36 Chapters and 3 Golden Lights (Seeking Investment and Followers)

After Mu Yuxing's Golden Feathered Vulture had landed, the grand competition of concoctors began at a remarkably swift pace.

In the waiting area of the Beast Taming Union of Yongnan City, Lin Su looked around with curious eyes at the majestic venue and the crowd of onlookers, eventually settling his gaze on the concoctors who were ascending the stage one by one.

"Senior, what is the order for going on stage? I'm a bit confused,"

Lin Su admitted he was a bit puzzled.

In the venue, there were a total of ten concoction stations, with each station occupied by a concoctor preparing their own energy potion. As soon as a concoctor finished and stepped down, another concoctor would step forward to take their place and start concocting.

However, the problem was, since they had just arrived when the competition began, no one had given them any sort of number or sequence; it seemed there was no particular order for going on stage.

"It's just the preliminary round, the rules are relatively lax," Mu Yuxing spoke indifferently. "Once up on the station, the hourglass is reset and starts timing again; complete the concoction before the sand runs out. As for the order of ascension… once there's a free spot, you can take the stage anytime."

"So that's how it is," Lin Su realized. "Then, if we're not going back today, where will we stay tonight?"

"As the host, the Beast Taming Union of Qingyun will naturally prepare the accommodation rooms for us competitors. Even if they bear some hostility towards Yongnan City, they wouldn't skimp in this aspect. If they can't even handle such minor details as accommodation, they would be ridiculed by the other three cities."

So the rooms are already prepared?

Lin Su was certain in his mind.

"Then I will go on stage later," he said, his eyes filled with anticipation.

"Are you eager to go on stage?" Mu Yuxing asked, glancing at Lin Su.

"I'd rather go on stage earlier and then practice in the room," Lin Su nodded seriously. "The preliminary round should pose no problem, but I'm concerned that other concoctors might produce potions of perfect quality, so I wish to improve as much as possible before the final round."

"That likelihood is not high, but it's good you're thinking that way," Mu Yuxing nodded with satisfaction. "Go ahead, oh by the way..."

He glanced over at the other three cities' leaders, lowering his voice, "In the first round, don't reveal the perfect quality."

"Understood!" Lin Su nodded, instantly grasping Mu Yuxing's point.

Just then, a concoctor had just finished and was stepping down. Lin Su stood up without hesitation and quickly walked towards the concoction station, beginning his own concoction.

Having observed the concoctions of more than ten people from the sidelines, he had roughly figured out what level of skill was needed to remain low-key while securely advancing to the next round.

Just being in the upper-middle level among the high-quality potions was generally enough to pass comfortably.

It's not easy to produce a high-quality energy potion, but to intentionally lower the quality is not difficult.

One could achieve it by intentionally making a mistake at a certain step.

...

Within the waiting area of the Starlight Beast Taming Union, the leader, a woman, sat next to a handsome young man who was observing every concoctor in the arena with a serious and focused expression, not relaxing in the slightest even when the potions' quality was low.

The woman looked satisfied at the young man beside her.

He was not only Starlight's secret weapon for this competition but also the woman's direct disciple. She was especially pleased with the disciple's humble attitude.

Perhaps it was precisely because of such temperament that he, at his young age, could concoct a potion of perfect quality.

Thinking about it, the woman lowered her voice, "How about it, feeling a bit more confident now?"

"Teacher, so far I haven't seen anyone who poses a threat to me…" the young man respectfully began to say before pausing suddenly, staring intensely at a concoctor on the platform, "Teacher, that person..."

"Hmm?" the woman turned her head to look, her expression subtly changing.

The concoctor on the stage was in the process of re-solution, but a mistake occurred in his movements.

It seemed minor, but the woman, a corona-level concoctor like Mu Yuxing, knew better.

It was an intentional mistake!

To sandbag in such a competition?

The woman's eyebrows slightly furrowed, "Which city's concoctor is this?"

"From Yongnan City," the young man replied without hesitation, his expression turning more grave as the opponent's subsequent concoction movements were smooth and fluid, starkly contrasting with the previous error.

Obviously, the earlier mistake was intentional.

Eventually, an energy potion that shimmered with dazzling purple light appeared in the hands of the concoctor.

"Yongnan City… is not simple," the woman noted as she looked at the potion that was just good enough to advance to the semifinal, speaking slowly.

From the consecutive smooth operations of the opponent, this corona-level concoctor could tell that the person was highly likely capable of concocting a potion of perfect quality.

Yongnan City indeed had such a figure?

The woman's eyes flickered slightly, then turned toward the leaders of the other two cities.

Yang Feng's leader was laughing heartily while chatting with a concoctor beside him, completely unaware of the situation at the center.

That guy...

Forget it, he was always thoughtless.

The woman thought to herself and turned her head to look towards Qingyun's side.

Chu Feng was talking to his direct disciple, wearing a relaxed expression, likely also oblivious to everything that had just transpired.

Since they were competitors, the woman naturally didn't feel the need to alert them and instead set her enigmatic gaze towards Mu Yuxing in the distance.