Chapter 156: The Jury

As Thomas loudly announced the topic for the assessment, the nearly thirty thousand spectators in the stands erupted into an uproar. They could not have imagined in their wildest dreams that the challenge for the third round would be this.

"An alchemical potion favored by the spectators? With so many of us, how can that possibly be judged?" a spectator asked in confusion.

"The potions refined will at most be two or three small vials. There is no way we, nearly thirty thousand people, can test them all out!"

"This topic is quite difficult. As the saying goes, 'It is hard to please everyone, and even harder to satisfy a single heart.' Winning the approval of all of us is no easy feat!"

"Heh heh, but that is what makes it worth watching. Let us wait and see a good show, to see how these alchemists handle it."

While the crowd in the stands buzzed with discussion, many of the forty-six alchemists down on the athletic field exchanged bewildered glances. They had expected to be given a much more difficult alchemical potion to refine today, or perhaps some bizarre problem like those of the past two days. In any case, it should have been a specific task. They never anticipated that the prompt would fail to provide a definite target, offering instead the vague concept of an alchemical potion that "everyone loves most."

This scope was simply too vast, leaving the alchemists momentarily baffled.

As if sensing everyone's thoughts, Thomas paused for a moment after announcing the topic and continued: "Since the alchemical potions will be limited in quantity, it is impossible for everyone to evaluate them. Therefore, out of the thirty thousand spectators in the stands, we will select one in a thousand to form thirty representatives into a temporary 'review panel.' They will judge the potions refined by the alchemists below and choose your most favored alchemical potion. The ranking of the alchemists will be determined by the number of votes they receive from the review panel!"

"To ensure the fairness of the competition, among the thirty selected individuals, there will be ten from the Aragon Empire, ten from the Light Alliance, and ten from the Dark Alliance. Furthermore, none of these selected people may have any relation to the alchemists present, and they are strictly prohibited from watching the refining process when the competition begins. This means that when a potion is placed before you, you will have no idea who refined it, ensuring maximum objectivity and fairness. Very well, personnel from the three major Alchemist Guilds, please take the stage and select the reviewers!"

Clamour... As Thomas's voice trailed off, another wave of loud noise swept through the stands.

"Thirty people are going to be chosen from among us. I wonder who the lucky ones will be!"

"Haha, good thing I am not a relative or friend of any of those forty-odd alchemists on the field. I am fully eligible to be a reviewer!"

"Although being a reviewer means missing out on watching these alchemists perform their exquisite alchemical arts, becoming a reviewer for this Alchemical Tournament is a supreme honor. I want to participate too!"

"Only thirty? Can't it be more? One in a thousand—our chances of being chosen are just too low!"

"I really didn't expect this Alchemical Tournament to feature an interactive challenge with the spectators. I—I must participate!" an elderly spectator who had watched many previous Alchemical Tournaments said excitedly, raising his arm high.

"Hey, stop talking! The Alchemist Guild personnel are coming up to select the reviewers!"

Although there were numerous spectators present, the members of the Alchemist Guild were also plentiful, with several hundred dispatched to make the selection.

The selection process was extremely rigorous: detailed personal backgrounds, knowledge of the alchemical world, and individual perspectives on alchemy. Anyone who fell short by even the slightest margin was immediately eliminated. Naturally, this greatly accelerated the screening speed.

Taking advantage of this time, the forty-six contestants on the field racked their brains, trying to figure out what kind of potion they should refine next to win the favor of these reviewers.

What do people love most? Money? Beauty? Or perhaps a healthy physique? Perhaps all of these, but which one do people love the most? The alchemists racked their brains, deep in relentless thought.

"Since the prompt requires refining what the spectators love most, I must think from the perspective of the spectators. What constitutes 'most loved'? Besides, to brew a certain potion, I must possess the raw materials to do so myself; in this round, the Alchemist Guild will not provide the materials," Roland thought rapidly in his mind, searching for a countermeasure.

Yet, after pondering for a long time, he still had not a single clue. His chaotic thoughts then drifted toward his younger brother Hawk, Third Brother Bill, and Victoria...

Counting on his fingers, his brother had at most three years left to live. Yet currently, neither his potion alchemy nor his spatial energy met the required standards. Spatial energy was his bottleneck; although the spatial energy within that special meridian had been fluctuating more and more intensely lately, a spatial seed had still not formed. His potion alchemy was only at the low-level six-star tier, primarily because he lacked sufficient alchemical materials. His very reason for participating in this tournament was to acquire those materials.

Third Brother Bill was still lying on a sickbed. The three-colored snake venom he had contracted was immensely tyrannical. If he could not promptly obtain the special materials required to refine the three-colored detoxification potion, Bill would have only a few days left to live. To sit by and watch Bill—who was like a blood brother to him—slip away was something Roland could not accept under any circumstances.

As for Victoria, Roland now understood that he had fallen deeply in love with her. From the time spent with her over the years, he could also sense that she held similar feelings for him. However, regarding the matter of Bill's poisoning, if it truly turned out as he had previously analyzed—that Anthony was the mastermind—then judging by Anthony's persistent pursuit of Victoria over the years, Anthony would likely exploit this situation to his advantage. If Victoria were ultimately... by Anthony...

At this thought, an unprompted sense of irritation welled up in Roland's heart.

He took a deep breath, telling himself to calm down.

Upon reflection, the three people he had just thought of were all tied to the championship of this Alchemical Tournament. If he could genuinely win the championship, those problems would become much easier to resolve. First of all, simply by winning the championship, he would receive a full one thousand portions of six-star potion alchemical materials alone. Such a vast quantity of materials would be more than enough to elevate his alchemy to the high-level six-star tier, thereby increasing his hope of refining the activation potion to save his brother.

Furthermore, upon winning the championship of the Alchemical Tournament, he could directly select the specific material for refining the three-colored detoxification potion from the ten rare materials available, giving Third Brother Bill a chance at survival. With that settled, any further schemes Anthony might attempt against Victoria through this incident would become utterly impossible.

Just as Roland was deep in thought, Thomas's low voice suddenly rang in his ear: "The thirty reviewers have been selected. For the sake of fairness, they will now be escorted away from the scene!"

Immediately, Roland saw several dozen spectators being led down from the stands, surrounded by a throng of Alchemist Guild personnel as they crossed the athletic field toward the exit.

"Anthony, I support you!"

"Go for it, An-an..."

"Anthony, I like you so much~"

...

Yet, as the spectators passed by the alchemists, some of them repeatedly shouted Anthony's name, cheering him on. To Roland's astonishment, nearly twenty of the thirty spectators were women, who naturally harbored a great fondness for the handsome Anthony.

Looking at the group of male Alchemist Guild personnel who had just selected the reviewers, Roland could not help but smile wryly. It seemed that even during the selection process, those people could not escape the eternal truth that opposites attract!

Suddenly, Roland's eyes lit up. The idea of refining a potion that the reviewers would love most—which had eluded him until now—suddenly crystallized in his mind. He possessed overwhelming confidence that once this potion was refined, his chances of entering the top four were practically guaranteed!