Eternal Cultivation Of Alchemy

Alex gave her an annoyed look, but there was nothing he could do at this point. He walked away wordlessly and arrived at the arena. Blazelight followed behind him and walked onto the other side of the arena as well.

The referee asked them to prepare their weapons.

Alex brought out his sword, while the woman brought out a long and beautiful bow with red and gold patches all around it. More than that, Alex sensed something about the bow that gave him pause.

’That’s not an artifact,’ he realized. ’That’s her Creation.’

The woman was not just fighting with a weapon but was instead using her Creation.

Unfortunately, that was very much allowed so long as she didn’t use any techniques that were possible through her Creation.

Alex could not be certain just how strong she was, so he had to prepare for the worst. Considering she had bribed someone, this was going to be more than just a simple fight.

Alex prepared for the worst.

The referee raised his hand. ”Let the battle begin!”

Alex wasted no time attacking the woman. Just as the referee’s words ended, his sword was already swinging, releasing his first attack.

Before he could release it, however, he heard the loud ’twang’ of the bow being fired.

Something struck his attack before it had even traveled a short distance, immediately exploding into a massive shockwave that pushed against Alex.

Alex couldn’t help but take a few steps back from the impact, surprised at just how strong it was.

He heard another twang, but instead of attacking, he immediately ducked, hearing something whistle past him as it struck the barrier.

The barrier rippled with bright golden light as it absorbed the attack.

Alex turned toward the woman instantly, looking more closely this time.

The woman clicked her tongue and pulled on the bow again. Bright white light coalesced around it, forming the shape of an arrow where there was none.

She let it go, and the ground before Alex erupted with dirt and debris that struck him all around.

He flipped through the air, landing on the ground some distance away.

’Shit, she’s strong,’ Alex thought.

It was no wonder she had made it to the finals. Her attacks were much stronger than those of the rest of the people Alex had fought against.

His sword skills were about as strong as someone with a cultivation base in the Divine Creation 3rd or 4th realm. At best, someone would have power at the 5th realm.

However, this woman right now had power at the Divine Creation 6th realm, and perhaps even the 7th if she tried quite hard.

That sadly made perfect sense considering this was a Fire Sage in the Divine Domain realm.

She was bound to be this strong.

”What’s wrong?” Blazelight asked with a cackle. ”Can’t fight back? You made big claims. Now prove it.”

She pulled on her bow and let go once again.

Alex watched with his Demon Eyes and managed to see the attack’s path. Instantly, his Sword Domain appeared before him, all converging at the front, while he also struck out with his sword at the same time.

His Sword Domain would not be able to handle this on its own.

The arrow formed from Bow Qi blasted through the Domain and struck his attack, creating another massive explosion right before Alex.

Alex slid a short distance this time, getting close to the barrier but not quite reaching it yet.

”Are you going to fight back or what?” the woman asked with laughter, taunting him once again.

Alex narrowed his eyes as he looked toward her.

Just earlier, he had noticed something about her attack that had left him slightly confused.

Her attack was strong, but...

’Surely that can’t be true,’ he thought.

It was more likely that the Fire Sage simply wasn’t trying hard at all.

He gave up on the thought.

He dashed toward her, choosing to fight her away from the barrier.

The woman pulled on her bow and released it.

Alex fought the incoming attack again and was pushed back a few steps by the explosion. However, he dashed right back and rushed toward her to attack again.

The woman noticed it and scoffed before releasing another arrow.

Alex took it head-on once again and was pushed back, but he got back up, rushing forward again.

He was pushed back each time he took a hit, but if he could cover more distance than he was pushed back, he would eventually arrive before her.

That was Alex’s plan, which the woman had realized as well.

”I see what you’re doing,” she said and pulled on her bow.

She released another arrow, which Alex barely blocked before being thrown backward.

Just as he was about to stand up, another came for him, aimed at his heart.

Alex twisted his body barely in time, causing the arrow to strike him along his chest and arm, leaving a deep flesh wound.

The force of the attack turned him fully, and thankfully, the third arrow whistled past him without hitting him.

Alex instantly moved backward, gaining some distance between them before looking back at the Fire Sage.

The wound along his chest and arm bled, which he didn’t let heal. He didn’t want the formation to consider that a use of Qi as well, which would disqualify him instantly.

”Hahaha!” the woman laughed. ”You thought I was slow enough that you could close the distance and attack me? You underestimate me far too much. Do you not realize that I fought others who had the same plan as you and won? None of them could beat me, so how do you think you can?”

Alex kept looking at her, saying nothing, mostly because his mind was somewhere else.

His assumption from before, which he had thrown out of his mind, had returned when he was struck earlier.

He looked down at his wounds, and his assumption took further root.

If he was wrong, he would lose.

But since he was already losing, he might as well try.