Rise of the Alchemy God

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Ethan waited in line for at least half an hour before it was finally his turn.

Although the line ahead of him was quite long, he had noticed that no one stayed inside the tent for more than a minute.

He wondered what method they were using to assess someone's age, but then it hit him.

'Hmm, technically, I should be almost 23 years old instead of 22, considering all the time I spent inside the minor dimension,' he thought, wondering if that might cause an issue.

Whether he was 22 or 23, both were within the range for the category he wanted to participate in, so it shouldn't be a problem.

That said, he wondered if he could hide his true age in the future.

He was certain that he would spend a significant amount of time inside the minor dimension, especially in the months leading up to the tournament.

He planned to seclude himself for closed-door training, and all that time would be spent inside the dimension.

His previous calculations mainly revolved around the gathering of Qi, and just for that alone, he would have to refine for a long time.

If he added his need to strengthen his core from the inside, the time would only extend further.

It will probably take another 7 or 8 months to reach the peak of the third phase, which, compared to the previous phases, was already a much longer period of time.

Of course, compared to a normal person who would take decades at this stage, his speed was already divine.

During his last stay inside the minor dimension, he had refined a number of pills, enough to last him at least 3 months in the outside world.

That is, provided nothing went wrong, but that wouldn't be his problem; it would be Da Shu's.

He would inform both the sect master and Da Shu of his decision to undergo closed-door cultivation for the 3 months before the start of the exam, so that no one would come looking for him during that time.

Finally, seeing the person in front of him leave the tent, he realized it was now his turn to enter.

So, he moved forward and entered the tent.

Once inside, he noticed that the space, about the size of a normal bedroom, contained only a table with one person sitting behind it.

It was a girl who, at first glance, didn't seem to be older than 20.

Ethan approached the table and stopped, pulling out his badge given to him by the Medicine Pavilion.

His badge was a silver one with 2 stars embedded on it, indicating that he was a two-star adept-grade alchemist.

As far as he remembered, the minimum requirement for participation in the expert category was to be at least an adept-grade alchemist with two stars.

Without saying anything, the girl took the badge and infused it with some Qi.

This process was meant to examine the information contained within the badge.

Just like the phoenix sect's badge, the alchemist's badge was also a kind of identity document.

It should contain his basic information, like his name, age, alchemist rank, and so on.

The examination of the badge didn't take more than a few seconds, and seeing her nod, it seemed that everything was in order.

She handed him back the badge and then pointed towards a transparent crystal.

"Now, I have to examine your bone age. This orb will determine how old you are. Place your hand on the orb and infuse it with some of your Qi," she said, giving a brief and concise explanation.

Ethan wondered if she was just someone of few words.

She had barely looked at him and had spoken literally fewer than 15 words in all this time.

'She probably just doesn't want to waste time. After all, there are still a lot of people left to be examined,' he thought, advancing his right hand and doing as instructed.

As soon as he placed his hand on the cold, smooth surface of the orb, he noticed a slight suction force coming from within.

It wasn't too strong, barely noticeable.

He didn't think too much about it and circulated his Qi from his arm into his hand, noticing the orb glow faintly.

He wondered how the orb would be able to determine his exact age, so he watched the changes inside it closely.

The orb glowed for a few seconds, and then the light inside moved and gathered in the center, forming an image, specifically, a number.

'23'

'Oh?' Seeing this, Ethan wondered what principle the orb was based on to accurately determine his age.

The girl, seeing the number, nodded and wrote something down on a sheet of paper she was holding.

After finishing, she looked at Ethan and said, "Alright, now tell me which category you want to participate in."

Since he met the age and alchemist rank requirements for both categories, she asked which one he wanted to participate in.

Ethan simply said he wanted to participate in the expert category.

After she noted it down on the sheet, she told him that he was all set and could exit through the side to join the others.

Ethan nodded and left the tent.

He had noticed that even for him, it hadn't taken more than a minute.

Upon exiting, he immediately spotted the group that had gathered in an area a bit further ahead and joined them.

Practically none of the participants had been eliminated during the previous test, indicating that everyone was eligible.

This was a bit unexpected for Ethan, as he had been sure he would see at least one person make a scene after being rejected.

He hadn't expected everyone to be eligible for participation.

'I mean, isn't that what happens most of the time in novels?' he wondered.

This only showed how seriously everyone was taking this competition.

Just like before, he found an open area with few people and waited patiently for the start of the next test.

He had already been wondering how the theoretical test would be conducted.

Soon, he would have his answer.

After another 20 minutes, the remaining participants in line finished being examined, and just like before, none of them seemed to have been rejected.

While waiting, Ethan had already spotted Xiang Hua, Yan Mei, and Xun Wei.

It was hard not to, as the crowd was primarily gathered where they were.

Especially around Xun Wei, who seemed to be enjoying all the attention he was receiving.

Although he didn't say much, his face revealed everything.

Many weren't fond of his behavior, but that didn't mean there wouldn't be those trying to establish connections with him.

After all, he was a wealthy second-generation member of the prestigious Xun family from Sun City.

Tolerating his attitude and forming a connection with him was worth it in the eyes of many.

Even the two girls had no peace, though the cold aura they emitted made many hesitate to approach.

The funny thing was that even Xun Wei wasn't well-liked by either of them.

So, he was a bit irritated but tried not to make a scene.

After all, they were in the presence of various axpert and even master-grade alchemists from Sun City.

He might be from the Xun family, but if he had caused a scene, he would have been kicked out without a second thought.

And so, in no time, everyone had finished being examined, and now they were waiting for the second test to begin.

The first two tests themselves didn't take too long and could be completed entirely on the first day.

It was the third test that required more time.

It could be completed in one or two days depending on how many passed the second test, but based on the results from previous years, it was almost certain that it would take at least two days.

Seeing that everyone had finished being examined, an alchemist from those who had been observing stepped forward and positioned himself on a small semicircular podium near where they were standing.

Everyone, upon seeing him, fell silent and focused on him.

Noticing that he already had everyone's attention, he wasted no time and began:

"Now that you've passed the examination phase, we can finally begin the exam," he said in a calm voice that was amplified using a technique.

"As you all know, the test will consist of two phases: a theoretical one, where we will test your alchemical knowledge and determine whether you are suitable to proceed or not;

And a practical one, where all those of you who pass will compete to determine the top three among you.

As you might have noticed, the field is divided into two sections, and this is mainly to separate those participating in the novice category and those in the expert category," he said, gesturing with his hand toward the field where the various rows of cauldrons stood.

Ethan hadn't noticed it before, but now that he looked closely, the field was indeed split in half.

The group of cauldrons he had seen when he first entered was only one part, and there was another smaller one off to the side.

Perhaps "small" wasn't the right word. There were literally only two cauldrons positioned at a reasonable distance from each other, almost like a small arena, with each end occupied by a cauldron.

It didn't take long for him to understand why there was such a significant size difference between the two groups.

The one for beginners was naturally the larger one, given the number of people who would be participating.

Due to the large number of participants in this category, they would have to examine the competition between the different participants simultaneously, otherwise, two days wouldn't be enough.

On the other hand, for the group in the expert category, two cauldrons were enough because the group participating wouldn't be very large.

Based on last year's numbers, there would probably be no more than 30 people attempting to participate in this category.