Some people don’t want to change, while others do. There are various opinions. However, regardless of what others think, Waldo notices that the materials he placed on the trading platform are rapidly decreasing. This indicates that many trial participants are choosing to trade.

"To defeat this stone man, I’m going all out, trading 70% of my food! The remaining food will only be enough for our basic consumption. Of course, this is under the assumption that we won’t get any more supplies, but that’s unlikely."

Waldo watches as the materials on the trading platform swiftly dwindle, replaced by pseudo-broadaxes or the influx of the Five Elements’ source power. A smile of excitement appears on his face. This time, he’s really determined, sparing no expense. His goal is to kill the stone man in the shortest time possible and also to prepare for the second task!

"Great, at this rate, my materials will be cleared out in just three hours. By then, I should be able to get at least twenty or thirty pseudo-broadaxes, or a dozen to twenty strands of the Five Elements’ source power!"

Not all trial participants have broadaxes or the Five Elements’ source power. And some need them for themselves or are unwilling to trade for various reasons.

Two hours later, Waldo’s materials are completely traded, faster than he expected.

"Twenty-seven level one weapons, pseudo-broadaxes, plus the previous twenty-some fused broadaxes, makes a total of fifty broadaxes..."

"That can increase my combat power by four hundred points!"

Waldo looks at the numerous broadaxes appearing before him, his eyes shining, and he can’t help feeling excited.

Although the broadaxe can be considered an external aid, not his own true strength, as long as it can kill the stone man, that’s enough.

"The broadaxe is secondary; the main thing is the Five Elements’ source power. Although not many trial participants use the Five Elements’ source power for trade, there are still some."

Waldo counted and found he had acquired about three strands of the metal source power, three strands of the fire source power, two strands of the earth source power, one strand of the wood source power, and one strand of the water source power. A total of ten strands. Honestly, this number is much less than what he had anticipated. However, after giving it some thought, it made sense. So far, the Five Elements’ source power is still quite rare. Many trial participants haven’t even heard of it. And even if they have, they might not have seen the message on the trading platform. Even if they did see it, a considerable number of them, for various reasons, would be unwilling to trade.

"However, ten strands of the Five Elements’ source power should be enough."

"One strand of source power can be refined into three pills, and one pill can increase five points of combat power. Ten strands of source power can be refined into thirty pills, which means, it can increase my combat power by one hundred and fifty points!"

"Now, my base combat power is four hundred and fifty points. With these thirty pills from the refinement, it can grow to six hundred."

"Adding the combat power boost provided by the broadaxes, my combat power can instantly break through to a thousand."

"One thousand combat power, definitely enough to crush the stone man!"

Waldo felt full of strength all over, very exhilarated.

"Even if the stone man’s defensive abilities are formidable, they definitely can’t stop me. I will easily defeat him!"

"Come on, I can’t wait any longer!"

Immediately, Waldo took out the alchemy furnace and slapped the lid of the furnace.

Clang!

A very loud sound suddenly spread out, like a long, resonating dragon’s roar, vigorously transmitting throughout the ruler’s palace.

It seemed like an ancient chant, traversing through time and space. Ancient and full of vicissitudes, carrying the heavy historical breath of the past.

"You two keep watch for me, be on guard against any sudden incidents!"

Waldo felt like he was an alchemist from ancient times. A single alchemy furnace could refine various miraculous elixirs. Of course, Waldo’s alchemy differed greatly from the methods of ancient Taoist practitioners.

For them, alchemy was a technical and arduous task. Usually, they had to stay by the furnace all day, even for days and nights, constantly watching the fire, without the slightest negligence. Only then could they successfully refine a batch of high-quality pills.

Even so, there was no guarantee of the success rate of the pills. It was possible that the entire batch could explode. In that case, it was a complete loss, not to mention the risk to life. Alchemy was definitely not an easy task.

Therefore, even though Waldo had the assistance of a system and didn’t need to master complex alchemy techniques to easily refine a batch of high-quality pills with a success rate of one hundred percent, he still couldn’t afford to be careless.

If someone were to intrude during the pill-refining process and disturb him, there was a chance that the alchemy could fail. That would be more unbearable than death for him. Waldo absolutely couldn’t tolerate such an occurrence. Thus, he instructed Wade and Mallin to guard the process.

"Yes!"

"Captain, rest assured, as long as we are here, even a mosquito won’t be able to get past us and disturb you!" Mallin assured him emphatically, thumping his chest.

He was acutely aware of how crucial Waldo’s next undertaking was. If this batch of pills was successfully refined, the stone man would essentially be within their grasp. But if it failed... the outcome would be precarious, filled with even more uncertainties.

"Don’t worry, captain. You’ve nearly exhausted all your resources just for this moment. Even if it costs us our lives, we won’t let anyone disturb you," Wade also promised. Together, the brother and sister could handle any trial participant who might suddenly intrude.

With Wade and Mallin on watch, Waldo felt somewhat reassured, but not completely. He took out all the puppets he had previously crafted and positioned them to guard his surroundings. "Alright, I’m far enough from the stone man now, within a safe range where it won’t attack me."

"As long as the stone man doesn’t stir, even if someone suddenly barges in, with Wade and Mallin, and these puppets here, there won’t be much threat to me!"

"Alright, it’s time to refine the pills!"

Without hesitation, Waldo began the refining process in the usual manner, adding various auxiliary materials into the alchemy furnace. Instantly, there was a crackling sound, like frying beans. Waldo was fully concentrated, merging almost all his energy into the process, watching the furnace without blinking.