Davis stood alone in a corner below the platform before the plethora of gazes that were cast at him. He remained solitary and tall in the participant’s zone as if he stood in the spotlight. He had his eyes closed, simply waiting for the start of the Alchemy Exchange.
In his mind, he was considering the chances that he might win.
’Using only my Elder Soul Stage soul force? Right... This makes the difficulty reach the hell level!’
He knew that he had to hide his Soul Forging Cultivation. After all, even his Elder Soul Stage Cultivation that was publicized had people dropping their jaws, and if he unveiled a Mature Soul Stage Cultivation, no, his Supreme Soul Stage Cultivation for his age, wouldn’t they be taking up their weapons to find what kind of secret he possessed!?
Davis either felt that the above conclusion would occur, or smart people would try to curry favor with him. But, in the cultivation world that thrived on violence, brutality, and disorder, smart is a relative term, and smart people are cultivators who are already at the top of the food chain commanding other people to do their bidding!
They would try to rob the treasure from him rather than sucking up to him!
It was not that he cared that these lowlifes would try to scheme against him, but Davis hated that he would have to waste his time on these people who might offend him. He wanted to avoid people like Boreas Alstreim, but they somehow spawn in front of him from nowhere, giving him a severe urge to kill them.
Despite the unwelcome attitude, there were still some people who didn’t seem to be threatened by him. He opened his eyes and looked towards the figure he sensed approaching him.
That person stood at a respectful distance in this crowded area and clasped his hand, "I look forward to exchanging pointers in Alchemy!"
Davis stared at Claudius Alstreim. This person clearly didn’t seem to be on the side of Weiss Alstreim as he was initially the one who rejected Weiss Alstreim’s proposition.
Davis unfolded his arms and politely clasped his hands back, "I look forward to the same."
Indeed, he was looking forward as he felt that the chances he might win this Alchemy Exchange were less than twenty percent. With Dalila Leehan present, it became further difficult for him to win while suppressing his capabilities. Nevertheless, he took this as a challenge, and a thought popped on his head that said to him that he might never experience these kinds of exchanges if he became powerful enough to stand at the apex!
Claudius Alstreim didn’t say anything anymore as he stood alone just like Davis, but his eyes flashed with an approving light as he noticed that some beauties were approaching them. Just when he was about to raise his voice to greet them, he noticed that the beauties weren’t looking at him, so he kept his mouth shut not to embarrass himself.
Davis noticed Nora Alstreim and her group approaching him. His eyes subconsciously fell on Dalila Leehan’s bosoms that approached the level of Evelynn before he quickly took his gaze away. That brief gaze of his was noted by the three women who appeared, but they didn’t seem to mind it.
In fact, Dalila Leehan even took that as a form of approval and validation as she smirked.
Nora Alstreim stopped a few meters away and clasped her hand along with her group.
"Haven’t seen you since the day you came to our Alstreim Family, Alchemist Davis."
"Young Mistress of the Alstreim Family is right. I recall that you weren’t this humble when you tried to undermine my Young Mistress at that time." Davis responded, causing Nora Alstreim to be taken aback before a bit of shame overtook her face, making her cheeks blush.
She wryly smiled, "I won’t deny that I’ve become a bit humble due to the difference in our capabilities."
"It is just; no one likes to lose. Can we at least agree on that?"
Davis slowly nodded his head with a smile.
Nora Alstreim didn’t mind if she thought she was a loser. She looked around a bit, but she shook her head and asked, "Where is the one who beat me? Logan, right? Doesn’t he also train in alchemy?"
’So this was your true intent in approaching me...’ Davis inwardly laughed at her before he replied.
"Unfortunately, Logan sucks at alchemy, and I heard that he has given up on it..."
Hearing her say, ’Logan, right?’ as if she just remembered him, he felt that he had to give an applause to her for being able to keep up her act after she made a confession like that.
"I see... It’s a pity then since I thought that I could return the favor by having my representative defeat him."
Nora Alstreim didn’t have a change of expression. Instead, her tone expressed her lament.
"Well, you can think of me as his representative then..." Davis shrugged.
"I’ll oblige to your words then..." Nora Alstreim gave a harmless smile before she possessed a bit of hesitation on her face. She puckered her lips before she asked.
"I wanted to ask before but didn’t have a chance, but what kind of relationship do you have with Logan?"
"What made you think that I have a relationship with Logan?" Davis returned the question with a question.
"The way you speak as if you’re closer with him..." Nora Alstreim instantly responded.
Davis just smiled widely, making her further confused while she outwardly kept an indifferent expression on her face.
"Everyone!"
A middle-aged man’s voice echoed out. It was one of the Elders who seemed to be in charge of this Alchemy Exchange.
"For those who don’t know, this Elder’s name is Belias Alstreim. The first round is about to start, and when it finishes, I’ll have the passing participants follow me to the Pill Arena."
"The contents of the first round is as you guessed. It’s a comprehensive test on the knowledge of your alchemy skills, pill concoction, herbs, ingredients, and other miscellaneous things and abilities that are required to become a Peak-Level Sky Grade Alchemist!"
"We are aware most of you have are already cleared or almost cleared the written test when you all took the Peak-Level Sky Grade Alchemist Exam conducted by the Thousand Pill Palace Branch. However, this test is more comprehensive and requires deep knowledge on your part to answer the questions that we have prepared."
Belias Alstreim smiled as he cast a look at a curvaceous woman, "I am sure that even the young top pill disciple of the Thousand Pill Palace will find it difficult to answer these questions."
"Oh? The comprehensive test is something I will find difficult to answer?"
Dalila Leehan’s bosoms shook as she suppressed a laugh, "How interesting!"
Belias Alstreim merely smiled before he continued.
"Therefore, getting a mere twenty points out of the hundred will be considered a pass. However, it is still not enough to proceed to the next round."
"To get to the next round, the participant must get more than forty points, and if one manages to score more than ninety points, they will directly get seeded and have the qualifications to skip the next round, making it to the final round."
"Any questions?" Belias Alstreim asked in an authoritative manner and stayed quiet for a while. He even panned his head, but no one raised any questions.