I Became the Alchemy Master by Picking Up Trash-Chapter 84 - 83: Preliminary Round (Part 1)

Li Xing only truly settled down to study Arrays after arriving on the Qianyuan Continent, and her training time was still short. The Thousand Leaf Killing Array, which combines illusion, killing, and entrapment, is a thousand times more complex than ordinary arrays. For her to manipulate it as skillfully as Mo Fu, she will need much more practice.

Previously, Li Xing always felt that Crystal Stones were insufficient. Since coming to Harssas, she discovered that it was not only Crystal Stones but also time that was lacking.

Classes, Alchemy, Array practice, and Body Refining occupied all her time. She hadn’t slept in a long time and could only alleviate fatigue through meditation. If it weren’t for having a good body, she really wouldn’t have been able to sustain herself.

Days passed swiftly in the busyness, and before she knew it, this semester was nearly over. Just as everyone was looking forward to the holidays, the school announced that the pre-selection competition for the military academy tournament was about to begin.

The military academy tournament occurs every four years, and the results determine the rankings of the four major military academies. Therefore, each school places great importance on the level of their representative teams.

To select the team with the strongest combat power, the four major military academies set up a pre-selection competition for fair competition among everyone.

The previous team representing Harssas had all graduated this year, so this year’s pre-selection was a showcase, and dark horses were everywhere.

The news that the pre-selection competition was about to start made Cui Tianxiao extremely excited. In his own words, the "Special Effect Team" was his dream team. It would be simply unjust if such an excellent team couldn’t represent Harssas in the military academy tournament.

Li Xing wanted to use her vacation to work and earn money, as she was just over a year away from the age limit of eighteen, and she was still far from reaching the Organ Refinement Stage. She couldn’t afford to waste time.

However, upon learning that the winning team of the pre-selection would receive a five million Star Coin prize, and if they could represent Harssas Academy and achieve good results in the tournament, the prize would be even more lucrative. She decisively sided with Cui Tianxiao.

The standard team configuration for the competition follows the military standard—four people per team, consisting of two martial masters, one talisman master, and one Healing Master.

But because there are far fewer talisman masters and Healing Masters than martial masters, teams that fully match the professional configuration are very few, mostly consisting only of the martial master profession.

After review, there were a total of 703 teams registered to participate from the entire school.

The competition has two forms. First, a jungle battle will be held to eliminate the teams with average strength, and then a one-on-one mode will commence, letting the remaining elite teams compete until the strongest is selected.

On the competition start day, the Special Effect Team, along with over 700 other teams, awaited random teleportation into the Star Beast Forest.

They have to find badges with faint spiritual power markings within seven days and return safely.

There are only thirty badges, meaning that out of over 700 teams, less than half a percent can advance, bringing considerable pressure on everyone.

The fluorescent light shone, and the four members of the Special Effect Team were teleported under a large tree with gnarled roots.

Midway through teleportation, when his figure wasn’t yet solidified, Ye Qingting drew the Ice Sword, and the moment he landed, he slashed horizontally above the heads of the four people.

"Splat—"

A big gaping snakehead fell, followed by the massive serpent body tumbling and twisting at their feet, spilling black blood all over the ground—a giant python was resting on the tree and was delighted when four humans suddenly appeared below, thinking heaven had delivered food, not knowing it was a death order delivery, and its head was cut in one stroke.

Flinging the bloody snake blood off the sword, Ye Qingting said in a deep voice, "Xiao Ming, confirm our location."

Qi Ming opened the map, sent out his spiritual power, observed the surrounding terrain, and quickly determined the team’s location.

"Unlucky, we are too far from the target!"

Qi Ming pointed to a spot on the map, his face bitter. Their position was in the far north, the targets were in the center, and they would have to cross almost half the map to reach the nearest one.

"Damn! Already out of the circle right at the start? What’s the point of competing like this?"

Cui Tianxiao’s face was twisted with rage. Not to mention the countless dangers they would encounter crossing the forest, just the sheer distance alone—forget about seven days, even fourteen may not be enough.

"This is entirely a mistake by the event organizing department! Qingting, let’s file a complaint!"

"Don’t talk nonsense. It’s random teleportation, and you can land anywhere! What’s there to complain about?" Ye Qingting glanced at the sky overhead, then glared at Cui Tianxiao with a warning look.

"Luck is also part of strength. We must accept it. Since time is already short, let’s not waste it and rush back with all our might!" Ye Qingting was also furious, knowing it was almost impossible, but the pride of being from a noble family didn’t allow him to sit idly by and concede.

With Ye Qingting’s reminder, Cui Tianxiao also realized there were invisible flying device cameras nearby responsible for transmitting the event footage. Complaining openly about the event organizers would only land the team in trouble, and serious cases could lead to disqualification.

Cui Tianxiao spat, his face contorted as he organized his gear for a long-distance run, silently cursing with all sorts of profanities, anyone could tell.

"Wait a minute." Li Xing took the map, pointed to a winding blue line, and said, "We can go by water."

"That’s... Peterson River?"

"Yes. It’s the flood season, and the river flows quickly. If we follow the river downstream, we can reach Lihua Mountain in about three days."

Since most teams are configured as all martial masters, with not much spiritual strength, the school marked the approximate locations of the thirty badges, with the closest one being at Lihua Mountain.

After thinking for a while, Qi Ming felt this method was feasible and looked up at Ye Qingting, waiting for the captain to decide.

Ye Qingting hesitated, acknowledging that Li Xing’s idea was good. If successful, they could return to the main competition area within the stipulated time and secure a badge to enter the advanced stage.

But as the saying goes, "Better to cross ten mountains than one river." The waterway was too dangerous, and he didn’t dare gamble with his teammates’ lives.

Cui Tianxiao: "Qingting, what are you hesitating for? Let’s do what Xing Er suggested!"

Qi Ming: "Brother Ye, I don’t want to be out this way, it’s too depressing. Let’s take a gamble!"

Facing his comrades’ determined gazes, Ye Qingting finally made up his mind, nodding heavily. The group continued northward towards the upstream of Peterson River.

Each pre-selection competition is streamed live on the school’s internal network, with each stream dedicated to one team. Students can switch channels anytime to watch their preferred matches.

As the event progresses, teams get eliminated, causing their respective streaming channels to stop broadcasting immediately. Viewers get logged off forcefully and must pay again to continue watching.

By the end, everyone flocks to the remaining few channels. Those who choose such channels from the start, paying a small amount of Star Coins to watch until the end, are like lottery winners and are revered.

Thus, while the contestants compete on the field, the audience competes in the channels to see who can watch till the end with the least money, earning bragging rights all year.

The Special Effect Team is streamed in channel eighty-four, currently so full of bullet comments that the video is obscured.

//What’s the deal? Are they eliminated at the start?//

//Teleported to such a far place, they definitely can’t finish the competition in the set time.//

//Damn! I thought this team had all Heavenly Armor experts and was the sure dark horse for the championship, only for them to be totally out of luck!//

//I also thought this stream could last till the end, looks like it’s about to end soon, better switch out.//

//Guys, there’s no way anyone expected an elimination in the first three minutes, it’s still time to switch channels. If lucky, you might still watch till the end and not miss our bragging chance.//

//What a waste of my time, I’m out!//

...