Chapter 175: Wounded Demon

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The first group of the second part finally finished, and as expected, several participants put on a great display of their abilities.

From those of the Phoenix Kingdom to those of the White Tiger Kingdom, everyone showcased their unique methods of refinement.

While they had similarities at a basic level, each was sufficiently different to entertain the audience.

As one would expect in this kind of competition, there were a losing and a winning side, but unlike previous rounds, the margin by which the losers fell behind was much narrower, and in some cases, there were even near ties.

In these situations, factors like purity, the number of pills, and their types became significantly more important.

After a brief pause to allow enough time to set up the stations, the tournament resumed.

In this round, all those who had not participated before would take part.

As Yan Mei arrived, Ethan and Xiang Hua were already ready to head to their stations.

As he passed by her, he noticed the dark expression on her face, and reflecting on her recent match, he wasn't too surprised.

Even though she had performed at a very high level, especially for her age, she was still defeated by her opponent, who not only outproduced her in the number of pills but also in their purity, and in some cases, the quality of the pills.

Although her defeat wasn't overwhelming, it was close enough to feel like one, and this naturally displeased a proud woman like Yan Mei.

Ethan could only shake his head while thinking that she still had a chance to continue.

After all, after their group, the losers from the first group would challenge those from the second group of participants, which would be an opportunity for her to come back.

Ethan didn't spend too much time contemplating her situation and focused more on his opponent.

The pills he produced weren't anything particularly extravagant or different;

they were quite well-known to any alchemist, but what remained in his mind were more his refining techniques.

'He was using the manifestation of demonic Qi.'

To a normal person, it would seem that he simply used spiritual Qi to manipulate the ingredients, somewhat like Ethan had done so far, but those familiar with demonic Qi knew that it wasn't pure Qi.

'I wonder if that's how they produced those pills,' he thought as he walked toward his station.

He recalled the pills that the cultivator dressed in black had consumed during the incident with the cursed object.

He only knew that those were pills infused with demonic Qi, but he never understood why they had such miraculous effects, powerful enough to regrow a new arm for the person who consumed them.

He didn't have any samples of those pills, so he couldn't study them, leaving this a mystery for him.

Pills that were barely level 2 typically weren't capable of regrowing a severed limb.

Only high-grade level 3 pills and those of level 4 could do that, and those pills were very rare.

Ethan had tried to replicate such an effect with level 2 pills but had always failed.

Now, seeing this demonic cultivator use his alchemical skills, infused with demonic Qi, he began to understand a bit about how they might have achieved such an effect.

Finally, he arrived at his station and took a moment to observe his surroundings while waiting for the start announcement.

Since there was only one of the three participants from the first group, and since all three had managed to reach this point in the competition, it meant that the other two were also somewhere around.

It didn't take him long to spot them, noticing they were not far from him; he spread his spiritual sense.

He had decided to seize this opportunity to study the skills of these two as well.

He was capable enough to observe them while continuing to refine the pills.

Although Ethan took a moment to observe the other participants, he practically ignored everyone else after finding the two participants he was looking for, including his opponent.

Seeing that the masked boy didn't even spare her a glance, she shot him furious looks.

'Bastard, you're underestimating me.

Just wait until the match starts, and you'll see how I brutally defeat you,' thought the girl, who was Ethan's opponent. Sёarch* The Novelƒire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

As Ethan prepared to start refining, in a place not too far from the capital, a figure over two meters tall, completely shrouded in a veil of darkness that concealed its features, furrowed his brow in frustration.

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In recent hours, he had attempted multiple times to contact one of his subordinates sent near the capital city, receiving no response.

Yesterday, while he was resting, he was jolted awake when he felt a connection suddenly sever.

'Now, that's strange,' thought the figure in a low voice, as its form flickered like jelly, shifting from one position to another before returning to his shape, then changing its position once more.

He pondered for a moment about the current situation.

he could tell that the formation had been completely set, and now he only needed his demonic minions to confirm, awaiting the moment they would act.

Until a short while ago, it had been quite calm, but suddenly, he felt the loss of his connection with one of his minions.

he didn't know if it had died or something else, but just the fact that he could no longer perceive his minion was cause for concern.

His worry stemmed not from the lost connection, but from the fact that even if the demonic minion had been eliminated, he would still be able to sense it since the demonic Qi that transformed it into a minion came from him.

Just as he was contemplating what might be happening, two minutes after losing his connection with his minion, he felt a strong impact that nearly made him lose consciousness.

"What the hell is happening?" he shouted furiously, as he felt part of his energy vanish into thin air.

Ethan, absorbing the demonic Qi from the giant, had unintentionally dealt a heavy blow to the demonic creature, which was now furious, searching for his missing subordinate.