Pillar of Yita

His voice had a somewhat eerie quality, but it wasn't unpleasant. Instead, it carried a unique charm.

"So what?" Fang Hong responded without thinking, "You don't expect me to deliberately lose to you, do you?"

"Is that what you think?"

Rolin couldn't help but laugh.

But as he laughed, he suddenly started coughing violently, bending over in pain.

This startled Fang Hong, who quickly asked, "Are you okay?"

Rolin shook his head, pale-faced, raising a hand to stop him, and then weakly asked, "Does whether I'm okay matter much to you, since I'm your opponent..."

"So what?"

Rolin shook his head and didn't answer.

It took him some effort to straighten up again. Fang Hong, unable to stand by and watch, extended a hand to help him, considering that everyone here, despite possible ties to the Dark Dragon, was just a competitor—out of professional courtesy.

But Rolin was extremely cold, shrugging off his hand with a slight shake, supporting himself by the railing to stand up.

He turned back, gave Fang Hong a meaningful look, and said, "Good luck to you—"

After saying that, he turned and walked away.

But Fang Hong, caught off guard, couldn't help but call out to him, "Rolin."

The other stopped, turning back to look at him.

"Can I ask, why did you come after the Stargate?"

"A purpose?"

Rolin shook his head indifferently, as if to say that such things needed no purpose; he came simply because he did.

But then he turned back and suddenly asked, "Why did you choose the path of Alchemy?"

"Me?" Fang Hong thought for a moment and couldn't help but remember what R had said to him.

What is Alchemy?

Alchemy is the art of creation.

"Creation?" Rolin couldn't help but smile at this, quietly watching him, and replied, "I and you are actually not that different."

With that, he no longer looked back and made his way to the arena.

Only leaving Fang Hong behind, who pressed a bit surprisedly against his chest, while quietly asking in his heart, "Are you sure, Miss Tata?"

A moment later, the calm voice of Miss Fairy came from within his Mind World: "Indeed, at the moment you asked, I felt a similar strength emanating from him, Mr. Knight."

She spoke softly, "But not the aura of Toragotos."

"Could it be Nikopolas?"

"Unable to determine, Mr. Knight."

Fang Hong was momentarily taken aback.

When he stepped onto the arena, his teacher was already there waiting for him.

He was actually a bit late, but Ande Ulriel did not scold him, merely looked at him and sighed, "I could only do my best to secure these materials for you, with Delice's father helping quite a bit—"

"Unfortunately, that old Pudra kept interfering, and Old Copper Nose also sided with him this time, along with the others. Their side might fare much better than yours, Ade, just do your best this time."

Fang Hong nodded to indicate his understanding.

But the old man glanced at him and, still worried, said, "Ade, don't worry too much. Try to delay a bit in the competition, and I'll figure something out. The situation isn't as bad as you think right now."

Fang Hong looked up at his teacher.

Though, in truth, he hadn't studied under him for long.

But these words still moved him, as this teacher stood unhesitatingly against his old friends for a half-trained student like him.

"I'm fine, teacher," he answered, "Don't worry, we still have a chance to win."

Ande looked at his student and couldn't help but smile.

At this point, does winning or losing even matter?

This kid is still too clumsy to even console someone properly.

But he shook his head, his heart full of solace—not for himself, but for the little girl of the Albert Family. The Little Princess of the Mawei Family had finally found someone trustworthy at such a crucial moment.

Perhaps that too can be considered a form of luck.

He thought this—

"Good luck then." The old man simply answered.

The competition entered the preparation phase in a silent atmosphere.

Fang Hong watched his teacher walk off the stage quietly, feeling a hint of loneliness in his figure—for some reason, this tugged at his heart. Of course, he understood that this loneliness wasn't due to anything else...

But because the entire Southern Region was drifting away from his ideals.

Power struggles ultimately severed the original connections between people, seven years after Mawei left Colin Ishurian, the moment when Prince Coleman finally lost his power—

The Southern Region inevitably fell into chaos with everyone fending for themselves after the downfall.

The fence-sitters eagerly sought new support while more idealistic individuals became confused and anxious in the turbulent times.

For some reason, Fang Hong suddenly understood the complex thoughts in these people's hearts, marking the first mature scar on his previously simple world.

But these complexities ultimately go against Alchemy, don't they?

Because its essence leans towards simple truths—

Fang Hong lowered his head, looking at the materials in his hands, which were nothing more than an ordinary piece of metal, possibly some copper-nickel alloy, glowing with a pale golden hue.

In Eteliria, this was just the most common of materials.

"Ade."

A voice came from beside him.

Fang Hong turned around suddenly, only to see Soul Fingerprint, now wearing a gray-blue coat, standing next to him. "They're letting you choose two assistants, and I volunteered."