I Became the Alchemy Master by Picking Up Trash-Chapter 97 - 96: Preliminary Round (Part 14)

The martial masters in the team, Ye Qingting, Cui Tianxiao, and Li Xing, stepped forward. As the captains of the two teams, Zhang Long and Ye Qingting naturally had to fight, and Zhang Long was the first to challenge Ye Qingting.

Zhang Long was a Heavenly Armor class Earth Elemental Spirit Martial Artist, wielding a pair of Jar Gold Hammers. Strength was a characteristic of the earth element, and Zhang Long took advantage of this by engaging in close combat right from the start, pounding down with the Jar Gold Hammers like a rainstorm, pushing Ye Qingting back, not giving his opponent a chance to catch their breath.

Ye Qingting held his sword with both hands, using the Ice Elemental Spirit to freeze his hands and the sword hilt together, to prevent it from being knocked out of his hands by Zhang Long’s force.

Wang Liang and Qian Xiaowu, seeing their leader gaining the upper hand, cheered excitedly, but drew a roll of the eyes from Cui Tianxiao.

Just as Ye Qingting was about to be pounded out of the ring by Zhang Long, a sudden turn of events occurred. As Zhang Long was about to bring his hammer crashing down, he suddenly stepped onto an ice surface, lost his balance, and stumbled forward. The force in his hand and the weight of the Jar Gold Hammers only sped up his fall. Ye Qingting seized the opportunity to turn the tide, leaping back to the center of the battle and launching a fierce elemental attack at Zhang Long.

"Deep Blue Ice Dragon—!"

A colossal blue ice dragon, enveloped in a sweeping chill, slithered toward Zhang Long, its massive mouth wide open, emitting a dragon’s roar. "Roar—!"

Zhang Long’s face changed dramatically, and he shouted:

"Earth Shield, rise—!"

A thick wall of earth rose from the ground, blocking Zhang Long. As soon as the earth wall stood, the Deep Blue Ice Dragon crashed into it, shattering the wall into pieces.

The color of the blue dragon faded by nearly half, but it still had the strength to continue forward, opening its mouth to bite Zhang Long, only to be struck on the forehead by a hammer, causing it to disperse into shimmering ice crystals in the air.

"Ice Cone—!"

Before Zhang Long could catch his breath, Ye Qingting’s next wave of attacks arrived. Ice cones from all directions stabbed at him, and Zhang Long hastily summoned elemental power.

"Petrification Technique—!"

A layer of rocky skin immediately grew over Zhang Long, and after a series of crisp sounds, all the ice cones fell to the ground and vanished, and Zhang Long shook himself and returned to normal.

"Ice Seal Technique—!"

Ye Qingting fiercely plunged the Ice Sword into the ground, causing it to rapidly freeze. A thick icy surface spread towards Zhang Long at an astonishing speed. Zhang Long retreated quickly, but the ice was faster, retreating further would take him out of bounds.

"Earth Stairs, rise—!"

Ye Qingting’s Ice Seal Technique severed Zhang Long’s connection to the ground, causing a 0.1-second delay in Zhang Long’s summoning—a tiny discrepancy that made Zhang Long unable to avoid Ye Qingting’s elemental attack in time, freezing his feet.

Under Ye Qingting’s control, the ice, as if alive, swiftly spread upward along Zhang Long’s legs, soon encasing his entire lower body.

If this were a battlefield, the layer of ice would undoubtedly engulf him, sealing him in ice. Zhang Long’s face turned disheartened as he put away his Jar Gold Hammers and conceded defeat.

Ye Qingting waved his hand and the thick ice surface instantly disintegrated, freeing Zhang Long.

"Brother, you’re strong. I, Zhang Long, admit my defeat!"

"Just luck."

"May I ask your name, brother?"

"I’m Ye Qingting."

Zhang Long "oh"ed, having heard of Ye Qingting’s reputation before, and felt no shame losing to him.

Zhang Long: "Continue, Wang Liang, Qian Xiaowu, which of you is next?"

Wang Liang stepped forward second, but Qian Xiaowu held him back. After a hurried whisper between the two, Wang Liang entered the ring, pointed at Li Xing, and said, "I want to compete with you!"

Cui Tianxiao and Qi Ming exchanged a glance, gave a joint thumbs up, and said, "What guts!"

Cui Tianxiao was genuinely impressed that someone dared to challenge Li, the Killer Star, but in the opponent’s ears, it sounded like sarcasm and mockery.

Although a martial master’s combat prowess had nothing to do with gender, challenging a woman gave the impression of picking on someone weaker, inviting disdain.

Zhang Long frowned. From his observations, the opposing team’s second strongest was the boy with the bow, so Wang Liang should have challenged him instead of choosing a girl. Even if he won against such a seemingly weak opponent, it wouldn’t be honorable.

"Wang Liang, switch to another!"

"No need." Li Xing lazily rose and walked toward the battle ring, passing by Ye Qingting with a warning: "Remember, we’re classmates, go easy."

"Okay."

Wang Liang looked at the fair, slender girl opposite him, a flash of guilt crossing his face. "Don’t worry, I’ll hold back, I won’t hurt you."

Li Xing smiled, "I should say the same to you."

Wang Liang and Qian Xiaowu’s whispered words didn’t escape Li Xing’s Divine Sense; they were playing a game of "Tian Ji races."

Zhang Long already lost a round, so sending the second strongest against the weakest should make it a tie. Then a rested Zhang Long could fight Cui Tianxiao, aiming for a three to two victory.

Understanding the desire to win was acceptable, it was an open strategy, no disgrace in it, but they picked the wrong opponent.

Wang Liang’s weapon was also a blade, but more akin to a Tang Blade, with a slender blade. Upon seeing Li Xing’s weapon, his heart skipped a beat.

The blade was nearly as wide as the girl’s waist, entirely black with a cloud pattern, blood grooves running through the blade. The blade’s mouth was engraved with auspicious cloud patterns in Red Essence Copper Seal, the handle wrapped in red dragon skin, topped with a fierce-faced Green Wolf head.

At the moment this blade appeared, Wang Liang felt his own blade tremble slightly, as if it wanted to submit.

Wang Liang swung his blade sharply, launching the first attack on Li Xing. Wang Liang pushed his speed to the extreme, chopping, hacking, thrusting, stabbing, and slashing in a fluid display of sword skill, dazzling to watch.

Wang Liang thought the broad weapon would be slow, but every one of his attacks was blocked by his opponent; several times, he was nearly counterattacked.

The seemingly thick and clumsy blade was strangely agile in the girl’s hand, as if weightless.

The girl twirled her wrist lightly, making the blade slice and hack at tricky angles. The wide and hefty blade, with speed and inertia, became an advantage; once, a sharp blade edge nearly took off his fingers.

Fighting for some time with no advantage, Wang Liang grew increasingly anxious. He couldn’t rely solely on martial arts anymore. Wang Liang withdrew his blade and extended his palm, firing an elemental attack at Li Xing.

"Fire Thorn—!"

A man-sized fireball flew towards Li Xing, who calmly dodged behind the Heavenly Wolf Saber. With a bang, the fireball hit the blade, flames scattered, but the blade remained unscathed.

Wang Liang snorted angrily, pressing with both fists, launching an endless series of Fire Thorns at Li Xing, the sound of "bang, bang" echoing continuously.

"Vine Web—!"

Feeling Li Xing’s summon, all plants on the ground stirred, weaving rapidly into a net, layer upon layer, enveloping Li Xing to dodge the dense fireball attack.

Upon seeing Li Xing use the Wood Element, Wang Liang’s heart filled with joy. Fire suppresses wood, assuring him of victory, so he redoubled his output, intending to take down Li Xing with the advantage of elemental balance.