The middle-aged man scoffed, "What information could there be? It's just a matter of a few months. What could Odin possibly give that young man?"

He shook his head, "It's nothing more than the Trial of the Thousand Doors, what's the big deal? Not to mention Rolin..."

At this point, he fell silent, looking serious.

The implication seemed clear—while the Hall of Thousand Doors was mysterious and elusive to ordinary people, for those within the range of Invokers, those who had experienced the Trial of the Thousand Doors were not that special—or at least, relatively speaking.

Pudra still seemed hesitant to speak, the expression under the shadow of his nose growing darker.

The middle-aged man looked at him before asking, "Did someone from the Shadow Throne make it to the finals?"

The latter nodded.

The middle-aged man looked pleased, but a flicker passed through his eyes, "It's a pity, it was all within our plans. If it weren't for that old guy messing things up, so many issues wouldn't have arisen now."

"There's nothing to be done; in terms of reputation, I'm far less known in Elfendo than him," Pudra sighed, "I can only go along with the flow, but I always feel like he might have discovered something. Ande wants to support the young man chosen by that girl from the Mawei family, but it's not absolutely necessary to do so—"

"Think carefully, by having the main event participants compete, what advantage is there? With that kid's level, is it really a sure thing? Don't forget, it's a team competition, and Ragnarok's team is quite mediocre. The only possible reason for doing so is to muddy the waters."

Pudra frowned deeply, "What I worry about most is that this might not even be Ande's idea; he doesn't have such intricate thoughts, but rather it's the arrangement of that girl from the Mawei family. She's famous for running circles around the Prime Minister's faction in Buvel."

The middle-aged man gave him a glance, internally doubting that such a young girl could be worth fearing. This old guy still seemed too pedantic and timid; his stagnation in the council for the past ten years seemed not to be without reason. "Alright, there's never going to be a perfect plan," he concluded, "Finding that young man is just for insurance, but with or without him, the plan is not greatly affected."

He looked at the time, "Alright, let's proceed separately."

Pudra nodded, watching the middle-aged man leave.

Then he too walked out of the hall. Outside, a young man was waiting respectfully at the door, greeting, "Teacher, you're out."

Pudra nodded blandly, glanced around, and took out a crystal emitting a dark red glow from his pocket, handing it to the young man. "Take this and do as I instructed."

The young Alchemist excitedly accepted the crystal with both hands, then carefully stored it away. If Fang Hong were here, he would surely recognize him as the one who repeatedly troubled him to the point of annoyance.

"Go on."

"Teacher, is she really that lady from the Albert family?"

"What does that have to do with you?"

"Nothing, nothing," the young man hurriedly put away the crystal and left hastily.

Pudra watched him from behind, shaking his head slightly, feeling a bit disdainful. "Overestimating himself," he mentally evaluated his nominal student.

...

Fang Hong was just putting away the Communication Crystal, absentmindedly watching the arena, his mind still turning over those previous questions—what was the other's real intent? What was the connection between the Shadow Throne and this competition? Was Rolin an enemy or a friend?

He then birthed another suspicion—was the Super Competitive League really behind this? If not, the other's origins would be very intriguing.

But if they were, the issue would become even more complex. The key was whether the Super Competitive League was connected to the Dragon Worship Sect behind the Shadow Throne, or were they just targeting the Southern Alchemists Alliance? Both possibilities existed, but the first possibility sent a chill down Fang Hong's spine.

It involved a critical question: whether there was a possibility of the Alliance itself being infiltrated by the sect?

He subconsciously glanced in the distance.

There, Hawk-Beak Bean was exaggeratedly telling everyone, "Guess what news I just got?"

"Come on, gossip bird," Mulan said irritably, "Can you stop being so mysterious?"

"Haha, I heard that besides the main event teams, there's also a team from Elfendo participating in the upcoming competition."

"That's not news; I knew that long ago."

"But what comes next you definitely don't know," Hawk-Beak Bean said mysteriously, "Guess who the captain of this team is?"

"Who is it?" Dill couldn't help but ask.

Mulan pulled Dill back, "Don't pay him any mind, let him say it himself."

Hawk-Beak Bean chuckled awkwardly before answering, "It's Rolin, you guys have heard of him, right?"

"Rolin, who is that?"

"You've heard the rumors these past two days, right?" Hawk-Beak Bean asked.

"Is it him, the Dragon Slaying Hero from Idus?" Even Cui Yu was surprised.

The death of Toragotos, although it happened just last night, had already spread throughout the streets and alleys of Fanric. After all, when Count Westwood Sibika returned from Idus, he didn't keep the news hidden and even made sure it was publicly announced.

"Oh my," Mulan showed some interest, "I've heard of him. He was already famous when he was in Fenris, and I'm a big fan of his!"

"How famous can he be?" Hawk-Beak Bean sneered at the term 'big fan', looking Mulan up and down without spotting anything small, "Can he be as famous as that unknown hero?"

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