Eternal Cultivation Of Alchemy

Silvermist smiled when he caught Alex’s eyes. He gave a subtle nod to encourage him to do his best.

“Sounds like an annoying competition,” Grimsight said from his side. “Are you sure he will do better than others this time around? Talent seems to not be what is necessary here.”

Silvermist didn’t immediately answer. He wasn’t sure either.

The Alchemy God had explained the rules of the competition, and from the sound of it, things were going to be difficult. And if his suspicions were correct, then things were about to get even harder.

He was never present when the confirmations were made deciding what competitions would take place in the tournament, but he was around when the suggestions were given. The Endurance Test was a simple enough suggestion that many had given.

Silvermist himself had been asked for his experience in the war, making pills on the front line where the battle was the most extreme. He, alongside many other alchemists who had helped in the war, had given the god their experience and their understanding.

They had relayed the obstacles that came with having to make pills for others without rest. You couldn’t rest; not when lives depended on the pills you made.

Every second an alchemist spent without making pills was a second a soldier didn’t receive the necessary pill. So much relied on the alchemists to help the fighters that it was honestly way too much.

Compared to that, the current participants were facing no danger at all. No dilemma on whether to look after yourself or to let men die.

The hardship he faced was way higher than anything these participants were facing for this competition.

And yet, Silvermist knew that was what the Alchemy God was trying to do. He was trying to test them during the competition to see how they held up in a situation such as the war.

So, he could only wonder: how were they going to make it any more difficult than it already was?

Suddenly, he noticed the look of shock and surprise on the faces of every participant. He looked toward Alex as well and saw a look of grave difficulty on him as.

Something had happened that had caused everyone to act this way. But Silvermist couldn’t tell what it was. No one in the audience could.

None, except… Grimsight.

“Oh, that’s interesting,” Grimsight noted, his eyes noticing the changes that had just happened on top of the platform.

“What is? What happened just now?” Silvermist asked, urging Grimsight to answer quickly.

“Qi,” Grimsight said slowly. “All the Qi inside of the barrier surrounding the platform has just been sucked out. All that remains inside the platform is emptiness.”

* * * * * *

Alex felt the Qi get sucked away from around him, leaving only regular air inside where he was. He was confused at first, wondering what was happening. He looked around and saw the others similarly confused.

That was when he realized that it wasn’t just him this was happening to. Everyone else had the Qi in their surroundings just get taken away as well.

It took him a moment to gather his thoughts and think about why they did what they did. When he thought of the answer, his eyes widened in clear shock.

‘Damn,’ he thought. ‘That changes things greatly.’

One of the things that had plagued Alex about this competition —the fact that it was about endurance— was the fact that one could just cultivate for a bit, gather some Qi, and then continue.

For a single pill every 20 minutes, one didn’t need to cultivate all night long. However, since all the Qi in the surroundings was just pulled away, he could no longer cultivate.

Neither could he use any spirit stone as his Soul Space was off-limits for the duration of the competition.

‘Shit!’ Alex thought. ‘Had I known this would happen, I would’ve eaten a few pills before I came here.’

He could hold the pill in his stomach without using it up, then when he was low on Qi, he could burn it up for fresh new Qi. Only if he had known.

The only thing left to do now was make the damn pills as the ingredients came and hope he lasted as long as he could.

“I’m sure you are all surprised by the lack of Qi,” the Alchemy God’s voice came from all directions, as though his words were being amplified by different artifacts that surrounded them. “But I did mention it to you all before.”

“An Alchemist’s job is essential, and there will come a time in your future where you cannot rest. You must make pills one after another, with no time to even cultivate. This test is to see how well you do under such pressure.”

His words were the same as the ones he had told them the last time. Only now did everyone realize he wasn’t just telling them a fact about an Alchemist’s life. He was telling them the rules of the damn competition.

“And as it should be obvious, any attempt to consume energy from the ingredients you have been provided with, or the pills you make, will result in an instant disqualification. Now, get ready. Every one of you will receive your first pills in a minute. And then, you may start.”

Alex and the rest waited, and while they waited, a large timer appeared in the sky, starting at 00:00. Once again, there was a timer. Only, it counted in the right direction this time.

There was no deadline this time around. The only requirement was to do your best. They watched the sky, and then they heard the Alchemy God’s words.

“Begin!”

A large wooden box appeared before Alex, placed in front of him by the staff member that stood at the cross-section between 4 participants. The other 3 under his purview received a similar package as well.

Alex opened the box and saw smaller boxes inside of it that contained the ingredients, along with a talisman that held the recipe to the pill he needed to make. He knew it already.

There was no reason to hurry, so he slowly pulled out the ingredients, looked through them to make sure there were no bad ones, and then began making the pill.