The most shameless alchemist in history

"That's enough! Even if he really is fat and ugly, you can't say that in front of so many people. It makes others lose face. You have to take care of Mr. Fat and Ugly, oh no, I mean Mr. Ababa's face, right? So from now on, you absolutely cannot mention the words 'fat and ugly' again, absolutely not!" Leopard Tail was furious. He sternly reminded Du Lei, hoping he wouldn't make a similar mistake again.

“But you’ve already said ‘fat and ugly’ several times. Why can you say ‘fat and ugly’ but I can’t? Can’t we even tell the truth these days? By the way, old man, aren’t you fat and ugly? Aren’t you?” Du Lei said, stroking Ababa’s head.

"Young Master...does that kid even know what he's saying? He actually called Ababa a fat, ugly guy, a big shot that even the Master is wary of! He even touched Ababa's head, but speaking of which, his head really is quite round..." The confidant exclaimed in amazement.

"Ahem, um, buddy, I wonder if you've had enough of touching him?" Ababa was exasperated and coughed to remind Du Lei.

"That's about right." Du Lei nodded, finally withdrawing his hand from touching his bald head.

"Let's get back to the original question." Ababa wasn't angry about Dure's actions, but he seemed helpless.

"What was the question just now? What was the question?" Du Lei was a little confused.

"Regarding the question of how you refined the magic energy elixir, I think it would be better to explain it a little more."

"Why do you have to explain? This is an industry secret, isn't it?" Du Lei looked at Ababa warily, unwilling to reveal anything.

“By the way, Mr. Ababa, what was the environmental issue you mentioned earlier?” Jin suddenly remembered this.

"Environmental issues refer to the fact that under normal circumstances, no matter how skilled an alchemist is, it is impossible to refine magic energy elixir in a very short time. However, it is different in special environments," Ababa patiently explained from the side.

"Hey, you fatso, that's not very fair of you. You're leaking industry secrets, do you know that?" Du Lei said, somewhat displeased.

"Oh dear, it's not a big secret. It'll clear up everyone's doubts, right?" Ababa said with a smile, not angry at Durei's offensive words.

"What do you mean by ordinary environment and special environment? I don't understand at all!" Leopard Tail was also confused, looking at Du Lei with bewilderment.

Although he stood firmly on Dure's side, he still had the same doubts as Kim.

“Well, the problem lies in the concentration of magic elements.” Dure sighed. Even Leopard Tail had asked this question, so he had no choice but to answer.

"The concentration of magic elements?" Leopard Tail was still not quite sure, so he chewed it again.

"That's right, it's about the concentration of magic elements. In a normal environment, the concentration of magic elements is low, so it takes a long time to refine magic energy primordial liquid. That guy is right. With my skill level, it would take at least twenty days to refine just one drop elsewhere, right?"

Dure also frankly admitted to Kim's previous doubts. Although he had a lot of opinions about Kim, at least on this point, Kim was not wrong.

"But you only spent a few minutes refining it..." Although Leopard Tail wasn't good at math, the difference between a few minutes and twenty days was many times greater.

"Because the concentration of magic elements here is much stronger than outside, probably a thousand or two times stronger, maybe even more. It's like you can only find one silver coin a day outside, but here it's full of treasures, and you can find one or two thousand a day," Du Lei explained.

"What? One or two thousand times? That much?" Leopard Tail tried to use his hands to gesture and figure out the multiplier.

But he soon found that he didn't have enough hands.

"So you can accuse me of being opportunistic, but I did use things from the Golden Castle as gifts," Dure said with a shrug, taking it for granted.

"I see. But even if it's opportunistic, it's still in accordance with the rules, right?" Leopard Tail suddenly realized.

“This is certainly in accordance with the rules, without a doubt,” Ababa affirmed.

"What? I thought this kid was some amazing talent, able to complete in minutes what others take half a month to do. Turns out he's just using shortcuts and isn't even as good as others." After understanding the situation, the confidant scoffed at this.

"What do you mean by this?" Leopard Tail retorted sharply, and the two began to compete.

"What I mean is, with his skills, how can he compare to my young master's Chapter of Night? The difference is like heaven and earth!" The confidant, unafraid of Leopard Tail's threat, said smugly.

"What did you say? Say it again!" Leopard Tail was not good-tempered and was about to get angry.

“I think there’s something you might not understand.” Du Lei wasn’t angry at being questioned like this, and spoke slowly and deliberately.

"What is it?" the confidant asked.

"Even if it is the Chapter of Night, it was found in this golden castle, not in your young master's possession. Please make sure you understand this point." Du Lei pointed out incisively that the Chapter of Night was not a golden item.

This made Jin's confidant's face turn green instantly.

563 Go out for some fresh air

Even Ababa affirmed the magic energy elixir refined by Dure, so no one else could question it anymore. Thus, the final gift was presented, and the final winner would be chosen from among Copper Pot Lid, Swift, Gold, and Dure.

The four gifts presented were the Star of the Sky, the Dragon Slayer Dagger, the Chapter of Night, and a seemingly ordinary but actually extraordinary lily. Deciding which gift was more valuable made it difficult for everyone present to decide.

"The Star of the Sky is definitely more suitable. Although it may not be as powerful as the Chapter of Night, girls will definitely prefer gemstones." Someone expressed his opinion, after all, choosing a gift is not simply about its monetary value.

"The Dragon Slayer Dagger is a better testament to a person's courage. If it were me, I would definitely choose the Dragon Slayer Dagger!" Some people expressed the opposite opinion.

"Among these gifts, the one with the most impressive background and the most powerful is definitely the Chapter of Night. If it's a test of judgment, then Gold undoubtedly wins. There's no gift more powerful than the Chapter of Night." Of course, most people still sided with Gold.

"But...did anyone say that this round was a test of foresight? It seems like we've been speculating about it from the very beginning, hasn't it?" Someone suddenly raised this point, and as soon as he finished speaking, many people looked over in surprise.

“Yes, it doesn’t seem to say it’s testing judgment. In other words, it might be testing potential. If we’re talking about potential, that young man has the potential to be an excellent alchemist at such a young age, which gives him a significant advantage.” Finally, someone spoke up for Durei.

While everyone was engaged in a heated discussion, Kotetsu and the others remained silent, watching Ababa with nervousness.

“Mr. Ababa, whose gift do you think is better?” Jin Zai could no longer remain calm and took the initiative to ask.

"Well... everyone's gifts are all very nice, it's really hard for me to choose... I don't have many truly valuable things in this castle, and the Chapter of Night is one of them. I didn't expect you to find it, very good." Ababa nodded approvingly.

His words immediately sparked all sorts of speculation, especially among Leopard Tail and others, as Ababa's influence was extremely significant at this time.

"Oh no, that fat, ugly guy is starting to speak up for that guy. It looks like Du Lei is going to lose!" Leopard Tail was really worried for Du Lei.

Meanwhile, Jin's trusted confidant, beaming with delight, beckoned to Leopard Tail with a finger, a gesture that seemed to be full of provocation.

“However…” Ababa didn’t finish his sentence before changing the subject.

“Mr. Ababa, but what?” The smile on Jin’s lips didn’t last long. He dared not be careless before making a final decision.

"But ultimately, it's my daughter's wedding, not mine. She's choosing the gift, not me. The choice is in her hands, so you can just wait here for now and let her choose for herself. We'll let you know when she's made her choice," Ababa said, spreading his hands.

"What? Wait for the results? When will that be?" Jin's confidant immediately asked.

As soon as he asked the question, Jin glared at him, clearly not wanting to ruin the impression he made on Ababa.

“What I mean is… wasn’t it said that everyone from Storm City would be invited to witness this? Now that so many people are waiting, I don’t think it will take too long, right?” The confidant immediately changed his tune, realizing he had been a little too smug.

"Hehehe, are you worried about that? Don't worry, it won't be long. Everyone, just wait here for now." Ababa said with a big smile, his hands behind his back, and then he left.

"Hey, hey, is he just leaving like that?" The confidant was a little confused by Ababa's departing figure.

"Young Master, what exactly is going on here...?" He turned to ask Jin for his opinion.

"Since you say we have to wait, then of course we should wait. What's the rush!" Jin scolded him, and the latter finally calmed down.

At this moment, a servant brought tea and pastries. Leopard Tail went up to ask how long it would take, but he couldn't give a definite answer.

"It's been half an hour, why haven't we received a response yet? Is it appropriate to leave so many of us hanging here?" Leopard Tail was very dissatisfied.

"Well... please be patient, everyone. If you feel too stuffy here, you can go outside for some fresh air. We'll let you know when we have the results." The staff member could only offer words of comfort, since he wasn't in charge and didn't know the exact time.

"Go out for some fresh air? What time is it? How can you be thinking about fresh air? This is really... Hey, Du Lei, where are you going?" Although Leopard Tail had already forfeited and was no longer involved, he was still very concerned about the role Du Lei would play in the final competition.

"Of course I need to go out for some fresh air. Aren't you bored staying here?" Du Lei asked as he walked to the front door.

"Huh? This isn't about being bored. Shouldn't you be here waiting for the final results? If you just walk away like this, we won't be able to notify you when the results are out." Leopard Tail wasn't as composed as Du Lei, even though Du Lei was the one involved.

"Whether I stay here or not won't change the outcome, so why make myself uncomfortable?" Du Lei had his reasons.

After he finished speaking, he went outside. Although the Golden City was large, it always gave people a suffocating feeling.

"Hey? Du Lei, why are you acting so uncomfortable? I'm telling you..." Leopard Tail stepped forward to try to stop Du Lei.

"Let him go. He probably wants to be alone right now." Kotetsu walked over, grabbed Leopard Tail's shoulder, and gently shook his head.

Under their watchful eyes, Dure quickly walked away.

Almost at the same time that Dure left, two other pairs of eyes also turned to him.

"Nightcrow, that guy's all alone. Let me go and take him out. That way, I can get revenge for what happened on North Mountain." Red Sparrow looked at Dure from afar, harboring deep hatred for him.

“No, this place is strange. We can’t do it here.” Night Raven shook his head and stopped her.

“Why not? Although this is a separate space, we can leave after we kill him.” Red Sparrow knew exactly where they were, and she was confident that she could leave easily after killing Dure.

“Red Sparrow, you underestimate this place, or rather… you underestimate that person.”

"who?"

"That man named Ababa, believe me, if we make a move against that kid, we'll be reduced to dust in an instant."

Night Raven wasn't unwilling to get revenge on Dure, but he simply couldn't bring himself to do it.

564. Significance of Existence

Hot Spring Village is located on the eastern border of the Miracle Continent, surrounded by mountains and famous for its hot springs. In earlier years, due to the treacherous roads, the village was isolated and had little contact with the outside world. However, with the advent of the steam age and the emergence of railways, the distance between the world was greatly shortened, and adventurers and merchants emerged in large numbers.

With the help of businessmen, the hot spring village was gradually transformed into a tourist destination. Every time it snows, it becomes the peak season for receiving tourists. Over the course of a winter, it can accommodate one or two hundred tourists, which is enough to bring a considerable income to this small village with only a few dozen people.

But recently, things have been quite unusual. In just two days, two to three hundred people have flooded into the village. Moreover, these people all look fierce and menacing, carrying guns and knives. Some have scars on their faces, while others have tattoos on their arms that represent the emblems of a certain guild. They are very different from the tourists who usually bring their families to visit.

With snow-covered peaks and the moon shining like frost, the mountaintop bathing area offers the best view and is the perfect choice for moon viewing and snow appreciation. Steaming mist fills the air, and delicate cherry blossoms drift down from the treetops beside the bathing pool, creating a dreamlike atmosphere. Of course, it would be even more wonderful if no one were to form a human ladder to peek through the fence.

"Hey, you said you'd step on my shoulder, why are you stepping on my head? If you ruin my handsome face, can you afford to pay for it? Dure, have you had enough? It's my turn!"

Among the three furtive figures, the one in the middle was a tall, thin man, about fifteen or sixteen years old, who kept complaining.

"What's all the noise about? Can't you keep it down? What if we get caught? Oh my, these thighs, this skin, city girls are something else. Damn this condensation, can't you disperse it a bit? I can barely see anything. Stop shaking it."

The guy at the top was watching with great interest.

He was about thirteen or fourteen years old. Perhaps because he was young and hadn't fully grown yet, he was only about 1.65 meters tall and looked very thin. He was peering through a gap in the fence, which was more than four meters high. In the hazy mist, his snow-white skin was faintly visible, indicating that someone was soaking in the hot spring.

"Try stepping on me and see what happens! Do you think it won't wobble? Du Lei, how many days has it been since you washed your feet? They stink! And did you drool? It's all over my head, disgusting! Watch out, or I'm leaving!"

The boy in the middle voiced his protest.

As dusk fell, the three of them saw people arriving at the mountaintop inn to stay the night. Among them was a young woman of similar age to them, who was stunningly beautiful. They had been keeping watch outside the mountaintop hot springs since early morning, so persistent despite the freezing weather, just to get a glimpse of her. This was something they were quite adept at.

But after waiting for so long, the young woman finally took a bath, but only Du Lei was watching from above. He had good reason to do so: firstly, he was the youngest, and secondly, he was the lightest. That made sense, but he watched for a long time without giving up his spot, which was still a bit unfair.

"Durey, can we go back now? I'm hungry and want to eat roasted sweet potatoes. It's so cold outside."

At the bottom of the human ladder was a chubby boy, also around fifteen or sixteen years old. He was bulky, weighing at least two hundred pounds. His lips were blue and purple from the cold, and his body was covered with a thin layer of snow.