There were only a few minutes left until the competition deadline arrived, but neither the spectators nor the judges seed to care anymore. All eyes were fixated on the spectacle unfolding before them.
Both grade 8 alchemists displayed their supre mastery, summoning a true grand tribulation. Two purple lightning storms clashed—one infused with the law of fire, the other with the law of ice—creating a massive vortex that shook the entire arena. The eight supporting pillars trembled under the pressure, and multiple Skyroot cosmic experts had to intervene, reinforcing the arena's protective barriers to shield the audience from the imnse forces at play.
The raging torrents of energy disrupted spirit readings and divine senses within the arena, forcing everyone to wait with bated breath for the results.
Amidst this chaotic display, few noticed Ery, who stood unfazed at the eye of the storm. His newly learned Dao of Heaven and Earth allowed him to not only endure but also absorb the excess energies, channeling both fire and ice into his Starforge cauldron. His focus remained absolute as he guided the final stages of his creation.
Minutes dragged by like hours as the two alchemy masters reached the final monts of their grand creations. The twin tempests of purple lightning that had dominated the skies monts ago finally dissipated, leaving behind eerie silence. The once-chaotic storm settled into a lingering crackle of residual energy, sending tiny sparks flickering across the scorched ground. A suffocating tension gripped the arena, as if the very air itself held its breath.
On opposite ends of the grand platform, Galeli and Ada stood tall, the exhaustion of their ordeal masked beneath expressions of unwavering confidence. Both had pushed their abilities to the absolute limit, their cauldrons still humming with the aftershocks of raw cosmic energy. Yet neither alchemist showed the slightest sign of doubt. They knew what they had accomplished.
A loud chi rang across the arena, signaling the end of the competition.
"Ti's up!" one of the judges announced, his voice cutting through the heavy silence.
Three figures moved forward, their flowing robes marked with the insignia of the Skyroot faction—elders of the esteed alchemical order, each bearing centuries of expertise.
The first to present her creation was Ada Velace.
With a flick of her wrist, a faint, ethereal glow illuminated her slender fingers as she summoned her creation. Hovering just above her open palm was an azure-blue pill, its surface shimring as though woven from the very essence of the sky itself. Intricate silver markings spiraled across its surface, forming ancient runes that pulsed with condensed spirit energy.
Gasps of awe rippled through the stands. Even from a distance, the pill exuded a commanding presence—a sign of its supre quality.
One of the judges stepped forward, his keen eyes scanning the creation before reaching out with his spiritual sense. A mont later, he turned to the others and gave a slow, approving nod.
"It's a Tier 9 spirit-enhancing pill," he announced, his voice carrying effortlessly across the hushed arena. "Masterpiece quality. Potency… 108%."
Gasps of astonishnt filled the arena. Creating a Tier 9 pill was already an incredible feat, but surpassing the 100% potency threshold was sothing even more worthy. The purple-hued tribulation was proof of her accomplishnt. Ada allowed herself a cold, satisfied smile.
Galeli let out a slow exhale, a thin plu of smoke curling from his lips. His eyes glead with amusent as he t Ada's piercing gaze, reading the silent challenge in them. A smirk tugged at the corners of his lips as he raised his hand, his fingers wrapped around the creation that had withstood the wrath of the heavens themselves. With a slow, deliberate motion, he revealed his pill.
The sight of it sent an instant shiver through the crowd.
Unlike Ada's pill, which radiated an almost celestial beauty, Galeli's was a thing of darkness. A perfect, obsidian-black sphere, its surface laced with intricate crimson rune marks that pulsed faintly, as though alive. The runes ford an ever-shifting pattern, flickering between symbols of power and destruction, exuding a presence so fierce that even the judges instinctively stepped back.
For a mont, the arena was silent. Then, a wave of murmurs and gasps swept through the spectators.
One of the judges stepped forward, hesitating only for a mont before scanning the pill with his spiritual sense. Almost imdiately, his breath caught in his throat, and his gaze snapped toward the other judges in disbelief.
"It's a Tier 9 body-enhancing pill," he finally announced, his voice carrying the weight of astonishnt. "Masterpiece quality. Potency… 113%."
A collective gasp rippled through the audience.
The result seed clear—Galeli had bested Ada. The fad Rose of Aether turned away, visibly irritated by the outco.
One of the judges prepared to declare the winner when a voice suddenly interrupted.
"Wait," the Skyroot Patriarch interjected, pointing towards a lone alchemist standing in the far corner of the arena.
The crowd murmured in surprise—many had forgotten about him in the wake of the grand tribulations.
"My apologies, we are missing one contestant."
The three judges hesitated before reluctantly making their way toward Ery's platform. Their hesitation was understandable—his bronze cauldron was battered and cracked, and Ery himself appeared barely conscious, still recovering from his ordeal. Baldoni, who had been assisting him, looked dejected, his hopes shattered.
With a flick of his trembling fingers, Ery willed his cauldron open. A pill floated out, hovering in the air before him. All three judges, along with the gathered spectators, were stunned.
"What is this!!?"
Gasps, murmurs, and incredulous exclamations filled the stands.
The pill was a disaster.
Its surface was rough and uneven, its shape misshapen like an unford stone rather than a refined alchemical masterpiece. Worse still, a pungent, acrid odor wafted from it—a stench of burnt herbs and raw, untad energy. Instead of radiating the divine brilliance of a perfected concoction, it seed unstable, unrefined, and incomplete.
Baldoni dropped to his knees, despair washing over him. "All the trouble we went through… for this? It's all ruined!"
He turned to the judges, protesting vehently about the unfair advantage.
The judges glanced at one another, clearly inclined to dismiss the attempt and move on. But just as they were about to step back, a weak voice cut through the murmurs.
"Wait…"
Summoning the last of his strength, Ery exhaled a steady breath. A gentle wind swirled around the hovering pill.
And then—
A faint, almost imperceptible sound.
Fine cracks ford along the pill's coarse exterior.
The brittle, imperfect shell splintered, fractures snaking across its surface like veins of lightning. Then, without warning—
Boom!
A silent burst of energy pulsed outward.
The pill's entire outer shell crumbled, dissolving into nothingness, revealing the true creation hidden within.
A collective gasp rippled through the arena.
Suspended in midair was a pill unlike anything ever seen before.
One half glead with an otherworldly pearly black sheen, like polished obsidian infused with liquid night. The other half radiated a silvery glow, as if condensed moonlight had been forged into its very essence. The stark contrast between the two halves was srizing, a perfect duality that pulsed with power—two opposing forces, locked in flawless harmony.
The air around the pill humd, vibrating with an energy so profound that even the judges hesitated to reach out.
The Skyroot Patriarch himself descended from his elevated seat. His expression remained composed, but there was a sharp glint of intrigue in his eyes as he stepped forward. He extended a single hand toward the pill, his spiritual sense carefully probing its depths.
The mont he did, his breath caught.
A long silence stretched across the arena, so thick that the crowd barely dared to breathe.
Finally, his voice broke the stillness—deep, resonant, carrying an unmistakable note of awe.
"This… is a Tier 8 pill... But I have never seen one this powerful."
The entire arena held its breath.
"It has at least 130% potency."
Turning to Ery, the Patriarch gave a nod of approval. "You have created the most fascinating pill today. It safe to say that ....you are the winner."
The announcent sent shockwaves through the audience. Even the other alchemists were left speechless by the verdict.
Against all odds, Ery had triumphed.
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