Rise of the Alchemy God

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Everyone, including Ethan, turned to look toward the direction from which the voice came, spotting an elderly man in refined clothing standing a few meters from the arena.

His gaze was fixed intently on Ethan's station.

More specifically, his eyes were on the peculiar-looking pill in Ethan's hand.

Before anyone could question him, the old man moved quickly, and appeared before the judges a meter away from Ethan. His eyes were glued to the pill enclosed in the glass vial.

"The smooth surface, like glass, and those spiral patterns... There's no doubt, this is indeed the Pill of Eternal Youth," he muttered while continuously examining the pill, mumbling to himself.

For a moment, silence fell as everyone watched this unexpected arrival who had suddenly started studying the pill.

While the audience wondered who he was, the judges, who had been trying to determine what kind of pill it was just moments before, were again left stunned by what they saw.

"G-Grandmaster Bái Huò Shān," mumbled the judge closest to Ethan, recognizing one of the most renowned figures on the continent standing in front of him. Not just him, but other master alchemists present also broke out of their reverie to respectfully greet him.

"Let us welcome Grandmaster Bái Huò Shān," they all said, bowing with hands clasped.

Bái Huò Shān, who had rushed here, composed himself and nodded slowly in acknowledgment.

At this sight, both the audience and participants in both categories were shocked by the revelation.

"Bái Huò Shān? That Bái Huò Shān? Someone pinch me, please."

"I can't believe the Grandmaster himself came here personally. I never thought I'd see him today," said another.

The entire arena began buzzing with whispers, reinvigorated by Bái Huò Shān's appearance.

Even the announcer, just recovering from the grandmaster's sudden appearance, confirmed his presence, announcing that it was indeed him.

Ethan, who was directly in front of him, analyzed the man with his spiritual sense, nodding to himself after a moment as he thought:

'Not bad. He does indeed have the qualifications to be considered a grandmaster alchemist,' he concluded, pleased with what he perceived from his analysis.

For someone at Ethan's level, he could discern another's abilities to some extent just by looking at them.

From this, he could tell that the person before him indeed had some considerable skill in alchemy.

Of course, he couldn't fully gauge the extent of the man's abilities, but he didn't need to.

As he finished analyzing him, the grandmaster, remembering why he had rushed to the arena, shifted his gaze back to the pill in Ethan's hand.

Looking up at Ethan, he brought his hands together in greeting and spoke:

"Fellow Alchemist, may this old man ask for your name?" he said with a tone of respect.

Seeing this, the faces of the judges turned to stone once again as they processed what they had just heard.

'Did he just call him "fellow alchemist"?'

It might seem normal for an alchemist to address another as a fellow alchemist under typical circumstances.

However, for individuals at the level of master or grandmaster alchemist, doing so was a recognition of the other's skills, as if placing them on the same level.

In other words, the judges had just witnessed a grandmaster alchemist acknowledging the masked youth's abilities and even placing him on equal footing.

This chain of shocking events had pushed many, especially the judges, to their limit; they felt that one more surprise might make them faint.

Ethan considered it for a moment.

He had entered the competition as "Nuyu" and certainly didn't want to reveal his real name just yet, as, unlike usual cases where a name might go unnoticed, his was rather unique.

Anyone who knew or had heard of him would immediately recognize him if he revealed his real name now, someone like Xiang Hua, for example.

After briefly considering his options, he clasped his hands together in a respectful greeting and simply replied:

"This young one prefers to go by the name Nuyu. It is a pleasure to meet you."

Upon hearing this, some spectators nearly spat out blood.

"This lunatic actually chose to call himself Nuyu even in front of the grandmaster?"

"Maybe he doesn't know who Grandmaster Bai is."

"No, that's impossible. Who doesn't know Grandmaster Bai, especially if they're an alchemist? He definitely knows."

Clearly, Ethan's decision to use his alias didn't sit well with the audience, and even some of the participants didn't know how to react.

Although Grandmaster Bai maintained a cheerful expression, internally, he was cursing and wondering what sane person would choose to be called "Salted Fish".

Ultimately, deciding to ignore it, he turned his attention back to the pill in Ethan's hand.

"Young friend, if I may ask, this is indeed the Pill of Eternal Youth, correct?" he asked, now nearly certain of its authenticity.

"Yes, this is indeed the Pill of Eternal Youth," replied Ethan calmly.

Hearing this, the elderly man became visibly more excited, as did the judges behind him. Finally remembering the pill, their eyes widened as they exclaimed:

"Wait a minute, this is truly the Pill of Eternal Youth?"

"But how is this possible? No one has ever managed to create it. Its formula was lost more than a millennium ago."

The judges were taken aback by this revelation, as the existence of the pill was only known through ancient alchemical texts. No one knew how to refine it, as its formula had been lost long ago.

All that was known were the effects it had on those who consumed it.

The Pill of Eternal Youth was a miraculous pill, as it allowed anyone who took it to fully recover their youthful appearance, restoring their body to an age of no more than 20.

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Not only that, but it was said to extend the person's lifespan by several centuries.

And this was just part of its miraculous effects.

It was capable of curing most diseases and physical conditions, both genetic and those acquired over the years from external factors.

It was a pill that anyone nearing the end of their life or who knew they didn't have much time left would wish for, as it would grant them a new lease on life, a second life, so to speak.

This pill's formula was one that had been repeatedly attempted to be recreated due to its benefits, but despite many efforts, no one had succeeded in creating a recipe that could rival the original.

Certainly, pills could be made that provided some miraculous effects, but these always came with side effects, making them unworthy substitutes. Some could even create multiple pills that, separately, could provide these benefits but never combined into a single pill.

In other words, their attempts to replicate it had always been a disaster, one after another.

Now, seeing that someone had actually recreated that pill made it clear to everyone that the masked youth likely possessed the original recipe for the pill or at least a recipe close to the original.