Chapter 1374: Contest
While sitting there, the Lionheart Prince seriously gave the order. Immediately, most of the mages disappeared from the prairie. Nobody dared to defy the Lionheart Prince, certainly not under such circumstances. Only a dozen mages remained, ranging from level 5 to level 8 of the Heaven Rank.
They were at least Artisans. The three deans of the Starry Sky College, who were all Saint Alchemists, were here. Obviously, capable alchemists were needed at this moment.
A dozen Heaven Rank mages had stayed. Lin Yun was the only one in level 5 of the Heaven Rank. The rest were all at least in level 6 of the Heaven Rank.
The dozen Heaven Rank mages walked to the crystal table in the center, and a level-7 Heaven Rank mage who was next to Lin Yun frowned at him.
Of all the people who stayed here, the most eye-catching people were the four level-9 Heaven Rank experts and Lin Yun, who was in level 5 of the Heaven Rank.
The man wore a robe that seemed to be made of metal, and had a beard that had been carefully trimmed. There was also a hat that was full of gems above his head.
After seeing Lin Yun, he sneered and unleashed his aura, trying to suppress Lin Yun. He wasn't afraid that anyone else would notice him. Besides, even if they did, they wouldn't say anything.
If Lin Yun was humiliated here, more people would laugh at him. Whatever they were planning to do next, Lin Yun probably wouldn't have a chance to participate.
Lin Yun casually glanced at that guy, and found that he didn't know him. However, the man would've definitely left an impression on him with his unique appearance if he had been from the north of the Odin Kingdom, so he had to be from the south.
The fashionable mage's aura weighed on Lin Yun, but the latter showed no reaction, as if he didn't feel anything.
When the two level-9 Heaven Rank experts challenged each other, Lin Yun was confident of reaching where the level-7 Heaven Rank experts were standing. This guy's pressure was not nearly as overwhelming.
He might be no match for the guy in a head-on clash, but the guy certainly couldn't suppress him just with his aura...
As his Natural Demiplane became more and more powerful, Lin Yun grasped more and more laws. Probably only the four level-9 Heaven Rank experts could possibly suppress him with their aura.
Lin Yun moved forward without a change in his expression, and the fashionable mage seemed rather embarrassed.
Lin Yun didn't prepare any speech. He was just attending this meeting as an ordinary member, but Agalon suddenly waved at him.
Lin Yun was slightly surprised that Agalon asked him to join him, which carried a deep meaning.
Doing that in front of the other three experts was a clear announcement that he was Lin Yun's supporter, and they should treat him accordingly.
Lin Yun walked forward, and bowed at Agalon respectfully. Agalon deserved his respect for all his help and advice.
Before Lin Yun said anything, Agalon had spoken to the other three experts.
"He is my disciple, Mafa Merlin. He's quite talented, especially in alchemy."
His words were quite simple, but they meant something entirely different to others.
The Lionheart Prince, who had been quite grave, couldn't help but look at Lin Yun in surprise.
The Great Astrologian, who was famous for being picky, had recruited a disciple? Unbelievable. If Agalon thought he was quite talented, then the man was probably really talented.
Mafa Merlin sounded like a familiar name. It seemed that Agalon had decided on the next leader of the Starry Sky College. It was time to be wary of Mafa Merlin.
The forest elves' king observed Lin Yun with great interest too, as if he was quite surprised at the matter. But after observing Lin Yun for a while, he seemed to have found something even more shocking, and he gazed at Lin Yun with a complicated expression.
The mage on Agalon's opposite side, who had strange tattoos on his face, was the most surprised one. With undisguised shock on his face, he laughed in amusement.
"Agalon, you've got yourself a disciple? I didn't know that anyone in Noscent was worthy enough to be your disciple. Have you recruited a disciple because you think you're dying, and you're worried that your skills will be lost?"
Agalon glanced at the tattooed mage casually.
"Alonzo, shut up. Nobody will think you're mute even if you don't talk."
Lin Yun had complicated feelings, but it wasn't outrageous for him to call Agalon teacher. Although they didn't spend too much time together, Agalon was already a qualified teacher.
By formally introducing him to other people, Agalon was paving the road for him. His vision probably didn't change at all. He was saving Lin Yun a lot of trouble by introducing him to the top experts.
Lin Yun knew very well that Agalon was already making posthumous arrangements. The formal introduction would attract the top experts' attention, and save him a lot of trouble.
In the days to come, he wouldn't be involved in any significant trouble. Whoever came for trouble had to be as important as him. However, if they were as important as him, they would have to consider whether it was worthwhile to offend Agalon, who had never recruited a real disciple in years.
The three saint deans of the Starry Sky College were sort of Agalon's students, but he never recruited them as disciples, even though they always treated him as their teacher.
The title was very important on many occasions.
After Agalon did this, even if his vision came true in ten years, nobody would dare to do anything too outrageous until they confirmed that he truly perished.
Then, Lin Yun would be given more time. When the top experts were truly greedy about the Starry Sky College, and wanted to claim it, Lin Yun would be able to protect it.
"This is the Lionheart Prince of the Odin Kingdom, the Lionheart Sword Saint in the past. I'm sure you know his feats very well.
"This is the king of forest elves from the boundless forest. I'm sure you've heard about him too. He is a wise king.
"As for this guy, he is a jerk named Alonzo. Just ignore him."
Agalon introduced the other three people to Lin Yun, and Lin Yun paid his respects. He was slightly surprised.
He had recognized the Lionheart Prince and the forest elves' king easily, but not Alonzo.
Alonzo was certainly not an ordinary person.
Technically speaking, Alonzo was Agalon's junior brother. They had studied alchemy together, and had been opponents throughout their life.
However, the relationship between them was quite complicated. Nobody could tell what it was about. They might be old nemeses, but they never tried to kill each other. They only fought each other to show that they were better than their opponent.
After Agalon took control of the Starry Sky College, Alonzo established the Arcane College in the south of Odin.
Agalon was an orthodox alchemist that had been studying normal alchemy, but Alonzo was different. Alonzo was a pure genius who believed that magic tools shouldn't just improve a spell's power and a mage's combat ability.
Alonzo intended to create independent magic tools that carried their own power, not just regular magic tools that depended on mages themselves.
Naturally, they had a lot of conflicts due to their different ideology. Alonzo left the Starry Sky College, and established the Arcane College in the south of Odin to pursue another possibility of alchemy.
The magic tools he created could provide entirely different enhancements in battles. They carried weird abilities.
Some of the magic tools could transform human beings into tiny animals, some could cause a long headache, and some could turn something into a different creature.
In the future, he would even create True Spirit Magic Tools that ordinary people could use. It had been his goal to create Extraordinary Magic Tools that a Magic Apprentice could use to kill an Archmage...
The Arcane College was not as big as the Starry Sky College, and had few members, but they all conducted such unconventional experiments. They were developing alchemy in a different way.
The Arcane College was never famous, but nobody dared to underestimate it, because Alonzo, a level-9 Heaven Rank expert and a Saint Alchemist, was there.
Hearing Alonzo's name, Lin Yun couldn't help but have goosebumps all over his body. It was best not to make an enemy out of such a man, who was never close to Agalon. It was possible that he might wake up someday, and find that he had turned into a woman, or some sort of ugly beast...
However, now that Agalon had already introduced him, he didn't think that Alonzo would take advantage of him, which would be demeaning.
Lin Yun somehow felt that Agalon and Alonzo weren't as hostile against each other as rumored, because three years after Agalon disappeared in the boundless void, Alonzo also vanished with the strange magic tools he made. He seemed to be chasing after Agalon.
The truth might not be as simple as it seemed, but clearly, the two of them were certainly no friends...
Facing Agalon's smearing, Alonzo simply grinned, and waved in another direction. Then, the fashionable mage walked close with his head held high.
"This is my disciple, Sven, a level-7 Heaven Rank mage who has grasped the laws of fire and ice. He has also surpassed the limits of Artisans, and is already half a saint.
"He is more or less satisfactory to me. Agalon, your disciple is only in level 5 of the Heaven Rank, isn't he?"
Sven smiled behind Alonzo with his head held high. However, everybody could see that he was proud of himself.
Agalon smiled, and said unhurriedly, "My disciple is only 50 years old. Oh, forgive me for my poor memory. I may be mistaken. He's not 50 yet."
His words made Alonzo's proud smile freeze. Even the Lionheart Prince and the forest elves' king both turned around and looked at Lin Yun with dazzling light in their eyes.
Circles of glamorous light appeared in the forest elves' king's eyes. He then nodded in amazement and surprise. "He's indeed not 50 yet. He's truly a talented kid. Not only has he grasped the laws of earth, fire, water, and wind, but his understanding of them is very deep too. Oh, there's also the law of space!
"Sir Agalon, no wonder you made an exception for him, and recruited him as a disciple. When I was 50 years old, I was still practicing how to shoot an arrow while I was moving.
"What a remarkable young man. If he hadn't been your disciple, I would've persuaded him to join the forest elves."
Agalon had been wearing a casual smile, but Lin Yun's heart palpitated.
Damn it, what's wrong with the forest elves' king? He has executed countless half elves to ensure the purity of their bloodline. They have caught and killed a lot of forest elves that left and married other race's individuals too.
Yet, he wants me to join the forest elves. Bullsh*t. He probably wants to marry one of the forest elves to me. What has this old guy who seems very young discovered?
Hearing what the forest elves' king said, the Lionheart Prince remained silent, but glanced at Lin Yun again.
Alonzo, however, looked even more awful at this moment.
The forest elves' king couldn't have said that just to adulate Agalon. He truly had to be planning that.
It indicated that Agalon's disciple was much more talented than Sven, and had a greater potential. He was so promising that the forest elves' king disregarded their tradition. It was very likely that the forest elves' king was betting on the chance that Agalon's disciple would ignite the God Fire.
Sven stood behind Alonzo, sulking in silence. It was not his place to talk here. However, when he glanced at Lin Yun, he looked even more unfriendly.
Having been accepted by Alonzo, he was absolutely talented. As a matter of fact, he had never seen anyone who was more talented than him until this day, when he saw a guy who was 10 times more talented than him, and who was also the disciple of Alonzo's old nemesis...
That made Sven look even more awful...
Alonzo sneered.
"Alright, Agalon, stop promoting your disciple. It is not level but alchemical expertise that matters in this endeavor.
"You, I, and your other three disciples that you've never admitted make five Saint Alchemists in total, but we need a leader. Unfortunately, the other old jerks are not in Noscent. I don't know which plane they're in, or it wouldn't be so troublesome."
Agalon smiled and didn't say anything. Lin Yun, however, realized why the alchemists were asked to stay.
Level-5 of the Heaven Rank was the perquisite for making use of the power of laws. That was the most basic requirement. It would be fine as long as the requirement was met.
The alchemical expertise was what truly mattered. Six people were needed, so there was only one possibility. They were planning to establish a super massive Hexagonal Array, which was the only way to disrupt the Plane of the Undead's corruption.
The Lionheart Prince suddenly stood up, and glanced around solemnly.
"This matter is of critical importance, but we cannot reach out to any other Saint Alchemists. We can only look for a replacement here. So, show your alchemical expertise right now.
"The best of you will be entrusted with the last critical spot. Sir Agalon and Sir Alonzo will be the judges to decide who the most appropriate candidate is."
After saying that, the Lionheart Prince waved his hand, and a dozen hills of low-level materials appeared. All the hills were identical to each other.
It was best to test their alchemical expertise with low-level materials. Everybody had been given the same materials. It was up to the alchemists what they would use and make.
All the alchemists here were extraordinary Artisans in terms of alchemy. They were all very good. However, some of them were good at potions, some were familiar with magic tools, some were good at alchemy puppets, and some were good at alchemy arrays.
Everybody's field of expertise was different, yet they were having the same contest, which confused them. However, five Saint Alchemists were watching them, and it was certainly not a joke. Still, many people were puzzled.
Soon, Sven was the first to take action. He walked to a hill of materials, and began to pick materials. What he picked was mostly ores. It seemed that he was going to make a magic tool, which he was best at.
After Sven started working, the other alchemists didn't wait. Each of them picked a hill, and chose materials that could allow them to show their alchemical expertise, and make the best product.
Some began to make potions, some began to make parts, and some were setting up alchemy arrays.
Lin Yun walked to a hill of materials and stood, frowning. He stared at the hill of materials and hesitated.
The other people all had their field of expertise, but Lin Yun hesitated.
Potions, magic tools, alchemy puppets, or alchemy arrays... He didn't know which he was best at. His expertise was similar. Adding the knowledge he carried, it was hard for him to decide on an area that could best show his alchemical expertise.
Because he was uncertain about what he was best at, it was very important to infer the significance of the contest and the criteria.
There were definitely more than five Saint Alchemists in Noscent. In fact, Lin Yun knew the names of at least another three. However, it was obvious that those three people weren't in Noscent, and couldn't be reached at this moment.