Lord of Prayer

Chapter 214: Chapter 161: Alchemy 2

Hand Refining Alchemy!

This was the most direct standard for distinguishing an Alchemist’s skill. Only a seasoned Alchemist could perform Hand Refining Alchemy without the aid of any instruments or equipment. And such an Alchemist, even without passing the official registration exam, possessed abilities no different from a fully licensed Alchemist.

The few veteran Alchemists the Li Family knew were of this caliber, able to refine many potions and artifacts with their bare hands, without any tools.

But Zhou Chen was much younger in comparison, looking to be in his early twenties. His potential was limitless!

’I’ve met a true master!’ Li Xiangyang was ecstatic. If he could recruit such an expert into the Li Family… no, forget recruiting. Just knowing him would bring immense benefits to the Li Family.

CLAP CLAP CLAP… Antonio applauded in satisfaction and smiled. “Mr. Zhou, go ahead. Tell me what you need from me.”

“Have these people leave first,” Zhou Chen said, looking at the dancers.

Antonio waved his hand, and the dancers gathered their clothes and left. Once they were gone, Zhou Chen glanced at everyone remaining. “I’m investigating something. Have any of you heard of a member of the Blood Race named Liu Sheng?”

“Liu Sheng? That guy was just at the bar yesterday. I heard he scammed some woman not long ago, and she put a bounty on his head in retaliation. He’s been keeping a super low profile these days,” one of the rich kids said. Compared to getting on an Alchemist’s good side, a scumbag friend like Liu Sheng was clearly not as important. Selling him out was an easy choice.

“Oh? From the sound of it, you all have a lot of dealings with the Blood Race?”

“It’s not that uncommon. There are actually quite a few members of the Blood Race hidden in every city. Most people in high society know a few. But a few days ago, I heard Liu Sheng say that the number of Blood Race members in Hong City has increased recently, and a lot of High Level Blood Race have shown up. He thought something was wrong and was getting ready to skip town,” the rich kid continued.

The number of Blood Race in Hong City has increased…

Zhou Chen keenly caught this key piece of information. The growing number of Blood Race members meant something in this place was attracting them. According to historical records, they would soon engage in a great war with the Crimson Sect.

He stated his purpose clearly. “I’m investigating the Blood Race. I want to know why they are gathering in Hong City. At the same time, I also need Liu Sheng’s whereabouts.”

Antonio raised an eyebrow, puffing on his cigar. “I don’t know why they’re gathering in Hong City, but I do know where they’ve been active recently… However, this information is very valuable. Mr. Zhou, since you’re investigating the Blood Race, you should know how meticulous they are.”

“What do you want?” Zhou Chen asked.

Antonio smiled. “It’s simple. There’s an Alchemy Competition tonight. If you, Mr. Zhou, compete on my behalf and win the championship, I’ll give you that information plus Liu Sheng’s whereabouts for free. For you, winning should be a piece of cake.”

Zhou Chen frowned, slightly displeased. “I’m in a hurry.”

Antonio spread his hands. “Those are my terms. Believe me, you won’t get this intelligence anywhere else.”

Zhou Chen pondered for a moment. “When does the competition start?”

“You have good timing. In half an hour.”

·

“Are you really going to compete?”

In the lounge, Li Xiye sipped a cocktail through a straw. “Antonio is obviously using you to make money. The Alchemy Competition is an event held jointly by several black markets. Each boss finds an Alchemist to compete for them. Whoever’s Alchemist wins gets the pot, but the Alchemist themselves only gets a small cut.”

“The Alchemist under Antonio is a half-wit, so he’s never been very interested in the competition and doesn’t bet much. But if you were to compete… with the other bosses in the dark, Antonio could definitely make a killing.”

“Compared to the information I need, that stuff is meaningless,” Zhou Chen said. He was sitting cross-legged in Meditation, recuperating his spirit.

Li Xiye studied him and asked cautiously, “Why are you investigating the Blood Race? Are you a Demon Hunter, by any chance?”

’She found Zhou Chen to be mysterious and full of stories. Maybe he came from some secret organization that protected world peace from the shadows, often carrying out secret missions like eliminating creatures of Darkness that threatened human society…’

“I’m looking for the way home,” Zhou Chen answered cryptically, making Li Xiye even more curious.

“By the way, are you interested in stories about time travel?” he suddenly asked.

“Huh? I’ve seen quite a few classic movies like that. Why?”

“Have you ever encountered anything related to time travel in real life? Even just a rumor.”

Zhou Chen had made a wish to find clues about time travel, and the Wish Bottle had given him five cursor locations. One of them was Li Xiye.

Li Xiye bit her straw and thought for a moment, then shook her head. “No. Although this world is full of the Extraordinary, something as hardcore sci-fi as time travel probably wouldn’t happen… right? Anyway, I’ve only ever seen it in TV shows, movies, novels, or comics.”

“Then have you heard any rumors, for example, related to mysterious religions?”

Zhou Chen didn’t plan to directly reveal anything about the Crimson Sect. The Abyss Church was extremely dangerous, and it would be irresponsible to drag an ordinary person like Li Xiye into it.

Li Xiye thought hard. “Does the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster count? Or the Cult of Cat? The Sweet Zongzi Sect versus the Salty Zongzi Sect?”

“…Never mind. Forget I asked.”

Zhou Chen couldn’t figure it out either. How could an ordinary person like Li Xiye know a clue about his time travel? But the Wish Bottle was never wrong, which made the problem obvious—Li Xiye had come into contact with a clue, but she was completely unaware of it.

Before long, there was a knock on the private room’s door. A gentle female voice came from outside. “Sir, the competition is about to begin. Please prepare and head to the waiting area.”

The Alchemy Competition was a regular feature of the underground black market. The various black market bosses would often recruit and poach Alchemists to compete against those under other bosses. Winning the competition would, one, build the black market’s prestige, and two, bring in tangible benefits.

Even if they couldn’t win, they would still get a cut of the ticket money, which was a huge sum in itself.

The competition venue rotated frequently, and today it just so happened to be the Rebirth Bar’s turn. After taking an elevator to the basement, Zhou Chen saw a wide arena. It looked like a ring used for underground fighting, but the octagonal cage had been dismantled, turning it into the venue for the Alchemy Competition.

The spectator stands were already packed, buzzing with a clamor of voices. Many of the guests wore masks to hide their identities.

Scantily clad beauties dressed as bunny girls carried trays, walking past the guests and selling betting slips for the contestants. The guests were passionately discussing which contestant to bet on.

“Boss Li has Master Han competing again. I’m putting my money on Master Han!”

“Master Han? That useless hack! He got completely demolished by Billy in the last competition! Total garbage! Cost me hundreds of thousands!”

“Hold on, Antonio’s Alchemist has been replaced! It’s some young kid!”

Seeing Zhou Chen representing Antonio, the crowd in the stands couldn’t help but start murmuring. This Alchemist was far too young. Why would Antonio send him to compete?

In the section for the black market bosses, several of them turned to look at Antonio, who was puffing on a cigar. His face was expressionless, betraying no emotion, making him impossible to read.

“You damn fatty, what the hell are you trying to pull now?”

“Fuck, you’re not trying to throw the match, are you? No way. The bet has to be raised to ten million this time, to stop this bastard from throwing the match just to earn ticket money!”

“Hey, Old Dog Li, I don’t believe I’ve done anything to provoke you, have I?” Antonio said, pretending to look grim and extremely irritated.

“He’s lost his nerve!” Boss Li sneered. “This bastard just wants to throw the match! His Alchemist probably ran off!”

Seeing the look on Antonio’s face, everyone started making their own calculations.

“Let’s raise the bet to ten million this time. What does everyone think?” someone proposed.

And so, every black market boss except for Antonio agreed to the proposal. In the end, Antonio had no choice but to agree as well.