Chapter 3942: Heatwave

Alex looked before him toward the arena, where the dozens of Gods, hundreds of Reverends and Sages, and thousands of other individuals were seated. The verdict that day remained in their hands, so he let his gaze pass through them all before finally speaking up.

"Most of you may not know me. To those who don’t, and to those who do, allow me to introduce myself. I am the Sun God," he said, projecting his voice for everyone to hear. "As for why I deserve to be the Sun God, the reason is simple. I did not choose to be the Sun God. The title itself chose me."

A wave of confused looks passed through the crowd, as most struggled to understand what he was talking about.

Alex continued.

"I was born with the Sun God’s physique. Throughout my life, I have refined it and improved it, until I have finally become it."

He looked toward Ashmaker, who held a somewhat interested look himself, hidden behind a layer of annoyed expressions.

"I’m sure you all believe this to be unnecessary. I’m sure many of you already believe that senior Ashmaker alone deserves to be the God, given the differences in our cultivation bases. But I want you all to consider one thing."

He paused for a second, letting everyone lean forward as if that would let them hear him better.

"If senior Ashmaker alone was worthy of being the God, then why am I here? He was the one who requested the deal with me. I did not do so. This should tell you all that senior Ashmaker himself believes me to be a God in some way. He considers me worthy of the title, and hence he has come to duel me for it."

He looked through every face that changed, through every person who hadn’t even considered that until now.

"I do not stand before you all for no reason. I am worthy to be a God. And today, I will hopefully prove to you all that I am even more worthy than senior Ashmaker himself."

The Sky God held the faintest hint of a smile on her face as she heard Alex’s words. He had successfully done two things with his short introduction that the Fire God hadn’t managed to do.

Firstly, he used the Fire God himself as a pedestal to prove that there was a reason why he was standing where he stood.

And secondly, he pulled the Fire God down to his level, making it appear that perhaps there was a reason why he was afraid. There was also the fact that not once had he called Ashmaker the Fire God. Newheaven knew that it would subconsciously lead everyone to not place so much importance on Ashmaker for the moment.

"The introductions are done, so I shall allow the duel to begin," she said and looked at the two. "Who among you will suggest what to go for?"

Ashmaker let out a crisp snort. "Why are we letting this farce go on for much longer than it already has? He is merely an Immortal. I can destroy him with a flick of my fingers. Is that what you all want to see in order to be persuaded that he is not the God?"

The crowd didn’t speak immediately. Many began to consider his words and saw that he was correct. But many also understood that things weren’t that simple.

The one who spoke from the crowd was the oldest man of all, clad in golden jewelry and trinkets covering his body. The Golden God.

"In a duel to become a God, we consider little about your cultivation base, and more so your talent. You are both fighting to lay claim to the title of God of Fire and Yang. As such, you must prove that you are worthy of carrying that name. Show us your skills. Your techniques. Let us see which one of you is more worthy."

The others slowly nodded along.

Ashmaker let out an audible harrumph. "My subordinates are better than him. I don’t even need to do anything."

"If that is how you wish to prove yourself, then that is fine as well," the Golden God said.

Ashmaker looked toward Alex before gesturing to someone in the crowd. Alex looked in the direction of the gesture and saw many people belonging to the Fire God’s cult sitting there. One of them was Blazelight as well, but surprisingly, it wasn’t her who stood up.

An older man next to her, one with long auburn hair tied in a bun behind his head, stood from his seat and walked down to the base of the arena. He turned toward the Gods and bowed once before walking over to the Fire God.

Ashmaker turned toward the array of Gods and spoke loudly.

"This is my disciple, Heatwave. He is a Reverend of my cult, and as such, he shall be the one who shall contend with the Immortal today," he said before turning toward Alex. "Unless the Immortal seeks to refuse this battle."

Alex looked at Heatwave’s cultivation base and found him to be in the Divine Manifestation realm. He was a strong cultivator, no doubt, but was he that great with Fire too?

"How exactly will we be battling?" Alex asked the man.

Heatwave crossed his arms with a look of pride and snickered slightly. "I have seen the recorded matches of yours from the Alchemy Tournament. You won against all, so you’ve made me quite curious. Are you as good an Alchemist as they all say you are?"

Alex’s eyes narrowed. "You want a battle in Alchemy?" he asked. "How would that work exactly?"

"Simple," the man explained. "We shall both make pills from the same group of ingredients and see who can make a pill that produces the best fiery explosion. If your understanding of Fire is as good as you claim it to be, you should have no trouble at all, right?"

Alex hesitated, which made the man grin even further.

"Don’t worry. To bring the competition down to your level, I shall make an Immortal Pill as well."