Grand Ancestral Bloodlines

1230 First Combat Stream

Ryu's appearance caused no small amount of commotion. Outside of Zovaes, Iroh and Junio, who were all smart enough to be aware of what was really going on, most others probably doubted his appearance. In their estimation, Ryu was a young man who had spoken without thinking and happened to be overheard by others, painting himself into a corner. Actually appearing would only cause him problems. While not doing so would cause him a host of problems in the future, if he was at least a decent talent, washing away that shame wouldn't be impossible. However, to their astonishment, he had truly appeared.

Many couldn't help but admit that he looked the part. Even if his cultivation was low, his bearing was undeniable and his looks were unimpeachable. There were quite a few handsome men amongst the participants, and many more of them that were more well known for their looks than even their talents, however Ryu's appearance, something that had been quite the hotly discussed topic in the last few days, was not only an excellent match for the majority of them, it quite frankly suppressed quite a few as well.

One would think that Ryu's debut would have caused nothing but animosity, but this wasn't the case.

While it was true that a large number of people sneered in disdain, he had also managed to gather a small fan club for himself as well. Since his picture had been disseminated ahead of time for all to see, it had more than enough opportunity to attract swooning young women.

As such, though there was a chorus of boos when he stepped into the arena, the high pitched screeches of young women were just as and if not even more piercing despite being fewer in number.

"Didn't I tell you? Look, look, he's even more handsome than Adlael, I'm dying, I think I'm dying!"

"KKYYYYAAAA!"

Adlael's name seemed to come up the most often with Zovaes, actually, being brought up the second most. This wasn't too surprising, Zovaes was indeed a very good looking man, it was just that his more sinister aura made many young women with the propensity to fangirl more apprehensive than horny.

Adlael, however, was the fourth genius with a great chance of claiming first, and he was quite known for his warm smile and boy-next-door looks as well. He was especially famous in this region because he was the number one alchemist of this generation's Heavenly Dew Pavilion.

He lacked the edge of battle worn and bloodlust filled cultivators, and his presence was delicate, but inviting. He stood with short cut brown hair and warm brown eyes that bordered on a pale milk chocolate to caramel color. His smile was like a spring breeze and it never seemed to fade even amidst the weight of the crowd's scrutiny.

If Ryu had a fan club, then Adlael had an entire cult. The young woman who had spoken first was all but beaten to death the moment such words came from her mouth. At this point, it wasn't about reality, but was more so about fanaticism.

Ryu and Adlael stood nowhere near one another, but their contrast couldn't have been greater.

Adlael's hair and eyes were likely the most common across all of existence, however his features were refined to absolute perfection and his aura made others feel comforted and invited. On the other hand, Ryu was the exact opposite. He was the only youth present with flowing white hair, it danced in the wind with a delicate fragrance most didn't have the pleasure of smelling. His aura was cold and arrogant, exuding a presence that placed him above rather than on par with others.

Who did they like more? The warm, cheerful husbando? Or the cold, detached one? The wars seemed to rage in the stands even though their two subjects didn't glance toward one another even once from start to finish. They were in striking opposition to one another, a fact that would only become more glaring in just a few moments...

The crowd was so enamored by their own little storylines that they almost didn't notice a certain Elder Bartien descend and begin to describe the first event.

As always, the first event would be one of alchemy.

The purpose of the tag team event always followed the same structure. First, the coming combat stream would be described before introducing the alchemy stream to do their job. Depending on the challenge presented, it would be the job of the alchemy stream to concoct a pill that could help their partner at a crucial moment.

The first combat stream challenge was actually quite straight forward: a race.

The outline of a track with several checkpoints appeared in the skies. Judging by the length, it would probably take the fastest among them about an hour to complete. However, what was worthy of note was the fact that the so- called checkpoints also happened to be regions of great danger as well.

For a power on the level of the Heavenly Dew Pavilion, there was no doubt that it had quite a number of resource intensive regions in its territory. Much like everything in the cultivation world, these resources came with their own dangers whether it was beasts or environment.

In this race track, they would have to go through the Pink Rose Fields, the Amber Caves and the Whispering Hallow Valley.

The first was well known for its hallucinogenic properties, the second was well known for the oppression of its heat, while the final was well known for the exact opposite: its bone chilling cold. The fact that one could only forge a single pill to try and deal with all of these troubles not only tested the skill of an alchemist, but also how well they knew their partners.

After all, this was an exchange meant to promote unity and friendship between alchemists and presumably the powers with a willingness to protect them. If you didn't understand your partner intimately, how good could your friendship be?

"... All materials will be provided for free by the Heavenly Dew Pavilion. You all have one hour to decide the pill you will concoct and finish it!"