CHAPTER 108: HEARTHSTONE GATHERING HALL

Out of curiosity, Liu Wei poured his qi into the storage ring and received information of its contents.

It has an early Treasure rank Pill Furnace, a token that should have been the symbol for direct entry to the Solar Alchemy Hall, a single sunfire essence crystal, ten middle grade spirit stones.

At the moment, aside from the single sunfire essence crystal, Liu Wei was interested in the Solar Alchemy Hall.

He was confident that, because of the system’s restriction, the Solar Alchemy Hall had far more knowledge than his library. Of course, only for the alchemy section.

Liu Wei would like to compare and contrast between other halls and his library.

However, he would decide later on as the Crown Prince was trying to talk to him, while the Master Alchemist was presenting and giving the rewards to others.

"Brother Liu Wei, do you want to have some chat? We can ask for a private room in the Alchemy Association. At the same time, they are asking if they can talk with you. Don’t worry, when it comes to your safety, that is guaranteed.

I don’t sense any hostile intention from them, either. It seems they simply want to genuinely chat with you."

Liu Wei contemplated for a while and nodded silently.

"Fine by me. I also want to talk with them. Tell me what to do after, then."

"Mhm. Alright. My personal guard, Xuan Bo, will keep in touch with you."

Liu Wei nodded and did not reply.

Liu Wei then shifted his attention to other participants, who won the competition.

The third placer was a girl at the same age as Cai Hui, which surprised him.

He tried to sense the Dao she was radiating and it turned out to be Dao of Harmony, not Dao of Alchemy.

Furthermore, it seemed to have originated from her physique.

He was thinking of inviting her to be his farmer, but the more he discerned her physique, the more he realized it was a strange physique.

In the end, he decided not to, after concluding it was not a physique suited for agriculture.

Liu Wei then continued to watch the Master Alchemist hand out the rewards with an ambiguous expression on his face.

Once the Master Alchemist was finished, he turned around and faced the spectators and said, "Everyone, these are the participants, who won the competition. They are recognized as the future of alchemy. Remember them and please... give them a round of applause."

A series of applause echoed throughout the arena, but they kept shouting the same name again and again.

"LIVING CAULDRON!!!"

"LIVING CAULDRON!!!"

"LIVING CAULDRON!!!"

Liu Wei simply smiled and accepted their applause...

...

Soon, all the participants were escorted to the Pillfire Regent Hall

It was reserved only for Senior Alchemists and Master Alchemists, but there were spare rooms purposely for the winner of the Radiant Cauldron Assembly each year.

When Liu Wei entered and saw the attendants, he was surprised they carried a strange aura, as though they were completely influenced by a pill.

Cai Hui, who was walking beside him, noticed his reaction and sighed.

She whispered, "Big Brother Liu Wei, the Pillfire Regent Hall is the most protected hall. After all, this is where Senior Alchemists and the Master Alchemist stayed. There were even cultivators who were proficient in detecting foreign qi, poison, soul-sense intrusion, and even hidden artifacts scattered in every floor.

Furthermore, those cultivators, like the attendants, have to consume a pill... where they would be killed once they leak a secret."

Liu Wei was intrigued.

He was able to catch in his peripheral vision the cultivators concealing themselves, also prying his and other participants’ identity.

Instead of pitying them, he was actually more interested in the pill.

"What kind of pill is that? To detect if they leak a secret and instantly activate it? What conditions were set?"

Cai Hui appeared troubled.

In the end, she said, "I actually don’t know, Big Brother Liu Wei. It’s a top secret. In fact, from what I know, only the Master Alchemist knows about the recipe and concoct it himself."

While they were chatting, they slowly arrived in the Hearthstone Gathering Hall.

Liu Wei observed the place and was awestruck of how beautiful it was.

It was designed like a round lounge with cushioned sunken seating, symbolizing a cauldron bottom.

In the center, there was a suspended hearthstone orb.

Since the Master Alchemist was leading them, he also initiated the conversation.

He said, "This suspended hearthstone orb can absorb sound leakage and creates a "no-record" field preventing any memory-sealing techniques or artifacts from copying conversations. Hence, you can rest assured that everyone present will only know about the conversation that occurs."

The Master Alchemist then invited each participant to sit on the cushioned sunken seating.

Liu Wei and Cai Hui sat next to each other and the other participants noticed how close they appeared.

They believed that the top genius would naturally understand and be more familiar with each other, not knowing that Liu Wei and Cai Hui were already acquainted to begin with.

Only the Master Alchemist was aware.

The Master Alchemist then said, "If you want to proceed to your private rooms now, you can do it later after I announce something. You can simply ask the attendants."

The participants nodded without hesitation, also looking forward to the best accommodation of the Alchemy Association.

The Master Alchemist said, "Some of you might know, or not, but I will be inviting you all to the Emberglow Repose Banquet later. It is a dignified yet relaxing banquet where alchemists can unwind. Furthermore, you all are the star of this banquet, so it is better for you all to socialize and let your name be known to every nobles and alchemists."

The Master Alchemist was quiet for a while and observed their reaction, especially Liu Wei.

Liu Wei seemed to be unimpressed and he was not surprised.

He continued, "You can then take a rest and wait until before the sunrise. There will be a lantern release tradition in the River of Dawn. Participating in it offers a lot of benefits. After all, it’s the River of Dawn, one of the mysterious places in the Mortal Domain."