Despite the difficult situation of the Lijian family, Mian licang still managed to reach an agreement in secret with Clan Leader Jingxiang through his exceptional talent.
Soon, the Lijian family and the Jingxiang family each dispatched family members to visit Hua Ni in the Ice Sculpture Royal Capital.
Hua Ni was a power-wielding elder of the Alchemy Guild, specializing in controlling the guild’s Magic Potion Domain.
Members of the Lijian family and the Jingxiang family successively expressed to Hua Ni their desire to have the mercenary Mage Yao Ma (Zi Di) from the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps eliminated.
The heavy gifts they carried also conveyed their sincerity to Hua Ni.
"Lord Long Fu possesses the potential of the Holy Domain, forcing the Lijian family and the Jingxiang family to secretly reach some kind of tacit understanding and come to discuss with me one after another. Hehehe." Naturally, Hua Ni accepted the heavy gifts from both parties and immediately promised to do her utmost to eliminate Yao Ma.
Zi Di released a mount magic potion, opening a blue ocean in the Magic Potion Market. Hua Ni realized the enormous potential of this business right from the start, but regrettably, at that time, she was overwhelmed with other important duties.
By the time she was free to focus her energy, Zi Di had already launched the second and third mount magic potions, causing an even greater sensation in the market.
At that time, Elder Jiu Jin, acting as an envoy, was also caught off guard by Zi Di and was forced to represent the Alchemy Guild in signing a wager contract with Zi Di.
As long as the wager was successful, the Alchemy Guild could later surpass and seize the early achievements of the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps, suddenly becoming the owner of the largest market share of mount magic potions in the Ice Sculpture Kingdom.
Therefore, eliminating Yao Ma (Zi Di) was originally Hua Ni’s idea.
The difficulty of the first assessment question was greatly increased under Hua Ni’s instructions.
This time, members of the Lijian family and the Jingxiang family approached her one after another, further strengthening Hua Ni’s determination.
After thinking for a while, she called for Elder Jiu Jin and instructed him to change the second assessment question.
Elder Jiu Jin was astonished after hearing the details: "To alchemize a puppet capable of autonomous combat on the spot? And it has to win a battle against the Ice Sculpture Guards of the Royal Capital to advance to the next round?"
He stared at Elder Hua Ni: "This is far too difficult! This challenge could eliminate 99% of the contestants, and even the remaining 1% would have to be extremely lucky."
Although Elder Jiu Jin’s alchemy ability was considered among the weakest of the elders, he was knowledgeable.
The key to the assessment question proposed by Hua Ni was "autonomous combat."
This meant that regardless of the size, alchemizing a puppet would be an enormous project. This step alone was already very difficult.
Furthermore, having to defeat the Ice Sculpture Guards of the Royal Capital directly intensified the difficulty!
Hua Ni smiled and said, "I am aware of the severity."
"Therefore, this alchemy assessment is a cooperative project, and the participants can form teams of up to three people."
"So it’s a cooperative alchemy project, which drastically reduces the workload, making it more feasible." Elder Jiu Jin sighed.
He was still worried: "Then what will be the standard for the Ice Sculpture Guards responsible for the assessment?"
Hua Ni replied, "Silver Level will suffice."
Elder Jiu Jin furrowed his brows, thought for a while, and still shook his head: "Even so, the difficulty of this assessment is extremely high. I worry the pass rate won’t exceed 30%."
"If we conduct the assessment this way, it would look awful."
"People outside would say that our Ice Sculpture Kingdom can’t afford to lose, deliberately increasing the difficulty and opening the backdoor for our own people."
Hua Ni pondered for a moment: "Then let’s loosen the restrictions a bit more and allow participating mages to use an extra external material."
Elder Jiu Jin listened, his brows slightly relaxed, yet he still shook his head.The source of thɪs content is .ɴet
But Hua Ni stretched out her hand to stop him, stating with determination, "No more talking, do it this way."
Elder Jiu Jin smiled wryly: "Elder Hua Ni, since the assessment content has been changed and in such a significant way, shouldn’t it be reported to the Chairman? If he disagrees, we will be in trouble."
Hua Ni said, "I will go."
After taking leave from Hua Ni, Elder Jiu Jin went worriedly to find Zi Di.
Zi Di sighed upon hearing the news: "I didn’t expect Master Hua Ni to be so determined to deal with me!"
Elder Jiu Jin looked at her with a worried expression: "Your squad leader, Lord Long Fu, has shown the potential of the Holy Domain, which should be the main factor prompting Elder Hua Ni to make this decision."
"Additionally, I also found out that the envoys from the Lijian family and the Jingxiang family visited Elder Hua Ni successively."
With Elder Jiu Jin present, Zi Di successfully obtained internal intelligence.
Zi Di gasped: "These two families are actually teaming up in secret?"
Originally, the Jingxiang family and the Lijian family were supposed to be rivals, but now they have secretly allied.
At the very least, they’ve reached some sort of tacit understanding.
Elder Jiu Jin, with his weakness in Zi Di’s hands, had no choice but to provide advice: "Mage Yao Ma, passing the second assessment is highly challenging for you."
"You can’t do it alone."
"The assessment standard allows up to three people, and even two people struggling to form a team might not suffice."
"So, you need to find at least two trustworthy participants in the competition, ensuring they are not spies sent by those two families or the guild."
Zi Di’s face was solemn; this kind of cooperative alchemy assessment severely targeted outsiders like them.
Zi Di fell into a dilemma.
How could she find trustworthy people in such a short time?
The ten-thousand-year-old Ice Lake.
The thousand-year-old ice layer.
An alchemy laboratory is set up above the ice layer.
Through the window of the alchemy laboratory, Cang Xu’s eyes are blazing as he fully appreciates the exceptional ecological scenery in the Ice Lake.
Suddenly, streams of light flashed through the pale lake water.
Golden streams of light resembling a mighty dragon seemed to undulate through the vast white mist.
Each streak of golden light emitted a powerful aura, surging grandly, leaving Cang Xu shocked.
The Undead Master appeared behind him at this moment, placing a hand on Cang Xu’s shoulder to reassure him: "Do not worry, the Ten-thousand-year-old Dragon Formation is still in its initial setup and not yet a threat to us."
After the Undead Master secretly led Cang Xu and the ship ghost away from the White Hair Sea Trench, they infiltrated the Ice Sculpture Kingdom.
They stealthily traversed many areas, eventually arriving underground beneath the Ice Sculpture Royal Capital.
The Ice Sculpture Royal Capital is built upon the ice layer of the ten-thousand-year-old Ice Lake, with numerous alchemy laboratories, temples, and even mage towers among other structures.
Moreover, transmissions are unrestricted in the Ice Sculpture Royal Capital, enabling Cang Xu to easily venture into the Ice Lake.
After acquiring some knowledge from the Undead Master, Cang Xu learned that the Undead Master had long ago deceived his way into successfully applying within the Royal Capital, and established his own alchemy laboratory within the Ice Lake.
Yet Cang Xu was first hearing about the "Ten-thousand-year-old Dragon Formation" today, prompting immediate inquiry.
The Undead Master, fond of mentoring, explained with a reflective tone: "The Ten-thousand-year-old Dragon Formation is a super magic array, secretly initiated very early by the Ice Sculpture Royal Family."
"This generation’s King finally achieved a preliminary completion of this array. What you just saw was the array starting up."
"The Royal Family’s purpose in constructing this array is primarily to assert control over the ten-thousand-year-old Ice Lake."
"The Ice Lake national policy of the Ice Sculpture Kingdom forms the core of their alchemy policy. This national policy has played a significant role in the Kingdom achieving such elite alchemy standards."
"However, as time progressed, the policy’s drawbacks gradually accumulated, becoming increasingly severe."
"Take us, for instance—we easily arrived here. It’s conceivable that within the numerous structures on the ten-thousand-year-old Ice Lake, many dark forces exist, posing immense threats to the Ice Sculpture Royal Family’s control."
"Additionally, regarding the domestic political landscape of the Ice Sculpture Kingdom, the Royal Family urgently needs full control over the ten-thousand-year-old Ice Lake, this super resource point, to gain leverage and coerce major noble factions such as the Cold Jade family."
The Undead Master, well-versed in the Ice Sculpture Kingdom’s situation, explained clearly.
Cang Xu asked: "What exactly is the power of the Ten-thousand-year-old Dragon Formation?"
The Undead Master displayed a rare serious expression: "It’s a divine-level super magic array! Because its primary component is the lake water of the ten-thousand-year-old Ice Lake, it possesses grand power concerning time."
"Based on my current reconnaissance, the combination of magic runes within it can form at least eighty different time spells."
"The Ice Sculpture Royal Family, after generations of strive, finally achieved such results."
"With it, the Ice Sculpture Royal Family gains the confidence to stand against the deities."
"However, as of now, this Ten-thousand-year-old Dragon Formation has only achieved preliminary success and is in the testing stage, not fully activated."
"We are safe for now."
"After this national ceremony, this alchemy laboratory here cannot be visited again."
Cang Xu pondered briefly, then suddenly asked: "Does the Royal Family intend to control the ten-thousand-year-old Ice Lake, do the major domestic noble factions of the Ice Sculpture Kingdom agree?"
"Hehehe." The Undead Master patted Cang Xu’s shoulder, "This is where the intrigue lies."
The Chairman of the Alchemy Guild quietly departed from the core of the Ten-thousand-year-old Dragon Formation, weary in body and mind, transmitting back to the Alchemy Guild.
The workload of testing the super magic array grew increasingly burdensome for him.
The Alchemy Guild Chairman wasn’t particularly outstanding in abilities; his greatest quality is loyalty!
Thus, he was repeatedly appointed by the Royal Family, becoming an essential member of the testing work.
Just as he sat down, the study door was knocked on.
The Guild Master sighed, "Come in."
Elder Hua Ni entered directly to the point: "Regarding the second examination of the Warm Snow Cup, I think we should make some changes."
As he spoke, Hua Ni extended a plan document.
The Chairman swiftly reviewed it, knitting his brows slightly, then glanced at Hua Ni: "Such significant changes haven’t occurred before. For a mere Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps, is all this really necessary?"
Hua Ni replied simply: "Think about Long Fu; he possesses the potential for the Holy Domain."
The Chairman took a deep breath and set the plan document down: "I’ve approved it."
He continued: "Recently, the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps applied to the Guild for a large number of alchemy laboratory slots, which I will endeavor to delay."
Hua Ni chuckled: "They are severing ties with the Lijian family. Applying for alchemy laboratories in the Royal Capital, quite likely to engage in magic potion production."
"That ambitious group—we must first thwart their aspirations in the Warm Snow Cup and win this wager, so we can manage them in the future."
The Chairman nodded: "You’re right."