I Became the Alchemy Master by Picking Up Trash-Chapter 95 - 94: Preliminary Round (Part 12)
Li Xing’s situation in the water was totally untransmittable by the flying device. Luo Jun spent over ten minutes in panic, imagining all kinds of death scenarios for Li Xing, feeling increasingly upset.
This was simply tormenting her mind and body. How could she be satisfied without cursing them out properly?
Poor Wen Dao, too weak in strength, struggled desperately but could not break free from Luo Jun’s grip, maintaining this embarrassing posture until Luo Jun finished cursing, regaining the initiative.
Glaring harshly at Luo Jun, Wen Dao cleared his throat and said to the four students who were already dazed from the curse, "Ahem, the statement earlier from Teacher Luo represents her personal views only and is unrelated to me."
"Now, I’ll only say two things. First, the Water Beast you killed just now is named Gustav, which is the highest-ranking water beast residing in the Peterson River. Most malicious attack incidents in the Peterson River Basin over the past sixty years are related to it. Today, you’ve removed a menace, and you can earn a reward for Gustav, which will be issued after the contest."
Seeing the students’ joyous expressions, Wen Dao quickly poured cold water:
"Although Gustav has entered the ranks of the Heaven tier, its strength ranks at the bottom among Heaven tier Star Beasts due to animal instincts and elemental attributes influence. Moreover, it was careless from the start, underestimated you kids, and lost its usual prudence and cunning, thus meeting its defeat. Your win today is half due to strength and half to luck; be happy, but there’s no need for pride. And never use this experience to gauge other Heaven tier Star Beasts’ combat strength, or it’ll be self-destructive."
Ye Qingting’s group of four had solemn expressions and nodded in unison.
Wen Dao was right, Gustav’s performance today was indeed not up to the Heaven tier water beast standard. Perhaps it had been the boss for too long, forgetting what prudence was and coincidentally encountering Fire Elemental Spirit Warriors restraining it, so half of its defeat indeed was credited to luck.
Wen Dao: "Second thing, a group of Golden Swallowing Birds in their mating season has arrived in the competition area, causing large-scale damage to badges, so the contest might end early. Time is limited for you, please hurry."
The Golden Swallowing Bird is a type of Flying Star Beast that feeds on metal, consuming massive amounts of metal ore during its annual mating season to enhance feather glossiness.
In the absence of suitable metal, they can clash with humans, fighting for weapons to consume.
The exquisite metal badges prepared by the contest committee, infused with spiritual power, are essentially a valuable resource in the eyes of Golden Swallowing Birds.
With sharper vision and perception than humans, plus their flying ability, no terrain can challenge them. The arrival of Golden Swallowing Birds undoubtedly added new variables to the contest.
After Wen Dao finished, communication was cut off. Qi Ming quickly took out the map, and indeed, only thirteen triangular markers representing badges were still lit.
The contest had only been underway for less than two days; while some lucky teams might have been transported near badges and already secured them, overall analysis shows most were destroyed by Golden Swallowing Birds.
Fortunately, the triangle marker on Lihua Mountain was still there, and they could still follow their original plan towards the destination.
The wooden boat was destroyed, but Gustav’s petrified remains became a new vessel, and the four dared not delay for a moment, climbing onto Gustav’s back, continuing onwards.
Unlike the previous two days, in order to race against the Golden Swallowing Birds, the river’s flow rate could no longer meet the need. The four took up paddles and began rowing quickly towards Lihua Mountain.
The crocodile’s residual might remained; the Water Beasts in the river were deeply impressed by Gustav’s form, hurriedly avoiding it from afar. They encountered no danger along the way and finally arrived safely at Lihua Mountain the next morning.
The matter of the Golden Swallowing Birds had already been notified to all participants by the contest committee, so the only remaining dozen or so markers on the map had become coveted by all competing teams.
As the Oblivious team arrived, hundreds of teams also dashed from different directions toward Lihua Mountain.
The altitude of Lihua Mountain wasn’t high; strictly speaking, it was merely a low hill, yet its hat-like shape was highly distinctive, often used as a landmark for location identification.
The spiritual power attached to the badge wasn’t strong; thus, during such times, teams with high spiritual power members had their advantages come to light.
Qi Ming closed his eyes, trying to expand the coverage area of his spiritual power as much as possible, searching meticulously. After about a quarter-hour, he initially determined a direction, directing the team toward the target.
Meanwhile, on the other side of Lihua Mountain, the Fierce Dragon Team’s captain Zhang Long stared unhappily at the talisman master who had rested for a long time. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞
"Liu Yuan, how long will you rest?"
Their team was lucky, with the teleportation point being very close to Lihua Mountain. They arrived yesterday at the badge area but ended up wandering the mountain led by Liu Yuan for a whole day and night.
They encountered many spiritual power Star Beasts yet hadn’t seen even a shadow of the badge.
He admitted that finding a tiny badge on such a large mountain was difficult, but Liu Yuan was too finicky, working for ten minutes, idling for two hours, occasionally wanting to eat, at other times wanting to sleep.
Initially thinking a talisman master in the team would improve efficiency, it now seemed he was totally mistaken.
Liu Yuan, too, looked down on these martial masters who showed him no respect. If not for their strong abilities, being one of the champion contender teams, he wouldn’t have joined.
"What, too slow for you? If you find me slow, you can search yourself. No spiritual power? Then use your eyes to look instead of just relying on me."
Zhang Long had his breath caught in his chest, unable to go up or down. It was the three martial masters who dealt with the Star Beasts along the way, yet the talisman master, without a single formation laid, even demanded a share of Crystal Stones. If they also had to find the badge themselves, then what use was the talisman master?
Wang Liang: "Liu Yuan! How are you talking to Brother Long?"
Qian Xiaowu: "I warn you, don’t act like an aristocratic family kid; we won’t buy that set!"
Zhang Long regretted inviting Liu Yuan into the team, but at this point, as captain, he must prioritize the big picture, thus intercepting two teammates, suppressing his anger, and telling Liu Yuan:
"I know finding the badge is a meticulous task, but due to the Golden Swallowing Birds, there aren’t many badges left in the competition area. More and more teams are rushing toward Lihua Mountain, and if we don’t speed up, it’ll become even harder to find once the main teams arrive. We’re just a step away from victory; it’d be a shame to be beaten by others!"
Liu Yuan considered for a moment, realizing Zhang Long had a point. Since he participated, he was set on winning. He lazily stood up, spread his spiritual power, and began searching again. This time, Liu Yuan still couldn’t determine the badge’s location but spotted some acquaintances.
"Hmm? They came too?"
Liu Yuan’s eyes shifted, suggesting Zhang Long and the others follow him stealthily with the Fierce Dragon Team behind Qi Ming’s group.
