The Herb King



Soon the second stage of the Alchemy competition began and the participants quickly went up on the stage. 

The second stage is the Pill Fire Control and the participants' control will be tested. The participants who fail to do the required task will be eliminated and those that passed will move on to the last stage. 

At this moment, Omar was announcing the rules of the second stage. Everyone listened with solemn gazes, afraid that they would miss something if they weren't attentive enough. 

Among the participants, Christopher had a relaxed look on his face. During their one-month training in Barden Territory, he received personal lessons from King Aethelwolf and he learned a lot at that time. Aethelwolf's teachings were superior to what he had been taught before and because of this, his knowledge in Alchemy advanced by leaps and bounds. 

"Release you Pill Fire!" Omar shouted to the participants.

Hearing this, everyone immediately released their Pill Fire. Some of the nervous participants failed to summon their Pill Fire and they were quickly eliminated. They lowered their heads in shame as they got down from the stage. Meanwhile, the other participants furrowed their eyebrows as they maintained the formation of their Pill Fire. 

Christopher's Yellow Pill Fire flickered vigorously. 

From the perspective of the crowd, it seemed as if he was using a lot of world essence just to maintain his Pill Fire. However, they didn't know that Christopher was using a unique method to minimize the consumption of his world essence. This was something he had learned from Aethelwolf. He didn't know how Aethelwolf had created this method and there weren't even any records of it in books! At that moment, he realized that Aethelwolf's Alchemy knowledge might be beyond those famous experts in the past! 

Hm? 

Omar turned his gaze towards Christopher and looked deeply at the flickering Pill Fire in front of the young man. "Oh? It seems like someone has created a brilliant technique that lowers the consumption of world essence when maintaining a Pill Fire. Based on this kid's clothes, he is someone from the Leone Empire. He must be Aethelwolf's student..." The old man speculated in his heart. Other than being a powerful warrior, he was also an Alchemist. He managed to identify Christopher's unique Pill Fire Control with just one look. 

The old man moved his gaze to the other participants and noticed that some of them were also using their techniques. However, the techniques they displayed still paled in comparison to what Christopher has shown. 

"The brat from Azure Phoenix Empire is not bad..." He muttered as he looked at Judy, the current second-ranked in the temporary rankings. This young woman was also the same person that was mocking Janrose earlier! 

As time passed by, more and more participants were eliminated. Only a little more than a dozen remained on the stage, controlling their Pill Fire with faces full of sweat. Among them, there was one person who looked relaxed, as if the act of maintaining his Pill Fire was something easy to do. 

"Who is that young man? He still looks so comfortable even after a long time has passed!" 

"Even the young lady from the Azure Phoenix Empire is already showing signs of difficulty! He must be a genius Alchemist!"

"I saw that young man walking with Sir Aethelwolf yesterday. He is from the Leone Empire!"

"What?! It's actually someone from a small empire?!"

"After this competition, it seems like there is a high chance that the Leone Empire will enter the Holy Rankings!"

While the crowd was chatting, the time limit of the second stage arrived. 

"Stop!" Omar shouted to the remaining participants. There were only ten participants left on the stage. They were the ones who showed amazing control of their Pill Fire! 

Christopher retracted his Yellow Pill Fire with a calm smile. "I did it!" He clenched his fists tightly in excitement. 

Soon, the updated rankings was released and everyone quickly stared at the huge screen.

1st Place - Christopher Leone - 200 Points

2nd Place - Judy Kristel - 200 Points

3rd Place - Brandon Flores - 200 Points

4th Place - Frances Canon - 198 Points

5th Place - Shaina Sapio - 192 Points

There were only three participants who maintained their perfect scores. The former third place, Frances Canon who was from the Paramount Heaven Empire, moved down from the rankings. She was surpassed by Brandon Flores who came from the Zion Empire! 

In the spectator's seat, Lark Whitmond had a dark look on his face when he saw the updated rankings. There was only a two-point difference between their participant and the participant from the Leone Empire. However, he still felt that he had lost face. He didn't want to lose against Aethelwolf's team! 'How could this be!' He angrily thought in his heart.

Suddenly, he felt as if someone was staring at him. He looked around and saw the old man, Einar, staring at him with a grin. Seeing this, Lark's face twitched in annoyance. If not for the presence of the three experts beside the old man, he would have already jumped up from his seat to attack him. "Dammit!" He cursed under his breath. 

"You want to compete with us, right? How about a bet?" Einar suddenly spoke. 

Aethelwolf glanced at the old man in surprise. This guy rarely speaks and he was usually serious and stern, but he actually took the initiative to provoke someone this time. 

Aethelwolf watched them with interest and he showed no signs of stopping Einar. He wanted to see what the old man was up to.

Lark Whitmond frowned upon hearing this. "What do you want to bet?" He would lose a lot of face if he refuses to accept the bet so he could only bite the bullet.

Einar smiled as he said. "If you win, I can give you ten of our Gryphons, but if you lose, the Paramount Heaven Empire must sign an alliance with our Leone Empire!" 

Lark Whitmond's eyes flashed when he heard the old man's words. He wouldn't lose anything even if he loses the bet. In fact, they would gain a valuable ally! After thinking for a moment, Lark nodded his head. "Alright. I accept the bet!"