At this moment, quite a few Sect members have noticed the alchemist crawling up on his knees, and they couldn't help but be moved, expressing their admiration:

"This kind of alchemist is exactly what our Sect needs. Although his alchemy level might not be particularly outstanding, his tenacious demeanor will certainly make him a top-tier alchemist! Our Sect will sincerely invite him!"

"We at Beihu Sect want him too! Such an alchemist is definitely a true man!"

"Since they all want this alchemist, we at Red Leaf Sect will have to compete with you all! Haha!"

...

For a moment, several Sect members gathered together, they saw the alchemist kneeling on the high platform, leaving a trail stained with the blood from his knees. Clearly, they were all touched and favored this alchemist. After all, he had already reached the final round of the Great Alchemy Competition, his alchemy skill was quite good, even if he couldn't win the championship of this year's Great Alchemy Competition, or even if he couldn't complete this third round of the alchemy contest.

The representatives from these sects were optimistic about this alchemist, believing that an alchemist with such determination and qualities would surely have a bright future! They believed that as long as he was given some time and some cultivation resources, he would certainly grow.

Still, the alchemist gritted his teeth, the blood from his knees had dyed the ground red, but the resolute light in his eyes continued to flash an azure hue. Clearly, as long as he could still move, he would not abandon the final round of the Great Alchemy Competition! This was his dignity, having studied alchemy for decades for this very day, how could he give up now? Even if he must kneel, he will complete the last round of the Great Alchemy Competition kneeling! Fresh chapters posted on novel·fire·net

However, he felt a sense of regret; he knew he had focused specifically on studying medicine pills before, which had left him lacking greatly in cultivation, making it difficult for him to complete this round even if he knelt through it. This was the only regret he felt. Yet, despite the regret, he knew he had to keep it to the smallest range possible and must strive with all his strength to reach the top of the platform!

Perhaps if he knew many Great Gate Sect members already favored him, wanting to sincerely invite him, his regret would be even lesser!

As long as a person works hard, there will certainly be rewards, even if the rewards are beyond what you can imagine, they are sure to be full of surprises!

By now, the first group of the Great Alchemy Competition had been underway for a while. Most of the alchemists stayed below the fiftieth step, with only five alchemists climbing beyond the fiftieth step onto the high platform. However, these five alchemists appeared to be struggling significantly. They had long felt the extraordinary nature of the platform; each step was extremely difficult, a formidable pressure was bearing down on them, so strong that sometimes an alchemist would spend several minutes to advance just a single step.

These five alchemists clearly felt that the pressure increased with each higher step. Four out of five had already stopped in their tracks, finding it increasingly difficult to cope with the pressure. The highest point reached by these alchemists was only the sixty-first step. One alchemist was sweat-drenched and seemed confused, ultimately bending over, both hands laboriously pressing against the ground. He was using both hands and feet.

Clearly, for this alchemist, half the journey was already completed, with only a small portion left. Regardless, he must charge forward, even if it's just a small step further!

However, despite exhausting all his strength to take that small step, he remained where he was; the small step was exceedingly difficult!

At this time, not just this single alchemist was perplexed. Except for one alchemist, the remaining twenty-four had all fallen down on the high platform. Most of the alchemists clearly had no strength left; both spiritual power and True Qi had clearly reached their limits.

Yet, only one alchemist continued to ascend, although he too looked exhausted while climbing. His facial expression, however, was evidently filled with pride. This alchemist had already reached the eighty-ninth step, and he still had the posture to continue climbing upwards.

This alchemist could be none other than Zhang Hao!

At this moment, Zhang Hao cautiously held the magic artifact in his bosom. Clearly, the steps were rather easy for him but not overwhelmingly easy, which surprised him somewhat. Despite possessing a special magic artifact, he didn't expect the climb to be so challenging.

Obviously, the more Zhang Hao climbed, the more strenuous it became. Sometimes, just a single step took Zhang Hao several tens of minutes to ascend, which was obviously a bit too exaggerated for him! But fortunately, though it was a bit difficult, he could still manage to climb upwards continuously with the help of a Magic Artifact.

At that moment, everyone who witnessed this scene was shocked, clearly not expecting that in the first group, only this one Alchemist might be able to climb up. What drove people slightly insane was that this Alchemist was the very one everyone had previously suspected of cheating. For a moment, everyone was quite astonished – the difficulty level of this high platform was just a bit too exaggerated!

"Isn't this a mistake? The only Alchemist in the first group who might be able to climb up is that cheater! Are you saying that if we don't cheat, we can't complete this Great Alchemy Competition?"

"Isn't this brother being too exaggerated! Though the real powerhouse is yet to come, remember that both Ding Lin and Elder Herr have been assigned to the second group. After all, those two are the key to this Great Alchemy Competition, right!"

"Exactly! Even if this cheater wins the championship of the Great Alchemy Competition in the end, there's nothing worth boasting about, and we won't acknowledge it either!"

"Let's not say that, folks. After all, there's no evidence of them cheating yet, but in my heart, the champion can only be Brother Dalin and Elder Herr!"

"Exactly, the champion must emerge between Brother Dalin and Elder Herr! But I'm a bit worried for my Brother Dalin!"

"Yeah, Brother Dalin is still too young, obviously, his cultivation can't be compared to Alchemists of greater age..."

...

For a while, everyone who saw Zhang Hao's performance was quite shocked, but clearly, many cultivators still believed he had cheated, though no one had any evidence. So even if he did cheat, there was nothing to be said.

At this moment, Ding Fan also saw Zhang Hao's performance and was slightly surprised. Ding Fan hadn't expected Zhang Hao to manage to reach this level. Clearly, in Ding Fan's expectations, other than himself, only two elders could complete this Great Alchemy Competition, naturally Elder Herr being one of them, along with another unremarkable elder, who had seldom caught the audience's attention. However, Ding Fan had been observing him, clearly recognizing the elder's consistent performance in both the first and second rounds of the Great Alchemy Competition.

Still, Ding Fan hadn't anticipated that Zhang Hao might actually complete this round of the Great Alchemy Competition, which clearly surprised Ding Fan. After all, Zhang Hao's results in the first round were quite average, and for him to achieve such results in the second round was clearly an unexpected occurrence. After all, in Alchemy, it's really hard to suddenly improve one's Alchemy Level without the guidance of a master.

It's clear that Ding Fan also suspected the possibility of him cheating, considering how incredibly Zhang Hao's results had improved. But at this moment, when Ding Fan swept his Divine Sense over the area, he chuckled, knowing he had guessed correctly — Zhang Hao had cheated after all. Ding Fan noticed the Magic Artifact on Zhang Hao at first glance.

Ding Fan had no idea where Zhang Hao found such an item. Ding Fan concluded that it would be extremely difficult for him to reach this level based solely on his own ability. This cheating was just too outrageous! This was the Great Alchemy Competition, after all, and such leak-type incidents are not supposed to occur easily. You must know how many cultivators have prepared for years for this Great Alchemy Competition.

But there was actually someone who could cheat so "perfectly" in this Great Alchemy Competition, a feat not achievable by an ordinary Alchemist. Ding Fan suspected an inside job within the City Lord Mansion, knowing full well that the Champion Reward for this edition of the Great Alchemy Competition was quite extraordinary, and evidently, Zhang Hao was likely after that reward.

Despite this, Ding Fan was evidently not worried, finding it amusing that Zhang Hao, possessing such a Magic Artifact, still struggled so arduously to climb up the high platform. It was simply laughable! Just how weak was Zhang Hao for him to struggle to such an extent? Ding Fan couldn't understand why anyone would choose to cheat using an Alchemist with such weak Alchemy Skill and cultivation level.

It clearly wasn't logical, considering there were so many Alchemists with comprehensive strength that was pretty good as well, capable of cheating without making it so obvious. But Ding Fan soon came to understand. After all, this was the Great Alchemy Competition, practically a grand feast for Alchemists across the Donglai Continent. Evidently, very few Alchemists were willing to give up this opportunity to cheat for others.

After all, this Great Alchemy Competition might not even be held once in many years, but when it is, it's undoubtedly one of the greatest events on the Donglai Continent.

Clearly, many Alchemists value this opportunity, especially those whose overall capabilities are relatively good and are even more so inclined. Ding Fan observed Zhang Hao, quickly realizing that although Zhang Hao had cheated, he wasn't arrogant in the slightest and remained determined to win the Great Alchemy Competition. Thus, Ding Fan understood that Zhang Hao's humble and low-profile nature, solely motivated toward his goal, was what attracted the attention of those who favored him.