.
While this was happening in the imperial palace, a grand celebration was taking place at a luxurious restaurant in the capital.
The banquet had been organized to celebrate the conclusion of this year's alchemy tournant.
All participants who reached the Top 20 in both categories were gathered there, along with their team mbers, the senior alchemists who accompanied them, and the ten judges who presided over the tournant.
The tense atmosphere of the tournant was nowhere to be found, and a festive air filled the room as everyone either engaged in conversation or indulged in food here and there.
Ethan's team mbers finally had a chance to unwind and even socialize with other teams, who were no longer their rivals.
While those in the first category were more sociable, those in the second category were more reserved.
Most of them still tended to avoid mbers of other teams, with only a few individuals willing to fully enjoy the party.
One such individual who wanted nothing to do with others was Hu Xingyan, the girl from the White Tiger Kingdom, who at that mont was focused solely on her lavish al, paying no attention even to her teammates, who by now knew she was not the easiest person to interact with.
Hu Xingyan, as she devoured one dish after another, was still frustrated by how the competition had ended.
As one of the most talented geniuses of her generation, she had expected to outshine all her opponents and secure first place.
Yet, that position had been snatched away as if it was nothing by soone she hadn't even known existed until recently.
The more she thought about her crushing defeat at the hands of the masked boy, the more frustrated she beca, eating her food even faster.
What annoyed her most was that the masked boy had never truly gone all out against her, as proven by his impressive performance in the final positioning rounds.
Seeing his abilities then was like a bolt from the blue for her, making her realize just how wide the skill gap between them was from the start.
In fact, the gap was so great that she couldn't see herself defeating him anyti soon; she felt she might not reach his level even after a hundred years of training.
This realization depressed her even further, and just like a drunk drowning in alcohol, she was burying her sorrows in food.
That said, she wasn't the only one whose pride as a genius took a hit.
Most of the participants in the second category felt the sa, especially the Top 20, who realized that the gap between them and the first-place contestant was sothing they might never bridge.
Yan i, having co to terms with the situation, wasn't too surprised at this point.
Having seen him pull off miracle after miracle, she'd grown sowhat accustod to it. Even Xiang Hua, to so extent, expected such an outco.
But for the proud Xun Wei, witnessing what seed like the limitless capabilities of the masked boy made him nearly lose his composure.
On the evening of the tournant's conclusion, he returned to his family, vowing never to cross paths with that "monster" again.
The last thing he wanted was to bring the wrath of an alchemist of the masked boy's caliber down upon his family, which only had a two-star master alchemist as its greatest asset.
As the geniuses of the Long Empire reflected on their lives and their futures, Ethan, the subject of many of their thoughts, was seated among several mature won who were offering him drinks from all sides.
These won were none other than the tournant judges and the elder of the dicine Pavilion who had accompanied his team to the event.
A handso and talented man was always appreciated by the opposite gender, and seeing a man like Ethan, whose charm rivaled anyone they'd ever t and whose talent surpassed them all, made him even more appealing in their eyes.
Although each of them was over 100 years old, they maintained a youthful appearance.
This was not only due to their high level of cultivation but also because, over ti, they had dedicated part of their Qi to preserving their beauty.
In this mont, where everyone was celebrating and consuming the strongest drinks available in the capital, their usual composure had been thrown out the window, and none of them held back from speaking openly with him.
"So, tell , what's your real na?" asked Shu Ai-Qing, the dicine Pavilion elder, who had replaced her initial poor impression of him with a much more favorable one.
"You may refer to as Nuyu," he calmly replied, unwilling to reveal his true na.
"How old are you, really?" asked the woman in pink, one of the judges from this year's tournant.
"I'm just over 40," he replied, thinking it wasn't an issue to reveal this detail.
Hearing this, everyone at the table widened their eyes in shock, and the woman in pink exclaid incredulously,
"Only 40? Impossible!"
He couldn't believe that soone so young had achieved a level of alchemical mastery beyond theirs.
The others at the table were just as skeptical, to which he rely shrugged, as if to say they were free to think whatever they wanted.
Ethan had been naturally invited to the celebration after the tournant, but who would have thought that these master alchemists would practically compel him to join their table?
They were practically treating him as their equal, which, while not unpleasant, soon made him regret accepting.
Although the company of these master alchemists was pleasant, he couldn't help but suffer because of a certain dragon woman who was teasing him in his mind.
"Co on, look at all these beautiful won surrounding you. Why don't you take advantage of the situation?
Isn't it ti you showed them what you're made of, even in that regard?" she taunted, emphasizing the fact that he was still a virgin.
The situation wouldn't have been so frustrating if it wasn't for the fact that the dragon lady herself was apparently a virgin.
When Ethan retorted that she had no right to tease him given her own situation, she replied that, unlike humans, dragons tended to seek soone more powerful and compatible as a mate.
In other words, she claid she had never found the right partner, at least, that was the excuse she gave, and Ethan naturally didn't believe her.
Bai Yu, who had returned so ti ago, was currently nestled in his arms, in her beast form, as she used a portion of her consciousness within Ethan's sea of knowledge to interact with him.
She had promised to explain everything to him once he returned to his quarters since, right now, he was too much of a focal point to slip away.
He accepted, waiting impatiently for the celebration to end, while ntally noting to teach the dragon lady a lesson in the future.
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