Eternal Cultivation Of Alchemy

“Yu Ming! That’s a nice name. You should keep using it,” the War God said.

Alex slowly smiled and nodded. It felt a little awkward being called that, as he hadn’t been referred to by his player name for such a long time. He couldn’t even remember the last time anyone did use that name.

“Now then, I know there are people out there who want to learn more about your past and your alchemy, but they’ve heard enough about it from others already.”

“There’s only so many ways a person can become an alchemist. All they have to do is learn from someone else or learn by themselves. Let me guess, you had a master before, but you also taught yourself other things on your own. Is that correct?” the War God asked.

“That is quite accurate, War God,” Alex said.

“See? It’s the same for everyone. Instead, I want to learn more about other things,” the War God said. “For example, you must have made some enemies through your journey as an alchemist. How did you fight them? Did you hire someone else to do it for you, or did you take the matter into your own hands?”

Alex was confused by the route the conversation was taking. “I did have enemies, and I did take care of most of them on my own,” he said. “I only got help in cases when my enemy was too strong for me.”

“Quite commendable of you. Most alchemists aren’t that good at fighting since they spend all their time practicing alchemy,” the man said. “Have you fought more than one person at once?”

“I’ve had fights where it wasn’t a simple one-on-one,” Alex answered. He was failing to see where the War God was taking this conversation. Was he trying to corner him about something? Was he trying to get him to speak about something?

Did the man find out where he had come from?

Alex got slightly concerned if that was the case.

“So you have, huh?” the War God said, a small smile forming on his face. An almost imperceptible smile. “Then let me ask you this. Have you ever participated in a war?”

Alex felt his heart skip a beat at that moment. What was going on? How did this man know? Or was he just guessing the entire thing? It was hard to conceive why else the man would start asking about fights and war to an alchemist.

Alex did think it wasn’t that weird for the War God to talk about wars, but he was doing so to an alchemist, in an interview where they were supposed to find out about his past in alchemy.

This was certainly weirder than any other interviews that had happened before.

Alex considered the question for a good few seconds before nodding. “I have been part of a war, War God.”

The answer almost seemed to be a cue for the War God to finally break out into a big smile. “You have?” he asked with a loud voice. “That is great. What sort of war was this? Between alchemy guilds? Between sects?”

“Between kingdoms,” Alex answered.

“Oh? Go on,” the War God insisted. He almost seemed excited even.

Your next journey awaits at My Virtual Library Empire

Alex nodded. “The emperor of a nearby empire threatened to kill some hostages unless my kingdom returned some people who had run away from the emperor. The king refused, and so there was war.”

“And you were part of the war?” the War God asked.

Alex nodded.

“Did you help by making pills, or did you fight?”

“We made pills beforehand, so we didn’t need many alchemists. Thus, I fought,” Alex answered. “I tried to stay out of the way of the stronger fighters, though.”

“Hahaha!” the War God laughed out loud. “Incredible. I never imagined I would get to interview someone who had actually been part of a wide-scale war. It should be nothing in comparison to our war against the demons, but to think I would get so lucky.”

Alex couldn’t understand why the War God was so happy. Just because he met someone who had something to do with what he was associated with?

That got Alex to wonder. What exactly did make one a god of war?

“Say, you are one of the better alchemists of the tournament, are you not?” the War God asked.

Alex nodded swiftly. “I like to believe so, War God.”

“Yes. And I hear good alchemists are capable of controlling many aspects of alchemy at once, including making many pills at the same time. You can do that too, can you not?” he asked.

Alex nodded again. “I am capable of that.”

“Great!” the War God proclaimed. “Then, let us fight. If you win, I will give you whatever you ask for.”

The War God’s words were met with a stunned silence. Neither Alex nor the audience made any sound. How could they? It wasn’t every day that a god challenged an immortal realm cultivator to a fight.

The War God seemed offended by the silence. “What? Are you refusing to entertain me?” he asked.

“Umm…” Alex looked around. “I don’t see how I can be of much entertainment in fighting you, War God. You could probably blow in my general direction and I would die.”

The War God’s eyebrows furrowed for a good few seconds before they lifted back up again. “Oh! You misunderstood me. I wasn’t suggesting a real fight. But rather a battle in a game of war.”

“A game… of war? I do not know what that is, War God,” he said.

The War God grinned. “Do not worry. It is easy to learn.”

He reached into his Soul Space and brought out what appeared to be a giant glass sphere along with two crescent metal bands. He tossed one of the metal bands to Alex and placed the other one on his forehead, gesturing to Alex to do the same.

Alex was a little confused about what he was doing, but he followed the War God’s direction and put the metal band around his forehead. Suddenly, he felt something trying to connect with him, like an artifact trying to bond.

Alex waited for the War God to tell him what to do next.

The War God instead stood up and tossed the giant glass sphere out in front of him. Suddenly, the glass sphere began spinning in the space between them, glowing increasingly with each spin.

At some point, the light became so bright that Alex could not see anymore.

Then, the sphere exploded into light.

Alex quickly pulled out a shield to protect himself, but nothing struck him. The light simply passed through him and beyond him, expanding into a massive sphere of white light that covered nearly the entire stage.

The War God looked at the white light and pointed to Alex. “Let your headband bind with you. It is only temporary.”

Alex finally nodded and cautiously let the headband connect to him. As soon as Alex let it in, he suddenly felt a coolness enter him.

At the exact same time, the giant sphere of white light began changing into amorphous colors that shifted like objects moving through the mist. The colors began settling into mostly blue and green as a landscape with a horizon was drawn around them through the sphere.

The battlefield for the Game of War was now ready.