It was only a little past nine in the morning, and Yun Wei thought they had arrived very early. But when they entered the venue and saw the huge crowd, they realized that they were the ones who had arrived late.
In the center of the venue, five round tables are positioned at the pointed corners of a giant five-pointed star pattern on the ground.
The only empty table was quite far forward, with a whole row of empty seats clearly separating it from the crowd behind it, like an insurmountable chasm.
Sid then led them straight to the empty table and sat them down.
Yun Wei then realized that the council's higher-ups had long been aware of the other party's intention to participate in the seat competition. Even the Alchemy City Governor, Haines, sitting across the hall, merely glanced at them indifferently before looking away.
Only the obsequious Manglin Liujin behind him regarded this as something of great importance.
Everyone sat down at the table, waiting for the competition to begin.
Yun Wei sat towards the back, almost hidden in the shadows behind Isaac. He lowered his eyes and held his breath, but his spiritual power spread out silently like mercury.
This was a habit he had developed since Amberfield: using his absolute advantage in mental strength to observe the entire battlefield and gain the upper hand.
This was actually inspired by the abyss.
After all, the abyss has always preferred to lurk in the shadows and observe people's hearts.
Through his mental observation, he noticed that a black-robed figure sat at each of the tables of the Hand of the Archmage and the Eye of Truth.
Yes, their attire was almost identical to that of the four apostles they had seen in Bili City, leading Yun Wei to suspect that their shabby robes were the Abyss's special uniforms.
The sign in front of the one with the Hand of the God of Law read "Huxley," while the sign in front of the black-robed man sitting at the table with the Eye of Truth read "Fosley."
This was undoubtedly their alias, derived from those four strange syllables. Excluding the five apostles they had already encountered, Yun Wei quickly went through the list in his mind and concluded that Huxley's real name should be Rihephas.
It's unclear whether Fusri is Hefazri or Fasrihe.
Without prior intelligence, perhaps no one would have imagined that two Abyss Apostles had been lurking in Alchemy City for decades.
They not only inherited the mantles of the two alchemy masters, but also founded two factions that outwardly fought to the death.
Although this discovery was terrible, it was still within Yun Wei's expectations.
As he pondered, he controlled his mental energy to avoid the area where the two apostles were located.
Besides the two apostles, there was another place in the arena that he was extremely wary of.
That was another round table near Haines, which was filled with solemn-looking clergy.
What caught Yun Wei's attention were the bishop of Yorkshire sitting next to the head of the table, and the blond man holding a baby in swaddling clothes beside him...
In the world of spiritual energy, the light surrounding the two was dazzlingly bright.
The bishop of Yorkshire was surrounded by a black aura similar to that of the man in the black robe, while the handsome man holding the swaddled baby radiated a white light that caused his mental energy to ache slightly.
Yun Wei instinctively felt that the blond man was more terrifying than the bishop of Yorkshire.
Just then, he noticed that the other person was looking at him.
This was an extremely bizarre experience. He could have changed his location at will using his mental power, but the other party raised their head and glanced in his current direction.
He only glanced at it briefly before looking away and continuing to chat casually with the bishop beside him.
However, while a storm was raging in Yun Wei's heart, it also left a deep impression.
It's so beautiful.
He had only one thought in his mind: the other person was just too beautiful.
Richard the Silver Dragon already had one of the most striking faces he'd ever seen, but compared to that blond man…
Sorry, they are not even comparable.
Because the man was indescribably beautiful, unlike anything created on earth.
[Cloud, what happened?]
Just then, Isaac's inner voice suddenly rang out, bringing the dazed Yun Wei back to reality.
Yun Wei silently withdrew his mental energy field and replied:
[Yes, you should have noticed that there's an apostle seated on each side of the hall. But I'm afraid our greatest adversary today remains the Radiant Church, seated on the other side.]
Isaac: [You mean, that cardinal named Yorkshire?]
Yun Wei: [No, it's the blond man holding the swaddled baby next to him. To be honest, this is the first time I've ever seen someone with such a much higher mental strength than me...]
So much so that he was already feeling fearful even before the battle had begun.
Isaac: [Roger that, I'll deal with him later.]
【Don't! 】
Yun Wei was immediately taken aback. He was about to warn the knight not to act recklessly, but as a horn sounded, an invisible barrier rose from the ground around them, separating the center of the arena from the stands at the back.
Within the barrier, only five tables remained, the five forces facing each other from afar, locked in a fierce struggle.
Star of Bethlehem, Golden Dawn, Hand of the Archmage, Eye of Truth.
And the Holy Church of Glory.
The horns paused briefly, and in the short lull, someone asked, "Hains, when did the Holy Church of Radiance get to interfere in the Alchemy City's qualifying matches?"
The old man who spoke had a bright red nose and sat at the table of the God of Magic. Yun Wei had seen this man before; he was Old Mark, who had secretly delivered the machine puppet to the Sid mansion.
The other party's voice wasn't loud, but it showed no respect for the Holy Church of Glory, and these words resonated with many others.
It should be noted that hostility towards the Holy Church has always been a tradition in Alchemy City.
Yun Wei noticed that not only Mark, but many other people also looked angry, and they were generally veteran alchemists from Alchemy City.
Haines remained calm and composed, sitting in his original seat.
Once the noise in the arena subsided, he said in a deep voice, "This competition has attracted the participation of four alchemy masters from the city, so ordinary judges may not be able to convince the public. Moreover, the theme this time is androids, which are artificial humans."
At this point, Haines looked around at everyone and said, "The legend of the Holy Church of Radiance is that Dilis created humankind. The feat that our Alchemy City is currently accomplishing is no different from a miracle, so it is most appropriate for me to invite Bishop Yorkshire to serve as the judge."
This cunning governor persuaded many wavering people with just a few words.
Old Mark opened his mouth, but didn't know how to refute it.
“Mark, the Bishop of Yorkshire is a seventh-rank priest who has come all the way here specifically to handle matters in my city. If you continue to be ungrateful, then I can't protect you anymore.” Haines stared at old Mark with an unfriendly expression; it was more of a threat than a warning.
“Mark, sit down.” Just then, “Huxley” spoke up, which was a way of indicating that he accepted Haines’s approach.
Seeing that his employer had spoken, Old Mark had no choice but to sit down indignantly.
He glanced at his employer with a puzzled look, wondering why his usually principled employer was behaving so strangely today.
Similarly, Mr. Forsley, known for his resourcefulness, did not object to the selection of referees.
Yun Wei saw it all clearly, and in his heart he sneered at Isaac:
These three are all in cahoots with the Abyss. That idiot Haines let the wolf into the fold, got sold out and is still helping to count the money.
All eyes turned to Sid.
The young man, sitting upright, nonchalantly brushed off non-existent dust from his shoulders. "Since you all agree, what's the point of my opinion? Let's get started."
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