Eternal Cultivation Of Alchemy

The massive secret realm now looked much smaller. The formations that had been keeping the secret realm expanded to the extreme had been taken away, causing the expanded space to contract back to its regular size.

That size was still several kilometers in diameter, so it was alright.

The seating area had been changed again, this time more massive, stretching all the way toward the sky like a large tower. Alex counted the vertical seats as he walked along and had to stop around the time he reached 500. There were still more than half left that he hadn’t counted. Considering how the seats were arranged in a circular shape, Alex could only imagine that billions of people would be watching his every step in today’s tournament.

Alex and the rest walked into the hall where many of the other participants were already gathered. They were a little late this time around, but thankfully, they had arrived before the Alchemy God. Otherwise, they would’ve been disqualified.

Alex scanned the room, searching for Killersky, but he couldn’t find her at all. He worried she might be disqualified now.

They waited still, hoping she would arrive in time. No one wanted someone to lose without even getting a chance to take part in the competition.

As they waited, someone approached them.

Windborn, the old man with stark white hair and a beard, who had done so well in the last competition, had arrived before their group of three.

“My friends, would you mind if I sat beside you?” the old man asked.

“Of course not, senior. We are honored that you wish to sit with us,” Alex quickly answered. He felt the old man’s cultivation base from up close and finally understood why the man had won the last competition.

He had a cultivation base of Immortal Spirit 8th realm. He was but two steps away from becoming a Divinity.

The old man sat beside them and let out a genuine smile. “I have been watching you two for quite some time now,” he said, looking at Alex and Aethersage. “And I must say, you two are both quite incredible.”

“You flatter us, senior,” Alex said.

“We’re alright,” Aethersage said, feeling a little flustered.

The old man simply smiled at the two’s response. He was about to say something else when his eyes shifted.

A fraction of a second later, Alex and Aethersage sensed it too.

The space warped, and the Alchemy God arrived.

The youthful man still wore his emerald robe, one that seemingly appeared to be made out of living grass. It was as though one could look into it and see a microcosm of everyday wildlife.

The Alchemy God looked around and smiled. “Welcome back, everyone. I hope you’ve had an excellent decade full of preparations.” He landed at the center of the 500 people, looking around.

He scanned everyone and then said, “Would you all like some stats?”

Everyone was okay with it this time since there wasn’t much to worry about. No number could be scary at all.

“Perhaps for the first time in forever, we have exactly the number of people we were ready for. An exact 500.”

Everyone nodded subtly, as most believed that no one in their right mind would be late to such a tournament. Alex and the other two, however, were confused by the number.

Aethersage quickly raised his hand, seeking the Alchemy God’s attention. The Alchemy God turned to look at him and smiled. “Yes, young Aethersage? What do you wish to ask?”

“We have a friend by the name of Killersky. She did not arrive today, so I was wondering how there were 500 of us,” he asked.

Alex had been ready to ask the question as well and was glad Aethersage thought of asking it too. They looked toward the Alchemy God, waiting for his explanation.

The Alchemy God nodded. “Ah, yes. So it was young Killersky who didn’t arrive in time today. Sadly, she will be disqualified for not making it here in time,” he said.

Alex had been prepared to hear those words, but hearing them for real made him feel bad for Killersky. She had worked so hard and had passed most of the tournament too, only to fail at the last moment just by not arriving in time.

He hoped she hadn’t been wounded by someone during the past decade. He worried she might even be dead. He hoped that wasn’t the case. He could only hope.

“But then… how is it 500?” Aethersage asked, still confused. “Did someone else replace her?”

Alex wondered that as well, but he couldn’t see how replacement would work here. The only way for someone else to rejoin would be…

‘Oh.’ He finally got the answer.

“Nobody replaced her. Replacement is not possible under our current rules,” the Alchemy God said. “What did happen was that someone among you, who had failed the last competition, managed to come up with an Immunity Pin and was reinstated into the competition. As I previously mentioned, those pins are very valuable.”

Aethersage was taken aback. “Oh…” he said softly, not realizing the answer until the Alchemy God said it outright. He looked toward Alex, seemingly questioning him with his gestures if he had given his pin to someone else.

Alex shook his head. Then they looked toward Leafheart in the distance, who seemed surprised by the Alchemy God’s words as well. Windborn, the old man next to them, was eligible for another pin, but he hadn’t received his just yet.

That meant the person who had used the Immunity Pin had either been the one who completed the first competition earliest or someone who had received a pin from that person.

Because the pin hadn’t been publicly provided to that person, it was easy to forget there was another person with a pin who could use it any time.

“If that answers your question, young Aethersage,” the Alchemy God said, his voice cutting off any chattering at once, “I shall continue where I left off.”