57: Chapter 57 Preparing for the Martial Arts Tournament

For the next five days, I basically didn't close my eyes.

That's not an exaggeration; I really didn't sleep much.

I brewed potions during the day and at night, with orders to fulfill and ship on the Stall System 3.0 in between; I was as busy as a spinning top.

If it weren't for the fact that characters in this game don't die from overwork, I reckon Chen Ergou would have already collapsed dead in front of the alchemy furnace.

However, hard work pays off.

In the early morning of the third day, as I was brewing the 47th batch of intermediate health potions, a sudden 'boom' sounded in my mind—

[System Notification: Congratulations to the host for leveling up! Current level: 22!]

[Level reward: Attribute points +5, Skill points +2.]

[Major Unlock: Product R&D feature is now open!]

[Product R&D Description: The host can consume materials and gold to develop brand-new potion recipes. Each development requires a certain amount of time, and the success rate is related to material quality and the host's alchemy level. Once successfully developed, the new recipe will be permanently added to the host's recipe library.]

I jumped straight up from my chair.

Product R&D! This is a feature I've been looking forward to for a long time!

Before, I could only brew potions according to the recipes given by the system; although I could make a decent amount of money, I was always limited by the existing recipes.

Now that I have the R&D feature, it means I can create potions that others don't have!

Exclusive recipes—that's a true monopoly business!

I hurriedly opened the R&D panel and studied it carefully.

The R&D interface is very simple; the left side is the material slot, and the right side is the effect preview.

I can freely combine different materials, and the system will give an estimated effect based on the materials' attributes.

Of course, the estimated effect might not be the same as the final product; that's the risk of R&D.

I rubbed my hands together and began my first attempt.

The goal was clear—a defensive potion.

The Martial Arts Tournament is a PvP event; although the people in the Dawn Guild have decent skills, there is a gap in equipment and levels compared to the Dragon God Temple side.

If I can make up for it with potions, the chances of winning will be much higher.

I selected Iron-Clad Turtle shell powder, Ice Spider silk liquid, and Magma Stone powder as the main materials.

The Iron-Clad Turtle shell powder is responsible for providing defense bonuses, the Ice Spider silk liquid can increase toughness, and the Magma Stone powder is used to stabilize the potion's efficacy.

Materials placed, 500 gold deducted, and R&D began.

Countdown: 30 minutes.

I waited for about twenty minutes when the alchemy furnace suddenly started to shake violently; the color of the potion inside turned from its normal earthy yellow to an eerie purple-red, and it started emitting a pungent smoke.

"Holy crap, don't explode!" I hurriedly took two steps back.

Although this high-level alchemy furnace blueprint is much better than a regular alchemy furnace, it's not a 100% success rate.

If it explodes, all the materials will be wasted, and those 500 gold will go down the drain.

Fortunately, at the last moment, the color of the potion stabilized and turned into a deep bronze.

[R&D successful! Congratulations to the host for obtaining a new recipe—iron wall potion!]

[iron wall potion: Increases defense by 50% after drinking, lasting for 20 minutes. Material requirements: Iron-Clad Turtle shell powder × 2, Ice Spider silk liquid × 1, Magma Stone powder × 1.]

A 50% defense bonus! Lasting 20 minutes! If this were used in the Martial Arts Tournament, a squishy mage drinking one bottle would instantly turn into a little tank!

I was so excited I almost took off on the spot, and I hurriedly started the second R&D.

This time, the goal was a speed-type potion.

In PvP, speed is life. People who can run fast can either chase others down to fight or run away if they can't win.

I chose Swift Wind Bird feather powder, Lightning Lizard venom, and Moonflow Herb as materials.

This R&D was much smoother, although there was a small hiccup in the middle—I added too much Lightning Lizard venom, and the alchemy furnace almost exploded again; I scrambled to throw in a handful of Moonflow Herb to stabilize it.

As a result, the potion's efficacy was even stronger than expected.

[R&D successful! Congratulations to the host for obtaining a new recipe—swift wind potion!]

[swift wind potion: After drinking, movement speed increases by 60%, attack speed increases by 30%, lasting for 15 minutes. Material requirements: Swift Wind Bird feather powder × 2, Lightning Lizard venom × 1, Moonflow Herb × 1.]

A 60% movement speed bonus plus a 30% attack speed bonus! This thing is practically tailor-made for assassins and warriors.

After drinking it, the movement speed is like using a cheat code; the opponents won't be able to run away even if they want to.

For the third R&D, I aimed for a potion that removes negative status effects.

In PvP matches, the most annoying thing is being plagued by various debuffs—slow, poison, silence, stun; any one of them can be fatal.

If there were a potion that could remove all negative status effects, its value would be immeasurable.

But the difficulty of this R&D was clearly higher than the first two.

I tried several combinations of materials; the first two attempts failed completely, wasting a lot of materials and gold in vain.

By the third time, I didn't have enough materials, so I had to go to the auction house and buy a batch of substitutes at a high price—I used Purification Flower stamen powder to replace the originally required Holy Light Stone powder, and used Deep Sea Pearl powder to replace Angel Fish scales.

To be honest, the success rate of R&D using substitutes is hair-raisingly low.

But I really had no other choice; the material market has been snatched up, probably by Long Aotian and his gang hoarding goods.

For the third attempt, I held my breath and stared fixedly at the alchemy furnace.

The alchemy furnace shook for a full five minutes, and the color of the potion inside changed unpredictably—first white, then gold, then green, and finally it turned into a transparent light blue.

[R&D successful! Congratulations to the host for obtaining a new recipe—purification potion!]

[purification potion: After drinking, immediately removes all negative status effects and grants immunity to all negative effects for 5 minutes. Material requirements: Purification Flower stamen powder × 3, Deep Sea Pearl powder × 2, Holy Spring Water × 1.]

I let out a long sigh and slumped in my chair.

All three new potions were successfully developed! iron wall potion, swift wind potion, and purification potion; these three potions combined are practically a god-tier PvP set.

With Iron Wall for defense, swift wind for speed, and purification for debuff removal, once these three potions are downed, an average player can go head-to-head against an elite two levels higher.

Next was the crazy mass production.

I locked myself in the alchemy room at the guild base and brewed day and night.

I brewed 40 bottles of iron wall potion, 35 bottles of swift wind potion, and 25 bottles of purification potion.

Plus the health potions and mana potions I had stockpiled before, I gathered a total of 100 bottles of various potions, enough for each member of the Dawn Guild participating in the tournament to receive several bottles.

During the brewing process, I didn't forget about the business on the Stall System 3.0.

However, I was more careful now—the anonymous buyer placed another large order, this time for 50 bottles of intermediate mana potions, offering three times the market price.

Three times the price, huh? In the past, I would have accepted it without a second thought.

But now I was more cautious and had Ye Liuli's intelligence network investigate the background of this anonymous buyer.

Two days later, the information came back.

The clues pointed to one person—the vice president of the Dragon God Temple, Earth Wild Eagle.

Earth Wild Eagle, level 25, the second-in-command of the Dragon God Temple, is said to be an old fox specifically responsible for the Dragon God Temple's intelligence and logistics.

He has a large number of alt accounts in the auction house and trading house, specifically used to acquire various supplies and intelligence.

In other words, Long Aotian wasn't just buying randomly; he was systematically collecting information about me.

By purchasing my potions in large quantities, he could analyze my recipes, material sources, production scale, and even deduce my identity.

This bastard is even more sinister than I imagined.

I told Ye Liuli about this intelligence, and she was silent for a long time after hearing it.

"It seems Long Aotian is more cautious than we anticipated," she said. "Not only is he openly uniting guilds to besiege us, but he is also secretly collecting your intelligence. Once he confirms you are that 'mysterious alchemist,' he will likely take action against you directly."

"Let him come," I sneered. "I wasn't scared into growing up."

Though I said that, I was still a bit nervous inside.

A level 25 vice president, plus Long Aotian at level 26—I couldn't beat either of them.

Not to mention they have the entire Dragon God Temple's forces.

But there was nowhere to retreat now.

Having joined the Dawn Guild, we were all in the same boat.

"At the Martial Arts Tournament, I'll prepare a surprise for him," I said.

Ye Liuli looked at me, didn't ask any further, and just nodded.

That's just how she is; she never asks for details. This kind of trust made me feel that joining the Dawn Guild was the right move.

On the evening of the fifth day, all the potions were finished, neatly stacked in the alchemy room.

Looking at the rows of colorful potion bottles, an inexplicable sense of accomplishment welled up in my heart.

100 bottles of potions, three exclusive recipes, plus the strength of the Dawn Guild itself—Long Aotian, just you wait.

At this Martial Arts Tournament, I'm going to let you know what the wrath of a black market shopkeeper is like.