Eternal Cultivation of Alchemy

Chapter 2087  The Tournament

 Alex felt his entire body freeze when he heard what the man said. He had thought he had been so very careful regarding everything that he hadn't expected that someone knew what he had done.

It was so long ago too that he was certain he had left everything behind. And now, it appeared that he had not. The person before him knew very much what he had done. Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Alex's first instinct was to lie, to say that the man was mistaken. He could perhaps even say that the whole thing was done by Lan Douhan who had been together with him at that time.

However, that feeling came from a time when he was all alone, a single man up against the entire world. He had no background in those days, no one he could rely on.

But now that he had joined the Blue Silk sect, he had one of the strongest backgrounds he could possibly have in this entire world. There was no reason for him to lie his way out of this.

"It was indeed me," Alex told the man. "I was in a desperate situation where I needed an antidote pill to save someone's life from poison. I was fortunate enough to have pill clouds appear at that time and saved their life."

Silvermist raised his eyebrows and smiled. "I cannot tell whether you lied or you have just gotten better since then," the man said. "Why did you not bring over the Pill Clouds today?"

"I tried, but I failed," Alex said. "I reached 99% though, so I nearly did it."

"I see," Silvermist said. "Lies it is. So have you always been capable of calling pill clouds whenever you want? Or was that more of a recent thing?"

Alex frowned. "What do you mean, senior? I cannot call the pill clouds whenever I want to."

The man smiled. "Of course not," he said. "But you can prepare for it and call it. You nearly did so today, but you had your cauldron absorb some of the energy. Did you not want to ruin your opponent's reputation that badly?"

Alex felt for the first time in a long time that someone was seeing through him completely. Even when he spoke half-truths, the man could parse the truth away from the lie and call him out on it.

He didn't know what else he could say here. The man appeared to know everything about him already.

"May I ask what senior wants from this junior?" Alex asked, cutting straight to the center of the whole conversation. "You mentioned you were searching for me all this time."

"Yes," Silvermist said, sitting up straighter as he finally got to say what he had come here to say. "I want you to come with me so I can have you take part in an Alchemy tournament. I want you to be our champion."

Alex was a little taken aback. "An alchemy tournament?" he asked.

"Yes," Silvermist said proudly. "A tournament. A grand one, unlike any that has taken place in a long time."

Alex was a little interested. "And you wish for me to be part of that competition?" he asked. "Is there a reason why it has to be me specifically?"

"Because you are talented. That's all the reason we need, don't we?" the man asked. "What do you say? Wanna be a part of history?"

"I will need to know more than just that to be part of any tournament, senior," Alex said, having to hold himself back from saying that the man was being impatient. He hadn't even heard most of what he needed to hear from him after all.

"What's more to know?" Silvermist asked. "It's an Alchemy tournament. You're an alchemist. So you can join the tournament. That's it."

"Are you an Alchemist too, senior?" Alex asked.

"I am," the man said.

"Then is there a reason why you aren't taking part yourself? Or is there a cultivation limit on it?" Alex asked.

"Of course, there's a limit," the man said. "The participants must be below the Divine realm. There are two categories in the tournament, one for Saint realm cultivators, and one for Immortal realm cultivators. That is what you will be taking part in should you choose to."

Alex turned to Blackfrost, trying to gauge his expression.

Blackfrost nodded. "This tournament could make the future of any Alchemist that is taking part in it. You should definitely choose to join it."

Alex nodded, taking into consideration Blackfrost's vouch. But he wouldn't make the decision just based on that. In the first place, the man hadn't even told him where or when the tournament was taking place. "There's isn't much time before I have to go do something important, and I'll be gone for a long time after that. Will this tournament take place soon?" Alex asked.

Silvermist nodded vigorously. "Soon, yes. Very soon. You won't have to worry about that."

"Oh, that's good then," Alex said. "Because I wouldn't be able to take part in it if it was over 20 years later."

Silvermist and Grimsight reacted to those words, Silvermist showing it more clearly. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"I… told you just now. I need to leave soon and won't be able to take part in a competition," he replied. "Even 20 years might be too long, I'm not sure. But I plan on leaving here as soon as I can."

"But the tournament won't take place for another 70 years," the man said.

Alex shrugged. "Then I fear I'm not the one you're looking for."

"No! It has to be you," Silvermist claimed. "I have searched all around. There are none here that are better than you. Making pill clouds, that's the highest level you can reach as an Alchemist. Everyone else we find will not hold up to you."

Alex looked at Silvermist, surprised by his enthusiasm. He could feel the man's effort, but as much as he wanted to, he couldn't force Alex into joining the competition for him. Could he?

Alex held the dial tighter in his palms.

"As I already mentioned, senior, I won't be here to take part in the tournament. I will be gone already, so I won't be able to help you."

"Argh! No, this can't be happening. I… I don't have the time to search and train someone else," Silvermist grumbled and sounded defeated. "Can't you do it? Please?"

"Really, young Dawnblade. This is quite an opportunity," Blackfrost said. "See if you can push back whatever you are doing."

Alex shook his head. "I really can't push it back much more than I already have. I need to leave as soon as I can. Had I the chance, I would've been gone long ago.""Where are you going exactly?" Grimsight asked, curious.

Alex looked at the man, the fear within him growing once again. Despite his desire to not answer, he felt if he didn't, the man would kill him.

"The next leg of my journey will be to the Divine Sanctuary realm. It won't be the last stop, but I won't be revealing any more than that."

Silvermist looked up, his anguish vanishing suddenly. "You're going where?"