I Can Control Resources

"Then... let’s begin!" Wu Qingjing sighed inwardly. On the surface, however, he maintained a warm and pleasant demeanor.

"Begin!" Yutian announced as well.

With both men making the announcement, the alchemist exchange officially entered its challenge phase. All the alchemists could now begin.

It was then that Gao Neng took his place as the one being challenged.

He scanned his surroundings.

’There are so many alchemists here from the major sects and clans.’

A full eighty-plus of them.

Of course, although there were many participants, their skill level was by no means low.

After all, the materials provided by the noble families and sects were valuable. Whether for the sake of frugality or to improve their chances of winning, they would never send an average alchemist.

Eighty-plus alchemists.

Each one with twenty-to-one odds.

Of the three-thousand-plus elemental materials, more than two thousand five hundred had already been wagered.

The remaining five hundred were all top-grade materials!

Not a single one of these top-grade materials had been wagered. This was naturally Yi Qinglian’s deliberate doing, because she knew better than anyone that the truly powerful alchemists present had not, in fact, issued a challenge to Gao Neng.

The reason was simple.

A War God would not deign to challenge a novice.

This was no longer a question of bullying; it was a matter of status.

For instance, Elder Qin in the private room on the second floor was one such person. Given his status, it was impossible for him to follow the crowd and issue a challenge like everyone else.

To get these people to challenge—or rather, to guide—Gao Neng.

Gao Neng would at least need to show a little bit of talent in alchemy.

’By leaving five hundred top-grade materials, even if Gao Neng loses, perhaps someone will still be willing to guide him!’ Yi Qinglian’s gaze shifted to Gao Neng in the distance.

Meanwhile, Gao Neng had already begun to prepare for alchemy.

A century after the Great Cataclysm.

Energy Warriors had become the main force on the battlefield.

However, the Human Alliance had never actually stopped advancing in terms of technology.

The development of thermal weapons, the advancement of high-tech, genetic research—the Human Alliance invested massive funds into these fields every year.

The same, in fact, was true for alchemy.

With technology as advanced as it was today, setting up hundreds of Tripod Cauldrons and lighting some firewood underneath them... that was pretty much impossible.

After all, when it came to temperature control, technology was far easier to manage than firewood.

Of course, there were still those who pursued a retro style.

For example, Meng the Second was one of them.

All his alchemy equipment consisted of Tripod Cauldrons. At least, on the outside, they looked exactly like the cauldrons from classic cultivation stories.

As for the inside...

That was a completely different story.

The material Meng the Second used for his cauldrons was a purple alloy that could withstand extremely high temperatures. Moreover, atop the Tripod Cauldron was a precision computer controller.

This computer controller could regulate the temperature inside the Tripod Cauldron with maximum precision. In addition, it could also display the progress of the pill refinement process under high heat.

It could be called a perfect fusion of high-tech and retro.

It was also precisely because of the emergence of such high-tech that factors like climate, environment, and time, all of which were once crucial to alchemy, had undergone an earth-shattering change.

The forty-nine days and eighty-one cycles recorded in ancient texts...

All of it, overturned!

With ultra-modern high-tech methods, the heating time was only one minute.

One minute was all it took for the elemental materials to reach their melting point. Who needed a couple of Pill Boys to watch the fire day and night like in ancient times?

"Fire it up!" After placing the materials into the first Tripod Cauldron, Meng the Second began to speak in a demonstrative tone, looking utterly confident.

And then, he began his explanation.

"Although high-tech now allows us to control the temperature and reach the raw materials’ melting point within a minute, if you actually do that, you have a ninety-nine percent chance of failure, because... huh?!" Meng the Second didn’t finish his sentence. Before he could, Gao Neng, who stood before him, had already ignited his Tripod Cauldron and cranked the heat to the absolute maximum.

SIZZLE! SIZZLE! SIZZLE!

The Tripod Cauldron in front of Gao Neng emitted a sound just like a barbecue.

As for the elemental materials inside, they were instantly melted into liquid. The entire process was as fast as it could possibly be, with no delay whatsoever.

Meng the Second was completely dumbfounded.

’Is this really the opponent I’m supposed to be challenging?’

’Does it have to be this easy?’

’Who the hell does it like this...? He vaguely remembered a senior apprentice brother from his youth who’d tried the same thing. The grass on that guy’s grave was probably ten meters tall by now.’

In fact, it wasn’t just Meng the Second who was stunned. The surrounding Sect Leaders and Noble Young Masters who were watching the show were also a bit dumbfounded.

What was going on?

Cranking up the heat to max right from the start?

Did he really think he was here for a barbecue?

Even if he was here for a barbecue, he couldn’t grill it like that. It’ll burn... you know, hon!

"Second Uncle Meng, what are you spacing out for? Keep explaining. Oh... and watch your heat control. Don’t let it burn!" At this moment, Gao Neng raised his head, glanced at the stunned Meng the Second, and offered a friendly reminder.

"..." Meng the Second.

’Burn, my ass!’

’You’re the one who’s going to burn it, aren’t you?’

Meng the Second felt his heart ache. What made it ache even more was that after cranking the first Tripod Cauldron to maximum heat, Gao Neng proceeded to do the same to all the subsequent ones.

It was a real-life demonstration of flash-grilling—soon to be charred to a crisp!

"Amazing!"

"Captain Gao’s high-heat barbecue technique is truly powerful. It’s been a real eye-opener for us!"

"If we get the chance, we must ask Captain Gao for advice. What are the finer points of this high-heat flash-grilling technique? Do you just keep grilling like this, or do you stop midway to scrape off the char?"

A wave of exclamations rose from the crowd.

Gao Neng paid them no mind at all.

He didn’t rely on technique for his alchemy; in fact, he didn’t know any.

Since he didn’t know any techniques, no matter how he tried to fake it, he would definitely be exposed. That being the case, he might as well be straightforward and not even bother pretending from the start.

’Why would someone who relies on a cheat for alchemy care about such tedious steps?’

’Just crank it to the highest heat and grill away!’

’If you all had a cheat, you could also try this high-heat oven method.’

’But if you don’t...’

’Then I can only say, you’re on your own.’

"One, two, three, four, five. All five cauldrons cranked to max heat." Gao Neng left, satisfied. He still had to face his second challenger.

"He just left them like that?"

"He ran off without even watching the fire? He really is here to barbecue!"

"What a character!"

"..."

The surrounding spectators were also rather speechless.

He turned on five Tripod Cauldrons and then ran off to fight on the second front. This kind of alchemy technique was something they had truly never seen nor heard of before.

The alchemist who was speaking at the second challenge station was also a bit dumbfounded when he saw Gao Neng run right up in front of him.

"Huh? Captain Gao, is your challenge over there already finished?" the alchemist asked, blinking.

"Yeah, pretty much. The fires are lit. All that’s left is to wait for the time to be up, then I can open the cauldrons and retrieve the finished pills!" Gao Neng nodded.

"What?! The fires are lit... and you’re just waiting to get the pills?" The alchemist was so shocked he felt a bit faint. Subconsciously, he glanced over in Meng the Second’s direction.

And then he saw them: five small Tripod Cauldrons sitting opposite Meng the Second. The temperature on each was cranked to the max, and they were all sizzling as they spewed hot steam.

Holy cow!

This move was simply incredible!

Even if Meng the Second didn’t want to win, it would be damn near impossible!

"Master, how should I address you?" Gao Neng continued to ask, as if he hadn’t noticed the dark expression on the alchemist’s face.

"Lin Baibai, of the Southwest Lin Family." After stating his name, the alchemist, seemingly aware of how strange it sounded, quickly added, "The ’Bai’ is for ’cypress tree’!"

"Oh, Lin Baibai, nice to meet you. Let’s not waste any time, let’s begin!" Gao Neng smiled. ’Such a unique name. I’ll remember it for sure.’

"Begin? Alright... let’s begin!" The alchemist, Lin Baibai, had long since finished his preparations. Now, hearing Gao Neng’s words, he naturally didn’t delay any further.

The materials for the two of them were quickly distributed.

The alchemist, Lin Baibai, began his pre-challenge explanation.

"The pill I will be refining is called the ’Sea Horse Pill.’ Its main ingredients are sea-attribute Magnetic Crystal Ore, and also a mutated species of marine life, the sea horse. Everyone knows this creature is an aphrodisiac, so the Sea Horse Pill’s effects, besides increasing one’s water attribute, can also streng— huh?!" The alchemist Lin Baibai didn’t get to finish his sentence.

Because Gao Neng had already left.

In front of Lin Baibai now sat several small, three-legged black cauldrons. Each one had been cranked to its highest temperature setting, and white steam was pouring out.

Lin Baibai was stunned.

’Is this really a fucking competition?!’

’Does it have to be this simple!’

’If you were going to compete like this... you might as well have just given me the elemental materials directly! Why go through all this trouble and make me nervous for nothing?’

After being stunned for a full minute, Lin Baibai finally let out a breath of relief.

"Thank Allah! An easy win!" After speaking, Lin Baibai began to inspect the black cauldrons slowly and methodically, not in a hurry at all.

After all, this challenge was about the quantity of finished pills and the success rate, not the speed.

There was truly no need to rush!

...

「In the second-floor private room.」

Li Tiannan was being held back for dear life by Sword Elder and another old man.

"Let me go! I’m going to kill that stinking brat! You all have no idea, do you? This isn’t the first time that little bastard has been so prodigal! He even tips male streamers! Do you know how much he tipped in one go? One hundred million! He just threw away one hundred million Alliance Coins!" Li Tiannan roared. He felt that this time, he had to settle all scores, new and old. As a former War God from the Military Department,

he, Li Tiannan!

would absolutely not allow his apprentice to be so extravagant and wasteful!

"Elder Li, let’s talk this out properly. In any case, killing him is wrong. At most, we’ll break one of his legs first. If you agree to that, I’ll let you go right now!" Sword Elder’s face was also flushed red.

(Went out for some skewers tonight and didn’t get back until after midnight. Can you believe it?)