novelraw Chapter 145 - 144 - Necessary Evil
Chapter 145 - 144 - Necessary Evil
It had been a month since the contest began and the grade 4 alchemists were reaching the climax of their process. Lind had missed some because he had to sleep and eat but the 2 Vice-Sect Masters had given him their observations.
Neither were alchemists but both were expert cultivators and had seen much in their tenure helping lead the sect over the centuries. Lind appreciated it all but the final moment left him in awe.
Magda's was indeed the Refraction Pill as she set up several artifacts around the bubbling cauldron. Her ability to control her Qi to the cauldron while setting up the final step spoke to her level of control.
Lind saw with his Eyes light and fire at extremely high quality gather in the artifacts and she must have taken control as lightning began to wrap the dark metal of the cauldron. It flared with the power as bright white lightning seemed to dance in the formations on it.
Lind felt like his bottleneck loosened slightly as he grasped some piece of the process. He tried to ride the feeling but then the arena flashed as a bolt of lightning fell from the heavens! It was not an induced bolt, but a real tribulation bolt!
Lind stood up with Lydia and Cora right behind him. It had been Magda's cauldron!
"SHE DID IT!" The reason alchemists created their own lightning was because it was impossible to predict if they hit the right quality to include the Heavens. Lind looked up and saw dark clouds were already dispersing that barely gathered. It meant Magda had won the contest!
The judges flew across the sands and most of the other alchemists had lost their concentration save a few. Those few were true gems of their powers and were likely to secure the next positions.
Many took note but all were focused on the final results from the true tribulation. Magda was pale but still fine. Her artifacts had fractured or fallen over, but compared to the cauldron, they got off easy. The cauldron was split open like an egg. There was no sign of the cover anywhere, it was likely vaporized.
A glowing pill floated steadily and Lind saw sparks flaring on the bright yellow pill. It was complete!
It only took a few moments before the judges nodded and Magda quickly put the pill in a vial. After she stoppered it she turned it over for the presentation. There was no doubt who was number 1.
They were about to move away when black clouds gathered once more. Lind frowned as it was not like before as there seemed to be power gathering quickly. He suddenly realized what must have happened.
"Her foundation broke through. She is going to face her tribulation now!" Lind pushed a few formations and a piece of it vanished as he disappeared through it. She was not ready. The look on her face was clear but for once, Lind knew what to do.
He summoned 7 black rods from his storage ring and imbued all 6 elements with his harmony in the last. He had only a small window but after so many years seeing the effect, he knew it could work. She had stepped over the line but not irrevocably so.
"STAY STILL!" The rods flew through the air before snapping into a circle around Magda. The judges stared at him but then the silver badge entered their site. The Forger!
"CULTIVATE RIGHT NOW!" Magda nodded and assumed the lotus position as Lind. The pressure of the tribulation began to come at Lind but he only smiled up at it. "Not today, all right. She is not ready."
He was not sure why he said it but for just a moment he thought he felt something but it was too quick to be certain. Lind channeled his power into the rods and all were stunned as a feeling of suppression appeared. It was only at the Soul Realm but building strength.
He could not Forge grade 3, but he could touch the threshold of power. A mist of all 6 elements floated around Magda but the emerald flame snaked through all of it like a happy fish in the sea. The flame seemed to make the mist flow and the excess Qi was siphoned off of Magda.
Her unstable foundation fell back into the peak of Gold Tier and stabilized as it no longer had the Qi to break through. It was a small window that was hard to use if not prepared. A cultivator only broke through under 3 conditions. They had enough Qi, they had comprehended their elements to the next realm, and were ready to face the transition.
Magda had only fulfilled 2 of those conditions, the Qi and comprehension. Of the 2, the Qi was the one that got away from her due to the sudden tribulation on her pill. It was a beneficial moment for an alchemist but in her case, it was a danger.
The excess Qi could be siphoned off and cause the foundation to fall back to its stable state in the previous tier. Thankfully it was Gold to Diamond Tier and not World to Sky Realm. If it had been the latter, there would be nothing Lind could do.
He had made these rods for himself when it came time for his own tribulation but there were prototypes. It was his first time seeing them used in a real world moment. In practice they worked to counteract his innate cultivator talent, but that was only at the peak of the Soul Realm.
The tribulation rumbled but then dispersed and Lind nearly fell over as he was covered in sweat and had exhausted all his Qi to pull off what Magda needed. The vortex had just barely reached the point it could pull off the unstable Qi.
"I humbly apologize for my interference, seniors." Lind had a hoarse voice but he bowed as he could barely stand up. If he had not had divine cores and if he was not in mid tier 9 of Soul Realm, he would not have had enough Qi to pull it off. He kept that tidbit to himself though.
"No, no, Master Frey. Your work in Cimmeria is already well known. Truly your quick action saved a wonderful cultivator from a near disaster or crippling Qi deviation." The oldest judge stroked his silver beard but he spoke before the others to clearly get in Lind's good graces. For once, Lind did not mind.
"Give me a moment and I will remove my apparatus." Lind had no Qi left to even use his ring so he could only recover naturally. A young man ran over and offered Lind a pill. It was a grade 2 Qi recovery pill. The silver robes revealed who it was and Lind smiled in thanks. The sudden rush of Qi felt wonderful.
Lind quickly collected all 7 rods which he noted had cracked. Clearly, he had a lot of work to do. Lind saw the 2 Silverthorns talking as Magda still looked pale but had now recovered. He bowed once more and went to leave but then was stopped by a shout.
"WAIT, MASTER FREY!" The shout was heard as the entire arena began to mumble. The judges had not revealed his identity but now all knew who he was. The person who called his name was unknown to him.
The man was roughly middle aged in appearance but his dark blue robes did not click with any power he knew of. There were too many to track but it was at least not a major power he thought. The feeling from the man was only in the Diamond Tier also, still powerful but not as powerful as he could be.
"Senior, I appreciate you wishing to speak with me but this is not the time or place. This is the place of the contestants and Starfire House. Please let us remove ourselves." The judges nodded in appreciation of his words but the dark haired man in the dark blue robes frowned. He could not deny Lind's words.
Many powers murmured in appreciation of Lind not grandstanding. Thankfully, only the judges had clearly seen the badge on his robes. He had switched it for the gold badge of elixir master to be safe.
Lind walked off and glanced at his former booth in mourning. He badly wanted to go back but now that he was in the open, he had to acknowledge those that dared to call him out. He could not offend anyone at the moment, yet.
Once they reached the nearest exit, the officials let them through without issue. A few bowed to Lind and he bowed back. The tan stone was well lit within the tunnel as the sounds of the arena fell away. Guards remained in the tunnel but Lind had nothing to hide at the moment.
"Senior, I am Lind Frey, currently a guest elder of the Heavenly Maiden Sect. How may I assist you?" Lind cut off any questions on his identity by volunteering what he wanted. Cora had been instructive on etiquette going forward and he already found it helpful if cumbersome to say.
The middle aged man bowed and smiled, but it did not reach his pale gray eyes.
"It is a pleasure to finally meet you. I wonder if you will be attending the banquet after the grade 4 rounds end?" Lind barely restrained a groan. He had been hoping to avoid exactly that fate but now that he was exposed, he had no choice. He swallowed the bitter pill and nodded as if he always planned to go.
"I will be attending with the honorable Vice-Sect Masters Lydia and Cora." A frown briefly flared but Lind did not care. This man had still not introduced himself.
"Surely such a prestigious elixir master as yourself can simply attend on your own. We would all be honored to see you at the Valery Hall." Lind went swiftly through his memories but it did not ring a bell. Thankfully, he already knew the plans of the sect.
"I am afraid I will not be there right away as I am to meet the new leader of Starfire House about my submissions for the auction. I have to start there in their ballroom sometime tomorrow night." The smile froze on the man's face but once more Lind left nowhere for him to go. Trying to say they were more important that Starfire House with blue guards all around them was mercantile suicide at best.
"I see, then perhaps you can stop by the night after. It will be a week of celebration and meeting the winners after all. Valery Hall, please remember." The man bowed and left without even asking permission. Lind was nearly about to call out but some instinct warned him not to.
Once the man was gone he turned to a guard and bowed.
"Senior, do you know the hall he spoke of?" The rough bearded faced guard seemed to squirm as Lind dropped a formation plate that cut them off. The light blue eyes filled with gratitude.
"Beggin your pardon, Master Frey but that Valery Hall is where the flesh lords will gather for their debauchery." Lind's face froze. He did not feel remotely tempted but a faint echo of anger flared before he stomped it down. It was legal. It was heavily regulated in Cimmeria but given recent events, he was tempted to smash his way in.
He took a moment to sigh and then retracted the plate. He bowed to the guard and tossed him a couple World Stones. The guard nodded in appreciation as Lind made his way down the hallway.
It was no wonder the man did not identify himself, his robes identified him. The Midnight Guild. He was Senior Midnight, a Diamond Tier in charge of most of the brothels and slave rings in Cimmeria.
His aim was now understood as well. Lind was a young man and looked naive. What better temptations than to put women that would fulfill any fantasy or could be taken home and unable to resist any order?
The thought made Lind very angry but he simply began to count to 1000 to calm down. Nothing was forced on him, but he would need to find a discrete way to turn them down as they were relatively powerful in the merchant circles.
Lind had to stay on good terms while in Cimmeria as he needed a lot of materials. Midnight knew that and knew Lind could not outright reject him. Worse, he had publicly stepped forth which would give a lot of people a lot of ideas. A headache was already forming when he turned the corner and found 2 Vice-Sect Masters glaring at him.
"By Heaven and Earth, I did not know who that man was until after we talked." He started there and saw their faces soften. They nodded and then stepped aside. Lind only had a moment to register a 3rd person when a whip encircled him.
"Lind, we need to have a little chat." Shoti was smiling in a way he had never seen before and it made his veins feel like ice was in them. He was in trouble.