Guezheng cast an identification technique, smashing a golden magic flower on the arm shield, revealing it to be a Level 4 Magic Spirit Weapon, the Swallowtail Shield. It could release five Level 4 earthen and metallic composite magic "War God's Protection" within a day.
Magic Spirit Weapons were only one level below Divine Artifacts in terms of high-level magical weapons. From stored magic weapons, enchanted weapons, magical tools, to magic spirit weapons, there were seven levels within each tier.
Guezheng chuckled, "The Grand Prince's gift to you is quite generous. It seems he values you greatly." Dekemont replied, "He doesn't value me, he just wants me to help him defeat the Third Prince."
The arm shield was a very small shield, with a defense area similar to that of a arm guard but tougher than the latter. This Swallowtail Shield, in particular, was exceptional among arm shields. It had two steel buckles on the back of the narrow diamond-shaped shield, which could latch onto armor.
There was a commotion outside, and Guezheng asked, "What's going on?" Koming rushed out and returned angrily after a while, "Sir, Shala Yaga organized a cheerleading team for Laurent, parading with drumbeats and gongs in front of our door."
This was evidently a display of arrogance. Guezheng's opinion of this Laurent plummeted further. Did he really not know how he had won? Was he genuinely prideful about such a victory?
"Let's ignore them. We'll set out after they leave," Guezheng said.
However, it seemed that the group outside had specifically come for Guezheng, lingering and refusing to leave. Seeing that the time was almost up, Dekemont's complexion turned grim, "I'll have my private guards drive them away!" Guezheng shook his head, "It's not worth the conflict. Let's just leave."
As soon as Guezheng appeared, the crowd dispersed. Shala, still dressed in fiery red, sat proudly on her high horse, disdainfully saying, "Well, if it isn't the alchemy master who's lost three times in a row?" Her sycophants followed with laughter, the music becoming unusually loud.
Feifei, angered, rushed forward to confront Shala. Guezheng quickly held her back, "Don't say too much here. It will only provide her with more fodder. Dekemont, have the guards clear a path. Let's go for the competition."
Dekemont, feeling agitated, grunted and loudly ordered, "Soldiers, clear a path, do not harm the innocent!" The addition of this last phrase frightened their opponents. Most of Shala's people were outside the city, and there were only a few dozen attendants inside the city. Most of them were hired street riffraff; how could they dare offend Dekemont? "Not to harm the innocent" meant that they could freely "harm" those who were not "innocent."
The guards understood their master's intentions and split into two teams, lining up on the left and right. They put down their knight's spears with a crisp sound, their spearheads facing outward, protecting Guezheng and the others as they left. Shala dared not stop them and moved aside, derisively saying, "Look at you, so imposing. After tonight, let's see what else you have to say!"
"Teacher, you really have such great patience!" Miss Feifei said indignantly.
Guezheng raised his eyebrows, revealing a hint of ferocity, "I'm also restraining myself. That's why, in tonight's match, I must teach Laurent a lesson…"
The Imperial Palace was beautifully adorned, with a long red carpet laid from the gate to the square. Adorned in formal attire, the royal guards stood on both sides.
With the resounding of magical salutes, the ceremonial music played as ambassadors from various countries entered, their names loudly announced by the host.
Guezheng and Dekemont did not need to walk the red carpet. They entered through a side door and, guided by the guards, arrived at the resting place for competitors. "Please do not wander aimlessly. If you need anything, just call the guards by the door."
With all the guests present, Emperor Meinjeff IV slowly walked out amidst the grand and majestic music, accompanied by two elderly men. One of them was well-known, the Empire's Chief Alchemist, Master Beatro; the other was an unfamiliar face, but judging by Beatro's respectful attitude, this old man had an extraordinary background.
The Emperor sat steadily on a large red fur-covered chair, exchanged pleasantries with the envoy from various countries, and then turned to the chief alchemist, saying, "Master Beatro, please introduce this great master to everyone."
Beatro stepped forward and said, "Ladies and gentlemen..." His amplified voice carried to every corner of the square, ensuring that everyone could hear him clearly. "I am honored to introduce to you the respectable Codex Master, Master Benart!"
Ah! A surprised murmur arose. The ambassadors and aristocrats from various countries, and the officials of the Empire, all stood up to bow to the great master. Master Benart always maintained a solemn demeanor, his responses dignified and just right.
Lord Benat is well-known in the guild for his fairness and strictness, and generally does not easily leave the guild to attend any events. Having such a significant figure in the alchemist guild on the streets, has greatly helped the development of alchemy in his own country.
The envoys of various countries clearly saw the proud look in the eyes of King Mezhev IV, and were all jealous.
Master Benat said, "Everyone, today's matter is also related to me, so I will explain it to everyone."
The envoys were somewhat relieved; it turned out that he was not being wooed by the Austan Empire.
Lord Benat finished speaking and retreated to his position, not uttering a word again.
King Mezhev IV gestured to his chief alchemist, and Master Betlow stepped forward and said, "The Codex Minister from the guild headquarters has brought three magical items, among which time will be accelerated, specifically prepared for today's competition. Inside, three days will seem like the time for one meal outside. Now, let's start the pre-competition show for the final royal challenge: the alchemy competition!"
The envoys more or less understood that this was a method to resolve the dispute among the three southern duchies. In fact, most of them were secretly pleased and hoped that this competition would cause some trouble. If the south of the empire was not stable, then the northern front would be affected, and the internal strife in Austa was exactly what the various countries hoped to see.
Under the guard's lead, Ge Zheng and two others stepped onto the platform, with the mysterious Nubero wearing a metal mask.
Master Betlow unfolded an alchemical equation, and the image magic projected the equation onto a huge magical screen so that all the envoys present could see it clearly. "This is the alchemical equation that caused the dispute among the three southern countries. Rumor has it that this is an equation that can produce the Solomon Demon Pillar and has Lord Benat's certification. Now, let Lord Benat himself answer."
Benat stood up again, and his certification and the equation floated in the air when his hands lifted. The Codex Minister silently chanted a spell, and the certification emitted golden threads of light. These threads connected with the alchemical equation through different angles and methods. That established the magic association of the certification.
Benat said, "Yes, this certification was issued by me. However, please take a look..." It was unclear what method he used, but those threads, finer than hair, were gradually magnified until they were as thick as a finger.
"Ah, there seems to be a problem!" Someone had already noticed. After magnification, it was possible to see that these magic associations were uneven in thickness.
Master Betlow magnified it a bit more, making it clearer. "Everyone saw it—someone has tampered with the magic associations, grafting the certification of another equation onto this equation. So, this equation is a fake."
After he finished speaking, he returned to his position. But people were already murmuring in their hearts: the equation is fake, which means the certification is real. This means that, indeed, there exists an equation in this world capable of producing the Solomon Demon Pillar. The whereabouts of this equation will now fall into the hands of this Codex Minister. At that moment, many gazes turned toward Benat. The Codex Minister seemed to have seen nothing, his face as cold and stern as usual.
"Well, your dispute has been explained." King Mezhev IV stood up and said, "Miss Feifei, Miss Shala, and a prince from the Selkin Kingdom quickly stood up and bowed to the emperor, "Thank you, Your Majesty."
"Now, the alchemy competition begins," announced Master Betlow loudly.
"The winning side will keep this alchemical equation, and Your Majesty will also reward the winning alchemist with a hundred thousand gold coins!" The envoys from various countries clapped while silently criticizing, having long heard that King Mezhev IV was a miser, and indeed, it was true.
"Now, we will showcase an alchemical equation treasured in the royal treasury, one that has never been deciphered. His Majesty has permitted this alchemical equation to be used as today's test. Alchemists, please prepare your answers and a list of required materials, and then begin the alchemy process."
What Benat brought were three alchemical lamps that, when hung from the ceiling, would accelerate the flow of time within the area of the illuminated light. This was also a treasure of the Alchemist Guild, discovered by a team of adventurers in an ancient ruin several hundred years ago and had never been successfully replicated.
Below the stage, guards carried in three small flimsy wooden houses to serve as alchemy laboratories. The magicians from the Imperial Magic Guild had set up one barrier after another around the periphery.
"Please look!" Master Betlow said. Three men raised their heads to look at the magical screen, causing a stir underneath.
Although not alchemists, the nobles were always devoted to alchemy. Even if they couldn't personally experiment, they had some understanding. They were quite clear about what an alchemical equation looked like, but what was displayed on the magical screen this time wasn't a pattern but a passage of text!
Even the ever frosty face of Master Benat couldn't help but twitch. His lips moved, as if to say something, but he stopped.
Ge Zheng was greatly surprised. This was the second unusual equation he had seen recently—in addition to the human body equation, there was now the text equation.
This passage was written in an ancient magical language and was very obscure. If Ge Zheng hadn't recently studied magical languages again, he would have been at a loss - it happened to be the Saria Quantum Magic Language!
Ge Zheng glanced at the two beside him. Lorent was confident, while Nubero, wearing the mask, showed no expression.
This passage was translated into ordinary language and meant: "The god of the sun, also known as the Queen of Heaven, the world's right eye, or the bud of fire, must perform the sacred marriage in the womb using the air of the rift, to perfect the queen of heaven. This will be presided over by a winged godfather and will take place in the poet’s domain. A tree growing in a warm, humid environment will transform into the earthly sun, namely the queen of the earth."
"Everyone, have you made your choices?" Master Betlow asked, thinking to himself that I certainly couldn't find the answer.
Lorent was the first to raise his hand and said, "I have my answer!" Master Betlow looked at him in surprise, and Shala, below, displayed her satisfaction by glancing at Feifei.
"Then, please list your materials, and then you may enter the laboratory," Master Betlow said. Lorent stepped forward and wrote down his list of materials at the table. A guard took it to have Master Betlow review it, and after scanning it, he frowned slightly, hesitated for a moment but didn't say anything, handing the list to the guard. "Go fetch these from the royal warehouse."
Lorent chose a laboratory and, when the materials were brought, he entered the laboratory.
"What about you two?" Master Betlow asked. Ge Zheng heard Nubero beside him muttering repeatedly, exactly the passage that was read out, the standard pronunciation of the Saria Quantum Magic Language.
Ge Zheng carefully considered for a moment, and the two almost simultaneously said, "I have my answer." Master Betlow smiled, "Indeed, you are the heroes of the younger generation. Alright, list your materials too."
The two tables were far apart, and the two couldn't see each other's list of materials. After writing them down, a guard took them to the Imperial Chief Alchemist for review. Master Betlow didn't say anything, simply saying, "Go get your materials."
All three had already entered their respective laboratories. Master Betlow smiled, "Alchemists have begun, and now, it's the climax of this royal challenge, the night of the final battle!"
The royal music group sounded the clarion loudly and fireworks shot up. Delcmon and the third prince, each dressed in glorious armor, walked slowly from both sides of the platform.
Both of them mounted the platform, knelt before His Majesty the Emperor, and got up. King Mezhev IV lifted a hand and said, "You may rise. The winner of this competition will receive a reward of a prosperous city!"
This was customary, and no one was surprised.
"My warriors, are you ready?" The emperor picked up a handkerchief, and the third prince and Delcmon both pounded their chests and said, "We are ready, Your Majesty."
"Then, I announce, the match begins!" The white handkerchief was prominent in the dark night, and as it fell, both mounted beasts roared and leaped onto the platform together. Delcmon made a graceful turn, leaping into the air and performing a 360-degree turn, landing steadily on Anounda's back.
The third prince had also mounted his beast, donned his face mask, and mocked, "Delcmon, your beast has a stroke of luck, but this time, it won't be so lucky!"
After understanding the third prince's words, Anounda, the mount, roared and began to shake and kick frantically, its eyes turning bloodshot. Delcmon calmed his mount, "Anounda, calm down."
The third prince nonchalantly took a glove from the saddle and put it on, then picked up his demon longsword.
"Hoo, hoo..." A flurry of black sword shadows, and the third prince had already drawn a dozen sword flowers in the blink of an eye. "Delcmon, die with your lame lizards this time!"
The first strike from the third prince, full of aggression, was quickly ended in a panic. In a hurry, he restrained his mount, replaced his sword with one hand, and touched his face, leaving a bloody mark from the broken mask.
"Hahaha..." A burst of laughter erupted from the audience, making the third prince infuriated and embarrassed that things had turned out this way.
He couldn't afford to dwell on this, De Montfort immediately lunged forward with the Xun Wolf Lizard, transforming into a blur of gray shadow, charging forward like lightning.
In the simple laboratory, the most prominent item was the magical lamp emitting a soft white light above. Walking into the light, he felt no discomfort, but Greed was eager to dismantle it and see its mysteries. However, it wasn't the time for such a task.
"The Heavenly Sun, also known as the Queen of the Sky, the World's Right Eye, or the Bud of Fire, in order to perfect the Queen of the Sky, a sacred wedding must be held in her womb through the earth-splitting aura, presided over by the winged godfather, in the poet's realm. A tree growing in a warm and humid environment undergoes a transformation into the worldly sun, the Earth Queen." He murmured these words in the language of Sayan Quantum Magic, pronouncing no different from Nubiro.
This passage was full of obscure implications; each word held a meaning different from its literal one. Sayan Quantum Magic served only as a record here, having completely lost its primary function as a magical language.
The Heavenly Sun, the Queen of the Sky, the World's Right Eye, and the Bud of Fire, would definitely not be the same substance, Greed surmised they should be the initial four raw materials of alchemy.
A tree growing in a warm and humid environment was an additional material halfway through the process.
The earth-splitting aura and the winged godfather were additives and catalysts in the alchemical process.
The poet's realm and the womb were containers for the reaction.
The sacred wedding was the process of the reaction.
The worldly sun, or the Earth Queen, was the final product.
The Heavenly Sun was easy to understand, representing gold. Naturally symbolizing a divine metal, Greed concluded it to be refined gold.
Although not gold, refined gold was also golden in color. Similar to the function of mercury, adding a small amount of refined gold to ordinary metal could greatly enhance its hardness, creating excellent weapons.
The Queen of the Sky wasn't as easy to decipher. Sky should represent the air element, but following this line of thought, the pairing of "Sky" and "Queen" couldn't be explained.
If Sky didn't represent the air element... Greed thought of another possibility, the ocean. Only the ocean could rival the vastness of the sky, and alchemists often used a cryptographic method, which was to speak backward.
The Queen could represent silver or mercury.
Greed guessed that this phrase should refer to deep-sea sand. It was also a material with very unique properties, rarely used for forging weapons and armor, but often used as a raw material for crafting alchemical timers.
The World's Right Eye, in alchemy there exists the doctrine of dual origins, mercury and sulfur. The Right Eye should refer to mercury, or rather, liquid mercury.
The Bud of Fire immediately made Greed think of a volcanic pit, likely meaning volcanic ash.
The four elements had a parallel relationship, meaning each material was equally important.
A tree growing in a warm and humid environment truly made Greed ponder, and his answer was: copper. The reason that couldn't be explained was that often in solving equations, the most important thing was intuition, because not all encryption followed a rule.
The earth-splitting aura, Greed surmised to be silica, and the winged godfather... the wings referred to a unified body composed of the four elements, which had been explained in some alchemical works. In this context, another catalyst was an egg.
The womb represented a furnace, and the poet's realm was another headache. Greed's conjecture was a bath of ice.
The wedding represented integration, and a sacred wedding naturally involved dissolving and merger.
As for what the final worldly sun, or the Earth Queen represented, only by creating it would it be known.
When Greed's alchemy reached a critical moment, the battle of the knights on the platform also reached its climax. After the Third Prince stabilized his position, he and De Montfort fought steadily. De Montfort's Swallowtail Shield saved him twice, and the Third Prince's expensive armor also saved him several times.
De Montfort could no longer remember how many times his double crescent blade and the Third Prince's Winged Demon Blade had clashed, and the Xun Wolf Lizard and the Exploding Flame Tiger were both panting, the fierce battle causing both sides to expend a tremendous amount of energy.
Behind De Montfort's face mask, sweat poured down from his forehead, trickling down in the shadows like little snakes, the salty sweat seeping through his eyebrows, making his eyes sting.
The Third Prince was not in a much better state, his golden hair was now plastered to his forehead, and it wiggled like a yellow worm. His Winged Demon Blade was held upside down, completely devoid of its initial vigor.
Both sides knew that the next strike would be their last, neither of them had the ability to unleash another deadly move.
The atmosphere on the platform became grim, both of them crouched down, preparing to launch a final strike.
Just then, a discordant note sounded out, its volume unusually high...
"Boom!" An explosion rocked the laboratory.