Alex sat on top of a massive boat that housed all 160 of the Frozen Heart Sect members.
Even though he wore the crystal blue robe that belonged to the sect, being the only guy on deck, he did stand out.
Most girls looked at him curiously. They knew that he was an alchemist, but they didn't understand why he had to be employed in the sect at all when he was a male.
However, if the recent information they learned was true, then he was an invaluable asset to the sect. After all, not just anyone can make 1750 pills in just 3 days.
While some of the girls spoke about him with each other, wondering how an alchemist that wasn't even in the True Emperor realm was so strong, Alex focused his entire time on cultivating.
As he cultivated and gained back the Qi he had lost, the fatigue in his body was also slowly healed due to the Undying physique going into work.
His mind slowly healed from the pain and stress, and bit by bit, he was returning to his peak condition again.
The ship flew in the night for at least 2 hours by the time Alex was anywhere close to being done with his cultivation.
As he still continued it, someone came up to him and sat by his side.
Whisker, who was in his robes looked to his right, and Alex saw who it was.
"Greetings, Elder Xuan," Alex spoke and stopped his cultivation cycle for time being.
"Are you okay?" the elder asked. "Did forcing yourself to make 1800 pills cause you any trouble?"
Alex thought for a moment and shook his head. "None that I haven't already dealt with, Elder Xuan," he said.
"I see," she said. "I suppose I owe you an apology then. I tried to keep you out from going to the Dao mountain."
"But you gave me an opportunity," Alex said.
"You really think of that as an opportunity? I was trying to get you to not go," she said. "I gave you something impossible in hope that you would fail. Hell, I didn't even give you much time to work on it. I was really trying to stop you from going."
"I have nothing against you of course. I'm just trying to look out for our core disciples. Given that they will become the pillars of the sects in the future, even taking away one of their spots would be devastating, to say the least."
Alex stayed silent for a second or two. He could understand what the elder was trying to say.
"Whatever your intention was, elder, you gave me an opportunity and I'm thankful for it," Alex said.
"I'm quite thankful too," the Elder said. "When you eventually failed, I had intended to return you the contribution points, and give you some time off based on how many pills you made. Who would've thought that you could actually do it."
"We really are lucky that you thought our sect was a city and stumbled in," the elder said.
Alex nodded and thought of ways to change the topic. He didn't want her to linger on how good of an alchemist he was and increase his value later on.
"Elder, you said I had 3 opportunities, and now I have seized two of them. What's my third opportunity?" he asked.
"Your third opportunity is the same one all of these girls and the other 400 disciples that will be gathering at the foot of the mountain will have," the elder said.
"Same one?" Alex asked.
"Do you know how many True realm cultivators are allowed this time around in the mountain?" she asked.
"It's 34 right?" Alex asked.
"Yes. This means you need to be one of the 34 people to enter from amongst the 500 different disciples. That's your opportunity," the elder said.
Alex was curious now. "How can I do that?" he asked.
"You'll find out soon enough," the elder said. "We'll arrive in a few more hours. Cultivate and be in your best condition. Given how strong you are, I'm sure you will easily take the place."
"Oh, so it's fighting huh? I can do that," Alex said.
The elder smiled and turned to walk away. However, before she did, she stopped and spoke once more.
"Also, once you are there, do not speak about alchemy or pills. Never reveal that you are an alchemist. You will be in a far larger danger than you could ever imagine," she said.
Alex's heart sank for a second when he heard that. "Why is it so dangerous, elder? Can you tell me?" he asked.
"I'm afraid I cannot," the elder said and left without speaking.
Alex frowned. What the hell was wrong with being an alchemist in these lands?
Alex thought of possibilities, but soon, he forgot about it and returned to cultivating for the time being.
Sometime later, while the moon was still hidden behind the cloud, the group arrived at their destination.
Alex stood up and looked to the far distance where a brilliant mountain in green was located inside a massive dome of barrier, surrounded by nothing but snow and gloom.
The Dao mountain.
It was surprising just how the mountain could remain so green and beautiful in this cold, and harsh. Was it the formation? Or was there some sort of situation that heated the entire place?
Alex looked to the side and saw 2 different massive boats that were sitting on top of the snow, and some people were already down on the ground doing something, but Whisker couldn't tell who they were from this far up.
The boat then slowly moved forward while gently lowering down to the ground.
Only then did Whisker see the boats and the people on them clearly enough to recognize who they belonged to.
The people wearing the Royal Blue robes belonged to the Heaven's Frost sect, while the people wearing the purple and white robes belonged to the Blue Spring sect.
With the Frozen Heart sect here now, three of the five sects had arrived.
A dozen or so elders suddenly moved out from the boat and went up to the many people that were working on the plain land covered in snow.
They were creating some sort of platform. If Alex's guess was correct, then they were creating stages for the disciples to fight in.
"You stay and get read while they work on it. We will start as soon as the rest of the sects arrive," one of the elders said.
Alex nodded and continued cultivating for a while.
As he waited, the next two sects arrived not even a few hours later.
Wearing red and white robes were the disciples and elders of the Blazing Earth sect, and wearing green and black robes were the people from the Nether Poison sect.
Their ships landed next to the other 3 and the elder from there went to work as well.
When the sun rose and the land was illuminated, the elders finished working and had now fully prepared the fighting arenas.
"Get off," one of the elders said to the group, and one by one, all the disciples from all the sects started getting down the boat towards the arena.
