The crowd gasped in admiration, gazing at the crystal glowing emerald-green. It seemed to be considered a rare treasure here. De Lu Lu’s face also contorted with greed.

“Fine! I accept this wager” - he forced out. - “The contest will take place tomorrow at noon, in the main hall of the Golden Dragon Sect’s Alchemists’ Guild. Sect elders and guests may attend free of charge.”

The people around us started whispering excitedly, discussing the fresh news.

Our group pushed its way through the throng of cultivators with difficulty, then turned onto a narrow alley that ran parallel to the wall.

“If you lose, I won’t forgive you” - my teacher threatened, his eyes flashing ominously.

“Is that crystal really that valuable?” - I asked.

“You have no idea” - Mu Niam replied. - “It took a great deal of effort for me to get the largest crystal from the stash you lugged out of the Ancient Qi Dimension. And it’s absolutely vital for my plan.”

Here Mu Niam abruptly fell silent, realizing that he’d let slip the existence of a “Plan X.” But I didn’t dwell on it.

“Teacher, you really should trust me more. You’ve already seen for yourself what I can do.”

“I have” - Mu Niam nodded, calming down after his slipup. - “That’s exactly why I decided to bet this stone on your victory. If you win, we’ll get the Dragons’ Dungeon map, and we won’t have to wander aimlessly through the labyrinths once we’re inside.”

“Speaking of prizes, I need a reward too. I want to read the information from that jade slip with the map.”

“And what do you plan to offer me if you lose?” - Mu Niam asked angrily.

“How about another Spring Forest Qi crystal?”

“You mean the shard Cheon Chu Han gave you?” - Judging by his tone, Mu Niam had no respect whatsoever for his sect’s leader, just like me, to be honest.

“Well, I’m only asking to hold that map in my hands for a moment.”

“…All right, you’ve got a deal” - Mu Niam nodded. - “But don’t think you’ll get off that easily if you lose, just giving me that shard.”

“Don’t worry” - I said dismissively. - “Just assume you’ve already got the map in your pocket.”

We made our way through the alleys and arrived at some flophouse for vagrants, where Mu Niam rented a single room for the five of us. He paid with simple Qi crystals, and judging by his stinginess, our sect really wasn’t doing so great financially.

I wanted to take a walk around the city, but Mu Niam forbade it, arguing that Qi Condensation–stage cultivators weren’t even considered “people” here; so someone might kill me simply for passing by. He didn’t go anywhere himself, either, spending the entire evening guzzling wine in the inn’s common room.

By noon the next day, we entered a huge hall in the local Alchemists’ Guild. Several hundred people were already seated in the stands. It looked like my little contest had become a terrific source of entertainment.

“There are quite a lot of guests gathered” - my teacher remarked, surveying the hall. - “The official festival doesn’t start for another three days, so people are looking for ways to amuse themselves.”

“Rest assured, they won’t forget this circus anytime soon” - I smirked.

They led me to the participant’s spot, while Mu Niam and his bodyguards took seats in the VIP section.

“Now we will have a competition of ‘young-generation’ grandmaster alchemists from the Golden Dragon Sect and the Heavenly Blades Sect” - the emcee began. - “Representing the Heavenly Blades Sect is Tan Ji Tao, a first-rank grandmaster alchemist.” - The applause that followed was rather weak. - “Our guild is fielding three of its youngest grandmasters, giving Tan Ji Tao the chance to choose his opponent. What do you say?”

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

Three men came onstage: two middle-aged and one who was already elderly.

“Your so-called ‘young generation’ isn’t exactly young. Well, all right, I choose the youngest among them — whoever was born last.”

“And so, our participant has settled on an opponent!” - the emcee called out again, his voice carrying well. Two of the men left the stage, leaving a man who looked about forty. - “Sa Va Ge, who at one hundred forty years old is already a second-rank grandmaster alchemist. He is a genius among geniuses in our sect. The official stake from the Golden Dragon Sect is a complete map of the Dragons’ Dungeon. Meanwhile, the Heavenly Blades Sect is wagering a large Spring Forest Qi crystal. Will the participants please take their places!”

We went to two tables equipped with alchemical furnaces and all the other tools needed to process herbs.

“In order to determine a winner, we’ll be giving out tasks to produce pills, gradually raising the difficulty. Anyone who fails to create a pill twice in a row will be considered the loser. We have twenty pills on our list. We’ll begin with the Great Healing Pill …”

“I refuse!” - I shouted loudly, interrupting the announcer. The audience began murmuring at once.

“You refuse?” - the emcee repeated, perplexed.

“The Great Healing Pill? It’s too simple. Why waste time on a trivial pill that absolutely anyone can make? I think we can skip the first ten and go straight to pill number eleven.”

The emcee glanced at Sa Va Ge, who nodded in agreement.

“All right, since both participants agree, we’ll proceed to item eleven, which is… the Bone Detonation Pill!”

A stunned murmur swept through the crowd.

“What kind of pill is that?” - I asked. - “I don’t know its recipe.”

“So, does that mean you surrender?” - The emcee looked at me triumphantly.

“Not at all. We’re here to assess the alchemists’ skill — skill, not just knowledge. Give me the recipe for that pill and I’ll make it.”

“You’ll make it just from reading the recipe once?” – the emcee asked, taken aback by my audacity.

“Exactly! That’s the essence of skill and talent. So? Hand over the pill’s recipe and let’s move on.”

The announcer looked helplessly toward the alchemists’ seats, where the local guild leadership sat. They conferred briefly, then an old man, bald with a long white beard came down to the stage. Judging by his attire, he too was a grandmaster alchemist.

“Here is the recipe you asked for” - he said, handing me a jade slip. - “And don’t say later that we gave you an incomplete one. Any grandmaster can confirm this is the genuine recipe.”

“Thank you” - I nodded, taking the jade slip.

I read the information and began analyzing the herbs and their combinations. Even after a thorough analysis, there remained some ambiguity and incompleteness in the formula. Presumably, that was exactly what the old man had been referring to.

“I don’t quite get it. What’s the point of this pill, anyway? Bone detonation? Even if you want to die, that’s a pretty brutal way to go, wouldn’t you say?” - I asked loudly.

The audience burst out laughing, discussing my antics.

“This pill helps stabilize the foundation of one’s physical cultivation. Its energy transfers into the bones and starts restructuring them, saturating them with a special energy. During those few minutes, the cultivator must control the transformation so it doesn’t destabilize. If the cultivator makes a mistake, their bones explode, destroying the entire cultivation foundation” - explained the same old man, speaking calmly and kindly.

“Sounds amusing” - I noted, looking over the recipe again. - “Now I at least see why there are so many stabilizing additives in it.” - The old man regarded me with interest, while my opponent froze, eyes wide. - “But to be honest, this pill is no good as is. You can scrap half the herbs right away. Instead, I’ll need the juice of a Bitter Boreworm and three blossoms of a Solitary Fire Lily.”

The hall erupted with buzz again, everyone discussing what I’d said.

“You want to change the recipe?” - the old man asked in amazement.

“Of course. I see how to improve the pill so that we eliminate the risk of destabilizing the process.”

“But then how are we going to assess its quality?” - one of the judges in the VIP room asked irritably.

“There’s only one way, have a cultivator eat it and see what happens” - I shouted back. - “Otherwise, what are you evaluating here, exactly? Its smoothness? Its color? The main thing is whether it works or not. So, I propose you bring in two cultivators of the same level and let them each take one pill. Then everyone can see firsthand what the pill does and which one is better.” - The spectators in the stands murmured in agreement. - “I’m sure you believe in your own alchemist, right? Don’t tell me not a single person in your entire sect is willing to risk blowing up on the spot for the crowd’s entertainment.”

People started laughing loudly again, and from the alchemists’ box came cursing and insults.

“Hmm… it appears this contest will be different from the usual” - the old man drawled. - “Very well, have it your way. We’ll find someone to take the pill that Sa Va Ge makes. But who’s going to volunteer to swallow yours?” - There was a hint of mockery in his voice.

“Just bring in anyone who’s done something to deserve punishment. Or maybe someone in the audience wants to eat a pill that grants a powerful body cultivation foundation, completely free of charge?”

“I’ll do it!” - came a shout from a young man. - “Give me that pill!”

His neighbors tried to stop him, but with ease he leaped a good fifty meters, landing right there onstage. Such strength and agility clearly marked him as a fighter who’d devoted himself to strengthening the body after all, flying in this area wasn’t possible.

“You see, we don’t even need to look for anyone” - I said with a smile.

“All right” - the old man nodded with a dignified air. - “Proceed.”