Both turned to high-five each other happily. Before this, because these cauldrons arrived in their hands late, the time both of them actually got to practice was less than many people thought.
As for Mei Ying's side, there was nothing flashy like Hui'er and Tang Yeye. But her every movement was full of softness and lightness. She moved only the parts that needed moving. The qi blended in had no waste at all, not even a single bit. She acted as if the pill refining she was doing was an easy matter.
Her demeanor attracted the judges' attention. Sun Mingchuan watched admiringly. Fang Niang couldn't help being entranced by this process.
"...It's like she's dancing."
The judge's words naturally attracted viewers. They stared at Mei Ying's pill refining method as though she were floating in the sky. She grabbed here and there. But every movement flowed and continued, captivating them completely.
But before they could say anything, Bai Fanxian, who had been sitting still for a long time, suddenly narrowed her eyes. The Heaven Sense released to cover this entire building suddenly sensed something.
It was a strange power current that didn't look like cultivators. But of course it still had power foundation from heaven and earth. Bai Fanxian turned sharply toward the tightly closed room entrance.
"...So they came?"
The young woman spoke softly. But her words alerted all the judges, including General Liu Yianfei and Sword Master Zheng Renyi on the viewers' side too.
*Boom!*
The large door that could withstand impacts well flew out as if it were paper. It shot forward and looked like it would fall on the unsuspecting contestants' side.
But before it could crash and injure people, Liu Yianfei suddenly appeared. The young man drew his sword and slashed in a blink. That large door was cut and scattered into small pieces, so no one was injured.
The young General glanced toward the entrance. There now stood a group of three people in pitch black cloaks.
"...Interesting. This is really interesting."
It was Barbatos licking his own lips with satisfaction. Here he could sense many existences with power beyond ordinary people.
"Vepar, your country is full of skilled people, isn't it?"
He turned to look at his colleague and laughed lightly. Bai Fanxian stared at all three of them with strange feelings. Two of them had power currents she didn't recognize. While the other one who didn't reveal their face, she could confirm they were a cultivator.
What was important was that her Heaven Sense seemed to be resisted by something. It was probably a special treasure on that person's body. Bai Fanxian narrowed her eyes while examining. Although she couldn't investigate, she felt she had seen this person before.
She had definitely seen them before!