"It’s fine, I guess. What ti is it?" Zhou Chen asked.
"Eleven thirty-five."
"Almost midnight... I should finish this competition quickly, or the dog will get antsy." Zhou Chen smiled, downed the rest of his cola in one gulp, and stood up to leave with a cool air.
"..." Li Xiangyang was a little surprised. "Is he that close with the dog?"
"Who wouldn’t like a dog that can drift a car?" Li Xiye retorted.
Li Xiangyang’s mouth twitched. "Good point."
He’d been eyeing that husky for a long ti, but unfortunately, the husky completely ignored him. It was a total snob, only getting close to him at feeding ti. Otherwise, it wouldn’t even let him pet it.
Li Xiye pulled down the brim of her hat, a faint smile appearing on her lips as she watched Zhou Chen’s departing figure.
’He must have noticed my little sche just now. Is he using the dog as an excuse to respond to ? But why not just tell directly... What does this subtle response of his even an...’
The young girl chewed on her straw, lost in her own wild imagination.
The arena was buzzing with noise. The finals of the Alchemy Competition were always the most exciting part, especially for the gamblers who had risked it all to bet on Zhou Chen. Right now, they were all red in the face, so excited they looked like they were about to have a heart attack.
The fewest people had bet on Zhou Chen, so if he won, their payout would be enormous!
The gamblers who had sold their betting slips early were practically coughing up blood with regret. They wished they could travel back to the first round and slap themselves for selling their slips.
This was especially true for those who had traded their Zhou Chen slips for another contestant’s. If they had traded for Billy or Lü Qiang, it wasn’t so bad; there was still a chance for a coback. But if they had traded for Goblin Ah Bin or any other eliminated contestant, then there was truly no hope left. All their money had gone down the drain without so much as a splash.
Countless people were wailing in despair, looking like they were ready to go take a dive off the nearest rooftop.
"Alright! The tense and exciting finals are finally about to begin! This year’s contestants are full of hidden talents. We’ve seen a huge dark horse erge in Contestant Zhou Chen, as well as Contestant Lü Qiang, who has also made it to the top three in his very first competition! We don’t know who will ultimately take the crown, so let’s wait and see!"
As soon as the female host’s voice faded, a massive countdown tir began. Amidst the synchronized shouts of the audience, the number hit zero, confetti cannons exploded, and the finals officially began.
Zhou Chen’s gaze fell upon the row of materials placed on his workbench.
At this point, all bets were placed. There was no longer any need to hide.
The Hamr of Forging, hidden within his Soul, began to operate as he injected it with Essence. It silently broke down all the Alchemy Materials, and the fine powder gathered into a ball under the control of his Essence. A pale fla then rose up, forming a crucible.
Heating, refining, extracting, fusing...
Countless dazzling alchemical reactions and processes were completed in an instant.
After a single second, what floated in the fla was no longer powder, but a swirling, milky-white liquid.
’Done.’ Zhou Chen picked up a container, guided the Enhancent Potion into it, and imdiately hit the submission button.
From the start of the competition to the end, it took only three seconds!
Disbelief.
An overwhelming sense of disbelief descended upon the arena.
The entire arena fell deathly silent at the astonishing scene. No one could process what had just happened.
Only the chi of a successful submission echoed through the silent arena.
When people finally snapped out of it, a tidal wave of noise erupted as they all began talking at once, every face etched with disbelief.
The female host’s jaw dropped, so shocked she completely forgot to provide comntary.
Hand Refining Alchemy!
And such swift and efficient Hand Refining Alchemy at that!
He was completely on par with a registered Alchemist!
"He... he... he..."
In the black market bosses’ viewing box, Antonio looked utterly dumbfounded, too shocked to speak.
"Hand Refining Alchemy, and high-level Hand Refining Alchemy at that... Antonio, you’ve struck gold this ti. That man is definitely a registered Alchemist. No wonder he dared to play around like that..." The old man, being more experienced, recovered quickly and chuckled. "I don’t think there’s any point in continuing. The championship is his. This is a complete curbstomp."
"You’ve got to be kidding ..."
"Holy shit, a registered Alchemist! Antonio, where the hell did you find him?"
Antonio looked innocent. "He ca to . I honestly had no idea he was this good."
In truth, Antonio was terrified too. Finishing the competition in three seconds—that had never happened in the entire history of the Alchemy Competition!
"How is this possible..."
On stage, Billy’s lips parted, but no words ca out. He stood frozen, unable to accept it. He hadn’t even started, and the other guy had already submitted his work. How could he possibly compete? They weren’t even in the sa league!
Lü Qiang frowned deeply, then sighed helplessly. Compared to an Alchemist who could perform Hand Refining Alchemy, he was still far too insignificant.
"...Ahem. Just now, the most shocking mont in the competition’s history occurred. I never expected Contestant Zhou Chen to be an Alchemist capable of Hand Refining Alchemy! He has shown us an incredible skill we’ve never witnessed before. No wonder he had the guts to boast that everyone else was trash."
"It seems Contestants Billy and Lü Qiang have lost their fighting spirit, but they’ve begun their Alchemy nonetheless..."
The host had barely finished speaking when, with a BANG, Billy’s crucible exploded. Lost in a daze, he had made a careless mistake, tossing a heat-sensitive, explosive material into the crucible. He was covered in blood from the shrapnel, unable to continue the Alchemy, and was carried off on a stretcher.
"Contestant Billy has made a huge error and is out of the competition. It seems his composure was greatly affected. We hope he can learn from this experience and recover quickly."
"I concede."
Seeing this, Contestant Lü Qiang took a deep breath and chose to concede straightforwardly. There was simply no comparison. Getting an easy second place was fine by him.
"With Contestant Billy eliminated and Contestant Lü Qiang conceding, the champion is self-evident! Let’s congratulate Contestant Zhou Chen on winning the championship!"
The gavel fell, sealing the outco. Amidst the roaring crowd, a downpour of colorful confetti rained down.
However, the potion testing phase still had to proceed. Brother Hu drank the Enhancent Potion brewed by Zhou Chen with a serious expression. The next second, his skin turned scalding hot, red as a boiled shrimp, and wisps of steam shot out from his pores. He grew two centiters taller out of thin air as his muscles bulged.
"I feel like I’m overflowing with Power!"
Brother Hu exhaled a puff of hot air and threw a punch at a prepared steel testing plate. His fist landed with a heavy, muffled THUD, leaving a clearly visible fist print on the plate.
"A little bit of pain, but it doesn’t feel like anything’s broken."
Next, he underwent tests for speed, Endurance, and jumping. The results of every test were astonishing, more than double his normal levels!
After the potion’s effects wore off, Brother Hu’s muscles gradually shrank back down. He was completely exhausted but still had so mobility.
"Duration was three minutes. All physical attributes were doubled. The backlash from the Weakness period is minor. I feel like I’m already recovering," he concluded.
This was undoubtedly a high-quality Enhancent Potion. The eyes of the black market bosses lit up. ’If we could mass-produce this and distribute it to our n...’
The competition ca to a close amidst the ecstatic cheers of the gamblers.
Having won the championship, Zhou Chen went on stage to collect an astronomical sum in prize money. As for the prize pool, everything in it was junk, and nothing caught his eye. In the end, he simply picked two items to give to Li Xiye, treating them as rent for his recent stay.
After the competition ended, Zhou Chen and the others returned to their luxurious private room at the Rebirth Bar, waiting for Antonio to co back with intelligence on the Blood Race.
"Lü Qiang didn’t stick around after the competition. He left imdiately. I’ve got people tailing him now." Li Xiangyang glanced at his phone, not having forgotten the task Zhou Chen had given him.
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