Rise of the Alchemy God

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Time passed quickly, and before he knew it, two more candidates who hadn't scored 50 in the strength test were eliminated, their disappointed expressions evident on their faces.

Once again, Ethan didn't know how to feel about it.

In total, there were seven of them who hadn't passed the previous test, including him, and three had already been eliminated.

Although some of them managed to pass, Ethan didn't believe it was purely luck. After all, most of them had scored very close to 50 in the previous test.

For this reason, as the line grew shorter, he felt increasingly anxious.

After almost half an hour, it was finally his turn.

Standing in front of the entrance to the second test, Ethan couldn't help but tremble a little.

The white-bearded man, who was still standing near the entrance, didn't rush him.

For the man, this sight had become familiar.

Every year, it was always the same situation.

Except for a few who turned out to be real talents, the others either failed or passed only to become one of the many outer disciples who wouldn't achieve much.

If the sect hadn't established some rules to manage this situation, it would have been full of such individuals by now.

The white-bearded man had almost lost hope for these types of disciples and was content with those who managed to stand out.

After all, they would be the pillars supporting the sect and maintaining its prestige in the years to come.

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Ethan knew there was little he could do in this test and that it would all depend on his luck.

He took a deep breath to calm himself and opened the doors, stepping through without hesitation.

As he entered the room, he realized it was dark. He couldn't distinguish much, except for a table in front of him with a person sitting behind it.

The figure was visible only thanks to the light coming from the open doors behind him.

SBAM

With a sound, the doors closed automatically, almost making Ethan jump in fear.

'Seriously, why do they have to make everything so creepy?' he thought, recalling how the white-bearded man always seemed to have something depressing to say before the tests began.

"Boy, don't waste my time and come closer to the sphere," said the figure, his voice slightly irritated by Ethan's hesitation.

With a mix of hesitation and determination, Ethan did as he was told.

As he approached the table, he noticed it was made of dark, heavy wood, engraved with runes and symbols he couldn't decipher.

The sphere, in the center of the table, appeared to be made of transparent glass but had a strange internal luminescence, as if it contained a latent energy ready to be released.

Once he was close enough, Ethan stopped and awaited further instructions. The man, who seemed to be elderly, perhaps a bit younger than the man outside the chamber, began explaining how the test worked.

"What you need to do is simply place your dominant hand on the surface of the sphere, and then you can leave," the man said hurriedly, without adding anything else.

Ethan was a bit annoyed by the man's attitude but said nothing, mentally putting him on his blacklist.

Ethan did as he was told, placing his right hand on the cold, smooth surface of the sphere, waiting for something to happen.

The tension was palpable.

He could hear his own breathing, slow and heavy, filling the silence of the room.

He wasn't sure how long the test would last, but he remembered that the door to the test chamber remained closed for no more than five minutes each time someone entered.

He had observed the previous candidates and knew that the times varied: some lasted three minutes, others four, and some even two.

He recalled that for the three eliminated candidates, the test had lasted only two minutes. He hoped his would last longer and possibly with a positive result.

He waited for a few seconds, but nothing happened.

The transparent glass sphere seemed indifferent to his touch.

Ethan looked up from the sphere to address the man, but at that moment a thin thread of light began to appear inside the sphere.

The thread of light grew like a plant from the point where Ethan was touching the sphere, and gradually began to branch into two threads, then three, and then four.

Ethan didn't know what these luminous threads meant and, seeing that the man seemed calm and not inclined to say anything, he waited patiently.

In almost a minute, the number of branches had already reached ten.

The man, seeing how many threads had formed, seemed a bit curious about how things would progress from there and paid more attention to the sphere.

At this moment, the growth of the threads began to slow down.

After a few more seconds, an eleventh branch grew, and finally, the process stopped there.

Ethan felt confused and a bit anxious. The silence of the room heightened the tension.

Finally, the man spoke.

"Very well," he said in a deep, reassuring voice, this time without the irritated tone from before.

"Your test is over. Eleven branches are a good result. You have passed."

At these words, Ethan couldn't help but sigh in relief as the tension in his body eased.

'Good, only one more to go,' he thought to himself, happy that he had passed.

The man didn't seem to care about this and, returning to his previous tone, pointed in a direction with his hand.

"Now you can go. That door will take you to the place where the third entrance test will be held."

Ethan didn't need to be told twice and, with a slightly quickened pace, reached the door and left the room.

At that moment, Cháng Húzi, who was waiting outside the door, noticed that more than three minutes had passed since Ethan had entered the room.

Noticing this, he couldn't help but feel a bit surprised.

'It seems the boy managed to pull through this time,' he thought.

He didn't have high expectations for Ethan. In fact, he was almost certain that, like the other three, Ethan would be eliminated from the test.

He didn't expect him to pass.

'Oh well, luck is also part of one's talent. I hope he saved some for the final test. He'll need it,' he thought as he prepared to retire to his personal quarters.

His task here was done, and seeing that the sun had begun to set, painting the sky a beautiful orange color, he set off.

"This year will be a bit turbulent," he said to himself, remembering some individuals who had taken the test.

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FRANK_LEE_JUNIOR:

With this chapter, I'm finally ready to request the contract.

Fingers crossed, and let's hope it goes well. I'll see you tomorrow, or maybe tonight with the next chapter (depending on whether I will have enough time to write).

As usual, don't hesitate to leave comments/criticisms on the novel.