One-Eyed Monster

Kuyi Tulan swirled the wine in his glass. Impurities are repugnant, but they bear unique attributes that other things lack. All Alchemists know that impurities are the nightmare of exchange. They neither dissolve nor get crushed. They can withstand fire and water, immune to all poisons, and unharmed by blazing heat or freezing frost. They possess the most stable and excellent qualities, yet they are always discarded, deemed useless.

However, in this world, there are always outliers who discover the beauty of impurities. Kuyi Tulan was one of them.

Kuyi Tulan swirled the wine glass in his hand. The impurities within were calmly separated. Suddenly, the originally turbid drink became crystal clear, shimmering like a constellation of stars.

”Do you know why I wanted to recruit you?” Kuyi Tulan rested his glass on a table beside him. Instantly, the table’s surface started to gleam.

”HEH HEH HEH, I wouldn’t dare to assume your intentions,” Baharo forced a smile. He did not think he was so talented or powerful enough to catch Kuyi Tulan’s attention. Talent? He had been deemed a fool since he was very young, constantly wearing a smile, not cut out to be an Adventurer with Class. Power? His recent experience on Guru Mountain had taught him there was always someone better, always a higher mountain to climb; his own strength was nowhere near enough to intimidate anyone. He used to be just a bird in a cage, having never seen the outside world. Now that he had caught a glimpse, it made him realize the vastness of the world.

”Many people think that impurities should be discarded,” Kuyi Tulan continued his train of thought, indifferent to Baharo’s musings. At present, he was the center of attention. Everyone had to focus their gaze on him.

”They all say that impurities affect purity and disrupt the outcome of an exchange.”

Kuyi Tulan looked around at the people in the tavern as if they were his prey.

”But none of them know that impurities are the purest things.”

”HEH HEH HEH, no matter how much you explain, I don’t understand,” Baharo chuckled in confusion. ”I apologize for wasting your time.”

”Time, you’re right. Exchange indeed requires time,” Kuyi Tulan said, unbothered by Baharo’s remark, and continued at his own pace.

”In my youth, I hadn’t understood this. I was always eager for quick results, throwing impurities far away, always pursuing pure materials.”

As he spoke, Kuyi Tulan stroked the table that held his glass. The table had become translucent and smooth in that moment, looking akin to a soap bubble.

”But is the purest material really the best? Like this wine, if we remove the impurities, only alcohol would remain. Could you still drink that?”

”What are you trying to say?” Baharo was growing impatient.

”What I want to say is about your qualities, my friend. I didn’t recruit you to make you risk your life for me, but to make you prolong mine.”

”Prolong?” Baharo looked puzzled.

Not just Baharo, even Elder Rostellum was taken aback, his mouth agape with surprise. It was rare for anything to make a Politician lose composure, but Kuyi Tulan’s statement indeed struck like a bolt from the blue.

”Are you implying immortality?” Baharo struggled to utter the word. Immortality was something only Devils would propose. The notion of the chief of the Alchemy Workshop pursuing immortality was indeed surprising.

Immortality was a taboo subject. In the Yowein Continent, where Equivalent Exchange was deeply respected, anyone raising this topic would certainly be associated with the Dark Arts. The Dark Arts sought shortcuts, and immortality was hard to achieve through Equivalent Exchange. Only the Dark Arts, which relied on artifice and unorthodox methods, would potentially have the chance to break the conditions for achieving immortality.

So when Baharo brought up the word, the entire tavern fell into an awkward silence. Among them all, only Elder Rostellum was truly upset, but this topic did initiate a slight disturbance in the status quo.

”Impurities possess the most stable and excellent qualities. No matter what changes, they always remain the same. The cloudy wine might contain fruit residue or perhaps silt. Regardless, they always settle at the bottom of the bottle, unaltered.”

Kuyi Tulan continued in a self-absorbed manner, completely indifferent to the others’ reactions.

Baharo was puzzled, Rostellum somewhat agitated, Hector treating his injuries with his eyes closed, Carmello nonchalant, and Dastan indifferent...

This bizarre atmosphere did not deter Kuyi Tulan. He fiddled with the table that resembled a soap bubble, as if preparing another item for exchange.

”Look, this is the advantage of impurities. Under the influence of the Alchemy Equation, they don’t withdraw at all,” Kuyi Tulan observed the changing table with interest.

Just like a soap bubble, the table shattered. The glass on it exploded, and the wine inside separated into alcohol and impurities. The alcohol, along with the broken glass, quickly morphed while the impurities retained their appearance...

In no time, the table, the shattered glass, and the spilled alcohol were transformed into a delicate cage, while the impurities remained unchanged, adhering to this masterpiece with a form resembling fruit residue.

”TSK TSK TSK, these are impurities.”

”I still don’t understand your endgame,” Baharo said, looking at Kuyi Tulan, who seemed to be in the throes of madness. He thought back to what happened on Guru Mountain and instantly developed a disgust for this young man before him.

”I am not any Dark Wizard, nor am I seeking immortality. I only want these impurities to prolong our lives,” Kuyi Tulan argued.

”Prolong life? Isn’t that just another term for seeking immortality? You can spin your words, but you can’t escape the essence of it.”

”My friend, you speak the truth. Artful words can’t mask the objective. Just like you, as a Hunter, you’re an anomaly. Such a robust physique doesn’t fit the requirements of a Hunter, but you became one nonetheless.” Kuyi Tulan plucked some words from Baharo’s speech, which annoyed Baharo. His indirect answers and context manipulation made one thing seem like another.

”Hmph!” The smile faded from Baharo’s face, clearly upset by Kuyi Tulan’s rhetorical strategy.

”You are the impurity. You, my friend, have an abnormality in your Spirit Power which caught my eye.”

Although this statement revealed his purpose, Baharo still viewed him as a practitioner of Dark Alchemy.

”It’s about letting those things that should exist continue to exist, not letting them vanish with the ebbing of life. That’s my pursuit of prolonging life. Even if I enter the Eternal Tranquility Realm, as long as these things continue to exist, then I continue to exist.”

Kuyi Tulan looked up at Dastan.

”So, are you satisfied, Dastan? You are the way I prolong my life, albeit imperfectly.”