Rise of the Alchemy God

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The result of their match was somewhat predictable.

Ethan and Xiang Hua had already proven to be superior to all the participants since their first match, so unless Yan Mei managed to produce at least 9 out of the 10 listed pills, she would have little chance of winning.

Even Yan Mei knew this, yet the loss still left a bitter taste in her mouth.

She had managed to produce the eighth pill at the last second, but compared to Xiang Hua, who once again produced 9, she couldn't come out on top.

Ethan, who had been watching their match the whole time, couldn't help but notice that Xiang Hua was producing pills with ease, a skill that was very close to his own.

"It seems she's still holding back," he thought.

In any case, it was now his turn, so as soon as the two girls returned, he and Xun Wei took their places.

"Just as I thought."

Ethan examined the new list of pills to be produced and noticed that it was indeed different from the previous one, with the exception of the level 2 pill.

That said, none of the pills were actually more complicated than the previous ones; in fact, they were of the same difficulty.

As soon as the examiner gave the signal, both he and his opponent began pulling out their materials.

Xun Wei, who had watched Ethan's first match, knew that if he didn't perform better than his last match, he stood no chance against him.

Ethan and Xiang Hua were already considered the strongest participants, so anyone who found themselves up against them knew they had only a small chance of winning.

This chance lay in at least matching their number of produced pills and hoping to win through the purity of their creations.

Xun Wei had been trained by his father, who was none other than a Master Alchemist.

Though it wasn't obvious, like Yan Mei, he had spent many years learning the art of refining from him, and this year, he had reached a level of mastery that allowed him to refine high-grade level 1 pills with relative ease.

So, like most of those present, he was now training for the next level.

After several attempts, he had finally succeeded in producing a low-grade level 2 pill, with an acceptable purity percentage.

It was a small step forward, but still a step forward nonetheless.

The only problem was that he hadn't had enough time to perfect his technique, so even now, if he attempted to refine a level 2 pill, he would fail 80% of the time, a rate far too high to risk it during the competition.

So, he aimed to produce 9 out of the 10 listed pills.

Unlike Xun Wei, Ethan wasted no time wondering whether he could beat his opponent.

He refined at the same speed as before.

He had no doubt that he would win.

Just look at how many pills he had produced in the first match.

He had produced a batch of 3 for every single pill except the level 2 one, which would have taken too much time to refine.

Although the list didn't require more than necessary, in case of a tie, other factors would determine the winner, and this was one of them.

But Ethan believed he wouldn't even need that.

If it were up to him, he could produce all the listed pills at a higher grade than their current level.

The problem was that the list didn't seem to allow any freedom in this regard.

Therefore, Ethan focused on producing a large number, and even in that, he had left a little surprise in case of a tie.

Time passed quickly, and neither side held back.

Xiang Hua and Yan Mei couldn't help but watch the match, and both of them noticed one thing—Ethan was going just as fast as before.

Even though the pills had changed, he was still producing them from the lowest grade to the highest, all in batches of three.

This proved that his previous result wasn't just luck, but rather, it was his actual level of skill.

They weren't the only ones who noticed this; even the examiner, who now believed that Ethan would definitely participate in the imperial tournament, noticed something in the batches of pills he was producing.

"This…

This boy has been holding back much more than I thought," he thought, raising his opinion of Ethan a bit higher than before.

Finally, the incense stick burned out completely, marking the end of the match.

Just like before, Ethan had finished early and had already placed his vials of pills on the table in front of the examiner.

Xun Wei had noticed Ethan finishing, but he didn't get discouraged by it.

He wasn't aiming to beat him in time or quantity but in purity.

So, he didn't rush through any step unnecessarily and took his time to refine each pill.

In the end, he also managed to produce 9 pills in an hour, breaking his previous record.

"Haha…"

In this match, he had spent much more energy than before, not just to increase his speed but also to maintain a level of focus that allowed him to adapt to this pace.

It wasn't the first time in his life that he had exhausted himself this way, but the number of times he had done it was certainly low. The occasions that required it were relatively rare.

Yan Mei, seeing that even Xun Wei had managed to produce 9 out of the 10 required pills, couldn't help but feel left behind.

She knew that Xun Wei was two years older than her, and just like her, he had been trained by a Master Alchemist, but she didn't like the feeling of being surpassed by others.

To her, those two years of difference between her and Xun Wei didn't matter much.

First, there was the masked boy, who had appeared out of nowhere and demonstrated his overwhelming ability.

Then there was Xiang Hua, who, even though she had withdrawn, was still on a level above her.

And now, even Xun Wei.

Having lost to Xiang Hua, she knew she would have to fight in the next round and win to have a chance at securing the last spot, as the first two spots were already in the hands of Xiang Hua and the masked boy.

She clenched her fists in frustration.

This was the first time she had participated in this competition, and given her skills, she had decided to enter directly into the expert category.

She had thought she wouldn't have much difficulty securing one of the top three spots, but now she had to rethink that, as not one, but three strong competitors had emerged.

She knew she would have to give her all in the next match.