Alchemist Grand Meeting?

--- Chapter 51 ---

Two weeks later.

After celebrating his 15th Birthday, Baek Ain improved himself even more with newfound motivation and mastered the Record of Burning World's 4th Stage.

He completed several missions from the Shadow Guard Unit, catching criminals and people with horrible enmity with Miteer Family. He also discovered that Four Extreme Arts and Seven Kill Dance are too much against weak cultivators.

Four Extreme Art is "literally." designed to restrict and destroy opponents physically to every fiber. This Dou Technique is dangerous because Baek Ain used Life Drain(S), making each blow enough to reduce one's lifespan.

On the other hand, Seven Kill Dance is a literal Art of Killing, making every bladed weapon dangerous and dealing immense damage. The wound or scar created when this Dou Technique is applied wouldn't get recovered smoothly, akin to a curse.

Some bandits learned this fact painfully.

Changing the topic, Baek Ain fused several new Dou Techniques for his companions.

Yafei received "Rotating Silver Threads." from Baek Ain, allowing her to produce a silver thread of Dou Qi. When mastered, Yafei would be able to create more complex constructs and bind others Dou Qi to her bidding.

Since she entered Dou Grandmaster Realm, Yafei could only create sharp threads and increase their tenacity to be strong enough against anyone within her level. However, Yafei will be strong enough to fight someone with higher cultivation after gaining more experience.

As for Lan Rou, Baek Ain imparted "Gathering Mystic Cloud." to her.

With this Dou Technique, Lan Rou allowed producing gray-colored mist to confuse one's senses. She was also able to shape Mystic Mist however she wanted to an extreme degree, solidifying them into a weapon of choice.

And It's perfect for Lan Rou's speed-based and assassin-like combat strategy.

Baek Ain wanted to give Lan Rou a new Dou Qi Method, but that'd reset her cultivation. She cultivated the "Shadow Illumination Art." trained by everyone in the Shadow Guard Unit, an attributeless Dou Qi Method. It's decent and dependable, but Lan Rou's future path as Dou Venerate wasn't so bright.

That's a problem for another day.

Yi Xian and Qing Lin don't need new Dou Techniques or Dou Qi Methods, but Baek Ain still gives them abundant "Spirit Raising Pills." to increase their Dou Qi and cultivation speed.

Qing Lin's method of becoming powerful is simple and almost cheating in some way. She enslaved Snake-Type Magical Beasts and absorbed their strength, reaching 5-Star Dou Master quickly. And it started from nothing three months ago.

Since her pupils have a separate space, Qing Lin also could summon her snake subordinate to fight. Baek Ain believed she possessed around fifty 3-rank and some 4-rank magical beasts under her control.

She unironically can destroy a small city such as Wu Tan City like Beast Tamer in the past.

Meanwhile, Yi Xian cultivated her strength by consuming Baek Ain's pills and strong poison, reaching 3-Star Dou Grandmaster in three months when Baek Ain was unconscious.

After getting "Earthly Poison Core." from him, her cultivation becomes more stable.

...

...

In the private training ground, Baek Ain suppressed his cultivation to 1-Star Dou Grandmaster and faced Yi Xian. Of course, it's still unfair because Yi Xian's battle experience is nothing before him.

That's why Baek Ain decided to use one hand in this spar.

Yi Xian's body was "thinly." covered with a bright purple aura as she chased after Baek Ain, waving her palm at him.

Baek Ain dodged to the left casually and slapped Yi Xian's arm. He smiled and disappeared from Yi Xian's vision, leaving no trace or presence behind.

Yi Xian frowned and stomped her legs onto the floor, creating a wave of poisonous Dou Qi. The wave washed over the area, but Baek Ain still didn't appear.

'Up!' Yi Xian thought while raising his head.

"Wrong." Baek Ain suddenly swept Yi Xian's leg, making her fall onto the floor.

Yi Xian fell on her butt and released a more intense poisonous Dou Qi before Baek Ain could finish her. She condensed her Dou Qi and sent a burst of energy at Baek Ain.

Baek Ain is impressed by Yi Xian's condensation rate but leisurely dodges her attack again. He tried to grab her shoulder, but the poisonous lady countered with a rising kick.

Yi Xian's speed suddenly increased, allowing her to attack faster than before.

Baek Ain used Stealth Steps and matched Yi Xian's speed, avoiding her attacks here and there. He waited for her to make a blunder.

After a few minutes of Tag Games, Yi Xian became more impatient and condensed a large amount of Dou Qi. She summoned Dou Qi Armor, a pale-purple spaulder and a bird-like mask.

She pointed her fingers at Baek Ain and said, "1st Point: Poison Darts."

Baek Ain's eyes could discern five colorless and odorless darts moving at unusual speeds. He used Jade-like Enhancement and parried the darts with his hand, watching Yi Xian disappear.

"Got you." Yi Xian appeared behind him.

"4 Points: Poison Palms!"

Launching her palm strikes, Yi Xian grinned victoriously and noticed her attack go through Baek Ain's body. He faded into existence, leaving her speechless.

Yi Xian felt a tap on her shoulder and turned around, feeling Baek Ain's finger on her left cheek. "It's my victory." He declared smugly.

"..." Yi Xian.

"You're too strong..."

"Are you sure that handicap is real? I couldn't see the difference." Yi Xian gave him a doubtful gaze.

Baek Ain laughed and answered, "I am giving you a lot of handicaps. It isn't even 10% of my full power, Yi Xian. "

"Trust me. You are a lot stronger than you think."

"Because I don't think there is a 3-Star Dou Grandmaster who could cause this much destruction." He added bitterly, seeing that 70% of the training ground was melting from Yi Xian's poison.

Yi Xian pouted and mumbled, "Hmm..."

'How adorable.' Baek Ain thought while shaking his head.

"Given the time, you might be able to chase after Lan Rou soon."

"Really?" Yi Xian's eyes shone brightly.

"If Lan Rou didn't train at all and stayed at 9-Star Dou Spirit Realm, then yes."

"But you know the answer already."

"..." Yi Xian couldn't believe this guy.

She slapped Bae Ain's stomach and walked away, huffing in annoyance.

Baek Ain smiled and shouted, "Don't be too mad! I'm proud of your improvement, Yi Xian!"

"Hmph, I know!" Yi Xian stepped out of the training ground with a little smile on her rosy face.

[Ding! You have triggered a quest]

[Name: Alchemist Grand Meeting]

[Objective: Become the champion of Alchemist Grand Meeting(0/1)]

[Time Limit: Two days]

[Penalty: None]

[Reward: 2x Random Skills and 1x Random Elemental Soul]

[Do you want to accept the quest?]

[Yes/No]

"Aih, are you setting me up, Alicia? These rewards are too good to be rejected." Baek Ain sighed deeply.

[It's up to you, host]

[The purpose of a quest is to push your growth]

[You need rivals to sharpen your skills]

[At this point, you wouldn't be able to become 7th Tier Alchemist]

"Fine..." Baek Ain rolled his eyes.

He cleansed the training ground with Gnome's flame and walked to Yafei's office.

Yafei sat in her office and enjoyed her morning tea until Baek Ain suddenly barged in from the open window.

She was shocked and commented, "Geez, can't you use the door?"

Baek Ain shrugged and replied, "The window is more convenient."

"Also, do me a favor, please."

"What's the matter?" Yafei placed her tea cup down.

"I want to participate in the Alchemist Grand Meeting."

Yafei was confused because Baek Ain said he wasn't interested in this Alchemist Grand Meeting weeks ago.

Yet, he's here saying he wanted to join.

How bizarre.

"I mean... You can, but why?" Yafei questioned him.

"I just want to test something." Baek Ain leaned on Yafei's table, kissing her lips.

"Ah, you scoundrel. Fine, I'll do something about it." She blushed while pinching Baek Ain's wrist gently.

Baek Ain chuckled and added, "I love you, Fei."