Chapter 101: alchemy competition
Min-jae stood near the stone railing. His face was frozen in his signature deadpan look, but a deep, noticeable crimson flush was rapidly creeping up his neck beneath his collar. His ears burned a bright, flustered pink. He had his arms casually crossed over his chest, his fingers twitching slightly against his sleeves as he ran through every possible emergency excuse in his head.
Directly in front of him,Yoo Ji-a stood with her hand tightly gripping the wooden shaft of her spear, her long midnight-black ponytail swaying as her violet eyes stared sharp, suspicious needles straight at him. On his left, Medusa leaned her exceptionally voluptuous hourglass figure and heavy chest dangerously close to his shoulder, letting out a low, jealous hiss that made the air feel heavy.
"So you’re telling us..." Yoo Ji-a purred loudly, her face flushing an intense, flustered crimson as she took a sharp step into his personal space. "You spent sixty consecutive days inside a sealed spatial fault, completely isolated from the mainframe, just... purifying raw flame nodes? And absolutely nothing else happened between you two, right,?"
"Nothing," Min-jae muttered flatly, his voice dropping into a low, thoroughly flustered baritone as he looked straight ahead.
He didn’t dare turn his face to look at Liu Xiao, who was standing a few feet away near a stone pillar. Min-jae knew with absolute, terrifying certainty that if the other nine wifes found out about the intense, rough dual-cultivation union that had occurred beneath the World Tree, the entire canyon ridge would instantly transform into a chaotic civil war. They would all literally jump onto him right there to demand their own synchronized contract upgrades.
Liu Xiao smoothed her green-and-white silk gown over her dangerous curves, her exotic emerald eyes flashing with a beautiful, genuinely satisfied smirk. Her pouty red lips curved into a playful pout as she looked at the group. "Our husband’s elements required complete, undivided concentration to lock down the absolute poison immunity, sister Ji-a. The core transaction was purely professional."
"Professional, my foot," Medusa countered smoothly, her large, piercing icy-blue eyes narrowing with a sharp field of pure jealousy as she stepped tightly against Min-jae’s left arm, her full chest heaving against his side. "Your nature meridians look far too refined for a standard filtration cycle, Xiao. But as long as our Sovereign’s health pool is at full capacity, I will let it slide... for now."
Min-jae let out a quiet, internal sigh of immense relief as the high-stakes domestic suspense slowly began to cool down. He adjusted the collar of his black silk lounging shirt, wanting to shift the conversation as fast as possible.
"The local border conflicts are cleared," Min-jae said smoothly, his voice returning to its quiet, absolute authority. "We have the flame and the poison immunity. Let’s return to our home base before the central ancient clans calibrate their tracking arrays."
Medusa’s eyes suddenly lit up with a brilliant, knowing sparkle. Her dark violet lips curved into a proud, triumphant smile as she stepped slightly in front of him, her radiant lavender silk robe billowing in the mountain wind.
"If we are returning home, husband, we do not need to walk or use the old transport arrays," Medusa voiced softly, her low, seductive melody of glass sending a thrill of curiosity through the entire harem. "While I was separated from you in the underground vaults of that ancient mansion, I didn’t just find standard chests. I uncovered a sealed, high-tier inheritance key."
She raised her slender, pale hand, channeling a thread of her royal demon lineage straight into a small, glowing dark-iron token in her palm. "Watch."
A colossal, earth-shaking rumble violently vibrated through the entire volcanic valley. The thick crimson clouds above the canyon completely parted as a massive, reality-warping spatial rift tore open in the sky. Descending slowly from the rift was an exceptionally grand, ultra-luxury flying vessel—The Sun-Crested Sky-Clipper.
The ship was absolutely gargantuan, stretching hundreds of feet long. It was beautifully constructed out of spiritual teakwood and reinforced with heavy dark-iron plating, its massive wooden oars pulsing with pure nature-law energy. The interior decks were lined with soft velvet carpets, private luxury cultivation suites, and an immaculate grand lounge designed for absolute comfort. It was a spectacular, floating sanctuary that completely out-scaled any transport in the lower planes.
"Oh my god..." Han Chae-won barked happily, her cheeks puffed up with high-energy financial excitement as she stared upward. "That ship is worth millions of high-tier spirit crystals! Look at the wood grain!"
"It is fully powered by the ambient energy of the higher realm," Medusa explained proudly, her face flushing a beautiful pink as she turned back to Min-jae, her eyes pooled with pure, adoring infatuation. "It belongs entirely to your throne room now, my Lord. Let us travel in the comfort you deserve."
Min-jae looked up at the magnificent vessel, a cold, dark, and highly calculated grin slowly spreading across his handsome face. "Good work, Medusa. Everyone, get on board."
The family smoothly boarded the giant vessel, the heavy wooden doors gliding shut with a soft click to completely isolate them from the outside world. Min-jae walked straight out onto the wide, open-air wooden deck, leaning his forearms calmly against the polished wooden railing as the ship smoothly lifted into the upper cloud rifts of the West Continent.
As the giant ship glided peacefully over the rugged peaks, passing over bustling trade towns and deep mountain valleys, Min-jae tracked a highly peculiar phenomenon down below. In every single valley and public plaza, hundreds of powerful higher-plane cultivators were gathered in massive groups, furiously heating large bronze cauldrons and collecting massive baskets of glowing silver spirit-herbs to refine medicinal pills.
"Why is everyone suddenly hoarding raw herbs and boiling cauldrons down there?" Min-jae asked, his low baritone carrying a quiet, genuine curiosity.
The stunning Ice Goddess, Gu Bylai, walked smoothly out from the pavilion doors, her white and pale ice-blue traditional dress drifting gracefully like frozen mist in the wind. Her alluring icy-blue eyes held a sharp, serious focus as she stepped right up next to him, her smooth fingers gently resting on the polished wood railing right beside his hand.
"They are preparing for the grandest event of the sector, husband," Gu Bylai explained softly, her voice sounding like a delicate chime of crystal. "In exactly three months, The Ultimate Alchemy Competition will be held at the Pillars of the Alchemist—the sacred, neutral sanctuary of the high realms. Every single top-tier ancient clan will deploy their highest elders, and even the most legendary Master Alchemists of the universe will descend onto the plaza to compete."
Han Seo-yoon stepped up to his other side, her sapphire-blue eyes remarkably wide. "It’s a massive gathering, Savior. And inside our entire vanguard team... only sister Bylai knows the intricate laws of cauldron refinement. The rest of our skills are strictly built for combat execution."
"The texts say the stakes are completely unhinged this century, boss!" Han Chae-won yelled from the doorway. "Whoever wins the first-place seat gets a Divine Reward—an ancient, legendary treasure item that can permanently multiply our family’s spiritual income by three hundred percent!"
Min-jae listened, his cold, calculated focus returning instantly as his internal core pulsed with heat. He looked down at the pulsing energy fields of the cauldrons below, a cold grin touching his lips. He turned his face back toward the stunning Ice Goddess standing beside him.
"Then it’s decided," Min-jae said smoothly, his voice carrying an absolute authority that instantly quieted the deck. He placed his strong hand gently on Gu Bylai’s slender shoulder, his golden eyes flashing with a commanding focus that made her porcelain face flush a beautiful, deep crimson with absolute adoration. "Bylai, you will formally enter the competition after three months. The ancient clans think they can hoard the divine reward for themselves, but our family ledger doesn’t leave resources behind. Spend the next ninety days refining the silver spirit-herbs we strip-mined from the jade cave. We are going to take their highest alchemy throne."
"Yes, husband!" Gu Bylai whispered breathlessly, her heart racing violently as she leaned her soft, silk-draped curves tightly against his chest, her eyes wide with an intense, fanatical love.
Yoo Ji-a and Medusa immediately let out a loud, synchronous huff of pure, playful jealousy, marching straight over to squeeze their own voluptuous silhouettes back into his personal space, their hands tightly locking around his arms as the magnificent wooden ship smoothly sailed toward the three-month countdown.