Chapter 325: The Day of Alchemy Duel

Chapter 325: Chapter 325: The Day of Alchemy Duel

Chapter 325: The Day of Alchemy Duel

The morning rays of the morning sun pierced through the clouds over Solathane City,

Today was the day.

The greatest Alchemy duel in the thousand-year history of the Solathane Dynasty was about to commence.

From the desolate borders of the Outer Frontier to the Inner Province, Hundreds of millions of citizens, rogue cultivators, and minor nobles had flooded the streets of their respective cities, crowding shoulder-to-shoulder in public squares, taverns, and grand plazas.

Thousands of massive projection arrays hovered in the skies across the empire, their runic surfaces shimmering as they broadcasted the live feed of the capital.

"It’s finally happening! The duel that will decide the true peak of alchemy!"

"If Korryn wins, he will force the Alchemy Emperor to kneel! But if he loses, the Royal Court will claim his life! There has never been a gamble this astronomical!"

"To think that a man actually dared to bet his life against the Alchemy Emperor... If Grandmaster Korryn actually pulls this off, the history of our dynasty will be rewritten today!"

While the ordinary citizens buzzed with frantic excitement, the actual location of the duel was an entirely different world.

It was taking place atop Cloud’s Apex, the tallest mountain peak of the dynasty located just outside the borders of the Imperial Capital.

The top of this colossal mountain had been cleanly sliced off by an unimaginable power, forming a huge, perfectly flat circular ground.

The floor of this massive arena was exquisitely decorated with large rings of different colors, each representing the profound elemental laws of the world.

Everything surrounding the massive circular floor was incredibly beautiful and peaceful.

Clouds drifted lazily just below the edge of the severed peak, making the arena appear as though it were floating in the heavens.

It was a paradise completely detached from the mortal world.

However, the security perimeter established around this serene paradise was extremely tight.

No ordinary person was allowed to be even within a hundred miles of the mountain.

Hovering in the sky like statues were dozens of heavily armored Domain Master Realm experts, their oppressive spiritual senses weaving together into an impenetrable net that completely locked down the airspace.

Down on the intricately decorated, multi-colored circular floor, the gathering of figures was a sight that could instantly paralyze the heart of any ordinary cultivator.

Every single person standing upon this peak possessed the power, wealth, and authority to shake the entire Solathane Dynasty with a mere stomp of their foot.

Standing at the very dead center of the golden ring was an elderly man with a flowing white beard.

Alchemy Emperor Marcellis.

Gathered respectfully a short distance behind him were several middle-aged and elderly men.

Each and every one of them was a revered Grandmaster Alchemist of the Royal Court.

These men were exalted figures whose mere presence would force regional Patriarchs to bow their heads.

But here, they stood like obedient disciples behind Marcellis’s back.

Apart from them, the heads of the three great Imperial Families had personally arrived to witness the spectacle.

Xarion, the Patriarch of the Draventhor Imperial Family, stood with his arms crossed over his chest.

Aelthas, the ruler of the Lytheren Imperial Family, stood a few paces away. He was clad in elegant cyan robes.

Skyran, the head of the Galestorm Imperial Family, leaned casually against a jade pillar. His aura was suppressed, but the piercing, razor-sharp pressure leaking from his form felt like a blade resting directly against the throats of anyone who dared to look at him.

Behind them stood the most powerful core members, high elders, and peerless heirs of their respective Imperial clans.

On the opposite side of the Imperial Heads stood the royal bloodline of the Solathane Family.

The six princes of the Solathane Dynasty.

Among them stood Second Prince Arien, his sharp face perfectly calm and entirely unreadable as he gazed at the empty sky.

And standing near the very front of the princes was Crown Prince Lucius.

Lucius stood with a relaxed smile on his face, perfectly concealing the venomous schemes currently spinning within his mind.

But all of these exalted figures—the Imperial Patriarchs, the Grandmasters, the Princes—were eclipsed by the single presence standing before them.

Standing at the very forefront with his hands clasped behind his back, was a man with regal apperance.

Haldrion Solatahne.

Emperor of the Solathane Dynasty.

A Half step Monarch Realm powerhouse, and the ruler of the lands.

Just looking at him made one’s soul tremble in instinctive terror, feeling an overwhelming urge to drop to their knees and press their forehead onto the ground.

The atmosphere on the mountain was incredibly oppressive.

Everyone was waiting silently for the arrival of just one man.

Suddenly, the Emperor’s eyes shifted slightly toward the western horizon.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

The serene spiritual clouds at the eastern edge of the mountain violently parted.

Every single head atop the peak turned.

Millions of people watching through the projection arrays instantly held their breath.

Breaking through the morning clouds, a group of figures descended from the sky.

Leading the descent was a dignified, middle-aged man dressed in pristine white robes.

They landed gracefully upon the edge of the circular ground.

Grandmaster Korryn had arrived.

The moment his boots touched the glowing rings of the arena, an earth-shattering uproar exploded across the hundreds of millions of people watching the projection arrays.

"He’s here! The Grandmaster actually came!"

"Look at the men standing behind him! Nineteen Domain Masters! My God! Is the Celestial Elixir Pavilion really this powerful?"

"What an unfathomable aura! He isn’t intimidated while facing the Emperor in the slightest!"

Atop the Summit, all eyes immediately locked on Rhain, trying to asses the legendary Grandmaster Korryn.

At the same time, Rhain was also analysing the gathered group.

Emperor Haldrion—the supreme ruler upon whose very land he had been born, the man who had issued a Royal Decree demanding his head. Just standing there with his hands casually resting behind his back, Haldrion emitted a boundless pressure that felt as vast as the sky itself.

Alchemy Emperor Marcellis—the eight-hundred-year-old monster who was revered as deity by the masses.

Xarion, Aelthas, and Skyran—the Imperial Patriarchs whose mere whims could drown entire provinces in rivers of blood.

And finally, his dark grey eyes drifted toward the standing area of the Princes.

His gaze landed on Lucius.

There sat the man who had coveted his wife.

But Rhain’s dark grey eyes did not ripple.

His gaze did not linger on Lucius for even a single extra second.

He simply brushed his eyes past him as if he didn’t even recognise Lucius.

Rhain stopped a polite distance away from the center of the rings.

Under the unblinking, heavy scrutiny of the most powerful existences in the Solathane Dynasty, Rhain offered a calm bow.

"I am Korryn," his dignified, middle-aged voice rang with an authority that instantly demanded the respect of gathered men.

He raised his head, looking directly at the man wearing the Golden Sun crown of the Emperor of dynasty.

"I apologize for keeping His Majesty, and the esteemed dignitaries waiting. The journey was long."

Rhain’s eyes shifted, locking onto the ancient, white-bearded man standing in the center of the arena.

"Shall we begin?"