Chương 26: The Four Nights Festival - Artifact Tournament

At the tables in the Artificer sector, disciples from all four sects materialized right in front of their workstations, out of thin air. The projection shifted focus, trying to show all the participants and lingering on several of them.

"Convenient... But what if there's a miscalculation and a participant teleports directly into the table?" An muttered, imagining the reactions of those around him, especially the elders responsible for running this event. Just as suddenly as the teleportation, the tournament began without any fanfare. Each participant was given a task, and everyone immediately set to work. Watching the participants at work, An almost fell asleep.

For cultivators who weren't interested in artifact crafting, the process seemed very long and agonizingly tedious. After only twenty minutes of this ' show', he decided to use the six hours he had until the Alchemy Tournament productively. Closing his eyes, he began a cultivation cycle. While he was immersed in cultivation, he heard exclamations and gasps around him like background noise. It seemed some people in the vicinity were actually interested in artifacts.

After finishing a cycle, he opened his eyes and decided to check how the tournament was progressing. Observing the work itself, he realized that the initial boredom stemmed from the lengthy preparation phase for creating artifacts. He understood that everyone's Qi work followed the instructions identically, just like in the alchemy textbooks: strict adherence to timing and parameters. Having understood the process that everyone followed through the Qi flows, he grew bored again, finding it all strangely banal.

Instead, he began replaying his own preparations of Qi Enlightenment pills and Beginning of the Body Qi Path pills, along with the most recent Golden Body Qi pills, trying to figure out how to further reduce the loss percentage, how to make the preparation process more productive, and possibly even easier. To obtain the status of Alchemy Practitioner, he needed only four different pills with a potency loss below 15%.

He still needed to improve the Beginning of the Body Qi Path pill and invent some new recipe without ruining it. An decided not to rush, since he had over five months until his next mandatory mission.' I should make it in time, even if from this moment I start allocating less time to Alchemy... Five months is plenty to develop my second recipe and bring the other pills to their possible maximum.' Lost in his thoughts, An heard loud, enthusiastic cheers coming from outside, from the stands of the Coliseum itself.

Looking up at the projection, An realized that the three finalists had already been determined. They had already climbed onto the platform in the middle of the four tournament sectors and were looking up with trepidation and anticipation, watching as all the Sect Leaders slowly descended from the clouds.

"Haha, now this is what I call a tournament! A real tournament!" Black Marcus began laughing, clutching his chest." Hmph, you're only so pleased because two of the three champions are from your Sect," Wu Xin put her hands on her hips, displeasure flashing in her eyes. Beside them, Wei Leo chose to remain silent and simply nodded.

"Well then, I congratulate you! You have demonstrated your skill, thanks to which you have become the best among all participants in today's tournament! And now!" Gu Bai said the last phrase louder. He spread his arms, and three distinct wooden boxes flew from his sleeves, directly into the hands of each winner." Hehehe! And now! Brother Gu, announce the winners!" Black Marcus interjected. In response, Gu Bai shot him a sharp sideways glance." Ahem!

I, Gu Bai, Sect Leader of the Heavenly Soul Sect, congratulate the third place winner: Po Pon, who at just fifteen years of age had rightfully earned the status of Practitioner of the Artifact Hall of the White Dragon Sect, and is now one of the winners of the Artifact Tournament!" Immediately, applause and clapping broke out all around. People started buzzing, and even most of the tournament participants began congratulating Po Pon.

Standing on the platform, Po Pon bowed first to the Sect Leader of the White Dragon Sect, Black Marcus, and then to Gu Bai and the others. Rising from his bow, he turned to the projection, brushed his long black hair away from his face, and surveyed all the other participants with his abyss-like eyes, which were accentuated by his sword-like eyebrows. He smiled, adjusted his white robes with black dragon patterns, then turned back and held the casket with both hands, eagerly waiting for the moment he could open it.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

"Mao Lu, at just fourteen years old, has successfully become a Practitioner of the Artifact Hall and also a Practitioner of the Alchemy Hall of the Five Sacred Lives Sect, which speaks to her unparalleled talent!" Gu Bai said with a warm smile, gesturing with an open hand toward a girl who looked about seventeen. Her black wavy hair with blue tips strongly accentuated her round, charming face, and her dark eyes with blue borders perfectly created a sense of warmth and trust at the mere sight of them.

The moment she smiled, everyone around, even those watching through the projections, began gasping and awwing, and smiles involuntarily appeared on their faces, even on the grimmest cultivators. After bowing to the other participants and the spectators, she took the edge of her blue robes with gray patterns, stood up straight, and threw one last fleeting glance. Everyone immediately noticed her reddened cheeks, and a new wave of gasps and sighs swept through those present.

"Shen Romun! At sixteen years old, he has already earned the statuses of Practitioner in the Halls of Artifacts, Alchemy, and Talismans of the White Dragon Sect! One of the Seeds of the Future of our Alliance! I am not afraid to say it! A genius! A genius of the Alliance of Four!" Many spectators even rose from their seats and began applauding, silently competing with each other over who could clap the loudest.

Even around An, some disciples stood up and started clapping, despite being from his sect, not the White Dragon Sect. A young man who looked about nineteen stepped forward. His black hair with white tips, slightly wavy, swayed in the wind, creating the illusion that the focus was showing a scholar rather than a cultivator. His golden eyes surveyed everything around him as if it were all his by right, as if he were the one and only, undisputed king.

His tall stature and lean figure were perfectly accentuated by his white robes with black and green dragon patterns. Altogether, it gave him a unique aura, reminiscent of true emperors. After bowing gracefully to everyone around him, he returned to his place with calm, confident steps. After a few minutes of standing ovations and congratulations, everything began to quiet down. The four Sect Leaders slowly rose into the air, and Gu Bai flew slightly forward.

He thanked all the participants and announced a one-hour break until the next event, the Alchemy Tournament. As soon as Gu Bai said this, the plaque that An had received from Vota Lum grew very hot and began to vibrate. Feeling this, An immediately put everything back into his pouch and got to his feet. The moment he straightened up and dusted himself off, he saw chaotic Qi flows flying out of the plaque and enveloping him. When his entire body was covered in this chaotic Qi, he saw a bright flash.

Squeezing his eyes shut involuntarily, he felt a temporary change in his body, as if he had become lighter, but the pressure around him had greatly increased, even his breath caught. Opening his eyes, he saw that he had been teleported to the Alchemy sector. His plaque continued to vibrate. Reading the Qi from it, he understood that he had been teleported to the location he was assigned to for assisting participants. He would be responsible for the ten tables closest to him. An frowned.

Even taking all fifty disciples who had come with him and allocating twenty tables for each of them, that still wouldn't be enough, because by rough estimate, there were at least eight thousand tables in the Alchemy sector. Looking around, he finally noticed that in some places, there were disciples from other Peaks and even from other sects, also with low cultivation, at the same level as all the other assistants.' Hmm... Then why didn't they help us with the setup?

Why were we the only ones hauling heavy stuff for nearly an entire day? Is it because we're the hosts? What about the disciples from other Peaks? So that means we're... the most unfortunate ones?' An wondered. Then he noticed that particles in the air began to flicker brightly near the tables, and people began appearing in the empty spaces, identical to what had happened at the start of the Artifact Tournament.

As soon as the participants appeared, they first looked around chaotically, but after gathering themselves, they began studying the equipment laid out before them. Some immediately grabbed the prepared cauldron and examined it, while others pushed it aside and took out their own. An looked at the ten participants he was assigned to. Seven of them were at the fourth layer of Qi Condensation or below, with the same emblems as him, Apprentices.

Among the remaining three: The first was a girl with the emblem of an Alchemy Practitioner and cultivation at the fifth layer. She looked no older than seventeen, with white hair tied into two pink-tinted braids, huge rose-colored eyes, and a slightly chubby face, but her figure was perfect, which strongly contrasted with her childish face. As she spun around looking in all directions, her white robes with a pinkish tint rose in the wind. An decided to call her ' Pink Braids'.

The second girl also with the emblem of a Practitioner, but in both Alchemy and Artifacts. Her cultivation was definitely above the fifth layer, An couldn't accurately read her Qi strength, as he was unfamiliar with the energy density higher than the sixth layer. She looked about eighteen. Her black hair strongly accentuated her green eyes, giving her a mysterious beauty. But her cold, detached gaze strongly emphasized her ego, saying that she was above everyone standing next to her.

Her flawless, model-like face made this haughty impression even more pronounced. Anyone who looked at her immediately began to feel self-conscious. With perfect posture, her curves were well accentuated by her blue robes with gray and green patterns. An decided to call her ' Arrogant Lady'. The third participant was a somewhat mysterious young man with the emblem of a Practitioner in both Alchemy and Talismans.

His tall stature, combined with his cultivation at the fifth layer of Qi Condensation, added to the pressure emanating from him. Although his golden eyes showed heaviness in his gaze, his childish face, looking no older than sixteen, made him slightly comical. Especially his white hair with golden tips, which, together with his striking features, gave him an additional royal aura.

Hunching slightly as if trying to hide from everyone, dressed in white robes with golden dragon patterns, he carefully examined everything on the table. An decided that for the duration of the tournament, he would be ' Golden Boy'.