Chương 29: Alchemy Tournament (Final) and Shady Shop

Ahem, the time for the Alchemy Tournament has indeed come to an end! Well then, let us all congratulate our three winners together!" Gu Bai appeared above the central platform between all four sectors, not forgetting to throw a sideways glance at Black Marcus. Seeing his gaze, Marcus nodded to Ruste Zen and, pushing off the ground, he rose to join Gu Bai, along with the other two Sect Leaders.

"Third place goes to disciple Lia Kult. At just fifteen years old, she has achieved success in both Alchemy and Artifacts, earning through her hard work and talent the title of Practitioner in both Non-Combat Paths! In this Tournament, she showed brilliant results: the Endless Sun pill with a 17% loss, an excellent result! And the Whale's Breath pill with a 19% loss!" Gu Bai began the announcement with third place.

As soon as he said the name, Arrogant Lady stepped forward and walked confidently toward the central square. Even though her face showed disappointment, it was poorly disguised by feigned indifference.

"Congratulations, disciple Lia. You have not disgraced our Sect!" Approaching the square, Lia Kult heard the voice of her Sect Leader, Wei Leo. Looking up, she immediately noticed his slight smile.

"Thank you, Sect Leader! My victories are the Sect's victories!" Lia Kult fell to her knees before Wei Leo, feeling that this smile was above any reward." Haha! Brilliant! As befits the future of a righteous sect!" Wu Xin, hovering nearby, smiled and said, turning her head to Wei Leo, only to receive a dry nod in response. Wrinkling her nose at the cold shoulder, she waved her hand and lifted Lia Kult from her knees. At the same time, a small chest appeared in her hands.

Seeing the chest, and carefully taking it, Lia Kult bowed once more to all four and walked back in the direction of her workstation.

"Second place goes to Len Hen! A great surprise in today's tournament, even for us Sect Leaders this was a major shock! His skill, his knowledge, deserve second place in the Tournament! His brilliant results: the Endless Sun pill with a 14% potency loss, a masterful result! And the Whale's Breath pill with an 11% loss, on the border of high quality! Disciple Len Hen, please come forward and receive your well-deserved reward!" Gu Bai announced the second finalist.

Hearing his name, Len Hen, not hiding his smile, quickly, almost falling over in his excitement, made his way to the awards platform. He nervously bowed to each of the four in turn, received his reward chest, and quickly returned to his spot, afraid of dropping it from his trembling hands.

"And our winner today! The winner of the Alchemy Tournament, disciple Ruste Zen! The future of Alchemy itself! For the first time in millennia, an alchemist in Qi Condensation has refined not just one, but fifteen perfect first-rank Whale's Breath pills! Ruste Zen! Your reward awaits you!" Gu Bai announced the winner loudly enough for everyone to hear, then turned his gaze to Ruste Zen and, with a warm smile, he beckoned him with his hand.

Approaching the square and standing beneath the four hovering Sect Leaders, Ruste Zen simply lowered his head and clasped his hands at his chest, showing them a gesture of respect, creating a strong contrast with the other two finalists, who had bowed and kneeled almost touching the ground with their heads. But all four leaders paid it no mind, accepting his gratitude.

After thanking them and receiving his reward chest, he paused, looked at Black Marcus, nodded to thank him separately and show respect as his junior brother, then returned to his workstation. Having announced all the winners and given a short, very dry concluding speech for the Alchemy Tournament, all the participants began teleporting from their workstations, back to wherever they had been before being teleported here.

"Little brother Hu, don't forget! Before sunset, at the Sleeping Doves tavern, I'll be waiting for you!" Yan Eli shouted, waving her hand and still trying to hide her reddening cheeks, though she failed miserably. She quickly teleported away, disappearing from the arena. The nearby participants who hadn't yet vanished, upon hearing her, looked at An with puzzled expressions, unable to understand what a girl like Yan Eli could possibly see in this little runt.

Ignoring them, An got to work on his duties, starting to clean everything up. Not just the ten workstations assigned to him, but as many as he could fit into the pouch he had been given, while there was still space. The other assistant disciples were doing the same, trying to gather everything as quickly as possible while being careful not to damage or break anything.

While collecting everything from the tables, he couldn't understand why they had been forced to run back and forth at the beginning, carrying everything for the Tournaments by hand, when they could have just been given these pouches from the start, or even teleported here directly. Not dwelling on it too much, An continued collecting everything around him. Suddenly, at one workstation, both chests still had unused spirit plant sets. Without hesitation, An picked them up and looked around.

"There are no instructions in my work plaque about what to do with leftover spirit plants! I'm taking them for myself!" An raised his hand above his head, holding a pile of plants, and shouted loudly. After looking around and receiving no answer, he began putting the spirit plants into his own pouch. The other assistant disciples nearby, hearing what An had shouted, wanted to start complaining at first.

But after thinking about what he'd said and seeing his actions, they simply shook their heads and without even trying to resist greedily began scooping plants into their own pouches, afraid of missing such an opportunity. What he didn't realize was that his shouting had attracted attention. …. In the clouds.

"Bone age... ten years old... Qi density at the fifth layer... And he's working as an errand boy?" Wu Xin was looking down at the disciples running from table to table like dogs off the leash, trying to grab as much as possible, focused on one specific disciple, the youngest-looking one, and read the information from him, through Qi.

"His Qi control, even if not perfect, it's as if he's masking it, or rather suppressing his Qi inside himself without any technique. And he's doing it involuntarily..." She continued studying the boy running around like everyone else. Hearing this, everyone turned their attention to the boy gathering leftover spirit plants with both hands into his pouch.

"Brother Gu, our Sister Wu is right. Why has someone like him sunk so low as to work as an assistant?" Black Marcus raised an eyebrow, clearly asking with restless interest in his eyes. Wei Leo, sitting nearby, simply remained silent, saying nothing. But like the others, he watched An carefully, though in his eyes, there was hidden coldness and strong puzzlement, as if he had seen something he shouldn't have.

"His neck." Gu Bai only glanced at An before looking away toward the horizon, immediately losing interest. Hearing his remark, Marcus and Wu Xin finally noticed the brand on his neck and sighed in disappointment, shaking their heads simultaneously.

"A slave brand. No clan, no family. Even though his cultivation is already the fifth layer of Qi Condensation, that means nothing, as you yourselves well understand... In the end, he is nothing... Judging by the fact that when he joined my Sect, no one took him under their wing, his spiritual roots cannot be higher than third rank... And that means, he is not worthy of the attention of the Sect's Main Council..." After a pause, he continued.

"Where is the guarantee that his broken mentality, after slavery, will allow him to break through even to Foundation Establishment Realm, even with all the help the Sect could provide? No one in their right mind would waste strength and resources on cultivating God-knows-what..." Gu Bai, speaking in a neutral tone, pronounced judgment on An's future, equating him to an inanimate object.

"In my youth, I knew an outer disciple with second-rank spirit roots. He was also taken from the shackles of slavery... He looked like a dry branch with empty eyes, lost all hope... Within a year, he broke through to the ninth layer of Qi Condensation, but that was his ceiling, unfortunately. He never managed to overcome his ' demons'... And after all the hopes placed on him by the Sect, all the support he received... Eh. In the end, no one could help him overcome himself."

Wei Leo tore his gaze away from An and looked at the disciples of his own Sect sitting in the stands. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. Everyone remained silent, understanding exactly what both Gu Bai and Wei Leo were trying to say.

"By the way, Brother Gu Bai!" Suddenly, Marcus broke the silence.

"One of my Alchemy Grandmasters has been asking me for several years to exchange with your Sect for fertile Kavana Tree seeds." Marcus scratched the back of his head, grinning shamelessly.

"The Kavana Tree?" Wu Xin turned her head and looked in the direction of Hope Peak, specifically at the Outer Platform, where the massive tree grew.

"Amazing! Even with my cultivation, I still can't see, or even feel, whether there are fruits on the tree or not!" Interest and irritation flashed in her eyes simultaneously." Ha! I remember back when we were still inner disciples in our own Sects, you almost chopped down that tree because you couldn't even touch the fruits! Hahaha!" Marcus burst out laughing, pointing his finger right at Wu Xin's nose. Seeing his massive finger in front of her face, she nearly lost her temper.

Catching herself just in time, she folded her arms on her chest and turned away from the brute.

"One of my concubines, a former member of your Sect, Brother Gu… She told me that this tree was planted by one of the Sect's founders himself. And that on the day the tree first sprouted, an order was given that all Sect Leaders must follow... Is that true, Brother Gu?" In a quiet, calm voice, Wei Leo asked.

"Indeed. The Founder wanted to strengthen our foundation... But his good intentions turned into a forgotten joke... Over all these long years, over hundreds of generations of disciples, yet only a handful have taken advantage of this blessing..." Gu Bai suddenly frowned, at the foolishness of one of the founders, and at the arrogance of new disciples, for whom all of this had been done in the first place.

"Cultivators with a dominant Wood element are rare, but those who would take advantage of this opportunity are even rarer..." Wu Xin took a deep breath and shook her head.

"Especially when this opportunity is stealing Sect property!" Marcus barely held himself back from laughing again. …. When the last workstation had been cleaned up, the worker plaque in An's pocket vibrated. Taking it out, he understood that he was about to be teleported back to the workroom. Immediately, there was a blinding flash, pressure in his ears, and he realized he had already been moved.

Rubbing his eyes and opening them, he found himself right back in the same spot from which he had been teleported to the arena. Standing still and looking around, An couldn't find any of the elders in this room, so he simply headed for the exit. Right at the doors leading outside, An decided to put the worker plaque, which he had received from Vota Lum, on the big table near the exit door.

Opening the doors and finding himself in the corridor, he began remembering how they had gotten here, which turns and passages they had taken. Trusting his memory, he managed to find his way to the main Hall of the Arena in just over thirty minutes. The entire Hall was packed with people. Getting to the gates leading outside was nearly impossible. An even had to push against the flow, bumping into people coming toward him.

Finally stepping outside the Coliseum, he knew that he had several hours before the start of the Combat Tournament. He decided to walk through the shops and see what interesting things there were. After taking a few steps, the uniqueness of the shop signs immediately caught his eye. All the small shops and tents had no names, just signs with drawings of what they roughly sold. And these drawings weren't always of good quality.

At one tent, he saw a sign with crooked little balls of different colors, he couldn't figure out exactly what they were selling. Maybe spirit ore, or pills, or seeds. Only the large multi-story shops, several stories high and as wide as a dozen small ones, had real names and tastefully crafted signs. Without thinking long, An threw his gaze at the nearest small shop to the Arena.

It looked older than all the others: old and shady, worn wooden walls covered in moss, the main door slightly crooked, and only the sign was without a single dirty spot, clearly recently renewed. On the sign were depicted spirit plants, a cauldron, and items often associated with alchemy. Opening the slightly creaky door and stepping inside, An saw that all the walls were lined with crooked shelves. On them was a huge number of old and clearly used cauldrons.

Also placed were signs with the names of spirit plants and their ages, but the plants themselves were not on the counter. On other shelves, rows of test tubes, rolled-up scrolls, and many other items lay, and most of it was covered in a thick layer of dust.

"Maybe I really should replace my bowl with a real cauldron?" Like a child in a candy store, An examined everything around him with interest, not even noticing the old woman behind the counter. After a few minutes, when the haze lifted from his eyes, he noticed that even the cheapest cauldron cost sixty spirit stones. Glancing into his pouch and finding only two spirit stones there, An sighed quietly. He turned and approached the old woman at the counter.

Behind the counter sat an old woman who looked about ninety years old. Her face was like a shar-pei's, behind the wrinkles and folds, only tiny eyes were slightly visible. Her black hair was tied up in the shape of a large vase on her head, held in place by shiny metal chopsticks. Between her teeth, she clenched a pipe, the tobacco smoke had created a thick layer just under the ceiling, making it almost invisible.

"What do you want, my little man?" The old woman smiled, showing her yellow teeth.

"Do you accept Kavana fruits?" An took a step back, seeing her ' kind' smile.

"Oh... Kavana? Hmm... We have stock of it... But for you, little man, forty fruits for one spirit stone!" The old woman made kind eyes and shifted her pipe between her teeth, simultaneously releasing more and more smoke, which was no longer rising to the ceiling but accumulating around them. As soon as the new smoke left the pipe, An tensed up and immediately activated his Qi Armor, directing all the energy from his dantian to the external membrane, not letting this new smoke touch him.

At the same time, a cold look involuntarily flashed in his eyes, something the old hag did not miss. Silence. Even the noise of thousands of people outside did not reach them. Neither of them moved. The old woman stood and looked into An's eyes. An, afraid to even take a step back, also looked into the old woman's little bead-like eyes." Heh … Hehehe!" The old hag began to laugh and taking a deep breath, she sucked in all the strange smoke that had provoked An.

"You're not half bad... Fine, little man! Four fruits for one spirit stone! What do you say?" The old lady smiled and began waving her hand, indicating that An could stop being afraid and come closer to the counter. An continued standing in place, and not taking his eyes off the old hag, he took out four hundred fruits from his pouch, and used his Qi to deliver them to the counter. Seeing the quantity, the old woman almost dropped her pipe from her mouth and began laughing sinisterly.

Without asking any questions, she waved her hand and all the fruits disappeared, and in their place appeared one hundred spirit stones. Seeing the stones, An, matching the old hag's speed, waved his hand, and all the stones flew toward him and into his pouch. An slowly shifted his gaze to the cheapest cauldron. Without a word, he pointed his finger at it. The old woman understood what he wanted. She whistled, and the cauldron flew over to her.

"Sixty spirit stones, little man!" The old woman smiled and slapped the cauldron with her palm, creating ringing, rhythmic sounds.

"Thirty!" An shook his head, deciding to test his luck." Hehehe! Little man, you want to rob a poor, helpless old woman? If I sell it to you for thirty, what will I buy food with... Oh, my old, ever-aching bones... Oh! Oh!" The old hag's face immediately fell and her lower lip began to tremble, and she started rubbing her hands, showing with her whole body how much pain she was in. After a long game of back-and-forth, they finally settled on forty-two spirit stones.

Handing over the stones and taking the cauldron, An showed his dissatisfaction through his whole demeanor, not forgetting to throw a few unpleasant words at the old hag. In response, he received only her yellow-toothed smile. He decided not to linger here any longer." Hehe! Come by more often, my little man!" Exiting the shop and hearing the old lady, he almost tripped.

Taking a large step over the threshold and finding himself outside, he slammed the door and decided that he would never, ever, set foot in that shop again. Walking toward the center of the shopping street, he began analyzing the situation inside. When the old woman had released her new smoke, which didn't rise to the ceiling, An saw that the Qi flows had changed dramatically: there were poisonous energy flows and Qi that confused the mind, which had triggered him.

Moving far enough away from the little shady shop, he took a deep breath and decided that he'd had enough of small, gloomy shops for today. Looking around, his eyes immediately fell on a massive shop, distinguished from the other buildings around only by its rich decoration, and with an elegant sign reading: Court of Seven Wonders. Studying the patterns on the sign and the strokes of the letters in the name, An was intrigued and decided to go inside after all.