Eternal Cultivation Of Alchemy

Alex remained silent, choosing to let the War God do the talking. He couldn’t think of anything good to say that would help the situation for him in any positive way, so he chose to rather keep quiet so as not to make the situation worse.

The War God’s rage seemed to quell after a moment, and he turned toward Alex. “Tell me, who did you get the book from?”

“Nobody,” Alex said, before quickly realizing he needed to explain further. “I bought it from an auction. There was a place where the aftermath of the war had been preserved, and I believe that was where this book was found.”

The War God frowned a little. “Then have others copied it before you?” he asked.

Alex shrugged. “I believe they mentioned something about this book going across many hands, so I cannot be certain whether there are any other copies or not.”

The War God nodded slowly. He did not like the answer, but there was nothing he could do about it. “I suppose I am too late to stop it from spreading.”

“I doubt your brother will let it go so simply, War God,” the Alchemy God said. He turned toward Alex. “You should swear an oath to not spread this array anymore.”

Alex’s eyes perked up. He had expected to have to speak an oath here, but he didn’t expect the Alchemy God to be the one to tell him to do it. Still, it didn’t seem like a bad idea. It was not like he was promising to never use it.

“No,” the War God quickly said, stopping Alex before he even started saying anything. “That will not be necessary. I won’t force anyone to speak such oaths when it may be necessary that this knowledge is spread in the near future.”

The Alchemy God didn’t react. “But your brother…”

The War God didn’t refute him immediately. Instead, he thought for a moment and turned toward Alex. “Should my brother ever meet you or send his men, immediately swear the oath. They are much more ruthless than you would expect.”

“Your… brother?”

“My senior brother,” the War God explained. “The first disciple of my master, Hell Emperor. The current Array God.”

Alex was speechless. The first disciple of the Hell Emperor was a god too? And he would be looking for him too? He didn’t want that. “I can swear the oath right now. I’m willing.”

“You can if you want to, but it won’t help,” the War God said. “They will ask you to speak the oath again, so you may as well do it then.”

Alex didn’t know what to say but only nodded in return. “I will do as you say, War God.”

The War God sighed. “Well, the interview is over, so I shall leave.”

“War God, you’re forgetting something,” the Alchemy God said and gestured toward Alex’s forehead.

Alex was confused for a second before he reached for his forehead and pulled off the metal headband. He had been wearing it for so long that he nearly forgot it was still there.

He gently threw it to the War God, who caught it and paused. The War God stared at it for a moment before reaching for his headband too. He had the two headbands in his hand.

He smiled suddenly and pulled the crystal ball out back from his Soul Space.

Alex had only begun wondering why the War God had brought it all back out when he was suddenly tossed the crystal and headbands. He quickly caught them with a confused look. He stared at the War God, unable to make heads or tails of the situation.

“I destroyed your book,” the War God said. “I’ll let you use it temporarily as payment. I do not like the thought of owing anyone, so this should cover it.”

Alex kept staring at the artifact, unable to form any words. Was the War God really giving him something this good? What did he mean by temporarily? How long was that?

“You have a knack for becoming a Battle Master, so use that treasure for a few centuries and see how far along you come. After you’re done using it, bring it to me or give it to someone who can.”

Alex looked up, struggling to form words. “Who… who else can bring this to you?”

“Its best if you find my people. But if you can’t, give it to the Sky God’s people at the Interrealm teleportation locations and tell them to bring it to my people. They will know what to do.”

Alex slowly nodded. That made sense. Still, he couldn’t imagine that the War God was giving him this treasure—for centuries at that too. It was a small time for the War God, but for Alex, those few centuries would be a long time to learn it all.

“Alright, I’ll leave now. I’ve taken away too much of everyone’s time.”

Before Alex could even thank him, the War God was gone. Alex simply stood still in the sky, watching the empty space where the War God had previously been.

He looked down at the crystal orb again, unable to fathom the fact that he had this treasure in his hand.

“What a strange tournament,” the Alchemy God said from behind him. “Two of my best participants are being lured by other gods. I never thought that would ever happen when I first conjured the idea in my head.”

Alex turned around and gave an awkward smile.

The Alchemy God smiled back and looked down at the crystal. “I would say don’t use it a lot before the final competition, but I don’t think anyone can stop using the Battle Mimicry artifact so easily, even if it is a cheap copy.”

Alex nodded for a moment before pausing. “A cheap copy, Your Majesty?” he asked.

The Alchemy God chuckled a bit. “You didn’t think the War God would give something such as this to you if it was unique, did you? This is only a copy of the real thing, a very cheap one at that by comparison.”

Alex was stunned. “Then… what’s the real thing like?”

The Alchemy God shrugged. “Well… it’s way more real, for one. It’s so amazing that it can replicate real life and real battles to a frightening accuracy. The War God has it back in his place. If you ever go to his place, you should see if he would mind letting you use it for a while.”

Alex didn’t know what to say. The amazingly complex battle he had been part of previously had only been a creation of a cheap copy?

“Keep them away for now. You can check them once you’re back at your place,” the Alchemy God said. “I need to announce the next interview.”

Alex nodded and turned to leave.

“Yu Ming,” the Alchemy God called out to him.

“Yes, Your Majesty?” Alex asked.

“I’m sorry if your interview didn’t go the way you might have wanted it to. If you wish, I can set up another one where you actually get a chance to speak to the audience about what you want to say.”

Alex shook his head. “Thank you, Your Majesty, but that won’t be necessary,” he said as he turned back around to leave. “I’ll let my alchemy do the talking on the day of the competition itself.”