Rise of the Alchemy God

Chapter 186: Start of the Finals

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After the competition, Ethan went to the underground area to see if he could locate any connection with the formation.

Upon arriving, he studied the formation a bit and concluded that it was a level 3 formation, a formation neither too complicated nor too simple.

For Ethan's current abilities, a formation of this level was comparable to a mid-grade level 3 pill, in other words, something within his reach.

He examined the formation a bit more and finally infused it with some of his spiritual Qi.

Bai Yu, who was beside him, didn't stop him, allowing him to continue with what he was doing, standing by.

This wasn't really something she could do, as her knowledge of formations was very basic, and somehow, inferior to Ethan's, who not too long ago didn't even know how to create the simplest of formations.

She had no idea how he had progressed so quickly, surpassing her and reaching a level that would normally be nearly impossible without the guidance of another formation master.

When she asked him, he said it was thanks to the help of the amphora, and once again, she couldn't comprehend how the artifact could have such a function.

She had noticed in the past that her travel companion also learned things more quickly, but she was certain that she had some natural capacity to learn at that speed, certainly not thanks to the amphora.

This was because almost all of the knowledge she acquired came from books, instructions from others, and so forth.

On the other hand, Ethan hadn't done any of that, yet he was reaching high levels for his plane of origin.

From alchemy to the art of formations.

She wondered if he tried to learn other professions, would he succeed in mastering them with the same speed?

As she was lost in her thoughts, Ethan, who had finished examining the formation inscriptions on the ground, withdrew his spiritual Qi and stood up with a frown.

"Well, this is problematic," he said.

"What do you mean?"

"The formation itself is easy to analyze and even modify, but the usual link connecting a formation to a remote user isn't present in this one.

Normally, this would mean the formation should be activated here on-site, not remotely, but I highly doubt these three had that in mind, after all, none of them seemed to have received such an order."

He said while trying to see if he missed anything.

"What if there was a fifth person?" Bai Yu suddenly said.

Ethan, hearing her, wanted to shake his head, saying that if there were someone there, he would have detected it instantly, after all, even a fifth-stage cultivator would hardly be able to hide their demonic Qi from his perception.

But then he stopped as he thought of a detail.

'What if the person wasn't a demonic cultivator?'

Bai Yu, who seemed to understand what Ethan was thinking, said:

"The possibility of a fifth person isn't entirely far-fetched. After all, demonic cultivators have many cards at their disposal.

It wouldn't be hard for them to involve someone who isn't necessarily infected like they are."

Ethan understood what she meant.

Indeed, there could be several ways to accomplish something like that.

From blackmail to mind manipulation and more, the methods were certainly numerous.

Both understood that the only thing they could do was to disable the formation and leave a trace of Qi to monitor the area.

For cultivators of their level, it wasn't difficult to do something like that without being noticed.

Ethan, to be safe, decided to take some extra precautionary measures and immediately started working for a moment on the formation on the ground.

Bai yu didn't know what he was doing, but she could guess the purpose behind it.

Finally, both, having nothing more to do there, left the place, leaving it in its previous silence.

***

Ethan spent the rest of the night in his minor dimension, where he continued to accumulate Qi through refinement and subsequent cultivation.

Finally, the seventh and last day of the Imperial Tournament arrived.

The coliseum was packed as usual, with the crowd more excited than usual, and how could they not be, given that today was the tournament's finals.

The best participants from both categories had been filtered out over the previous days, and now they were here, ready to compete for the first place, establishing the remaining four positions for this year's tournament.

The audience cheered as the coliseum's arena, which had been used alternately throughout the competition, was now divided into four arenas.

Two for each category.

Just like before, participants from both sides would compete one by one until all positions were filled.

From the one who would be defeated first twice and would go directly to the fifth position, to the one who would win every time and ascend above all others, claiming first place and becoming this year's tournament champion.

All five participants from both categories were currently present in the arena on a stand set up specifically for the occasion, lined up in two groups of five, facing the audience.

The commentator, who was also present, approached each of them to ask if they had anything to say now that they had reached this stage of the tournament, and aside from the girl from the Qilin Kingdom and Hu Xingyan, the other three decided to remain silent.

Ethan pretended to ignore the commentator, who stood by him hoping a voice would sound from behind that mask, but it didn't happen.

He received an indifferent look even from the 40-year-old man, who ignored him completely.

Only Xiang Hua didn't ignore him, but she also didn't say much.

The commentator, finally with a defeated expression, had to move away, as staying any longer would only have made the situation more embarrassing for him.

Your next journey awaits at mvl

Unlike the expert category, the novice category was much more talkative, with each speaking for at least a full minute, some thanking their masters, others their mothers, and others even announcing that next year they would win in the second category.

While all this was happening, Bai Yu's voice echoed in Ethan's mind as she asked:

"Didn't you intend to promote your brand?

Why not take advantage of such an occasion?" she asked, confused.

"It doesn't make sense to do it now.

There'll be an opportunity after the tournament, and don't forget there's still the auction.

I still have several occasions to promote myself," he said simply.

Finally, one of the judges stepped forward, ready to announce some well-known basic rules and the updated requirements for today.