(MC POV)
Fire, lightning and explosions rang out on top of the stage with multiple people being teleported out of the stage every second.
My disciples were holding their own pretty well and it's not like they were working together either. They know that the battle royale would mean they would be against each other eventually so there would be no point in teaming up at the end.
Seriously, the fact that even Elders and Masters were being flung off the stage spoke volumes about how far they've come since I've taken them in.
Although I can't say much for Elaria who was wielding some kind of laser minigun and mowing down all the Practitioners in her way. I most definitely did not teach her how to make that.
"Papa! Pretty 'boom'~" Cai Hong cheered from my lap, her eyes sparkling at the sight of the explosions.
So cute~
She tilted her head to look at me, "Papa, Cai Hong make pretty 'boom'?"
"Hmm? What pretty 'boom' does Cai Hong want to make?"
"This 'boom'!"
The loli dragon held her hands together and a rainbow coloured spark formed in between her palms, similar to a sparkler.
I couldn't help but start patting her head, "Awww~ That's a really pretty 'boom' Cai Hong~ Well done~"
"Ehehe~ Papa likey?"
"Yes, Papa likey very much~"
"Yayyy~ Cai Hong wuv Papa!"
Awww~ Why is she sooo cute~ I just wanna cuddle her all day~
I felt a tug on my sleeve and I looked down to see a loli version of Iris looking up at me with expectant eyes.
Do you want to cuddle as well?
'Ufufufu~ If Master does not mind, I most definitely want to be cuddled by Master too~'
I moved Cai Hong to my left thigh before picking Iris up and sat her down on top of my other lap.
"Mama!" Cai Hong squealed while reaching both her hands towards her.
Iris mirrored her actions and the both of them hugged, Cai Hong cuddling up to the loli Iris.
I can't help it when presented with a scene this cute. I wrapped both of them up in my arms and hugged them tightly.
"Ara, ara? I can most certainly get used to this~" Iris giggled, moving herself closer to me.
All the while, explosions still rocked the stage as Practitioners were flung around left and right. Even right now, a Practitioner wearing Master robes got hit in the face by one of Lian Li's lightning before getting teleported outside the stage.
Despite the clear difference in strength, none of them were showing any signs of giving up on their assault and continued throwing themselves at my disciples. They really seem to be desperate for that Divine Artefact, huh?
But despite their best efforts, almost everyone was eliminated before they could even touch any of my disciples.
Soon enough, there were only a handful of opposing Practitioners left while all of my disciples stood in the centre of the stage in a circle, watching them carefully.
"Ugh… As expected of High… Ummm… Master Lin's disciples… They're too strong…"
"None of us would be able to get a Divine Artefact at this rate!"
"We need to work together! They didn't say there can only be one winner! Everyone who lands a hit will get one!"
"You're right! I'd be happy if I even got a sock!"
"Shhh! Be quiet you idiot!"
"We… We just need to hit one! They aren't helping each other so we just need to focus on one!"
"You're right! Let's work together!"
Putting aside the very weird conversation at the end, the rest of the Practitioners seemed to have decided to team up.
They've already learnt which ones were the stronger ones and were looking to target the ones who have yet to ascend.
Brendan seemed to be relying on his potions to defend himself and while he was extremely versatile and adaptable to any enemy he faced, they were sure he did not have an infinite amount of those potions. There was also the fact that he had to pick the potions and either throw or mix them in battle as well, which could play against him if his opponents were fast.
Diao Chan was an outlier since she was using Spells instead of Techniques, something foreign that none of them were familiar with. The need to chant those Spells might have been a disadvantage for her but she had already managed to shorten her chants to the point that it did not matter much.
Elaria on the other hand… Well… She's using all sorts of weapons… At one point she even used a satellite laser cannon against a group of enemies so she seems like the strongest one amongst the three right now.
Thus, all of them had chosen Brendan as their target and my alchemist knew it.
His senior sisters would not be helping him either so he only had himself to rely on.
"Ara, ara? Good luck Brendan~" Manami giggled before leaping towards the other end of the stage, prompting everyone else to do the same
Now it was Brendan alone against the remaining mix of Practitioners from various Sects.
"Big brother Brendan trouble?" Cai Hong asked.
I patted her head, "It's ok, your big brother Brendan is strong."
He may seem like the weakest right now, but his potential was actually one of the highest in this fight. The reason being the fact that usage of Origin Liquid was not restricted in this fight and he had several dozens of them.
If he wanted to, he could just use it to create some kind of godlike entity to fight for him.
But of course, our Brendan was not boring enough to do that. Instead, he brought out five bottles and flung them in different directions, causing his enemies to scatter. They had already seen what his potions could do, especially the poison and acid clouds. Those who were hit by those did not go painlessly.
Unfortunately for them, those bottles were neither of those clouds and instead, a formation he had broken down into bottled form.
The bottles shattered and a pentagram was suddenly formed using the contents of the bottle with Brendan in the centre, the lines of the pentagram lighting up to activate the formation and causing swords to appear in the air around my alchemist.
"Golden Sword Formation?!! Since when did he manage to create such a complex formation?!!"
"We… We can't beat that!"
"High Pri… Err… Brother Brendan! Please go easy on us!"
Brendan only smiled at them before the swords moved to strike down the remaining enemies with impunity.
Yeah, don't look down on our alchemy boy.
