Chapter 158: A Rift Begins to Form

At this moment, Teacher Monroe and Simone, sitting in the spectator stands, were utterly bewildered. With their level of expertise, they could naturally see that Rowen was drawing a five-star advanced alchemy array—a full tier lower than Anthony, Yolanda, and the others!

Although there is only a one-tier difference between a five-star advanced and a six-star low-grade array, it crosses a whole star boundary. Within any given star level, the gap between low, intermediate, and advanced tiers is relatively small, but the span between different star levels is quite exaggerated. A six-star low-grade potion is more than twice as difficult to brew as a five-star advanced potion!

God is fair. You reap what you sow. Since six-star potions are so difficult to refine, their efficacy and uses are bound to be vastly superior to five-star potions!

Even though Rowen could easily succeed in refining a five-star advanced potion, could the potion he produced possibly compare to the six-star primary potions refined by Anthony and the others?

Teacher Monroe and Simone could not help but feel anxious for him. If he failed to break into the top four in this third round of evaluations, he would be eliminated and would have no qualification to participate in the championship battle. Yet right now, there were actually seven people on the field drawing six-star low-grade arrays. Could Rowen's five-star advanced potion possibly surpass theirs?

On the other side of the stands, Terry was extremely pleased at the moment because he saw that the brat Rowen was actually drawing a five-star advanced alchemy array. This meant the potion he was refining was also a five-star advanced one. Advanced or intermediate, how could a five-star potion possibly compare to a six-star one? As long as those thirty judges were not fools, they would know which potion to favor. Moreover, there were already seven people in the arena refining six-star potions; no matter what, Rowen had no chance of entering the top four. Therefore, he hummed a little tune, crossed his legs, and looked thoroughly relaxed.

However, when he glanced sideways at Karina, he noticed that she was currently watching Rowen's direction with a tense expression, seemingly worried about him. Jealousy instantly flared up in Terry's heart, and he said coldly, "Karina, what's wrong with you?"

Ever since the rift had formed between her and Terry, Karina had felt as though her heart was drifting back toward Rowen. Therefore, seeing Rowen at such a disadvantage filled her with deep anxiety. When she heard Terry's question, she blurted out without thinking, "The potion Rowen is going to refine is a lower tier than several other people's. I wonder if he'll be able to get through this round."

As soon as she finished these words, however, she realized her mistake. She instinctively turned to look at Terry and saw him staring at her with a dark, gloomy expression. Karina hurriedly explained, "I—I just meant that since he's from our Radiant Alliance after all, wouldn't it be a huge loss for our Radiant Alliance if he fails to advance to the finals?"

"Karina, do not forget that once you marry me, you are considered a member of the Dark Alliance. I do not want you showing excessive concern for people outside our alliance, do you understand!" Terry said coldly.

Hearing such unkind words from him, Karina initially wanted to retort, but catching sight of Terry's slightly reddened eyes, she swallowed the words back down to her throat and nodded silently.

Though she submitted on the surface, a strong surge of deep regret bloomed in her heart. Things had been fine between her and Rowen—why had she ever left him to end up with this Terry? How could she have been so blind previously as to not realize what kind of person Terry truly was? If she really married someone like this, would she ever have a good life in the future?

Although she masked it extremely well, Terry, whose sensitivity was heightened to the extreme at the moment, saw right through her. Karina's compliance was entirely insincere. He couldn't help recalling what Big Brother Gavin had told him two days ago: "That woman Karina is deeply calculating, immensely snobbish, and utterly unreliable..."

At the time, Terry had taken it lightly, thinking Gavin was prejudiced against Karina. But now, thinking carefully about her words and actions over the past two days since he had been defeated by Rowen, and comparing them to Big Brother Gavin's words, it seemed to be the absolute truth. This Karina appeared to be an unadulterated, scheming bitch!

At this thought, a chill crept into Terry's heart. He scrutinized Karina once more: her quiet, gentle, and sweet countenance had been the primary driving force behind his frantic pursuit of her over the past few years. For her, he had engaged in countless duels with Rowen; for her, he had willingly endured the censure of the crowd. Now, he had finally won her over, only to find that she was vastly different from what he had imagined. Was his judgment really that poor?

As time ticked on, the numerous spectators in the stands also noticed that Rowen, who had performed so brilliantly in the first two evaluations, was actually drawing a five-star advanced alchemy array—a full star lower than several other alchemists who had also shown stellar performances. A wave of astonishment rippled through the crowd.

"Hey, what is that black-haired kid doing? Judging from his previous alchemy techniques, he should easily be able to refine a six-star potion. Why is he only drawing a five-star advanced alchemy array now?"

"Who can say for sure? Maybe this brat is just exceptionally skilled at low-level alchemy and managed to fool us all, but his actual alchemy hasn't reached the six-star level yet."

"It looks like Senior Brother Rowen is going to stop at the third evaluation. Alas, I was hoping he'd continue bringing us surprises!" sighed a student from Potter Academy up in the stands.

Since the Potter Academy was the host venue for this alchemy convention, there were a vast number of Potter Academy students among the spectators. Hearing this, another student nearby curled his lip and said, "If you ask me, Rowen's alchemy is just like his mage rank—it gives people a dazzling first impression at the start, but runs out of steam later on. When compared to true experts, he just doesn't cut it!"

At that moment, a student who had witnessed Rowen defeating Terry chimed in indignantly, "Who says that? Rowen is also an advanced martial artist! I saw it with my own eyes earlier—Senior Brother Terry couldn't even fight back before being beaten by him!"

The student who had spoken earlier let out a cold snort. "Jack of all trades, master of none. There's not a single area where he truly excels!"

Down on the arena floor, Rowen remained entirely unaware that his decision to refine a five-star advanced potion had sparked such heated debate among the surrounding crowd. At this moment, he had just completed the very final stroke of the alchemy array—the 1024th stroke!

The pentagram array instantly flared with a dazzling red light. Without a moment's hesitation, Rowen successively dropped a tier-five water-attribute magical crystal core, various herbs, and green-winged bee honey into the center of the array, and then channeled his fire-attribute magical energy to begin the refinement process.

At this moment, he possessed absolute confidence. Even though the potion he was refining was a five-star advanced one, its effects would undoubtedly drive quite a few members of the judging panel completely wild!