Pillar of Yita

Elite.

The group was actually already considering the next match, which is the fight for third and fourth place.

After all, to defeat an Elite led by Virus, what a ludicrous notion this is! Even the boldest dreamer wouldn’t dare to imagine such a thing happening.

But after hearing his words, Soul Fingerprint, who was reviewing information from the last match, suddenly turned around, looked at him calmly, and asked, ”What did you say?”

Fang Hong took a deep breath and repeated his words, ”I said, do you guys want to win the championship.”

Only then did the group realize they hadn’t misheard, and they couldn’t help but glance at each other in surprise. If it had been earlier, Cui Yu might have already laughed out loud, but at that moment, no one could laugh. Everyone could see that Fang Hong truly had the strength to contend for the championship.

Only themselves...

Only Liuli Yue appeared indifferent, thinking that since he lost the last match, playing another one wouldn’t hurt.

Only Soul Fingerprint remained calm, looking quietly at Fang Hong, and asked, ”What’s your plan?”

Fang Hong took another deep breath and replied softly, ”Against an opponent like Elite, targeting them is meaningless; we can only confront them head-on—by winning with an absolute point advantage on the two subjects we can be sure of.”

When he finished speaking, everyone was momentarily silent.

”Win against Elite with an absolute point advantage?” Mulan nearly reached out to touch this younger student’s forehead, suspecting he was speaking nonsense, ”With us, it would be a blessing not to be defeated by them with an absolute point advantage.”

But Fang Hong looked at Dill and Cui Yu, clearly well-prepared, ”Originally it wouldn’t be possible, but if we can determine the project to be created, there’s still a chance. Dill, Cui Yu, this match requires you both to fully exert your talents.”

He paused, ”So I’ll ask you again, do you want to win the championship?”

The two of them exchanged a puzzled glance.

But both could see in the other’s eyes the unrealistic ambition that belongs to the youth.

They clenched their fists and turned back to nod together.

Fang Hong took out a pocket watch and glanced at the time. Then he lifted his head and said to the two of them, ”After the quarter-finals, there will be a halftime break, and with an interview that Elite and the military side will have, we have about half an hour.”

He looked at the two, ”Follow me.”

Saying this, Fang Hong glanced at Soul Fingerprint on the side. Soul Fingerprint was also looking at him, and after a brief moment of hesitation, nodded to him.

It wasn’t for anything else—

But because the Communication Crystal in her hand was emitting a faint glow.

It carried a few messages:

”Did you meet the person?”

”Let him act freely, Soul.”

Signed, Odin.

...

Fang Hong brought Dill and Cui Yu to a café outside the plaza. As everyone gathered at the plaza, there were no guests here, giving a sense of tranquility. The owner glanced curiously at them before nodding to them:

”Nice weather, folks.”

”Would you like anything?”

Fang Hong nodded in response, ”We’d like to borrow the place; just three glasses of water will do.”

The owner, a slightly friendly middle-aged man, smiled upon hearing this, ”I recognize you, you’re the participants. I’ve heard your next opponent is quite strong; you want to borrow a place to practice, right? Just a moment—”

He swayed his round body back to the bar and brought out some shiny silver cups, placing them in front of the three and filling them with tea, ”It’s free today, do as you like.”

Fang Hong hurriedly thanked him.

The owner smiled warmly and waved his hand, then walked aside to watch the three practice.

Only then did Fang Hong have Dill and Cui Yu sit down. The two looked at him somewhat puzzled. Although they did entertain some unrealistic fantasies about the championship, they were more curious about how he planned to enable them to defeat Elite.

Only then did Fang Hong take out the materials he had prepared long ago, placing them on the table one by one. There wasn’t much, just a few copper pieces, an alloy ingot, some gemstones, and some semi-finished parts, gears, and such.

After counting them to ensure nothing was missing, he lifted his head and said to them, ”Actually, in your domains of expertise, you both have talent, not necessarily much worse than those in Elite. So-called geniuses are sometimes just those who have had richer experiences than you. Cui Yu, you excel in crystals and delicate crafting, and Dill, you have expertise in materials science and Magic Potion Studies.”

”However, time is limited right now, so we have to choose some crafty methods. In the next round, we’ll ban large equipment, choosing crystal crafting and the Magic Guided Conductor, and to guard against them banning these two items, we’ll additionally prepare for Magic Potion Studies.”

”Dill, your learning ability is stronger than Cui Yu’s, so you’ll prepare for these two items.”

Though Cui Yu was a bit displeased hearing this, he moved his lips but remained silent.

Dill quietly nodded upon hearing this.

Both were somewhat surprised to learn that the other had not been idle these days, but has instead been quietly observing them. Their characteristics weren’t a secret within the team.

Yet the other had only joined them for less than a week but had a clear understanding of their personal abilities.

Little did they realize that for Fang Hong, this posed no difficulty, having seen numerous Alchemists, both famed and those still active in the Second World. Personal characteristics, put simply, were just a bias in skill investment.

These can easily be discerned from usage habits.

Fang Hong continued, ”Next, I’ll teach you to craft the Agility Burst Plugin, Wind Bias Crystal, and Magic Permeation Potion. Due to time constraints, you don’t need to understand the principles; you just need to go through these three production processes once.”

”You only have half an hour; whether you can defeat Elite depends on how much you can grasp from the process.”

Both were somewhat stunned.

”But these things I can make...” Cui Yu finally couldn’t help but ask.

”Mr. Ade,” Dill also softly reminded, ”There is no Elemental Crystal among the materials.”

Fang Hong calmly replied, ”I know.”

He raised his right hand and gently drew, as if a golden flame, blossoming on the somber fingertips of the Pride of the Lonely King.

A golden array flew lightly and hovered mid-air, dazzling, as Fang Hong quietly watched as it turned to ash. He grasped it with his hand, and a dark crystal appeared in his palm.

Not far away.

The café owner gaped in astonishment, watching this scene.

This... this, creating out of nothing!? Is there such an Alchemy?

...