Chương 28: The Four Nights Festival - Alchemy Tournament (Part 2)

At the sight of Ruste Zen and his masterful work, the crowd in the stands went crazy. The air was buzzing as everyone shouted over one another just to be heard. Some spectators did everything they could to uncover the boy's identity, contacting acquaintances through artifacts. Others shouted vows of eternal loyalty, which were especially popular among the young girls. Glancing at one of the flasks containing his pills, Ruste Zen nodded with pride in his eyes and opened the second chest.

Wasting no time, he swept everything into the cauldron with one quick hand movement and began concocting the Whale's Breath pill. Sitting nearby, An suddenly wondered why Golden Boy hadn't used the Purity Measurer artifact, which, as he understood, was in every chest of spirit plant sets.' Are you really that confident in yourself?' An narrowed his eyes.' Or do you have some kind of secret? Hm?' He began carefully examining Ruste Zen's body, his hands, neck, fingers.

After scanning him several times, he finally managed to find a very faint, almost invisible flow of Qi emanating from the finger on his right hand. As he began to study this flow, An's face suddenly contorted and went pale. His entire body shook, and he immediately cut off any contact with that faint flow, turning his head away and squeezing his eyes shut. …. <" Hmm... Someone was just studying my Qi...

"> Hearing an elderly voice in his head, Ruste Zen froze. <" Teacher, has someone discovered us?

"> Ruste Zen asked in his head, mentally directing the thought toward the ring on his finger. <" No... But it's very strange… I can't identify the source... But it's clearly not one of the big guys sitting in the clouds, someone weaker. Much weaker, I would even say...

"> The voice in Ruste's head continued, its tone becoming slightly heavy and gloomy. <" It doesn't matter... Don't get distracted from alchemy. Follow what I taught you! Victory is what matters, focus!

"> But then the old man's voice relaxed and returned to its usual tone. <" Yes, Teacher!

"> Ruste Zen nodded, exhaled, and continued refining. ….' What was that just now? I almost fainted from fear!' An, sitting nearby, began breaking out in a cold sweat.' That chaotic and cold Qi, and its density! The moment I started interacting with it, I felt that if I didn't stop, I would simply cease to exist. Not just die, I would disappear completely!' He slowly calmed down a little, slightly opened his eyes, and glanced sideways at Golden Boy.' Could this be one of those "Old Man in a Ring" situations? Eh...

I was just joking when I called him another protagonist… Aren't there already too many of them? One was enough...' An twisted his face, still feeling chills running down his spine.' But in that novel, what was it called again... The Heavenly Void Codex, yes! Exactly!' He spent a long time trying to remember the name of that novel, the one he had already recalled on his first day in this world. This time, he was sure the name was correct, just like before.' In the novel, there was only one protagonist.

There was no one like Golden Boy... Wait, am I really in the world of that novel? Or are these all just coincidences? A lot of coincidences to be honest...' An lowered his head and sank into thought, completely forgetting about the tournament. Withdrawing into himself, he tried to recall the sequence of events and various characters from the novel, the story in which he believed he existed now. But the only things he could remember were the major events. First: The Four Nights Festival.

After the Combat Tournament, the protagonist Mo Fan was supposed to become the personal disciple of one of the Peak Leaders. Second: the grand opening of a special location that had been under the control of Demonic Forces for hundreds of years. A dangerous event that would change the course of the entire Alliance of Four. For reasons An couldn't quite recall, this place would be opened to all sects, both Righteous and Demonic.

Third: after a few years, a conflict would begin to flare up between the Righteous Sects and the Demonic Sects. This conflict would last for years, even decades, and would have terrible consequences. And then, many strange, fragmented memories that made no sense in his head.' I wonder, did Golden Boy also get reincarnated, like me and Mo Fan? And if so, where did he come from? From Mo Fan's world, from the Blue Planet? Or from my Earth?'

An threw a few more glances toward the golden-eyed boy with an old man, or an old woman in the ring.

"Hey! How many times do I have to yell at you? Where's my new cauldron?!" He was finally pulled out of his thoughts by loud shouts. Turning his head, he saw that one of the participants had blown up his cauldron again. Quickly snapping out of it, he stood up and replaced the cracked cauldron with a new one, all while shaking his head, and chiding the culprit for their carelessness in ruining the equipment.

"Just do your job, you damn servant!" snapped the participant with the new cauldron. He couldn't believe this assistant, who was barely doing his job, still had the audacity to talk back to others, to him.

"First, learn how to regulate the temperature in and outside the cauldron… Then you can start refining pills... You so-called master," An looked sharply into the participant's eyes and slightly released his Qi. This time, he couldn't help himself; the words just slipped out of his mouth. As soon as the participant felt the pressure of the fifth layer, his face went pale, and he immediately lowered his head clenching his fists, trying to subdue his fear. Seeing his reaction, An stopped himself just in time.

Pulling himself together, he turned around and returned to his spot. Many of the ten participants noticed this exchange and felt the cultivation strength of this seemingly ordinary assistant. Most immediately looked away from him, since only three of the ten had cultivation above the fourth layer. Pink Braids began thoughtfully examining An, as did Arrogant Lady, who looked down from her heights and granted her gaze to those below.

In Pink Braids' eyes, there was surprise and something else, something deeply hidden. It was worth noting that An's physical age was only ten. Although through cultivation and eating spirit fish and Kavana fruits every day he had grown significantly stronger and more mature, he still looked thirteen at most. This surprise was also present in Arrogant Lady's eyes.

It was hard to believe that someone so young with such high cultivation was working as an ordinary assistant, even if it was hard for them to admit, having such high statuses themselves. It was difficult to praise someone when you're used to being the one everyone praises. The role of assistant was usually filled by disciples without any talent, since there were many ways to earn contribution points in the sect. Only the lowest rung of outer disciples, out of desperation, took missions like this.

Examining An from her heights, Arrogant Lady noticed the brand on his neck. Her interest immediately vanished. She snorted, as if accusing him of wasting her time, and demonstratively turned back to her cauldron. But Pink Braids, upon noticing the brand, only smiled slightly, showed pity in her eyes as she watched An approach her workstation.

"Hey, little brother!" Pink Braids called out to An quietly, covering the side of her mouth with her hand as if trying not to disturb others around her. Walking past her, he heard her soft, melodic voice. Stopping and turning his head, he saw Pink Braids smiling and waving her hand, beckoning him over.

"Little brother! Come here. Your senior sister wants to ask you something!" Pink Braids continued calling him closer, glancing around, worried about the other people. Watching her for a moment, An decided to approach. He thought, maybe she needed something, like a cauldron replacement or something else.

"Senior Sister, do you need something replaced?" An asked, examining her workspace.

"No, you misunderstood, little brother. I called you because I wanted to ask something." Pink Braids looked around again to make sure no one was watching. Moving a little closer to An, she spoke even more quietly. This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

"When you taught that idiot a lesson, I realized that you're at the fifth layer of Qi Condensation!" The participant An had just clashed with, hearing her whisper, almost blew up his new cauldron again.

"And I wanted to know, you clearly just joined the sect this year, right? And you're already at the fifth layer! How did it happen that you took a mission like this? Was someone forcing you? Trying to use you?!" Pink Braids asked with genuine concern on her face. An simply raised and turned his head, showing her the brand, deciding not to go into details.

"Oh! I'm sorry... Now I understand." Pink Braids exhaled, her voice suddenly dropping a little, a note of pity appeared. Between them suddenly settled an awkward silence.

"Ah! I completely forgot... Where are my manners! My name is Yan Eli, an outer disciple of the Primordial Purity Sect!" Yan Eli, without ceremony, extended her hand, expecting a handshake from An. This surprised him greatly, he had never met a girl who would extend her hand like that, so casually, like a buddy from your street, even in his first life.

"Nice to meet you, Yan Eli. I'm Hu Yu," He carefully shook her hand and smiled.

"That's an interesting name, Junior Brother Hu! And by the way, just call me Senior Sister Yan~" Yan Eli smiled widely and stared at An with her big pink eyes. Chatting with each other for some time on surface topics, mostly about the sect, lightly touching on cultivation, Yan Eli suddenly looked around suspiciously and lowered her tone even further, almost to a whisper.

"Little brother, earlier, I heard you muttering. Even though it was quiet, I could make out a few things. You... you're also an alchemist, aren't you?" Eli even moved closer, lowering her head near An's ear as if trying to whisper directly into it. She was almost half a head taller than An.' Isn't she getting a little too close to me?' An glanced at how Yan Eli had moved her chest right up to his face, leaning in so that the neckline of her robes was directly in front of his nose.

"Unfortunately, no, Senior Sister Yan. All my time goes to completing missions for the Sect, just to barely maintain my cultivation…" An shook his head with a sad face, sighing after almost every word, while trying not to look at her chest, feeling uncomfortable knowing that the girl in front of him was still a girl.

"What do you mean? How, with your talent, are they keeping you on the sidelines, all because of that stupid brand?! Ah... Little brother, my poor little brother!" Yan Eli gasped and hugged An, pressing his face to her chest. The moment she grabbed An, not only in her eyes but also in the Qi flows around her, a cold emotion flashed, an emotion of repulsion. He almost instinctively activated his Qi, but held himself back just in time.

Finding himself face-first between two massive ' peaks', An didn't even have time to start resisting.

"Don't worry, little brother Hu." Still holding An in her grip, she almost pressed her lips to his ear.

"My little brother... today, immediately after the closing of the Non-Combat Tournaments, I'll be waiting for you at the Sleeping Doves tavern. You just need to tell the owner that you've come to see me. Do you understand?" Yan Eli gently whispered into An's ear, continuing to hold him between her peaks.

"You know, to tell you the truth, I didn't know who to turn to, but meeting you today, I realized, you're the one I've been looking for. Only you can help me! No one else! But only in private can I open up to you, here, there are too many ears, too many eyes... In return my little brother, I promise you! I can help you however I can, techniques, resources, protection, anything that will help you, little brother Hu! Just nod if you agree!" Yan Eli whispered, emphasizing what An would receive.

He nodded, still face down there. After a few moments of silence, she released her arms and let him go, looking straight into his eyes. Suddenly, her cheeks reddened, and, acting shy, she gently pushed against his chest with a swift movement of her hand. An, escaping her grip, immediately shifted his attention, ignoring all her awkward gestures toward him, and looked carefully behind her. He realized that some kind of field had been set up around them. Reading the Qi, he guessed that it was an isolation field.

The reality of what was happening inside was very different from what people outside the barrier could see. Realizing that this was the work of an illusion, An went slightly pale. Throwing his gaze back to Yan Eli, who was watching him like a hawk with her watery pink eyes, covering the lower part of her face with one hand while using the other to show An the way out, he caught the hint. He stepped out of the barrier zone, and it immediately crumbled, dispersing in the wind.' Eh... She is still a kid…

And she's already seducing people... Besides, even though her emotions were hidden, I could tell that behind her kindness and shyness, there's something not very good, something very dark…' An shuddered, this kind of situation had completely thrown him off his game.' What does she really need? What's this meeting for? For me to help her with something, but with what? And what are the chances that I'll even walk out of that tavern in one piece...

Judging by the time she mentioned, her request is clearly related to the Combat Tournaments... Did she want me to distract someone? Or kill someone? No, asking a mere outer disciple to commit a contract killing, that's the height of idiocy. Getting killed? Quite possible… Or maybe stealing something from a heavily guarded place, while everyone is busy watching tournaments?' An didn't even notice how he drifted away on the current of his thoughts, completely losing his sense of reality around him.'

It doesn't matter what she wanted. I just need to try harder to avoid situations like this,' Reaching his spot, he sat down on the ground and shifted his focus from these thoughts to other matters. Golden Boy had almost refined the Whale's Breath pills. Arrogant Lady had managed to achieve 19% potency loss. And judging by the time remaining, this was her last attempt. For Yan Eli, when An was near her, he had seen her best result was 24% loss. Remembering someone, he looked at Dark Horse's workstation.

An was surprised at what he saw. Dark Horse was holding a pill with an 11% loss. Examining the pill in his hand, he tried to keep his face serious, but his burning eyes and trembling smile showed that he was proud of his result. With a deft movement, he placed the pill in a flask and sat down to meditate, finally relaxing.' Wow... 11%! Now it's up to you, Golden Boy,' An threw a glance at Golden Boy. He was sure that he would show much better results. ….

"On the verge of high quality..." Wu Xin carefully examined the pill in Dark Horse's hands.

"Black Marcus... It seems even in this Tournament, your Sect will take two spots in the top three," Gu Bai squeezed out with a crooked smirk, throwing a sideways glance at the Leader of the White Dragon Sect." Hahaha! How else? Everyone who starts cultivating the White Dragon's basic cultivation technique becomes a true Dragon themselves!"" Ha! And Dragons don't fly low! Never!" Black Marcus laughed louder and louder, doing it on purpose to annoy the others.

"They don't fly low, but they fall hard." Wei Leo whispered under his breath and threw a strange glance at Black Marcus, who was holding his belly.

"Enough... Better focus your attention on the tournament below. The last thing we need is for you to start punching each other in the face. What would our guests think of us?" Wu Xin snorted and began ignoring the two. Hearing this, Gu Bai nodded with a slight smile and threw his gaze down to the arena, where the main talent of this Festival was about to reveal himself. …. Boom! The cauldron's lid flew off and shot into the sky, traveling no less than a hundred meters.

Instantly, a strong aroma of pills spread throughout the surrounding area. The aroma was so concentrated that not only did all the tournament participants feel the wave of scent intoxicating them, but even the spectators sitting far away in the stands, kilometers from the tournament itself, felt the pill's fragrance.

"What an aroma... Even from this far away, I can feel this amazing pill... Ah!"

"M-my cultivation is improving! What's happening?! Just breathing the aroma, my cultivation and physical strength have increased!"

"A genius! No less!"

"Not just a genius, a genius among geniuses!"

"Perfect quality! How is that possible?! He's only at Qi Condensation! Unbelievable!" The entire Coliseum's stands exploded. The buzz rose so high that the excited voices and shouts reached even An and the participants. The frenzy wasn't just among the spectators, the crowd at the tournament, who were essentially at the epicenter, simply abandoned their pill refinings and enjoyed the aroma.

Some, not missing the opportunity, began cultivating, feeling how this thick scent flying around them and falling to the ground was having a beneficial effect on them. Everyone abandoned their cauldrons, which immediately began exploding, but no one cared anymore. Participants and spectators with a dominant Water element suddenly found themselves in a personal paradise, their cultivation and physical strength growing by leaps and bounds. BOOM!

From the sky, like a comet, Black Marcus landed, destroying a large part of the pill's fragrance in the process. This earned him many dissatisfied looks from disciples on the arena.

"Heir of the Ruste clan! Ruste Zen! As a trusted disciple of my Master, the former Sect Leader, I offer you, on his behalf, the opportunity to become his personal disciple and my junior brother! What do you say? Come on! Don't keep us waiting!" Black Marcus, standing before Ruste Zen with his hands clasped behind his back, lifted his head slightly and announced this to the entire Arena. Upon hearing the name Ruste Clan, most of the cultivators in the stands gasped.

"The Ruste Clan... Could it be..."

"Ruste Zen, the Ignito Flame... Ah, now I understand why it seemed so familiar..."

"Master, who is the Ruste Clan?"" Ho! That's a difficult question, but… fine… In the past, the Ruste clan was one of the main vassal clans of the Royal Family. But due to an oversight by other vassal clans, their entire family was wiped off the face of the earth by the army of the Demonic Path, the Free Night Sect. In one night, power that could stand against an entire sect was erased from the pages of history... I never thought anyone could have survived."

"Did I hear that correctly? A personal disciple of the Great Dreyko?"

"Great Dreyko? I heard he's already dead."" Shhh! Don't dare say that out loud! What if someone from the White Dragon Sect hears?" Everyone began buzzing again, discussing and passing along facts, not only about the fall and former greatness of the Ruste clan but also about the former Sect Leader of the White Dragon Sect, the Great Dreyko.

"Senior Brother Sect Leader, please accept my bow on behalf of our Master!" Ruste Zen only took a moment to realize what was happening. With determination on his face, he fell to his knees and bowed. Seeing this deep and sincere bow, Black Marcus exhaled heavily, weighing the future consequences of this difficult decision.

"Excellent! Hahaha!" He instantly replaced the heaviness on his face with a wide smile, hiding his inner turmoil.

"Brother Gu! What do you say? Surely none of you oppose giving first place to my junior brother Ruste? After all, who else can boast of refining a perfect first-rank pill while only at Qi Condensation?" Black Marcus turned his head and threw a glance at Gu Bai.

"Did you hear that! While at Qi Condensation!" He turned his head again toward the participants and the stands, which he couldn't actually see through his physical eyes from the arena where he was standing, and shouted even louder, so that everyone would bear witness to his words. Seeing Gu Bai's stern gaze, which was starting to get annoyed by his behavior, Black Marcus simply ignored it.

"Ha! Exactly! No one! Hahaha!" Without waiting for an answer, he tilted his head up and burst into laughter, slapping his hand on Ruste Zen's shoulder, his new junior brother.