Rise of the Alchemy God

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The test area was completely silent, with only the occasional rustle of the spring breeze blowing through.

From the examiners to the spectators, everyone gazed at the bizarre scene before them with a lost expression.

As if in response to their stares, even Ethan, still wearing his mask, looked around for answers.

In less than a second, he realized what might have happened, and as soon as he did, he coughed lightly and walked calmly towards the participants from the earlier groups.

Participants: "..."

Examiners: "..."

As he moved toward the waiting area, everyone's gaze followed him.

Ethan felt the pressure of all eyes on him, so he pretended they didn't exist and found a spot to wait.

After another 15 seconds, the rest of the participants from his group finished their test, and soon after, their talismans floated and flew towards the crystal sphere.

Thud.

"Haha... it was tough, but I answered every question I could," said a boy, sitting down on the spot as if he had just run a marathon.

"Heh, I didn't miss a single one," said another boy confidently, though if one looked a little lower, his trembling legs were clearly visible.

Scenes like this could be seen in various places around the test area.

Clearly, their low cultivation didn't help them cope well with the mental exhaustion from the test.

The examiners, who had still been distracted by Ethan, snapped back to attention when they saw the results being recorded in the sphere.

"That boy has some talent," said one of the examiners, stroking his long beard.

He was also one of the alchemy masters present today.

Hearing the elder's words, the others nodded, complimenting Ethan's abilities.

None of them doubted for a second that there was an error or that he had cheated, as they knew better than anyone how difficult it was to cheat in this test.

Moreover, sensing Ethan's cultivation level, they knew it wasn't impossible for someone at his level to achieve this.

So although it was unexpected, it wasn't entirely beyond their expectations.

"I thought the ones who would dominate were going to be those three, but it seems a dark horse has appeared," said another examiner.

While the elders discussed the results from this year's group, the spectators were busy talking about something else.

"What? Are you telling me that masked guy finished before us? Doesn't that mean he answered all the questions?" said one of Ethan's group members.

"Yeah, but maybe it wasn't because of that.

As far as I know, you can finish early if you can't endure any longer," said the companion who had witnessed Ethan's performance.

Unlike the examiners, who could tell that Ethan had answered all the questions correctly, the participants couldn't, or at least not all of them.

Xiang Hua, who had come here just to take a break from cultivation, didn't expect to witness such a scene.

It had to be said that even she hadn't achieved this result, and she was already at the peak of the third stage, so how had this masked person done it?

She wasn't the only one.

Even Yan Mei, who had come thinking she would easily pass all the tests, had to take into account Xiang Hua's presence, and now, this person as well.

As for Xun Wei, he believed he had done well enough, and seeing the peculiar situation with the masked man, he didn't think much of it.

'Hmph, weak. He couldn't even last a minute,' he thought mistakenly, believing that Ethan had collapsed from exhaustion.

Xun Wei's cultivation level didn't surpass the second stage of Qi Refining, so he wasn't able to assess Ethan's true strength.

He thought this was due to the other person's low cultivation, so he didn't pay it much attention.

Finally, after recording all the participants' results, the previous examiner approached the podium and announced the results, starting with those who had passed the second category, as it had the fewest participants.

Several contestants were eliminated and were given the chance to compete in the beginner category.

Although reluctant, many of them accepted.

Others, for various reasons, did not do so and, after respectfully greeting the expert alchemist, silently left the area.

In the end, out of the 30 participants in this category, only 7 passed.

It was a relatively low number compared to the total participants, but given the difficulty of the test, it wasn't unexpected.

So, as the names of those who had passed were announced, the group of 7 expert-level participants who had passed was separated from the rest and moved to the right side of the test area.

The previous examiner was no longer in charge of this group; instead, it was one of the alchemy masters, specifically the master alchemist with the long, white beard.

"Congratulations, all of you have passed with excellent results. You deserve to be here.

That being said, as you know, the spots assigned for the tournament are limited, so do your best to be chosen," said the elderly man with a calm smile on his face.

Upon his appearance, the rest of the group bowed to give him a courteous greeting as a sign of respect.

Even Ethan, who had no idea who this person was, followed their example and did the same.

The elderly man gave a simple nod to acknowledge their gesture and didn't waste time explaining how the practical exam would be held.

"Given your reduced number, it won't take long to determine this year's three participants," he said, beginning with a brief introduction to the test.

"The third test, as you already know, is a practical one that will consist of one-on-one matches between you until the three spots are filled.

Since your numbers are odd, let's proceed this way," he said, infusing some spiritual energy into the ring he wore on his finger.

Immediately afterward, from the ring, a ball of light emerged and transformed into a series of sticks.

There were 7 sticks in total, 6 of them presenting three pairs of different colors, and one of them showing none.

Noticing this setup, Ethan immediately understood what the elder intended.

'So we'll be randomly paired with our opponents,' he thought, trying to figure out what would happen with the extra contestant.

And as if to answer his question, the elder took the uncolored stick and said:

"Surely, you've already gotten an idea of how we'll select the pairs who will face off," he continued, raising the uncolored stick forward.

"Given your uneven numbers, whoever gets the stick with no color on it, will not have to fight in this round and will wait with me until the first three winners appear," he said, to the surprise of almost no one.

'Yes! I've made it this far. One last effort, and I'll finally be able to participate in this year's competition,' thought one of the participants.

His name was Tan Chi, a great lover of good food and an alchemist with a highly developed sense of smell.

Thanks to his exceptional sense of smell, he had made great progress in his alchemical skills, becoming one of the few to be promoted to the rank of three-star Adept Alchemist.

with this ability of his, not only could he distinguish various ingredients, but he could also memorize them.

The same applied when refining.

Depending on how the scent changed during the refining process, he could determine whether it was going well or not, and so on.

He could tell what was missing, whether the doses added were correct, and many other details.

At first, he thought it might be safer to aim for the beginner category, where he was sure to take one of the three available spots, but upon reconsidering his rank as an alchemist, he decided to go for the expert category.

It would have been too embarrassing for a three-star Adept Alchemist to compete against those of lower levels.

Although the appearance of Xiang Hua had made him anxious, he still thought he had a good chance of securing one of the three spots.

And upon seeing who he was paired with, his expression became more confident.

'Let's see if your refining skills are as good as your theoretical knowledge.'

He thought, thrilled by the fact that he had been paired against none other than the boy with the black mask.

The master alchemist didn't waste any time, shuffling the sticks and letting each of them pick one by one.

As fate would have it, the lucky one was none other than Xun Wei, who, upon seeing the uncolored stick in his hand, didn't know whether to be happy or disappointed.

He wanted to duel against someone and have the chance to show off his alchemical abilities, but seeing the uncolored stick in his hand, he thought it would have to wait for another time.

After the pairs of opponents were made, the elder numbered them from 1 to 3, and then, using a method similar to that of the sticks, he drew a random number, and the result was number 2.

This was the number assigned to Ethan and Tan Chi.