Miss Loser is too enchanting

"Tian Bo, you know I have never treated you as a servant," Green Emperor Xiahou said with a furrowed brow, looking displeased, "Regardless, I am set on participating in this competition. If you wish to return, just say you couldn’t find me."

Having said this, Green Emperor Xiahou turned and left. He had come here to check the ranking of Baili Xie; as expected, she was concealing her true power! Otherwise, her ranking wouldn’t fluctuate so much. Perhaps she was the breakthrough he was looking for.

Tian Bo watched as Green Emperor Xiahou walked away and had no choice but to follow. Without him, what was the point of returning? He might as well stay and protect him!

The next day, the fourth round of the competition began. Today’s contest was to narrow the field from five hundred to one hundred, and many clans had come to watch. The stands were suddenly more than two-thirds full. Of course, those upper echelon forces still did not show up.

Today was the last day of the preliminary round; those who were eliminated would have no chance to join the Alchemist Guild, except for those who had always been members. Failing to enter the Alchemist Guild meant that these family clans became the best option for them; the main purpose of these clans was to recruit good alchemists.

As soon as the appointed time arrived, the host came onto the stage and announced, "Today is the last day of the preliminary round, and we will select one hundred from the five hundred of you to advance to the final round. The successful candidates will gain entry to the Alchemist Guild. Then, the subsequent finals will determine your status and treatment within the Alchemist Guild. Alright, now I will announce the rules for today’s contest: there is no time limit for concocting the Seventh Grade Heavenly Spiritual Pill; ranking will be based on quality and completion time. Let’s begin!"

From five hundred to one hundred! The competition was undoubtedly intense, but those who had made it this far were certainly no mediocre contenders; they wouldn’t be flustered by the pressure. On the contest field, everyone calmly began concocting their elixirs.

The audience in the stands were murmuring among themselves, discussing which contestants were how and how many alchemists they might recruit. Tian Bo, seated in the stands, looked down on the competitors with some disdain. These people were in the same competition as his young master; it was a blessing they had cultivated over ten lifetimes! He only showed a change of expression when he saw Shayan. His young master had said that he could concoct an Intermediate Level Ninth Grade elixir, but he was already close to three hundred years old, whereas his young master was several years shy of one hundred; they simply couldn’t be compared.

Looking around, the young master was indeed the most impressive! Tian Bo thought proudly as he watched Green Emperor Xiahou.

Not far from Tian Bo, Mo Qiufeng was surveying the stands.

"With such a grand event, how could she not come? Even if she had to wear makeup, she should have come to see it," Mo Qiufeng said.

"Young master, who are you talking about?" asked a person sitting beside him.

"A friend. Even if I told you, you wouldn’t know her. Just watch your contest," Mo Qiufeng snapped at the Mo Family members, evidently unhappy about not seeing the person he was looking for.

"Yes, young master."

"Right, all of you go back to our family’s team later. I want to be alone," Mo Qiufeng added. He wanted to wander around alone to see if he could find the girl who had destroyed a branch of the Feng Family.

"But, young master..." the person following him started to say something but, seeing his displeasure, swallowed his words. Sigh, this young master is really difficult to serve!

Inside the competition arena, contestants were earnestly concocting elixirs while those above were diligently selecting whom they wanted to recruit, ready to make their move as soon as the results were out.

Unsurprisingly, the first, second, and third places were still held by the same three individuals, but this time the gaps in completion time between them were not large, just a matter of a few minutes. Dugu Qianye looked at Meng He, who also seemed to be a dark horse!

Dugu Qianye also completed her concoction quickly, drawing many impressed glances. Although she didn’t rank very high in the previous auction, today she was among the earlier finishers. After all five hundred participants had finished concocting, everyone waited in the rest area for the results. Since the number of contestants was not too large, two hours was enough time to compile the results. It also allowed those who were eliminated to directly choose their next patron.

"You’re hiding your true strength!" Dugu Qianye was drinking water when someone sat down next to her.

Startled, she turned and saw it was Green Emperor Xiahou.

"You are quite formidable," Dugu Qianye responded, "taking on alchemists from both the eastern and western paths, deliberately finishing in second place each time."

Green Emperor Xiahou hadn’t expected her to notice his concealment of his true abilities. In reality, he wasn’t hiding them too deeply; he simply didn’t wish to stand out as first—there was no need to show off. What he was waiting for was the last competition!

"Do you want to be the president of the Alchemist Guild?" Without an answer from Green Emperor Xiahou, Dugu Qianye couldn’t help but ask. He didn’t seem like someone who would bother with such trifles, did he?

Green Emperor Xiahou shook his head and said, "I am looking for a worthy opponent."

"Pfft..." Dugu Qianye sprayed the water from her mouth, looked at Green Emperor Xiahou’s darkened face, and said apologetically, "Sorry, couldn’t help it. So, to find an opponent, you’re challenging all the alchemists on Yuling Continent?"

Green Emperor Xiahou nodded, rendering Dugu Qianye speechless. This must be what people do when they have too much time on their hands and nothing better to do, right?

"I want to break through." Seeing Dugu Qianye’s expression, Green Emperor Xiahou revealed his true intent.

"There are many ways to break through; your method is the most unique," Dugu Qianye commented after a moment, finding the most fitting word to describe him.

On the stands, Tian Bo saw Green Emperor Xiahou initiate a conversation with Dugu Qianye and was so anxious he hopped around, muttering under his breath, "How can young master stoop to speak to others? Your status, young master, your status!"

"Well, if it isn’t Green Emperor Xiahou who wants to challenge the entire continent. How is it you’re sitting with such a minor alchemist? Only you would stoop to such a level!"

Dugu Qianye and Green Emperor Xiahou were engrossed in a discussion on the refinement of elixirs. The two shared common views on alchemy and had their own insights, getting more enthusiastic as they spoke, when an intrusive voice cut in. Looking up, it was Shayan, who always took first place!

Green Emperor Xiahou gave Shayan a glance but ignored him, continuing his conversation with Dugu Qianye. He found Dugu Qianye’s insights on alchemy quite penetrating, sparking an epiphany in his thoughts. He was just about to delve deeper into the exchange when Shayan’s presence became rather unwelcome.

Seeing Green Emperor Xiahou disregard him, Shayan pointed at him and said, "What are you so proud of? You want to compete against the entire continent, but end up still crushed under my heel each time. You dream of being first, of becoming the grand president of the Alchemist Guild? In your dreams!"

Some alchemists who supported Shayan laughed loudly behind him at his words.

"Get lost!" Green Emperor Xiahou, annoyed with these people disturbing him, yelled at them.

"Get lost? Who do you think you are, telling me to get lost? Who knows what riffraff you are!" Hearing Green Emperor Xiahou tell him to get lost, Shayan’s temper flared. Wherever he went, he was always held in high regard; to have someone tell him to get lost was an utter disgrace!