Volume One, Chapter 128: The Alchemy Contest

Xiao Yue waited until Xiao Rui had left before coming downstairs. He sat down beside Chi Xingwan and remarked, "Xiao Rui doesn't seem to have grown up at all."

Chi Xingwan offered a slight smile. "That’s not a bad thing."

"I suppose not." Xiao Yue took a sip of his coffee. Seeing that Chi Xingwan had closed her documents, he added, "There is some news from the Soviet Union."

Chi Xingwan tilted her head, only then recalling that he was referring to the matter of Little Linghua.

"Did you find Little Linghua's descendants?"

Xiao Yue shook his head. "It’s bad news. Little Linghua likely passed away not long after arriving in the Soviet Union—perhaps even earlier than his sister."

Chi Xingwan paused. "What happened?"

"We aren't sure. Secretary He found a photograph of Little Linghua with someone else, and the descendants of that person said that Little Linghua died shortly after the picture was taken."

He handed a scan to Chi Xingwan. She looked at the boy in the photo; his face was still incredibly youthful, almost identical to how he appeared in the illusion—still looking like a teenager. He had passed away before he ever had the chance to grow up.

"How did he die?" Chi Xingwan’s voice sounded muffled.

"It’s unclear," Xiao Yue replied. "The descendants of the person in the photo only heard rumors, and later, due to the chaos of war, their family left their homeland."

Chi Xingwan was silent for a moment. "We still need to find him."

Xiao Yue nodded. "We have already tasked people with continuing the search. At the very least, we must find his burial site, and if possible, bring him home."

The news left Chi Xingwan feeling deeply despondent, and Xiao Yue felt even worse. The two sat in silence until late into the night, until Xiao Yue’s time of clarity ran out.

The Spiritual Master Exchange Conference officially commenced, and only after the tedious opening ceremony did the real highlight begin.

Internal exchanges between associations were always highly formal and dull, with various power plays hidden behind a facade of courtesy, but the contests between ordinary spiritual masters were much more interesting.

Chu Fangfei dragged Chi Xingwan through the crowded Eternal Night Street, where spiritual masters from various nations were dueling everywhere.

"Sis, I heard a spiritual master from a small country is challenging the Thousand Springs Temple."

"Thousand Springs Temple?" Chi Xingwan asked curiously. "Challenging them to what? A vegetable-growing competition?"

Chu Fangfei burst into laughter. "Of course not! They are challenging them to an alchemy contest. Let's go watch."

The Eternal Night Street already had designated areas for spiritual masters to practice and spar. Chi Xingwan and Chu Fangfei arrived quite late, and the match between the Thousand Springs Temple disciple and the S國 spiritual master was already in its final stages.

"What are they competing in?" Chu Fangfei asked a bystander.

"Refining Spirit-Calming Pills. The spirit herbs are of the same quality; it depends on who can refine the higher-grade pill."

The Spirit-Calming Pill, as the name suggests, is used to stabilize the soul and is a relatively common elixir.

Chi Xingwan watched the Thousand Springs Temple disciple on the stage. She knew him; he was one of the brightest talents of the younger generation at the temple, particularly gifted in alchemy.

The fragrance of the Spirit-Calming Pills wafted through the air. The Thousand Springs disciple’s furnace was opened first, followed closely by the S國 spiritual master, with less than three minutes between them.

Both had produced five pills—a high yield for a single batch—which proved that any spiritual master daring to challenge the Thousand Springs Temple was truly skilled.

Next came the quality inspection. Three thousand years ago, pill quality was judged by feel, but now, professional instruments could detect it.

The judge, a spiritual master from the Lan Kingdom, placed the pills into the testing device under everyone's watchful eyes and announced the results aloud: "The Huaguo spiritual master: five superior-grade Spirit-Calming Pills. The S國 spiritual master: also five superior-grade Spirit-Calming Pills. The quality is identical. Since the Huaguo spiritual master finished first, the Huaguo spiritual master is the winner."

No one disputed the verdict. Even the S國 spiritual master only bit his lip, regretting that he had been slower by less than three minutes.

The Thousand Springs disciple let out a sigh of relief. With the temple’s reputation at stake, any foreign master bold enough to challenge them was naturally brimming with confidence.

It was a relief to have won.

Chu Fangfei also breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness they won, otherwise it would have been quite embarrassing."

Chi Xingwan smiled. "You look more nervous than the disciple himself."

"Isn't that the truth?" Chu Fangfei said. "At times like this, no matter which temple or sect we belong to, we are all one family when facing foreign masters. When my senior brother was challenged the other day, people from all the other sects came to cheer him on."

"Your senior brother? Jin Feng?" Chi Xingwan asked. She had been too busy with official association business to pay attention to much else.

"Yes, that's him," Chu Fangfei said. "Don't let his seemingly unreliable nature fool you; he became a Grade-B spiritual master in his early twenties and has a good chance of reaching Grade-A before he turns thirty. He’s quite famous among the younger generation."

Like the Thousand Springs Temple, the Seven Stars Sect was highly accomplished in astrology and feng shui, making them another popular target for challengers at this conference.

Jin Feng had been challenged a few days ago, but fortunately, he had won, preserving the honor of both Huaguo spiritual masters and the Seven Stars Sect.

As the alchemy match concluded, the two contestants shook hands in mutual appreciation, but suddenly, an discordant voice rang out from the crowd.

"Doesn't the Thousand Springs Temple of Huaguo always boast of having the world's best spirit herb cultivation and alchemy techniques? To barely edge out a challenger from S國—they hardly live up to their reputation."

The atmosphere froze.

Chi Xingwan looked toward the speaker: a spiritual master from the Mi Kingdom named Tim Olsen.

As everyone’s eyes turned to him, Tim Olsen tilted his head back, his expression arrogant. "So, Huaguo’s spiritual masters are nothing more than this. I truly wonder how they have the face to call themselves the best in the world."

Chu Fangfei whispered to Chi Xingwan, "There isn't a single decent one among the Mi Kingdom's masters; they come here to provoke us every single time."

Chi Xingwan deeply agreed.

"But he has a point this time; it really was a narrow victory," Chu Fangfei sighed.

Chi Xingwan disagreed. "The Spirit-Calming Pill is one of the most common elixirs. Any spiritual master who cannot refine one cannot be called an alchemist. That shows how basic the process is."

Chu Fangfei blinked. "And your point is?"

"My point is that if the competition had involved a more difficult elixir, the Thousand Springs disciple would have won with ease."

Chi Xingwan had some experience with alchemy herself. Even though she hadn't watched the whole match, she had noticed the gap in technique and spiritual energy output between the two.

It was like a junior doctor who had worked in an ER for years, stitching up wounds every day until they had perfected the craft. They might not lose to anyone in that specific skill, but if you put them in a major surgery, they naturally couldn't compare to a chief surgeon.

The S國 spiritual master was the same; he had practiced the refinement of the Spirit-Calming Pill to its absolute limit, allowing him to contend with the Thousand Springs disciple.

"So I suspect it was the S國 spiritual master who proposed the Spirit-Calming Pill for the challenge," Chi Xingwan said.

Chu Fangfei grabbed someone nearby to ask, and it confirmed Chi Xingwan’s hypothesis.

"Sis, you're incredible! You were right, the S國 spiritual master did propose the Spirit-Calming Pill."

Chi Xingwan remarked, "You see? The Mi Kingdom master is either foolish or dull for using this as a pretext to start trouble."