Chapter 2205 Approaching Tournament
Alex and Pearl walked through the city, looking at what had been done to it. The people of this city still lived their day-to-day lives, albeit things had started to become different enough thanks to the competition.
Citizens of Hardrock City were allowed free entry and exit as they wished, but everyone else was heavily checked before being let in. Only so many people would be allowed in.
Alex looked around at the many people who walked the street, unsure of how many of them were participants. Every single young person he saw, he thought a participant.
There was an age requirement to the whole thing, which was kept secret for the most part. They were trying to find talents, so there had to be some sort of requirement based on one's cultivation base.
Alex wondered how old one had to be to be accepted as a Saint. If someone was over 10 thousand years old, would they still be accepted?
If the Dragon Emperor had made his way to the Immortal realm, would he have been accepted in this competition? There was a likely chance that he would've not, given his age.
"So many Alchemists in one spot," Pearl said softly. "There should be more talent in Alchemy here than the rest of the world combined right now, right?"
Alex looked around. "Maybe," he said. "At least among the Immortal realm and lower. It might even be true among the Divine realm."
The best of the best were gathered here, either to participate, to watch their disciples participate, or to manage the entire tournament. One could not ask for a better group of Alchemists. Nôv(el)B\\jnn
Alex shook his head. "Let's go see where the contests are taking place." The two walked through the street, searching for a large clearing where tens of thousands of people could practice Alchemy at once. However, no matter how much they searched for it, there was no such space at all.
Alex began wondering if it was actually taking place outside of the city and if they were only staying within the city. But he then saw the actual place where the tournament was most likely going to take place and all previous confusion was swept away.
A bit off-center in the city was a large open square with a park built at the center. It was a small part, no more than a hundred meters wide in all directions. But, inside that park at the moment were people seemingly working on something.
And even from afar, Alex could feel the slight fluctuation of space. His eyes glowed a deep purple and silver light surrounded a small area in the center of the park, making it apparent to him that a secret realm existed there.
Many who also had nothing to do with Alchemy arrived at the city to witness the competition, and because of their status alone, they were allowed in. There was more than one god among those people, though no one recognized them.
The Formation Monarch, otherwise known as the Formation God, ruler of the realm of Formation Monarch's Realm, was an older man with short black hair with lime-colored streaks of hair around his temple.
The Artifact God was a woman who seemed young of age but was one of the older gods in truth. She wore her black hair in a low bun, held together with a jade hairpin stabbed through the middle.
She was of average height and looks, but even as ordinary as she appeared, there was an air about her that got people to think twice before coming to a conclusion about her.
They arrived at a more than fancy building within Hardrock city, where they made their way to a lounge area where the Alchemy God, Whitesong, had been waiting for them.
The thin man stood up upon seeing the other two and gave a warm smile. "Formation Monarch, lady Shen, welcome to Hardrock City."
The Formation God nodded once and sat on the couch.
The Artifact God instead smiled. "I hope brother Whitesong has received ample help as he has asked," she said.
"Of course," the Alchemy God said. "I must thank the both of you for all the aid you have provided me the past decade. I cannot think how much harder this would've been on me if you two weren't here to help me."
"You do not have to thank us. We're not doing it for you," the Formation God said.
The Artifact God narrowed her eyes and glared at the Formation God before saying, "What brother Scarstone wants to say is that we understand the importance of this tournament. We understand how important it is for us to find all the talented Alchemists and train them in time."
The Alchemy God nodded.
"I hope it doesn't get to that, but it seems more likely every day, doesn't it?" he asked.
The Artifact God grimaced. "A year from now. A decade, a century, a millennia. It is not possible to say when it will happen, but we can be certain it will," she said. "The war... is inevitable."