I CAN GIVE TALENTS

"In the past competitions, we had used the elimination format and we could see that sometimes bad luck happened and competitors with high potential were eliminated early."

"This time, we will change the format so that luck won't affect the results as much. And so, we will be using the points format to determine the top ten best young alchemists in the South Region!"

"There will be a total of five rounds. The content of each round will be revealed during the rounds. Each round's difficulties will differ, so the points given will be adjusted accordingly. After all rounds ended, the total points will be tallied and the top ten will receive their prize."

As soon as Elder Godari announced the format, the audience immediately buzzed with noise, talking among each other. The overwhelming majority of them agreed with the format. Some even asked why it was not implemented earlier. This way, everyone had a chance to shine.

"Right, why aren't they doing this from the start?" Leyvi asked.

Selene smiled, as the young lady, she knew more about this. "Because it's expensive. Look at how many participants they are. Over five thousand of them. How many alchemy ingredients had to be provided to them and the majority might be wasted."

Leyvi wasn't convinced. "Cheh, they are probably just stingy. Look at how many people are here, I don't believe they don't have enough money to supply the ingredients. They just want more profits for them." Leyvi randomly guessed.

"Then why did they change the format this time? Not stingy anymore?" Selene argued.

"Uhh... I'm not sure. Maybe someone scolded them for being too greedy." Leyvi had no clue.

Sitting in the area in front of the Leyan Family, a drop of sweat fell from Magnus Goldstone's forehead.

What the heck! This kid only spoke randomly but he got them all right.

As the patriarch, he naturally knew the inside story behind the format change. Someone really did scold the Alchemy Association and the Seven Alchemy Giants of South Region were forced to sponsor the competition.

Due to the status of that person, they naturally had to comply.

"Let me remind the contestants again. Although we've changed the format to be less reliant on luck, the competition was still not fair. Those who came from the poorer background will obviously be at an overwhelming disadvantage." Elder Godari reminded them.

"My advice is just to do your best using everything that you have. Even if you don't win, countless eyes are watching you. Your efforts will be noticed by someone and that might be your chance to rise higher." He continued.

Elder Godari knew that he had been talking way too much, but he couldn't help it. He wanted the young alchemists not to make bad decisions by fixating on the difference between them and the others.

From the moment they were born, nothing in this world was fair. For them to be here today, everyone would have different experiences, equipment, techniques, talents and resources.

He hoped that all the young contestants would be able to learn something new after this competition.

"And finally, let me announce the rewards that have been prepared for the top ten young alchemists." Elder Godari paused and scanned the 5642 young alchemists in front of him.

He could differentiate which came from common background and which came from wealthy background based on their attire and body language.

Some of them had arrogant looks as if they would be in the top ten for sure. He had seen people like this so many times in the past. He could even predict their reaction when they realize that they are not the main character later.

"Alchemists who reached the top four to ten will receive an opportunity to pick a Tier-4 Alchemy Formula and an Alchemy Technique of their choice from the list provided by the Alchemy Association."

"Furthermore, they will receive ten thousand middle-grade spirit stones and a lifetime of free transport to any of the Alchemy Association's branches, not just in the South Region, but the entire continent."

"Wow! Free travel to the entire continent. Isn't that too good?" Leyvi exclaimed. Nala nodded. She used to travel a lot and it was very expensive. Hearing free travel made her drool.

"The Alchemy Association had branches all over the continent. They transport and distribute alchemy ingredients and alchemy products to the whole continent regularly. Although it is free transport, it doesn't mean that they can travel to any branch at any moment. They probably have to travel according to the established schedule and routes. It is still a great convenience though." Layla explained.

The Treasure Pavilion that she worked with before had similar business operations and logistics as the Alchemy Association, so she knew a bit.

The reason that there are no Alchemy Association branches in Bara City was because the alchemy level over there is too low and it was pretty isolated. So, Treasure Pavilion grabbed the alchemy market there. This was also the reason why Anda could monopolize the market over there easily.

While Leyvi was intrigued about the free transport, the rest of the crowd was shocked by the spirit stone reward. 10000 middle-grade spirit stones! That was a huge amount. The past alchemy competition was nowhere near this generosity. Why are they so generous this time?

The amount of spirit stones reward caused the young alchemists who originated from humble backgrounds to soar with fighting spirit! They had to place in the top ten ranks no matter what!

"As for the top 3, they will receive the same rewards as mentioned before and also another additional reward. The top 3 will earn five, ten, and fifteen spots respectively to enter the Ancient Civilization Mystic Realm that will open 7 years from now. This Mystic Realm is located in the Central Region, the region where the most powerful gathered."

WHAT??? Spots to enter a Mystic Realm???

Everybody was shocked. Even the Seven Alchemy Giants didn't know about this and were equally shocked. The people who knew the details about the Mystic Realm stood up from their seats, absolutely mind-blown by the sudden revelation.

How could they not be shocked? The reason why they became a big figure was because in the past their ancestors also entered a Mystic Realm. It might be a different one but any Mystic Realm would present you the opportunity to rise just like their ancestors once were.

"Tell Victor and the others to earn the top three ranks no matter what! We can't afford to lose the spots!" Magnus ordered one of the Goldstone Family elders.

It was not just the Goldstone Family, the other giants also ordered their young prodigy to win no matter the cost.

Leyvi was curious so he asked Magnus from behind, "Father-in-law, is the Mystic Realm really amazing?"

"Who are you calling Father-in-law.... oh it's you. Ehem, do you remember that legendary art in the auction? The was only one of the things the Alchemy Dominator Sect found inside a Mystic Realm." Magnus almost forgot he permitted Leyvi to call him Father-in-law.

Leyvi's eyes shined as he nodded. How could he not remember about that stupidly expensive scroll? And it was just a copy of a previously translated version.

"In fact, most of the big families and organizations in the Cloud Continent rose to prominence because they were lucky in the Mystic Realms. You tell me, is it not amazing?" Magnus asked.

"Amazing amazing." Leyvi nodded vigorously. Not only it was amazing, it was absolutely beneficial to his family.

He might be the only person who could translate everything related to the Ancient Civilization and this was the best place to find them. Leyvi hoped that Anda could place in the top three so they could explore the Mystic Realm together.

"Haaaa...." Magnus exhaled. "The last opened Mystic Realm was more than 500 years ago. I wasn't even born yet at that time. I didn't expect for one to open soon and the spots would be given like this. If I knew I would have let them practice harder every day." He regretted they didn't prepare enough.

Elder Godari stopped talking for a while to let them digest the information and act accordingly. He had expected that it would cause commotion like this. After the audience calmed down, Elder Godari spoke again.

" Alright everyone, without further ado, I will announce the topic of the first round. I think we all know what it would be. All alchemists started with learning and memorizing about alchemy ingredients, therefore we will start the competition with this."

"Identify as many ingredients as possible within the time limits and record your answer in the jade slips we provide. We have prepared over a hundred thousand ingredients, each labeled with a number. You can only use your spiritual sense to identify them. No touching. Record the number and your answer together. The time limit will be 10 hours."

After Elder Godari finished explaining, with a flick of his wrist, over five thousand jade slips flew towards each of the contestants and over a hundred thousand alchemy ingredients labeled with numbers appeared in the middle of the Grand Stadium.