The majority of the audience was in utter shock at the fact that both of the Alchemists —often praised as the best alchemists of the younger generations— had failed to make it to even the semi-finals.
Palesilver’s loss alone had been something no one had expected, but they never really believed her to win the whole thing. After all, Faithseeker had always been just a step ahead of her.
So, the fact that Faithseeker had lost as well had come as a battering ram against their doors of expectation, shattering every fragment of belief they previously held about the tournament.
So for many, the remaining four were suddenly put on a pedestal much higher than even what entering the Semi-Finals could.
Treegold was an alchemist from the Sacred Lotus Dominion, and people knew so much about him from his interview. He had trained under a secret alchemist and had come to be as great as he was. No one knew who that alchemist was, but people believed it could be one of the great alchemy masters that had been forgotten by time.
Aethersage was an heir to the Formation God. He was a disciple of one of the 10 Stars of Alchemy, and had gained one of the previous Alchemy God’s cauldron as inheritance. That made him particularly popular among many people as those three facts about him together made him easy to remember.
Leafheart was a princess of the Sword kingdom of the Split Sky realm. Although not a direct descendant, the fact that a princess had managed to become as good as she had was more than surprising to many. And the fact that she had been trained by one of the 10 Stars of Alchemy also meant she had a great bit of popularity.
Alex was the last of the four remaining Alchemists, and perhaps the one they knew the least about. He was the disciple of another of the 10 Stars of Alchemy, which gave him a boost in popularity. But what added to his memorability was that instead of giving an interview, he had taken part in a war-like battle against the War God himself, and had done great many times. If nothing else, they remembered Alex for that.
Of course, there were many more things to remember them all for, but most of the audience hadn’t watched the tournament from the start, so they had missed out on the majority of the competitions. Most had only come here in the past few months and knew only as much as they were told and had watched.
And now, they watched the four with a careful gaze, as they began the second-to-last leg of the journey to win the whole tournament.
* * * * *
Alex had absolutely no idea what he was going to make. He tried, a lot, but failed to come up with any good idea. It was as though the cauldron of ideas in his head had a lid on top of it now, and he couldn’t find a way to get the lid off.
He started employing different methods to come up with various pill ideas. He went through the major ingredients one after another.
When he thought of the Carnelian Assault Boar’s tusk, he remembered the pill that turned blood aura to fire aura as well as the Discordant Duality pill he just made.
Remembering that pill, Alex remembered what he had learned while making it. There was a way to cause an imbalance within that pill that would cause it to explode. He would have to change the recipe to form the pill in a different way, but it could be done.
’No… right?’ Alex thought. ’I can’t make that pill. It’s not true Alchemy.’
Every time Alex thought of the exploding pill, he just had a feeling that he needed to reject the idea. He wasn’t sure why , but after all these years of Alchemy, he came to believe that pills should only affect a person on the inside.
If not, then one might as well use Formations or Scripts. What was the point of making a pill if not to affect a person internally? What was the point of rendering the pill to something edible, something that disappears inside a person’s body, if not to use it inside?
Alex shook his head and shook away that thought. He couldn’t think about that at the moment. He needed to come up with an idea.
He thought of the Immortal Jadehorn leaves next, and their Wood energy as well as the variations within them. He had made use of the sound, so he could use them for their other attributes.
But then, he had used this as a supportive ingredient both times he had made the fire pill, so his thoughts went to the three pills, and he just could not think of another idea.
He was stuck thinking about the three pills, unable to begin to see a different avenue with the ingredient.
Alex moved to the Eight Twilight Silk seeds next with their Water ingredients and healing properties. The very first pill he had made was a healing pill using this ingredient.
After that, he had used it to aid the pill in healing one’s mental fatigue. He had also used this ingredient for the Discordant Duality pill.
Thinking about the pill, Alex thought back to the explosive pill.
He could leave behind a failure in the structure of the pill such that the energy would be in a volatile state, and a single instance of instability from outside forces would cause it to explode.
He had studied the explosive pill he had received from Lan Douhan when he was escaping the Poison Fighters Sect, and knew all about how explosive pills worked and how he could use them.
But, he no longer believed those to be pills. They were failures… right?
Alex began doubting himself at that point. Was he thinking about it all wrong? Was he pursuing the wrong thing while thinking this?
His master’s words and worry about the Dao of Alchemy had caused him to unconsciously begin thinking in this way for a while. And now, he began to wonder if he had been wrong from the start.
At least, it didn’t feel like he was gaining any enlightenment while thinking in this way. It was just affirming to himself what he thought was right.
And at this moment, he doubted that.
What if by affirming to himself that this was the correct thing, he was instead pushing himself in the wrong direction?
If not that, then what was the right direction? Could exploding pills truly be considered actual pills?
Was an individual eating the pill never a factor in Alchemy?
Even as Alex thought that, he believed it was wrong. There was no way Alchemy could exist exclusively. It always had to be in relation to a human, demon, beast, plant, maybe even a spirit. It had to involve something living.
If not, then… What really was the point of making pills? Explore more at freewebnovel
Alex’s mind clashed with itself. On one side was his true self, telling him that what he believed was correct. On the other side was his critical brain, which told him that if he did not do what was needed, he would fail this tournament.
And Alex could not decide which side he should listen to.
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