Chapter 158 - 158: The Despicable Dorian Dawson! 1
With Ethan’s words, Elder Hansen felt reassured.
However, at this moment, Ethan was not fully confident deep down inside.
From last night to now, Ethan’s strength had recovered by at most 30%.
If there was no support from his qi, Ethan’s alchemy technique would drop drastically.
“There shouldn’t be any problems.” Ethan looked at the people on the stage and murmured softly.
Time flew by as the selection went through round after round.
And Dorian Dawson’s disciple remained in the competition, consistently advancing with overwhelming force.
After nearly a morning, the selection finally concluded.
Other than Dorian’s disciple, three more contestants were chosen.
Altogether, there were five people, including Ethan, to participate in the selection.
During the noon break, Ethan and Elder Hansen found a place to eat lunch casually.
At this time, Dorian was sitting in a restaurant with the rest of the judges and his disciple.
“Elijah, come in and sit down,” Dorian waved to his disciple.
The youth named Elijah Anderson quickly entered the room and greeted everyone politely, “Greetings to all the judges.”
“Hehe, young Elijah, you don’t need to be so polite.”
“Yes, your technique really surprised all of us.”
“Indeed, your skill is not inferior to your Master Dorian!”
Dorian even boasted, “To be frank, Elijah has long surpassed me, the student surpassing the master!”
Elijah sat aside in silence, a hint of pride on his face.
Dorian, on the other hand, pulled Elijah aside and said solemnly, ‘Elijah, you need to pay special attention to Ethan Smith. He’s not a simple opponent.”
Elijah replied nonchalantly, “I know him; he’s just a fighter, not worth mentioning. I can defeat him without breaking a sweat!”
Dorian’s expression turned serious. “Elijah, I believe in your strength, but Ethan Smith is not to be underestimated. You must give it your all. Do you understand? Your Master will also assist you secretly.”
Elijah laughed, “Master, I told you, I don’t need your help. I can easily defeat him!”
Dorian’s brow furrowed, about to say something when Elijah waved him off.
Then, Elijah spread his palm open. Astonishingly, a wisp of spiritual fire started to gather in his hand.
Seeing this fire, Dorian’s pupils shrank instantly, and he shot up on his feet!
“This… is spiritual fire?” Dorian swallowed and his eyes filled with fervor!
Elijah smiled lightly, “That’s right, Master. Now you know why I’m so confident, don’t you?”
Dorian excitedly said, “I knew I wasn’t wrong about you, Elijah. You’re a genius! ”
To Dorian, spiritual fire was something one could only hope for but never attain.
He had tried his whole life but was never able to produce spiritual fire, only to discover his disciple had already mastered it! Elijah smiled faintly, “Master, just wait and see how I defeat him.”
With that, Elijah turned and walked out of the room.
In the afternoon.
The Traditional Medicine Conference finals officially began.
To Ethan’s surprise, the final competition was completely different from the previous rounds, as the venue was almost filled with people!
Many nobles and officials had come to watch, with countless martial arts experts hidden in the shadows.
Ethan raised an eyebrow and quickly understood.
These nobles and officials also wanted to win the favor of alchemists and seize opportunities to court them.
“Mr. Smith, it’s up to you now,” Elder Hansen said excitedly. Ethan nodded and smiled, “Elder Hansen, don’t worry.”
After saying that, Ethan walked straight towards the stage.
Coincidentally, Elijah was standing right next to Ethan, the distance between them no more than two meters.
“You’re Ethan Smith?” Elijah glanced at Ethan and asked indifferently.
Ethan, with his eyes slightly closed, didn’t bother to respond.
Elijah didn’t get angry; he sneered, “You insulted my master, didn’t you?”
Still, Ethan paid no attention, just closing his eyes to conserve his energy and recover his qi.
“Hmph, putting on airs,” Elijah couldn’t help but snort.
“I declare, the Traditional Medicine Conference finals begin now!” At this moment, the host stepped up on stage and shouted!
Following the shout, several people brought up baskets filled with herbs for the contestants to use.
Ethan glanced at his own basket and frowned.
That’s because the herbs in his basket were almost discarded! They had hardly any qi left, and their medicinal effects were nearly depleted!
Ethan’s face turned cold, and he couldn’t help but glance at Dorian, sitting below the stage.
As expected, a smug smile hung on Dorian’s face as he provocatively looked at
Ethan.
“What a despicable and petty person,” Ethan murmured in his heart.
“The competition lasts one hour, and judges will determine the winner afterward! Begin!” the host announced loudly.
After the announcement, the contestants on stage started to refine the medicine quickly.
Elijah on the side did the same; he skillfully threw herbs into the vessel and then glanced at Ethan.
Ethan alone stood still, his brows furrowed and not moving at all.
This was because these herbs were unusable.
“I wonder how you’re going to win!” Dorian laughed coldly.
Ethan took a deep breath and whispered, “It seems I have no choice but to use that method. ”
After saying that, he dumped the discarded herbs into the vessel all at once.
Then, Ethan poured in water, lit a fire, and began to make the medicine.
The audience below the stage couldn’t help but frown, “What kind of method is this? Throwing all the herbs in together as if boiling everything in one pot?”
“I think this kid doesn’t know how to refine medicine at all. Does he think he’s stewing pork?”
“I heard that the Soul Nourishment Pill was made by him, but I bet he’s lying.”
Dorian couldn’t help but burst into laughter,
“Is he giving up on himself? Hahaha, I’ve never seen such a method!” Dorian sneered continuously.
At the same, Dorian felt relieved in his heart.
In this way, Ethan wouldn’t be able to blame the quality of the herbs on him!
Hearing the surrounding comments, Ethan remained silent, only focusing on increasing the fire to quickly turn the herbs into a mush.
Soon, the herbs in Ethan’s vessel turned into a sticky paste without any trace of medicinal fragrance.
“Ethan, with all the medicinal effects escaping because of this method, is there any reason to continue?” Elijah sneered beside him.
Ethan didn’t say anything and just stared at the mushy herbs.
“Hehe, as expected, you’re nothing but a paper tiger. You might as well get off the stage now and stop making a fool of yourself!” Elijah continued to mock.
Ethan glanced at him and sneered, “It’s true that I have an undeserved reputation, but beating you shouldn’t be a problem.”
After saying that, Ethan suddenly raised his hand and plunged it directly into the mushy herbs!
Waves of qi surged from Ethan’s palm into the mixture!
In an instant, the mushy herbs turned a light blue color!