Pillar of Yita

”Come on, your unnamed hero is already out.”

Fang Hong couldn’t help but cough loudly upon hearing this.

The crowd turned their heads in confusion to glance at him, and Fang Hong quickly waved his hand, indicating he was fine.

Mulan then said, ”But I heard that Rolin can use the Dragon-Slaying Spear, how can we compete with him?”

”You still want to compete with him?” Hawk-Beak Bean said irritably, ”We should consider ourselves lucky if we can match the regular competition teams.”

”True, and losing to an idol is still something.”

However, Cui Yu shook his head, ”I think we might actually win, especially with Ade on our side.”

Dill raised his head upon hearing this.

But Mulan glanced at Fang Hong, shaking her head vigorously, ”Ade can’t compare to the Dragon Slaying Hero either.”

Everyone was talking, but Fang Hong only responded with a smile.

He was still pondering the earlier question—

About the Dragon Worship Sect and the Super Competitive League.

But this question was too big, so much so that neither he nor Sophie had even considered it. He suddenly realized he couldn’t analyze the issue alone and was about to ask Princess of Silver Weslan for insight. Just then, a staff member approached him, saying:

”Mr. Ade, someone is looking for you.”

This made Fang Hong pause, as the regular competition differed from the earlier matches; outsiders couldn’t enter the arena, so Tianlan’s group could only watch the competition from the plaza. Who had the ability to get the staff’s approval to come find him at the arena at this time?

Nevertheless, the group quickly spotted the elderly figure approaching from outside the arena, and Fang Hong was startled to see his mentor personally coming to find him.

The others were even more surprised, as it was clear at a glance that the visitor was a native. While friendships between Invokers and natives weren’t uncommon, intergenerational friendships were rare. Fang Hong then introduced to everyone: ”This is my mentor.”

He introduced Ande: ”This is Miss Soul Fingerprint, our team leader. There’s also Hawk-Beak Bean, Cui Yu, and Dill, and this is Liuli Yue.”

”Mentor?” Mulan was greatly surprised. They too had mentors, most of whom were renowned craftsmen from various Alchemist Guilds. However, such nominal mentors rarely stayed in touch after their rookie phase, let alone watching them in a competition?

A High Order Craftsman values their time as if it were gold. How could they spare a moment for a student?

Moreover, they had heard that Fang Hong was from the Kapuka School, and from Rodell to Fanric, it’s thousands of miles away?

How deep does this relationship go?

Generally, only the most favored students receive such treatment.

However, most native craftsmen do not like Invoker students, as traditional craftsmen value basics, and while Invokers may grow rapidly, their basics are typically weak at best. Therefore, the favored pupils of notable craftsmen rarely have Invoker status.

But in the next moment, Ande’s self-introduction dispelled their doubts. The old man looked at everyone, smiling slightly as he patted Fang Hong’s shoulder: ”My half-baked student here, thank you all for looking after him.”

Of course, no one was foolish enough to actually regard Fang Hong as a ’half-baked student.’ Hearing the affection in those words, they understood that he clearly thought highly of this so-called ’half-baked student.’

Hawk-Beak Bean’s jaw almost dropped.

Soul Fingerprint frowned slightly. Standing next to her, Mulan suddenly realized something unusual about the man.

But everyone present was an Alchemist by background, and the others quickly realized it too. Ande Ulriel then introduced himself: ”I am Ande Ulriel, Ade is essentially my student, and I truly didn’t expect him to genuinely make it with you all into the finals.”

After he said this, he looked at Fang Hong with a smile.

Grand Artificer.

The others were completely stunned, including Soul Fingerprint, who always maintained her composure. Even she couldn’t help but glance at Fang Hong in surprise.

”Ah,” Mulan suddenly exclaimed in shock, ”You’re ’Great Scales’ Ande, I remember now, you were the Speaker in Elfendo Council a couple of terms ago!”

Her gaze lingered on the old man and Fang Hong, a look of indescribable complexity: ”Ade, I had no idea you were from Elfendo.”

Fang Hong broke into a sweat. How could he be from Elfendo? They were barely related, apart from Ande, the Elfendo Council probably didn’t even know he existed. Yet being the prized pupil of a Grand Artificer, and an Invoker to boot, was enough to leave everyone else dumbfounded.

Mulan’s view of Fang Hong changed. An Invoker achieving such true recognition from a Grand Artificer requires incredible talent.

However, Ande was clearly not there to increase their psychological burdens.

The old man gently clapped his hands, signaling everyone to quiet down before he smiled and said: ”No need to be formal, just treat me as an old codger. Ade and I made a little bet earlier, but I didn’t expect you all would indeed make it to the finals.”

The crowd marveled, facepalming at the idea of treating the former Speaker of the Elfendo Council, the Grand Artificer Colin Ishurian, as an old codger. Such an absurd tale would likely be met with disbelief back at the guild.

Ande, however, was unfazed, casting his silver-gray gaze towards the distant arena.

By now, the match between the Shadow Throne and military Invokers had concluded. Though the scores were close, the Shadow Throne ultimately showcased superior skills, securing a ticket to the finals.