Rise of the Alchemy God

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The annual imperial alchemy tournament had finally come to an end, and all that remained was the award ceremony.

Ethan, initially a bit worried by the slight tremor he had felt, decided not to dwell on it too much.

If she had told him that everything was under control, then it had to be so.

After all, there weren't many figures on the mortal plane who could pose a serious threat to her.

Even those who could were still far from being able to harm her seriously.

Though her cultivation level was still in the fifth stage, her skills and experience alone were enough to bring anyone at that stage to their knees.

Ethan knew this better than anyone, as he had often experienced the full extent of her abilities firsthand.

Just thinking back to those intense training sessions sent shivers down his spine.

Though the dragon woman was generally calm and playful, she held nothing back when it came to training him.

Each time, he ended up bedridden for months afterward.

If it hadn't been for his foresight in preparing high-level pills to heal himself in such situations, it would have taken him years instead of months to recover.

He was skilled enough to craft potent pills that allowed him to recover faster, but relying too much on healing pills would do more harm than good to his body.

As an alchemist, he understood this fact all too well.

Although his pills could achieve absolute purity, that didn't mean there wouldn't be consequences for continued use.

Between his body developing a natural resistance to these pills, reducing their effectiveness, and his muscles not always having sufficient time to fully heal, his strength wouldn't grow significantly.

As the old saying went: "no pain, no gain." Experience more on мѵʟ

Though painful, Ethan endured Bai Yu's brutal training and the subsequent process of natural recovery.

He was allowing his body's natural recovery rate to improve, without relying on pills.

Seeing the results of years of training within his inner dimension, it seemed he had chosen the right approach.

Though still in the fifth stage, his strength was advancing rapidly, and even at the initial level of the fifth stage, he could already face someone three levels above him.

At his best, he could even fight opponents up to six levels above.

Finally shaking himself free from these thoughts, he focused on the awards ceremony.

Currently, on the grandly decorated stage prepared for the occasion, he and the others in his group, along with the participants from the first category, were all awaiting the judges to finish their closing speeches for the tournament, which could be summarized as follows:

From thanking the audience for their participation this year to emphasizing that this year's tournament had been full of expectations for everyone, audience and judges alike. Even Grandmaster Alchemist Bai stepped forward at one point to congratulate some participants who had shown noteworthy performances.

He congratulated the first-place winner in the first category before moving on to the second, where he congratulated everyone, even expressing his intention to accept a disciple this year.

Unfortunately for him, the three people he had in mind were unwilling.

Ethan, because he already possessed an alchemical level probably equal to the grandmaster's, wasn't even asked.

As for the two young women, one was already a disciple of another grandmaster, and the other had decided only to take Feng Huang, the Phoenix Sect's master, as her teacher and no one else, so she politely declined.

The Grandmaster, who had expected something like this, simply shook his head, not expecting any of them to accept.

In fact, his initial target had been only Ethan, but after discovering Ethan's true level of alchemy, he too had to be removed from the list with great regret.

The remaining two participants in the second category, seeing they hadn't even been asked if they wanted to become his disciples, swallowed their disappointment.

There was no way they could complain. After all, they were speaking about a grandmaster alchemist, whom no one would dare to offend.

Finally, the closing ceremony of the tournament was almost over, and everyone received their rewards.

Some made their requests immediately, while others decided to wait.

Before concluding the tournament, the grandmaster announced that the annual auction of pills would take place in a few days, which pleased many in the crowd.

The annual auction was one of the most anticipated events after the imperial tournament, because, apart from pills crafted by participants, it provided a chance to see various items for sale, which always managed to capture the attention of many.

Even more so this year, as two pills crafted by the masked boy had such a high value that many couldn't wait for the auction to begin, hoping for a chance to acquire them.

While all this was taking place, a figure of a cold yet elegant woman appeared outside a large entrance decorated with intricate gold engravings.

The woman was none other than Bai Yu, who, sensing a strange fluctuation coming from the imperial palace, had come to investigate.

She noticed various layers of formations and barriers protecting the palace, and though she thought they were decent for this plane, they were no obstacle for an entity like herself. Without any trouble, she successfully entered the imperial palace, standing now before the throne room.

Sensing the throne room's interior with her spiritual sense, her eyes showed a hint of surprise as she muttered,

"Now this is something I didn't expect to see in this plane."

She decided to hold back from entering through the doors as she initially planned.

She had sensed the aura of a formation inside the throne room and knew the formation well, so she refrained from any reckless actions.

She was slightly surprised to see that such a formation was present in this world, as it wasn't something mortals should have, after all.

"Eternal Prison Formation, huh.

I wonder how they managed to get their hands on such a formation."