I Became the Alchemy Master by Picking Up Trash-Chapter 177 - 175: Xi Yuan Tournament (Part 1)

In the blink of an eye, it was time for the tournament again. The Halsas Dream Team set off once more, heading to Xi Yuan City.

Xi Yuan City is located in the desert region of the Qianyuan Continent’s western side, where the climate is dry with little rain. The daytime temperatures can reach up to sixty degrees, and at night, it can drop to below minus ten degrees, with a huge temperature difference.

This climate and environment are originally unsuitable for human survival. However, there is a rare spice in the Ruoye Desert, which is the main ingredient for making exquisite perfumes.

This exquisite perfume is richly fragrant and has a calming effect on depression, making it popular among nobles. Therefore, its price is even higher than Heaven Rank medicine.

This spice is actually the excrement of a long-extinct desert creature, buried by the sand and formed through thousands of years of high-temperature fermentation.

People risk their lives for wealth, just as birds die for food. Despite the harsh and perilous environment of the Ruoye Desert, countless people come to the desert to try their luck, hoping to get rich overnight by obtaining the expensive rare spice.

The number of people digging for the spice increased, turning scattered tents into a gathering camp, eventually forming a town, which became the prototype of Xi Yuan City.

A traveling merchant who made his fortune selling rare spices became the first City Lord of Xi Yuan.

The City Lord felt that the Ruoye Desert was his feng shui treasure land that had brought him success. To give back to Xi Yuan City, he spent a huge amount of money to hire thousands of talisman masters to build a talisman array dome over the entire city.

With the dome’s protection, the desert storms and extreme temperatures were no longer a worry, and more and more people came to settle in Xi Yuan City. It has become the largest human settlement in the Ruoye Desert.

As usual, this match started with a teleportation from the Spectator Square in the city into the desert.

Compared to the grandeur of the white square in Tianyi City, the city square of Xi Yuan City has a distinct local flavor.

The ground of the square is paved with the unique Fire Rock of the desert area, with golden talismans flickering on the red tiles, making it particularly striking.

The viewing box of the square resembles desert tents from the outside. With the curtains down, it becomes a private mode, but those inside can still see outside.

The school delegations and the four major corps, as always, occupied the first and second floors of the stands.

To test the competitors’ survival skills, this match added a space button inspection round.

Besides the competitors’ weapons, healing medicine, and alchemy tools, each person is allowed to carry only five hundred milliliters of drinking water and three nutrient solutions. Even the number of Energy Stones is strictly limited to no more than six medium-level ones per person.

Healing Masters’ alchemy materials will also undergo strict inspection and must not contain plants that can be used as food.

The four participating teams passed through the inspection gate in turn. High-level talismans were carved on the gate, and if any competitor carried more items than allowed, the red light on the gate would keep flashing while a piercing alarm would sound.

Fortunately, everyone, including Li Xing, didn’t harbor any luck and obediently followed the competition requirements, thus passing smoothly with green lights.

At the city arena, the four teams occupied the north, south, east, and west directions, waiting for the competition’s teleportation to begin.

Cui Tianxiao glanced around the stands and noticed many locals of Xi Yuan City, wearing robes and veils, with only their eyes exposed, and he couldn’t help but find it strange.

"Isn’t it hot, being covered up like that?"

Even with the talisman array dome, the temperature inside Xi Yuan City was still much higher than in Halsas. Just standing there for a while, Cui Tianxiao was already sweating.

Ye Qingting whispered, "You laugh at them for wearing too much, but they think you lack knowledge. They’re wearing the traditional Xi Yuan attire, Kufei, woven with Ruoye Silk. It’s sturdy and durable, cool during the day, warm at night, and much more efficient than temperature-adjusting talismans. Each Kufei is a priceless treasure, passed down through three generations, with the clothes remaining even after people pass. Without some status, you can’t afford to wear it."

Qi Ming suddenly had a thought. "Brother Ye, do you think the uniforms of the Desert Ship team could also be made of Ruoye Silk?"

Cui Tianxiao also understood Qi Ming’s concern: "Damn! If that’s the case, we’re at a big disadvantage!"

The harsh desert climate requires even Elemental Spirits to wear battle suits with temperature-adjusting talismans to regulate body temperature.

Running temperature-adjusting talismans consumes Energy Stones. Once the Energy Stones are depleted, the talismans will fail, causing heatstroke at best, or losing elemental control and combat ability at worst. Thus, clothing made from Ruoye Silk is more long-lasting and energy-saving than temperature-adjusting talismans.

Ye Qingting touched his belt, where the buckle embedded an Energy Stone powering the temperature-adjusting talismans, and shook his head:

"No way. Ruoye Silk disappeared many years ago. No matter how wealthy Xi Yuan Academy is, they wouldn’t use Ruoye Silk to make training uniforms for students. But don’t get complacent. In terms of heat resistance and desert survival skills, the local team naturally has the upper hand."

Ye Qingting was right. The other three teams’ members were all sweating profusely from the heat, while only the four members of the Desert Ship remained calm and composed, as if edited through a matte filter.

Live Broadcast—

The host’s voice rang out, high-pitched and excited:

"Dear viewers, this is the Federal First Television, bringing you the live broadcast of the second match of the 208th Military Academy Tournament! For today’s commentary, we have once again invited Master Zou Huali and Lord Lin Zhian as special guest commentators!"

The camera cut to Zou Huali, who remained expressionless as always, while Lin Zhian courteously bowed slightly to the camera.

The number of love declarations on the live chat surpassed even the first match.

"The arbiter for this match is Elder Chu Baili!"

The camera focused on Chu Baili. Unlike Chen Luxi’s high-born demeanor, Chu Baili was amiable, with a demeanor similar to a friendly neighborhood grandfather. He waved at the camera with a cheerful smile. The live audience’s applause and cheers were deafening, indicating Elder Chu’s solid popularity.

Host: "This match will take place in the Ruoye Desert, and teams will be teleported in based on their placement in the previous match. The team that first grabs the flag on Lake Heart Island in the Turquoise Pool wins."

The TV screen transitioned from the live broadcast to an aerial view of the Ruoye Desert. The camera zoomed in, revealing a blue lake at the desert’s center to the audience.

The camera kept zooming in, and four flags bearing the Academy’s emblems became clearly visible to the audience on Lake Heart Island.

"An interesting addition to this match is the random teleportation arrays!"

"Several short-distance random teleportation arrays are set up in the Ruoye Desert. Competitors within a team are connected for teleportation, so when one triggers an array, the entire team is teleported."

"In other words, while the performance in the previous match determines the starting order for this match, it has little impact on the final victory."

In the live chat, the netizens were in heated discussion.

//Family, does anyone get it? What’s the new rule about? Can any expert explain, please?//

//It means this is now a luck-based competition. If lucky, the last team in might get directly teleported to Lake Heart Island from the desert’s center, but if unlucky, even if you fight your way to the island, you could still be teleported away!//

//Damn! This is hilarious! So, our results from the last match in the Halsas Dream Team were for nothing?//

//What’s the point of saying that? Our Tianyi Team was busy for nothing as well. I, Chu God, carrying three burdens, SLAYed the entire field to secure first, and you’re telling me the results don’t really matter for winning in the end? Oh, dear mom, I’m done for!//

//Is this a new rule or an under-the-table one? Who’s the genius who came up with this? I’d like to take my brothers to thank them.//

//Is it even a question? Whoever benefits the most from the rule probably made it up!//

//So it’s Cold Smoke Pavilion, then?//

//Dummy, Cold Smoke Pavilion isn’t the host and has no say in setting the rules, but they do get to enjoy the benefits.//

The fans of Xi Yuan Academy were silent, knowing it’s wise to keep quiet at times like this, lest they become the target of criticism.

...