Alchemy City is a special city with more than 90% of the population having an Alchemist degree or higher. The city is divided into 10 districts, each district is planned according to its own function, for example, the Central District, is the administrative center of the entire city, also the location of a series of libraries containing all kinds of knowledge of the country, surrounding the Central District are 4 districts including the Trade District, where auction houses and shops operate bustlingly, the Alchemy District, where talented people specializing in researching and developing the Alchemy industry gather, the Treasure Refining District and the Alchemy District are also 2 of the 4 districts surrounding the Central District. Outside are other districts such as the Residential District, the Entertainment District…
In Luyen Bao district, a tiny shop is lost in the middle of a deserted street.
That was the shop, and also the residence of an eccentric old man. It was called a shop, but for decades no one had come to buy anything from him, so the shop was no different from a dusty trash warehouse. Yet no one knew why the shop had been able to exist for decades. Perhaps because the city lord had been absent for many years, the management of Alchemy City had also declined…
The shop was dirty, but the old man himself was worse than a beggar. Anyone who came near him would be greeted by the stench that rushed straight into their noses. Flies landed on his body in swarms, but he didn’t care much, only focusing on the work of creating something… not something that was too terrible, but anyone with an alchemist degree could easily tell that it was just a low-grade Spiritual Treasure. He had been creating it for decades but still hadn’t finished it. He kept assembling it, disassembling it, and changing the materials. Anyone who just looked at it thought he was creating a treasure for life.
But it was truly a lifetime achievement, a low-grade spiritual treasure of a useless old alchemist. He was the best example of the dark side of the saying “If you practice, you will eventually succeed”, taking a block of iron and grinding it into a needle, while there were dozens of ways to create a needle a hundred or a thousand times faster.
But he still worked hard, occasionally clicking his tongue and shaking his head, taking the treasure in his hand out and finding other materials to grind and install, to the point that he also gradually took apart the items on display for sale…
Our Duong was happily walking from the Central District to the Residential District, making dark plots as dark as his soul, occasionally smiling a lewd smile like a male prostitute.
To go to Dan Cu district, one had to pass through Luyen Bao district. Duong took the opportunity to walk and look through a series of shops displaying piles of treasures of all shapes and sizes.
Passing by the tiny shop with its peeling paint and nameless sign, Duong sniffed in annoyance at the terrible stench wafting in the wind. He was about to leave but stopped when he saw what the old man was holding in his hand.
It was the low-grade Spiritual Treasure that the old man had been researching for many years. It was shaped like a sword handle about twenty centimeters long, with unfinished machine parts inside.
The old man glanced at Duong, but continued to fix the machine parts, while Duong stood there watching attentively.
Ten minutes later, the old man could not help but raise his head and ask:
– Kid! It’s just a low-grade Spirit Treasure, are you interested? Or do you want to see what kind of farce I’m pulling?
Duong shook his head:
– It is a low-grade Spiritual Treasure, but the materials inside can completely make a Holy Treasure!
The same material, different smelting methods will produce different qualities, for example, a normal copper ore, smelted in a normal way will produce copper of normal quality, but with an excellent smelter using an excellent smelting method, can create a copper of better quality than gold. The difference in quality is so small that it is difficult to see, passersby rarely dare to come close, plus the contempt when seeing the old man’s appearance, so they do not examine carefully to be able to recognize that these are spiritual metals refined by extraordinary smelting technology.
The old man lowered his glasses to look at Duong better, then nodded:
– Your eye for goods is very good, very promising…
Having said that, he got back to work.
Duong still stared, perhaps that was something the old man had not yet successfully created so the knowledge he got from Google did not record what it was, but with his vast knowledge of alchemy, he could recognize a little of the function and structure of the object.
– The parts of this thing seem to be able to grow on their own? – Duong frowned in doubt.
Hearing Duong’s words, the old man who was working attentively stopped like a statue for a few seconds, then raised his head and brushed his dusty silver hair aside to look at Duong clearly. Only then did he see the old man’s eyes were unusually bright and sharp.
– Who… are you? – The old man emphasized each word.
The old man’s gaze made Duong shiver, as if his eyes were trying to see through Duong’s entire being.
– I am just an honorary Grandmaster, waiting here for the day to enter the Wisdom building…
– Honored Grandmaster? Looking at the self-developed accessory that I spent decades researching, I believe you are a Divine Master!
– Ah! I don’t dare… I’m only 17 years old…
– You are 17 years old, possessing Colonel level spiritual power but only showing that you are a Spirit Captain, you must have some kind of treasure that hides your spiritual power. After 4 years of cultivation, you have reached Colonel level, and you also have extraordinary knowledge, if I guess correctly, you contain the remnant soul of a Divine Master!
Walking around the street and encountering a fierce thing, Duong was surprised by the knowledge of the old man who looked like a beggar, but he immediately calmed down to gain the upper hand, he immediately looked up information about the old man on Google.
After receiving the information, Duong tried to calm down to hide his surprise, then respectfully bowed his head and replied:
– There is no Divine Master’s soul, but it is an honor for me to meet a Divine Master in the flesh…
If Duong was surprised once, the old man was ten times more surprised:
– How do you know I am a Divine Master?
Duong replied:
– With this low-grade Spiritual Treasure, no, it should be called a Strange Treasure, even a Saint Master cannot research it on his own! If I guess correctly, you are the one who invented the modern ATM card, and also the mysterious city lord of Alchemy City, Divine Master – Da De Qiang!
The old man was extremely surprised, looked at Duong for a long time, then suddenly stood up, spread his arms and looked up to the sky and laughed loudly:
– Ha! Ha ha! I have hope! I have hope! Ha ha…
After laughing, in the blink of an eye, the old man appeared right in front of Duong, his two hands on his shoulders:
– Kid! I want to trade!
– What exchange?
Master Duc Cuong seriously replied:
– You help me get something, whether you get it or not, the position of city lord of Alchemy City will still belong to you!
– Belong to me? Lord of Alchemy City? – Duong widened his eyes, this position is extremely impressive!
– That’s right, and if you get what I need, this Spirit Treasure will also be yours!
– But it’s not finished?
– Yes, it is incomplete, because it is missing a rare peak mineral, this mineral only has a small chance of appearing as a reward when you clear the Wisdom Tower from floor 96 to floor 100, Van Tinh Nam Nam.
– I once passed the 96th floor, but failed at the 97th floor without obtaining this Ten Thousand Year Gold. Unfortunately, in this life, I can never enter the building again, and I can’t find a Divine Master to help me.
Master Duc Cuong sighed:
– After many years of searching for the Ten Thousand Year Gold everywhere in vain, I have been here researching every way to replace the Ten Thousand Year Gold with something else, but to no avail. My lifespan has run out, I have less than a year left to live, and because I am preoccupied with the treasure of my life, I cannot successfully break through to the Lord to extend my lifespan.
– But I can’t…
– Can’t climb to the 96th floor? It’s not that you can’t, it’s that you’re not qualified, but I can use my status as a Divine Master to bestow upon you the honorary Divine Master degree… Don’t think that this qualification is too easy to obtain, because having the status of a Divine Master means that you only have one chance to enter the Wisdom Building in your life, and this qualification is meaningless because having the qualification is one thing, and how many floors you can pass is another.
– How about it? Dare you try? Although there is only one chance, as long as you pass the 96th floor, whether you find the Ten Thousand Year Gold Star or not, this city lord position will still belong to you!
– If the city lord position is not enough for you to trade, then I will tell you what this is. It is indeed a low-grade Spiritual Treasure, but this Spiritual Treasure has the ability to be cultivated! The more it fights, the stronger it will grow, becoming a Celestial Treasure, a Saint Treasure, and if there is a chance, it will become a Divine Treasure!
– Really? So how do you use it? – Duong was surprised, even with the knowledge he had from Google, he had not seen anything that could spontaneously develop into a Divine Treasure.
– It is a hilt, but I have not found a suitable blade yet, however, you can combine it with any type of blade. As for its ability, I think it must be perfected and combined with the blade to be clearly determined…
Giving up two chances to enter the tower was not an easy task, but that was for others. As for Yang, the faster he advanced, the better, because he was confident that he could reach the 100th floor without much difficulty. The most difficult goal was the 101st floor. There was also another problem, if he passed the 100th floor, becoming the city lord of Alchemy City would cause too much of a stir. The more famous Yang became, the more dangerous it would be.
Thinking, Duong replied:
– I agree, but there is one condition…
Just say it, whatever your request, we will meet it.
– I want to make sure that no one knows that I climbed to the 61st floor or above, and even less that no one knows that I became the city lord of Alchemy City until I want to make it public.
Master Duc Cuong nodded and responded:
– I agree! But I still have to note this, being the lord of Alchemy City does not mean you are allowed to use Alchemy City for your own purposes against the wishes of the people, if that happens, you can completely be dethroned!
– Don’t worry about that! Happy cooperation!
– Happy cooperation!
Oh, and one more thing! Do you have any extra shirts? I’d like one!
Master Duc Cuong opened his eyes wide:
– What’s wrong? It’s dirty!
– It’s okay! I need something… Oh, while you’re at it, please punch me in the face a few times…
– I am very willing to do this!
Pop! Boom!
After a few punches, Duong held his swollen face and cried:
– Boo hoo… I haven’t finished speaking yet… Why are you hitting me so hard…
So Duong took a smelly coat and said goodbye to Than Su Duc Cuong, holding his pitiful face as if it was tattered, and headed towards Dan Cu district.
Alchemist City, Residential District.
The afternoon sun was setting, My was sitting in front of the mirror combing her smooth hair, suddenly there was a knock on the door.
– Who would knock on the door? – My was curious, all the houses in Alchemy City were equipped with bells, who would knock on the door…
But My still walked out, My looked through the hidden eye on the door but saw no one.
Was about to go into the house, but there was a knock on the door, My thought someone was playing a prank, so she opened the door.
– Save… me…
It was Duong, wearing Duc Cuong’s smelly coat, lying like a dead dog in front of the house, looking up at My with his face with red lips, rosy cheeks, and purple eyes like a gay man wearing makeup.
– Hey Duong? What’s wrong with you?
– I was robbed… hu hu…