A group of 10 red-robed men and women stood outside his house, all with murderous expressions on their faces. Nelson was standing in the middle. His face was deformed, his nose was flattened, his red robes were made even redder due to the blood, and he stared at Harry like he was going to kill him.
An enormous crowd of people stood a distance behind the Alchemists. For a moment, Harry thought the entire Swan Sea Sect had shown up to his door. He saw nearly all the Outer Disciples, some Inner Disciples, workers, even a handful of Elders were there. Among them were Elders Emery and Eustace, who just looked at Harry helplessly, like they were looking at a lost cause.
"James, do you know your crime?" Nelson spat when he saw Harry walk out his house.
"Does your nose still hurt?" Harry taunted.
Immediately, Nelson turned wild with rage.
As a disciple of the Alchemy Hall, he was treated respectfully everywhere he went. Once people saw his red robes, they didn't dare to offend him in any way. In the past, he and his fellow Alchemists ran amuck among the Outer Disciples, and treated them however they liked. Nobody raised a single complaint.
Once the last group of Outer Disciples became Inner Disciples, there weren't many people left who he could bully around – only the workers, and they usually didn't have anything worth bullying around for. He longed for the day the next batch of Outer Disciples would join the sect.
Nelson was ecstatic when the Swan Sea Sect decided to suddenly hold another recruitment event. And even better, there were Earth Grade Beast Flames in the Missions Hall! Alchemists needed special types of flames for the pill concoction process, so Nelson immediately set his sights on it. But there was no way he could earn those flames with his own ability, and even though he was an Alchemist, he didn't have the power to forcefully take a reward from the Missions Hall. He could only hope that an Outer Disciple would actually complete it, so he could then get the reward for himself.
As an Alchemist, Nelson was a well-connected person. He heard a man named James was slowly completing the task, and he waited until the last day to intercept the rewards. In his mind, the Beast Flames were as good as his. He was so used to taking whatever he liked that he didn't even consider that James might object.
He was an Alchemist, a king compared to the lowly Outer Disciples. If a king wanted something, he took it. How could anyone refuse him?
But this time, one of those lowly disciples actually struck him!
Not just that, he was robbed! He set out to rob James, but was actually robbed himself!
And now, he was being mocked in front of the rest of the sect!
"James, you have big dog guts!" he roared. "You better follow me for your punishment right now!"
"Ok, let's go to the whipping post. Whip me 180 times, and let's see if you can even leave a scratch," Harry laughed.
Now that he was at the 8th level of the Body Tempering Realm, his body was naturally stronger. Even if he didn't use Strengthening Flesh, this fatty posed no danger at all.
Nelson faltered as he suddenly remembered a crucial detail. James' body was unnaturally tough. The very first day James entered the Swan Sea Sect, he beat up a teacher. And after the teacher whipped him, James was completely uninjured.
If the teacher couldn't hurt James, then how was he supposed to?
All of a sudden, he felt a sense of hopelessness. If he were to really whip James, not only would it be pointless, the one to be humiliated would be himself. But if he didn't whip James, then people would say he couldn't even administer a punishment. Both options made him look weaker, and James stronger. He didn't know what to do.
Fortunately, one of his friends spared him from responding.
"A little Outer Disciple like you dares to act up before us? Don't you know what it means to attack an Alchemist? I'll give you only one chance – follow us to the Alchemy Hall, and kneel in front of the entrance for three days and three nights. Otherwise, I'll make your life at the Swan Sea Sect a living hell."
"Shut the fuck up. If you open your mouth again, I'll make you even uglier than Nelson. Do you really think I'm scared of you?"
"Do you dare to attack me?" the Alchemist sneered.
Without another word, Harry leapt towards the idiotic man, preparing on giving him a beating too. Was it really possible to be this stupid? Some people could only be cured through physical medicine.
"Wait, wait!" another Alchemist hurriedly said, putting herself between the incoming James and the now-frightened Alchemist.
"Just return the Beast Flames and pills you took from Nelson. Then we'll consider the matter finished. How's that?"
"Return the Beast Flames?" Harry echoed mockingly. "Are you an idiot too? Those flames were mine in the first place! And as for the pills, well, they're mine now. What? Don't tell me you can rob me, but I can't rob you?"
"You – what sort of logic is that? How dare you rob an Alchemist! And even if Nelson tried to rob you, he didn't attack you! Why did you attack him then?"
"Why did I attack him? Because he was displeasing to my eyes, that's why. Anyways, if Nelson wants to whip me, then tell him to get on with it. And if not, then you all can scram."
These Alchemists were far too disappointing. The first Alchemist he met was Slughorn, who was kind and helped him beyond measure. The other Alchemist he met, at the Ox Ford City market, ended up being a kind woman too. As such, Harry developed a belief that all Alchemists were like that, good-natured and benevolent.
Now he realized how stupid he was. Trash was found everywhere, no matter the profession.
"James, you better watch your attitude! Don't you know the consequences of attacking an Alchemist? Even if we can't hurt you through a whip, we have other ways! No one in the sect will ever sell you a pill! How will you reach the Qi Absorption Realm then?"
To that threat, Harry just laughed again.
"So what? Why would I bother buying your pill when I can just take them from Nelson? And if he doesn't have any, well, I've remembered all your faces. When I need some, I'll go looking for you all."
The Alchemist paled as he finally realized what sort of person James was. Up until this point, he was still thinking about scaring James with his status. He thought if he threatened James a couple more times, then James would drop the tough act and give in. He, along with Nelson and the other Alchemists, were so used to bullying that it was their second nature.
But now he understood who he was dealing with. All the rumors were true. James was a madman who dared to do anything, without any sense of decent behavior. Others would go out of their way to appease and flatter an Alchemist. But James didn't care at all.
"Remember, in this world, there is only strength. You Alchemists must be the only people stupid enough to rob someone stronger than you. Would you rob a Sect Elder? Would you rob the Sect Master? Do you even dare to rob an Inner Disciple? You think just because your robes are red you can do as you please and take my Beast Flames? I suspect you've been concocting pills for so long the fumes have rotted your brain."
The Alchemists had no way to deal with the person in front of them. It was their first time someone ever talked back to them, and they didn't know what to do. They were never treated with so much disrespect.
Suddenly, a commotion broke out among the spectators.
"That's right," an Outer Disciple called out. "Last week, you robbed my Qi Crystals! If you have guts, go try and rob James!"
"Didn't you force me to trade my merit points for your ruined herbs? If they do it again, I'll beat them up just like James did! Who's with me? We'll be known as the ones who fought back!"
It was like the floodgates had broken. In just a couple weeks, the Alchemists used their status to bully a significant number of Outer Disciples. Many of them suffered under their hands, and were waiting to vent their anger. Only Harry, who spent his time at the beach, had no idea.
But none of them dared to vent – they were just too scared of what an Alchemist represented. They silently suffered, keeping their heads down and mouths closed. However, when they saw James fight back, it was like a shackle on their heart was unlocked. And once a few people started yelling curses, the rest joined in.
"Yeah, you sons of bitches! Try to rob me again, and see what happens! If I don't flatten your nose like James did, I won't be a man!"
"That's right! Come on! The next time we see one of you bullying an Outer Disciple, all of us will attack together! What will they do, whip us all?"
Seeing all the cursing directed to the Alchemists, Harry felt truly surprised. He never imagined these Alchemists were so unpopular.
There were even Inner Disciples who joined in on the cursing. Obviously, they had a lot of pent up resentment from their days as Outer Disciples. There were enough people yelling here to drown the Alchemists in their spit.
Normally, they wouldn't dare to mouth off to an Alchemist. But since there were so many of them, it wasn't like the Alchemists could distinguish their voices, or remember their faces. And even if they could, the Alchemy Hall couldn't just stop selling pills to half the sect, could they?
"Haha, seems like no one likes you guys. I suggest you leave now. Stay any longer and my fists will get itchy again."
Nelson and company silently fumed, but didn't know how to respond. They simply couldn't, not against an entire crowd.
"This isn't over. We'll see how arrogant you can be when we bring the Alchemy Hall's Elders back with us," Nelson finally threatened. After that, they turned to leave. They were too embarrassed to stay here any longer.
"Great, bring some more pills with you when you come back!" Harry called after them. Hearing that, Nelson grew so angry he almost spat out a mouthful of blood.
After telling the Alchemists off, Harry went back into his house, and took out the rest of the pills he'd taken from Nelson.
The healing pills were white and perfect little spheres. They looked, and tasted, a bit like a ball of solid milk. He still had three left, which he was saving for emergency situations.
The other type of pill was green, and shaped more like a carrot, just much smaller. They were slimy to the touch, but slippery. He had no clue what they were.
Harry curiously sniffed one, but it didn't smell like anything he recognized. He debated swallowing one of them, but decided against it. For all he knew, these pills were dangerous to consume. They could even be poisonous – after all, Alchemists made all sorts of pills, for all sorts of uses. The pill could be for cultivation, but it could just as easily be rat poison. And even if they were beneficial for cultivation, if he took one unprepared, it'd be a waste.
'What should I do now?' he wondered. He needed Earth Qi, but had no clue where to get it. Was it possible the Exalted Cat arranged for some other mission rewards for him?
Either way, it couldn't hurt to check the Missions Hall again.
He headed towards the hall, and as he walked through the Swan Sea Sect, people stopped whenever he passed by to stare. By now, he could be considered as one of the most famous people in the Swan Sea Sect, perhaps only behind the Sect Master. Besides a few Inner Disciples and Elders who spent their time in cultivation seclusion, there wasn't a single person who didn't know of his reputation.
Attacking Maynard Hatton… attacking a teacher… killing a hundred peak Ordinary Grade Magic Beasts… attacking and robbing an Alchemist… there was nothing James didn't dare to do. His courage was said to be boundless.
'It's really unfair,' Harry sighed. His entire life, he was never the first to provoke anyone. Whether it was in the Swan Sea Sect, or with the Ox Ford Sect disciples, or even with Dudley's gang, it was always other people picking fights with him. Why did he attract enemies everywhere he went? Was it because he stood out too much?
And was he wrong for attacking those who provoked him first? He didn't think so.
Ignoring all the gazes on him, he entered the Missions Hall and walked over to one of the workers.
"Are there any new tasks?" he directly got to the point.
"New tasks since this morning? Only a couple standard tasks."
"Any there any tasks like the one I just completed?"
The worker stared at Harry in admiration. James was actually thinking about going back to the Beast Surge battlefield?
"No, there isn't. But there are still Earth Grade Beast Flames available. If you bring back 10 more Beasts Cores, you can exchange for them."
"I don't need any more Beast Flames. I'll just take a look at the other tasks then." He walked over to the task board, and glanced through them. Last time, he saw the one at the top and immediately knew it was for him, so he didn't bother to read the others. This was his first time seeing the rest of the available missions.
Patrolling… sweeping the floors… caring for Magic Plants in the Alchemy Garden… blacksmith apprentice… there were plenty of jobs, each which came with the reward of some number of merit points.
'The Elders are really stingy,' Harry grumbled. Most of these jobs only provided two to five merit points for a couple hours of work. And because of classes, disciples could only work a couple hours a day. Then considering it cost one merit point per day to eat, the total amount of merit points that could be earned was quite small.
The task he completed was an extreme outlier, reinforcing the belief it was specifically for him. He now knew it was the Sect Master who put it up – did that mean the Exalted Cat knew the Sect Master? Was that why he was sent here?
He scanned through the list again, but still didn't see any Earth Qi rewards. Perhaps it just wasn't posted yet, or the cat wanted him to get it on his own. He could imagine the Exalted Cat haughtily telling him to stop relying on others.
'But where would I even find Earth Qi?' he mused. Just like how Wood Qi wasn't found in every tree, and Fire Qi wasn't found in every fire, there wouldn't be Earth Qi everywhere in the dirt. Otherwise, he'd just strip off his clothes and roll around the ground.
'Fine, Earth Qi can wait a bit. I'll just pick an interesting task then,' he decided. Now that he was at the 8th level, killing peak Ordinary Grade beasts was no longer a challenge for him, and he couldn't be bothered to keep collecting Beast Cores. Truth be told, he was kind of sick of it.
Glancing through the tasks, he finally settled on taking care of Magic Plants at the Alchemy Garden. Perhaps he could learn a bit more about his plant identification ability there.
As he turned to leave though, the worker from before called out to him.
"James, are you going back to the Beast Surge battlefield?"
The Missions Hall hushed as people awaited James' response. Everyone was curious as to what task the madman would choose to do next.
"No, I'm going to try something different. I'm thinking about taking care of Magic Plants."
Everyone stood speechlessly, wondering if they heard him correctly. Did James just say…
"Take care of Magic Plants?" the worker weakly asked. "You mean, in the Alchemy Garden?"
"Right, the Alchemy Garden."
"Are you sure about that?" another person asked.
"Yeah, why not?"
"I mean, the Alchemy Garden is owned by the Alchemy Hall, and…" the Outer Disciple didn't know how to continue. In any case, the issue should be obvious, right?
Did he really have to spell it out for James?
"Oh, that. It's just some Alchemists," Harry replied nonchalantly. "Nothing to worry about."
'You do need to worry about them!' they all wanted to exclaim. But James already walked past them, and out of the Missions Hall.
"Maybe James is going on purpose?" one person spoke up after he left.
"You mean, he chose that task just to piss off the Alchemists?"
"Right, that does fit with his character."
"Truly fearless," someone remarked.
"More like reckless," another snorted. "Sooner or later, he'll get what's coming."
Nobody could refute those words. They all felt James offended too many powerful people at once, without any regard for the consequences. Eventually, he'd do something that got himself killed.