The most shameless alchemist in history

527 Refining Gold

Jin went to great lengths to ensure Dure's elimination. Under his orders, his subordinates kept a close eye on Dure's every move, and if Dure made any attempt to earn gold leaves, they would sabotage it by risking their own elimination.

Time ticked by, and less than ten minutes remained until the allotted four hours. It was safe to say that Jin had blocked all paths, making it impossible for him to conjure up gold leaves out of thin air. All he could do now was wait patiently.

However, just as Jin was rubbing the gold ring on her finger, someone came up and reported a very strange message.

"What did you say? He drew a ninjutsu circle on the ground?" Jin was very surprised by this news. He was not stupid. In fact, he had received higher education since childhood and had an active mind. He had thought of almost every possibility he could think of, but this was not one of them.

"Yes, it is indeed a transmutation array. I don't know what he's trying to do." The confidant cautiously reported this to Jin. He didn't understand what the transmutation array was for either, but he had at least given Jin some information that seemed quite valuable.

"Idiot, the only purpose of a transmutation array is to create things, but only an alchemist can do that. What does he want to do? Refine gold?" Jin found this absurd. This was not something he had considered, not because he was careless, but because it was simply impossible.

"Refine gold? Is that even possible? Alchemists, alchemists... Right, I've heard legends about alchemists before. Could they really refine gold?" The confidant was also startled, as his level of education was different from Jin's.

He might not know what Jin knew, and when he heard Jin say this, he was startled and speechless.

"No, I have to go and see for myself!" Jin didn't answer his question and immediately strode towards Dure's location.

At the same time that Jin left, someone on the other side also received the news. Kerry, who had just been rejected by Dure, didn't quite understand why Dure would give up such a good thing that came to him, but after learning about it, he immediately reported it to his friend.

"Alchemists are called that not because they can actually refine gold, but because they spend their lives exploring the mysteries of refining gold. Since gold is a precious metal, the initial motivation for refining it was to make money. Humans are that simple and vulgar. But later, in the process of refining gold, the earliest alchemists gradually discovered the secrets contained in alchemy. So it gradually evolved from simply refining gold into a discipline. By the way, I also studied alchemy for a few years when I was young, but unfortunately, I didn't have the talent and couldn't even cross the threshold."

Lyon was also surprised when he heard the news. He was well-informed and naturally very familiar with alchemy.

"That boy named Dure... he's actually an alchemist? Alchemists are extremely rare. Usually, only one in ten thousand people has the potential to become an alchemist, but that's just potential; they might not actually be able to learn alchemy successfully."

Kerry confirmed this himself. If someone else had told him, he certainly wouldn't have believed it, but as the saying goes, seeing is believing, and he saw it for himself.

“It’s hard to believe, but for now, it seems he really is an alchemist. But that makes things a bit strange. Even if he is an alchemist, he can’t conjure gold out of thin air. That violates the most basic rules.” Leon was still somewhat confused.

Although he was not an alchemist, his experience learning alchemy in his youth gave him some basic knowledge of the subject.

“That’s right. Even the mysterious and great alchemy cannot conjure things out of thin air. But I saw him set up a transmutation array and perform the transmutation, and an alchemical reaction occurred. This cannot be faked. What exactly is he planning?” Kerry was still puzzled.

Although he is currently in an unknown city, and Leon, as a non-player, is still in the City of Storms, they can still communicate in some special way. Even the image of Leon formed by a water curtain appeared next to Kerry.

“There are still five minutes left until the four-hour deadline. I think we’ll find out soon, right?” Leon wasn’t quite sure what Dure’s purpose was either. He watched the unfolding events with great interest. He didn’t know much about Dure, but he still chose to support Dure instead of Kerry.

This stems from one of his most commendable strengths: his consistently exceptional and astute investment acumen.

Meanwhile, not far from Kerry, Hu Che, Bao Wei, and Yuan Bi were guarding the perimeter. They clearly saw many people sneaking around, but the three of them obviously wouldn't let anyone get close to Du Lei, so they stopped them one by one.

"These guys are really persistent, always watching us." Leopard Tail's gaze swept over, wary of these sneaky people.

"To be precise, they're keeping an eye on Dure," Kotetsu corrected.

"Isn't it all the same? But I have to say, Boss Kotetsu, is that kid Dure really capable? Could the 'refinement' he mentioned earlier be the 'refinement' of alchemists?" Leopard Tail, as Dure's companion, was still completely confused.

"Well... I think... probably so?" Kotetsu didn't have a clear conclusion either, and could only give a vague response.

"But aren't alchemists supposed to be incredibly powerful? I've only ever seen the back of one alchemist from afar in my entire life. That kid knows alchemy? Is he an alchemist? It doesn't seem quite right. And aren't alchemists usually quite old with long beards? How old is he?"

Leopard Tail posed a series of questions. He was unfamiliar with the field of alchemy because he had usually only heard of various legends but had never seen the real thing. Now he was being told that an alchemist was right in front of him and had been with him day and night for so long.

This inevitably made it difficult for him to accept for a while.

"You're asking me? Who am I supposed to ask? I'd better just wait here patiently. Oh no, time's almost up. I wonder if that kid has finished it or not. Whether it's alchemy or something else, at least give me some news." Kotetsu waited anxiously.

This is the only thing he can do right now.

m.

528 Listen to suggestions

When Jin found Dure, the four hours had already passed. At this time, the staff was already checking the gold leaves earned by all the contestants. The ten people with the most gold leaves would enter the fifth round. Jin had already completed this target, and he could have done it without even having to do it.

His subordinates were able to handle such matters perfectly. In Jin's philosophy, rationally allocating manpower to complete various tasks is also a very important aspect of doing business. He made full use of his resources and advantages, which was not against the rules at all.

He could ensure that his men completed their missions according to his instructions, but he was unsure of his opponent's strategies and the extent of their success. This uncertainty kept him up at night. Even with a significant advantage, he still wanted to figure out what Dure was up to.

He has met many people and had many opponents, including many others like him who also possess a lot of resources. However, he defeated all of them without exception. He clearly understands what he has, what others have, where his advantages lie, and how to find the gaps to defeat his opponents.

Even if he himself didn't understand his opponent, he could always arrange for his men to find out their intelligence. He had always done it this way for a long time. But now, he knew nothing about the opponent he was facing. He didn't know what advantages the opponent had or what strategies they had.

This made him feel a little disdainful, but also very panicked. He couldn't even figure out where the panic came from.

"You have no chance of getting enough gold leaves. Forget about the threshold of sixty leaves, you can't even get ten, no, five gold leaves. You're just bluffing, aren't you?" These were the words Jin said to Du Lei after meeting him.

"Is this what you came all this way to tell me?" Du Lei looked at Jin calmly; this was the first time he had ever seen Jin show such a flustered expression.

"What did you say?" Jin seemed not to have heard what Du Lei said, and asked in surprise.

"I thought you'd at least apologize or something when you came," Dure said, a look of disappointment on his face.

"Apologize? Why should I apologize?" Jin was stunned for a moment, not understanding the meaning behind Du Lei's words.

“You should apologize for your two previous actions. The first was having us stalked and sending assassins to attack us in prison, and the second was attacking the hotel. Shouldn’t you apologize?” Dure pointed out the two previous attacks, which he remembered vividly.

"Did you even understand what I said? I said..." Jin was getting a little anxious. He tried to explain the situation, but he quickly realized that he had lost his composure, because objectively speaking, he and Du Lei were not on the same level.

"You are indeed a chosen one, possessing enviable qualities, whether it's your family background, height, temperament, or good looks. You're very likable, though that's only in terms of appearance," Du Lei said to himself.

“I don’t understand what you mean.” Jin composed himself and looked calmly at Dure, because he knew that Dure had no way to reverse the situation. Even alchemy couldn’t conjure gold leaves out of thin air; it was just a bluff.

"It's just envy, nothing more. If I had the chance to choose again, I would still choose my situation. I believe I will grow taller, I will grow to be like you... Never mind, I won't ask for that anymore, but I would still choose my previous background. I know that many things cannot be obtained through envy. I'm sorry, I may have been speaking in a confused way, and you may not understand what I'm saying. It's like looking at an ant, is that how you feel? I can't understand your feelings. Anyway... don't you feel remorse or guilt for your actions?"

Dure talked on and on, not expecting Jin to understand; he was simply waiting for Jin's reply.

"Regret? Debt? Are you kidding me? I've never regretted or felt guilty about anything I've said or done. I remember warning you not to stand against me, but it seems you haven't listened to my advice." Jin's face darkened.

He was naturally referring to the time he met with Dure yesterday evening.

“Yes, I do remember what you said, and I appreciate your ‘kind’ suggestion.” Dure nodded in affirmation.

"So you did this knowing you would incur my wrath?" Jin's expression grew increasingly grim.

"Then can I give you some advice?" Du Lei didn't answer his question directly, but asked in return.

"You're giving me advice?" Jin laughed. He had never really looked at the boy in front of him properly, and he couldn't understand why he was so wary of him, why he was so agitated. Maybe it was just his imagination, but Du Lei was not on the same level as him at all.

“Yes, those who oppose me will also come to no good end. I hope you can consider this carefully. Perhaps if you withdraw now… I will… not retaliate so fiercely.” Dure thought for a moment, carefully choosing his words as he spoke.

"Revenge? I'd love to see how you get through this!" Jin scoffed at Du Lei's words, completely disregarding them.

Just then, the staff had already verified the gold leaves earned by most of the previous contestants, and it would soon be Du Lei's turn.

"Your name is... Redu, right? Alright, now please show us the results of the past four hours." The staff member read through Redu's file. Beside him was an assistant holding a tray for holding gold leaves and making calculations.

"He's been wandering around aimlessly for the past four hours. What could he possibly have accomplished? Kid, there are plenty of people who have gone against our young master, some even more arrogant than you, but without exception, they all suffered a terrible fate and have since avoided our young master whenever they see him. But I'm sure you're not one of them."

The confidant following behind Jin gave Du Lei a thorough once-over, shaking his head with a sneer as he did so.

“Because you have no chance to take a detour. This time you’re going to be completely defeated here, understand?” he said imperiously.

"Thank you for reminding me, and I hope you will take my advice seriously. You are right, we did spend almost four hours wandering around aimlessly and did not do anything productive, but that is only 'almost'. As for productive matters, ten minutes is enough."

Du Lei spoke confidently, and soon he waved his hand, and Kotetsu and Hyobi behind him immediately stepped forward to take action!

m.

529 Passed smoothly

In Jin's view, Dure simply didn't have enough time or opportunity to earn enough gold leaves, and the so-called alchemy, which sounded impressive at first glance, was actually useless here, because even alchemy couldn't conjure gold out of thin air.

So Dure's swaggering arrival to submit his completed mission was definitely just a bluff. In fact, it wasn't just Jin who thought this way; even Kerry, who had previously offered to help Dure and give him all the gold leaves to encourage him to persevere, was equally uncertain.

But when the staff came to inspect the gold leaf, Kotetsu and Hyobi stepped forward and placed what they were carrying on the tray held by the staff. When Gold saw what was on the tray, his eyes widened in disbelief.

"There are a total of... 362 gold leaves. Is this the result of the four of you earning them together? It is deemed that all of you are qualified!" The staff member carefully counted the gold leaves and announced the final number of gold leaves, even though there were a total of four people in Du Lei's group.

However, when the gold leaves were evenly distributed, each person still had as many as ninety leaves, which far exceeded the qualified standard of sixty leaves. This immediately propelled Du Lei and the other three into the top ten. As soon as the staff finished announcing the results, it immediately attracted the attention of many people.

"What? They actually earned over three hundred gold leaves? How did they do that? That's incredible!" someone exclaimed.

"That's not right. I just saw them wandering around, not doing anything special. How did they make so much money?" some people questioned.

"Damn it, I was just in tenth place and thought I could get through, but now four people have come. Doesn't that push me down?" Some people were indignant that Du Lei and his group of four had taken their spots, since the ten spots were fixed.

Du Lei and his team took four spots at once, which means that those who ranked seventh to tenth will have to move up and be eliminated.

"Three hundred and sixty-two gold leaves? How is that possible? You couldn't possibly do something like that. This is a scam. You must have used some method to deceive us!" Among the many questioning voices, the most weighty and the most dissatisfied undoubtedly came from Jin.

He didn't know why he was so hostile to Dure. This dissatisfaction reached its peak when Dure forcefully passed the fourth round. He disregarded his status and started shouting, which was completely different from his usual self.

"A deception? If you have any doubts, you can verify the authenticity of the gold leaf." Du Lei smiled slightly and waved his hand, signaling Jin to verify it himself. He was absolutely confident that true gold could withstand any test. In fact, Jin did rush over to check.

"Sir, we have already checked the gold leaf, and it is indeed genuine gold leaf, there is no mistake. I understand your feelings, but these contestants' success in passing the fourth round is a testament to their abilities, so please do not interfere with our work," the staff member reminded Jin.

"Are you blind, you idiot? Do you know who our young master is? If he says there's a problem, then there's definitely a problem. This doesn't count, it doesn't count!" Next to Jin, his confidant also shouted loudly. He cheered for Jin, and aside from Jin's connection, he himself was also suspicious.

Because he had been keeping an eye on Du Lei and his group, he knew that they hadn't done anything at all, and the gold leaf had come from nowhere.

"Hey, what do you mean by this? So your gold leaves are legitimate, but ours are illegitimate? Are you trying to cause trouble?" Leopard Tail already didn't like Jin, and now that Jin was being so aggressive, he wasn't going to back down and took the initiative to meet him.

You have to understand that Leopard Tail isn't exactly a saint either. He's already doing a good deed by not causing trouble for others, yet people still come looking for him.

"Looking for trouble? Who do you think you are, that we should be able to find fault with you? I'm warning you..." This confidant had seen all sorts of situations. He knew his backing was strong enough, and with Jin by his side, he could provoke the other party without any restraint.

"Please, gentlemen, do not argue here. If you insist on continuing this argument, you will be disqualified," the staff member reminded them again, as he could not let the situation escalate.

“I’m very sorry, we have no intention of arguing with Mr. Jin. Leopard Tail, let’s go. Now that we’ve obtained the qualification, we can consider our mission complete.” Du Lei gestured for Leopard Tail to take a step back. Leopard Tail glared fiercely at Jin before snorting and retreating.

"At least you have some self-awareness. Let me tell you, no matter what method you use to get away with it, the next hurdle won't be so easy to fool!" Jin's confidant shouted as he watched Du Lei and his group leave. He couldn't let Jin lose face.

"By the way, Mr. Jin, I hope you won't forget what I just said, the kind of thing you'll always remember." After walking a dozen steps, Du Lei turned back and said this again. He said it very softly, and it seemed to carry little weight, but the threat was clear.

“He really thinks he’s someone important. I’ve seen plenty of people like you… Young Master, should we send some men to take care of them tonight…” After seeing Du Lei walk away, the confidant was indignant. He turned around and made a throat-slitting gesture, asking Jin.

“No need. He managed to avoid trouble before when no one was backing him up. Now that my brother Leon is backing him up, it won’t be so easy to deal with him. I have to admit, this kid is really something, quite something.” Jin clenched his fists as he watched Du Lei leave.

He repeated the word "two-handed" again, his voice was soft, but almost every word was spat out from between his teeth.

"Then what should we do? We can't just let him be so arrogant, can we?" The confidant knew Jin's style very well. Over the years, no one who had gone against Jin had ever lived for long. If he could just swallow this insult, he wouldn't be Jin anymore.

"Just wait and see. Although I don't know what tricks he's used, this game has already begun. He's entered the game, and there are only two possible outcomes: either he's out or he dies. There's no third way." Jin slowly withdrew his gaze, no longer looking at Du Lei's back.

Because Durée had truly angered him; what difference is there between a guy who does something so stupid and a dead man?

530 appeared out of thin air

After completing the fourth round, Du Lei and his group were quickly teleported back to Storm City. It was already dusk, a whole day had passed since they left for the venue early that morning. The four of them headed back towards the Sky Hotel.