BTTH : Treasure Exchange System

"Wait… Huo Tan?" Yun Yun looked at Fa Ma.

"Has Sect Leader Yun thought of something?" Fa Ma asked, puzzled.

Yun Yun nodded slightly and said seriously, "If I remember correctly, the president of the Alchemist Association of the Izumo(Chu Yun) Empire is called Huo Tan!"

"Huo Tan… Huo Tan..." Everyone was shocked upon hearing this, and anger appeared on their faces.

"If it's really Huo Tan, then this is trouble. Seven or eight years ago, he was already a peak 4th-tier alchemist, and it's said that in recent years, he has advanced to the 5th tier. If he refines a 5th-tier pill in the finals, the outcome will be decided." Fa Ma said gravely.

"That's not necessarily the case," Hai Bodong muttered under his breath while staring at Xiao Se, thinking to himself.

He knew that Xiao Se was going to refine the special 5th-tier pill, the Spiritual Recovery Purple Pill, in the finals. A pill capable of affecting even Dou Huang-level experts was no less powerful than some true 6th-tier pills.

"Are they trying to undermine the prestige of the Jia Ma Empire's Alchemist Association? If that's their goal, it does fit the methods of poison masters," Jia Xingtian said coldly.

"I think it's not that simple," Hai Bodong shook his head and looked cunningly at Fa Ma, then said with a grin, "Old Fa Ma, even if the Izumo(Chu Yun) Empire wanted to weaken the Jia Ma Empire's reputation, they wouldn't go this far. A 5th-tier alchemist, who is also the president of their Alchemist Association—if something happens to him, they'll be in big trouble. Even if they wanted to come, it should've been the vice president instead. Could it be that there's something in the champion's reward that has caught their attention?"

Upon hearing this, Jia Xingtian, Yun Yun, and Gu He were all stunned. They all turned to look at Fa Ma. For an empire to risk losing a 5th-tier alchemist to participate in the alchemist tournament, the unrevealed champion's reward must be extraordinary.

Under everyone's gaze, Fa Ma frowned and sighed, "Sorry, this matter is of great importance. I won't reveal anything until the champion is decided. As for why the Izumo(Chu Yun) Empire is making such a big move, they might have discovered something through special channels."

As he spoke, Fa Ma glanced at the vice president behind him, Qie Mi Er, and said solemnly, "Qie Mi Er, investigate thoroughly and interrogate anyone who knows part of the truth."

"Yes, President Fa Ma," Qie Mi Er nodded respectfully.

What outsiders didn't know was that a mysterious figure had visited the headquarters of the Alchemist Association. Only a handful of insiders were aware of this, so it was clear that someone had leaked some information.

Yao Ye, Nalan Yanran, Ya Fei, and Yao Yue were all equally shocked by the identity of the gray-robed man. They were seated just a few meters away from Fa Ma and the others, and upon hearing their conversation, their faces turned serious.

The true identity of the gray-robed youth was likely the president of the Izumo(Chu Yun) Empire's Alchemist Association, which meant Xiao Se's next opponent would be a 5th-tier alchemist.

Slowly walking to the edge of the VIP platform, Fa Ma let out a deep breath. His old eyes, filled with coldness, gazed at the gray-robed youth below. After a moment, his voice echoed throughout the entire venue.

"The first round of the competition has ended. We will now proceed to the second round. Contestants who passed, please press the red button on the stone platform."

Upon hearing this, the participants pressed the button. The testing instruments on the stone platform retracted, revealing a clean surface. A large pile of medicinal ingredients and a scroll of instructions slowly emerged.

"This is a proper prescription created by our association's elders after months of research. Your task is to successfully refine the pill. You will still receive two sets of ingredients."

Hearing this, Xiao Se couldn't help but twitch his lips. Unsurprisingly, it was the same trick with a faulty prescription again. He picked up the scroll, unrolled it slowly, and let his soul power enter it, as information flooded his mind.

Windwalking Pill, a 3rd-tier pill that increases one's sensitivity to wind energy, enhancing speed temporarily.

Feeling the information in his mind, Xiao Se's lips twitched again. With his 6th-tier alchemist knowledge, he immediately saw the problem with the prescription. It was indeed the problematic one from the original story, and even the unnecessary ingredient, Thick-soil Ganderma, remained unchanged.

Understanding everything, Xiao Se glanced coldly at the gray-robed alchemist from the Izumo(Chu Yun) Empire, then smiled mockingly before throwing a Purple Flame Pill into his mouth. Purple flames spewed into the cauldron as he began refining.

This time, he intended to create an illusion for Fa Ma and see if he could force him, just like in the original story, to cave to the pressure from the Izumo(Chu Yun) Empire and give him an extra prescription and ingredients for free.

At the VIP platform, Fa Ma frowned as he watched Xiao Se start refining right away. He muttered softly, "Purple flames? Looks like he's hiding his strength. But he's too careless. In a competition of this level, even the strongest can be eliminated with one small mistake."

As time passed, some confident alchemists finally began refining, but the flaws in the prescription soon became apparent.

Boom! Boom!

One after another, explosions occurred as cauldrons exploded due to failed ingredient fusion. Contestants and spectators alike began to notice something was wrong.

"Damn it! What's the problem?" With a muffled bang, Liu Ling also failed.

He glanced over at Xiao Se, who showed no signs of a cauldron explosion, and frowned, "Has he figured it out?"

With doubts in his heart, Liu Ling continued trying to refine the remaining ingredients.

"Hahaha! The alchemists of the Jia Ma Empire are all useless! Failing to refine even a mere 3rd-tier pill! What a bunch of trash!" A mocking laugh suddenly echoed in the previously quiet square.

Everyone turned to glare angrily at the person who spoke, only to find that it was the gray-robed youth from the Izumo(Chu Yun) Empire.

Ignoring the furious gazes of the Jia Ma Empire alchemists, the gray-robed youth threw the last ingredient into his cauldron and was about to speak again when suddenly, a dazzling jade-green beam of light shot up in the center of the square, attracting everyone's attention.

Near the jade-green beam of light, Xiao Se tossed the Thick-soil Ganderma lightly in his hand, then turned and mockingly said to the gray-robed youth, "Hey, you fake youth! Before mocking others, how about refining your own pill first?"

As he spoke, Xiao Se threw the Thick-soil Ganderma at the gray-robed youth with pinpoint accuracy, hitting him squarely in the face, delivering both a physical and psychological blow.

The entire square fell silent. Everyone stared in astonishment at Xiao Se, who had just humiliated the alchemist from the Izumo(Chu Yun) Empire. One by one, they turned to look at the gray-robed youth with mocking eyes, as if they were watching a clown.

Meanwhile, the alchemists in the square, after seeing Xiao Se throw the Thick-soil Ganderma, suddenly realized the problem. With smiles on their faces, they eagerly began refining again.

---

To read upto 50 advanced chapters of this fic for just 6$, please visit my patreon. Link is in the description.