Eternal Cultivation of Alchemy

Chapter 2286  Incoming Cull

The competition this time around was going to be short, by comparison. Taking no more than a few months at the best. The competition itself was going to be in batches, so they would have to wait until it was their turn.

People from all around the world would be in the audience this time around, watching their every move. Similarly, the competition would also be broadcast all throughout the Medicine World, being visible to people all around throughout the other continents. As a result, they needed to do their best this time around.

The participants still couldn\'t meet with their masters or family. They needed to complete the first tournament and be able to no longer wear the medallion in order to meet with the others.

"I have information at the moment that over 400 people have completed the first competition," the man said. "Since only the first 10 thousand cultivators will even be allowed to take part in the last competition, you will need to do your best."

Alex was surprised. He hadn\'t imagined that so many people would have completed the competition by now.

\'They must\'ve gotten lucky,\' Alex thought. The only reason he hadn\'t done so was because he had yet to find the White Ascension Flower, the Emerald Raven, and the Immortal Jade Locusts. "And another very important piece of information," the man said, catching everyone\'s attention. "There were over 90 thousand of you taking part in the tournament. That is too many to test each time; you should all understand that."

Everyone nodded one after another.

"Because of that, in the 3rd Competition, you must all come within the top 40 thousand to not get immediately disqualified. That is to say, for the rest 50 thousand, this will be the last competition."

Alex\'s eyes widened in surprise. He hadn\'t expected them to cull the numbers by this much so quickly. More than half were going to get disqualified at once at the end of the competition. He would have to work rather hard to not be one of them.

\'Hopefully, this won\'t be a luck-based competition,\' he thought. Those sorts would be the worst. But since they were trying to find the best alchemists, having it all be up to luck wouldn\'t be a great idea anyway.

"Senior," someone called out. "What happens if you don\'t land in the top 40 thousand but have still passed the first competition? Would one still be able to enter the next one?"

"No, you\'re still getting disqualified," the man said. "Passing the first competition in the top 10 thousand is a requirement to enter the last competition. It does not allow you to take part it in if you have been disqualified already."

A stunned silence spread among the group.

"But," the man said with a mischievous smile. "Just because you are disqualified does not mean you can\'t complete your first and second competition. You can still register your pill if you\'re done with it."

"Why would we want to do that?" someone asked.

The man\'s grin was even bigger now. "Why indeed."

Alex could not believe the shamelessness this senior was showing. He was actually encouraging people to try and get others to fail even if they themselves had already failed.

That was such a scummy behavior. But it seemed it was allowed. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

\'I\'ll need to make my pill quickly. Finish the first competition,\' Alex thought. The necessity was more now than ever.

They were finally teleported, sent directly into the secret realm. They didn\'t have to go to the town beforehand.

Alex looked around at the not-so-familiar secret realm. The natural look of the secret realm had been seemingly destroyed long ago, all the trees and plants inside of it gotten rid of.

What they had done instead was create a massive platform at the center of it all, spanning thousands of meters in all directions. Not only that, they had created large stadiums all around for the audience to sit and watch.

\'Was this place always this big?\' Alex thought at first. He took a moment to feel through it and quickly realized a subtle aura of Space Expansion being used to stretch the space to its utmost capability without tearing itself apart.

\'Those are some powerful formations put into place to strengthen the stretched space,\' Alex thought. \'The Formation Monarch\'s people must\'ve been working hard for the past decade.\'

"Competitors, this way. Everyone else, both disciples and beasts, this way."

This was explained beforehand. For the rest of the 3rd Competition, they would remain separated until it was all over.

Alex walked in the direction they were pointed to, going toward a massive hall where they could sit and cultivate while waiting for the tournament. There were tens of thousands of people within the hall already. Some stood around and talked, while some sat and cultivated, surrounded by a small barrier that seemed to give them the silence they needed.

Some spots were even completely opaque, not allowing anyone to see what was going on within the small space. Alex looked around, each glance scanning thousands of cultivators at once until he found someone he recognized.

Jai Heiyun sat in the corner, talking with 2 other people. She was the only person he recognized here, so he quickly made his way toward her.

Jai Heiyun noticed his arrival and smiled widely. "You— Brother Dawnblade, you made it!" she said quickly.

Alex waved in greeting. "How have you been?" he asked.

"Great. Did you find your ingredients?" she asked.

Alex shook his head. "Still have a few missing," he said. "And you?"

"I have a few to get still," she said. She seemed to realize there were people next to her and jumped in a start. "Ah, these are my friends. Thousandleaf and Riveroak."